#aspen1

  It was the first time getting to see Aspen or Jasper in person since before the horrible storm. For the most part, he’d weathered it out at home, and managed to slide through the chaos without any problem. His home wasn’t hit by the worst of the storm, and aside from a leak in the roof that was fixed already - Cole had it easy, and had been spending extra time helping out around the city with those who hadn’t been as fortunate. Aside from phone calls and FaceTime, Cole had missed his son a lot - especially since only a month or so ago, he’d bought a dog just to please the little guy. And maybe he hoped Brownie would win him brownie points with Aspen, but that was yet to be determined. 

   When he heard the car pull up, Cole went to greet them both at the door. He’d cooked that night - a very rare occurrence, and probably one of the areas in his life that skill was lacking. “Hey,” He greeted, stepping out onto the porch of the fancy town-home with a smile, waving as the two of them headed up. Behind him, Brownie parked behind the glass, tail wagging enthusiastically. “I made pot roast - sort of. It’s hot and ready. Do you... do you want to stay for dinner?” His eyes moved from Cole to Aspen now, the question in his eyes. 

   About 12 hours had passed since Jaime was first wheeled in from the ambulance, or so they told him; most of his memory was fuzzy, thanks to the shock and the concussion. They told him he may remember later, but would probably never really have a good memory of the crash. Jaime was thankful for that, truth to be told, and the longer he laid in his hospital bed, the crazier he felt he’d go. The one good thing about hospitals so far was the attention it got him... but even that was becoming overwhelming, so he’d shooed all visitors away, and now sat alone with his ringing ears. 

   Maybe having visitors wasn’t so bad, Jaime realized with regret, and looking out past the half drawn curtain to watch the excitement of the emergency room. His release was coming, or so they promised ten minutes ago, yet everyone seemed too busy to serve him discharge papers. With a sigh, Jaime watched a brunette cross away from the nurses station, an empty fast food bag in tow. “I can still smell that burger,” Jaime called out, wincing sharply as he dragged himself to sit up more. The pain from his broken ribs was intense at times, despite all the painkillers he was on. “What do I gotta do to get some next time?” 

Kikuhito had gone to pet store with one aim --- to once again figure out the true extent of his powers. Had his aggression catalyzing abilities as War only affected humans or were animals under his domain as well? As soon as he entered, his answer was given to him. Immediately, there was chaos. Cats hissing at one another. Birds making a frenzy in their cages. Even fish were mercilessly tackling each other against their tanks. 

He stood there for a moment to take in the sight. Part of it felt satisfying, but a part of him doubted this was entirely his own doing. Perhaps the pet store was just that badly run; he had no idea. To make sure, he went up to the nearest employee to simply ask, “Excuse me, but is the store normally this rowdy?”