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@mxrvelouscreations

Michael had known that his choice to settle down with a human, and to become the father to her prophesied child, would attract unwanted attention from demons and his own kind alike. Demons would seek to harm Leigh as she carried the child, mindful of the prophecy, while angels would be incensed by Michael's love for a human woman and seek to tar them apart. He had known his decision would lead to conflict, but if he could keep as much of that conflict away from Leigh as he could, then he would do anything.

Once she had helped him get his shirt off and he had enclosed her in his wings for comfort, he reached out to hold her hands in one of his while the other held his wound. It wouldn't be long now, he knew, and if she could just hold on for a few more minutes. "It's okay..." he whispered to her, giving her his voice to focus on. "You're doing so well." He gave her a little smile to help reassure her.

Robby knew there would be days like this. Days where he would slip back, where the voices in his head got louder and he would end up pacing back and forth in his own daze. Or at least, that was how it would be normally. This was different. Instead of pacing his hall back and forth and wearing away the flooring, he was curled up in bed with Marie, her hand holding his as he tried to keep himself from getting too worked up.

Luke was finally out of bed and not entirely covered in bandages like a mummy anymore, but... it wasn't a great existence. He still had bandages over half his face, his wrists and hands, his chest, his legs... and he was moving really slowly. Everything was stiff and painful and a reminder that he was never going to be the same again.

"Really? How sure are you about all that?" he asked. "'Cause I was told I was taken off the Island and put here because my treatments were stolen tech from your guy Stark. I'm bettin' he wanted his intellectual property back, and I was just a part of the experiment." Yet Wanda seemed to believe that they were decent people, the Avengers, so Luke gave the slightest of shrugs, not wanting to feel the pain of a full one. "I guess we'll find out."

Luke looked to her when she said she wouldn't let Stark throw him out. Why did she care so much? He was really curious, but he didn't want to sound ungrateful. "Could you stop him? If he tried? Guy's got money and power for days," he said rather hopelessly. "There was a guy just as rich and powerful on the Island, and he made my life hell. He was the reason I was being experimented on. He was makin' money off me before my accident and he didn't want that to stop. So he had to find ways to keep me alive and workin' for him."

It was really nice of her to help him with the water, and he didn't blame her for how weak and emasculated he felt about it. He was touched by the gesture, even if he felt like the biggest loser in the world not even being able to drink by himself anymore. This was his new normal, and he was just going to have to start getting used to it. Wiping his tears only made more fall, though, because it was such an unexpected act of kindness that Luke didn't really even know how to react. "Thanks," he whispered, though his eyes were still red and welling up.

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

"Wait, they did? Geez, no wonder they were giving off those vibes to me," Wade said with no small amount of disgust. it only solidified in his mind that this woman had been treated really poorly, that she'd had it rough, and he was slowly making it his mission to help her improve her life. Why did he feel this was his responsibility? Guilt over other things he'd done, maybe. Or just plain empathy. Hearing that the people who had abused her had infiltrated the government, Wade shook his head in pointed disappointment. "Great," he said sarcastically. "One more thing to worry about with our far-from-perfect government."

As she thanked him for his resolve on not giving away any information should HYDRA come knocking at his door, he nodded. "No problem. It's a no brainer for me," he said without hesitation. He wouldn't turn over his worst enemy to an organization like that, let alone someone as nice as Sadie. Rockland's mom, no less.

He wished she'd just keep the clothes. They were simple anyway, and he had plenty of money to buy more, but he also wasn't going to push if she wasn't comfortable with doing that. Pride was a thing, he understood. Trust was another. So he got it. "Okay. Whatever you're comfortable with," he said, letting the issue rest. When she said she'd be back in a few minutes, he nodded again. "Sure. Take your time. I'm gonna make some pasta. You're probably hungry, right?"

With Sadie off to shower and change, Wade set about boiling water in the kitchen and got out some fusilli pasta. He carefully put Bee down on a nearby chair seat. "Okay, little girl, I don't want you near the boilin' water, alright? So you stay right here where I can see you."

Bee blinked lazily, sorry that her warm hammock was gone for the moment, but curling up into a little loaf regardless. She watched Wade with sleepy eyes, the very tip of her tail moving this way and that very slowly.

Once he added the pasta to the water and started stirring it and adding a bit of salt, he glanced over at the kitten. "Don't you be smellin' the air like that, this isn't for you," he said, though his tone was light and playful. "Wait, can cats even eat pasta? Or is it like... feedin' pigeons rice and their stomachs get all bloated?" While waiting for the pasta to cook, he whipped out his phone. "Apparently, you can have a little bit of plain, cooked pasta. Looks like you're gonna miss out on sauce. Go.ogle says no sauce for you."

Bee let out a sweet and charming meow, more just idly responding to the fact that she knew Wade was talking to her. She liked the sound of his voice. It was very calming to her.

"Sorry, kid, but I gotta follow the rules. Don't want you gettin' sick," Wade said apologetically.

By the time Sadie called to him from the bathroom, the pasta was cooked and he'd heated up the sauce. "Yeah, you can hang 'em in there for now. I usually shower in the mornings anyway," he called back. After he fed, that is, because sometimes he got a bit messy. It didn't look like he was getting fed tonight, though. That... was a problem he'd deal with later.

"Alright, what do you think?" he said to Bee, taking a single piece of pasta and bringing it over to her, leaving it on the chair seat.

Bee promptly sniffed it, determined it to be tasty, and devoured it.

It had not been a good mission at all. They had been way over their heads with not enough personnel on hand and all hell had broken loose. And the absolute worst part was how poorly his suit fared. Like, what the hell even is this bullshit right now, he thought to himself as he tried in vain to get the automatic seal on his suit to... unseal. But it was stuck fast, and for the time being, he was trapped inside his own damn suit. Yeah, I know, gimme a break, he thought as he watched the digital display on the inside of his helmet flash with warnings and blare with various noises of alarm.

The Creature made a very good point, and Wanda agreed. Differences should indeed be celebrated, for they made the world a richer, more interesting place. Life would be terribly boring if everyone was the same, but sadly, not many saw it that way. Narrow-mindedness was all too common, in her opinion. That was why she chose to approach people from a place of curiosity, not cruelty.

He had seen it too, of course, the way fear controlled some people to the point of irrationality and violence. For some, it seemed the first response to anything different, unknown, or in opposition to already held beliefs. People like Victor, who had feared so much what he could neither understand nor control that his first instinct was to lash out at it... and then destroy it. If The Creature was being honest, it was not only some people who were like this, it was many who were afflicted with this explosive and dangerous form of ignorance. To his utter sadness, he had found over his more than a century and a half of life that people who reacted that way... were in the majority.

So he understood. Oh, how he understood. But what he wondered, given how potent the woman's sadness and anger seemed to be, if she had ever encountered people who were not like that. As much hatred and violence as the Creature had seen, and as much as he had suffered the effects of it, he had also been privileged to know a handful of people who had been different. People like Elizabeth. Like the old man. Like.. this woman he was speaking to now. Ones who did not immediately react with fear or disgust, but rather, approached with curiosity, seeking not to bolster their ignorance but alleviate it by learning. Ones... who had a great capacity for empathy. Those people were what made life worth living, and encountering them was one of life's greatest privileges.

"I understand," he said softly when she had finished. "I feel... the same way. The same... sadness. I have felt anger too. So much of it... that it nearly consumed me. It burned within me like fire... and was there each morning when I awoke, like bile in my throat. But... there is good in the world. There are people who do not react with fear or violence. They may be rare... but finding one of them, having the privilege of knowing them... is one of the greatest joys I have known in my life." He paused, looking at the fire before turning to the woman. "It is disheartening... to know that most of the world... chooses not to understand... or to act with kindness. But finding those who do... can help to ease the anger and the pain. And... being one ourselves... can be a source of inspiration... and motivation. Be... what you wish others to be. Treat others... how you wish you had been treated. It is hard to do... especially when carrying such anger and sadness in our hearts... but it is worth the effort, I promise you."

{ @glitchexmachina | Send “Pain is weakness leaving the body” and I will randomly generate how your muse will find mine. }

Number generated = 20 (after a nightmare)

They had been staying at the Sanctum for some time now as Wanda, Tyson, and Strange all investigated how they might locate her children. It was a complicated problem, and so far there wasn't a clear answer. The more Wanda worried about the safety of her boys, and the more anxiety built up in her at not being able to get to them right now, the more restless her sleep became. Given all she'd been through in her life, nightmares had always been a problem for her, but they had gotten worse in recent days...

As she touched his face, his eyes closed, feeling the warmth of her hands. Oh, to be touched kindly. It was something he was not used to, but that he craved so desperately. The sad furrow in his brow easily gave that much away. He hadn't realized just how cold he was until her warm hands were against his skin. His heart wanted to leap from his chest as she called him her friend. "Friend..." he repeated in a soft whisper. That word meant so much to him. Letting her take his hand, he followed her inside her cabin.

Hearing her say he didn't need to remain by the doorway and that he could sit, the Creature slowly wandered into the room. But rather than take a seat in any chair, he simply plopped himself down on the floor facing the fire, having no idea how sweetly innocent he looked in that moment. It hearkened back to his awkwardness when he was so new to the world and was still learning how to use his body. Grabbing his ankles, he pulled his legs in to cross them before hanging his elbows on his knees.

"Even a Huntsman needs t'live with 'imself," Eric said. "Couldn't do tha' if I'd done wrong by a girl I jus' met fer my own selfishness." Which countered his argument of being such a terrible person, but the point was long on him for the time being. "Aye, I had a reason," he said. "Didn't want you t'be scared, so I didn't say, but... I saw some of 'em. Huntsmen I used t'know. In th'last town. Thought it best t'put as much distance 'tween them an' us as I could. Must've worked. They've no' followed us." He did feel bad about the walking, though. "I'll see if... maybe I can get a job 'r two i'the next one an' earn enough t'buy a horse fer you t'ride."

@thenexusofsouls, from here

Miles allowed a grateful smile to touch his lips, shoulders loosening like Jix had eased a little weight off them with his presence alone. The young man had been quietly humming a song to keep his nerves at bay, trying really hard to sketch something, but his pencil had not moved an inch. He stared at the blank space, closed his sketchbook and with a nod, he sat next to Jix.

Perhaps he shouldn't trust the other so quickly, so easily, but the tiny leafy creature in front of him had the most trustworthy face Miles had ever seen. Qué lindo, he thought as his smile widened.

He reached inside the little bag and grabbed peanut, taking a little bite out of it. "Mmmmumumum... Oooh, are tasty! Have salt and sugar added to them or what?" he mused, looking in the bag again. "Are different, but... good!" he cheerfully decided.

Noticing that the only other person here was trying to work on something, Jix fell silent, except for the sounds of him crunching on his peanuts. He didn't want to be an annoyance if someone was trying to create something, after all. But when the person got up and came to sit by him, he smiled and swung his little roots, happy for the company. "Hi-hi!" he said politely. "Would like a peanutty-nut?" he asked, holding out the bag to Miles.