Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had taken time for the two of them to coordinate their schedules, and find a date and time that they could both make. But they had found it. Ally Anne had been deposited on Autsu's doorstep. Autsu had welcomed him, forcing the mission to the forefront of his mind to avoid more disturbing thoughts. They took the bus to Archie's, and the bus was so crowded they were forced to sit separate, so that the first chance they had to really speak was when they found themselves standing on the corner of Archie's street.

"That's the place, Anne." Autsu announced, pointing to the house where he had last met with Archie. "We will go there, and tell him of what we plan. And he will help us arrange our headquarters."

He started walking then, shortening his usually long strides in respect for his friend. His skateboard was not with him today, but he still dressed the part, in baggy, form concealing clothing. Red was the theme of the moment, even his black pants had red patches on them, where father had repaired the holes that were constantly showing up in his clothes.

If he seemed overly focused, it was because he was. The boy at his side had the potential to be extremely distracting, but he would not let himself be distracted. It was too much, especially with recent dreams still lingering in his memory, refusing to leave him, even in daylight. But Kian was not Esuth, and...

And it didn't matter anyway.

They had a mission.

He would focus on that.

Archie stared at his hands for a long while, until the creak of sandals outside caused him to look up. Food. He was hungry. He pressed his palms against the door, intending to push himself to his feet. Instead, he was just in time to feel and hear the concussive force of Kian's knocks. He jumped up, spun around and opened the door in a matter of moments, only thinking of looking through the peephole once it was too late.

"Oh... hi," he said, his breathing already beginning to slow. It was Autsu, a slightly taller and skinnier version, but still the same kid. Not green, not spiky. Just Autsu. Archie glanced at Kian the Knocker. There was a flicker of familiarity there, but nothing concrete. He looked back at Autsu and smiled nervously. "Haven't seen you in a while." Or you... ever, Other Kid. "Come in," he said, addressing both boys. If Autsu was friends with this prickly young man, he probably wasn't as bad as he seemed.

Kian didn't move for a moment. This was Archie? This was the one who had chosen Patrick, who had given him to the scientest. This was the one in charge. His entire frame went still, dangerous eyes on the other male, head cocked upwards to see him in his entirety.

"You chose my Parental?" The query was slow, a drawl almost, his words mildly stilted from his former language. "He is a VERY bad Parental." Another pause and he took a step inside, frame loosening and tail starting to move by itself once more. "But I do not mind him so much. He is an odd Parental. You are one like us, yes? Sent here for what our worlds said was wrong."

They were not wrong. At least, Kian had not been. he had a hint that Autsu would not have been either.

"Autsu and myself have made an idea. A thought for those like us. Those who were wrong." Eyes, which had previously been roaming, went right back up to Archie. "And there is aide to be requested."

Autsu watched Anne with interest as he spoke, his expression somewhere between concern and surprise. He knew that his ally did not get along with his parent, but he had not expected the outburst here. Still, it faded quickly, and the other soldier seemed to calm. They were fine, then. And the outburst seemed to have unsettled Archie, but little more.

"We do not wish to-- to--" He frowned, biting his lip. A word in Gaian was missing there. "We do not care about our crimes, or others. Now is where things can be done. We can't fix then. Then is over."

That hurt to say, enough that he lost his train of thought. He looked to his ally, in hopes of finding coherance. But Anne was a hurt too, a different sort of puzzle; he caught himself staring.

This was not the right time. There was no right time, but this, especially, not it.

"May we sit?"

Archie nodded. "Sorry. Yeah, sure, please sit," he said, indicating the sofa or, more appropriately, the barstools near the kitchen island. From his observations during Autsu's last visit, wings didn't do well on couches. He could only imagine Kian's tail wouldn't make that particular piece of furniture all that comfortable either.

That tail was the focus of Archie's attention as its owner spoke. "Alone, yeah," he agreed. He sincerely doubted he had shared most of the feelings the other criminals had upon arrival, but he did understand being alone. Intimately. He looked up, his eyes skimming across Kian's dark tail on Autsu's dark wrist before meeting the boys' eyes in turn. "Dixie would like to talk with you too, I think. My daughter. She's also like us, but more... discontent with her situation than I am."

He smiled slightly before shaking his head. "And don't worry about tact. I can take..." his hand waved as Kian's had, encompassing any number of socially distasteful behaviors, "...whatever. I'm just not myself anymore. Everything I do feels like... I'm pulling a really itchy scab off of a cut that hasn't totally healed yet. I overreact." The last bit was muttered as Archie caught himself, scowling and shaking his head again as if he had said too much. He cleared his throat. "Do you guys want anything to eat or drink?" he offered.

There was a wrist on his tail. Kian didn't even notice until he was seated on a stool, next to Autsu, and his tail was still wrapped firmly around his friends.

"If you pull a scab off too early, it scars the flesh more then it would have, had you simply let it fester." The kid didn't know how to form a proper sentance half the time but he knew the word 'fester'. Kids these days... Narrowed eyes studied archie, curious as a cat. The man was jumpy. Skittish.

Odd.

But different? He couldn't tell.

"We are comrades," He echoed his friend, shifting slightly to lean towards the other dark being, "And we are not children in our minds, although our bodies are. Bu tyou know that. You can speak with us as we wish to speak with you."

Someone had hit him? Threatened him? Autsu bristled obviously, his hands curling into fists, his posture snapping to perfect correctness, wings tight against his back. As Archie continued to speak, the boy couldn't be more obviously on the edge of his seat. When Archie fell silent, he didn't immediately speak again.

His tone, when he did, was hard, tempered with fire. Autsu's anger was not a cold thing, but his sense of duty kept him calm, or at least controlled.

"Then you have given our unit new objectives. We must find these children, they will need us. And this one that attacked you." Nevermind that Archie had apparently thrown the first punch, he wasn't a warrior, at least not in appearance or attitude, and he was a comrade. That meant that he was to be protected. The very fact of the attack meant that Autsu had failed in his duty. "He must be dealt with."

As he spoke, his free hand absently moved over to the tail at his wrist, stroaking it restlessly. It was not an action he was aware of, or one that he would allow if he was. His hands were simply bad at stillness.

"But no, it is not information we need. Advice. We need a headquarters for our new unit. But I know little about how to obtain one on this planet. My father's awareness is not much greater."