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You can't always get what you want, Sol. Deal with it.

A very quick lean allowed Peyton to spy what Sol had scribbled down, and she gave a sudden snort of laughter as he hurried past her on his way out to the common room to pilfer pillows. It slowed when he reappeared almost immediately, and she took the offered bottle before really noticing what it was. She was in the process of reading the label when he clarified. This time the nickname made her smile. "Thanks."

She was turning the bottle in her fingers when he came back, pale eyes narrowed down on the label. They softened when she looked up and saw the arm full of cushions as well as the dopey smile. It was terribly endearing, and kind of adorable. "I don't suppose you have any water?" If not she could run to the bathroom real quick, but she wasn't very good at dry swallowing pills. They always seemed to get stuck in her throat.

If he could have looked inside her head he'd have been relieved to know she hadn't been looking at whose name was printed on the label, but what exactly was in the bottle. Not that she was any sort of expert on pain relieving medications. The one and only time she had ever had to take anything even remotely close to this was when she'd been in the hospital after the car accident when she'd been ten, and she hadn't had to take them long, only a couple days.

Needless to say, she wasn't entirely certain what had caused the small stretch of silence, but she was grateful when it was broken.

"A mug would be great, thanks." She took it, not even bothering to inspect it for cleanliness. She'd take him at his word. "Hey I'm a fair bit smaller then you're average adult," she started slowly, unable to completely hide the note of bitterness that always seemed to taint her voice when she spoke of her size. "Should I maybe only take half of one of these?" She gave the bottle a little rattle, peering at the pills inside.

Not only was she smaller, but she wasn't used to taking anything even close to as strong as this, and she imagined it'd probably hit her pretty hard. The prospect of getting sick wasn't an appealing one.

"I've just not had much experience with taking anything," she offered up thoughtfully, then half shrugged before attempting to open the bottle. It was harder then she assumed it would be one handed, and after a short struggle she gave a small, frustrated sort of growl before handing it back to Sol. "Half a pill please," it was a good idea, taking half now and half later if and when she needed it. "I'm going to go get water, be right back."

She hooked the handle of the phone around two fingers, then grabbed her phone of the edge of the bed with a little jump before heading for the door.

Once out in the hall she hit the power button to turn the thing on, and waited for it to load up as she headed towards one of the co-ed bathrooms spaced out periodically along the hall. There were messages, four of them, and she wasn't entirely surprised by the author.

Taym was worried. This made Peyton grin to herself as she attempted to type out a text one handed while still holding onto the mug. There were typos, she didn't care. She sent the reassurances anyways before tucking the phone into the band of her shorts as she got to the bathroom and got herself some water.

When the mug was full she hurried back.

"If I'm the president," she mused as she set the mug down so she could collect the halved pill. "What does that make you? Secretary of defense?" She may have been remembering back to him shielding her with his arm and coat back when they were fighting the insanity titan. "Or maybe Vice president."

It was probably for the best that she hadn't caught the sneer. It was hard, given half his face was covered, and when she'd left him he'd been grinning. She didn't see the curl of lips, so she didn't half to ask about it. Instead she smiled at him, soft and sweet, as she curled her fingers around the pill half. "Thank you for this. I've been trying to tough it out, but a little break from the ache will be nice."

The pill went down easy with the water, and she set her phone on the desk beside the mug before returning to Sol's side so she could help him finish up their fort.

Or at least attempt to help.

If nothing else, she could provide moral support.

<Be patient, Sun spot. I'm working on your arm.>

The rumble of affection that accompanied the reassurance inspired a warmth within the dainty hunter that spread from her core outward. I know you are. I trust you. Whatever strain had plagued their relationship after her last failed charge, it was gone now.

"So what else do we need to do before it's finished?"

Peyton made a tsking noise at his suggestion and shook her head. "I won't hear it. You'll by my secretary of defense, in charge of fortifying security and maintaining the safety of the realm." It was probably obvious she was making things up as she went. Peyton know next to nothing about governments or how they worked except for what she'd seen in movies.

Her hand came up to rest on his shoulder as he declared their creation--really his creation, she'd really only helped by suggestions--finished at last. "It looks good to me. Comfortable too."

Forts were for all ages.

"Pet's aren't more important then people." At least Pey didn't think so. She'd never had many pets, except goldfish. Pretty little things that swam around their plain little bowls. They were simple, damn near useless, but Peyton had always loved them.

She gave his shoulder a little squeeze after the teasing salute. "I have every faith in your ability to keep our fort safe from invading nations." Another grin, and she was moving past him, into the fort, and settling on a particularly plush bit of gathered blankets.

Maybe she'd been distracted, or maybe she hadn't wanted to think about it, but it was pretty dark, more so under the cover of the sheets.

Another night in another bedroom that wasn't her own, with another male friend. The thought left the petite teen frowning, gaze directed down at folded legs as heat crawled up her cheeks despite her best efforts. It was silly, she hadn't done anything worth blushing over, so why was color washing over her face?

At least they weren't drinking this time.

What had been a means to drown out pain the night before might have had very different results in this very different situation. With a very different boy.

<He's much nicer, Peyton.>

Quiet, War.

He lay down, and she shifted just a little closer to him, smiling down at him as he pushed the visor up. Drawing her legs up, she rested her chin on her knees, good arm coming forward to wrap around them. It was loud in the halls, but beneath their thin barrier of sheets it seemed just a little less, a little more private. Their own little world where monsters weren't rampaging and people didn't get hurt.

Pretty little lies.

"I think they'll be able to find beds. When what I've seen all the full hunters have known each other for years now, I'm sure there was some tight bonds among them." She thought briefly about Gale, the only one in the towns that she really knew, and she wondered where he was staying tonight. She would have gladly offered him her bed, she wasn't using it.

They had hogged all the bed covers though.. For a good cause.

Perhaps she was feeling the soothing influence of the pain killers, or perhaps she was just starved for physical contact. Regardless, she loosened her hold on her own ankles so she could trace the tips of her fingers along the length of his hair where it lay between them. "So do toy want to hear the fun, interesting things, or the hard things?" She watched his face, pale eyes tracing the dark line of tattoos that edged his chin.

He was actually quite attractive. Silly, a complete goofball, but handsome.

<And nice.>