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"Rabbits?" Lukas turned around just in time to see Lex fall to the floor. He cursed under his breath, performed a tight spin, and jogged to the fallen Chosen. Keeping the ax close, he dropped to a crouch beside Lex and reached out one large hand to feel for a pulse at the side of his neck. Finding one, only calmed him slightly and Lukas looked around, senses on high alert. He shifted his hand to rest on Lex's shoulder as if making sure the other would stay in place.

Lukas' brown eyes narrowed. Nothing seemed out of place. No sound broke the silence that had descended after Lex fell. What now?

Something brushed against his neck and Lukas' hand swung up and came down hard. He winced. Bringing his back around, he scowled at the smear of a dead mosquito in his palm. "What the hell?" he muttered.

Lukas snorted as he drew his hand away from Lex's shoulder. "Yeah, it does," he agreed. Then he surged to his feet and retrieved his ax. Lex managed to catch the dirty look Lukas shot down the hall and at the house in general. Then he shook his head and offered a hand to the blonde. "Up and at 'em. I hope you brought something warm in that bag. I suggest we bunk down for the night in the living room. In front of the fire for best bets. We can start looking around again in the morning."

To be honest, it sounded more like orders than suggestions but Lukas knew he was in no position to lead a team. Let along another person. So he just gave a little shrug and turned on his heel after hauling Lex back to his feet. "I'm gonna get some shut-eye," he announced, heading down the stairs.

"Change?" Lukas paused at the bottom of the stairs and blinked up at Lex with clear puzzlement.

Changing out of your clothing in a combat zone meant the risk of being caught unawares. Literally with your pants down. It made no sense.

"Of course not." He shook his head, turned back around, and strode to the living room. Within a few minutes, he had his sleeping bag unrolled, sat on it, and unlaced his boots. He tucked the laces inside before setting them beside the top of his bag. He stretched. "Think we need to set watches?"

Lukas cast a sideways look at Lex before dropping his gaze to the cards being shuffled expertly. His expression remained neutral, however. Instead of reacting, he merely finished dry-brushing, tucked his things away into his ruck sack again, and shifted to slide into his sleeping bag. "Not gonna stop you," he finally answered. "Don't even know my zodiac sign."

That was a bold-faced lie but it wasn't like the knowledge made one bit of difference to his daily life.

Lukas managed a shrug before twisting to lay on his side and watch Lex study the cards. When he started cleaning them up, he made a vague noise. "You missed a few," he commented mildly. It was open-ended and hard to tell if Lukas had any real interest in the full reading. Even he was not quite sure. Cards? Tarot? Psychic stuff? Pretty much bullshit but you never knew. He saw too much superstition in his military days to dismiss it all. Besides Lex seemed to put stock in the cards and that was interesting from a personal perspective.

"And it wouldn't be my first CF so whatever," he added.

"Huh." Lukas looked down at the cards again for a thoughtful moment. Then he lifted his considering gaze back to Lex's face. "Huh," he grunted again. "Action? That I can do."

He smirked before shifting back down into his sleeping bag. He rolled to his side, tucked his arm beneath his head, and squinted slightly at the other Chosen. "That's interesting, though," he continued. "I've never seen them used. Read about 'em, though."

"Yeah. G'night." Perfunctory as it was, there was a bit of warmth in Lukas' voice. He glanced once more at Lex, half-grinned, and then settled in properly.

He was out cold before the count of twenty.

Lukas felt warmth on the back of his neck and he nearly cringed away from it before he caught himself, holding still until he could force his muscles to unclench. One by one. Then he drew a deep breath through his nose and lifted his head from the cradle of his folded arms. Bright, glaring sunlight greeted him and he squinted into it.

The scent of water and greenery drew his attention to the right and he turned towards it. A lake. The slight breeze barely ruffled the surface. Oh, yeah. Mom and Dad had rented the cabin up at the lake. Family bonding time. He surpressed his snort at the thought. He was eighteen. He didn't need any family bonding time. He just needed to get the hell out of town, go to college, avoid all of the stress and annoyances of his family. Especially his precious perfect little sister.

As if the very thought of her acted as a summon, a feminine scream of delight broke the peace and quiet. Lukas groaned and rolled onto his back to blink at the white fluffy clouds dotting the perfectly blue sky. He already had to see her every day in that house. Had to see her perfect report cards and the invitations to her concerts and plays and everything. The fridge was about to collapse under the weight of her awesome-ness. Now she was building a perfect sand-castle. He just knew it.

If everyone else left, he thought, it would be a perfect day.

Just as his eyelids started drooping again, another scream pierced his consciousness. The voice was the same but the tenor was completely different. Lukas shot upright, his instincts those of the warrior he would become rather than the angry eighteen-year-old he was. In seconds, he stood on his feet, crouched and coiled, eyes scanning the area. The blue sky was gone. The sky was a solid screen of forbidding grey. Blindly, he reached for the nearest solid object, a branch on the sand, and turned towards where his sister had been playing in the water.

Nothing.

His stomach sank. Then it knotted and rose up to sit in his throat as he watched a small hand and arm emerge from the water, a dozen yards out. A bracelet glinted in a sudden spark of light. His sister. Drowning.

No, this was not how the day went. He had stomped over her sand castle while leaving from an argument with their father. She had cried. She had ******** it. Dropping the branch, Lukas flung himself forward towards the waterline. Within moments, he had made it to water deep enough that he could lay out and drive himself forward with powerful strokes. The cold water shocked his system and he cursed loudly before pressing his lips together against it, pulling himself along harder.

Something grabbed at his foot and he stalled. "What the ******** looked down to find himself standing knee deep in the lake beside the haunted house. "********," he hissed again. Giving vent to childish rage, he kicked at the water. Then he looked around to see if Lex had followed him or not. He hoped not. The kid really didn't need to find out his partner sleepwalked. Not that he ever had before. PTSD? Screw it.

"Lex? You out here?"