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 Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 5:31 pm
"Of course I'll help you fix it up like your asteroid. I think I even still have some seeds from when I visited. Some of the others have had some luck growing plants from different worlds, I'll bet you could grow yours there. I didn't try them. To be honest, I wasn't sure that you wouldn't pop out of a watermelon if I did get anything to grow."
He was still holding her close, making sure she could feel him--even if it was just to assure her that she was here, and he was here, and she was real.
"A name is a name and a face is a face, Lenka. Doesn't change what's in your heart. You can be anyone. And this might only be temporary." He didn't tell her to stop crying, didn't try to make her suck in all her emotions and just get over this.
Things didn't work like that, and she'd had enough of her free will taken from her tonight. He wasn't going to impose anything else.
"We'll get you an ID. I've got people I trust, they always help out when someone needs a new identity. You'll get a driver's license, social security. If you need money, I've got you covered. If you need school records, we can do that too. Passports, bank accounts. It's overwhelming to get started, but you're not alone. Just think of this as going undercover."
He couldn't feel a few digits and the coldness felt like little needles pricking his flesh; he adjusted the blanket around Lenka to make sure she was completely bundled up. "Best way to know your enemy is to masquerade with them, right? So maybe you're just in disguise, trying to blend in with us. Maybe while you're here you'll unlock some information to help stop the bad guys. I mean, the real bad guys. It's not us, by the way." He leaned a little closer and whispered, "It's the Negaverse. But it's easier to get them to talk to you when you're dressed in black." He continued in his normal speaking voice, "Being undercover, incognito, doesn't change who you are. Just who people think you are. So be whatever you want to be, so you can do whatever you want to do."
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 5:51 pm
She nodded and even managed a little half chuckled at the idea of small versions of her popping out of whatever watermelons that Remarque grew. “…They taste good. The watermelons from my asteroid. I grew some before. And when I took my friend on a picnic up there…I ate some and wasn’t a chibi anymore…I…”
She swallowed and shook her head. “…I want to go home. I…I’m so tired. I just…want to go home.” She wanted this to be over. To wake up. “If I sleep…do you think I might wake up and have this all have been just a dream? I think…I should do that…and if it’s not…”
If it wasn’t just a dream. Well. She could figure out what to do after she woke.
“…You’d really help me that much? I…would appreciate that, I guess…Would…I be…Would I be able to meet your kids maybe? I…I could stay with you…or…not. I don’t want it to be weird if you’re…uncomfortable. I promise I won’t kidnap them or anything.” She wanted to be somewhere normal. If she could be around kids again…if she could be somewhere like a family…
“…Maybe it would help. It…would…be nice. But…if you could get me a hotel room…that would be more than kindness too…I’m cold.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:01 pm
"Yeah, come on." He stood up, carefully drawing Lenka up with him. "I trust you, Lenka. I've known you for a long time, it's the least I can do. I'm going to power down," he told her, trying not to give her any surprises. "...Will you do the same? You don't have to look in a mirror or anything, but it'll make sure we can get home without anyone giving us a hard time. I don't live too far away from here. I can text my wife, she can us some hot chocolate, maybe some dinner if you haven't eaten. But we've got a guest room that you're more than welcome to use. We've got a dog too, but she's pretty friendly. Mostly just likes to be told she's pretty. The girls love her, and she doesn't bark or anything."
He was still holding Lenka close and, despite any concerns that maybe he was acting rashly, that maybe she would be tray him--he did trust her.
He needed to give her a reason to trust him.
So, he stood tall, kept her close--safe--and powered down.
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:09 pm
“Yeah…I can do that. And…thank you…I…don’t really want to look into any mirrors…I’m…I don’t think…I don’t know if I ever will again.” She kept her face buried against his chest for a long moment, and when she felt his power signature fade, she let hers drop as well, ready to face the world as…
…As whoever it was that she was now.
“Hot chocolate sounds nice…is your wife nice? Is she pretty? And you have a dog? God, it’s…the place I babysit, they have a great dog too. Your kids are they…”
She finally looked up, and the words died on her lips as she looked up into the face of Jett. Her Jett.
Her very best friend in the world.
He was…he was Remarque? Was this some kind of sick…sick and twisted joke?
“…But….no…it can’t be you. This…this is a dream. Isn’t it? This is too…too dumb…”
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:13 pm
His brows knit as he looked at her, at a face he didn't recognize but with a voice in the back of his head that told him there was more than just a stranger in front of him. There were a hundred possibilities of who she might be, but without more information he couldn't guarantee anything.
"Me, yeah," he repeated, but it was with a little more confusion than he usually liked to reveal. He liked to be on top of things, to know everything.
The air was colder in the civilian form; he hadn't moved but he could feel the wind on his back. He was wearing a jacket, but he'd have much rather have been away from the cold altogether.
Finally, slowly, he asked, "How do I know you?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:18 pm
She looked up at him, the horror in her eyes fading to a deep, soul shattering sadness. “…See? Not even you know me…I…I really am nobody…I…” She swallowed. “I was Millie. And Now I’m just. I’m just nothing.”
Pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders she shook her head and swallowed hard again, trying to force back the ever ready tears. “…I don’t need to go back to your place. I don’t need…I don’t need anything…I…I can figure things out…you don’t need to worry about me…”
I’m nothing more than a stranger.
The kids wouldn’t know her anymore. Raven wouldn’t know her. She doubted that the dog would even know her. Nothing was the same, and nothing would ever be the same ever again, and she just…
“I hate this…”
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:31 pm
Jett was quiet as the emotions washed through him. There was no relief, no happiness. If there was anger, it masqueraded as despair. At first, he didn't say anything. There weren't words, not for this. Not as his brain struggled to put together two very different people in his life, to think of them as one.
Now, he could see the similarities. But then, now wasn't the time to be thinking about it.
"Millie," he said, voice soft--softer than he usually was. Jett was not good with emotions. His girls had softened him, and had given him a new take on life.
Anything and everything he'd ever learned, he needed now.
He drew the girl to his chest again, arms wrapped around her protectively.
She could have died tonight, but she hadn't. Leto had taken something from her, but she hadn't taken Millie from him.
"You're not nothing. You're family. And we're going home, and we're going to take care of you. Raven will understand. We'll figure out how to tell the girls. Raven's been reading them this fairy tale book, about a princess who has to hide who she is to fight some bad guys. We'll tell them that's what's going on with you, that you have to hide from bad people. You're not alone in this. I'll do everything I can for you, okay, Mil? ...I've got you. It's going to be okay. You're not alone."
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:40 pm
“Please…don’t call me that anymore…” She pressed against him again, unable to stop herself and began sobbing into his chest, grief overwhelming her as everything once again seemed to come crashing down. “I’m not her. I can’t be her again. If you didn’t know me, nobody will know me…my mother will be so upset…I don’t know what she’ll do…and Orin…m-my boyfriend. He’ll think I died or something! Jett, what do I do?”
At least…maybe she really didn’t have to be alone. Maybe he really could help her figure something out. Maybe…they could do…they could do something. And she wasn’t going to not have her best friend by her side…
“…You think they’ll buy that? If we say that I’m running from a witch or something…? I know Elo might but…Chloe…what if they slip up and say I’m…I…I was…Millie? Isn’t it dangerous? I don’t know what is even best…”
And what would she call herself…? But…she could deal with that thought later. She could figure that worry out when she had more time to think.
And hopefully when it wasn’t so cold.
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 7:08 pm
Jett felt remorse for calling her that, but without a new name he didn't know what else to call her. She could be a girl without a name for as long as she needed, though; it didn't change how important she was to him.
"Come on," he said; he wrapped the blankets around her and scooped her up, holding her close to his chest still. It was too cold to be out here, and he was going to get her home. He carried her with ease--and even if it had been a strain, he'd have lied.
"My girls will buy it. Ten minutes with you and they'll know it's you. You know all their favorite songs, and games. All their hopes and dreams. They're little girls, no one takes them seriously. They're always telling stories. They'll be so happy to have you staying. You know they ask if you can spend the night, all the time? When Chloe was younger she threw a temper tantrum because you didn't live with us and she hated saying goodbye. So we'll tell them an evil witch is after you, and you'll be the same role model you've always been for my girls."
He kissed her forehead as he trudged through the snow.
"For Orin, your mom...We'll write them letters or something. We'll tell them the same thing--that someone is after you and you have to hide for a while. That you love them, and it's okay. That you're going to be safe."
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 7:41 pm
She nodded and didn’t protest being picked up, but rather tried to curl up a little, to squish her nearly six foot frame into something more easy to carry. “…I’m not a little girl anymore…isn’t it awkward to carry me like this?”
She felt safe though, she couldn’t deny that, and that thought alone made her just sigh and press against him again. “You’re talking like you really know what you’re talking about. Have you dealt with all of this before? How do you know what to say to make me feel better?”
It must be because he was a father. He had gotten good at that recently. Though, she hadn’t ever really needed his advice or anything. But now? Now she was glad he was there.
“…I don’t know. Isn’t that dangerous? Won’t that put them in danger? I’m…afraid for them…I…I don’t want hurt them more than they will be…I…” She swallowed. “…I’m glad…that the girls will still love me. I’m glad that you think they’ll know me…that makes me happy. As happy as I can be, right now. I think.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 8:00 pm
It didn't matter if it was a little awkward, it mattered that she felt safe. That she was safe.
"I've dealt with enough things before that this doesn't faze me so much. But maybe I know what to say because I know you. And I know that I don't care what face you wear, or what name you pick, or any of that. You're my friend. My oldest friend, nearly. And if that didn't make you family, I don't know what else would."
He walked briskly, as if speed could beat the cold.
"The girls will be fine. I'd tell you not to worry about them, but that seems to be just about all I do these days. But, I trust them. They're smart. Silly, but if there's an evil witch after you, you know they'll be careful. They'd never do anything to endanger you, not when they love you so much. You're their big sister."
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 8:34 pm
“…Could I be a Draven, then? I know that they’re Draymores but…can I be a Draven? I don’t know about a first name…but I could be your…your sister or something? That way I’d…really be part of your family?”
It was a strange question, and she felt almost embarrassed to ask it, but she held her breath, hoping for a positive answer. Or, at the very least…she hoped that he wouldn’t flat out deny her.
It would be nice to at least have a family again. And to be a part of Jett’s family…Raven would play with her hair, and she would be able to really be Aunt Millie. Or…aunt whoever she was going to be.
“Maybe tomorrow you can help me figure out a new first name…” She fell quiet again, sighing. “I could just go around as Blank Draven, maybe. That sounds mysterious.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 8:50 pm
Jett's last name came from his father, a man he hated and would never forgive. He didn't often talk of the man, or why he hated him so much. He never talked about the younger half brother he had out in the world, who he hated as much as his father simply because he existed. Simply because his father had chosen him over Jett, over the life they'd had together.
Jett had never thought he'd ever want to lay claim to a younger sibling.
And yet, when she asked, he did not hesitate to agree.
"Of course you can be a Draven. I don't know about Blank, but we've got baby name books back at the house. Raven still has a few of the good websites bookmarked. I don't know if that means she's going to try for another girl or not, or if we're just going to be hoarders, but I'll take tomorrow off. We'll spend the day together, figure all of this out."
He'd need at least a day for this all to settle in; if he spent it with her, maybe it would seem more real.
"Do you want to use the guest room tonight, or do you want Raven and I in the living room with you? ...It's cold enough that I've bought nearly half a dozen comforters." He wasn't ashamed of it, he liked to be warm and in his house he had a greedy wife, two daughters, and a dog who all seemed to each require one of his blankets, every night. They could build a nest in the living room, spend the night together as a family, supporting her. The girls were probably asleep, but they had a tendency to wander. At this age, Jett didn't have the heart to turn them away, so if they wanted a spot on the bed, they had it.
If it meant they were one big pile in the living room, so be it.
At least they'd be together.
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 9:03 pm
She was quiet for a long moment and closed her eyes as Jett carried her. “If you do get another girl, you should name her Millie after her best Aunt, okay?” She managed a little smile. “I’m…happy to be a Draven though. That makes me happy. It’s…something at least. And…a sleepover with you and Raven sounds wonderful, thank you.”
It was going to be a hard road to get things back on track, and honestly, she wasn’t sure if she would ever be fully put back together again…but she would try. And maybe…just maybe…she’d end up being okay. Eventually.
If not…great. Right now, okay was going to be the best she could push for. Being okay and getting herself a new name.
And perhaps some hot chocolate
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