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 Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:33 pm
“I- oh - n-no he hasn’t said anything.” He admitted. “I wanted to make one cause they’re tricky, and all that s**t that happened, and uh... kept... happening.” He had to admit, the food- that food made his mouth water. He wasn’t sure he could finish it without being sick, but god if he didn’t want to try. “That... sounds amazing, I’m not sure how much I could eat though. P-please don’t waste any. I appreciate... everything.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 6:01 pm
"It won't be wasted," he promised. "Come on, let me show you to the bathroom, you can freshen up," he said, gesturing for him to follow. "You can take the coffee with you if you want," he said, and gave him a second before he began to guide him through the house.
The rest of the house was as put together as the living room; there was a single bathroom down one hallway, and two closed doors at the end.
"If you want a shower, it's pretty straight forward," he said, pausing by the bathroom and turning on the light. It was immaculate, white and pale blue. "The towels are clean. You can use any soap or shampoo. They're all pumps. If you feel inclined to snoop, you won't find much. I have medication, it's in the medicine cabinet. It's for sleeping, and anxiety. I have a first aid kit under the sink, if you need to take care of any injuries you're welcome to that. If you need the razor, get a fresh blade. They're in the cabinet too. Hold on."
He disappeared but was gone for only half a moment before he returned with a small box, and clean clothes folded inside. They weren't anything fancy; a white t-shirt and a pair of black pants and jacket visible but it seemed like there might have been room for more underneath that in the box.
"Here. Something fresh, at least. You don't have to take it, but it's there if you want it. Come out when you're finished and I'll have a plate ready for you."
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 6:37 pm
He would have protested that he wasn’t going to snoop, but maybe the lack of snooping would show when all was said and done. Honestly, he couldn’t remember the last time he wore a white shirt either, but clean clothes and hot shower and food? It was heaven. He thanked Ilya again and vanished into the shower, scrubbing himself till his skin was pink. His hair was enough of a tangled mess he hoped Ilya wouldn’t be mad that he took the time to wash it out. A borrowed razor and he felt almost human again. He almost always wore clothing that was bigger than his frame, maybe not as different as Ilya wore but it was -clean. He didn’t raid the first aid, the cut wasn’t dirty and could probably use some air. He stepped out again cautiously having done his best to return the bathroom to as immaculate a state as he could before he stepped out clutching the dampened towel and his dirty clothes. “I... tried to clean up behind me.” He called.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 7:02 pm
By the time Yu had made his way out, Ilya had plated the food. The kitchen smelled of warm food, overpowering the general smell of clean that permeated his residence.
"I appreciate it. But you're a guest in my house. Don't worry too much about things like that."
He didn't offer to take the dirty clothes or the towel but he guided Yu to the washing machine, where everything was already set up. "You have good timing, I've just finished in the kitchen. If you can't finish the plate, it's fine. Don't feel bad about it. Eat what you can. I can pack up the rest if you want a snack after you leave. You've spent a lot of time in the cold recently, I put a vitamin supplement out too, by the water."
He didn't bother to insist again that everything he offered was optional, he figured Yu would get the idea.
"I know you said you have a place to stay, but if you want to be close to Priam and Sterling while we're sorting this out, you'll have a place here. I grew up with two brothers. I'm not horrible at sharing. I just."
He didn't know how much Sterling had told him, but it wasn't exactly hard to tell that Ilya had a few quirks.
"I like things a very specific way. Just let me know what you need and I can accommodate you. It's easier if I know. The rest of this," he gestured to the house. "I wasn't always this bad."
He wasn't perfect. He'd just learned to live with it. He didn't mind it.
"...But don't be afraid of crossing any boundaries while you're here. You're a guest," he said again. "And I'll see to it that you're taken care of. So we'll get you that food while it's still warm, and you'll tell me if you need anything else while we wait for your clothes to wash."
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 7:38 pm
Clothes into the laundry first, and he was grateful for that. Then back to the kitchen for food. He took the vitamin, less out of real trust and more out of a need to be polite, He didn’t think Ilya would slip him anything, he didn’t seem the type. Who did though, whispered some smaller part of his mind, and he jammed it down. His hands might have picked up a fine shake when he finished the water, weariness, nerves, the softness of the kindness. “I…. think I’m always a little afraid of them, I think I push them when I get a chance too,” he admitted in regards to boundaries. “To…prove I can now.” He added. “Thank you… thank you very much.” He added as he settled down to carefully take up a forkful of food. It was so good, something always so different about things cooked in a home regardless of how they got made. “… you, probably have questions.” He added after a mouthful, making himself go slow because he knew what it was to eat too much, too fast, and regret it SO much. Hell, he half 'regretted' the shower, it had been so warm his fingers and toes felt like needles and pins now, too used to being cold or being out in it from his searches.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:26 pm
Ilya sat down across from him; he had his own plate and neatly cut into a pierogi.
"Many questions, yes."
He cut a small bite, took it to his lips, chewed, and swallowed before speaking again.
"But you deserve a nice dinner and a little peace and quiet. You can tell me as much or as little as you like. The only question I'm going to ask is what I can do to help. I'll try to track down Michael. My computer's doing an update now but I can access a few things once I'm logged on. It's a stretch. I've sent a text to a friend of mine to see if he can pull anything up. If he's registered anywhere in Destiny City, I'll get you the address. If something happens," he said, and his eyes were on his meal again. He cut another neat, small, bite. "Apparently I have a homeworld, deep in space. Some planet I'm linked to. I was thinking, it would be awfully hard to find someone, or whatever's left of them, so far out there. If need arises, I offer it to you. I won't let you go through all of this just to see you wind up in prison. I don't know if you'd planned that far out, but. Best to be prepared, I think."
His eyes returned to Yu's face.
"Do you have questions?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:09 am
Yu moderated his own bites to try and match closer to Ilya’s, it was a half thought of motion based on his own comfort or lack of being sure of it even as kind as Ilya was being. “I… I don’t even know if he’s using that name, but I appreciate it. I like to think I’d know him if I saw him. But when you put people in uniform that goes right out the window.” By the time he processed what Ilya had just offered... He was sitting mouth open. “N…no, that, that’s a pretty…clear plan.” He said carefully.” He sat back after a moment with a frown. “… if you run into him, like someone, not me saying they are…parasite. Promise me one thing? Just… run. I don’t know how it works or why but, the longer you do this the stronger you get. I ran into some dude with like, wing ribbons when I first got hauled into this, and I’m not weak, but - he wrecked me. I… that can’t happen to you okay?”
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:58 am
Ilya continued his carefully cut, uniform bites, like he hadn't just offered to bury a body deep in space where it wouldn't bother both of them ever again. Hopefully.
"I see a lot of people in the day to day, but nobody new has stuck around since I moved here. I'm careful though. So if he's ever been powered down around me, he wasn't suspicious enough to notice. The only bad things that happen happen around here--or, at work. But if he met me there, he was powered up and drained me, and teleported me across the city to dump me."
He closed his eyes and seemed like he was trying to focus.
"...I can almost remember what he looked like in the reflection of my window, but I just remember getting tired so quickly. If I can remember, I'll tell you. If you can't track him by 'Michael', maybe you can at least find someone in the Negaverse who knows of someone by his uniform description? --We can compile what we do know about him. I'll check my cameras and see if I can find anything. Priam might remember something. I don't think any of the cameras at work will have anything on tape, but. If anyone can hack into those, it would be the Mauvian. I don't know that I was supposed to make it home, so he might not have made the same effort to conceal his identity, if that was the case. But we'll see. Anywhere you've stayed recently--you said a hotel?--you should try and think if you saw the same person at any location. Or, give me the address. I'll give them to the Mauvian and see if he can try and get into their security system, too. Apparently they're very technologically advanced. But, no one suspects a cat, so," he shrugged again.
"We'll see if he's slipped up anywhere, if we can. I'll put some more cameras up around the area. If he knows so much about you, I suspect he's spying for a distance, but he can't be that far away. I'll...see if I can't borrow the dogs and take them for a walk, see if there's anywhere nearby that looks hidden and well visited."
There wasn't much he could do, but he didn't want to worry Sterling or Priam, and he wanted them to stay in the house as much as possible. Sterling was recovering, Priam was still healing, and sickness for him might mean hospitalization. He'd spent enough time at the hospital already.
Ilya was probably sick himself, but he didn't seem to know how to rest.
"It's less suspicious than anyone else investigating, and I was already taking care of the dogs while Sterling was in the hospital. I'm the least involved in any of this, his eyes will probably be on the others if he's out for revenge."
He was quiet for a moment and then said, "It was an inconvenience until he left me in the snow. But he only did that after I started looking into you. I don't know how he would have known that, though. Maybe a lucky guess, after Sterling brought your butchered records to me. But if he saw that, he had to be watching."
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:17 pm
Yu nodded, thoughtful, and still stunned by the offer to hide the remains of whomever was behind it on his homeworld. That alone was a strange idea, that they had worlds beyond this one, but top that off with the idea that someone like Ilya was basically offering to be an accomplice to murder. He was offering to help find whoever it was - s that Yu could kill him. He had thought this kind of ‘bond’ only happened on the streets, mostly in the darkest corners. But here he was, someone else willing to help protect what amounted to the best ‘family’ he ever had. “I… was so tired I don’t know how much help I’ll be, more than that I had the curtains shut.” He admitted. The idea that Ilya might know this b*****d's uniform though? That… That was a game-changer. “If you know uniform though, if I don’t know them, then my… My boss might. She’s … She wants to swap sides too. I can trust her. I mean, I have to…she knows that I won’t … “ He hesitated, still in a sea of emotion. “Knows I won’t bring him to… our side.” He finished and ate another bite of food. The pierogi, the idea of Sterling being dragged into their side, draining energy, grabbing star seeds made it taste like…ash. “… I’m …. glad you made it despite that snow trick too. That’s… a shitty position to be in. I’m glad you found Ilya though.” He hesitated to process one more thing. “… SO… I just need to confirm this too. The… cats, they attack and they know computers?” He glanced up. It was a stupid as hell thing to focus on at that moment. but the absurdity just hung there. “… they don’t have…hands though. I mean, If they can nail this guy that's a bonus but…”
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:42 pm
Ilya inhaled, like he wasn't even sure where to start with the cats. "They're aliens," he explained, wishing it didn't sound so ridiculous. "But they look like cats. They have a star on their foreheads, and they can talk. The one that awakened me is white, big. Very fluffy. His name is Soleiyu. He seems to care very much for Sterling, he was frantic when we found him. So what I've gathered, and forgive me if I make mistakes, I'm still very new to this."
Very new, and very cold, and not even sure what was a sick dream.
"Soleiyu was tinkering with a cell phone to keep himself distracted. He wanted to give upgrades to the machines Sterling was on but Priam advised not to. He said the Mauvians have their own database, that they're in charge of--I'm not sure. Senshi technology, some of the tools they have. I've seen him work with his paws, though. He seems like he knows what he's doing. He's small, though. He'd probably have an easier time getting into places he shouldn't, and I suspect he can bypass security on any of the systems he needs to. But we should move fast on that, I know there are places that don't keep recordings for long. I'll call him in a bit and let him know."
He cut another pierogi into small pieces. "...If you don't mind. And after this meal, I'll write down everything I remember about the man. It's...distant, but it's there. Are all uniforms as...unique, as yours?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 1:04 pm
“I… think so yeah. Most of them don’t have pants as dumb as mine.” He said and pulled a face. They all seem uh… darker?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “All the ones that I’ve seen have been …all over the place. It’s mostly like…war-ish but also like, darker colors. Sometimes it’s like future-ish like my …Boss. Sometime’s it's like DnD-ish like mine.” “Not…to sound like an idiot, but don’t get on the wrong side of the cats. One of them creamed me - like - face in the dirt, gave me a talking to and then huffed off.” He stared down at his own place for a moment. “…what…questions do you have? Maybe, maybe an answer can help us both figure something out. “
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 3:20 pm
There were probably a hundred things Ilya thought he might immediately like to know, but many of which seemed inappropriate given the circumstances. It wasn't fair to ask anything personal of Yu when he was so vulnerable, when he probably felt obligated to repay Ilya in some way.
"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, Yu. Anything that makes you even remotely uncomfortable. We should prioritize taking care of 'Michael'. Excuse me," he said, wiped his hands clean and stood up. He didn't leave the room but instead walked across the room and picked up a little note pad from atop a table in the corner, and the pen resting with it. He returned to the table and, though he didn't begin writing, he pressed the tip of the pen into the paper and returned his gaze to Yu. "When he's out of the picture, I'd like to go over some things with you. Maybe get you some resources you might not have had before. They're free, and discreet. And you never have to tell me if you follow up on them."
He said it, but he didn't let any sort of silence grow afterwards; he didn't want Yu to feel obligated to answer.
"Your time with the family, were you with them for long? --Long enough to pick up anything about him?" There was a risk they weren't even looking for the right person, but this was better than nothing. He needed something to do, and this was a good start. "Hobbies, quirks, habits--anything that might be able to identify him? ...Even if he's changed his identity, there are things some people can't change. Weaknesses," he added. "...Vulnerabilities, insecurities. Anything that we might be able to use against him. Allergies, even. Things he can't change by will alone."
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 3:33 pm
“Uh… I remember his eyes?” He said cautiously. “They were like…crazy blue like they belonged on a doll or something. They were almost creepy because they didn’t quite feel …real?” He hesitated and thought more. “It… He could be so mean, but it was like pulling his mask off because you’d turn around and he’d just be blaming you or asking why you were so…careless. But there were things he -liked- to do.” He reached up and rubbed his face. “He… really liked this old knife, he’d spend hours sharpening it, I still remember the sound of the strap, he…even taught me how to take care of a knife. But, the trade-off was he got to … do this. The ones I couldn’t hide under a shirt. I forget what it got blamed on, barbed wire and running or something. But he just…. swung, and he had the biggest smile on his face. It didn’t matter what he hit he just wanted it to hurt. I think if we hadn’t heard his folks truck he’d have kept going. It’s dumb, at the time I just….” He shook his head. “I guess I figured I deserved it like he said, invading his home, taking space that was his.” “But when it came to big people, he just… was so nice and perfect and polite. Sometimes he’d go kinda… I don’t know, too forward. Like he’d already know something about them, but he was so good at being nice that they’d just lose sight of that I guess.”
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 4:26 pm
Ilya's jaw clenched and he sighed heavily; he had been writing some things down, in a clean, crisp script that was impossibly easy to read. He wrote down some of what Yu had said, but he was gripping the pen tightly, pressing it just a little too hard into the paper.
"Yu," he said, looking up at him.
The fierceness in his grip didn't reach his eyes; he managed to keep the same welcoming, open look. There was concern there.
"The state doesn't just pick a random family off the street and drop a child off with them. They're supposed to make sure a family is a good fit, supposed to make sure that they're trustworthy."
There were mistakes. There were always mistakes.
Ilya liked to think he hadn't made any, and he worked hard to follow through on everything he did.
He hoped he'd never left a child in a house like this one.
"You weren't invading his space. His parents had to go out of their way to get someone placed with them. All of that is irrelevant though, because you didn't deserve it. Then, or now. You are as worthy as anyone of happiness and safety. As worthy as Sterling, or Priam, or me. This is not your fault. You cannot control people, and nothing you could ever do warrants a response like this. Whoever is doing this is not normal, is not sane, and is not justified in any of his actions. This is a deliberate, malicious attempt to hurt someone, from someone who seems to thrive on hurting anyone he can get his hands on."
He kept an even tone, calm, and as reassuring as he could manage.
"You did what you had to in order to survive. I need you to do everything you can to survive now, too. People let you down in the past. People who should have helped you abandoned you, and you had to deal with all of this on your own. I need you to understand that you aren't on your own. No matter how much you want to run, don't. You are worth more than he is, and we're not going to let him take anything else from you. Whatever he's taken from you, however much he's torn you down, you have people waiting for you, waiting to help you rebuild. People who want to be trusted with that task. Who want you, for you."
He knew from the file, from talking to Yu, from intuition, from experience.
He knew what being shoved into a dark place could do to a person. He knew what happened when you didn't see any way out.
Yu didn't deserve that. No one did, but he'd been through so much already.
It would break Sterling. It would destroy him, to lose Yu like that.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:43 pm
“I just… I thought it was because I was so much trouble in … I guess all the places they sent me. They said they were running out. I know I could have aged out of the system, but… I just couldn’t take it anymore.” He might have been smarter if he had, but maybe, maybe Ilya was right, he might not have survived that house. He’d never have met them… any of them. “… god I really am a trash panda.” He laughed softly. “I guess that's a step up from rat at least…I… o-old…conversations.” He added, not wanting to be scolded for his self-image. “I just… I know they are there, but It… If they got hurt I don’t think I could believe it wasn’t my fault. It would be the same as if I burned the house down, it… it feels like I did anyhow. I know I didn’t. I… I’m sorry you’re not a shrink. It’s ******** my head is so dumb sometimes. I just make it worse.”
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