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I'm haunted
By the promises I've made
And others I have broken
I'm haunted
By the lives that wove the web
Inside my haunted head

Tell me it's not happening
Say it's not as it seems
Tell me that I'm gonna wake up
It's just a bad dream
Please tell me that it's fiction
Tell me it's just a lie

"Yes," she agrees, nodding her head as she pushes open the door and steps out onto the slightly busy sidewalk. Looking in both directions, she takes a left and trusts Dare to follow in her wake. She is too unsettled by the earlier encounter to respond in any rational way to the fact that he has touched her.

"The past," she muses, more to herself than to Dare who may or may not be within hearing distance. "The past should stay in the past where it belongs."

Even in a neighborhood such as this one, where the fringes of society pride themselves on their ability to shock the mainstream, Chandra's imposing figure and odd dress clear a path down the sidewalk. Seemingly oblivious, she continues purposefully down to a dark alley where she ducks inside and then immediately down a tiny iron staircase which appears to lead into utter darkness.

It does not, but the tiny cafe at it's conclusion is not wel lit by any stretch of the imagination. Blue flourescent lights set into the ceiling cast odd shadows across the few patrons faces, which are largely obscured by a standing cloud of smoke. The tables are mismatched, appearing in all shapes and sizes, some of them with oddly clawed feet and spindly metal legs - like giant insects. The small amount of conversation present halts uneasily as Chandra enters and pauses to survey the available seating.

"People can say that all they want, but is it ever really the case?"

Dare finds it harder to keep pace with shorter legs, but tries all the same, not even sure if she heard his reply or not. He'd like nothing more to forget everything and start anew, but numerous attempts have shown him it's simply not possible. Looking around uneasily as the street clears for their easy access, he can't help but remember how different they actually do look out in the open.

He finds himself reaching out for her in the dark, bitterly withdrawing at how childish the impulse to be afraid of the dark is. Instead, he just keeps a safe pace immediately behind Chandra. Because he steps in second, he isn't aware of the shift in conversation, the eery silence weirding him out moreso than the strange choice in furnature.

Eyeing occupants, again uneasy, he allows himself to play the part and presses his shoulder against Chandra's side, closing any distance between them. His eyes wander anxiously, catching onto every movement with wary distrust.

"Any preference?" Chandra says, unaware of any discomfort on Dare's part. "We could sit over there," she lifts one pale hand out from the darkness of her cape and points to the corner opposite the door.

The patrons, clearly deciding Chandra and Dare are no threat, pick back up the normal quiet hum of conversation. A very wrinkled old woman emerges from somewhere in the back and hustles over to Chandra and Dare, carefully not looking closely at either of them.

"Take a seat, dears." She says, her voice gravelly and anonymous. "Can't take your order until you sit."

"S'fine," murmurs Dare quickly, but not initiating the steps forward to get there. Had it been any other time he wouldn't, but he'd much rather follow her lead on this one.

He blinks forcefully once approached by the woman, wondering just where this place is. Certainly, them talking here is a secure idea, but the scene doesn't sit right with the child trying to push into control. He purses his lips, leaving the talking up to Chandra on this one.

"Yes, yes." Chandra murmured impatiently to the woman, already taking steps to the previously mentioned table. She seated herself there and then waited for Dare to do the same.

Shuffling along behind them, the old woman waited expectantly for her dears to order something.

"I will have tea," Chandra said, not even glancing at the menus thrown carelessly on the edge of the table. "Whatever the tea of the day is. Black."

She turned to look at Dare for a moment helplessly. Could children drink tea? She vaguely recalled something about caffeine stunting growth.

"They probably have anything you might want," she finished finally, leaving his order up to him.

Dare is used to the bar scene, and along with it comes ordering mildly alcoholic drinks. This, for obvious reasons, had to be one of the first things he changed. Instead, he shifted through various drinks offered, never finding one that particularly sticks with him. Sliding into his seat opposite Chandra, he finds himself again disliking this change all over again.

"Water is fine," he decides hesitantly, after a silent look over of the menu tossed in front of him. He doesn't quite trust more than that, from the look of the surroundings and his own judgement. That, and lack of money..

He folds the menu back up, holding it out for the woman to take, ignoring the slight shakiness of his hands.

Chandra frowned, but held up her own menu as well. She tried desperately to resist the urge to correct Dare, but she couldn't help herself.

"You might not want the water," she said, as the woman taking their menus sighed loudly. "I try to stick to things that have been boiled or come bottled."

Glancing up at the woman as she snatched the menus, Chandra closed her mouth. Nevermind, she said mentally. Nevermind.

Dare shrugs. What could be so bad about water?

"I'm sure I have had worse things pass through me," he states with a shrug, tugging at a sleeve subconsciously. Besides, he thought silently, I probably won't even end up drinking much.

He moves his hands to the table, careful to keep his elbows off. Some things just stick with him, while others fly by without him acknowledging. Curving his fingers, he offhandedly drums out a vaguely familiar beat, eyes wandering as any curious child's would in a new environment. Just play the part, and all will be fine.

Waiting for the old woman to shuffle off back off into the smoky darkness, Chandra watched Dare idly. Suddenly alone with him, she wasn't sure what to say or where to start. This really wasn't her forte.

"Old girlfriend?" She asked, and then sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Sorry," she said more quietly. "You know I am not an expert in personal interaction."

Letting her hands fall to her lap, so she could play with them out of sight, Chandra started over.

"It has been sad not to see you. While I realize you are perhaps not happy with your current situation," she glanced up at him, "I am glad to see you are alive."

Somewhere in the darkness, single notes emerged from an old and slightly out of tune piano. No one stopped talking for it, if anything the background noise simply increased to smother it, but it continued anyway and resolved itself into something that might have been familiar.

Slumping back against his seat, he takes a heavy breath before he starts.

"Her name's Truth, and we, apparently, go way back. Partners assigned in my past lives, when I held my Ranger position properly.." He shrugs halfheartedly, eyes fixated on a crack on the table's side. What else can he safely tell her, risking the chance of her overhearing? "As for being involved, I have no memory of that."

It isn't a complete lie, he argues silently. One kiss doesn't make a relationship.

"I've missed you a lot, Chandra," he admits, picking at the crack absentmindedly. He gives her a quick look, eyes catching a fair amount of light to shine their olive green colour. "I'm glad you haven't decided that the dead are more lovable or enticing than us living, or something."

Me in particular, he adds silently. If not for her, it's very likely he would have easily fallen back into the Ranger scene, to be perfected as a top notch Ranger, a regular ol' kiss up rule follower with perfect grammar. Yes, a lot of thanks to her, but would he ever say it..?

Dare picks up on the music without much notice of him doing so. One of his trademark traits shines through as he gently hums along with the tune, filling in some missing pieces.

Chandra shrugs, controlling her expression through sheer force of will. It is clear to her that if they were not involved, it wasn't because Truth didn't want to be. The woman's behavior made that clear this afternoon. But Chandra did not want this to end up like the last time they had spoken.

It was an important lesson to learn, this staying quiet sometimes. It made sense with enemies, but with friends... Chandra looked carefully at Dare ... it felt like lying.

"Truth," Chandra said, committing it to memory along with the woman's face. It would possibly pay to know someone else with powers like Dare's.

"I missed you as well Dare," she said honestly, removing her cape and allowing it to drape over the back of her chair. "I did not know if I would see you next in Life or Death. Or ever."

Her cape removed, Chandra pulled her hair back quickly into a small ponytail at the base of her neck. Anything to keep her hands busy and out of her lap where they would twist and fret.

"The Dead are pale comparisons to the Living," Chandra recited dully. It was one of Xochi's favorite sayings. "They do not understand passion in the same way because they are not operating under a deadline."

Picking up on Dare's humming, Chandra decided not to recount her latest revelations among the Dead. Instead she tilted her head to the side to better listen to the faltering tune emerging from some unknown source.

"Do you know the song?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation light.

"I know most songs," he says with a small, almost sad smile. "I probably won't know names or most lyrics, but the tune.."

He leans across the table, minding to keep his elbows off but his forearms on. Smiling wildly now, he brushes aside all of the heavier topics, focusing in on the happier. Anything to avoid remembrance of the last time they talked.

"You ever have any cool talents you have no explination for? Like with me and music. I feel like.. like I'm cheating, somehow. Because I know all this - I know it - and it'd take a regular person their whole life to just learn it all. And all I did was wake up one day and hold a guitar, and suddenly I'm some musical genius."

He sits back, his hands still on the table. Even like this, the height difference is noticable, but if he continues talking, he can at least block out the mishap of age from affecting anything. He keeps the smile, eyes glimmering through messy red hair.

Chandra glanced away at Dare's words. Her inborn talents weren't exactly the stuff of polite conversation.

But if she couldn't be herself, what was the point?

Looking carefully down at the surface of the table, where she had now laid her hands - both palm down and still, Chandra let her hair fall down in front of her face a little.

"That is a wonderful skill Dare. I'm sure you make some very beautiful music."

Music she would love to hear. Or to particpate in, the way they had on a couple occasions when they both were younger - and softer. But time moved on, and they'd changed. Perhaps too much.

"My skills tend to be a little less useful. I can sometimes see the color of a person's soul - whether the choices they've made have been good or bad - and I can feel when a person has died somewhere or if they are about to die."

Her voice trailed off into silence. She knew this would make him uncomfortable and maybe he would leave, making her efforts to wean him from his companion earlier in vain. But she couldn't be something she wasn't - even if it meant having Dare around more.

It was something he's always known but never really understood, something that dug and buried itself away in the depths of his knowledge. But now, with it open for conversation, it unavoidably surfaces.

As she trails off, he pauses briefly before kneeling in the seat, effectively raising himself to a decent height now. Reaching his hands across, he braces himself for hers; if memory serves him right, and things haven't changed too greatly, they'll still be cold.

He bites into the inside of his lower lip before choosing his words carefully. "I'm sure my experiences aren't comparable to yours," he starts, "But there's a trait I've got - if you can call it that - and I've had it ever since I can remember.."

His eyes flicker to the side, catching on some sort of movement. It isn't a threat, merely a person changing seats, but he's on the edge as it is. She can be anywhere.. His green eyes move back into place on hers, but he can't help but to lower his voice.

"Files. The newly dead, s'what I've guessed them to be.. I don't know. But I've held them, and I could see their memories.."

A chill runs up his spine, as if someone is dragging an ice cube up it. No, no, it's only his overworked imagination..

"The newly dead," Chandra said slowly, raising her eyes so she was truly looking into Dare's.

It was a bit of a shock to meet his eyes and she realized in that moment that she almost never really looked into someone's eyes. She feared what she would see there - what they thought of her and perhaps what she thought of them.

"I see," was really all she could muster. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry, that having to see the memories of people you didn't know anything about except that they were dead had to be heart wrenching - but she didn't really have experience with finding words for such emotions.

She tried again, her eyes most likely giving her away.

"It must be tough, seeing lives you know have already ended. It is nice that you have the music."

He slides back into his seat, his fingers dragging along hers on his way back. This wouldn't be so awkward if.. he mentally sighs.

"Sometimes it's horrible. If I get the choice, I never want to touch them. I guess.. I guess it'd be even harder if it were someone you knew, right?" His voice is almost searching for reinforcement, though half-heartedly due to his knowledge of how well Chandra can express emotions.

Brushing back stray red hair, he pushes aside manners and rests his elbow on the tablet, and his chin in his fist. "What happened to us, Chandra? Were we doomed from the start, or did I just mess us both up somehow?"

He pulls at his shirt lightly. Maybe it's just me who always will be messed up..

Chandra lets Dare's hands go without any attempt to keep them. Even though mentally she craves that sort of affection, physically it isn't particularly comfortable. It is simply a reminder of the warmth of the living, a trait she has been denied and one she cannot hide.

"Would it be?" she questioned, leaning back in her chair. "At least if you knew the person, you would have a framework within which to place the memories. You might even share some of them. I would like less the memories of those I did not know, for their life and memories are alien to me. What if their memories somehow slipped into mine?"

Lost in her thoughts, Chandra is startled by Dare's question. Her normal reluctance to speak is bypassed by shock and she blurts something out.

"Doomed? Just because something is not easy does not mean it is impossible. And not to be rude," she says, calming a bit, "but I doubt you have managed to mess anything up past the point of repair."

Dare slides his arms into a crossed position, his chin now resting in the middle. He resembles most a depressed child, though he's mostly just in a troubled thoughtfulness. He kicks his legs gently in the air, forgetting that it could actually be fun to not have your feet touch the floor.

"Maybe. You've always been the intelligent one," he remarks, a sad smile following. He gives her a glance as he does so, quickly resting his eyes on the chair behind her as they fade out of focus. "With everything that's happened, though, it just seems like I've been given two choices-"

He extends his hands, holding them slightly apart and on their sides, palms facing one another.

"- Door one and door two. And every time I had to make the decision on my own, I've picked the wrong door."

He nestles back into his folded arms, finding slight comfort in it. "I hope you're right," he finally says, closing his eyes briefly. "And that you can forgive me."

All the while, his legs kick and sway in the air, and they too inhabit a sort of rhythm to them, as it seems that through most of the things Dare does it can be calculated like a familiar song..

Chandra pounces on a particular phrase, sitting up again. Dare has found a sore spot, probably without realizing it.

"Forgive you?" she said, her eyes narrowing. "Why would I need to forgive you? What have you done?"

And if you're going to so do something, she added mentally, why don't you just warn me now.

Dare raises his head wearily. "You can't tell me you've forgotten how badly I treated you last time.."

He drops his head again, rather disappointed with a mix of alarm. "Or maybe you have, I don't know. The world's full of surprises."

Kick, kick..

"Oh," Chandra said, sitting back again. "Well, yes of course I remember. But I would not have verbally sparred with your friend Truth if I did not wish to speak with you. It would have been much easier to walk away."

On several levels, she added to herself with a mental sigh. The silent part of this conversation was getting to be pretty heavy.

Crossing her legs under the table, Chandra stretched her pale hands out in front of her on the table and spread her fingers wide.

"I would not have been upset by the way you treated me if I did not care for you. Since I do, it is easy to forgive you and hope that you will not act that way again."

"Did you expect something else?"

He brushes by this quickly, not really wanting to know a true answer. Sometimes there's no line for him between what's said aloud and what's in his head, and from the amount said in his head so far it was bound to happen.

Raising up so he's slouching a little less, Dare is now leaning on both fists. "I was upset, too, and for pretty much the same reason. But now I know.. it really doesn't make a difference if I try and protect people. People get hurt all the time, and hurts often make them stronger."

He doesn't notice, or at least doesn't mind, that his speech is slowly slipping back to a child's level. Perhaps that's what was meant all along; for Dare to come to a realization, to take a step back and learn something he'd missed all along. It is the baggage that comes along with allowing your self to feel and experience that may make the difference, but when you fast track yourself you tend to miss the big picture. And this he now knows.

Chandra shrugged, she was quickly reverting back to the safety of an impassive mask.

"You can assume my forgiveness, unless I tell you otherwise."

It was a bit more of a blanket staement than she had intended, but it conveyed the intended sentiment. He had a bit of a special pass in this department, having been around for so much of her life.

"One act of ... unkindness ... will not erase the memories and emotions of my childhood."

Many such acts, however, would merit a rather special sort of revenge. She grinned seriously, baring a tiny bit of the small fangs she had had since infancy, but then comforted herself with the notion that revenge against Dare would never become necessary.

Pushing back a wispy strand of hair, she slouched unconciously in her seat - putting her on more comfortable social footing with Dare.

"People have to walk their own paths. You can influence them," she explained slowly, parroting her earlier conversation with Lafe's guardian. "but they ultimately choose for themselves. It is a lesson I am still struggling to apply to my life."

He bobs his head in a nod. That's acceptable, he figures. And it certainly could have been worse. He catches sight of the grin, trying not to think too hard about this, especially at the sight of her fangs.

"What're you struggling with, Chandra?" he asks, shifting the conversation slightly. All this attention on his self, especially with weeks of concentration on not being an individual, sets him off uneasily. "I don't think I've ever seen you not sure with yourself."

He finally stops moving his legs, instead tracing a finger along the chip of the table to busy himself. Dratted childish attention span..
Her eyes widening a bit, Chandra reaches into her cloak and pulls out the key she has now been shackled to for the rest of her (short?) life.

It looks to be made of brass, but a long time ago. It isn't that anything about it says age, it simply isn't as shiny as metal should be. The handle is unnecessarily ornate and set into it are two pieces of amber that could be eyes if one thought about it too much. The key part of it is deceptively simple however, in contrast to the handle.

She holds it up, so Dare can see it and twists it around in her hands. She isn't sure he can touch it and be un affected, so she keeps it out of reach.

"Someone," she starts, with a heavy sigh "killed Kiran so that I could use this. And once I did," she screws up her face in dislike, "my soul was bound to it. Eventually, if I do not discover a way to reverse it - the key will swallow me."

She looks up as the elderly waitress coughs impatiently and holds out a cup of tea. Chandra didn't hear the woman approach, which was odd since she shuffled along heavily - but she tucked that information away without processing it.

The tea cup, which Chandra takes gingerly, is chipped in several places and has obviously been cleaned in hot water so many times the pattern has virtually faded away.

Without comment, the woman turns next to Dare.

Dare sits up properly, taking his glass of water from the woman. It's slightly discoloured, or at least he can hope that it's merely the glass creating that illusion. Forcefully, he smiles at her and thanks her in a quiet voice.

Setting the glass on the table, he again kneels to bring himself higher, peering down at the water curiously. Well, it's.. interesting.

"Will that be all?" he hears the woman croak almost directly into his ear. He should probably take a sip of the.. water.. just to be polite about the woman's efforts.

He slides back down into his seat, taking the glass with both hands and sipping with a nod. Setting it down, he swallows quickly. "That's all from me," he assures her.

Only after this does he notice the strange aftertaste left behind, trying hard not to screw up his face in dislike. The conversation, which he'd love to press further, becomes hazy in his short term memory after this taste; instead, it is filled with thoughts on what he assumed to be water..

"Yes, of course." Chandra says dismissively as the woman turns to her and then looks in concern at Dare, who is making an interesting face. As the woman shuffles away with a frown on her face, Chandra leans forward across the table.

"Are you ok?"

"Mhm," Dare murmurs, lips pursed. Well, that was the most interesting water he's tasted. To push aside concern, he regretfully takes another sip. It takes obvious effort to swallow this time, the water touching his tongue longer this time.

Once it's down, he takes a deep breath and shakes his head just enough to get rid of the hair in his eyes. "So this key, it's really dangerous, huh?" he asks quietly, with a hint of hateful concern. "Does it do anything specific, or have you not found out yet?"

Keeping her eyes carefully on Dare's face, Chandra unclenches the hand with the key inside and tucks it quickly back into her cloak.

"Besides eating souls?" she said with a grimace. "It allows one to enter the final stage of Death and then return, possibly even bringing someone back into Life with them."

She bowed her head and picked up her tea between both hands. The steam rising off the surface of the liquid was comforting and the smell of spices, however weak, steadied her a little. Her ability to taste and appreciate such things meant she was still alive, still able to feel.

"Had I known, I would not have ventured through the door the key opens. I do not believe that anyone should be able to cheat final judgement."

Dare frowns, finding himself gripping the sides of his seat for balance. He waits until his eyesight is steady again, as well as for her to finish explaining, before opening his mouth again.

"That's an awful lot of responsibility for one key.. and one person," he comments, murmuring unknowingly. If she watches close enough, his eyes obviously are having trouble focusing on anything in particular. Still, he insists to repeat to himself that it's only water, and anything else is just psychological. "I don't think that seems right, neither. Someone.. someone prolly tricked you for that to happen.."

Her back to the pair, a slightly disguised Truth gingerly sips on her martini. She keeps her ears open for anything unusual in the conversation, though finds it hard at their volume and at her distance to keep up. Still, she can't exactly risk getting caught, and has had lifetimes of practice blending in, so she isn't so worried about this. The part that worries her is Chandra, but it isn't as if she'll come around to admitting it.

Caught up in her own worries again, Chandra only barely registers the fact that Dare appears to be slipping away.

"I was tricked," she admits. "But I do not know by whom. Or how."

Taking a long sip from her tea, and then closing her eyes as the warm liquid filled her mouth with a comfortable burning sensation - Chandra thought about all the usual suspects.

"Perhaps it was simply fate," she with grudging despair. "Do you ever feel like you are moving towards something and that the more you try to run away - the closer you get?"

She looked Dare in the eyes finally and then frowned, noticing he didn't appear to be focusing on anything in particular.

Reaching out for the table to stabilize himself, Dare continues to carry out the conversation, slurring his words slightly noticably. "Yeah, I know what that's like. Fate can.. can be real tricky, like you're on a con..conveyer belt and you keep walking, but you don't go anywhere. S'same, kinda.. 'cept.."

He finds that the closest thing to him is easiest to focus on, and ends up seconds later finding himself with the glass to his mouth, taking yet another horrific sip. And down it goes..

Shivering gently, his eyes are bleary when he raises his head again. "Can I sit next to you?" he asks, his voice quiet and pitiful. His lower lip quivers as he wraps his arms around himself, tugging the sleeves of his jacket over the base of his hands. "I don't feel so good."

A pair had been moving, making their way out when Chandra and Dare last spoke, blocking Truth's range to listen in. With an annoyed sigh, she rummages in her handbag for a pocket mirror, angling it in order to view Dare. She frowns at the sight of him, wondering what she might have said or done to make him react like that, defensive qualities rising.

It could be nothing, she argues with herself, though the mirror remains in her outstretched hand with Dare's small reflection in view.

Her eyes widening both in alarm and because she can see better in the hazy room if she does so, Chandra stands and moves over to the edge of the table. She leans down to look Dare in the eyes and puts the back of one hand on his forehead.

"I think you are ill," she says with concern and a genuinely worried look on her face. "I do not know what to do with ill children. Are you going to throw up?" she asks finally, horrified.

He laughs oddly, eyes closing as he sways forward. He pales rather quickly. "No," he assures her, falling against her shoulder before finding the energy to pull himself back up. Blinking rapidly to remain conscious, he pushes the coat up over his chin.

"Take me with you," he sighs softly, a distant smile on his face. "Take me back then an' I'll do it all different.. only," he inhales heavily, grasping her arm with fading strength, once again falling forward, "here to be with.."

And there, fading off in speech, he falls unconscious, sliding forward with nothing to keep him sitting upright anymore.

Truth catches only Chandra moving around the side of the table, shuffling her chair to the side to get a better angle for her mirror. In doing so, a man passing on this side knocks into her hand, the mirror slidding to the floor and bursting into pieces. Truth perks up, her gaze snapping up at the man.

"Sorry, missy," he apologizes, swirling the contents of his drink. "That be seven years bad luck, thar.."

"I realize that, sir," she retorts with an agitated sigh.

She clenches her teeth, giving a quick glance back at Chandra and Dare - still only her back. Oh well, it can't be anything important, she assumes, swooping down to gather the pieces of the mirror up. Being very superstitious as she is, she'll have to bring every piece to her friend Marc.. She growls, keeping her irritated gaze concentrated on the pieces of glass as she gathers them up.

"Take you where?" Chandra whispers quietly, while gathering Dare up in her arms. She isn't strong, but he really isn't that heavy either - amd she hefts him up so she can lean him against her hip while holding him. "I'm supposed to take you home - only I don't know where that is and you do."

With an irritated look around, Chandra starts back to the stairs slowly. Maybe some fresh air would help?

Dare flinches as he's raised, but is otherwise lifeless. He weighs far less than one would assume, the number of layers a ploy to make him seem a little bigger in size.

Piece by piece, Truth assures herself that she's got every one and that with them the mirror can be repaired. Patting the piecs in her pocket, she raises off the ground and seats herself, fingering the martini glass between her fingers. Stealing a glance at the table, she nearly spits out her sip at the sight of empty chairs.

Scrambling, she tries frantically to scan the room. She couldn't have made off with him! Impossible! She should never have taken her eyes off of that thing for an instant around him.. Raising from her table, she slaps down the amount owed, determined to persue them - they could not have gotten very far in that amount of time.

Back outside, Chandra feels uncomfortable carrying Dare - not only because it's Dare, but because she probably doesn't look like his mother. Someone is bound to question the fact that she's running around with an unconcious child eventually and she really isn't sure how she is going to answer the questions that will be raised.

She looks up and down the alley, wondering what to do next. She could take Dare home, but that involves a bus ride and the assumption that Kam is in one of her lucid episodes. She could take him to a hospital, but surely they'd ask questions too? Maybe they'd be easier to answer...

Turning to make her way back out to the sidewalk, Chandra looks for someone who looks like they might know where to find a hospital.

Dare swivels in her arms, leaning into her in a feverish fit. A hand manages to grip at Chandra's arm, and he mumbles something unintelligable before growing still again.

Bursting out the doors, Truth bounds up the steps, her heart rate increasing considerably. "Surely she doesn't know how to fly or turn invisible, or something stupid like that," she hisses under her breath. She doesn't want to have to rely on teleportation, seeing previously how it raises eyebrows and attracts much more attention than it's worth.

"I should have seen this coming. Never, ever trust the ones they've been long friends with," she groans, sprinting forward and into the crowds of the streets.

A police car rolled by slowly as Chandra searched among the rows of faces, but she decided against approaching. The cop would want to know what happened to the child.

Frowning, she tried to still Dare's arms without overbalancing him in her arms.

"Quiet Dare, I am attempting to get us assistance."

Ah, there - a pregnant teenager with multiple piercings. She would likely know a source of cheap, and mostly anonymous health care. Approaching the woman carefully, Chandra attempted to look less threatening by allowing her worry to show through a little.

"Excuse me," she said carefully to the young woman. "Do you know of a clinic nearby? My... brother is sick."

He goes still and silent anyway, as if he could hear her request that he does.

Stepping up on her toes, Truth attempts to raise her head above the crowd in search of Chandra. Dare would be harder to spot, being the shorter and more concealed of the two. She falls back on her heels and continues forward, looking left and right for any sign of them.

"I've got to be the worst Ranger," she mutters, dodging a man busying himself on his cell. "Can't even keep track of my own stupid Case."

The young woman gave Chandra and Dare a suspicious look, but appeared to decide that there was no harm in directing them to somewhere they could receive medical assistance. The beauty of being in this sort of neighborhood, Chandra mused - all walks of life converged here.

"Up a couple blocks and then left for one," she said, playing with her nose ring. "They'll take cash, no names and all."

And with a final look at Dare, she was off into the crowd again - blending in remarkably well for having bright red hair.

"A couple blocks," Chandra whispered to the top of her burden's head. "I am reasonably certain I can make it that far."

Hefting Dare higher on her hip, Chandra took an immediate left. It would be easier to spot this clinic if she were on the right street.

Fingers curling around material of her sleeve, Dare feverishly coughs, doing so for no more than a few moments before settling down again.

Ducking aside, Truth growls under her breath. This is no good. For all she knows, they could have gone the other way. She conceals herself in the nearest alley, black hair swishing forward in front of her face. Closing her eyes briefly to reflect upon something, she opens them as she presses herself against the brick wall. Palms pressed into the brick, she sighs softly.

Her body disappears much like a sand would, the wind brushing at it and making her vanish in soft swishes of tiny particles. The process takes no more than a blink for a regular person, but if one is fortunate enough to keep their eyes open they would catch a glimpse of this marvellous process. And with that, Truth steps the boundaries of this world and another..

Make no sudden movements
And no one need get hurt

Maybe it was him being grateful, or just nostalgic, that found Dare walking the familiar path to the Legend Headquarters. He'd often come from the side, the same direction his old home had been, a place he'd sworn never to see again. But fields beyond the screen of trees, he knows it's still there, along with those he left behind inside.

Hands deep in his pockets, he kicks a stray rock up the path, stopping before the steps. The weather's alright today, why go inside? he reasons, trying especially to talk himself out of it. He'd promised to leave them with the last impression he gave, and nothing more, so showing his face now would spoil the slightly younger and more naive Legend image he'd fit months earlier.

He stands by himself, full teenaged height again, concentration fading and eyes hazing over, blurring the vision of the large doors in front of him.

"Why?" Zayne whined, dragging her heels as Chandra mercilessly tugged her along. "I want to stay home!"

Pausing for a moment and pulling her younger sister closer, so she could speak to her quietly, Chandra sighed.

"Mother said to take you out. You need more socialization or you'll become odd - like me." The Legend shrugged. "You are a bit odd."

Then, without another word, Chandra turned and continued up the sidewalk to the HQ, still dragging her protesting younger sister behind her until she gets close enough to see someone standing on the front steps.

Oh, she thinks to herself. Oh dear.

"Why are we stopping?" Zayne whined again, more loudly this time. "I'm burning in the sun. I'll get freckles!"

Hearing nothing, Dare shrugs his jacket higher on his shoulders, though having no reason to even wear one in the summer heat.

No one's probably even here. There's no danger in going in if no one's there. But- there's always the chance someone is. Isn't it nearly every time I come that someone, new face or old friend, is behind those doors?

Taking a few steps backwards with his vision fading back in to clarity, Dare turns around to leave the way he came. It was a mistake to come, anyway. But he stops suddenly, rubber soled shoes digging into the path's gravel, at the sight of who has caught him.

"Chandra," he breathes, obviously much more alert having been caught off guard. He nods in greeting, averting his eyes immediately to the grass.

"You should have brought an umbrella," Chandra said, not looking at her younger sister. Her grip tightened as she noticed Dare wasn't meeting her eyes, and then she suddenly dropped Zayne's arm. "Hello Dare," she said, neutrally. "You look like you are feeling better."

Looking back and forth between Chandra and Dare, Zayne pouted noticably. No one was paying attention to her. "Who is he?" She asked petulantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm feeling a lot better, too," he adds, nodding carefully with hopes that she'll get what he means without him having to say it. With the voice of Zayne drawing his attention, his face switches to confusion, quickly masked by curiosity.

Crouching down, he offer her a hand and a bright smile. "M'name's Dare. And you are..?"

Suddenly smiling graciously, Zayne extended a hand to just barely touch her fingers to Dare's delicately.

"I am Zayne. Chandra's younger sister." She looked back up at Chandra for a moment to give her a predatory smile, before looking at Dare again.

Raising her eyebrows, Chandra chose not to react to Zayne's look. Crossing her arms over her chest, she debated what she could even say to Dare at this point.

"Sister!" he exclaims cheerfully, perhaps too much so. "Well, that's great. Chandra never told me about a sister. You're a lovely young lady, Zayne!"

Standing up, he brushes his fingers above his right eyebrow, dragging hair with him. Biting the inside of his lower lip, he adjusts to looking down at Chandra again, whereas before.. well. He wished that could be stricken from memory.

At Chandra's silence, he smiles weakly, stepping aside. "Well, I was.. about to leave, really. I could stay and keep you two company but I'm sure you probably have plenty of other activites planned that don't need me intruding in on."

Stepping lightly out of Dare's jacket pocket, Risk the sleepy mouse shakes his head, dropping in a freefall towards the ground. At what seems to be the last moment, he grabs hold of a pant leg, scurrying the rest of the way down himself and making a straight path towards the younger of the two females, nothing more noticable to someone of a greater height than a rabbit in the field or butterfly in the air.

Having lost his attention, Zayne loses interest in Dare immediately. Leaning over a bit, she brushes methodically at her skirt - brushing out invisible wrinkles.

"Oh," Chandra said, finding herself a bit out of words suddenly. "No, we had nothing planned." Searching for a reason to keep Dare around, Chandra looked down at her toes. "You look nice, all grown up."

It was not what she meant to say and mentally she kicked herself before overcompensating.

"I didn't mean that," she said, looking up again and blinking at him. "You are always making me say the things I intend to keep silent."

Laughing quietly, Dare is clearly amused at this. "Do I, now?" he inquires in faux-disbelief. "Everything about you is up in the air, Chandra, so I don't exactly know how to take that."

Scurrying around Zayne's ankles, Risk chatters to himself quietly, speaking a slew of English and his native tongue. "Shinies?" he mutters, looking for a way to climb up onto her, darting quickly here and there in an overly hyped motion. "Find more shinies, yes, trade you, yes, manythingsmanythings - all shiiiiny!"

Sapphire eyes widening in wonder, Zayne kneels carefully, her bracelets clinking as she moves and peers at him. "Shinies?" She questions him, "What are shinies?"

"Up in the air?" Chandra asks slowly, coloring slightly. She is unfamiliar with the expression and unsure how to take his tone. If only she could truly rid herself of this concern for his well-being and opinion. "I do not know how to take you. I worry about you when you are not present and I wonder whether you think about me."

Leaning forward slightly, she lets her hair shift forward and screen her face.

Grinning wildly, the mouse puffs out his chest, jacket jingling. "Shinies!" he shrieks shrilly, pawing excitedly at the bracelets but not managing to touch them with his small height.

Grabbing a hold of his tail, he jitters and nips at the air, tasting it. "Shinies pretty, yes, reFLECT sunnysunsun, YES." He coughs, reaching into his jacket to pull out a stolen ring, sliding it between his two paws and holding it high above his head triumphantly. "Shinies. My shinies, not yours. Mine. Mineyes, unless trade for better shinies." He licks his lips and gives her another grin.

Taking this as an odd sort of confusion contest, Dare steps forward towards her, hands returned to his pockets. "That's sweet of you, Chandra. Dunno why you'd do it, s'only me and I'm not a big worry.." Olive green eyes moving to the left, pretending he saw something elsewhere, Dare seeks a distraction to not allow himself to get too involved in this conversation.

His eyes catch the light as he briefly looks back at her, expression softening as red hair brushes down and outlines both cheeks. "And if I do think about you? What's this knowledge worth to you?" He speaks quieter now, his tone visibly careful.

Fingering a bracelet with her right hand, Zayne gives the mouse's proposal some thought. Finally having made up her mind, she slips one of her silver bracelets off her arms and dangles it just out of reach. "What else do you have to trade?" She asks, whispering. "I don't wear rings."

"Worth to me?" Chandra looks up in confusion, wrinkling her brow so this emotion would be apparent. "I do not seek this information because it has some material worth to me. I just... want to know. I feel it would settle me to know."

Emptying his pockets, he, surprisingly, has a lot. Besides the ring and what he left behind in Dare's pocket, Risk shows her a dozen silver and gold necklaces, two beaded bracelets with shimmering plastic beads, and a good twenty-some-odd earrings, none seeming to match.

Visibly shaking, Risk eyes all of his valuables. "Shines, all shines, good shinies, look pritsy on girly likes you, yes. Yesyes." He nibbles on the end of his own tail, eyeballing the collection laid out at his feet for trading purposes.

Trying to hide the fact that he's enjoying this, Dare reaches over to her cheek and runs his fingers over her jawline. His face remains neutral until he brings his hand back to resting in his pocket. "This really isn't the place for me to open up to you and say so," he finally decides to say, disappointed in himself for settling on that.

Quickly, he masks that, gesturing with his hand to busy himself from making other stupid decisions. "If it'll bring peace to your mind, I'll own up to thinking about you quite a bit. How you're doing, what you're up to, if you're movin' on without me, where you are and if you're safe -"

He shakes his head slowly, but not in such a way to mean anything. "Sometimes I think about seeing you again, but it never ends up how I imagine it out. I always mess it up, one way or another." He coughs out a laugh. "I always tell myself then to just stop trying, I only set myself up for disappointment if I aim too high."

"Wow," Zayne breathed, surveying the collection of jewelry before her. Poking at a golden necklace she offered up one bracelet. "Fair trade," she said firmly, "Gold for gold."

Chandra moves back slightly, nodding. She has managed to arrange her face back into the mask it normally is, and has her breathing under control. She can't, however, look Dare in the face.

"Nothing ever ends up the way you imagine it," she says quietly. "Reality always gets in the way."

If only she had the ability to make him feel the way she does. To make him see the way his presence unsettles her and makes her feel unsure of herself and her intentions.

"You could try," she says finally, meeting his eyes with her own amber ones. "You could try to make it happen the way you imagine."

Risk raises an eyebrow, but nods greedily, shovelling away his loot. Once it's all gone, he nervously holds out the necklace in both paws. "Yours now. Shinies mine. Yours good, look nice on girl." He hiccups, licking his lips again with a glance at the bracelet.

Dare sighs in fake exasperation, revealed by the faint smile on his face. "Why not? I'm on my way out of town again, so if I mess things up again I can just be on my way, an' the only thing that'll bug me will be my conscious. An' I already know I can deal with that."

Ignoring his mind's screams to run away, Dare moves in and kisses her for a short time, long enough to drag his fingers down her neck.

He backs up immediately, head down with his hand rubbing the back of his own neck. "Sorry. I'd better be going, then," he mumbles, trying his best not to look at her, and especially not stay long enough for a reaction.

Nodding, Zayne holds out the bracelet in one hand while holding the other out palm up for her new necklace. "You know," she said with a malicious grin, "I have many more shinies at my house."

If Dare thought he could kiss Chandra and walk away, he really underestimated her. Blinking a couple times and then scowling, she snapped, "You think you can just kiss me and leave? If you plan to dangle this in front of me and then take it away on a whim - I do not want it."

Clenching her hands at her sides, she tried to breathe deeper - to calm herself down, but the kiss had unsettled her. She was feeling all warm and yet the pit of her stomach was cold - it wasn't unpleasant, but unexpected.

"I only want what you can freely offer me," she said finally. "I have no desire for another one-sided relationship, even if I am on the other side."

Risk's eyes widen, and he hugs the bracelet to his furry face. "More where? Give address!" he demands, stepping up on his toes with the help of his tail to keep balanced. "More shinies, always more shinies, trades, yesyes, I go, I find, I come, yesyes.."

Swallowing sharply, Dare frowns deeply, eyes raising and peeking out from behind red hair. He fully intended to walk off, to not acknowledge her reactions, but she makes it perfectly clear that it'll do him worse that way.

Taking clenched hands in his own gloved hands, he tries to smooth his breathing. "I don't intend on having this one sided. I never did," he admits, though he suddenly wants to take that back. "I'm an unstable person. I don't know where I'll be ten minutes from now, let alone a week, a month, or a year. I'm sure you want something much more concrete than anything I could offer an' provide."

"I can take you there," Zayne promises. "Why don't you ride in my pocket?" She kneels even lower and opens a pocket on the side of her skirt for Risk to climb in.

"I want you," Chandra says, pulling her hands away sharply. "I am not perfect, why would I ask that you be?"

Her mouth pressed together in a firm line, Chandra steps back from Dare and leans down to grab Zayne's arm - it's her turn to try and escape now.

"I am sure we will meet again, should we choose to or not."

Risk gains a dodgy look, but climbs inside, thrilled with the promise of more shinies. He's already exhasted his options at Dare's place, and he knows how to get back there once he gets bored of this one. "Yesyes," he chatters, sliding into the pocket with ease.

Dare holds out his arm in front of Chandra. "Oh no, you're not leaving that easy if I couldn't," he states firmly. "I don't want to leave this up to another chance meeting that we're brought together again."

He holds his arm there for a few more seconds before dropping it. "But I sure as hell can't stop you. Go, if that's what you think is the best solution to this.. whatever it was." It's difficult to read into this, with Dare keeping his voice as neutral as possible, though shakiness does leak in. His face is also lowered and mostly covered by red hair, blocking out his expression from her direct view.

Delighted, Zayne stands and then pets the pocket containing her new toy. "We're gonna be good friends," she whispers to the inhabitant. "I'll give you lots of shinies."

With a sigh, Chandra remains - but is clearly reluctant to do so. She leaves Zayne to whatever the odd girl has managed to amuse herself with and looks back at Dare.

"Whatever this is?" She raises an eyebrow at Dare. "I thought we were friends. As far as I have seen this has not crossed into anything more. I have entertained the hope at times that it might be something else - but it is not."

Risk chatters softly, rubbing the new shiny to his furry face. "Yesyes," he croons, running small paws over the shiny. "Lotsofshinies."

"Is it?" barks Dare, eyes flashing as he looks up quickly. "Friends just, kiss each other all the time, that's what you're saying. Are you giving up on that hope? Did I do something wrong - again?"

Frustrated, Dare pulls back his hair with both hands pressed to his head, growling. Taking a step backwards he holds out his arms. "If you're not going, I am. I didn't come here for this; I don't even know why I came here at all."

Sneaking a hand into her pocket, Zayne offered her new toy a piece of cookie she had stashed in the other pocket. "Want some cookie? Mommy makes them just for me. Not for Chandra, oh no."

"We do not kiss eachother all the time," Chandra said reasonably. "And I never said I gave up hope. It is just that things come between us - or one of us leaves. We are not in a place where this works correctly." She shrugged, trying to be less concerned about the situation. "Someday it will."

"But go," she said, kissing her palm and then darting in to lay it quickly on his forehead. "You clearly have places you would rather be."

Cookie? That's the second best word, next to shinies!! Risk pokes his nose out the pocket, nodding furiously and greedily gobbling down the piece offered to him. "You's best, cookies and shinies, goodexcellentyumyum SHINIES." He hiccups the last word, thoroughly licking his paws.

He touches her outstretched arm, feeling his fingers brush against the material of her sleeve. "I don't consider any place more preferable than where I can be with you," he barely chokes out, eyebrows furrowed. He's worked up, unsure now whether to lean more to the angry or sad feelings rushing up and opposing each other violently.

Brushing his fingers over hers, he pulls away from her so that her hand falls with his. Mentally capturing this image of her, he turns and walks away, shoving his hands away into his jacket pockets, eyes on the dirt and gravel beneath his feet.

I won't look back, I won't.