Somehow the rest of the world kept spinning as though nothing had happened. As though dozens of people got trapped inside mirrors for who knew how long, and ended up running for their lives as that magical space broke apart. How many of them actually made it out, Peter didn’t know.
But what he did know was that he managed to find his friends who’d been stuck inside the mirror with him. And one more that hadn’t been with them, but had gotten stuck by herself. They were all injured with varying degrees, although thankfully not to the point of needing to be taken to the hospital, all exhausted, all scared.
Or at least Peter had been scared. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d been terrified of what could have happened to them. They had been lucky to make it out.
Pulling them all to the side and powering down without anyone seeing wasn’t too difficult. Figuring a way to fit in his car was a little more complicated. Briar was in the front with him since he was taller than the others, while Benji, Raleigh, Kirra, and Vi were in the back. He didn’t bother calling ahead since it was late and his brother was probably already asleep, but it was the safest place he could think of going.
“This is my brother’s house,” Peter explained to his friends as he waited for them to get out of his expensive dark blue car that he parked in the driveway of the surprisingly modest looking suburban house. “He and his husband are like us. They have magical identities, I mean.”
He only felt partially guilty for outing his brother and Caspian without their permission, but this was one of those situations in which his friends needed to feel comfortable after the ordeal they went through. Peter still had the gash down his arm to take care of, and he walked with a slight limp to the front door from another injury. The cut above his hairline that covered part of his face with blood seemed to have stopped bleeding for the moment. He didn’t have all the necessary medical supplies at his dorm for this many people, so of course he would go to his brother for help.
“I know we’ve got a big air mattress in the closet. And we can pull a mattress off my old bed. And there’s the couches too. We’ve got enough room for everyone to sleep,” he said out loud, but mostly to himself, trying to make sure they would all be comfortable.
He knew he did not want any of them going home and having to deal with what just happened by themselves though.
Peter unlocked and pushed the front door open to let everyone inside. The living room was what greeted them, and beyond that was the kitchen. There was a bedroom on either side of the house and an extra bathroom for guests. Everything looked modern and clean, with more personal touches now that Caspian lived there, rather than look like it was straight from a catalog.
“I’ll get the first aid kit. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. There’s a bathroom over there, and there’s one in my bedroom too,” he directed as he went to the kitchen where the box of bandaids and other things were kept.
After having lived with him for a good few years, Michael had no idea why Peter would think it was a good idea to show up at his house in the middle of the night, with no warning, and with a bunch of teenagers. Waking up from nightmares was one thing, but waking up and hearing noises in the house when company wasn’t expected was completely different.
Michael pushed off the covers and practically jumped out of bed once his senses were alert enough to realize there were people in his house, and even though opening the bedroom door revealed that it was his brother was there and rummaging around, that didn’t explain why there were a handful of other kids there.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he hissed at Peter, who looked somethng like a miniature version of himself. Except for the eyes. While Peter’s was the color of liquid gold, Michael’s was that of a clear day's sky. “Do you have any idea what time it is?? Some people like to sleep-” he started, but came to a grinding halt when it finally caught up to him that his brother had blood all down his face and arm. And a quick glance at the other teenagers revealed that they weren’t much better off. Some worse.
“Seriously, you’ve got to stop this, Peter. Chasing after those monsters is going to get you or someone else killed. Don’t you even care that you’re risking your friends lives??” Michael scowled, knowing that Peter hand a tendency to be reckless, but he didn’t think his brother was so thoughtless and selfish that he would put his friends in danger for the sake of his research.
Quotes are in no particular order. Whoever feels like going first is welcome! Please let me know if you'd like me to edit anything or need clarification! <3
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Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:19 am
If there was one thing Caspian did not appreciate, it was being woken up in the middle of the night, especially considering that he was wearing nothing but one of Michael's oversized shirts and not much else.
He pushed himself blearily upwards, trying to shake off the dredges of sleep while Michael went thundering over to the bedroom door, Caspian swinging his legs over the side of the bed. There were voices on the other side, wavering in and out, most of them unfamiliar, but Caspian thought he heard Peter's and made a mental note to strangle him. Fumbling around in the dim light from the open doorway, he finally located his sweatpants and tugged them on, Caspian dragging himself out of bed.
His chest gave a small twinge at the movement, even after all these months. Caspian reached for the door and pulled it wider so that he could stand beside his husband, peering curiously into the living room where it seemed half of the Destiny City High School was currently camping.
"Wow, Peter, I didn't realize you were that popular."
It had taken emerging through the crystal-enveloped mirror to truly strike Oort that they were back–
Had taken hearing the night time sounds of the city for it strike home that they had really made it.
He had followed along when Oberon had pulled them all aside before powering down back to Briar and whilst he should have perhaps been more careful about it - on another night would have been more careful about it - tonight he found himself unable to care, his mind still caught up in the events that had just transpired.
Besides Euporie, Oberon and Chara all knew who he was anyway and whilst he didn't know Skadi quite as well and Vi not at all, the two of them were both welcome to the information too.
He had followed readily enough when Peter had pretty much shepherded them all into an expensive-looking blue car because he hadn't wanted to go home.
Because home would have meant trying to think on a cover story and Briar hadn't wanted to think about how he was going to go about explaining his injuries much less his disappearance to his parents.
They were probably going to ground him anyway - so one more night..
One more night wouldn't matter.
And he was still shaken up not only by the fact that he had come so close to dying but also by the fact that Euporie - that Kirra had somehow been dragged into the strange mirror world too and whilst he had been meaning to introduce her to Peter and Benji he had never wanted to do so like this–
Much worse was the way that it had looked like Kirra had had to go through everything alone because the two of them were partners - were partners from even before he had met Peter and Benji.
Partners - and he hadn't been there.
Briar's thoughts had left him to be silent in the front seat next Peter on the drive over, although he had slowly trailed inside after the others whilst surreptitiously trying to check if Kirra had any injuries before glancing over and taking in the visible signs of the injuries that the others had received.
Although he probably didn't look much better.
Peter had mentioned that the house belonged to his brother, but Briar had been too tired to think about the implications of that.
At least until an older version of Peter had turned up and started yelling at him and Briar had found that he had had enough.
Levering himself up to every inch of his five foot seven inches, he glared at the older and taller man "Leave him alone" he yelled. "You don't know anything" and stress and guilt made him more blunt than normal.
"Peter didn't make me do anything - I wanted to help."
Another glare, although he was shaking a little as continued "It wasn't his fault that the stupid mirror sucked us in or that the whole place kept breaking apart."
The appearance of a second, shorter man was for the moment went unnoticed as did his words as Briar repeated his voice quieter but no less insistent "It wasn't Peter's fault."
And perhaps there were tears pricking at the corner of his eyes, but Briar refused to acknowledge them.
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kuropeco
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LokisRose
Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 12:31 pm
As with so many things in live, Benji wanted nothing to do with these people around him. Sure, on a normal day he might have been willing, even eager to go somewhere with a few strangers and chat for a while, but having just tumbled out of ******** god knows where, he just wanted to go home. The dorm he came to know as home was small and shared, but he felt safe there, alone with only Peter nearby. And honestly, that's what he wanted. To be curled up next to Peter, clinging to him, and passing the ******** out. Probably not before crying his eyes out from the pent up stress and frustration and just sheer exhaustion he was facing.
But noooooo, that didn't seem to be the plan, and the moment that Peter mentioned it and everyone started to pile into his car, Benji bristled. He couldn't exactly allow himself to let out all these disgusting feelings with people around! Hell, he would have shouted about it as well if it wasn't for the fact Peter would have dragged him and thrown him into the car if he had even tried to walk away towards their dorm. And honestly, he didn't really want to be alone.. Not right now. It would have been sou much better had they gone to Peter's parent's house. Atleast he knew them, and they had seen him at his worst. And all that extra room would have even better, since he disappear and actually be alone in his ********... Maybe he would have arrived at the house in a better mood if he had sat up front with Peter, holding his hand like he had planned to do, but of course Briar had to have shot up to the sky in recent months, so it only made sense with him up front, leaving Benji squished in the back with a brunch of strangers. Well, not exactly. he vaguely knew Kirra. The other two, pretty boy Vi and Skadi, whose real name he didn't catch yet, just received unintentionally hateful glares, his gaze laced with irritation that they were the reason why he couldn't relax.
Benji wearily entered the house, already uncomfortable with being here. The talk of the extra beds and mattresses made him want to say he just was going to sleep in the bedless room that used to be Peter's, alone and away from everyone else. He never did well with people when nearly boiling with a mixture of rage and just anguish. Yet before he could, Michael showed up, and not long after, Caspian showed up behind him and his expression tensed further. They blamed Peter... Oh Gods, poor Briar... This just... It wasn't right..
"It's not his ******** fault, okay?!" He near shouted at them, a clear edge in his voice. "No one was expecting for some goddamn ******** mirror to suck us in! And we fought and were falling and we saw eachother ******** DIE so give us a break will yah?!"
Benji scoffed, he glare turning up to the older men who, for some reason, triggered more anger from him. Who the ******** were they to have been able to sleep soundly in their beds?! Who the ******** were they to come out here and judge them for showing up?!
"It's not like I wanted to come here in the first place, but we're here, we're ******** messed up, and I'm sorry we're ruining your ******** beauty sleep but give us a moment okay?!"
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 1:01 pm
Vi brought up the rear of the arriving group, keeping pretty well tucked and hidden out of sight for the most part due to his size in the same process. His sprained ankle hurt like none other, the sharp, searing pain making him nearly lose his breath each time he placed pressure on it as he followed along. But expertly he disguised his discomfort and pain, years of practice keeping his face from contorting from the usual gentle, and soft expression it held. Maybe he should have tried to create a makeshift brace of some kind while in the car...
He'd kept quiet as they all began to filter into the home, silver gaze peering with awe around the interior. Far better than his own rundown, rinky-dink of a home. The place was lovely, in his eyes! He listened for the most part, as a pair from inside greeted them, figuring they must be the married couple spoken of prior. A polite smile was given to them, but words didn't follow quite yet. There seemed to be some irritation being thrown back from both sides, causing Vi to remain silent for a spell, before contributing his own input. He didn't want to seem ungrateful, or make things any worse... but maybe he could help defuse the rightful frustration that was being given and taken.
But he was in the back.. and so small... Leaning a little, putting his weight on his good leg, he piped up, "I apologize for any inconvenience, but... we were caught up in something a bit out of our control. But I assure you Peter did nothing to cause what we got pulled into." control over his emotions was something Vi had grown adapt to from an early age, maturity hitting him earlier than most in that department. He could understand the elder brother being miffed, and felt guilty with his unannounced arrival. Maybe he could limp home when everyone fell asleep. At least one less person causing distress to the homeowners.
To further try and lighten the mood, his freckled little face bunched as he smiled more, "I promise we'll be on our best behavior, if you'd be so kind as to let us rest for a little while. I shall personally clean up any mess we cause, as well." hopefully that would help calm things down... tensions and emotions seemed to be very high, and the last thing anyone needed was more discord.
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2017 7:15 am
Kirra followed the older kids quietly into the unfamiliar house, keeping close to Briar. She’d never seen so many Senshi before. Oort had told her there were others, but there were so many others. It was overwhelming. But they were Oort’s friends, Briar’s friends. She was finally safe, even if her tummy was still trying to tell her she was falling.
She’d been grateful for a place in the car, squishy though it was. Settled between the older kids, she’d been too exhausted to ask questions or make friends. Weariness had settled over her like a heavy, scratchy blanket as she watched street lights whizz by in the window, nice and normal.
The worst bit, worse than being lost and stuck and alone, was the realisation that the long thin gash on her arm didn’t go away when she stopped being Euporie. The others were all bleeding too, and she’d got it on her uniform, but seeing the dots of red seep through her perfectly-ordinary-Kirra hoodie was much more disturbing than on her Euporie fuku. It didn’t hurt so much as sting, but it made her lip tremble to think about it, and it was her favourite hoodie and her mum was going to be mad she messed it up. She covered the cut with her right hand all through the car ride, and even now, as she stood awkwardly in the living room listening to people yell, she held her palm against her arm, pressing the fleecy sleeve over the wound.
A sleepover would have been fun, but now Briar almost looked like he might cry, and everyone was angry, and maybe they weren’t going to get to stay, and the Brother would make them all go back in the mirror! She couldn’t go home! She didn’t even know where she was, or which way was home. And the other boy, Benji, was using all kinds of bad words - but he said they died!
Tears sprang to her own eyes. She thought they were alive, but she remembered all the ghosties swarming around her. And she’d fallen such a long way.
Another boy volunteered to clean, and she seized on that to chase out the bad thoughts. She was really tired and just wanted to curl up and maybe have a hug and a cookie. But if they really needed to clean things before they were allowed to stay, she could do that.
“I can help too,” she chimed in, since everyone else was speaking up. “And I didn’t even know Peter until after the thing. So it can’t be his fault.”
“Thank you for driving me, Peter,” she added, belatedly remembering her manners, peeking around Briar to look at Briar’s friend. She gave him a little wave, in case he’d forgotten she was there, because the other grown-up was right, he did have a whole lot of friends, and she wasn’t sure if she was one yet, even if Briar was. But she couldn’t quite make a smile come. Her lip was too wibbly. If she tried, she thought the tears might get out.
How long had they been gone for? All she knew was that she was tired, hurt, and desperately wanted to power down and definitely not be anywhere near a mirror for a while. When Oberon had found her at the end of all of the chaos, there wasn't a chance that she would turn down his offer to spend the night with the entire group, rather than having to figure out a way to explain her absence to her parents and worse yet- her older brother.
She powered down after Peter had, because he he did it then it must've been safe for the rest of them. Squished between 3 others in the backseat, Raleigh closed her eyes and nearly dozed off on the drive, her head occasionally bobbing and then snapping back up any time they went over a bump or someone spoke. When they arrived at Peter's brother's house, Raleigh quietly slipped in behind everyone and as she was poking around the living room, she heard voices.
First they were quiet, then louder and angrier. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't Peter's fault, to come to his defense... But Briar spoke up first, yelling at the older boys who appeared to be less than impressed at their arrival. Benji jumped in next, and tempers and emotions flared all around her. Instead of chiming in herself, Raleigh shrunk and glanced around the room uncomfortably. She saw the younger girl, the tears in her eyes and lip wibbling and her heart ached for her. It was scary enough as a teenager, she couldn't imagine how overwhelming it must have been for Kirra. Her eyes shifted and noticed the red blossoming on her sweater, so instead of joining in on the yelling (or the offers to clean), she stepped close to the other girl and crouched to put a hand on her shoulder gently.
Leaning in, she whispered, "We'll make this a really great sleepover and I'll help you get your sweater clean and your cuts all better, ok?" She offered her a smile and glanced up at everyone else.
Hopefully all of the yelling would be over soon so they could like... Eat popcorn and watch a movie and sleep for like 10 days straight.
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LokisRose
Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 9:50 pm
Peter didn’t even have a chance to explain to Michael what they were doing. Both Briar and Benji were quick to jump to his defense, Benji a lot more confrontational than Briar of course, and sweethearted Vi offering apologies and compromises. Kirra also offered to help, and Raleigh seemed to try and make sure the younger girl wasn’t getting too upset.
He ignored Caspian’s comment, thinking it to be highly unnecessary.
“We needed a place to stay. I didn’t want everyone having to go separate ways after what happened,” he concluded, lifting both his hands, palms up, in a sort of half hearted shrugging gesture. “Didn’t you tell me to come to you if I needed anything? Well. I need something,” Peter said, before turning back to what he was doing and pulled out the first aid kit, leaving Michael to sputter dumbly at him.
“Benji, you’re good at this, aren’t you? Can you help me? I need to figure out if we have enough to get everyone patched up,” he explained, hoping that the task would distract his college roommate long enough to settle down, holding out the kit for him to take. “I know you’re angry, but it’s okay, I promise,” he said in a lower voice to his friend, knowing that the other teen was just upset for him.
“Raleigh, there’s a closet around the corner with the air mattress if you wanted to grab that. And sheets and blankets and things. Would you mind helping her, Kirra? Or would you rather rest for a bit?” he looked over to the two girls, but offered Kirra a small smile when she thanked him. “Any time. I’ll give you my number in case you need anything, okay?”
There was a moment that he waited until he caught Briar’s eye, and jerked his head towards Raleigh and Kirra, hoping he understood that if he wanted to make sure his friend was okay that he could do that now without causing any issues in getting everything situated.
“Vi, don’t worry about cleaning anything up on your own. We’re all doing this together, okay?” he said with his voice still low, knowing that his friend was likely to be feeling out of place. He felt bad for pulling them all there with him, especially when they didn’t all know each other very well, but he was absolutely certain this was better than being off on their own.
“Alright, the tall jerk is my oldest brother, Michael. If you need anything, he’s Sessrumnir of Jupiter. Wears stupid wings on his head. Dressed in green with a brown cape and big vial thing on a chain,” he introduced to the group, jabbing a thumb behind him at his brother, who looked as though he was not at all happy about being outed to a group of teenagers.
“The guy who tries to be a smart a** but fails miserably is Caspian, my brother-in-law. They might seem questionable, but I promise they’re both harmless and it’s safe here,” Peter said to his friends. “And if they’re not going back to bed, they know some first aid that might be helpful, but if it’s too much I’m sure we can handle this on our own.”
Being yelled at by a group of kids was not something Michael was all that thrilled about, nor was he happy by the way Peter turned it around on him as though he was breaking a promise or something stupid like that.
And even worse was his brother telling everyone his identity.
“What the hell, Peter??” he sputtered, his face flushing dark because he was both pissed and trying not to curse too loudly in front of a bunch of kids. There seemed to be one little girl there who was probably still in middle school.
Michael cast a glance to Caspian as if trying to say ‘can you believe this a*****e?’ before grumbling and pushing away from the doorway.
“There’s an even number here, so everyone should pair up to get this done faster,” Michael scowled, looking from one teen to the other, trying to decide which one would be the most likely to let him help them, or at least the most comfortable, before settling on the little blond with the silver eyes.
“Peter said your name was Vi?” he asked, trying not to let a growl slip out through his tiredness and frustration. “Where are you hurt? And don’t lie to me, I saw you limping. So either tell me everything now, or I’m going to be angry if I find out later that you left anything out.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 3:48 pm
Caspian's arms went idly around Michael's waist from behind, tilting his head to peer out at the goings on. The redheaded kid who was yelling received a single brow raise, Benji received an amused look, the soft, quiet spoken one who seemed to be the politest of the bunch, a pleased smile, and the two girls a gleam of mischief in Caspian's eyes.
"All right, all right, calm your ti - bum, Petey," said Caspian lightly, sliding out from behind Michael as his husband stepped forward. He came over to Peter first, looking up at him with a knowing glint in his eye, then reached out and patted his shoulder in a consoling sort of way.
"And I'll have you know, I don't fail at being a smart a**, I am both smart and and an a**, thank you," he added. "Also, since you just unceremoniously ousted Michael as Sessrumnir, I'm Eternal Sailor Remus of Regolith, which is basically a big word for moondust."
He moved over to the girls, Caspian reaching out a hand; and in spite of his general sarcasm and usual teasing, his voice was gentle as he spoke.
"Are either of you hurt? Do you need anything?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:37 am
It took a few moments for Briar to notice the shorter male peering out from behind the one that had yelled at Peter - in fact it wasn't until after Peter had pointed out the other as his brother-in-law that it sunk in that there was not one but two people there.
The other's raised brow was met with a glare, but tiredness meant that it was a half-hearted attempt at best, what energy that he'd had when yelling at the man that Peter had identified as his brother gone as he glanced away from the pair, his reddish eyes landing on Peter in time to notice the other jerk his head towads Kirra and the girl that Skadi had powered down to (Raleigh).
His shoulders slumped as in took in the stains seeping through the arm of her hoodie, although he gave the girl by her a grateful look as she leaned in and smiled encouragingly at his smaller friend.
His knowledge of first aid was pretty much limited to slapping on band aids and using anticeptic, but the red staining the sleeve of Kirra's hoodie looked like it was beyond band aids and more towards bandages territory.
He glanced over to Peter, intending to ask if he knew where the first aid kit was, because whilst he was scraped up, he knew that he wasn't hurt as badly as some of the others - and he didn't want to stand uselessly - but then the male that Peter had called Caspian was stepping over to the two girls and he knew that the other would be able to help Kirra much more than he could, a part of his mind tiredly noting the other's comment about being the senshi of moondust.
But he was totally going to sign up for a first aid class when he got the chance he decided - or at the least check to see if his school ran any classes. Because it was probably going to be a while before his parents let him go anywhere outside of school once he finally went home.
"No. I don't want to <********> help and I don't want to <********> be here." Benji was surprised at his own outburst. he couldn't explain it other than built up irritation rising to the top faster and faster than he had expected.
When was the last time he even slept...? That he couldn't remember, and he was surprised enough by the fact they managed to get him here at all. Yes, he had done it for Peter, he would always try to do things for Peter and Briar. They were the closests things he had to friends. And maybe, maybe, had this been his friend's parent's house, that blessed house that held him safe during the summer after s**t hit the fan, or even their own tiny dorm room, things would have been better. But it was stranger on top of stranger ontop of <********> stranger and, ********, he couldn't take it any more.
Let them think he was a spoiled child. Let them think he was just some shitty boy who couldn't work well with others, or some snotty nosed senshi who thought he could be alone all the time.
He didn't care.
He didn't give one single ******** about it.
"I'm going home." Benji wasn't in any sort of real pain or injuries, and between the remaining seven of them, he was sure they could figure out how to fix up one another. If not, then maybe one of the goddamn adults could take the more injured ones to the hospital. And did Peter really even need any help at this point? Probably not, given how fantastic he was at patching up all the injuries he had gotten before.
He wasn't needed.
He was never needed. And that nauseating mixture of exhaustion and self doubt and hatred welled up inside of him higher and higher and higher until... He was gone.
Out the door without another word, powered up, and out of sight before anyone could stop him.
There was no more time for this sadness and pain and licking of wounds from that ******** mirror battle. They were alive and no one was near death and there was plenty of others to coddle and tend to and care for one another. There was just no time for this at all. No, not with an exam coming up, and he had work in the morning.
Sorry guys! Chara's out! Feel free to HMU for 1-1 interactions with him, but for now, he can't handle this. Sorry! sweatdrop
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:45 pm
Raleigh's eyes moved from Kirra to Caspian as the older boy approached them, and she sighed heavily with relief at his offer to help. "Thank god..." she mumbled, because she clearly needed to take a first aid course sooner rather than later. Unsure of what to do and feeling incredibly unhelpful, she shook her head at Caspian but motioned in Kirra's direction.
"I'm okay, a few cuts and bruises but otherwise I got lucky. Kirra looks like she may need some patching up though," she said, her voice low and a little on the shaky side. She didn't like blood, let alone seeing her friends all banged up. When Briar came over as well, Raleigh took the opportunity to slip away and grab the air mattress from the closet that Peter had mentioned. She tosses a few blankets over her shoulder and hauled everything back over to the living room to stand next to Peter.
She watched, silently, as Benji spewed his profanities and stormed out of the house. She wanted to go after him but... Well, what good would she have been? They barely knew each other, and clearly he wanted to be alone. She swallowed, then looked up at Peter with concern in her eyes. Reaching up, she touched his arm gently and smiled, her bangs falling into her face and her blue hair a ridiculous mess outside of it's not-so-braided-anymore style.
Everyone was paired off and getting the medical attention they needed- Kirra and Briar with Caspian, Vi with Michael- Benji hopefully getting himself sorted out and doing okay elsewhere... Someone needed to make sure Peter was okay, since he was so busy tending to the rest of them.
"Are you okay? I know you wanna make sure everyone else is but you need to be okay too. Lemme help you get patched up, everything else is under control."
There was suddenly a whole lot going on, and Kirra was too tired to make sense of it.
The older girl with pretty Anna-Elsa hair was super-nice, she decided, nodding at both the promised sleepover and the offer to help clean up her clothes. She made it sound manageable. Raleigh, Peter called her. Peter was super-nice too.
“I can help,” she assured them both. Though a faint frown creased her forehead as she glanced at her arm again. It didn’t hurt that much, but sheets were white. How was she going to carry stuff without getting it all covered in blood too? She didn’t want to wreck their nice stuff!
Briar was watching her, and he looked so worried. She wanted to tell him that it was okay, that she was sorry for trying to patrol without him, and getting cut up - but one of the grown-ups was coming over. The less-tall one. ‘Sess’-something didn’t mean much to her, but ‘Sailor’ did. So she guessed he was a grown-up superhero, and not a scary stranger. With a glance at Briar and Raleigh for confirmation, she held out her arm to Caspian, displaying her bloodied sleeve. The fabric was stiff and starting to be more brown than red. She bit her lip as she tugged it back – it hurt like ripping off a bandaid. The gash underneath was long, but not very deep, the edges sharp like the glass that made them. It was pretty gross. She kind of wanted to just squish her sleeve back over it so she couldn’t look at it.
She turned her head away, in time to flinch as the door slammed. Benji left? But the sleepover!
…Were they all going to leave after all?
“Is he coming back?” she asked Briar, fresh panic making her shrill.
