That was the only reason why she was back at Alexander’s house barely three hours later, holding Katya like her life depended on it. Last time she was here Alex was trying to explain something to her, she got scared, and he let her go…As he should. He almost caused her to have a panic attack! What kind of big brother cousin does that?! Clearly one that wasn't thinking properly or thought it was fun to play a trick. THEN AGAIN, Abby knew deep down that her cousin was telling the truth three hours ago, and she was still scared. Oh, there was also the fact that Katya could talk and really wasn't considered a cat but a Mauvian, whatever that was. An alien cat thing…
But she was still…cute.
Blue eyes looked around for her favorite cousin [different from her brotherly cousin], hoping he would be around now that it was three hours later. “Where is Hudson?”
“Hudson is on the way, promise.” Because he never lied, something which Lorcan took advantage of every time they played chess or went out to gather energy. Lorcan knew that the art of getting the right answers was wording of the questions, because he would avoid and omit things if and when he could. He would also downplay things, because he didn’t think things were as serious as they were. There was an art to getting the truth from him….and Lorcan knew it.
Lorcan who he’d texted and asked to drop by as well, letting him know that Aberdeen was back and seeking answers…and cupcakes apparently.
At least this time the focus wouldn’t be on him, not really, and he wouldn’t have to answer questions about Rene or other things.
Katya had been somewhat surprised that Aberdeen had returned the same day, she had been expecting her to turn u p tomorrow or the next day, the girl had looked so surprised and upset by what was going on that she was certain they wouldn’t see her today. But here the girl was, petting her fur as she should, with Katya looking up at her with green eyes.
“”Keep petting me while we wait for Hudson and Lorcan to turn up.”
It was always when he was playing chess that Alexandre needed his assistance, by now Lorcan expected it and made his way over quickly after stopping for a moment at the bakery. He was already a bit ruffled that Alexandre had misstepped and now one of the younger cousins was aware of things. Stepping inside he saw the two shorter blonds and Katya. “Hello Aberdeen, Alexandre.” Nodding in kind to each as he walked over and pat Katya on the head. He quite liked the allergen free alien cat, she was at least reasonable and had any semblance of common sense compared to his older cousin.
“Ah this is for you, while we wait on Hudson.” Pulling the small bag from the bakery from behind his back, he offered it to Abby. “I wasn’t sure which you would like better so I got a few.” That done he shot an exasperated glare at Alexandre. He really didn’t think it was proper to even entertain the idea of bringing so young a cousin into this mess of things. Ignoring the fact he probably would have gone along with it in the past if Alexandre had come forward sooner.
“I assume you aren’t pleased with me.” He said looking up at Lorcan, able to read the other fairly well, tilting his head he brushed his bangs back and tucked them behind his ears. “She was rather demanding earlier, wanting to know what was going on and why she didn’t know. When I told her you and Hudson knew…well.” Lorcan knew Aberdeen, though perhaps not as well as he did, but he was certain the other could guess what their younger cousin had done when she didn’t get answers or get ones she liked. “You also know I don’t lie…so I told her the truth.”
“You asked me to cover your signature - you showed her.” Katya spoke up, already preening under the attention from Lorcan, and leaving Aberdeen’s lap in order to seek out the other male's attention. “Next time Alexandre does something stupid I’m going to stay with you for a while.” She stated, nodding her little head, she was certain of this because sometimes even she needed a break from Alexandre though she did care for the smaller male. She knew he was also going through a lot, more than anyone should, but she had a feeling things were going to work out. She didn’t know why but she felt like it would work out…somehow. It had to, he deserved it. He’d been through a lot already…once should have been enough.
“I also wouldn’t mind looking over the equipment you have in your clinic.” And perhaps improving upon it somehow.
Hux had been looking forward to spending time with Aberdeen, just having a simple time with his cousin while baking some goodies. And then he had realized they had run out of a few ingredients so he had left a message for Alexandre to let him know where he was heading out to, then ran to one of the stores he knew sold the quality he preferred. One does not use subpar vanilla when baking for family after all. Before he had finished however, he had gotten a message that Abby now knew about the war.
He had panicked a little bit internally, absolutely keeping the mental image of Alex corrupting him years ago on the spot when he had been exposed to it in its box of never touch, and could admit to speeding back home a little bit out of worry for how they both were taking it. When he walked through the door, grocery bags in hand, to see Alex, Abby, Lorcan, and Katya sitting there mostly calmly, he relaxed. “Sorry I’m a bit late.” He said with a smile.
Abby nodded at Lorcan in greeting, happily taking the baked goods, noting on a sugar cookie with a pleased humm. Katya left her hold during this time which made her a bit sad, but the sweets most certainly made up for the loss of the pretty cat. The conversation going on did remind her of one thing: “I did ask Lorry…To be fair, I came here because Teddy promised baking time today and he wasn't here so I called for Alexbee instead. I assume he was getting out of the shower cause he had on sweats but no shirt. I asked about the tattoos because memaw would not be pleased if she knew.” She took a nibble of a cookie, “Then I told him mom has heard things through her rumor wheel again.”
The smaller girl made a face that could be described as one word: Gross.
“She thought that Alex was living a rather flouncy life with different partners and I asked if he wanted daddy to handle who hurt him. Then he started explaining about a war, t-turned into someone different and then Katya started talking! I didn't know what to do!” She still thought she was hallucinating with Katya … Cats don't talk. She was about to continue when Hudson came through the door. Abby instantly stood up and marched towards the bigger cousin, reaching up to try and grab his collar, “Stupid bear! Why didn't you tell me you and Lorry knew about all this!?!” She attempted to shake him, turning her ire to Lorcan next, “Y-You too! You're lucky you brought sweets otherwise I'd be so so angry!” Nevermind that once again, she was not entitled to know everything her older cousins get into.
Lorcan was fine with Katya making her home in his lap again. “I’d be fine with that as long as you stay away from the medications and my chessboard.” He figured she would behave herself but he still had to say it, it was just habit at this point. Scratching her behind the ear, he looked up and waved at Hudson when they arrived. “I’ll let you take a look at some point but it will have to be over the weekend when my secretary isn’t there. She would be very confused if I had a cat around considering my allergies.”
“Aberdeen, he’s an adult and should have a bit more sense about him. It is true though, I joined after he showed up at my home looking like a wreck.” Narrowing his eyes at Alexandre as he kept petting Katya, it was really nice to be honest. “As for the rest, I won’t comment on that company he keeps but he full well knows my opinion on the french tart. Necessary evil or not I still don’t like it but at least they’re not involved with any of this.”
Looking back over as Abby looked over at him, he sighed. “It hasn’t been long for me, almost a month now but I’m still just the same, a medic and doctor for the family first. Though if he had come to me sooner I would have joined up to make sure he didn’t get patched together like some sort of rag doll. Seriously… what were you thinking Alexandre? I know what you said but still.” Shaking his head, he leaned back into the couch.
Of course Katya threw him under the bus, she did like Lorcan it seemed, as he listened to her he couldn’t help but laugh. He wasn’t offended by her wanting to spend time with Lorcan, specifically to get away from him, there were times he wanted to get away from himself as well. Alexandre also figured it wasn’t bad that Katya was getting more active, even if it was with his family, and Lorcan seemed to appreciate the mauvian as well.
“It’s fine Hudson, I know you like to grocery shop at those speciality places when you're doing things for family.” Or any sort of baking really but especially any baking for family. He wasn’t nearly as picky as his older cousin was, he went to the normal grocery stores like everyone else.
“You can put things away, if they need to be in the fridge or freezer, Hudson.” Before he joined in on the conversation properly. He knew Aberdeen would keep the secret, their family was good at keeping secrets, but he still didn’t like just letting her
“Your mom and a few of our other family members should not be discussing that part of my life in their little conspiracies. That is a bit…improper.” To have Aberdeen’s mother calling him flouncy didn’t bother him but it meant the whispers were out and about in the family and that he didn’t like, or appreciate, he’d wind up having to talk to someone about things at some point it meant. At least no one outside of their family knew or was whispering such things, and he knew her mother and the others would keep it within the family and in private. That was one good thing about their family.
“You can tell your mother, if it pleases you, that it was only one person and I’ve been away from them.” Lorcan knew that, he’d told him that and more, his cousin knew a lot about the reasons behind what Alexandre had been doing. “I told you what I was thinking Lorcan, even if you’d have done a far better job, I didn’t want to involve you in things. You had a lot going on at the time anyway. Med school is no joke, I java an officer I brought in who was going through med school at the time and it was draining on him. I wasn’t going to do that to you.” He also hadn’t planned to ever involve him and bring Lorcan in, wanting the other to enjoy life without knowing these things. “And there have been times I’ve very much felt like a rag doll, to be fair.” Shrugging a bit as he glanced to Hudson. “At least I had company in some of these things.”
Hux had caught the wave that Lorcan had sent his way and gave a quick smile of hello in return before turning his attention back to the upset teenager. He leaned back a little bit when Abby reached for his shirt collar and he gave her an apologetic smile. "I couldn't tell you and you were safer not knowing." Although that was debatable since not knowing didn't save civilians from getting caught up in the war, he wasn't going to say that part out loud any time soon.
Hux then looked over at Alex when he was addressed and gave a nod. "I'll be right back then once these are put away, won't be long." He side stepped Aberdeen and headed towards the kitchen though he paused briefly to shoot Alex a look at the others words that was partly apologetic and partly worried. “Only in some things, I wasn’t around for nearly enough of them though.” That said he finished heading to the kitchen and started to put away anything that needed to be temperature controlled.
Heh, French tart.
Abby sighed and sat back down, knowing getting Hudson to really be afraid of her wrath was eternally out of the question. The teen went to sit back on the couch next to Lorcan, deep in thought before she looked to Alex, “I…I want to help. How do I help you with whatever this war is?” Her thoughts went back to Alex and all the scars he had and it really upset her. Why didn't he just tell them all this stuff sooner? “I refuse to allow you to say no. If ANY of you say no I will literally punch you in the face.” Would she? No. But the empty threat still remained. Either they would let her help or they were getting some sort of hurt from her.
“Well at least now you have a better option, even if I have to drag you out of trouble.” He’d do it if he had to, and then call them an idiot for getting into something that was more than they could handle.
Nodding towards Hudson for a moment as they made another good point. Lorcan then turned back to Aberdeen. “He’s right though, it was safer for you not to know. Just think how much we would all worry if you got into some trouble. It’s bad enough that Alexandre gets in over his head but I guess maybe with us all here in the know we can find something you can help with.”
Now finding something she could do was a completely different matter, at least until he thought about how secrets spread. “Well you can help by keeping this all a secret, we wouldn’t want your mother finding out about it. I would think she would put a stop to you coming over here if not something worse. Maybe I can teach you a bit of first aid, lord knows Alexandre does.” Another jab at his cousin because the patch job they had on them just pressed his buttons and made his blood pressure rise.
Getting up, slowly, he trailed after Hudon slowly, finding the other in the kitchen they shared. “You know I never intended to pull you into this all. I never wanted to worry you with my safety, whether physical or otherwise.” He whispered, moving to embrace his elder cousin. “You didn’t ask for it and I know that, it’s one reason I try not to pull you into things.” And one reason he tried to keep the other safe, pulling the other along behind him, playing shield if he had to. He would keep Hudson safe because he could; and he should. “The secret is getting bigger though, first you and now Lorcan and now Abberdeen. I admit I slipped up today, I’ve been an emotional wreck the last few weeks…I’m sure Lorcan would be happy to share, once he’s done bashing on the medical care I’ve had in the past.” He stated, shooting a look towards the living room, as he heard Lorcan again.
“Somehow I feel like he’s always picking on me, but not being mean.” No, Lorcan wasn’t the sort to be mean but the other would indeed pick on him, and he would poke back when and where he could. “I can’t say no to Abberdeen…if she’s to be a senshi though I can’t do this myself.” This wouldn’t all be kept in the family..a General King would find out about this, would see several of them all related and all involved in the Negaverse. That was something he’d wanted to keep a secret, for them not to know, but he also wouldn’t have them all leave Aberdeen to do this on her own.
One more hug and he was moving to get himself a drink and returning to the living room. “Alright Katya, time to mask signatures again and I’ll call for a General King…because this I can’t do on my own Aberdeen, I don’t have that power. I can bring Hudson and Lorcan in, as they can both attest, but you are to be a corrupt senshi and that I can’t do on my own. I’ve not got that kind of power.” He had power, and a lot of it, but not enough. As he powered up he sat himself right on the living room couch and pulled out his communications device.
“I’m not going to fight you on this Aberdeen…I’ll let Lorcan help you with first aid lessons, it’s a useful thing to know, ignore your cousin's insults about what I’ve let people do to me. I simply didn’t want to pull family into this all. I was fine with doing this all on my own. Now it seems this is becoming a family affair.” And they should just start corrupting more family members who wanted to join. Rolling his eyes as he sent out the call for Axinite, knowing how the other brought baked good to ever meeting, he seemed the softest in temperament and best match for Abberdean. Informing the General King he had a potential corrupt senshi, who needed corrupting, he gave his location and that it was safe as a mauvian was on sight.
Sending the device back into subspace he looked at his cousin seriously. “Aberdeen…this is going to hurt, I won’t lie, he is going to be reaching into your chest and touching your soul.” While his family didn’t believe in religion of any sort, save for perhaps one branch of the family, the idea of a soul was not something believed in really. So he was saying it was real - because it was. “That isn’t what’ll really hurt…it’ll be the energy he’s going to push into it. That’ll give you the power we have…just different. Hold someone's hand if you want.” He’d done it on his own…locked his knees and stood for it. He’d done that as a Captain as well. He was certain he hadn’t made it till the end on his feet when he’d made General. He was certain he’d been on the ground from the pain, having screamed silently.
“At least someone is going to drag him out of trouble, we all know I can’t.” Being that she was a small cat, she had no ability to drag her general out of the trouble he often found himself in. “I could always change forms but I’ll send out a signature that’s bigger - too big.” And she really would like to avoid that, especially if youma were around. They did not like her and she did not like them either…it was a mutual thing.
“I’ll keep an eye on all of you as well - that’s my duty.” She just had a hard time with Alexandre, at least some of the time. Sometimes he was easy to work with and follow around…but right now he was being difficult, perhaps making up for lost time and all the ease she’d had with him. She could have bonded to some corrupt senshi but she just didn’t find any she liked and yet here was one amongst a whole family of officers. She wished she could just bond to the family and make it all nice and simple for herself.
She wouldn’t be bonding to Aberdeen but she would be keeping an eye on her. “You can pet me if you’d like as well.” She offered, already keeping the signature of her general covered up nicely.
Abby wrinkled her nose, “I can handle myself…I know how to use things around me to hurt other people…I'm not THAT sheltered. Plus daddy has taught me some self defense….He wants me to go into karate or something.” She waved her hand dismissively, karate was not something she was interested in. No thank you to all that sweat and body fluids touching and just….Ewww. She could barely tolerate sweating during ballet! Looking at Lorcan, Abby sighed, “I don't mind learning first aid, but I am going to help out more, I don't want to sit on the sidelines while you're all out there getting hurt.” She sat back down on the couch, pulling Katya onto her lap while Alex transformed, nearly making her jump out of her seat since she was still not used to it.
Pain? Well she figured if all her cousins were able to do it then she could too! No pain no gain really.
But the seriousness of Alex as he was telling her everything did scare the teen just a little. For as much bravado as she gave, the thought of anyone sticking their hand in her chest to input something in her literal soul was horrifying. When General King Axinite arrived, she didn't know what to do. That was a long title and secondly, he showed up with cookies and kind words, something that did not go hand in hand with someone that is about to inflict a massive amount of pain onto one’s soul. Abby quickly found out that for all the sweet words and kindness Axinite showed during the process, the pain was immeasurable. All she could do was grit her teeth and try as hard as she could to keep her screams from getting too out of hand. Her nails did manage to almost rip into Alex’s couch during the process while she whined and cried, hating the fact that she seemed every bit the baby her cousins thought she was.
When the process was over, she did manage to thank Axinite, tried her best to listen to the information he had to give her in regards to her new life as a senshi. However, despite the fact that she had put on such a brave front for her cousins, she was so so very tired. The best thing for her to do? Sleep, which is exactly what she did, curling up around Katya while laying her head in Hudson’s lap. Hopefully she would do her cousins proud and become someone just as useful as they currently are now. Alex would need all the help he could get from his family and she was more than willing to step up to the plate.
Hux glanced over at Alex when he joined him in the kitchen but looked back to what he was doing a moment later. It didn't take him long to put the ingredients away and give his cousin his full attention. "I know but what's done is done and we just have to make the best of things. At least this means that you can have more emotional support since more family is in the know." He stepped over to give the shorter man a hug. "I wish you would pull me more into things as it hurts to see you suffer and know I might have been able to help. And you do know I'm very willing to listen to you if you need to talk right?" He was afraid he had either made his cousin think he wouldn't listen, or that he had to protect him by not telling him things. He nodded in understanding and was honestly glad for it as it meant that Alex and Abby wouldn't have to share in the memory of a direct corruption, though he could understand why it would be worrying to pull another person into the know.
Since his task was done, Hux followed Alex out of the kitchen and into the living room and took a seat. While he did give a respectful greeting to Axinite when he arrived, he kept most of his attention on Abby and how she was. When she laid down and rested her head on his lap he reached out and stroked her hair to hopefully sooth her as she fell asleep.
Sara Draconia
Sleet Tempest Snape
Natsuko-neko
