Seeking Refuge

[Hayden]

Hayden sat down on the couch while Liam played a video game. He wasn't exactly sure where it had come from, it definitely wasn't something Nox had. Nox was not a sit down and play video game type guy. He was barely a sit down and do nothing type guy. The TV was not his idea for him it was just a glorified screen for Sky to use. And the images in the corner of the display showcased that. One was a feed of cameras around the peremeter which rotated through the different ones, unless there was movement then it went to that feed immediately. No one would walk up on the building much less into the area without someone knowing. And the automated drones would annoy anyone it didn't recognize. It was annoying. The other peice of information on the screen was Nox's present location and the name of the song currently playing in Nox's ear. Content was fine, and it was annoying to know that if Nox flipped it to lust or desire the whole fucking house would know but it was what it was.

Hayden leaned in and whispered to Liam nothing important. Which made Liam hold in the laugh as he knew Hayden was teasing Nox. Hayden elbowed Liam and stole the controller. "Hey."

"Get the other one. You and me are on baby duty till Nox gets back. Let Liv have the rest of the night off."

Liam looked at Hayden and leaned in and whispered "How come you get that and I can't?"

Hayden ruffled Liam's hair and the boy moved out of his reach but not far away "Because not 17 and I don't want to fall in love with him."

Liam sighed. "But you have." Liam smashed a few buttons on the controller and jumped into the game as the second player. He didn't elaborate and Hayden stole a glance over at Nox and the others. He wasn't in love with Nox.

[Nox]

Emily wrapped her arms around him and thanked it, neither were necessary, but he didn't say that. "Happy to help." It wasn't something he'd usually say. He'd have said it was his job, but he didn't want to make less of what it was. It wasn't a being a better person he was going for it was not saying things the wrong way. He was liable to piss someone off with lack of emotion far more than he would if he were being a sarcastic jerk about things. Which he was not trying to be in either case -- usually wasn't ever trying to be a jerk -- though back then when he met Emily, he probably was. He was a prick. Probably still was now.

"Hey Marta, Hayden says you are looking for odd jobs. Liv and Liam could use a hand with Lily after your school is done. If you can manage her during the day Liam can take her when I'm at work at night?" He said it loud enough for Liam to hear.

"Sounds fair to me. Though you like to keep her some during the day."

Nox shrugged"When she's not with me. And after studying and until she's off home. We can set a schedule."

[Marta]

Marta put down her wallet with a little more power than she had planned. It wasn't in anger or anything; she just didn't know what she was looking at yet. She we beginning to understand Sage's teaching method though. He never told her where to look, only that she had access to what she needed. She was going to have to look more into this than she could while eating. Nox asked her to help with Lily. That was a particular chore she would have done for free, but she had looked at the cost of computer parts in the list Sage had given her. She wouldn't toss away the opportunity to make some.

"I'm good to go for that," she said with a smile. "I can do my school work - I did just add another class, but it hasn't added much time to my school day. I'll still have time to do my other projects in the evening." She gave them a knowing look. "And yes, I'll still have time to be a kid."

Marta would be busy at least and that would help with her worry. Her assignments with Wicked were on her own, and completely at her own pace. Her Oracle posts hadn't had much traffic, but it didn't surprise her. Her primary audience was a group of people who were terrified. It would take time for her to see an effect there. She wasn't discouraged.

"A schedule would be good. I'll make sure to upload my personal calendar as well, so you guys know when I'm going to be at my psychologists."

[Emily Shale-Vanders]

Emily had already eaten, so she just let Jared eat, and maybe occasionally took something off of his plate. She thought about Rachel and a plan for her. She'd need someone to keep an eye on her all day. There were people on the staff who could do so, and she could certainly activate the "Find Me" thing on her wallet so that if she got away, they could find her. It was going to be a rough time for awhile. But the guy who did it was dead.

Emily considered that. Her own moral compass should have been a bit upset about that, but it wasn't. He had messed with her family, and had maybe done lasting damage. Emily really hoped Rachel would recover. Emily heard Nox ask Marta about watching the baby, and this time it got a smile instead of freaking her out. She would be okay. She would have plenty of help.

When they were done, Emily spoke to Nox. "I hope I'm not much of a bother, but we have Rachel downstairs in the bedroom in your gym. I was hoping it would be alright if we could stay here for the night. Just me and her that is. I don't know how long she's going to sleep. I'll stay in there anyways. Thanks for helping with this. And not just with Lucio, but the information on how to help her. It's going to be rough, but I think we'll make it."

[Nox]

Marta was game. Liam would work with her, he was more than happy to help with the baby. And Liv really needed to be away from everything that meant taking care of her family. It hadn't been the first time Hayden had mentioned it to him. But this was the first time he saw away past it. "Being a kid is overrated." He said with a grin and only with the help of the song he flipped on did it even come across as half of what it was. He'd grown up fast too. Though not born out of trauma but the way of life. He was 10 when he started learning the trade, and 13 by the time he started hunting. He didn't have a childhood either. But it was his job to make sure all these kids had a childhood, and that included Marta. "But you will be required to have fun. Cause I think this winter you all should learn to ice-skate. You can take turns holding Lily while you learn." And maybe in the summer he'll require swimming.

Liam groaned though he was smiling. "Another Nox rule."

Hayden elbowed him in jest too and they laughed. Nox just rolled his eyes as he was expected to, though he didn't reall care they were ribbing him and his rules. It was his rules that kept him alive.

Emily asked to stay and thanked him again. "That's fine. Jared is welcome to stay as well. I have an extra guest room, though it's strange and unusual in that it has an electronic lock and needs to stay shut and locked. And you might get woken up should anyone require any medication for pain or otherwise. Got a couple under suicide watch so we have all things dangerous locked up in that room." Nox didn't name names, and he definitely didn't indicate that he was under watch, though he had his knife lying on his bed with his gun. "Hey Sky, we need to lock my bedroom door."

"I do not have access to that lock, it is not part of the network."

Sophia was up and putting her dish away. "I'll get it. I'm up."

Nox smiled "Thanks Soph."

But Nox digressed. But you are welcome to stay as long as you need to. But safety isn't a concern so home would probably make her feel better. But it could spur on the feelings to, so if you need a neutral place, I have an extra room upstairs for a temporary guest." It was technically his room. But he wasn't using it and he had every intention of offering it to Raffe whether they got back together or not. There was absolutely no need for Raffe to live in a tiny room above the club. Even if he never wanted to help find a place, Nox still gotten a home with one in mind for him. Roof was his too if he wanted it. Nox only needed a small portion to grow the herbs... Not that he needed them anymore... Nox glanced at the plants in their pot sitting near his sink. He supposed he didn't need them around the house anymore either...

[Elyse]

*several hours later*

The house was quiet and Elyse quit laughing with Anna as they entered. Most of the house was on their schedule m, so not everyone would be asleep but it was better to be mindful than not. Elyse’s momentary freak out earlier in the day had been just that - momentary - and it had been driven only by the similarities between Emily’s story and her own.

”Im beat - you going to bed?” Anna asked.

”No I’ll be up for awhile. Marta’s home tonight so I’m gonna sit in the lounge - maybe have a snack or something. Too antsy to be stuck in my room right now.”

”That sounds like a good thing,” Anna smirked.

”No bad thoughts since you danced with me. I’m gonna stay on watch though. Don’t know if I’ll relapse or not,” she had a feeling sky would alert people if she didn’t anything bad.

Anna nodded, gave her a hug and bid her goodnight. Elyse plopped down on the sofa and got out her wallet. Hayden was there playing a game. That was odd, she had never seen him do that. She gave him a smile though. It really had been a good night. Nox had even been back to work. Though he still smelled odd. She knew Marta still worried about him.

[Rachel Shale]

Rachel woke up, but had no idea where she was. She did know Emily was there, laying down right beside her. Rachel felt disoriented and uncertain, but still felt okay. Better than she had before. The last thing she remembered was leaving the theater with Lucio.

Lucio - something had happened there. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew she didn’t want to be with him anymore, and that thought hurt. She loved him. She needed him. Even if that need wasn’t driving her crazy at the time. Rachel got out of the bed. She really should wake up Emily and say something, but she couldn’t. Something told her she couldn’t. Why not? She didn’t know.

Rachel opened the door and entered a gym. She looked around and found the stairs going up. She walked them slowly with her arms wrapped around her abdomen. As she walked she realized that she was crying and didn’t know why. All her emotions seemed off kilter and didn’t make sense. The next floor was dark but she could see some light coming from the stairway to the next floor. Rachel followed it and found herself in an open room. What looked like a bar was nearby and a woman and a man sat on a couch, and when she looked up, she saw the woman had golden eyes.

The woman looked concerned and stood up, walking slowly to Rachel. Rachel backed away slightly, feeling a little afraid at this, but didn’t feel like she should be. It was odd that she both recognized and didn’t recognize her. She was so confused. ”It’s okay, honey. You’re safe, no one is going to hurt you here. My name is Elyse. Can you tell me yours?”

Rachel had only taken a tentative step away. ”I…I’m so confused.” she finally said.

”I know. You’re a little sick right now, and that’s okay. We’ll help you. Is it okay if I come closer. We can go sit down over there. That would be nice, wouldn’t it.”

Rachel stayed in one place, frozen by a fear she didn’t understand. But the woman seemed genuine. She didn’t seem scary even if she had strange eyes. Rachel slowly nodded at the woman who gave her a smile and approached slowly. She wrapped her arm around Rachel and took her by the arm and guided her to the sofa. Rachel sat and the girl sat next to her. Rachel clinged to her and the other didn’t seem to mind.

[Hayden]

Nox went back to his room and changed into the bouncer uniform with a lot more makeup that he truly expected. He'd never actually seen Nox at Kallisti, he's seen the videos but it was completely different seeing him walk out the door ready to sell sex to people who would never touch him. And he was just a bouncer tonight, he wasn't even preforming. Nox ran his fingers across the back of his neck. "You don't have to stay."

Liam was sitting next to him and he elbowed the kid. "I told Liam I'd help with Lily, so that's what I'll do."

Liam smiled and Nox set the baby in her carier down in front of them so they could watch her. Nox tickled her cheeks and kissed her tiny head before he left. Hayden watched him leave.

Liam elbowed him back. "I'm not the only one with a crush."

Hayden didn't acknowledge the jab he just slaughtered the kid in the game instead.

They played for a few hours before Liam got up and fed Lily and put her to bed. When he came back Hayden smiled. "Leave the monitor and I take first shift till Nox gets home."

Liam giggled before he bound up the stairs to take a nap. "I'll set an alarm. You can leave the monitor down stairs and I'll come get it."

Hayden nodded.

---

It was late and Hayden was yawning. Elyse came in and sat down next to him pulling out her wallet. She didn't say anything and he didn't either. It was a little awkward but he kept playing his video game. But it wasn't long before they were joined by another blonde. Hayden paused his game and watched the interaction. He didn't want to spook her.

Hayden got up slowly and moved to the kitchen and got some orange juice and poured her a drink. "See if you can get her to drink something."

[Elyse]

Elyse nodded. ”Hey honey, you should get something to drink.” Elyse stood up and the woman clung to her. It was a little annoying, but Elyse would deal with it.

Elyse helped her up and they walked to the bar where Hayden had poured a drink. ”This is Hayden. He’s a friend,” Elyse said. The girl looked up briefly.

The girl looked up at him and at the glass. She reached out her hands and grabbed it, taking a tentative drink. Then she drank the whole thing. She looked around more, still fairly scared. ”Rachel,” she finally said. That seemed to be good sign. ”Elyse and Hayden.”

”Good to meet you, Rachel,” Elyse said, giving her a squeeze.

[Rachel Shale]

Rachel was scared, but she felt safe with Elyse, so she clung when Elyse tried to stand. She drank the orange juice fast and looked around, acclimating herself to the place she was. The place was unfamiliar. But she was remembering things. Like the woman’s name.

She liked it when Elyse held her a little tighter. She just felt a little safer that way. ”Umm where am I?”

”We’re at a house of a friend - his name is Nox,”

She remembered Nox - a friend of Cruz’s. Rachel sniffled but didn’t cry. For now she was just feeling scared. Still thirsty, can I have another drink?” she asked.

”Of course -just drink it a little slower this time. Don’t want to get sick.” Rachel nodded in understanding.