Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Yep! There's definitely a lot. My mom's awesome, I'm pretty sure she would help me if she could, but she's already pretty busy, so I don't really want to bother her. She's got work, and now that I'm not home, she has to watch Niki by herself... Or with Kage's help, but he can't be over all the time, so, yeah.”

--

Gwyar nodded along as Micha spoke, different ideas for later conversations coming up. All about either fashion or Micha’s family and friends. Those both seemed like safe topics at the moment. He’d have to watch and make sure they never turned sour…

--

“Thinking about it, I could probably ask Kage for help, or Ami. Kage's not great with style, but he works technology pretty well, and Ami's great at a lot of stuff, so maybe they could help in their free time. It's fine if not though, I'm sure I can work something out on my own if needed. Thanks so much for the idea, actually, I wouldn't have thought of it on my own, I don't think!”

--

The thanks seemed out of place, so severely out of place, so much so he ended up tensing a bit. At the same time, the words were warm, nice, and completely undeserved. Still avoiding eye contact to not sour Micha’s mood, he gave a small smile, “Eh, you come up with an idea eventually. But, uh, glad I could help.”

*~*~*~*

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Yep! Don't wanna make anyone uncomfortable. Especially if touch is a possible trigger. That'd be bad.”

--

Gorōta nodded along, taking another bite of his own food. “Definitely. Speaking of triggers, since we’re going to be working together and all- Any you have that I should know about as the, uh…” He paused, trying to remember the title that the previous one had mentioned. “The… Healer..?”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Because you look exhausted and not getting enough sleep isn't healthy. Living off caffeine isn't very healthy either, but I guess I can understand that part. I can get you more if you want, there's a coffee machine on the counter.”

--

And despite himself, he did glance over at the counter, eyes scanning and finding the coffee machine. He made sure not to grimace, or glare at the machine, as he looked back at the screen and continued what he had been typing. How pathetic was he that he hadn’t noticed it on his own? He could’ve potentially avoided this conversation.

--

“I'm guessing you like black, it has the most caffeine and all?”

--

Revan considered the offer as he typed. On one hand, he wasn’t sure he trusted them to not try and drug his drink with how the conversation was going. On the other hand, it was more efficient to let them do it so he could keep working. So, with a small huff, he handed the cup to them. “Black is preferred, yes. If there’s two different types of beans over there too, then use the Robusta one. Thank you.”

--

As much as he wanted to get rid of any risk of them speaking to him again… He’d still been raised to have some sort of manners. He hoped they didn’t get the wrong idea because of it though…

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

The silence while waiting for Briar to answer was honestly a little deafening, a little suffocating. Gorōta was tempted to apologize, to take back the question. It wasn’t really any of his business yet, he’d figure them out later, and asking someone almost always made them upset in some way, shape, or form. He didn’t get to apologize though, Briar was answering before he could.

--

“Well, I'm not big on guns and shit, and anything that resembles a gunshot can be... er... Triggering, I guess. Oh, and, uh, I don't mind some arguing, but being forced to take a side can be hella scary. I guess it kinda goes along with this, so I guess it might be helpful for you to know that I have a panic disorder, ya know, pretty severe panic attacks and shit. PTSD too.”

--

Gorōta paused for a moment, looking Briar over for any signs that the conversation was uncomfortable in the way that made one close up, withdraw, or panic. The quick smile was at least a somewhat good sign, so he returned it as best he could. “Well, thank you for telling me, I’ll keep it all in mind. If there’s any way that I can help whenever anything happens, any specific things or techniques that help you most, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

--

He hoped he didn’t seem too uncertain with his own words. He’d never been good at comfort, he’d always tried but… Well, he always ended up panicking. Too anxious to move, to think. He didn’t want to do that here, he wanted to help. He wanted to be able to help.

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

While waiting for the coffee to be refilled and brought back, Revan focused on typing. On making sure that his fingers stayed moving and the work continued to get done. He forced his eyes to stay on the screen, kept them open as long as possible without blinking, and only allowed them the bare minimum of a blink whenever he did. Their heaviness had him feeling like even that was too long.

--

His headache from earlier came back too, which certainly wasn’t pleasant. Unfortunately, the tylenol he brought with him was in ‘his’ room. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, if only because that would mean taking his eyes off the screen of his laptop in order to do it. A finger checked the brightness of the screen, the lights in the pseudo-cafeteria were too dim but the brightness on his laptop was all the way up still.

--

He almost flinched as the coffee cup was set next to him. He’d stopped expecting it at one point, and he hadn’t heard the other come up either. Luckily, he didn’t flinch. At all. That would’ve been pathetic. And uncalled for. And a complete overreaction. Not to even mention the inefficiency of it.

--

“There ya go! One cup of coffee! I tried to cool it off a bit, but I'm pretty sure it's still, like, really hot.”

--

Without a word, Revan continued typing, at least to finish the sentence he was working on. His eyes ached, he didn’t trust himself to blink. The sentence was finished and with one hand starting on the next one, his other grabbed the coffee cup. Subconsciously, he duly noted how hot it was to his hand. Somewhere, he also knew that the liquid inside would be even warmer. He still wasted no time in taking a long sip, setting it back down next to him. He didn’t wince or flinch, he didn’t mention the temperature at all. He’d burnt his tongue, certainly. But it also wasn’t the first time.

--

He kept his eyes on the screen, adjusting to the burnt tongue before speaking. “Thank you for the coffee.” And that was all, there was no need for anything else. Plus, anything else and they might begin to think that talking to him was fine to do. That they didn’t have to leave him alone.

--

His eyelids felt a bit lighter, about as light as they usually did. His back was still straight too, so he luckily hadn’t hunched or relaxed in any way either. His shoulders were tense, which he ignored in favor of the headache being a small, though persistent, presence behind his forehead and ears. One that was easily ignored at least. He was still typing too, which would always be a win. All in all, he wasn’t too badly off at the moment. As long as he could stay awake, he’d be fine. And he’d stayed awake for much longer than this before.

--

He took another sip of the coffee, having to resist letting the relief show on his face. Instead, he managed to taste it. Compared to the Arabica he had first ever tried, Robusta was much stronger, much more bitter. It helped wake him up a bit more.

Nico watched as 'Rowland' took a gulp of coffee, completely disregarding their warning. He winced in sympathy with the guy's tongue, which was most definitely burned right now.

“Thank you for the coffee.”

"Yeah... No problem, man." Nico responded, examining the other with an unreadable gaze. "Hey, uh, if ya ever need anything, I got you! I mean, I know most people don't like asking for help or whatever, but you seem to work a lot, so... I don't know, I can bring ya food and coffee and whatever, I don't mind."

Not that 'Rowland' would actually take the offer. He didn't seem like the type to ask for anything ever, and Nico knew that type very well. Jade was that type too, especially since... Since Rora died.

Silently, Nico shook his head slightly, shoving the thought away. She didn't need to go back to that. Just keep moving forward. Though, he should probably call Jade and check in. They did run away without saying anything. They resisted the urge to flinch again at that and pulled his eyes away from 'Rowland,' quickly relaxing her posture again and humming a soft tune to himself.

Briar Sallow / Nonbinary / 17 / Minsexual / Poly / Manipulation/Judgement- Minor Illusions / M: Everyone

“Well, thank you for telling me, I’ll keep it all in mind. If there’s any way that I can help whenever anything happens, any specific things or techniques that help you most, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

Briar nodded and took another bite, swallowing before speaking again. "I appreciate that. Really, though, the only thing that I've found that works consistently for me is kind of just mansplaining everything going on around. You know, where I am, what time it is, why I'm where I am. Little details. It helps with grounding, I guess."

Their voice never wavered and they spoke about this almost casually, like it was a standard conversation. Sure, Briar was a little uncomfortable speaking about this subject, but they'd gotten very good about not showing any signs of weakness or discomfort in their lifetime.

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

Gorōta took a bite as soon as he had finished speaking, listening to Briar respond as he chewed and swallowed.

--

“I appreciate that. Really, though, the only thing that I've found that works consistently for me is kind of just mansplaining everything going on around. You know, where I am, what time it is, why I'm where I am. Little details. It helps with grounding, I guess.”

--

Briar seemed casual, comfortable in the conversation. It was just the small pit of uneasiness in his stomach that told him otherwise. But frankly, it wasn’t like the enthusiasm and confidence that Gorōta had been getting earlier. Which had been nearly suffocating. No, this was easier to ignore, to deal with. He almost thought it was his own uneasiness coming back, which maybe it was. Either way, Briar didn’t seem too upset with the conversation at the moment. Which was good.

--

He nodded in response, “Yeah… An explanation of everything around you does tend to help with grounding. It’s not too strange of a technique, I think I used one similar to it with some of my friends before, actually.” He swallowed nervously a bit, his nerves probably were just coming back up. Especially since Briar seemed mostly just casual and comfortable, so it didn’t really affect him any. “I’ll, uh, keep it in mind though for you. Hopefully, I won’t have to use it too often but it’s good to know.”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Yeah... No problem, man. Hey, uh, if ya ever need anything, I got you! I mean, I know most people don't like asking for help or whatever, but you seem to work a lot, so... I don't know, I can bring ya food and coffee and whatever, I don't mind.”

--

Revan typed silently on the laptop, hands never slowing to show he had even heard the offer. Of course, he had, but even if he took to considering it- He couldn’t allow for any inefficiency. And pausing his work to think would be incredibly inefficient.

--

So instead, he didn’t slow down. He did think about the offer though. The pros and cons. After all, Katalyn wasn’t there. The pros? He wouldn’t have to take the time to do things like prepare a meal, or just grab a plate at least, or make his own coffee, or run errands. It’d save a lot of time and make sure he was staying as productive and efficient as possible while he was here. The cons? He had been trying not to even see the group as colleagues or business associates of some kind, so he’d have to at least change that with ‘Nico’. And that would be a hassle. Or ‘Nico’ could end up wasting his time because of how much Revan would end up having them do, errands and coffee add up. Not to mention the issues concerning if ‘Nico’ ever decided to pry or ask questions about things that don’t actually matter or concern them…

--

Really, it came down to one pro and one con. The pro? Productivity. The con? Potential attachment. Whether that be on ‘Nico’s end or his own. Well, he could easily make sure he didn’t get attached to ‘Nico’. So did the pro outweigh the risk? The minimal risk, really. Since he could take what he’d learned or messed up on from Katalyn and use it to make sure he didn’t get attached here. So…

--

“Is this an offer to you being something akin to an assistant?” His tone was clipped, somewhat tense. He ignored the exhaustion in it. If it was, then he’d take the chance. He wasn’t going to simply agree if all it was an offer to help him. He didn’t need help, not really. But he wouldn’t deny that Katalyn had made things a bit easier as an assistant. Not having to stop to do errands was helpful. But help with just taking care of himself? He didn’t need that.

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Thanks, it's appreciated. Okay, important question, should I get dessert now or just wait until tomorrow? I kinda wanna try cheesecake.”

--

Gorōta hummed in thought, smiling softly as he responded, “If you don’t think it’d cause any problems, then I say go for it. Cheesecake’s pretty good, though I’ve only had it once.”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Um, I guess?”

--

Revan gave a subtle, barely there nod to himself when he received the answer. Fingers still typing, eyes not glancing up. Yet. ‘Nico’ hadn’t meant it exactly as an assistant, he was aware of that. But, well, that’s why Revan hadn’t said that they’d be an assistant, just something similar to one. After all, real assistants were hired and did more than easy errands or coffee or food.

--

But either way, ‘Nico’ had technically agreed. Which meant he would need to treat them as an actual colleague or business associate instead of just someone he had to deal with randomly. So he took in a breath, as practicably smooth as he always did when he prepped, and just as subtly too… And then ceased in his typing, looking up as the other continued speaking.

--

“I mean, assistants do assist, which is kinda my offer, so sure.”

--

While the other spoke, Revan slipped on his confident, professional smile. The one he had practiced for meetings and coworkers, for business trips and authority figures. The one he was practically completely certain he’d mastered at this point. And as he slipped it on, he took in ‘Nico’s appearance. Something he hadn’t done, hadn’t seen any reason to do. Pale skin, light green eyes, and black hair. They seemed to be on the shorter end too, like himself.

--

“Then I don’t see any reason to not agree.” His tone was clear, firm, confident. No hint of displeasure, no hint of enthusiasm. And most thankfully, no hint of exhaustion. A stark contrast to his earlier tone. Practiced and perfected. “Of course, you won’t be exactly like an assistant. Just similar in the idea of making sure I don’t waste as much time as I would if I was having to do all of it.”

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Ind).

--

Frankly, Gwyar was surprised he’d lasted this long. Of course, he had to face Jay eventually, and as he had just sat on the floor with a book from the bookshelf, the very phone that Jakob had bought him rang with the ringtone that his love had picked out for himself. Quickly, immediately, he grabbed his phone and tapped accept, putting the phone to his ear.

--

Before he could even say hello, or apologize, or explain everything- Jakob spoke, voice obviously upset. “Where the fuck are you, Khorne?!”

--

He flinched, biting his lip. “Sorry- I’m sorry. Something came up, I meant to tell you, I just- Sorry.”

--

“Somethin’ came up?”

--

“Yeah..?” He bit his lip.

--

“And what could’ve possibly come up that’s more important than me to you?”

--

Gwyar tensed, swallowing nervously, “Nothing! Nothing. Sorry. I didn’t- Mean that… I…”

--

“No, of course not. What came up?”

--

Jakob seemed a bit calmer, he forced himself to relax a bit. “I… I, uh, got a Wild…?” He hated lying but Jay might not believe him if he told him what was actually happening…

--

“Wild?... Oh, yeah, the ‘games’. What have I said about the codes? Stop using them. They’re stupid as shit. Are you back home now at least?”

--

“No… I, uh…” He paused, what was he supposed to say?

--

“No? Then where are you?”

--

He bit his lip. What was he supposed to say? He didn’t know- He wasn’t sure- How was he supposed to explain?

--

“Are you lying to me, Khorne? Is that what’s going on here? What did we decide about lying, Khorne?”

--

He was shaking a bit, “That, uh… That lying’s bad. I’m sorry. I… I got a, uh, a new job…? Kind of…? I-I…”

--

“What the fuck, Khorne?! How’s that the same as a ‘Wild’?!”

--

Gwyar flinched, “I- I’m sorry. The jobs for the s-same kind of thing, so… Uh… I, uh… They just relocated me, uh, b-basically…? But! But, uh, I'm still allowed to visit! So…” He paused, biting his lip, “...Sorry, uhm…”

--

“Relocated? The fuck do you mean, relocated?! Are you saying you moved whole cities?”

--

He flinched again, shoulders hunching up. “K-Kind of…? I don’t… I don’t actually know whe-where I am…”

--

“You’re abandoning me? Seriously? After everything?!”

--

“No! No, never! I swear, never! I didn’t- I didn’t want to, I just- I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’ll be back. I-I don’t know when, just, uh… I will. I promise.” He was breathing heavily, fast.

--

“Fuck. Just- Fucking leave it, Khorne! I don’t give a shit! I see how you are! Can’t even stay for the person who saved your fucking life!”

--

Again, he flinched, shaking. “I will- I’ll come back. I’ll be back. I’ll ask tomorrow- They’re asleep right now- I-I swear. I’ll- I’ll figure this out. I’ll be back. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I don’t- I’m not leaving, I-I promise. I’ll never leave. I-I just- I don’t know. I- They- Th-They said I had to and I– I’ll be back. I promise.”

--

Silence… He checked his phone to make sure Jakob hadn’t hung up, he hadn’t.

--

“Fine. Ask them tomorrow. Dammit, Khorne, you’re fucking worrying me. You know? I don’t want to lose you.”

--

He swallowed thickly, biting his lip. “I-I know… I’m sorry.”

--

“I’ll call you again tomorrow, Khorne. Let me know what they said, ‘kay?”

--

He nodded, “I will. L-Love you, Jay…”

--

The line was quiet. He pulled his phone from his ear, seeing that Jakob had already hung up… That went… Better than he’d been expecting, at least…

*~*~*~*

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Ind).

--

In the solitude of his room, where he was no longer affected by the emotions of others, his anxiety came back, full force. Strong enough that he had barely managed to ward off a panic attack in favor of grabbing one of his medical textbooks and trying to read it. His vision wouldn’t focus fully on the words though, and he kept having to reread every other sentence or paragraph a few times over.

--

But he was still able to see the words, which he tried to count as a win because it meant that he wasn’t at risk of a terrible attack if he did end up having one. Which was nice, at least. He hoped no one else had as much anxiety as he did. He considered, after a few pages, if he should call his friends. Tell them more of what was going on.

--

He decided against it, if they wanted answers then they would call him themselves. They always had in the past. Really, the only one he was allowed to call himself was Two, and he was probably annoyed enough after the first call anyways. So Gorōta continued reading instead, sitting in one of the chairs that were in the middle of his new room. Which was honestly pretty cool, he’d never had a room as nice as this one, after all.

--

He wondered if his parents were worried about him… He hoped they weren’t, though the chance they actually were was honestly pretty low anyways. They never normally noticed when he was home or not. Which he was fairly glad about, though he was certainly worried about what he’d do when they finally did notice… He wasn’t sure, and he didn’t want to find out what they would do either.

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Ind).

--

Revan was sitting down at the desk in ‘his’ room, typing on his laptop and on a new pot of coffee, when his phone rang where it was on the desk beside his laptop. The ringtone was his mothers, he could tell immediately. Without a word, he took it with one hand while keeping the other typing, hitting accept and putting her on speaker as he sat his phone back down. “Yes?”

--

“Not even going to say hello?”

--

He rolled his eyes, kept his hands typing. “I assumed you would want to get to the point instead of going through any pleasantries.”

--

“Well, since you’re so impatient to get there, I suppose I will get on to it then. As you’re working from a new location, I have a few questions and expectations to go over with you.”

--

Of course she did. He took a sip of his coffee as he waited for her to begin her questionnaire.

--

“First off, where is this place that you’re working from now? Do I need to prepare for it to be in a different timezone?”

--

He considered the question, kept typing, and spoke. “The location is undisclosed as of now, even if it is a different timezone I will make sure to get everything done on the same schedule as before.”

--

“Right. Well, do try and figure out the location. I do still expect you to attend the weekly dinners. Does Katalyn know the schedule for meetings since she’ll be attending them for you now?”

--

He barely resisted the urge to huff over the dinners. Of course she’d still expect him there… “She is aware of the schedule, yes.” There wasn’t any point in arguing against her, he just had to keep working and answer her questions.

--

“Good. If she’s ever late, I’ll be holding you accountable. Should I expect your productivity to suffer?”

--

Revan thought over it, Mr. Caeso had mentioned training which meant there would be time taken out from his usual schedule. However, he could always figure out a way to keep it up. “Minimally, if at all.”

--

“Right then. Onto the expectations. Firstly, I expect you to attend the weekly dinners, as I’ve already said. Secondly, all of your work will still be on time. Thirdly, you’ll keep up with your schoolwork as well. Both your college and highschool classes. If your productivity goes down, I notice missing, late, or poor work then I will either be calling, taking it out of your paycheck for the week, or speaking to you about it at dinner. Fourthly, I expect you to answer any calls I or anyone else from the company make. Are we clear on these expectations?”

--

“Yes mother, we are.” There wasn’t a point to arguing, the expectations were fair anyway. The same ones as when he hadn’t been here. “Are there any new ones though? Or is this simply a review?”

--

“There are no new ones. Who are the people you are staying with? How many are there?”

--

“There are seven. The name of the leader is Horatio Caeso.” He continued typing as he spoke, making sure to keep from slowing down.

--

“And the other six?”

--

“I don’t have their names yet.” Technically true, other than that ‘Nico’ one. She didn’t need to know only one more though. Better to wait.

--

“Right, of course you don’t. Well, I suppose it’s better that way anyways.”

--

He stayed quiet, eyes staying on the screen of his laptop, he kept typing, not allowing his hands to stall. Regardless of his feelings on the matter.

--

“One last thing, Revan.”

--

At her venomous tone, he almost flinched. His shoulders came up and hunched, hands stalling. He looked over at his phone, forcing his shoulders back to normal as he gave her his attention. He rested his hands on the keyboard, and listened.

--

“I don’t expect you to listen, you never do when it comes to this, but don’t mess up. Your public image is already tainted enough as-is. Anymore and you may end up staining mine, as well. And I am no murderer, so do be careful about that.”

--

His teeth were gritted, he kept quiet, eyes narrowed, shoulders threatening to hunch again. He didn’t allow them to, he stayed still as can be.

--

“If I learn that any of these people are hurt because of you, in any way whatsoever, I will discuss it with you personally, and we will figure out what to do as a consequence for your actions. Whether the person hurt is someone from the company or someone in this new group. Is that understood?”

--

It took him a moment to answer, finding he had to swallow around a tight lump in his throat to do so. His voice was still quieter than it had been before when he answered. “Yes ma’am.”

--

“I doubt it.”

--

The call ended, the room stayed quiet. He stared at his phone for a moment longer, and then forced his eyes back to the screen of his laptop, willing his fingers to begin typing again. He still had work to do, after all. His mother had every right, every reason for her concern to be valid. Wallowing in undeserved self-pity was a waste of time, unproductive, and completely uncalled for. Especially when he still had work to do.