forum Monsters? These are my children -Ben (o/o with lisapickle)

Started November 05, 2019 by @chickenfrogman group

tune

(I HAVE EMERGED)

Cage shrieks, popping his head up out of the water, “Ohmygosh! It’s fREEZING!” He grabs Miki’s arm, shivering and trying to catch his breath. “WE’RE GONNA DIE IF WE STAY IN HERE-!” He pauses his panic, looking around the pool. “Oh, but what if I froze it?? Do you think I could? I never frozen something so big!”
(Miki: it’s cold! Cage: let’s make it colder :D)
-
Ryder looks in Gabriel’s direction, then back to Dio, “ah, after breakfast works. That’s fine. What- out of curiosity- what do you have to talk about with Ben?” He takes another bite of his monstrosity.
Gabriel stands over Dio’s shoulder still, studying his food and the way he ate.
(He a creeper)

Miki paused her gasping and her eyes grew wide as she glanced around the pool. "Can you freeze something this big??"

Silver raised her eyebrows. Are they going to get out before or after he freezes it…?

__

Dio paused and checked his phone. "I need to check with him but I think he might actually intend to bring the children here for the weekend so he and Violet can have some time to themselves. And, ah–" He tilted his head to the side, still peering at his phone. "I don't know what he wants to speak to me about. He just said he wanted to talk to me about something." He looked up at Ryder. "Did you need to go back to Benjamin's house for something or are you comfortable staying here a bit longer?"

Ryder shrugs, “I honestly don’t think there’s any rush.” He looks over in Gabriel’s general direction, just to check if he was opposed to it. But Gabriel stays invisible and silent, a little too distracted by a cricket he spotted in the corner of the room to be paying attention to the conversation. He very slowly walks away from the couch, crouching down by the cricket and watching it sit and occasionally walk.
***
Cage grins, his teeth chattering. “I don’t know but there’s no harm in trying!” Without anymore warning, he furrows his brow, focusing hard, and the far side of the pool starts to slowly and thinly ice over.

"Do it, do it, do it!" Miki cheered, bouncing in the water and clapping her hands.
Silver stood up and relocated to one of the lounge chairs. "Y'all should get out first." she said, but they couldn't hear her over Miki's chanting.

Dio followed Ryder's gaze, but obviously couldn't see what he saw. "Is Gabriel alright? Does he need to go back to Benjamin's?"

Cage giggles, bouncing and shivering at the same time. He refocuses, doing his best to block out distraction and focus his energy on freezing the water. The ice grows thicker and skims over the pool much more quickly, almost reaching them at this point. Not that Cage would notice, since he’s still too focused on getting it to freeze at all.

-

Gabriel doesn’t respond to his name, being in his own little world over in the corner with his cricket. He puts his hand down, letting it hop onto him and off. A faint, thin smile briefly crosses his grey chapped lips.
Ryder blinks, not knowing really what he was up to since he couldn’t see him. He could tell he was in the corner, but that was all. He looks back to Dio, giving his head a small shake. “He’s-“ he glances over his shoulder then back to dio again, “I’m gonna be honest, I dunno what he’s doing, but I’m sure he’s fine. If anything, it’s gotta be nice to be here where nobody is asking him questions or smothering him. Since that little fiasco yesterday, everyone was too worried about him to give him much peace.” He sighs, readjusting on the couch and running a hand through his hair. He seems almost serious actually for about half a second before giving Dio a half grin, “If you haven’t noticed yet, he doesn’t really like attention or talking.”

"Oh my word you're doing it!" Miki yelled. She kept jumping and clapping as the ice came closer. Suddenly something touched her leg and she shrieked, trying to dart away. But she couldn't move. A moment later, her entire leg was encased in ice. "CAGE!" She screamed. "CAGE, YOU FROZE MY LEG. CAGE! CAGE HELP! MY LEG IS STUCK I'M GONNA–" she lost balance and slipped under the water for a moment. With a splash she pulled herself up again and smacked at the water toward Cage. "CAGE HELP I'M STUCK."

Dio nodded, still watching the same empty corner Ryder kept looking at. "I had noticed that he's very shy and looks uncomfortable when a lot of people are around. How has he managed at Benjamin's for so long? It seems like it's constantly chaos over there."

Cage gasps, snapping out of it a little late. A good half an inch of the top of the pool was solid ice with the exceptions of a few thin patches. The ice had climbed down one of Miki’s legs, encasing it. Cage puts his arms out, helping to steady Miki, though he starts panicking too. “I didn’t mean to freeze your leg!! I didn’t do it on purpose!!! Are you okay?! I don’t know how to fix it!”

-

“He used to chaos.” Ryder states, looking back over towards Gabrie’s corner where he still plays with the tiny cricket.
Which wasn’t really a lie. Thinking of it now, Gabriel had constantly felt unsafe, overstimulated or surrounded by chaos or conflict. He was used to it. It was probably one of the reasons he didn’t contribute to it with his own voice or presence. He was just constantly, 27/4 absent. Body and mind.
Ryder gives it another of minute before looking back to Dio, brow furrowed. “What’s up with this bad guy? What’s your plan on stopping him?” His question is low, but not demanding. It was more like he was offering to be part of it rather than expecting Dio to actually have a plan.

Miki clung to Cage, finally getting her other foot underneath herself so she could stand, though still wobbly. "Cage!" she gasped, panting for breath. "Oh my gosh, I thought you were gonna murder me."
Silver bolted out of her chair when Miki started screaming. She gingerly poked the ice with her foot. When it held under her weight, she carefully stepped onto it, beating her wings slightly for balance. Then she slid over to Miki and Cage. "Are you okay?" she asked her sister. "Cage, unfreeze her leg so both of you can get out."

–

"Ahh, yes." Dio nodded and rubbed the side of his face. "He is… sort of my brother. He is obsessed with other Elementals. Since he and I may be the original Fire and Water, he has some sort of notion that we're better than everyone else and we're meant to command or control all the Elementals in the world." He sighed. "He's wrong, of course. I couldn't care less what anyone else is doing with their lives, gifted or not. Just because someone has powers doesn't make them better, and just because someone is more powerful than another gifted person doesn't make them better either. So for the last decade or so I've been trying to stop him and protect the Elementals from him. Though I haven't necessarily done a very good job."

(We post on this thing like maybe once every two months 💀)

Cage keeps ahold of Miki’s hands/forearms, his eyes starting to gloss over with tears, “I-I don’t know how! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to freeze her leg!!” He panics, his voice raising in pitch.
Kissa is still watching from the sliding door. She glares, turning back around. “Ben, Cage is drowning Miki!” She shouts, grumpily.
He raises an eyebrow, taking another sip of his coffee. “Ah, she’ll get over it?” He replies, obviously not taking it seriously.
Violet furrows her brow, tilting her head to see past Kissa. “N-no, Love, I think he might actually be.”
Ben chokes on his coffee, setting it down.
Why are they so much trouble?? Why can’t they be trouble inside so I don’t have to go out into that wretched cold??

-

Ryder nods, listening and also kind of agreeing with the last statement. Though he was sure it would be hard to keep all of the elementals safe from your crazy brother, so he doesn’t say anything of it, assuming Dio was doing better than he himself could have done.
“What does he want with the elementals? Does he have a plan you’re aware of?” He asks, his voice still a little more low.
Gabriel lays on his side now, still paying complete attention to the cricket. He lets it sit in his hand.
I should take him outside. Is it too cold for him? He might need to stay in here. I could make a home for him upstairs.

"Ben!" Silver yelled. She jumped off the ice and careened through the air toward the house. "BEEEENNN!! Cage froze Miki in the po–" Her panicked scream cut off as she collided with the glass door.

"I'm okay." Miki gasped, holding onto Cage at the awkward angle she was stuck at. "Hey, it's okay." She patted his arm. "You can do it, I believe in you. You gotta calm down first though." Her voice was chill as usual, but on the inside her heart began to race. I am actually stuck. In the frozen pool. This is great.

"I don't know the details, but I think he wants to control them and make them serve him? Make them into his… army?" Dio shrugged. "He's manic enough that I'm sure I wouldn't be able to make sense of whatever he has in his head. My main concern is keeping you all safe and figuring out how to stop him. He's already amassed quite a number of people, so that's why it's hard to know what the best way is to take him out." Dio pulled out his phone, remembering that Ben had said something about bringing the rest of the kids over at some time. "When did you want to bring the rest of the children over? Would you rather I come and retrieve them?"

Violet and Ben jump simultaneously as Silver hits the glass. Scrambling to get to the door, Ben almost knocks his cup off of the counter. He slides the door open for Sil, steadying her with one hand, “Calm down! I’m coming.”
Kissa stands back, arms folded across her chest with a haughty glare.
I hope he boils her alive in that water.
Violet sets her own drink down, much more carefully than Ben, and strolls over to the door to be part of the chaos. Or at least to be emotional support.
Cage holds onto Miki, his grip turning her arms red and tears streaming down his face. “I can’t do it, Miki! I can’t! I don’t know how to unfreeeeeze!” He wails.
-
He’s amassed people?
Ryder’s brow furrows, not completely understanding Dio. “Wh-who is he… amassing? Who are these extra people?”
Gabriel gently strokes the back of the cricket as it sits still in his hand. A contented smile crosses his chapped lips and he carefully closes his hands over the cricket and stands, silently making his way upstairs while Dio and Ryder are distracted.

Silver stumbled as she got her feet under her, gripping Ben's arm, and pointed at the chaos happening in the pool. "Her foot is stuck in the ice and she can't stand up on her own. You can get her out, right? You can melt Cage's ice?"

"Hey, hey, hey." Miki said, still patting Cage's arm. "It's okay. Oh, look, Ben's coming out. Ben can just melt the ice. Cage, it'll be okay. I'm not dying. Cage? Cage, legit you need to calm down. Please breathe. In and out. Good job." Internally she thought, What are the odds Ben will actually let me die here. After how much I've annoyed him over the last two years. I might not make it out of this.

Dio set his phone down and picked up his teacup, blinking at Ryder over the rim. "Elementals. He finds them and either bribes them to serve him or he captures them and makes them do what he wants. He has… quite a number at his disposal now."

Ben looks past Silver to the chaos in the pool, Cage wailing as Miki tries to soothe him even though she’s the one with a foot frozen in the ice.
Good lord.
He doesn’t really bother answering Silver, jogging to the poolside and assessing the situation.
Cage turns when Miki mentions Ben, wiping his face with his soggy hands. “Ben! Bennnnnn! I accidentally froze her in! I can’t unfreeze her!!!”
Kneeling down by the pool, Ben gives Cage a nod, “no worries, no worries. Mik, can you keep yourself up?”
im going to have to get in, aren’t I?
Violet is only a step outside of the door before she turns back around popping her head in, “Kissa, love? Could you throw some towels into the dryer and put a kettle on?”
Kissa gives a heavy sighs, but turns around and does as she’s told.

-

Ryder pauses before asking his next question, making sure with a quickly glance that Gabriel wasn’t in the room anymore. He swallows, looking back to Dio. “Is that what he did with Gabriel and Kiss? He made them do his bidding?”

"I think–" Miki let go of Cage and flailed her arms in the water to try and get her free leg under her. It only partially worked. Her head dunked under for a second before she surfaced again. "I think I can survive long enough. Just hurry, maybe."
Silver jogged to Ben's side. "I can probably help keep her up." She closed her eyes and concentrated on the air around Miki. It was hard because most of her sister was submerged in the water, and Silver was used to moving inanimate objects, not people. But after a minute she found the invisible force of the air behind Miki's head and focused on keeping her up enough to breathe. "I got it." she strained through her teeth. "I don't know for how long."

Dio sipped his tea, staring past Ryder for a moment into nothing. "I'm not exactly sure what he did to the Kavi. He has many of them under his… influence. I don't know how many of them are with him willingly, or how many he's keeping by force." He shook his head. "I don't know which one Kissa and Gabriel were. I do know that he's very obsessed with the Kavi race. I believe they were how he constructed the power of air to imprint on humans. It explains why Silver has wings."

If I didn’t adopt five children, I wouldn’t be in this position.
Ben gives Silver a nod, extending an arm to Cage who takes it, still bawling. He helps him out gently, “go get a warm towel or something, you’re going to freeze out here. “ He grumbles, and Cage only gives a nod, turning around to watch instead of actually doing as he was told.
Taking one last second to try to think of another way to do this, Ben finally gives in, clenching then flexing his hands before quickly climbing into the pool, giving a sharp inhale through his teeth. He shoves himself under the water, swimming to the ice that incased Miki’s poor leg. Thankfully, it only almost reached her knee. He seems back to the surface, taking a breath and looking to Miki.
“I can melt it off, but I’ll have to heat it up quite a bit. It’s going to burn.”
Not to mention the chlorine. Maybe Violet can heal it up a little.

-

Ryder gives a solemn nod, looking to his hands. He couldn’t see Kissa and Gabriel joining willingly, but he could see them being forced into things. The Council always treated orphans poorly. He furrows his brow, then looks back to Dio.
“Do you think the Kavi are still working with him then? We could be in a lot more trouble if he has more in his ranks.”
Their magic with his numbers and power would be almost impossible to take down, even with Dio and Ben. But I’m not sure I could see them teaming up long term with a human.

Miki felt the presence of Silver's power under her head. It felt extremely odd, but considering she was at risk of drowning, Miki wasn't going to complain. She nodded to Ben when he surfaced and tried to give him a thumbs up. "Gotcha. Either I loose my leg or I die. Hobbling around for the rest of my life won't be that bad. Go ahead." Internally her heart raced and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to act cool and not panic. I'm gonna get burned alive in a pool full of chlorine trying not to drown because my best friend almost froze me to death. Of course this is how I die.

Dio shook his head. "I wish I knew. Unfortunately I don't know much about the Kavi themselves. Most of what I know is how Etienne is using them. It's hard to learn about a race of people who somehow keep themselves from being discovered by the entire world. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he's somehow managed to get a lot of them on his side."

Ben rolls his eyes, “Nobody is losing their leg or hobbling. Just… it’ll definitely hurt.” he pauses for a second, then gives her a nervous smile and thumbs up, “you’ll do fine.” Without saying anything, he goes back under, putting his hands around the ice encasing her ankle. He concentrates hard, making sure to focus his energy and power evenly and work his way from the inside of the ice to the outside, that way he didn’t necessarily have to melt it all, just enough to slip her leg out. And then maybe she’d get burnt less? He furrows his brow, starting only warm and then getting hotter, that way it wasn’t too sudden for her. Or would it be better to do sudden and quick?
The ice encasing her leg starts to melt, and although the water isn’t boiling, it is hot, and the high concentration of chlorine trapped around her leg definitely burns.
Violet swings a warm blanket around Cage, looking out to the pool.
Everybody is definitely going to need some hot tea and warm blankets after this.

-

Ryder nods, even though he himself would be surprised if many were on Etienne’s side. Not that his opinion mattered, what was actually going on is what mattered. He rubs the back of his neck, thinking.
“Either way, you’re going to need all the help you can get. And,” he looks back to Dio, “those kids at Ben’s are definitely gonna need some lessons before they can be part of it.”
Not to be rude. But I also cannot imagine half of them even throwing a decent punch.

Miki felt the ice around her leg begin to loosen. For a minute it felt great to not have the freezing ice encasing her skin, but then all too soon the heat increased and suddenly her skin was on fire. Not hot, not cold, just pain. It felt like it was eating the skin off her bones. A strangled scream ripped from her throat even as she tried to bite it back. Her arms flailed instinctively and she lost her balance in the water.

Silver's eyes flew open at the sound of Miki's voice. A noise that should never come from a human. "MIKI!" She screamed.
And lost her connection to the air around Miki's head.

Miki felt the pressure behind her head vanish and she slipped under. Her leg still burned and she gasped for air, but there was none. Only water.

Silver actually swore. One of those Russian words Ben said under his breath sometimes that he thought the kids didn't hear. "MIKI!" She shrieked her sister's name as she launched herself into the pool. Beating her wings and her arms she streaked through the water to her sister. Grabbing a handful of Miki's hair, she dragged her head to the surface.

Dio smiled and huffed a slight laugh. "Yes, you are definitely correct about that. They have a lot of passion and energy, but not enough training or discipline. Yet. I have no doubt they will be quick learners." He thought about Cage. So much potential in such a young person. Dio couldn't wait to show him all the wonders of his power.

Ben stops when Miki starts to yell/struggle. He’d told himself they’d push through, but even after telling himself that, he lets go of the ice, grabbing Miki with Silver and pulling her up, taking a deep breath once he’s reached the surface.
Violet runs to the edge of the pool, kneeling and ready to help. “Is she alright? Can we get her out?” she asks.
Ben furrows his brow, looking to the water then to Violet. “I don’t think she’s loose enough yet.” he has both arms around Miki, holding her up in a loose hug.
Dang it, why is Gabriel not here now?? At least he’d be helpful to keep her up. I don’t know if Sil can swim well and I definitely know she can’t keep a flailing Miki up.
Kissa exits the house, jogging to the poolside as well. Violet starts to take off her shoes and put them to the side, climbing in.
“Here, I can help keep her up.” She offers.

-

Ryder nods. “And I think there’s enough of us that can help them learn. Not that I can be much help with the whole,” he puts his hands up to his chest and makes small grabby motions as if he’s lost the words, “elemental stuff? But I know a thing or two about knocking people out.” He smiles, proud of himself.

As soon as Miki's head broke the surface she gasped for air. But there was already water in her throat, so it turned into violent coughing and choking. Being half-way tipped back because of the angle of her stuck leg didn't help either.

"She's choking!" Silver shrieked. Her wings beat, half in, half out of the water, to keep herself afloat, effectively spraying everyone with more water and causing small waves to rock back and forth across the pool. Silver grabbed Miki's leg and tugged. There was a little bit of give, but not enough. "Ben, she's still stuck! She can't breathe!"

~*~

Dio nodded. "Yes, 'elemental stuff' quite covers it. It's a lot to wrap your mind around, if you're not used to it. But as powerful and helpful as it can be sometimes, it definitely never replaces common sense and the ability to defend yourself. I'm sure you'll be quite helpful when it comes to teaching the children how to handle themselves. Speaking of which," he pulled his phone out again. "Ben hasn't gotten back to me about when he wants them to come over."

(Google wasn’t super helpful with this one :’))
After just one glance at Silver, who (bless her heart :’)) definitely wasn’t helping, Violet whips around to Kissa. “Help Silver to the side of the pool, love. It’s going to be too hard to help Miki with the three of us in here.” She demands, trying to phrase it as kindly as possible. Silvers wings and hysterics were definitely not helping, but she also couldn’t blame the kid.
Kissa gives a focused, tight nod and in a second is in the air/water (im gonna be honest, I don’t know exactly where Silver is lol), arms wrapping around Silver. “Let go! Let Ben help her, your wings are getting in the way!” She yells, and Violet almost automatically regrets her decision.
“I’ve got this, Sil, don’t worry!” Ben assures, somehow keeping Miki above water even with the waves Silver is making. “Let go, please!”
Violet swims over, taking Miki’s hand and doing her best to ignore the chaos around her. First thing was first: calm Miki down and help her cough the water up.
(Leaving it at this for reaction time??:))

-

(HE HASN’T GOTTEN BACK TO YOU BC HIS KIDS ARE DYING)(SORRY)
Ryder nods, smiling, then goes back to his breakfast as Dio mentions Ben again.
I’m sure he’s just busy.
Gabriel is up in Dio’s room by now, creating a small structure out of a piece of mail he found on a desk on his way. He places it next to the desk on the floor and gently lets his cricket inside, giving it a soft and small smile.
There you are. Nice and cozy.

(Silver is in the water right next to Miki, basically up to her neck. Her wings are large enough that they're like half in and half out of the water. She's slowly flapping them up and down to keep herself afloat instead of using her arms, so she can hold Miki. Hope that helps. I can go back and clarify in the text if we need. Kissa could probably still get a decent hold on Silver's shoulders or chest without getting completely in the water. But she will definitely be wet XD)

Vaguely Miki heard everyone screaming around her, but the clearest was Ben telling Silver to let go so he could help Miki. In her choking panic Miki tried to pat Silver in reassurance. I love you but you're actually not helpful. In reality her pat was more like a weird, desperate smacking on Silver's shoulder.

Silver felt Kissa grab her and instantly turned to smack her off. "Get off me! She can't–" but at Ben's order she stopped. Realizing that Ben and Violet both had Miki in their hold and knowing Violet would be able to help Miki breathe, Silver let go and tried to push herself back through the water with her wings to get out of the way. But Kissa was right behind her, and she didn't get very far. "Let go!" she snapped at Kissa again. "I can't get out of the way with you on me!"

(DIO DOESN'T KNOW. no one is dying at his house XD)

(IDK what else might happen at Dio's. I'm good if we just wanna skip until Miki's not dying and Ben can respond to Dio or something.)

Kissa still yanks at Silver, upwards and backwards at the same time as if she’s trying to get her out of the pool and away. “I’m trying to get you away, you oaf!” She yells, her voice raising in pitch as she speaks.
Cage watches in horror from the side of the pool, just frozen in place and in panic.
Oh my gosh. Miki is going to drown and it’s going to be my fault. I’m going to have killed Miki.
He pales, even more than he already is, and takes a step back, chewing at his nails absentmindedly.
Violet does her best to help Ben keep Miki afloat in the chaos, and between the two of them, they’re doing well. She tilts Miki’s head up gently but firmly, just so she wasn’t still getting splashed in the face and inhaling more water. “It’s alright, Love. It’s going to be alright.” she assures, doing her best to calm her down first before anything else.
Ben looks from Miki to Violet, brow furrowed, obviously unsure of his whole idea now. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he didn’t really see any other way to get her out. And who could hold her still if she was flailing about and shrieking?

-
(Sounds good to me lol)(This might take a second tho lol none of them know what they’re doing XDDD Expect maybe Violet)

"Leave me alone!" Silver shrieked at Kissa. She flung her hand up, sending a gust of wind at Kissa to try and get her away.

Miki gasped for air, trying to convince herself she was breathing, that there was nothing actually blocking her airway. But her body convulsed against her will, refusing to stop the fit of coughing.

"Ben, we have to get her out!" Silver screamed. "Just do it! Just–" she saw Ben hesitating, realizing he was battling himself because the only way he could help involved injuring Miki more.

Silver threw another strong wind at Kissa and bit her arm to get her to let go. She gasped a lungfull of air and drove under the water, swiming over to Miki's leg. She reached her hand above the water and pulled down a giant bubble of air, forcing it below the water level. Carefully she guided it into the slight space between Miki's leg and the ice that Ben's heat had made. She pressed her hand on the edge of the bubble, forcing the air into the space even though there wasn't enough room, hoping she could rupture the ice with the air pressure.