Her frowned deepened as she watched Violet's movements. Something was very wrong. She pushed herself off the floor and swung over the balcony, slowly falling to land beside Violet in the kitchen. "Did he say where he was?" She asked quietly.
"Bathrooms!" Miki yelled. "I haven't done those yet. Come on, Cage, let's go." And grabbed all of her cleaning supplies to take to the first bathroom.
Cage races with Miki to it and immediately starts on the sink. “Ew, someone brushed their teeth and did not clean up.”
Violet takes an apron from the drawer, tying it around her waist. “A good hour and a half from here. He took a different route so he wouldn’t lead any men following here..” She walks to the fridge, pulling out a few ingredients, “He should be alright but we’re not certain they didn’t follow him.”
Miki stepped into the shower and began scrubbing. "Uuummmm that was probably the uncivilized dumpster child you let live in your home with you." She said, trying to not look guilty and failing.
Silver started cutting up the vegetables, quiet for a long time as her mind worked on something entirely different than her hands. Finally she asked, voice quiet and distant, "Did he say what direction he is from us?"
Violet slightly turns her head, just enough to look at Silver. “Yes…” She sighs, pouring the noodles into the boiling water. “Silver, we cant- I-“ She rubs her forehead. “How do I say this? You can’t go. You can’t turn your wings invisible. And if there’s men out there, they’d take you down in a heartbeat.”
Cage bites his lip, “yuck, Mik. You should go live in the attic with the animals. Don’t worry, Gabriel will feed you.” He jokes, giggling between words.
"Yeah, I know." Silver said, nodding. She didn't know how to tell Violet what she was thinking about. And she wasn't sure Violet would be okay with it. She finished the vegetables and set them aside for when Vi was ready for them. "Do you need me to do anything else?"
Miki cringed. "Sorry?? Manners and being civilized is so hard and confusing sometimes, Cage. Who knew you're supposed to clean the sink out after brushing your teeth?? Nooooot me."
Violet pauses, giving Silver a sad smile and kissing her forehead. “No, Love. Thank you for helping though.” She turns back to the soup, continuing it.
Cage rolls his eyes. “You basically live with us for two years. You don’t already know this?” He throws a toothbrush at her. He turns, pausing to admire his own teeth in the mirror.
Silver nodded, giving her a quick hug, and went over to the basement door and jogged down the stairs to the training area. You wanted me to start training more, Ben, she thought. Let's see how this goes.
Miki stared at him for a moment before making a face. "And that's NOT gross to do in front of another person?? See, this is why I get so confused. Civilized people don't make sense."
“IM LOOKING AT MY TEETH, HOw is that gross?? Are they gross Miki!? Omg ARE THEY YELLOW!?” He leans over the sink, getting as close as he can to the mirror. “I can’t teeeeelllllll!”
Gabriel sits quietly in the far left corner of the basement. His wings are fully visible, a rare sight, and one is pulled over his leg as he inspects it and dries blood from a few cuts. The other wing is sprawled out to the side, small scratches and cuts covering it as well. His shirt is removed, a few scratches across his chest and his hair has three leaves embedded in it.
Miki groaned and rolled her eyes, turning to scrub the shower and not lookat him. "I don't know?? It just seems like that would be gross and rude if leaving the sink unwashed is gross and rude. CAGE, SOCIETAL RULES ARE SO WEIRD. Living on the street is so much easier."
Silver stopped atthe bottom of the stairs and took a deep breath, glancing around the basement. It was so familiar, almost more comfortable to her than her own room. She slowly stepped toward the middle of the room and sat down on the floor, unsure how to experiment with the idea she had.
“Living in the street isn’t nicer though. I’d much rather live with my rich brother, to be honest.”
—
He slowly moves his wing out of the way to care for the cuts over his midsection, and it makes a soft scratching noise as it moves across the floor, gathering dusts in the wounds he just cleaned.
"Well, I mean, yeah." Miki agreed. "I'm not saying I don't prefer to live with your rich brother too. But it's easier to live on the street. No one cares about manners. And 'rude' is when someone pulls a gun on you, not leaves a dirty sink behind them. It's just not as complicated."
Silver had just closed her eyes and tried to ease her breathing when she heard–and felt– a skitter on the floor. With a gasp she jerked around toward the sound and saw Gabriel sitting in a far corner, half hidden by the shadows.
"Gabriel!" she breathed, letting out the air in her lungs and trying to still her pounding heart. "You scared me."
Cage bites his lip. “Yikes. Yeah, okay. I’m pretty sure I’ve lived on the street before but I don’t know.” He shrugs. “I was probably like 5.”
Gabriel jerks his attention to Silver, his eyes wide a stick falls out of his hair with his sudden movement and he stares at her.
H- Hi.
"WAT." Miki squawked. "Tiny Cage was a street baby???" She smashed her cheeks with her hands. "Awwwwwwww. Actually," she let go of her face and returned to scrubbing, her voice normal again. "I don't believe you. Ben probably kept you in a gazillion dollar nursery til you were like ten."
"Gabe…?" Silver said, squinting and moving closer, scooting along the floor to avoid getting up and walking. "Gabriel, what are you… are you hurt?" she asked, voice peaked with concern as she got a little bit better look at him.
He pulls his wings closer to himself, dusty blood oozing from the small cuts. “No. I’m fine.” He quietly states.
Cage bursts out laughing, gently hitting Miki’s shoulder. “HA. No nonono, you don’t understand. Clovis, mine and Ben’s older brother took care of us. And we ran from family in Russia to live in Germany. Or… at least that’s what Ben says. I was too small to remember, but I remember Clovis okay.”
Silver frowned, feeling the injuries on him more than she could see them. "Gabriel, you're bleeding. What happened?"
Miki rolled her eyes. "Okay, same difference. Your Clovis brother brought you to Germany and kept you in a gazillion dollar nursery until you were ten. You were still a tiny baby Cageually Stan human and couldn't ever have lived on the street. You would have died."
“I would NOT have!” Cage argues. “They took good care of me!” He starts to scrub the toilet. “I think at least.”
Gabriel considers turning invisible, but for once he decides against it.
“I’m fine.” He states again, his voice quiet and uncertain this time.
“It was.. nothing.”
"Weeeeeell," She surveyed him, face skeptical. "You still think it's okay to look at your teeth in the mirror in front of people so… I wouldn't say they did the greatest job ever."
Silver groaned and scooted closer, trying to see better without cornering him too badly. "Gabriel, really. How do you get… what, leaves? Sticks? In your hair and—why aren't you wearing a shirt? Gabriel, what did you do?"
Cage shoots her a pretend glare. “Haha. By the way, what do you think is holding Ben up?”
He sighs, acting as if he’s given up and will give her a real answer, “you wanna come?” He asks.
Miki shrugged. "I told him to call us if he died soooooo… he called Violet. But he never listens to me so he's probably fine."
Silver frowned, more confused than ever. "Come? What? Gabriel, I want to know why you're bleeding."
Cage nods. “Nobody listens to you, Mik.” He points out casually, still scrubbing the toilet.
Gabriel stands, reaching his hands up and stretching despite the cuts. He offers her his hand, blinking.
"Ah!" Miki cried, placing a hand over her heart. "Rude! I listen to me! Silver listens to me! Sometimes! YOU LISTEN TO ME OR YOU WOULDN'T BE TALKING TO ME RIGHT NOW."
Silver stared at him for a moment, mouth slightly open, before she gave up with a resigned shake of her head and accepted his hand. "Okay. I'll come. Where are we going?"
Cage starts to giggle in the middle of Miki talking. “OKAY OKAY FINE. Some people listen to you!”
Gabriel takes her hand and they both turn invisible. He slips his finger between hers and silently leads her up the stairs and out the back door into the cold yard. He pauses, looking to her with a hint of guilt in his eyes.
“Please… please don’t tell Ben.” He quietly asks.
Miki huffed and turned away, attacking the shower with her scrubby with renewed vigor. "We're not friends anymore."
Silver stared at him again, a frown of utter confusion wrinkling her brow. "Gabriel, I don't understand. What did you do?"
Gabriel lets go of her hand and spreads his enormous wings behind him, the wind brushing over the tattered and scarred skin. He leaps into the air and stops a little over the house and looks down, motioning for her to come.
"Oh, my goodness." Silver whispered to herself, spreading her wings and rising to join him. "Yes?" she said as she reached his side. "Gabriel, where on earth are we going?"