(Ur not real omg ur so amazing and sweet I love u 🥺)
Astrid's face dropped as she listened to everyone talk about the creatures. Jesse didn't go into too much detail, for Astrid's sake, but she loved a good story, and Jesse never disappointed her when he came home with one, cleaning his baseball bat.
Jesse obviously wasn't fit for being a parent, but he made for a really good brother, and Astrid still missed him.
Roger nodded at Juniper, noticing Astrid. As much as he wanted to ask her, he didn't want to put Astrid on the spot, so he gave her an affirmative nod before continuing the walk.
Eddie gazed at Stephan for a moment. "So, who exactly are you?"
(🥺 No U. You’re fun to do with and talk to.)
Juniper noticed Astrid’s forlorn look as well and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She understood the loss Astrid was feeling. But Juniper didn’t say anything, she was bad at expression emotions sometimes.
Stephan blinked in surprise at Eddie, tilting his head. “I’m Stephan. Juniper’s cousin. I used to be a doctor… I worked for the labs. I quit after finding out what they were doing to people. What I was doing.” He replied. There was no use in hiding anything. Trust was foundational for a group such as they were. “Now I help people like you and Roger and Juniper. I heal who I can.”
Astrid returned Juniper's hand squeeze, the tension in her chest gradually relieving as she used every bit of reassurance she could to help her remain calm and collected.
Eddie's eyes widened as he listened to Stephan. "You quit? Roger told me that his parents worked for them, too, but when they found out about the plans, they quit."
Eddie looked behind to make sure people weren't listening to him before whispering to Stephan. "They killed his parents because they didn't want their secret to leak out."
Eddie looks expectantly at Stephan, waiting for an explanation.
Juniper hoped she could help Astrid. So much had happened to the poor girl in such a short time. June wanted to be a friend And comfort the other but she wasn’t sure how to.
Stephan looked Eddie over, amused by how lively he seemed. He smirked and lifted his head a little higher. “They never found out I knew anything. They assumed I was as oblivious as the other doctors who worked with me.”
His face fell slightly as he thought back to it all. “I quit by telling them I was going back to school, which I did have plans for, but I never moved to those floating cities. I stayed in Sire for some reason. I guess it was because I didn’t want to leave Atlas or Juniper behind. They’re both family To me, Juniper by blood and Atlas by bond.”
Astrid could already feel the stress easing away as she inhaled the air that remained as fresh as a forgotten city of bandits and diseased could be.
Eddie listened closely to Stephan, nodding intently. He looked to his feet when he heard the part about Atlas.
"By bond…" he whispered under his breath before turning back to Stephan with a question.
"Do you love Atlas?"
Stephan flushed when Eddie asked, looking up at the scarred man he had shared a household with for most of his adult life; the one who captivated his attention and drew him in. Atlas was only two or three years younger than him, and the two had practically learned how to survive side by side.
Stephan hid his feelings away. He didn’t wan to drive away the only person he felt he could be completely open to.
“I do… but we’re only close friends. I don’t think he sees me as anything more than someone to trust, maybe as a brother, don’t know which one hurts more.” Stephan admitted, sighing deeply as he watched Atlas’s tanned, olive shoulders move as he walked.
“It’s silly isn’t it? You’d think with a world such as the one we live in I’d be more open to admitting my feelings. We don’t live very long anymore, and wouldn’t it be better to be with the one you love? I guess that makes me a coward in more ways than one.”
Eddie nodded his head, listening closely to Stephan. Eddie himself knew what it was like to lose someone he loves. For a moment his mind flashes back to his uncle, a man he didn't recognize after the procedure. Eddie lost him before he could clear the twisted air with him.
"I advise you to be much more open about how you feel. You wouldn't want to lose something before you even had it."
Eddie grins, thinking about the man he's related to by bond.
"I know someone in my life that I have the same feelings with. He was always out at night. Since I wasn't allowed to have any relations with anyone, he and I kept it a secret. He'd go out at night and I'd fake an arrest and bring him in for questioning, just so that we could spend time together. Since I had nothing to arrest him for, I'd let him go every time, he was back home before sunrise."
Eddie pauses, thinking about him.
"I haven't seen him since a few nights ago, but I hope he's doing well. And I definitely wouldn't want to lose him. Especially now that I have the freedom to be with him."
Stephan sighed deeply, rubbing his neck and smiling softly. “You’ve got a point there Eddie.”
He gently patted the other’s head as he listened, grinning brightly. “Sounds romantic, meeting in ‘secret’ but in plain sight. Want to go find him tonight, to bring him along?” Stephan asked softly. “I’m no good at the fighting kind of things but I’m sure as hell good at support and the care of others.” He winked and then laughed at himself.
He glanced back up at Atlas just in time to catch the other’s eye. Atlas flashed a cocky grin and waved, snickering as Stephan looked away with a blush.
Eddie's eyes lit up as he nodded joyously.
"That's a great idea! He even has a baseball bat, I think he could help us fight. I don't know where he lives, but I know where to find him at night."
Astrid looked up as they approached the Wall.
"Well, it looks like we're here."
Stephan chuckled softly. He liked Eddie’s enthusiasm and excited nature. It brought him good feelings he really hadn’t felt in a long time. Not since Juniper was little and the world below the cities had hope. Not since he and the rest of Sire were abandoned by the government.
“Good, you and I will go find him.” Stephan stated with a grin.
His grin soon faded as they came to the Wall. The scent would usually have been unbearable if it wasn’t for the fact that Sire reeked of death already. Those who lived in it had grown nose blind to the scent.
Juniper scowled at the rotting bodies piled up to at least waist-height. The lower bodies had already decomposed, skeletons scattered and any other parts returning to the earth in a half-liquid state.
It was Atlas who commented first, making a gagging noise and folding his arms. “God I hate this place. The dead should be respected, not piled up as food for those beasts out there. We don’t even have a name for those dreadful Creatures yet.”
“That’s because they’ve just been found, Atlas.” Stephan replied, patting Atlas’s shoulder as he passed him. “Now, come on over here and I’ll boost you all over. There’s another row of bodies behind this one, so that gives us a gap to hide in until the night passes and the Creatures go back into their holes.”
Astrid pulled the top of her shirt over her face to muffle the stench as she followed Roger and Stephan to climb over the bodies.
"They deserve a proper send off." She looks at Roger with a peculiar pain in her expression. "Everyone does."
Roger nods at Astrid, sighing heavily as he assists Stephan. Eddie grins widely due to his new plan for tonight. He was excited to find his friend; the only person that made Eddie feel like he was worth something.
Juniper looked strangely unfazed by the stench, her eyes scanning the bodies. Once settled she checked the pockets of a jacket lying on the ground without an owner, its pockets emptied and ripped open. "Sire is a cruel place… proper sendoffs don't happen. I wish we could give them a good memorial, but unfortunately the Creatures would end us all without defenses."
But Juniper only wished for one thing at that moment; she wished they could have given Jesse… no she needed to stop thinking that way. He was dead now, as much as it hurt. They needed to keep moving, avenge his death by taking down the corruption that killed him.
Stephan gently nudged her out of her thoughts, opening his arms. "Let me give you a proper hug, I haven't seen you in a long time and now you've just appeared out of nowhere with two cyborgs and a new friend. I'm surprised you trusted someone enough to let them get you carried away in this." he teased, offering her an old hard candy from his lab coat's pocket. She took it thankfully and popped it into her mouth.
"Astrid is my friend now, Steph. I'd trust her with my life. Same to Roger and Eddie. They've proven themselves."
Roger and Eddie dubiously exchanged looks before haphazardly nodding to Juniper. Astrid cautiously took Juniper's hand, her eyes turning to Roger for the same purpose. Roger turns toward Atlas.
"Let's go collect some wood for a fire. I hear the creatures aren't a fan of the flames, and it'll get cold at night."
Juniper scowled at the dubious glances but didn’t comment on them. Instead she gave Astrid’s hand a squeeze and nodded at Roger’s idea. “Fire would be best…”
Atlas sighed but nodded and gestured down the Wall. “Let’s go then, better to not waste time”
(desperately tries to force myself to respond to RPs by using excuses anyway i'm back to say that today is Astrid's birthday!! ofc i made a beautiful drawing of ya beautifiul gorlie uwu and also Imma post a response after this >:) )
Roger led Atlas back out to the city to find the means for a fire. Dried wood planks shouldn't be too hard to come by; there were a lot of torn down houses and various remnants of makeshift shelters lying about. Roger glanced at Atlas for a quick moment, wanting to speak but not wanting to be the one to break the silence.
Eddie turned to Astrid and Juniper.
"How did you two meet?" He questioned curiously.
(She’s so coooooollllll!! And I love your art! The colors are so stunning!! Also, welcome back!)
Atlas felt the eyes of the other on him, glancing over at him and flashing a charming smile. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at the broken road underneath his feet.
“Have you ever been in the Higher Cities?”
Juniper laughed at the question, looking over at Astrid and smiling. “It was by happenstance. She bumped into me, followed me back to my ‘base’.” Juniper glanced at Astrid and smiled. “I’m glad I didn’t chase her off. It’s nice having a friend.”
(hehe thanks !)
Roger inhaled quickly and deeply as the question floated into the air. Thinking back to his time in the Floating Cities provoked him to clench his fist and look to the ground in mental strain.
"Once, but only while they operated on me. I was too busy begging for my life to really pay attention to the sights. They sent me back down here once I was "fully operational." They hoped we would cleanse these towns or something, but all that happened was the guards used their power to take their anger out on anyone that even hints at an opportunity to."
Roger knew he was probably oversharing, but he's never actually gotten any of this stuff off his chest, and it felt nice, so he kept going.
"I killed a lot of people when I was under their control, and there's nothing I want more than to bring those lives back. They had families. They were just trying to survive."
Astrid grinned, looking in the direction of Eddie. "She's lots of fun," She added after Juniper finished.
Atlas listened to every word, letting Roger vent as he pulled a few boards from a rotting house. He turned to look at the other male, patting his shoulder.
“Don’t think too much about it, alright? What’s in the past is done. We can’t change it. But there’s no use regretting. Live your life better now, strive to be better.” He offered a small, reassuring smile.
“You have people around you now who have forgiven you, who trust you, focus on them.”
Junipers grin widened. “Who me? Nah. I’m nothing special.” She chuckled lightly, smiling happily. “But I am really enjoying getting to know all of you… I guess I needed friends more than i thought I did.”
Roger smiled sadly at Atlas when he pat his shoulder, helping Atlas pull apart the boards.
"I guess you're right. I'm still confused on why I'm helping Eddie out. He treated me like shit when we were working together. I guess to an extent I understood where he was coming from. He only did what he did out of survival, even if he didn't realize it."
Astrid looked back down to the ground.
"I didn't have any friends for a while. It was just me and my brothers. Then it was just the two of us when Roger disappeared." Astrid pushed back the flashing memories that seared in her mind of Jesse's last moments. She felt nauseous just thinking about it, and the stench of the bodies didn't help. She's glad she got to bury Jesse properly rather than throw him onto one of the many piles; she couldn't stand to look at his corpse again.
Atlas laughed at that, nodding his head to show he understood. “Stephan was the same way when I first met him. You’ll warm up to Eddie, he seems like a good kid. Both of you have been through hell and back and I’m sure they tinkered with both of your minds. Those kind of scars are the hardest to heal, the mental ones.”
Atlas moved to the next board, studying the nails that held it in place. They were rusted enough he could probably pry the wood clean off with just a small tug.
“We’re all assholes towards everyone because of our want to survive. It’s funny we think we can survive better on our own, when in fact, larger groups of people survive more often than single people do.
Juniper gently squeezed Atlas’s hand, looking sad. “It’ll be okay, we have Roger back, and a group to help us… we won’t forget Jesse either… we can’t. He’ll always be with us in spirit.”
Roger nodded. "He went through some shit I didn't even know about. The more I think about what that organization did to him, the more I realize he's just as much a victim as I am. I just wish he'd figure it out before it was too late."
Roger holds several planks and boards under his arm as he uses his other arm to grab more.
As Juniper spoke, Eddie's heart drops, along with his expression.
"Wait…Jesse?" His voice shakes as his eyes widen in denied confusion. "What happened to Jesse?"
Astrid looked towards Eddie, furrowing a brow. "Did you know him?"
Eddie's throat tightens as he swallows the lump in his throat. "He was my…he was my friend. I loved him. What…what happened to him?"
“He’s been through a lot… so have you…” Atlas paused for a moment, sighing gently. “Don’t we all wish we would have realized sooner?” He sighed softly, rubbing at his scared arms.
Juniper felt her heart drop into her stomach.
“Jesse was killer by the officials…” she murmured, looking down at the ground and biting her lip to keep from crying.
“He’s gone… I’m sorry Eddie.”
Roger nodded, thinking back to what he saw in Eddie's memories. He wondered what Astrid could have seen when she tapped into him: something Eddie's kept buried for a long time. How much did Eddie bury?
If Eddie could catch his breath, he would have gasped; instead he placed one hand on his stomach and the other on his forehead, bending forward as his eyes grow vacant. The world fell of it's axis as Eddie's overwhelming emotion threw him into a pit of dizziness and frustration. He broke his fall with his knees as he let out a heart-wrenching yell.
Astrid placed a hand over her mouth, as if she would do the same if she wasn't careful. Tears already started to form.
(Sorry for the wait! College stuff is kiiiillinng meee)
Atlas touched Roger’s arm, his eyes hardened, knowing, concerned, even pained.
Atlas himself understood the trauma of becoming a victim, and he really understood the anger and frustration and worry that came with understanding and helping another victim.
Stephan was his companion and perhaps something a little more if Atlas ever got the courage to make a move. But Stephan was so deeply scarred, so quiet from his trauma, that he was afraid.
“Make sure you’re there for him, alright? He’ll need it. But if you need someone to lean on, come to me.”
Juniper turned her face away from the grieving Eddie, her own heart wrenching for him. She felt the tears prick the corner of her eyes but didn’t let them fall. She refused to cry. Crying wasn’t good… crying over someone… it just… it wasn’t…
Juniper wrapped her arms around Eddie, pulling him in tightly. The first tear she shed rolled down her cheek and onto the grieving male’s head.
