Kye brushed himself off and gave Hosea another glare. "Everyone this is Hosea. Hosea we came to get some help. You are the best at disappearing and I figured you could these kids… and Ethyn."
"So you are the one that got my house burned down," Hosea laughed. He was making light of the situation, but his hand was still resting on his holster. "Yeah I can help. I suggest we leave this city first. We have like three agents closing in on us."
Ava cleared her throat, only slightly annoyed. "…I'm not a kid," she stated, her eyes still narrowed at Hosea, untrusting of him.
Hosea looked at Ava and nodded. "How long ago was it taken away from you?"
Ava bit her lower lip, looking down. "Eleven years ago," she admitted quietly.
Ethyn peered out from his hood. "How old are you know?"
Hosea nodded sadly. "I'd tell you how long ago it was for me, but I don't think you'd believe me," he gave a lighthearted laugh. "So we'll just go with, I was only ten. Come on I have a vehicle parked out back from my place. We can use that."
"You know how to drive?" Kye looked at him for a moment then shook his head. "Of course you do."
Ava blinked, her head snapping up at his words. What? She found it hard to believe that he, Hosea had a sad and tragic backstory as well. Huh. Well… not exactly sad and tragic. But… she knew what she meant, so… Ava just nodded and followed Hosea, falling behind so she was walking next to people she knew.
Kye fell into step with Ava as Hosea started walking back towards the house. "He's nice I promise. Surprising considering what he's been through," Kye commented. He was trying to reassure Ava, he could tell she didn't trust Hosea. But being fair to her, Hosea was a difficult person to track with. He was the kind of person you never knew what he might do next. Kye wasn't going to tell Ava this, because that wouldn't help the situation so he merely stuck with what he had said.
Kain squeaked as he lightly held Ava’s hand
"…okay," Ava replied, but didn't really believe Kye that much.
Kain whimpered as he looked around the looked up to Ava’s face “I’m scared”
Hosea stopped and turned to look at Kain, a kind smile on his face. He walked over and crouched in front of the kid. "You know it's okay to be scared right?" he asked. "I'm scared to, but it's bravery that keeps me walking forward, and since you're also still walking forward you must be brave to." He stood up again readying to move again. "If you want to stop somewhere though, let me know and I'll try to make that happen."
Kain could feel the spirits around him shifting as he solidified one of them that he had a strong connection with as he gave Hosea a confident smile
Ethyn stayed silent and followed. The shadow across his face from the hood has grown seemingly darker and the cylinder he was fiddling with was longer, about the size of an unsharpened pencil but wider.
Hosea glanced at Kye and then continued walking. They could see the house now, or what was left of it. There were still tons of flashing lights and emergency vehicles there. But Hosea didn't slow down or stop, he merely kept his head up and kept walking. "Act like you know where you're going, and you'll attract less attention."
Kain held Ava's hand and the spirit's had as well and nodded to Hosea
Kain whimpered as he looked around the looked up to Ava’s face “I’m scared”
Ava held him close as she whispered, "That's okay. Kye's right. I'm… scared too, but after what I've been through, I've learned to keep it from showing." She shut up after that, pretending that Kain was her younger brother, and that Kye and Ethyn were older brothers of some sort. It was easy to pretend that she was related to Kain and Ethyn, but somehow she felt a parent-like vibe coming off of Kye. It was probably just her, she thought to herself.
Hosea came to a stop and glanced back at them. "You guys stay here I'll bring the vehicle around to you," he said before turning and disappearing around the corner.
Kye glanced at Ava then Ethyn. "You see why I wanted to get to him?"
"I guess…" Ava replied, saying nothing much else after that.
"All I want to know now is, how they people chasing us knew that we were going to him," he continued. "No one that we knew of was near us when I brought him up, I'm pretty sure one of us if not multiple of us would have noticed someone that close."
Ethyn narrowed his eyes. "Are we sure that's why the house burnt down?" He shot a quick glance at all of them in turn like someone might challenge his logic. "I mean like, it could have been an accident or they did it not because of us but another reason?"
"I guess it's possible to have been some other reason," Kye muttered. "I don't think it would have been an accident because he's always super careful, but for some other reason… possibly."
Ethyn shrugged. He looked around and said "I hate it here." He tried to keep casual but by the second sentence, his voice was shaking. "I just want to go home."
"I know," Kye sighed feeling a bit helpless. "I'm trying Ethyn, I'm trying."
Kain had let the spirit go and it slowly dispersed then he turned to Ava and hugged her for comfort