forum “You don’t know what they did to me. To us.” (a continuation of an abruptly deleted thread)

Started September 23, 2020 by @Tired-but-passionate

tune

He let out a groan, and a lot of moans in pain as they put pressure against his reopened wounds. His eyelids drooped and eventually through all his heavy breathing he started loosing consciousness.
"well, i guess I'm just making your job harder, sorry Ali.." he smiled at him, before going unconscious and blacking out in Alisters arms.
~
She looked down as she heard them talk and her brain readjusted to being out of a vision.
"I didn't mean to do it…" She muttered out slightly looking away, she both hoped august heard her and hoped she didn't hear her.
She really didn't mean to do it, she wasnt in control. It wasn't her fault…it wasn't her fault. It wasn't.
…it…it wasn't….
She just leaned slightly into Malachi, "je suis désolé panthère .." she whispered to him.

August had heard her, but she didn’t say anything, only giving her a saddened look and pausing to check on Evan and the others.
Malachi looked down at Arden’s dark head leaning against him, wishing he could do more. ”Non, tu n'as pas besoin de dire ça, ma chère,” he whispered. ”Vous n'avez rien à vous excuser.”
Vixen then stepped forward, kneeling to study Quinn. “And the child?” She murmured, looking between August and Malachi.
“Ah, we found him as we were traveling,” Malachi said, turning to them. “His name is Quinn. I think he may have been on the run from those who branded him.”
August turned to the boy, managing a smile. “Nice to meet you, Quinn. I promise we won’t do anything to your… your mom. But would you like to join us? We know a safe place you can stay.”

Alister swallowed. “Actually, you’re making it very easy,” he murmured to Evan’s soft, sleeping face. He combed his fingers through Evan’s hair, unsure of what else to do.
His sister sighed as she finished up cleaning the wound. “Just kiss him already.”
He had to take a minute to recover. “El,” he said, dangerously quiet. “He’s unconscious.”
Noel grinned devilishly. “So you admit you want to kiss him.”
“El, shut up right this minute or I’m going to end up cleaning your wounds.”
She did shut up, but the grin never left her face. She began wrapping his wound is with the gauze bandages.

"mais je le sais, Malachie, tu sais ce que je t'ai fait… d'horribles lanières
..et si ce n'était pas pour toi, je serais toujours au labo… c'est juste…" She whispered to him once more, sighing and not finishing her sentence. August just made her feel like more of a horrible person then she almost had ever felt in her whole life, i mean, she did do all that stuff willingly and the only thing she hadn't done willingly didn't even matter. They probably weren't even gonna take into the fact that she healed him, because she has done way more damage then the healing could cover, and none of them seemed happy to see her save for that boy with the faded white hair.
Quin just hid behind Kalis leg more, when august came close he hid behind Malachi and kalis legs clinging to them both.
"i want to stay.." he spoke to august staying close to Malachi and Kali.

Evan was casually unconscious. Blep.

Trent just watched them all treat Evan, cursing the lab over and over again even if it wasn't outloud. He turned and glared at Kali, his ears pressed down against his head the fluff on it spiking out in rage. Barely holding back a growl.

Vixen studied Quin for a moment longer, then looked back at August. “Wherever they go, he will follow,” she summed up. August could only nod, still a little unable to deal with all of them at once.
Arden sounded so sad, Malachi had to resist the urge to do something bold to comfort her. ”Tu as déjà été pardonné pour ça, mon ami,” he whispered instead. ”Tu n'avais besoin de t'excuser qu'une seule fois, et tu n'as pas à le faire pour eux. Mais si vous voulez vous excuser, gardez-le pour plus tard, d'accord?”
“Malachi?”
He looked up at the sound of August’s voice.
“You know it will be best if we separate you, right?”
He shook his head. “No it won’t, August. I don’t want to make this any more painful for her. I know she won’t attack me now, please let me stay by her side.”
She sighed, almost grinning faintly. “Since when does a rebel leader say please?”
“Well you know what they say,” he chuckled a bit. “A leader is never above the law.”
She smiled fully now. “I’m just glad you’re back, Mal. But I also don’t want to lose you again.” The smile faded. “You can stay with her.”
August then looked at Arden for a moment, looking as if wanting to say something but unable to say it. She eventually settled on a simple nod.
She went over to the others, putting a hand on Trent’s shoulder. “Calm yourself Pike. I think we’ve had enough excitement for today.” Moving near Noel, she said, “How is he?”
“Unconscious, lost a fair bit of blood, but otherwise he’s fine,” Noel replied, finishing up the bandaging. Her brother looked between them, the bluebells on his torso beginning to wilt. He rolled down Evan’s shirt back over the bandages and took him up in his arms.
“You wanna carry him?” Noel tilted her head at him.
Alister nodded. “I can do it. He’s not that heavy.”
Truthfully, he was, but that was only because Evan was taller. Really, Alister was just starting to feel responsible for Evan in general.

Vixen was exactly right, quin was either clinging to Malachi or Kali when he wasn't clinging to the other. He wasn't intending on leaving them any time soon.
"Malachi, tu es sûr de vouloir rester avec moi ?… peut-être…tu devrais y aller avec ton peuple…"
She let out a sigh, still partly leaning against Malachi and glancing over at Vixen and August while whispering to Malachi not taking the chance that someone else might know French.

Trent let out a sigh "I'm not gonna do anything to her, I'm just looking at her. Waiting for her to slip up so then i can do something." He muttered, under his breath. His carefree tp buddy energy having vanished into thin air.
Evan frowned in his unconsciousness, probablyyy at trents words as he was held by Alister.

“Pike, we let you join us on this mission. It would do you well not to give us a reason to regret it.” August’s voice was a bit colder than she had intended, but she did nothing to amend it. She sighed, pausing to rub the bridge of her nose. Noel and Alister winced.
Malachi quickly looked over all of the rebels before replying. ”Je resterai toujours avec toi, chat noir,” he murmured. ”Et j'aurai mon peuple à mes côtés aussi. Je peux avoir les deux, ne vous inquiétez pas.”
He slowly guided her closer to the others, feeling Quinn close behind them.
August looked up and looked over them all. “Are we ready to head back?”

"Fine. Whatever." He sighed, shutting up and moving to just stand somewhere in an upset mood not wanting to talk to anyone. He had his arms crossed and was glaring into the distance.
~
Kali looked into Malachis eyes and his face, "J'espère que tu ne te trompes pas malachi, à la fois pour notre bien et pour celui de Quins aussi."
She let out another sigh, stopping talking as she glanced at August.
"Eh bien, elle a l'air stressée."
She muttered.

Making sure no one was looking, Malachi booped her on the nose. ”Ne t'inquiète pas, tout ira bien,” he said, flashing a light smile.
He looked at August, the smile fading. She did seem stressed, which was rather sad to see after she had been so happy that Malachi was back.
Noel spoke up. “I think we’re all ready.” Murmurs of agreement followed after.
Noel also looked at Arden with a bit of anger and distaste, though she was much more subtle about it. Alister, meanwhile, was a little clueless about everything that was going on.
“Are we going to go back the way we came?” Noel continued.
“Um, isn’t it a bit dangerous with one of us unconscious?” Alister pointed out, hefting Evan a little in his arms.
“And with a dangerous person in our midst.” Noel’s gaze was on the ground, but one could tell she was referencing Arden.
August closed her eyes for a moment to think. When she opened them, she said, “We’ll have to take the long way, through the back alleys, to ensure we’re not caught by the aliens. I’ll keep us invisible.”

Kali sighed, "peu importe ce que tu dis…"
She didn't know if she believed it, even though she was saying it.
Quin was casually attached.
Evan was unconcious.
Trent was Trent.

By taking the longer, more discrete way, the journey back was thankfully much less eventful. It was a bit awkward since everybody had to be touching August to stay invisible, but there were moments of rest where they didn’t have to do that all the time. Sometimes they had to stop so someone could go relieve themselves.
August became less stressed once they’d set off, since all they had to do now was get back to the prison without anyone getting more hurt than they already were. Some of the more injured members of the party couldn’t take much more.
Malachi sometimes whispered encouragements in French to Arden, though was quieted whenever Vixen looked over and gave them the evil eye. Since she was from District 7, Malachi couldn’t really say anything back to defend himself, and if he was being honest, Vixen kind of intimidated him.
Meanwhile, Noel informed her brother of the rebellion’s policy on humans who oppose their cause and harm the members, explaining why Arden was in cuffs and why August had to ask Malachi all of those questions. If a person who working against the rebels was serving the aliens and ended up being captured by the rebels (which Arden fit that category, sort of), then the first order of business was to gauge how powerful they were, and if they had harmed the rebellion in some way in the past. This was why August asked Malachi those questions, and asked Arden to describe her abilities. From there, it depended on whether the person had actually harmed the rebellion and if they did it willingly or not. You’ll see what happens to Arden when we get to the prison, Noel had said.
As they walked, Alister found it more and more difficult to carry Evan the way he had him, especially considering his own injuries. So at one point, he stopped to arrange the other boy into a piggyback, trying to be as gentle as he could manage. The bluebells around his torso were still wilting, but they had not completely fallen off. Sometimes he would glance over at the small white-haired boy that had come with Malachi and Arden, wondering if he would be good friends with Matteo once they’d gotten back. Though, he seemed so skittish, Matteo’s liveliness might overwhelm him.
Eventually, they arrived at the prison complex. It was getting close to sunset now, the sky becoming dark teal fading into a fiery orange. The guards posted at the gates opened them up, and they all filed inside.

(Skkkslkslk)
After a warm welcome from the guards and Malachi amiably greeted and shook hands with them, they entered the prison with August and Danni leading them to the mess hall. They paused just outside the bustling room.
“Alright,” August said. “Danni, could you take the kids and O’Shea and show them to the med bay? Their wounds need to be properly treated.”
Danni nodded. At this point, Evan had come to and was now being gently supported by Alister, though he and everyone else were weary from walking so far. Noel seemed rather apprehensive as she looked into the mess hall, as if thinking that Connor was still there, hiding around a corner. She quietly sighed with relief when she heard they were going somewhere else.
August smiled at them. “You did good today guys.” Focusing on Alister, she said, “And you have potential here. I’m proud of you. All of you.” Her gaze swept over all of them, then settled on Malachi, Arden, and Quinn. “You two, uh, three, I mean. You come with me. We have important business to get to.”
Danni motioned for her group to follow and led them down a hallway to their left. August quickly informed Charlie and Emery of Malachi’s return and then led the trio through the hallway to the right.

He looks around still slightly drowsy, "Are we back at base…?" He had blurry vision so he couldn't exactly see, and his hearing was still kinda in and out. He could mostly hear though.
Mostly.
Trent noticed her gaze at the mess hall and come behind Her,
"He's not there you know, he was told never to come back here so i doubt they would easily let him back to work in the canteen."
He poked her cheek going with her to where they were supposed too.

By this time I'm assuming Matteo's ability finally wore off, he was hiding under the desk, but he wasn't touching Emery, though you could probably touch him or see him if you crouched down.

Kali just followed most likely with Malachi right next to her and Quin at there legs.

Noel smacked his hand away, but gave him an appreciative nod. “I know. Just got a little scared.”
She leaned against him in a purely sisterly way, her muscles still aching with each step.
Alister looked back at them, locking eyes with Trent and giving him a subtle nod before turning his attention back to Evan. “Shhh, don’t talk. Yes, we’re back, but you need to save your energy,” he murmured.
Danni looked as if she wanted to ask questions and talk with them, but seeing their exhaustion, she held her tongue and led them to the med bay.
The med bay was a somewhat large area that seemed to have been a sort of gym for inmates before the invasion. Strange equipment was piled in a corner; it was hard to tell if it was actually things for the gym or torture devices. Before them were rows of soft mats and pillows, and in another seemed to be a makeshift doctor’s office, with only an electric holographic table, a chair, and a box which most likely held medical supplies. In the chair sat a young man looking over the screens floating across the table, and he looked up once he saw the group arrive. He immediately made his way over to them.
Noel straightened and waved at him. “Hey Malcolm.”
“Noel!” The young man returned the wave and waved to the others. “Good seeing you guys again, I’ve heard a bit about what’s happening. Looks like you got pretty banged up though, huh? Evan, dude, what happened to you?” He tilted his head to think for a moment. “Alright, since there are so many of you, who here just has cuts and scrapes?”
Malcolm, as known by everyone except for Alister and Vixen, was Bimala’s assistant. Though it’s safe to say he’s grown out of that label though, since the rebellion found useful to have two medics instead of one medic and their assistant. Noel worked with him a lot back when she was still recovering from malnutrition.

August led the three of them on, looking uncomfortably in Quinn’s direction. She didn’t want to bring the kid along, but he seemed so attached to them and she wasn’t good at dealing with those kind of kids. Malachi gave her a reassuring smile, staying by Arden’s side, but she wasn’t exactly reassured.
They were almost to the interrogation room when August heard footsteps rushing up to them. Turning around she saw Charlie, a strange light in her eyes.
“What’s up?” She asked.
“Let me help you.” Charlie glanced at Arden darkly. “In case something happens. In case she happens.”

"In case i happen? If you couldn't see, I'm handcuffed being surronded and watched at all times and i don't even want to attack you guys. Of course i doubt anyone really believes that but Malachi." She huffed out, standing there staring at Charlie, as if challenging her.
Quin just kinda stared down Charlie as well as he clung to the two of them. He didn't like the light he saw in Charlie's eyes.

“Charlie,” Malachi said, and the woman’s gaze softened as he went up to hug her.
“Hey Mal,” she greeted, letting go. “Glad you’re back.”
“Me too,” he replied. “And it’s okay, I promise.” He looked between her and Arden. “Nothing is going to happen.”
“Arden has been pretty cooperative so far,” August added. “You can come, but I may not need you.” She turned to Arden. “And we have to doubt that you’re not going to attack us on principle, for everyone else’s safety. It’s nothing personal, just thought I’d mention it.”
Charlie scoffed. “Sure, she’s been cooperative so far. Fine. But she may not be soon enough.”
August sighed. “Alright Charlie, just relax. We can’t have emotions running high. I know Malachi’s just got back but we need to keep it together, okay?”
She brushed her hair from her face, giving Arden one last glance. “Okay. My apologies.”
“Don’t worry about it,” August said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “C‘mon.”

"Yeah yeah i know." She grumbled studying Charlie as they walked wondering what that meant. There's no way that girl knew anything about her past, or something that would her uncooperative soon enough. And what the heck did soon enough even mean?
She sighed and just continued walking.