[IC] The Uisilons

[Aces Away]

With the sun high in the sky- the sun, still such an amazing thing, I still can't believe we're on the surface - it was a perfect day to go out and observe, without raising suspicion by wearing sunglasses. Asa made sure to tell the rest of the group that they need to lie low and learn the mannerisms of the Mundanes, and that they need to always keep their sunglasses on when they go outside. He told them not to pick fights, and if someone tried to fight them, then they needed to walk away as fast as possible. For the moment, the civilian Mundanes were not the problem, and getting in a scuffle with them would only serve to further complicate any bit of the plan that they've made so far.

Asa glared at the screens- Televisions- with the President making some important speech about terrorists and what's needed to prevent their attacks. He sneered and walked away, keeping his head low. According to the scout a year ago, it was a unanimous decision of all the world leaders to kill the Diplomatic party. That meant the President was on the Uisilon's hit-list as well. Seeing the man stand there and speak, as though he wasn't a murderer, as though he hadn't killed both young adults and elders the same...it made him sick. He had hopes, at least enough to trust Hostia going to the surface, that the Mundanes had changed from the stories of hate he'd grown up hearing. But now that hope was gone. Dashed into the dirt like his sister and the other diplomats had been. Dreams of peace would never be a reality. At least not with the current world leaders. He knew that all but a few, maybe three of them if he could remember correctly, felt anger and the want for revenge after the loss of the Diplomats. Nearly everyone in the Surface group had lost a family member or friend. That's one of the reasons Asa chose them out of the bigger group to come to the surface, leaving the rest in Undaro.

Ruba, he chose to join them because he felt she would be a good anchor, and her good nature would help ease the tension. Plus, he would never leave another Golden Uisilon without her Ranked brothers and sister. In each generation the Golden ones were meant to be together, as the best way to enact change and balance. Which is also his main reason for bringing Jeff and Maven. He still had people looking for the Golden Uisilon of air, down in Undaro. For some reason he wasn't able to find her. Or him.

Lahn and Pons interested him, their different views despite living under the same roof-and with Ruba-, and he didn't want to separate the three Pavos.

Holly was a little bit of an issue. Her hate for all Mundanes worried him a bit. This mission was strictly for world leaders. If innocents got hurt because of a crossfire, that was different, but he didn't want to actively attack people who don't even know anything. They had nothing to do with it, and despite his fiery attitude, he couldn't bring the rage burning in his heart to be directed at them as well. He'd have to make sure everyone kept an eye on Holly so that she didn't do something regrettable.

Rayn was a mystery to him, but he didn't worry about her; she seemed to be more of a soft, curious soul than anything. That just left Carter.

Asa turned to his best friend, who'd walked silently beside him the whole time while he contemplated. Asa could always count on Carter as a constant presence. He always wanted to keep Carter safe and near him, because every time he let someone go, they never seemed to come back. Carter was his anchor who swallowed his own feelings long enough to bring Asa back from the dark, and he was an invaluable asset to the cause. The choice to have him come along was obvious, and Asa doubted he would have stayed behind even if told.

"Hey." He bumped his best friend's shoulder, turning down another street where someone was getting money playing the violin, while someone else had an electric piano to the side, coming in to create a wonderful duet. They stood at the edge of the crowd, the music becoming background noise for their oncoming conversation. "What's on your mind?" He asked. Carter's not the most talkative, but he's usually not this quiet.

[jagajac]

a w a k e n e d

The city screamed outside of Dahlia's dirty window. Layers upon layers of dust and soot coated the old glass and meager rays of sun squeezed through to warm the girl's face. Her bright golden eyes flickered open, and she curled her knees in close to her chest with a grunt. She had never been much of a morning person and was still getting used to the friendly rays of the earth's sun. Although Undaro had developed advanced electricity systems and lighting apparatuses, it was nothing compared to this new environment. The dull white sheets covering her bed flew high into the air as her body spun out of the bed in a fairly graceful set of motions. She reached for the navy pants and lightweight long sleeved crew neck resting at the edge of her door. The apartments her and the other Uisilons had shared were far from glamorous and never given an opportunity to truly feel like a home. There was no other furniture in her room besides the simple blow up mattress.

Dahlia stood and stretched towards the ceiling, pushing up on her tip toes. She tried in vain to feel for the popcorn texture but was far from her goal. She retrieved a steel gray backpack with a broken strap and slung it carelessly over her shoulder. As she slowly pushed open the door to her room, a bell sounded several times in the distance. Dahlia listened to the deep, soothing sounds as they echoed in her ears. Music. Dahlia was quite fond of the Mundane art forms, especially their music. A small peaceful smile spread across her lips, and she tiptoed quietly to another door of the apartment. She looked towards the deserted "living room" sofa, Well Asa's awake. Although he was one of the younger Uisilons of their team, he had become somewhat of a leader amongst their merry band. Dahlia noted he was very much like the Robin Hood from the Mundane storybooks, which made Carter Little John. She knew he was most likely glued to Asa's side in exploration of the city. Another day of study, searching, and late night debating in a new place.

Dahlia sighed and shook her head. The constant moving was making it harder to bond with this so-called "family". She had never been the extrovert of the group and had struggled to make and keep friends when they lived in Undaro. Her parents had given her some words of encouragement before her departure to the surface, and they held firmly to her protesting mind.

"Smile often. You have a beautiful smile, Dahlia. Get to know them, try to find similarities, and just be yourself sweetheart."

She walked to another one of the doors and held her breath in her lungs. Her fist knocked gently on the aging wood, and she spoke in a timid whisper.

"Jeff? Are you awake?"

Jeff Draken, along with the other Gold Uisilons, was well know in the city of Undaro. He was quiet and didn't socialize much, but his natural skills with his Uisilon gift were renowned. Since the group had come to the surface, Dahlia had felt most comfortable in his silent company. During late night meetings she often made an effort to sit closer to him and express her thoughts on a writing pad when she didn't wish to speak up. Holly and Ruba both had personality enough to fill the crowded rooms. She wanted to go out and research, but Asa had encouraged them not to go alone. Despite her sense of independence, Dahlia was one of sound reasoning and knew her comrade was following sound safety procedures. She bit her bottom lip and knocked with a bit more intensity.

"I'll just wait by the door."

She backed away and headed for the balcony which was accompanied by some questionable flights of stairs. As she stepped outside, a cool breeze tickled the ends of her mahogany colored hair. She inhaled deeply, catching whiffs of morning dew mixed with the noxious fogs from the stacked factory buildings. Her nose wrinkled, and she blinked away the bitterness. She suddenly remembered the sunglasses at the bottom of her ragged backpack and reached her arm inside to retrieve them. Dahlia had doodled whimsical waves in blue pen along the simple white frames. She situated them on her face and careened her head backwards, waiting for a response to her wake up call.

[Shanks]

Jeff sat straight up with a start, gasping as if in shock. Dahlia's gentle knock on his door had startled him from his dreams. Jeff was always like that on the surface, he never wanted to be caught off guard. His head was ringing, and his body ached. It took Jeff a moment to realize where he was, and what that gentle reminder to wake up was all about. 'Dahlia, no doubt.' He thought, with great effort. As he yawned and stretched, he realized his body was hurting more than usual, he suddenly remembered the previous night and all he had been through. With two fingers he reached up to touch the tender flesh under his right eye, it was still swollen.
Jeff grunted his displeasure, "I suppose there's no hiding it now." He muttered resignedly under his breath. He heard another slight knock at the door, and halfheartedly responded "Be out in a moment," while staring down at his feet. Jeff was not a morning person to begin with, but lately he had been moonlighting to gather information; he didn't want anyone to know until he had what they needed though. He knew the group would not approve of his actions, but he also knew that is needed to be done and that he was the one most likely to succeed.

Jeff did shook off his cloud of thoughts, as best he could, and got out of his bed. This bed was little more than a gym mat in the corner of the room. Quickly he dressed himself, the usual dark jeans and black button up shirt, leaving his long black coat hanging on the back of his bedroom door. Finally Jeff came out into the hall, rolling up his sleeves past his elbows as he did so, only to find it vacant. He glanced back in forth in confusion a moment before heading out to the balcony, as Dahlia liked to call it, which Jeff realized was actually a fire escape; though it may as well have been a balcony, as he was certain the lower sections would fall apart if anyone actually tried to use it.

Sticking his head out the window, Jeff immediately groaned and squinted against the overwhelming sunlight. With incredible speed he had his shades out, and on his face. "Morning, Doll." He said casually, while checking the landscape below them. He didn't see anything suspicious, or even interesting for that matter, so he turned his attention to Dahlia; looking up at her with a slight grin. "I take it everyone else was up and out of here before us, as usual?" He snickered slightly. Jeff was pleased to have someone in their group who was more like him: quiet, caring, passionate, and more of an evening person. It made the surface a little more bearable. As they have become such good friends over the months, Jeff grew to be concerned for her well being however. The mundanes had nearly pushed him to his breaking point already, he would hate to see Dahlia lose her innocent sweetness to the surface world.

[jagajac]

Dahlia rocked back and forth on her heels listlessly while the bright sunlight reflected off her grandmother’s ornate opal necklace. She had enjoyed moments like this since childhood. Quiet reflections in which to contemplate the world’s grows and glows. There was not much happening on the streets below. Asa had continually done a fine job picking the most withdrawn Mundane regions in existence. Dahlia had an ambivalent feeling towards these decisions. On one hand, she enjoyed the seclusion. On the other, she wished to observe the Mundane’s in their more natural setting. This place was definitely not for the median group of Mundanes. Fortunately, they had been permitted time during the day to explore the city and its people. They were reprimanded for going out alone or after hours, which Dahlia had struggled to come to terms with in her week on the surface. She preferred the darkness, not only because of her time living in Undaro, but also because her family had often spoken of the dazzling culture of Mundane night-life. Up to this point, Dahlia had not been given the opportunity to witness it for herself.

Her shoulders tensed together as Jeff’s voice startled her from behind. The sound had broken through her peaceful trance and spooked the small girl slightly. She turned to face his brooding figure, focusing her gaze upward at the tall man. The grin spreading across his face was enough to bring her back to reality. He had a contagious personality and Dahlia was no exception to his silly grin. She bowed her head, trying to conceal a smile of her own, and nodded in response to his question. She at least knew that Asa and Carter had departed the loft early from their empty beds, they were always the early risers.

She and Jeff had a similar routine and were almost forced into a friendship from the beginning of their venture. At first, it had greatly embarrassed Dahlia to be the latest sleeper in the group. She would wake up confused and stumble out of her bed to the empty quarters. Did they leave me alone? Surely they wouldn’t do that, there must be… Her thoughts would be interrupted by the gruff morning calls of Jeff. They didn’t speak much in the beginning. It was simply an understanding that as the last two they would have to explore together. No choices. Eventually though, the two exchanged meager conversation and began attempting to know each other as more than just the only option. Dahlia now waited on the older man patiently, even if she happened to wake up before many in the group. If Asa and Carter were the Robin Hood and Little John of the group, Jeff and Dahlia were Old Dan and Little Anne.

Dahlia looked back at the dark shades concealing Jeff’s eyes and twisted her lips to the side bashfully. As her raised eyebrows peeked over the white frames of her own sunglasses, she parted her lips to speak.

“No sense in rushing. Good things come to those who wait. You ready to go?”

She turned her gaze to the creaky stairs below the fire escape and cautiously stepped down one step at a time. A few feet from the ground the stairs broke off into nothingness. Dahlia jumped down and landed sturdily on the street below. She had held tight to the railing the whole way down, and her hands were covered with faint traces of rusting paint. She wiped her palms together with a swishing sound and shrugged her shoulders at her intake of breath. Dahlia looked behind her for Jeff to follow, waiting to hear his usual words of protest. He never let any of the other Uisilon women, including herself, descend the last part of the stairs without going first to offer his hand. Dahlia’s streak of independence shone through her quiet actions. Jeff was protective of them all, but that protection was growing stronger with each passing day on the surface. He wouldn’t say what had caused the change, but Dahlia had been pondering the thought for a few days now. What is he hiding from me?

[Shanks]

Jeff was happy to find Dahlia in good spirits, he always found her cheerful demeanor charming. It gave him hope for the future of the Uisilons, perhaps for his own future though he tried not to think about that. The air seemed somehow still outside today. It was eerily calm, yet the warm breeze soothing. 'It's going to be a good day.' Jeff tried to assure himself internally, while groaning externally at the effort of beginning their day. As he climbed out onto the fire escape to Join Dahlia, sudden aches and pains shot through his muscles reminding him again of the troubles he encountered the previous night. He realized Dahlia hadn't seemed to notice his freshly bruised eye and sighed in relief, 'perhaps it's not as noticeable as I thought.' He took one last glance into the apartment, wondering if he'd forgotten something, then turned to look down at Dahlia's smiling face.

"I suppose you have a point, though it may be a little optimistic to hope for good things at this point." His voice was low and introspective, as was common for him. With minor hesitation he thought about her question. "Yes, let's do this. What are our goals today?" Jeff inquired as Dahlia descended the steps. Being as exhausted as he was, Jeff didn't even think to get ahead of Dahlia before she dropped to the street; though he grunted his frustrations after the fact. "You know I hate it when you do that." He commented casually before throwing himself over the railing and to the street from the third floor.

Jeff's feet hit the pavement hard. He stumbled ever so slightly, quickly regaining his composure in an effort to down play the error. It was a jump he had made dozens of times, but he had forgotten to consider his current state. Straightening himself out, Jeff rolled his shoulders and looked around a long moment before turning his attention back to his youthful companion. He offered her a light smile and suddenly spoke with more enthusiasm than before "Breakfast!" The mere thought of it was making his mouth water. "I've come across some money..." Reaching into his pocket, Jeff grabbed a hand full of paper bills and held them out to Dahlia. "The mundanes really aren't good at holding on to their belongings sometimes." He added with a crooked grin. He watched Dahlia's face with an arched eyebrow, hopeful that she was as excited by the concept of warm food and coffee as he was. Getting caught up in his enthusiasm, Jeff headed off towards the main street, though he was careful not to walk too fast; something he had almost begrudgingly learned to do when the two were first paired together. As he walked, though, his mind began to wander: he wondered what Asa was up to, what he was planning, and if the time was right for Jeff to reveal the fruits of his labor.

[Lord Pie]

Holly continued to stare almost blankly out of the window and down onto the street below their shabby little apartment. She watched as a man wearing a black suit talked on his phone device and crossed the road, causing two lanes of traffic to slow and beep at him. She watched a trio of young men wearing hooded tops and jeans walking together and talking loudly with gestures about something before they walked into a diner. She continued to watch the various happenings as she had been for the last hour or so, before she finally turned away and moved back into the centre of the relatively empty room. She hadn’t slept very well again last night and had awakened every few hours, again passing the time between bouts of sleep by staring out of the window at whatever happened to be going on in the mundane world. She resisted the urge to sigh out loud and instead decided that it was time to do something – she didn’t know what but just something, anything that counted as progress.

She quickly picked her hooded jacket up from where it lay balled up beside the pile of blankets and pillows that she used for a bed, an array of mundane magazines and papers spread out beside it. She’d learnt a great many things just from reading through whatever discarded publication she happened to come across. The range of different cultures and topics had amazed her at first, but for every interesting fact or story she found she also found several horrific or depraved stories that made her shiver and feel sick. Rape, murder, violence of all kinds were just the start. Most importantly she had managed to learn a great deal about the workings and technology of the mundane – again for every wonderful thing she discovered, there seemed to be countless more tales of crime or some deadly weapon. Holly glanced backwards out of the window one last time, and as she was about to turn away she spotted the distant figure of Jeff waltzing away from the apartment. – her augmented vision allowing her to identify him with little trouble. A few moments later she spotted Dahlia following him, the pair no doubtedly off somewhere together to ‘gather intelligence’. Of how much of that involved actual work and less just spending time together Holly didn’t want to guess at.

Zipping her jacket up she exited her room, manoeuvring her way down the narrow and dim hallway that lead to their shared ‘living room’. She sat on the large questionable sofa that had come with the place, her arms sprawled out and her head hung down. Even though it was only the morning she already felt drained. She turned her head and listened for any signs of someone left in the apartment, signs of someone else who wanted to be useful is some way. Her head swam with the thoughts of the things she’d learned over the last few evenings. Casting the thoughts out of her mind she suddenly stood and made her way across the room towards what was classed as their kitchen, it being part of their living room with just a cheaply tiled floor to differentiate the two. Opening the only cupboard she picked out a questionable looking item of food, a breakfast biscuit that was part of their hastily gathered ‘supplies’. It tasted a little stale, but compared to the usual flavourless food of Undaro it seemed almost like rare deliciously to her. Licking her lips she glanced around the apartment with a somewhat vacant look on her face.

[elphrain]

He couldn't believe it, but they were finally on the surface. All of their work that went towards this moment had finally arrived...but it was far from being over.

Carter walked alongside Asa, both wearing sunglasses and trying to look the least suspicious among the Mundanes. Carter didn't know what he expected up on the surface, the way the Mundanes acted didn't seem all that different from themselves. The way their world worked, however, was obviously distinctive. All that was fed to their people was the lie that they were merely terrorists without anything behind their reasoning.

There was a strange, uncomfortable feeling circulating in his stomach. The feeling had lingered there ever since they came up, and it was hindering his mood. At first he thought he was just simple anxiety, but he was now beginning to realize what it meant.

While Carter was deep in thought for too long, Asa was the one that got his attention, asking him what was on his mind. Carter didn't answer for a moment, trying to think about how to put it into words. He wasn't usually a deep thinker, but due to all this change he never got the chance to sit down and think about things.

"Not really sure how to put it." He uttered out, feeling like there was no other choice than to say what needed to be said. He thought about making up some crap about a migraine, and he might have been able to pass with that, but Asa was the only person who he could talk to and not feel like he bruised his pride.

"It's just kind of scary, you know? Having to face it, actually coming up here and realizing that it's true." His voice then became more quieter as he continued, paranoid that someone would overhear it.

"To them, we really don't exist. That complete ignorance, it's..." He trailed off, then glanced to the side to look at the musicians on the street. That ignorance reminded him of himself for so many years, thinking back on it, a part of him was still bitter about it.

[SUN]

Rayn like usual had been up the entire night. Her normally peaceful blue eyes were wide and had dark rings beneath them. She ran her hands through her lilac hair pulling the tangles through easily. She stretched her arms up then behind her working out the sore joints from the restless nights. She sighed into a yawn clenching her tired eyes tightly for a few seconds to relieve them from the sun that poured into her room. She stood up from her bunk wobbling a bit off balance. She pulled on a dark sweater and some jeans leaving her shoes for later. She stretched up high once more standing on her tiptoes then she started to head tworeds the bathroom to see if she could wash the sleep out of her eyes. She noticed the group had sort of vacated into their own little places in different pairings. She didn't mind being on her own, she was very well used to it. When she left to the surface her "goodbyes" just consisted of a hug from her father and a short wave.

Rayn was actually surprised she was even recruited for this trip. She knew her talents were useful to some extent but she never knew someone might recognize that. After washing her face she returned to her room, she started to gather all her books into separate piles. They had filled almost every corner of the room, but reading up on the mundanes was extremely interesting to her. After some what pulling together her mess she went out to the halls peering around curiously she saw Jeff and Dahlia out on the balcony. She watched them absent mindedly for a bit them snapped herself out of her trance looking down quickly. She envied Dahlias confidence to approach people like that. Rayn hasn't spoken a word to any of the group since they had been together, they seem to trust her to do her own thing, and none of them certainly tried to spark anything with her. As far as approach though Rayn has very much kept to herself.

She pulled her long hair to one side nervously walking silently to the kitchen hoping she didn't get caught staring, it was probably the first contact she's made those few weeks. She sighed once more rubbing her eyes softly, she felt starved from staying up all night but when she spotted Holly in the kitchen she turned around to give her her space. Her only retreat was back to the hallway, she leaned against the wall patiently trying to avoid eye contact with the two golden outside, their only barrier was the glass door to the balcony. She was sure they would dismiss her anyway, rank differences and all.

[Yuga]

Had there been anything back in Undaro that had so fully enthralled Lahn to the point of pseudo-worship, by this point it would have already been replaced with the sun. There had never been anything so bright in all of Undaro, and while he found his fellow Uisilons seems to not appreciate ball of light, Lahn found himself comforted by it, even if it hurt his eyes. In fact, just the thought of the sun, a big flaming ball of gas just floating in the sky, seemed to amaze Lahn so much that he found himself waking up early specifically to see it rise, and today had been no different. Throughout the early morning he found himself drawing close to the lone window in his room constantly, eagerly waiting for the sun to make it's first appearance. However, by the time the sun had finally came up, Lahn was asleep again, having tired himself out with excitement.

By the time Lahn finally woke up again, the sun had already risen and began to illuminate his poor excuse for a room. Lahn yawned and attempted to move his now aching body, there really was no time to sit around after all. They were on a mission, or at least that's what Ruba had said. The fate of the future generations of Uisilons rested in their hands, the fate of the Mundane world would be determined by them and them alone.

Lahn chucked, when he thought of it that way, it almost sounded like one of those action cartoons the Mundanes played. Indeed, within his first week on the surface he had found many of the things he did or thought paralleled the Mundanes. More often than not they were extremely over the top, and for some reason they needed help with everything. Lahn had to harness his abilities to make friends, but here in the Mundane world there were magazines and books to tell you how to get friends, they even had books on "how to be yourself". It was all so odd, Lahn had been under the impression that they had only come here to get revenge on the leaders of this world, not to watch Mundanes and read their things. As confused as he was, Lahn couldn't help but admit that these magazines were entertaining, as evidenced by the ever growing pile of teen and parenthood magazines alike in the corner of his and Pons' room.

"What are you doing? Why are you laughing?" As soon as Pons spoke, Lahn jumped and turned to his groggy brother. He had almost forgotten he shared a room with the grumpy brunette, which considering their small living space, seemed somewhat impossible.

"Who Cares?" Lahn joked, flashing a huge smile towards Pons. No matter how big his smile got, however, Pons' sullen frown still remained. Lahn sighed, letting his smile decrease a little.

"The long and short of it is, Ruba's probably gone by now, and you know she's expecting us to go explore together. Asa doesn't want us to go alone, remember?"

Lahn attempted to reason with his brother, and only got a grumble in reply. The older brother rolled his eyes, fully understanding why Ruba wanted to go alone when she explored.

Pons was a hard nut to crack, that much was sure. He had a clear case of "angst filled teenager", so said Lahn's various copies of parenthood magazines he had "borrowed". It was hard to be close to him when he was constantly at Lahn's throat, angrily rejecting everything he said. Ruba didn't have to deal with this, then again Ruba usually didn't have to deal with insolence from anyone, let alone one of her younger brothers. Lahn gathered up his clothes for today, a rather tacky blue cherry print button up and light blue jeans, and hurriedly got dressed. There was no time to argue with his brother, the morning was the perfect time to go exploring after all. Everyone was hustling to get to their jobs or to school, the madness, the backed up traffic, it was great.

"Pons, I'm going outside. I'll be waiting so get dressed quick." He exited his room, leaving his younger brother in the center of the room, clearly trying to adjust to the morning sun.

Lahn looked around the almost empty apartment, he hadn't left this late yet. By now, Ruba was probably halfway around the world, there was no catching up with her today. He noted Rayn standing in the hallway and noticeably cringed. Ever since they had formed their groups, Lahn had been to afraid to approach any of the others. Back in Undaro, there were many people, many opportunities to make and break friendships. Here, he just had this group, people with strong feelings or those who were to quiet. There were too little people, if Lahn had struck out with one of them, he had struck out with all of them. There was no way Lahn would risk making a bad first impression, so he decided to make no impression at all. It hurt him not to make friends, but it would hurt him even more to get the disdain of the people he would have to live with for a while.

He walked past the lavender haired girl, making sure to smile and wave 'don't come on too strong, but don't be too dismissive.' He repeated the phrase over and over again, until it had gotten burned into his brain. Was a wave considered to strong? Or maybe he looked to disinterested? Lahn continued criticizing himself until he reached the living room, where he noticed Holly. It was just landmines on top of landmines, and Lahn couldn't take it. He quickly walked out the door, hoping Holly didn't think of him as rude for doing this, and breathed a sigh of relief. When he really thought about it, he guessed he could understand all the Mundane articles on how to get friends, being personable was a tough map to navigate.

[jagajac]

Dahlia took two times the number of steps Jeff did in order to keep up. She walked as quickly as she could, noticing the efforts he took to keep by her side, and listened intently as he spoke. A gentle breeze ruffled the crumpled green bills he held out to her, and Dahlia smelled the faint scent of the Mundane money. As he raised his eyebrow, Dahlia noticed a small cut above his eyelid. She pulled her brows together questioningly and reached to gently lift his frames, ignoring the money for the moment. Her small hand lifted the sunglasses briefly above the bridge of his nose, and she caressed the swollen, purple skin with her delicate pinky finger. Dahlia's eyes, though hidden, glazed over with concern and compassion. Her instinctual nature to mend and care for took over.

Dahlia dropped Jeff's sunglasses back onto his face, wincing at her carelessness, and swiveled her head in all directions of the alley way. A small faucet dripped from one of the abandoned brick walls. She quickly walked over to it and let the water lather the tips of her right hand. Dahlia cradled her palm close to her chest and jogged back to Jeff's side.

"Hold still. This won't hurt."

Dahlia slid four of her fingertips under Jeff's eye and rested her thumb across his cheekbone. The remaining droplets of water began to flow towards his skin and were misted over in an icy glaze. As they penetrated deep into Jeff's skin, Dahlia hoped their cold, soothing effect would reduce his pain and swelling. The gesture took only a few seconds, but Dahlia's eyes didn't steady for an instant as she manifested her powers in the vacant space. She was diligently searching for any signs of disturbance. Her hand slowly slid away from his face, and she brushed away the remaining water onto her pant's leg.

She sighed heavily and took the money from Jeff's hand. The tiny girl stepped forward and stood on her tiptoes to wave the bills closer to his face.

"Don't tell Asa I did that. I won't tell him you did this. We're even. Jeff, you can't... You shouldn't... I don't want you..."

Her tone began firm, but quickly turned to concerned frustration. It had been hard enough adjusting to everyone since Asa had recruited them in Undaro. This week on the surface felt like starting over in a way. It was all so different, and Dahlia was still struggling to separate emotions from their mission. She lowered herself to normal height and looked down at the money. A low grumble ran through her stomach. She was pretty hungry and eating in the Mundane restaurants was always an experience. She looked back up at Jeff and mumbled the next words rather quietly.

"Lead on."

[Lord Pie]

As she finished chewing on one of the two biscuits Holly almost felt at a loss of what to do again, when she firmly decided that alone or not she would leave the apartment again today. Suddenly from behind she heard a quiet sigh, turning she spotted the shape of Rayn leaving the kitchen and wondered to herself – what was the deal with that girl? In the past few days Holly hadn’t spoken to her and she didn’t know if she’d been spending time with anyone else, or had even talked with anyone. Just as she was about to go over to her one of the Pavo brothers came in, Lahn seemed to glance at her for a moment before quickly exiting the kitchen as well. Holly paused somewhat bewildered and wondered if she’d maybe done something to make them cautious of her, and then her mind flashed back to the first time they’d all met. Asa had gathered them all and at that time Holly was still furious about the loss of her parents, in fact all she had done was talk about how angry she was and how much she wanted revenge. Possibly not the best first impression she decided, but regardless she was determined now for them to all begin clicking together like a well oiled machine. Running her hand through her hair Holly put on a smile and walked out of the kitchen, and as she passed Rayn she said “Hey, catch” and tossed her the second biscuit in the packet before adding “they aren’t half as bad as they look.”

Moving back towards the sofa she then turned her attention to Lahn and said “Hey Pavo, how about the three of us here get this thing into gear and go some-place? Four of us if your brother isn’t already off with Ruba or anyone?”

She dropped herself onto the sofa before looking back over at Rayn to make sure she had heard before she added “What do you think Rayn?”

If both of them preferred to keep to themselves then Holly didn’t care, she was throwing them in the deep end. She knew that whatever this ‘resistance movement’ was, it wouldn’t work without all of them being able to get along and at least trust each other to some degree. Using her Telekinesis she focused on a map of the city that lay folded neatly across the room and brought it gliding through the air towards her, unfolding itself as it did. Catching it in one smooth movement she glanced at all the different streets and symbols and said “Where did we want to go?” looking up at the others with a happy smirk on her face.

[Shanks]

Jeff was surprised when Dahlia reached for his sunglasses, but did nothing to express it. His stomach sank somewhat, knowing how worried she must be to find such a brutal mark left over his eye, and felt bad for it. Being one of the older members of the team, and on top of that his natural protector complex, meant he always felt responsible for everyone's well being. Their emotional well being was no different, which is why he often did what he felt was necessary in secret. If they didn't know, they couldn't worry about him. Dahlia's gentle examination sent blood rushing to his face; Jeff was not familiar with such intimate contact. Almost completely rigid, Jeff began to feel like he needed to put her at ease but he didn't know what to do. Awkwardly, he mumbled "It's not as bad as it looks," before she released his shades, causing him to wince ever so slightly.

Jeff was puzzled by her looking all around, but simply stood there oblivious to what she was planning. When Dahlia returned to him, he involuntarily inhaled deeply; not knowing what to expect, he assumed it would hurt. It only lasted a moment, but the effects were apparent immediately. Jeff's wounded eye stopped hurting completely, and the swelling subsided significantly. He couldn't help but smile as he peered into the tinted lenses of Dahlia's sunglasses. "I had no idea you were so talented." he commented with quiet awe. "perhaps next time I'll take you with me." He couldn't help but joke with a crooked grin, though he quickly resigned to a defensive position, holding his hands up to her scolding "not a word I swear..." his voice trailed off.

In that moment Jeff couldn't decide whether he should tell her the truth behind it or not. Feeling courageous, he quickly tried to gather his thoughts but when he opened his mouth to explain, Dahlia spoke. It wasn't intentional, but that was all it took for him to decide against it. Nodding once, Jeff began down the alleyway once more. As they walked, the silence was bothering him, and he began feeling bad for keeping secrets. This group relied on him, probably more than they realized, and his secrets were causing him to mentally drift away from them. He felt even worse about hiding things from Dahlia, who had become so important to him. Finally, in a vain attempt to justify himself he looked over at Dahlia and said "You know, I only take risks when it is important. I wouldn't do so if I didn't have to..." It was vague, he knew, but it was all he could bring himself to say at this point.

It wasn't long before the two arrived at a coffee shop. It was one that Jeff passed daily, and always found the smell coming from it to be so pleasant. It had a wide selection of coffees and baked goods. Jeff ordered for them, and as they sat at a small table in the corner, his eyes began it scan the mundanes. It seemed amazing to him that they could be so oblivious to the imposters among them. 'Perhaps that is part of the mundanes' way of life' He pondered. As the morning grew late, they sat and discussed those they observed for a while, and eventually Jeff's mind began to wander again. Slowly, he came to decide, in the back of his mind, that he would tell them all of his work this evening.

[Aces Away]

"...Disturbing?" Asa guessed with a raised eyebrow. He nodded to himself, stuffing his hands in his pockets before turning around. He walked away from the crowd and into a park across the street. He sat on the bench and leaned back as Carter sat next to him. "These people continue their daily lives; their routines. They're either oblivious or desensitized to what happens around them, and they're perfectly fine with that. They allow all these wars and diseases to rampage through their homes and their lands...I don't understand it. Carter...I think once we're finished with this mission, I'm going to go back to Undaro...I think I'll help run things from there. Sure, I'll come up once a month or so, to check on things and cooperate between Undaro and the surface group...but I hate it up here. People hardly know their neighbors. If they do, they don't care for them." He breathed out through his nose, quick and harsh. His anger was apparent in everything he did; his tone, his movements, it rolled off him in waves.

"I thought that...perhaps things would be better up here. Maybe the Mundanes with normal lives would be better than the world leaders, but I haven't met any like that. I'm...I'm not angry at the civilians, per say, but at the fact that they let their lives be ruled for them, controlled by someone else. The five Golden ranks and the Elders Council is different; the only time we get truly into anything is in times of crisis and great change, but..." He paused for breath, rubbing his eyes under the sunglasses and giving his friend a sideways glance. "It seems the only way Mundanes are informed, is through the world leaders, or some sub-constituency, and those groups and organizations just follow the leaders' orders. Either way, the civilians are fed lie after lie and they...what's the term...take it for gospel!

"Who's to say that once the world leaders are gone, once our mission's complete, that they won't just somehow bring in even worse leaders. don't think integration is possible between Uisilons and Mundanes anymore. They're even less informed, and even more illusioned, than they were in the history we learned. They hate against their kin because they are a different gender, skin color, or religion from them; because they're in a different social class, or were raised differently. If the Mundanes can't even accept themselves, how can we expect them to accept us?

"It's just not like this in Undaro; We look after our neighbors, we take in the ones who lost someone, and we don't turn our back on those who are being hurt. Green and Silver Ranks aren't seen as lesser by any means. As far as I've seen, their differences don't warrant any mistreatment. I've certainly never looked down my nose at anyone of different Rank. Hell, most of the time I think they're better people than me!" He took another deep breath and looked at his friend again, shaded eyes begging him to understand.

"I was a fool to believe that wiping out the world leaders would give us a chance up here, and I'm going to tell the others just that at our next meeting. I'm not backing out of the mission, not by a long shot...but...when this is all finished, I want to go back...back home. I want to be back with the family I grew up with, even if they aren't blood." He rested his head on Carter's shoulders, much like he did when they were children and Carter would console him. "Family doesn't stop at blood for the Uisilons, but it seems like up here, with the Mundanes, it doesn't even start with blood. And I can't handle that, can't live up here, knowing that." He finished, glare set on the ground.

[elphrain]

When they sat on the bench, Carter absorbed what Asa was saying and didn't say anything. He didn't know how to respond, but what Asa said was true. After hearing his friend speak, he didn't think about it like that. It completed the bigger picture that made the mundanes so...different from them.

Asa rested his head on Carter's shoulders, much like he did when they were children and Carter would console him. "Family doesn't stop at blood for the Uisilons, but it seems like up here, with the Mundanes, it doesn't even start with family. And I can't handle that, can't live up here, knowing that."

Carter thought for a moment, then nodded. “To be honest...I feel exactly like that too.” He looked up at the sunny sky though his sunglasses and let Asa rest on him for a while. “Home is where the heart is, like that Mundane saying, I guess.” He smirked. When they finished their deep conversation, Carter felt like it was enough of philosophical talk, so he got up and stretched.

“Well I don't know about you, but I'm starving. As much as we babbled there about the mundanes, though...” Carter shuffled through his pockets and took out a little bit of Mundane money. “They do make some pretty damn good food.” He only had about 10 bucks to spend that he earned after bumping into an old lady paid that him to carry some of his groceries. If there was ever anything they needed to buy, it'd be food. Or at least, that was Carter's opinion. He just really liked food.

They walked to a nearby coffee shop that always had a pleasant aroma coming from it. Carter grew excited as they looked at the glass window with the baked goods. The cashier seemed to walk away just as they arrived, so they had some time to look at what they wanted to buy.
“Hey, look at these colorful glazed ring bread things.” He then stared at the label and raised an eyebrow questionably. “Oh. Doughnuts.” He mumbled and glanced at Asa. “You see anything that you like?”

[jagajac]

Dahlia raised her eyebrow with Jeff's comment, 'Maybe next time I'll bring you with me', but quickly shook away the unsettling thoughts in her brain. His tone was apologetic, and Dahlia could tell from his body language that he was becoming uncomfortable. She nodded slightly and followed in suit as Jeff began walking towards the street. One Mundane thing Dahlia was not fond of in the least was their methods of transportation. As cars, buses, taxis, and bikes all sped by, Dahlia couldn't help but tense her body tightly and lean in towards Jeff. Their noises bothered her the most, but she resisted the urge to cover her ears like a small child.

She was relieved as they entered the coffee shop and happily slithered into the leathery cushions of their corner booth. Dahlia ordered some Mundane coffee and a plate of fruit. Her taste buds kind of enjoyed the opposing sensations of bitter and sweetness. She and Jeff spent their time mostly in silence, quietly observing the Mundane atmosphere, but would occasionally share their thoughts with the other. She couldn't help but giggle when he pointed to the antics of a Mundane mother sitting across from them. The woman's hands held tightly to a spoonful of mush, and her mouth emitted strange buzzing sounds. Dahlia watched as she fed the baby and the Usilon girl smiled happily. She turned her face towards Jeff, still smiling brightly, and her thoughts began to wander.

He'll make a good father one day. Dahlia was sipping her coffee, but began to cough and choke on the hot liquid. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Not from choking, but from even letting that thought cross her mind. She was certainly glad Jeff wasn't a telepath at that moment. She composed herself and finished the last of the purple grapes within her bowl. Dahlia turned to look out the elongated window and into the streets. She crooked her head to the side and leaned her small body across the table to see better. Her torso was completely on the table as she recognized Asa and Carter standing outside. She turned her head, only a few inches from Jeff's face, and slid her lenses down the bridge of her nose. Her fiery golden eyes reflected in his sunglasses as she spoke quietly and gestured to Asa and Carter at the window.

"Can we keep them?"

She smiled at her poor attempt to joke with Jeff and waited patiently for him to lead.

[SUN]

h e y c a t c h

The first words any one has spoken to Rayn directly. She swallowed nervously catching the dry biscuit careful not to let any crumbs hit the floor. She couldn't muster out any words but smiled a kind thank you. She shuffled her feet looking down at the pale biscuit in her cupped hands like it was some alien object. She broke a hard corner off pressing it to her rose lips at first smelling it...sweet smelling flour...she put it in her mouth trying to taste the flavor but couldn't make out much more than the smell. She are the rest out of politeness but she wasn't too fond of the flavor, however, it beat her fathers cooking. She decided to venture out like most the others had seeing as the silence in the apartment was almost to painful to bear. She could swear they could hear her thoughts. She returned to her room grabbing a light jacket and slipping on some boots hastily. She looked to the others as she started to the door as if she was going to say something, but she simply walked out the bright sun playing off her fair locks. She held her hand above her brow placing her round sun glasses on to cover her fluorescent blue eyes. She smiled shyly welcoming the crisp air to her tingling skin. This world was so different so many different feelings, sights, and smells. She couldn't help but twirl around light poles and hop between cross walk marks. She never acted this way in front of the others but when she was surrounded by strangers she was as care free as the next guy.

She followed her nose to the sweet scents of the coffee shop. She didn't even pay attention to Carter and Asa's presence, not at first anyway. She stepped lightly on tip toes, like a graceful ballerina between each crack in the pavement. She spun lightly her jacket flying up only slightly. Then she had spot them only feet away from her. She stopped dead in her movements pushing her hands in her pockets holding her jacket in place, but her hair still dancing in the wind. She looked down at her feet as if telling them mentally to never move again, but she desperately wished her power was to disappear.

[Shanks]

Jeff came back to the moment to find Dahlia smiling at him. Her smile was infectious, and he quickly came to smile in return. There were so few things to smile at up here, at least that's how Jeff felt, so when Dahlia inspired him to smile it felt a lot like home. The home he used to have. The sudden coughing fit that broke out surprised him, and he looked at her with awkward concern. "Everything alright?" he asked even as she was obviously recovering. Jeff imagined she must have just swallowed wrong, and sort of shrugged it off. Smiling again, Jeff watched her as she leaned forward to look out the window. Her childlike curiosity was always so endearing, though he found much of their group was the same in the mundane world. Most of them were still very new to this world, not like Jeff who had been up here countless times before. Always covertly though, certainly never out in the open as they were now.

When she finally turned to look at him, their faces were practically touching. Jeff grinned at her and noticed she had spotted Asa and Carter. "I don't know Doll, they look filthy." He responded, making an effort to keep a serious expression as he did so. Having already paid their bill, Jeff got up from the table and extended his hand toward Dahlia. As he led her out into the street again, he considered calling out to the others from their group, but decided to avoid drawing that much attention. They approached quickly as they could without standing out though. "Asa, Carter," Jeff said casually said, once they were in earshot. "I see neither of you are starting any trouble this morning." Jeff couldn't help but grin at himself, as he waited for them to acknowledge the new arrivals.

[Aces Away]

"How does 'doughnuts' make sense? The wording doesn't exactly match what they are." Asa stated with a raised eyebrow. "Sure, the dough part is understandable, but the nut part has no bearing...Dough-rings would make more sense..." he looked to Carter. "I'm not very hungry at the moment, but you get what looks appetizing to you." His smile was small and soft as he started at his friend. "I never understood the excitement you have about colorful foods; in our short time up here, I've experienced that the most appealing foods have the least sustenance..." He continued, glancing around and spotting Rayn dancing on her tiptoes and rolled his eyes slightly, turning back to Carter as though he hadn't seen her. As long as she didn't take off her sunglasses or draw attention to herself, who was he to tell her she couldn't dance. Besides, it seems a lot of the Mundanes enjoy moving in a fanciful way down the pavement, as though the small movements cause more enjoyment in their day.

The door bell to the little shop rang as two people stepped out, and Asa looked up.

"Asa, Carter," Jeff spoke as he neared the two. "I see neither of you are starting any trouble this morning." Asa scoffed at that. He may be a bit of a hothead, but he definitely wouldn't be the one to start any trouble up on the surface. Crossing his arms, he observed the other Golden Uisilons with keen eyes. It was faded-most likely the work of Maven's healing abilities he'd heard about down in Undaro- and mostly covered by the sunglasses, but there was a significant bruise around Jeff's left eye.

"It appears I'm not the the one that needs to stray from starting trouble." He intoned, raising an eyebrow once more and waving his hand over the left side of his own face for emphasis. "What'd you do to get that beauty?" His tone became sarcastic at the last comment, maybe a little more biting than he intended, but he was worried that Jeff had already been in an altercation with a Mundane. He had specifically warned against this sort of thing because he knew that Mundanes seemed to try and get the Law Enforcers...er...Police...involved at the slightest of things, and he didn't want to have to deal with such things so early into the mission. He looked to Carter quickly before turning back to the other two. He didn't know what Rayn had decided to do after he noticed her dancing stopped, but he decided he had enough to deal with at the moment.

[elphrain]

Carter smirked at Asa's displeasure in the name of the doughnuts. He couldn't disagree with him though, the mundanes did have an odd way of naming things. Asa expressed that he wasn't hungry, and Carter nodded and looked at the merchandise once more. On the plus side, he'd have more money to spare.

"I never understood the excitement you have about colorful foods; in our short time up here, I've experienced that the most appealing foods have the least sustenance..."

“You've got that right.” Carter replied, thinking about it more. It was true, and the colorful foods seemed to be more sweeter as well. Plus, they smelled really good...

Carter mumbled a quick, “I'll be back” as he hurried in the coffee shop and ordered a doughnut. It had white frosting on it with colorful speckles. The cashier put it in a bag for him and he walked back out the store, noticing Rayn standing not so far away from the shop. He looked for Asa and was about to speak up, when he heard the doorbell from the shop and Jeff approached them.

"Asa, Carter," Jeff spoke as he neared the two. "I see neither of you are starting any trouble this morning."

“Looks like the gang's all here.” He thought as he looked at Asa, Jeff, and Rayn in the distance. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed something like a bruise under Jeff's eye, but didn't ask, and instead took a bite of his doughnut. Carter peeked behind the two who were speaking amongst themselves and noticed Rayn still alone by herself. He stared at her for a bit, hoping she'd notice him through her sunglasses and waved for her to join them. He didn't know if she would, though, considering she was so reserved. Either way, he didn't want her to feel like she wasn't included.

[Shanks]

Jeff smirked at Asa, enjoying the pointed banter. "The beauty I was born with Ace, the bruise... well that was mission related..." He left it at that and flashed Asa a look as if to remind him that now would not be the time to discuss it. It was good, Jeff thought, that he noticed it so easily; there would be no turning back now, his work would all be out in the open. After considering what he had already said, Jeff felt the need to add in "Don't worry, though. I covered my tracks as always." His smirk grew to a full crooked grin. Jeff had realized very early on in his travels to the mundane world that they relied heavily on electricity; they especially relied on it for security. It was very fortunate for Jeff, as there was little he could not do in terms of manipulating electricity. At times he wondered if he could end this entire war himself, though he knew how foolish that was. Besides that, he relied heavily on his Golden brother and sisters, in many ways his powers were incomplete without theirs. Glancing over Asa's shoulder, Jeff spotted Rayn and smiled. She seemed to be oddly still for being outside, as normally he would see her flowing with the wind; he smiled at the thought and returned his attention to those he was with.

"The meeting tonight," Jeff stated with a serious expression, "We will discuss everything then. I have important information." Speaking with Asa, Jeff stared directly into his shades, he felt as though he could see the intensity of his golden eyes unimpeded. Very suddenly, Jeff's expression broke into a smile and he looked to Carter then back to Asa "So have you had as productive a morning as we have?" Jeff gestured to Dahlia as he spoke, offering her a warm smile as he did so. Jeff was please with the way things were going, the way he got along with the others... for the most part. He wondered if perhaps that was why he held back in revealing his nighttime work for so long, he didn't want his delightful friends to become soldiers. He supposed, however, that was inevitable.