Lunch was enjoyable, even with the obvious tensions that had formed. Having returned to the classroom with Callan, Siena was quick to note where everyone was sitting, trying to match faces to names as she passed.
Considering the wealth of information that she was capable of storing, the brunette didn't find the task difficult.
Still, she was uneasy when she noted that Lily was nowhere to be seen, and even more nervousness when the boy that had received a Squishable Manatee was distinctly not present in his seat by the time that things had started to roll into action. It was a shame--he seemed like a nice boy, and...well, Siena had wanted to ask if he liked Squishables as much as she did. A concerned frown on her face, Siena focused on what was being said as best she could through the storm.
'You shouldn't be curious, you should be worried.' Shut. Up. 'Don't show your fangs, Siena.'
Her words? Or Maya's?
Forcing herself away from the inner turmoil, Siena listened intently to the explanation of flag-and-seek, her eyes scanning over the names on the board. She recognized most of the opposing team, but that wasn't exactly good if she considered they were going to be competing. Her eyes caught sight of Marcus's glance, and it sent...something through her. Instead of returning the expression, Siena had quickly averted her gaze, as though she hadn't noticed. Why had she felt a jolt of fear at that?
'Because Gerwulf gets that look before things go bad.'
Shut. Up.
Freddy's talk about the world at large and the way that DC monsters were beginning to act strange had trouble reaching Siena through the thick of her troubled thoughts. Relief that a few of the missing students were not in danger. Fear that there had been no mention of Aaron. Terror at the familiarity of the challenger's gaze.
Stop it.
When the lecture had come to a close, Siena had little choice but to distract herself with other things. Electives--she should put some thought into them...right? Her eyes went over the columns and words over and over again to no avail, eventually leaving her to fill the sheet out in desperation over actual interest in the courses.
Less Brutalization Than Advertised
Lily | Siena
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Collab between @Kyrisse @PapiTan
"Golden snitch, stay hidden, solitary confinement... Golden snitch, stay hidden, solitary confinement," Lily repeated quietly to herself as she sat on the floor of the defunct freezer. It was sort of funny to think of herself as a golden snitch. She had blonde hair and was small. But can I move that fast? Maybe I should try. Her mind brought up the scene she saw outside. A large clearing with weird beaten up buildings all around and two opposing teams... "Solitary confinement," the words crept up on her again. If she got caught then that would be it.Had she been in her sad mood, solitary confinement wouldn't have been a problem. Seeing how fast she was in exchange for being alone for what? Maybe a week? She wouldn't mind. But she wasn't in that mood now and being shut out from people she found interesting wasn't exactly tempting. She sighed.
But then staying in the same place until someone found her? Ugh. This is so boring. Why play a game if it's boring in the first place? The place she was in was not somewhere she'd like to stay for long periods of time too. Broken down, rusty shelves, cracked tiled walls and a peeling ceiling with sinister dark brown water marks. There was also a strange musty smell she couldn't quite figure where it's coming from. "Would have been more interesting if I was with that boy...Oh." Her lips formed an O as she thought back to how Christmas had looked when they were led into Ground Zero. Unlike her, the idea of the game didn't really seem to amuse him. He actually looked scared. She immediately felt sympathetic towards him and wondered where he was.
Thinking how the boy must be feeling brought forth memories of when she had woken up in USARILN East. Unfamiliar faces stared down at her, people in white coats fussed over her and whispered among themselves about the X marking her throat. She remembered resenting whoever it was that left her there, hated whoever it was that wiped her memories. Being left alone wasn't such a nice thing. She shook her head to clear it. No use thinking about it for now. Dwelling too much on things she can't remember brought out the faceless people in her mind. And she didn't want or need that now. She jumped up to her feet, the way a surprised rabbit would. I should go and look for that boy! she concluded happily. As long as I keep myself hidden then there's really no problem, right? She made her way towards the door, her mind already coming up with a dozen plans on how to look for the other healer.
There was something unsettling, Siena acknowledged as the preparation time wound down, about the fact that neither Kurt (Nightcrawler, she supposed) nor Demetri were especially difficult to control. It was almost nauseating how little change she felt in her own inner world even adopting both their names, but that was the price she paid for control, wasn't it? The brunette took advantage of the moment of serene peace to start probling the field, getting accustomed to Demetri's tracking sense.
It was...different from what Siena had expected, really. She could tell, with relative ease, that she couldn't identify most of what she was sensing. More importantly, it occurred to Siena that while she could cleanly feel ten distinct presences on the field, two of them were unfamiliar and difficult to latch onto.
One of them, she acknowledged, was probably Christmas.
But Lily...? Siena could dig out the tenors of Lily's mind with relative ease, her eyes trailing towards the buildings on her right. A definite sense from that direction...isolation. The familiarity of the emotion sent a tremor through Siena's fingertips, enough to make her hair stand on end. Turning her gaze about the field to avoid showing any knowledge of her target, Siena's mind immediately worked out a plan. The smallest building was the restaurant--it looked a little dismal, but it would also be the easiest to search and access with its mostly-visible entryways. The brunette could barely make out a few darker figures in the storefront, but just enough to know where she could safely make a landing in the worst case scenario. There was a lobby. Plenty of space.
'START!'
The words had barely finished when Siena braced herself for some discomfort, running forward a few steps as if to keep up with her teammates, and then jumping.
Not a normal jump.
She vanished in a puff of sulphur-reeking smoke, reappearing in a tangle of limbs as her forward momentum sent her tumbling directly into an overturned podium, scattering a few forgotten menus on the ground. Bruising pain blossomed like sickly-sweet flowers across her arms and ribs, but the girl didn't let it stop her. She had to get out of sight before anyone noticed where she had disappeared to. Stumbling blindly over unturned furniture that had seen better days, colors burst before her vision as nausea and fatigue set in. Short of breath, Siena staggered around the corner, slumping against the wall.
'Oh god, oh geeze. Should have done a test jump before I tried that.' The last time she had taken this name, she hadn't been so daring with her teleportation once she noticed it. Siena took a few deep breaths to calm her churning stomach, counting to up to fifteen and back again before doing a quick scan of the restaurant. Lily was close...but not in the mess of furniture tossed and turned. Steeling herself, Siena started picking her way towards the back of the establishment, the sense becoming easier to follow as the nausea faded out.
Lily's hand had just rested on the freezer's door handle when she heard a muffled sound from outside. She immediately froze, Monsters, was her initial thought, her golden eyes wide. The squirrels. Her mind brought back memories from the last battle she was in. She thought of how the rodents had feasted on Padma and she cringed. No, no, no, no, she thought frantically as she looked around the small, confined space she was in. If she stayed there then she'd definitely be squirrel food. It wasn't such a nice thought... she still wanted to do so much. She still wanted to remember things she had no idea if she'll ever remember.
Steeling herself, she reached out again and slowly opened the door. Thankfully, even in its decrepit state, the door swung open smoothly, making no unnecessary sounds. She held her breath as she peeked outside. When she didn't see anything there aside from the haphazard kitchen furniture, she immediately got on all fours and crept out as stealthily and as quietly as she can. Spotting an open metal kitchen cabinet, she hurriedly crawled over to it and got in, her small size enabling her to cram herself into the small space with no effort. She would have slid the metal door closed but seeing at how rusted it was, she was sure it would make a grating sound. She opted to leave it open.
The kitchen wasn't in better condition than the dining area, but it certainly had a few places more to try and hide a person. Grey eyes darted around the room. One exit that looked like it led to a storage room, two hefty metal doors that were likely the freezer and refrigeration unit, and one large, standing oven that could have hid a human body. 'They're not going to hide anyone in an oven, Siena.; A quick glance down the hall as she passed the exit to the storage room told Siena that the room didn't have an entry door--just another exit with a small window that showed outdoor skies. Good, an unseen exit that she could leave through. She'd check there last. Alright, that meant a clockwise scouring of the kitchen--'You idiot, you forgot the restrooms.'. Giving a frustrated sigh, Siena pinched the bridge of her nose. She'd check them after the kitchen. Stupid of her to forget that most eating establishments had public restrooms, even if she never used them herself.
"...Freezer, fridge, oven, bathrooms, and storage, then..." The words came out a little uncertain as Siena thought back on her previous encounter with Lily. The girl wasn't really all that big, now that she thought about it. With a frown on her face, the brunette couldn't help but imagine one of the guards shoving the blonde into a drawer or underneath a fryer without much trouble. That made things much harder. "And I'm not familiar enough with this tracking sense to get a better read..." Siena didn't let that stop her as she peered into the open door of the freezer. Nothing. Next.
It took a little effort to swing the door of the refrigeration unit open, the hinges having been unwilling to budge after the first few tugs. Peering in, her nose was assaulted by the smell of stale air and what was probably mold. Nothing again. Well...there was always the oven to check. With a sigh, the brunette promptly turned, already jogging for--
CLANG.
"OW!" Her knee collided into the corner of the center island, the metal humming with a metallic sound as another round of pain settled into her joints. Not even a teleport that time. Hissing, the girl staggered, one hand landing against the smooth surface as her face contorted into a grimace as she glanced at the injury. A thin cut peered back at her, blood seeping to the surface. She should have worn the long pants. "Could use a healer right about now..." But she didn't have one, so she'd have to find something to cover her injury, at least. Though the building was in a state of disarray, certainly there were some washcloths or paper towels she could use as a makeshift plaster. With a sigh, Siena started walking, this time carefully, towards the other end of the kitchen, her eyes glancing about every so often to check for another unexpected obstacle.
Except what she saw, about halfway on her journey to the other side of the kitchen, was not an obstacle, but Lily just barely in sight thanks to the angle of the cabinet door she'd hidden in. Little more than a glimmer of golden hair through the crack. Siena paused.
The loud noise and the 'OW' made Lily's head pop out of her hiding place. Squirrels didn't make 'ow' sounds, do they? When she caught sight of a girl with brown hair, she almost sighed in relief. It wasn't some monster but someone she recognized. Siena. Team mate from the last battle and fellow Benediction fan. The small girl grinned and was just about to call out to Siena when she remembered just in time that she should be staying hidden. She immediately clamped her mouth close and ducked back into the cabinet she had been hiding in before she could be found out.
But maybe she became careless or Siena was using some sort of detecting power. Even as she retreated back into the shadows of the cabinet, the other girl spotted her.
"Lily? Did...did they shove you in a cabinet?" A mixture of both concern and confusion trickled into the bookworm's voice. Why? There were plenty of other hiding spots around. Siena took a cautious step closer to the cabinet in case she had to play rough to get Lily back to the team. "I'm gonna uh...get you out of there, if you're okay with that. I don't think being stuck in a space that small is comfortable..."
When Lily heard Siena addressing her, she expected to be tazed and have guards marching in to take her to some solitary confinement. She failed at staying hidden after all. Wait... I'm supposed to be found, right? I hid and was found. I didn't lead her here... she thought to herself as she uncurled herself from her position in the cabinet and got up on her feet. She shook her head in response to Siena's question. "No. I hid in there by myself. I thought you were a squirrel out to get me," she admitted, her eyes scouring the area as if expecting monsters to jump her. When she was content that there was only the two of them, she looked at the small space she had crammed herself into and then shook her head again. "Actually, it wasn't so bad in there. I think I would have fallen asleep if you didn't find me," she laughed animatedly before staring quizzically at the taller girl. "But how did you find me here?" she asked curiously. "I thought it would be a while for someone to actually come and find me."
"Ah, well that's good...? I'm glad they didn't just shove you in there." And with a pause, Siena gave a small grin. "Hehe...I'm borrowing a tracker's power since I wanted to find you before the team out to hunt healers tried to cram you somewhere else. I'm still getting used to it, but I could tell you were somewhere nearby." The lie came to her with relative ease, especially when mixed with a half truth. Offering her hand to the smaller blonde, Siena gave a gentle smile to hide the anxiety that was starting to build. Time was of the essence, she thought. "You wanna try something cool? I just so happen to have borrowed a second nifty power to get around the area."
Having no real reason not to trust a familiar face and a former team mate, Lily was quick to agree. She nodded her head enthusiastically as she took the hand offered to her. There wasn't any rule that said she couldn't go with someone, right? "Okay."
Relief swept over Siena like the warm mists of her home showers, but she drowned it with a smile. "I shoulda done this when Benediction disappeared." Leading the girl towards the dining area, Siena waited until she could peer out into the field. With two figures near the spot she'd been hoping to drop Lily off, she quickly recalculated for the top of the nearest building to that spot. A further jump, but safer, given the circumstances. The brunette gave a mischievous smile to her companion. "There might be a little motion sickness, but I promise, it'll be cool."
Lily allowed herself to be led towards the dining area, furrowing her brows at how the taller girl held her hand. Somehow it brought unfamiliar memories to mind and for a brief second Siena turned into a tall boy with golden hair. "Hmmm?" She blinked. Was she imagining things? Who was holding her hand? A quick flash of a gentle face, a smile, golden hair blowing in the wind. "Sebastian," she whispered in a sort of relieved tone, remembrance, as always coming in short bursts. But the image only she was able to see disappeared when she heard a dragon's roar reach them. The small blonde snapped her attention towards what was happening outside, her mind automatically shifting gears. Monsters? she again thought in a panic, not really aware that they had a shapeshifter among their ranks.
With a gentle squeeze of Lily's hand, the two figures vanished from the restaurant in a cloud of brimstone smoke. Unlike the first jump, Siena had been able to nail the landing. Sort of. She was two inches off the ground, but that was better than two feet while moving. Head spinning, she wondered briefly whether Lily felt any of the fatigue--she'd picked an earlier version of her mark despite the distinct disadvantages hoping that the side-effects wouldn't be quite so pronounced on her potential passengers.
It was probably a slim hope, but at least she'd given some warning on the disorientation. Hopefully it was enough to keep her (dare she say it?) friend from the same fatigue that Siena could feel trying to settle over her. Staggering a bit, the brunette gave a surprisingly genuine laugh at her accomplishment. "Oh geeze, haha...I usually don't land that gracefully." One shaky backstep to hide the disorientation. "You should be nice and safe here."
Lily didn't have a chance to voice out her worries or to even remember the vision of the golden haired boy she had just seen when the restaurant vanished from around her. She felt her head spin as she felt the ground disappear and reappear under her feet. Disoriented, she trained her golden eyes at Siena, for a moment confused with what had just happened. But her hyperactive mind quickly noted that they were in a different place and she figured out that Siena had somehow teleported them. Despite the dizziness she still felt, a huge grin spread across her face and she made a small whoop of excitement. "That was... AMAZING! How did you do that? Can we do it again? Can we teleport anywhere? What about back to the dorm? Or maybe to where Christmas is? I'm sure he's scared and alone somewhere. He didn't look too pleased to be in this game," she fired one question after another. "Oh, oh, you found me when no one else did. So does that mean you can zero in on where Chistmas is? Can I come along when you get him?" she continued her excited chatter, slightly bouncing on the balls of her feet.
There was a brief moment of legitimate confusion as Lily seemed to be...shockingly excited about having been teleported. She'd once taken Gerwulf for a quick trip down the stairs, and he'd sworn for about twenty seconds straight after their rematerialization. Then again, Gerwulf hated surprises, so maybe this was the normal reaction. "I'm glad you liked that better than the last person I teleported." An honest truth accompanied by an equally honest smile. "How about I bring Christmas over here, and then I'll teleport you as many times as you want? I gotta get out of here before anyone notices I got back." Lie, lie, lie. Total lie. "I'm gonna sound a little insane, but I'm gonna drop you off by the dragon puppy. He's nice though." The dragon that looked kind of like he had just gotten his butt kicked seven ways to Sunday. "After that, I'll be back, quick as lightning with Christmas."
Lily looked a little disappointed that she wasn't gonna be coming along to pick Christmas up but she perked back up at the thought of teleporting as many times as she wanted. She nodded, totally believing Siena's words. "Okay, you go get Christmas and then---" she stopped abruptly and stared at Siena, an incredulous look on her face. "Dragon... puppy? You're gonna drop me off by a dragon? But... big, scaly monster...with sharp teeth probably bigger than me... He might stomp me... or eat me," she shuddered, her brows once again furrowing in frustration and worry.
