"Then I will stop by tomorrow. Good luck," Elek nodded and left. He sensed that Eve might not think of him highly, but her reasons did not grow from the fact he was blind, and that was a rare trait. Only few people looked past the fact and simply forgot or didn't accept it. They then became his friends. And although the man wasn't sure Eve would ever be friends with him, there was a chance they would earn each other's respect. And that, in this wretched world where everything was based on one's powers and position, was such a precious thing.

Aiolia had watched the small word exchange from afar, and her thoughts grew a little heavy. She wished she could know what either of them were thinking, or that she could beat Eve... Be helpful. The more gifted people came, the harder it was to be the useless one. And although Elek never made her notice that, and made her feel worthy, Aiolia knew that when time would come, he would have to rely on the changed ones, on Eve... Would she eventually be cast away? No, Elek thought of her as friend. But friend only. With a sigh, she turned around and left, to have few hours of sleep.

He let her struggle and held onto her. He did not squeeze her tight or confine her but simply made sure she would not fall out of his arms. When she was done and turned away from him, he let her speak and say her bit. Obviously, she was damaged and he could feel it even if he couldn't see it. The worst and most insensitive thing to do would be to point it out and it didn't even cross his mind to do so.

When she mentioned her medicine, he grabbed her things and carefully rustled through it. quietly, he asked her, "Is it this one?" He showed her the needled and knew, if it wasn't this that it would be the pills as that was all there were. His tone was calm and almost caring. He just wanted to help her, that was it. No strings attached, no repaying, no nothing. She didn't even have to thank him.

Eve barked another order at the group and, when they were done brawling, she made them run it off for an hour, nonstop movement. If they got too slow, below a job, she'd kicked them over and have everyone trample them. The training was brutal and inhumane, but they needed to know their limits and how to push past them to create new limits. That was part of becoming a warrior. Luckily for them, bullets were not involved.

by about an hour or two after dinner, they were released to go eat. She grabbed two trays for herself and went back to her home, kicking the door open, then shut and locking it up before dropping one tray onto the floor and sitting down against the door. It was homemade pizza with some veggies and weird jello shit with marshmallows and... pineapple? She grimaced, "Ugh, gross."

She shoved the dessert off onto Evan's tray, whom was already snarfing at the food after dropping down from the ceiling. Eve started to eat at the pizza, letting out a quiet groan of enjoyment. She hadn't had pizza in a while and it was so damned good. finally, between bites, she asked, "So, what did you see?" White teeth tore cheese off from the rest of the slice and her tongue scooped it up into her mouth.

Evan snarled over her plate, slashing at the floor with a claw and inhaling sharply through her nostrils. Eve kept silent and listened, watching, the night soon growing quiet as they ate and tended to themselves for the night...

"Yes," she said quietly, pain coming back for another round. "But give me the pills." Leila hesitated for a moment, thinking if she should explain that she didn't have much of the liquid, stronger pain killer left. But then decided to leave it out. Amante didn't need to know all the reasons or details. He already knew too much, far too much... A sigh broke out of her lips and the girl squeezed eyes shut, trying to endure the pain quietly. Her hands clenched, knuckles turning white, and nails dug deep in her palms. It would it would be too disarming to let Amante know how she suffered, to turn to him for comfort. When she did, she would have put all her dignity and weapons down, drawing red circle on her heart, so there was no chance he would miss. It was enough that she had made that mistake once...

Shadows swarmed around them like water, they sneaked tentacles up to Leila, to touch her and comfort her as they could, not really caring if they were exposed anymore. She was their Mistress, their black light in the world, the beacon light to call them. Many of them had been shaped by her, out of torment and sadness, and they were thankful to her. Others, especially the older ones, appreciated the way Leila treated them - not as slaves or minions, but comrades and even friends. Some understood her pain, her past. And all wanted to be there for her during hard times.

He gave a nod and rummaged through the bag, finding the pills. Fingers dropped the covered syringe inside and he carried pressed the pills into her mouth. "Do you have any water?" Amante started to rummage through the bag again, looking for a bottle of some kind with water or juice for her to take her medicine with.

"Yea," Leila replied, slightly muffled. "In the outer pocket," she added a moment later. Her head was getting heavy and dizzy, as if her brains were getting stuffed with fluff, or something like that. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all that she didn't have to walk... The thought passed quickly, though, and didn't make aggravation disappear. "Out of all people to find me, it just had to be this stalker..." the girl thought, a little sadly. Then again, if it had been an enemy, that would have turned out a lot worse and bloody. She wouldn't be taken down too easily, even in this current state.

When Amante found the drink and gave it to her, Leila gulped the water down nearly greedily. Her mouth felt so dry, the saliva was sticky. Not to mention, the pills were about to start melting on her tongue and that wouldn't be pleasant. "So, you're gonna put me down now, since I am being a 'good girl'?" Leila asked him, throwing a questioning glance in his direction, with slight sarcasm in her voice, but the tiredness was far more prominent.

"We got it, we got it!" someone banged on Elek's door, yelling excitedly. The man jumped in his seat, then rushed over to the door and opened it. Two boys stumbled in the room, followed by a man in his forties and woman who looked like made of liquid metal or glass. The latter two, of course, were much calmer, but they carried a sense of accomplishment as well.

"Calm down and tell me how it went. Are you all fine?" Elek asked, looking them all over in his mind's eye the best he could. When he was assured that they indeed were fine, he suggested moving to 'sitting room' and maybe eat something while their adventures were retold. The idea was cheerfully accepted and everyone ate cookies (saved for special occasions), washing them down with too dark and bitter coffee soon.

The four, mostly Keyth and Mike in their unique 'finish each other's sentences in perfect sync' manner, retold how they had sneaked in the large hospital, past all the guards and people there, and into laboratories. It had included lots of sneaking, few struggles with the personnel, disguises and other such 'cool things'. Predicting it would be so, Elek had strongly opposed to the idea of twins going on this mission, but they were needed as technicians. However, all was well than ended well, and Elek felt happy and relieved.

The group had brought back the artificial shoulder join that Ryan's arm needed. But it wasn't just a simple thing, they had gotten the best possible. With a special metal bone fragment, when placed in his arm, it would 'grow' over time and merge with the bones of his whole arm and hand, therefor strengthening and supporting it. The operation had been put off for the past few days because they lacked this item. It had been debated that Keyth and Mike could try to make an artificial arm for Ryan, but there was much higher chance of it not being successful, his body not accepting it or an infection spreading around, as well the operation would be harder on his weakened body.

After all the details had been discussed, and the excitement had died down a little, they went to sleep. Elek knew it was going to be an awfully long day tomorrow, and he looked towards it with mixed feelings.

Aiolia was not one to sulk for long. Yesterday's gloominess was now replaced with steely determination to make the best she could of her human life. Another thought was stirring in back of her mind, but while the plan was not set, becoming stronger was the best option. So, she arrived to hand to hand combat class, along with the 'older members'. The girl had not taken part before, because she was quite good at it, but now she wanted to improve, as much as possible.

Elek stopped next to her, on the edge of the group. He wasn't ashamed to be beaten, even in front of other people, but he hoped to put up at least a decent fight. Against other students, it wouldn't be hard, unless Eve forbade for him to peak into their minds. But, that would be basically taking away a sense from him, and she didn't do it with others, so the man doubted that. He chatted it up with Aiolia and few other people, before Eve arrives. Most seemed to be worn down and tired, even annoyed, but their pride made them come back.

Ryan sat in wheelchair and felt rather strange, as they wheeled him to the operation room. It had been just not long ago that he had been a prisoner, even if Elek had promised to take care of his health, and now he was treated just like any patient. A quick change, but not unpleasant.

Ryan had asked to go to Alice, but she was fast asleep, and while he wished they could've spent some time together, the man was glad she was resting. He thought that it would be nice to tell her later that now him and his arm would be all right and 'fancied up'. Ryan was somewhat nervous about the operation, but not as much as some would expect. The medicine and fewer had dulled his senses and fears somewhat.

He was helped on the table and the nurse added nodes to his head. The little machine was supposed to tell doctor how much anesthesia he could take. Doctor seemed a little displeased with the result, but proceeded with the preparations. After a little while, Ryan submitted to anesthesia without much troubles.

As various examinations showed, part of Ryan's arm bones had simply turned soft, and the nerves nearby had also started dying, due to the poison. The bullet had gotten stuck in his bone and spread its deadly content without much trouble. It took a while for the doctor to clean everything and take out the damaged, unusable bone, but finally, he was able to insert the new joint and work onto getting it connected. Ryan came closer to waking, so they put mask on him.

Eventually, the operation was successfully finished and Ryan was transported back to his room. First thing he realized when he woke up was that Earth really spun - well, his room certainly. He stifled a groan and squeezed eyes shut. That didn't help, though. Ryan felt dizzy, stiff and nauseous, and just wanted to be alone. But, in next few hours, he had various visitors, such as Elek and Aiolia, and the mechanic twins. They all wished him good recovery and the boys were all too enthusiastic, telling how 'totally awesome' he is going to be with his new metal arm when it's done "growing". Finally, he was left in peace and could sleep.

With some difficulty, he opened up the bottle, after finding it, while carrying her in his arms and helped her take a few gulps. He capped the bottle and put it into her bag, which he lay on her stomach and started walking. With a smile, Amante remarked, "Not a chance." He continued forward through the darkness of the sewers and continued, "Get some rest. I'll wake you up when we get there..."


November 30th, Chicago; Sewer #17.


But he didn't. Amante entered the camp and took her to her tent, where he lay here down in bed, tossed her bag under the bed but where it could be easily reached and tucked her in under the blankets.

Eve came out after taking a tray of food to her house and headed up to the training area. When she saw Aiolia and even Elek, she grinned. "Well, it looks like your leaders want to play." She didn't dare group herself into the mass of underlings. She was a hired hand, a different sect of worker than the rest of the rebellion. She was temporary and she acted a such.

"Boys and girls, you've got as long as it takes to bring these two to their knees. Two-to-one. Get in line and start." She threw her hand up and walked a bit further back to what. Her students, likely reluctant, were now able to take out their frustration on their leaders- and that is exactly what Eve wanted.

Alice had woken up a few times throughout the day, wondering where Ryan was. She'd asked, quite a few times, or tried to, to be taken to Ryan during his surgery and even after. But no one listened to her or understood her, they usually told her to quiet down and get more rest, so she did.

She'd had strange dreams of bones and muscles, tendons and nerves with metals invading their homelands. She didn't know what it meant but she remembered touching on them and feeling them, drawing her hands away almost immediately when she felt a resemblance to Ryan....

She'd come to terms with not being able to see him that day, and even the night, and continued sleeping. However, she thought herself awake and unable to control herself outside of her subconscious desires. Her figure walked through the halls and found Ryan on instinct, going into his room and watching him sleep. She approached the side of his bed and sat beside him, looking over his arm and exhausted features.

Her hand lay on the cold metal and moved up to his shoulder. He felt warm and pulsating with life, which she found alarming considering the metal wasn't originally a part of him. When his eyes jarred open, she smiled at him and asked, "How are you feeling?" Her voice was calming and made the walls soften with a warmer light similar to that of the sign. It would be a rare sight, if any, to see sunlight while down in this place.

Leila only grumbled something in reply. She still avoided looking at him, feeling rather vulnerable in this position. Although he had helped her, the girl refused to admit that she had needed it very much... But the fact she had complied, spoke differently on its own. Defiantly, Leila swallowed any moans or groans, only her body sometime shivered hard in his arms.

Somewhere on the way, the girl fell asleep, or seemed to. Her body became more limp and head slid back, now resting sideways on Amante's shoulder. The features, usually pulled in cold expression, softened up, making her look even younger than she was. Leila sighed few times in the sleep, but otherwise seemed to be unaware of anything, until the man put her in the bed.

The tent was small, and everything seemed to be so, too. There was just bed, one larger bag, box on which stood a lamp - that was all. Apparently, she did not have much belongings, or what was the most precious to her was well hidden.

After Amante tucked blanket around her, Leila opened her eyes and stared at him. They were focused, but the girl seemed a little 'away from here'. The man might guess that it was the effect of drugs, mixed with pain killers, which seemed to be rather strong. Her hand gripped his, nearly painfully. "I am not surprised you and Elek are friends. You both are idealists. And I am glad I won't have to see that day when your ideals shatter. Giving inspiration speeches about sacrifices and battles are one thing, seeing your dear ones die, standing at their graves... Completely different. You are a fool... But I envy you, while it lasts for you." Leila's hand let go of his and slid under blanket. She turned her back to Amante, but then glanced over shoulder.
"Oh, and never come in my tent again." Then she seemingly went to sleep again.

"What the fuck," Aiolia thought at Eve's announcement. For the time being, she didn't see much point in such a way of doing things, but Elek seemed to be fine with it, so, she complied without complaining. If these people weren't going to use their powers, just rely on physical strength, agility as well some cunning, it would be rather easy, at least for a while.

Indeed, Elek and Aiolia fared very well, for quite some time. Especially Elek, who maybe used his powers to slightly aid him, but maybe didn't. There was no way to check. Aiolia earned few bruises, but nothing serious. Elek tried to not harm anyone too much, just wear the opponents out a little and then give the finishing blow. Aiolia put more force into it and as she grew more tired, she started using more cunning and 'underhanded' moves. Elek, too, grew harsher on others, as time passed and didn't manage to avoid all the blows anymore. The girl did an obvious mistake of often taking both enemies on at the same time, which asked for more energy - Elek tried to get rid of them one by one, while planning attacks various 'turns' ahead.

Eventually, Aiolia couldn't go anymore. Her chest heaved heavily and all her body hurt, from attacks she hadn't managed to block or avoid. The line was so bitterly close to ending, but, the girl couldn't get up anymore. Someone had kicked her ankle badly and it hurt very much. She had went on fighting for a while after that, but now she was at her limit. Maybe, if this was death and life battle... No! She couldn't give up! With a hiss, Aiolia got up, and even limping, she launched attack at nearest opponents. After a bit of struggle, the other knocked her out cold from behind.

"Aiolia!" Elek yelled, turning his body towards her and barely avoiding a punch in the face. The fact no one took her off the 'battlefield' made him angry - very angry. He knew most people were taken to hospital if something like this happened. Just because Aiolia had some training before... Angry, he knocked out a guy with few punches, and the next opponents had it much harder than before.

Aiolia did wake up, and when she was mercilessly dragged back in the battle, she fought with teeth and claw, quite literally. Elek attempted to get to her, when she ended up on ground again, but people didn't let him. Fiercely, he attacked them, angry that they would treat their comrade so when they both had tried to be gentle with them. Finally, he was done with opponents and went to Aiolia. But she refused any help, and kept on fighting.

Angry, tired, yet strangely energized by anger and the long battling, Elek turned towards Eve. His head hurt, both from physical and mental work, and muscled ached as well. By the time he had beat down the last opponent, Elek truly was tired. But strangely energized. It had been a while he had battled so hard and long. A really long while.

Some of previous battlers had come back to watch the fight and he could sense a feeling of awe from some of them. In a way, he had proven that he was worthy to be their leader, not just because he was wealthy, as it was rumored, and mentally powerful. Some of people who had secretly put him down due to his disability, now were revaluing him.

"So, this is all, Eve?" he asked, coming closer. His pace was slow and posture slightly menacing. But Elek was not threatening her. Not yet. Aiolia, in the mean time, struggled with one of the last pairs, angry but determined.

Ryan's eyes cracked open, nearly unwillingly, when he felt someone sit down on his bedside. But when he realized who it was, the man immediately woke up fully. "A-alice? What... what are you doing there? Shouldn't you be sleeping? How can you be here?" He wanted to move up in his pillows a bit, but remembered his arm was hung in a metal holder for now.

When the girl spoke, faint smile spread on his lips. "I am fine, they fixed my arm and doctor is telling me it's going to be better than my old one. It feels a little uncomfortable to lay like this, but that's all." Ryan didn't add that he wasn't feeling strong pain only due to large dose of pain reducing medication that made him sleepy and dull. "But how are you? I've been worried..." The man's voice trailed off, not sure how to put all what he felt in words. He had said so much to her over the time, but this was their first real conversation, which they shouldn't be having, considering Alice's health. Ryan felt a little embarrassed on top of it all. But very, very happy to see her, and that he did tell the girl.

At first, it sounded like she was going to give him a genuine compliment... and then she kept going. Her words cut as him as memories boiled into his mind and his features grew flatter and without expression. The man gave a slight nod and more roughly tucked her into her blanket like a burrito and pat her, a bit more roughly, on the shoulder. "Sleep well."

Amante stood up, looking a bit too large for the tent, and hunched over to duck out of the entrance and to the outside. The flaps shut heavily behind him and his footsteps slowly grew quieter until he was gone. She may not know it, but she actually sort of hurt him with her ignorance. To judge him so deeply... she had no idea the sacrifices made, on his end. Maybe one day she would understand but, now, he was just so frustrated he didn't even want to think about that.

Eve spoke as the two leaders fought off their followers, "This isn't just a game. This is a war. It's a war about power, position, strength and ideals that you have to believe in." She watched Aiolia and Elek fend off their own people. "If you can't trust and believe in your leaders, you will no longer hold onto their ideals and you will lose the will to fight- for them. If your leaders fail to believe in you, the fight in themselves for you and the ideals they have spread will wither away and you will all die." She watched as the fighting continued, each side becoming more heated.

When someone was knocked back too far, she shoved them back in. Others would do the same, growing a similar mentality as to what Eve was trying to teach. "Don't let a few people rule you without being heard. Don't let them walk away from this with a sense of entitlement and assurance to their positions. Tell them, with your bare hands, exactly how you feel. Your frustrations, your desires, and just how much you are worth." The blows were coming on harder and Aiolia wasn't taking it well though Elek kept going.

"When it comes down to the moment of life or death, when it is between oneself and those of a whole, who do you think will make the sacrifice? The people- because they believe only their leader can hold to an ideal and spread it again. This isn't true." Everything was becoming more intense. "You are the people- the power, the voice. You can spread this ideal too. Make them earn their right to rule!" She yelled the last part of it, truly believing it.

Aiolia wasn't doing well and, as they had been trained to do, they pulled her back into the fight. "Neither of you will leave until you are unconscious, beaten and bruised from the contempt of your lap-dogs and those sworn into your servitude. Unless you can beat them all," she looked to Elek, likely challenging him as he approached, "and then me." She was ready and tense, as usual, but they were both crossing lines of the other, each party having feet pulling them forward like two cars about to crash.

She smiled, practically beaming with light, as he gave her the good news and told her he was happy she came to seem him. Alice looked over his arm and gave a slow nod, turning to him, "This is all good news. Did they say when you could use it? Or maybe when you will be better?" She didn't want to bother him with how she'd felt rather lonely all day and how she'd wanted to come see him but hadn't been allowed.

It wasn't important. All that mattered was that he would get better. She moved a hand over his and held onto it, gently comforting him this way.

Leila woke up with heavy head. First thing the girl wanted to do was take her medication, she even reached out for it, but then her hand lowered. She could... She had to cut down on using them, while she was on this mission. And after that, if it was successful... She would finally be free to do whatever she wanted. And drugs weren't included in that. Leila could feel that her Shadous felt rather relieved at her choice and smiled a little bittersweet smile.

Picking out the other pretty dress she had taken with her, Leila dressed up more nicely. She felt rather horrible, and hoped no one would get in her way, for their sake. As the man in charge of the outpost looked at her strangely, Leila shrugged. "I can have one free day on Surface a month. I am having it today."
"And not on Christmas or something?" He looked surprised. She didn't even bother answering, just threw the bag over her shoulder and turned towards the exit. Honestly, Leila didn't want to even think about Christmas or her birthday... They were very lonely and sad for someone like her. She had learned to simply ignore these days as a whole, but they still bugged her in the back of the girl's mind.

The path to Surface was rather long, and she walked in silence, not even listening to music. Leila set down the plan of what she had to do. Things like going to her apartment, making pain killers and some poisons, having a proper bath and meal, maybe packing her own coffee were on the top of it. The food and drink here was extremely bland and even if the girl wasn't spoiled, she preferred something that had an actual taste.

Elek had not commented anything Eve had said. Some to it he agreed wholeheartedly, some not so much, but on some aspects she was right, and the man understood what she was trying to teach the lot of them. However, it eventually got over the line, and as the battling intensified, so did his anger. He was not angry about the whole ordeal that he had gotten involved in, but the way Aiolia struggled... It made him want to punch them all.

Elek stopped in front of Eve, seemingly grown even taller, now looming over the woman, his expression stern, despite the exhaustion that was standing on the corner, waiting to claim him wholly. "Let Aiolia go, if she wants to leave. Your fight is with me. I am the one one with power, the one who 'hasn't earned the position'." He paused for a moment, mentally looking over at Aiolia who was still fighting, but very near the end of the line. "She's a guard captain, who worked to sweat and blood to get the position. And everyone here knows it. They just enjoy opportunity to beat someone to pulp, he deserves it or not."

"So, I accept your challenge. I worked hard to be where I am, but it's not a game, indeed... so bring it on!" His voice was loud now, it was a statement. He stepped back, to a clear spot and slightly crouched down, in a defense position, but ready to attack any moment.

He smiled at her, feeling extremely happy to see her sitting, speaking, smiling at him. Ryan had missed her a whole lot during the time he was locked up, and today as well. And she was really caring, as it had seemed! But to her questions, he had only vague answers, much like his knowledge. And the worst parts the man tried to keep out, so not to scare her. Besides, Ryan believed that it won't be so bad as they warned, since he was still strong enough.

"It is going to take some weeks for my hand to be fully usable. Till then, I will have fully recovered otherwise." Ryan's healthy hand went over her and he squeezed it lightly, feeling as if her smile lit a little sun inside him. "But do tell me how you are feeling, it seems like I missed a lot, by not seeing you today. They just didn't let me." The man wanted to add that he had missed her the most, but bit that back.

Her eyes narrowed but she grinned, taking a ste or two back and putting her fists up into the air. He had challenged her and it was obvious that this was what she wanted. The two stood, tense, and she threw the fist blow, throwing her fists up at his shoulders and the sides of his face, repeatedly, though throwing an awry punch down toward his abdomen every so often to keep him on his toes.

Alice gave a slow nod and held onto his hand, answering his question. "I am well. I slept most of the day but... I can feel my energy coming back." She turned her gaze to his arm again, "I had a dream about your arm. It was odd and very warm. I don;t know if it means anything but... I know you'll feel better." She was confident in the skills of the doctors and in his body for being able to accept the metals. She bubbled with positive energy.

Elek grimaced, when she didn't reply to him, and his anger grew just a little more. Her punches he blocked or avoided easily, for now his powers going nowhere near her mind. He used to complain to his master, how all the images he saw were not of the current happenings, and the man had ruthlessly taught him to predict the move at least a second or three ahead. Elek noticed her body movement, how she began to move her shoulder or knee and figured where the attack would be aimed.

Amid the blocking, he also threw punches at her. Not to face, mostly chest and stomach area, few going to her sides. Elek kept moving back slightly, in circular motion, but suddenly, he swiftly moved to side and forward, launching few fierce, direct hits. Then he again retreated, still blocking and dodging as needed.

"Thank you, I believe it will be so. And I am very glad to hear you're feeling better," Ryan told her honestly, smiling. He felt reassured on some level about his arm now, although, of course small doubt sat in corner of his mind, but he put it aside. The man felt good, great even, right now, except for slightly stuffed head.

"You should go back and sleep soon, though. You can walk back, right?" Worry shadowed his expression for a moment. "Do they treat you well here? Do you like it here, Alice?" Ryan's thoughts turned to the man who had visited him in cell. Ryan had heard rumors that he had spent a lot of time in her room... Were they indeed friends from earlier time? Or something more? What if she said now, that she missed him? "That all is not really of my concern, is it," Ryan tried to assure him self, but didn't manage to wholeheartedly agree.

Their combat kept at a stalemate until he pulled to the side and gave her a few hits. Features inflating, she resisted the rage and came at him, getting faster and faster. With one harsh blow to his shoulder, she proceeded to lightly backhand him on the face, on each cheek, then continued with the blocked punches and subtle blows to other parts of his body.

She could see his thoughts as if they were happening in that moment and lay her hand over his forehead. "I am well. you are more concerning, now." She lay down on the bed beside him and curled up, her back to him, as one leg hung off of the side. "I'm too tired to go back. I will... rest here." Almost instantly, she'd drifted off beside him, her figure pressed against his good side but only with a light touch that was almost hollow and lacked all warmth.

Some moments went by when they both drifted off and her figure started to fade away, leaving a subtle lingering feeling as if she were still there but could not be seen.

Elek had been prepared for a swift attack back, but it was just too swift. He received the punch, but managed to lean away from the backhands, her fingers hitting his ear lightly in first one, but second missing completely. Again, they continued with the circling and the audience grew restless. They could feel the tension in the air, in fact, in a little while it would become visible.

Elek waited till it was the most unexpected, then suddenly moved behind her and grabbed Eve's arm, twisting it behind her back and doing a move that would make her crash into the ground hard. However, he was ready to dodge, because this was most likely to fail, but the main goal was hurting her arm, even if not very seriously.

Ryan felt truly surprised when Alice laid down next to him, but a peaceful sensation overcame the man and he sighed softly in content. Although she didn't lay close to him, it felt nice. And it took only a little longer for the exhaustion claim him wholly again and the man drifted into deep, dreamless sleep that still felt strangely filled with warmth.

When he woke up, Ryan, partially sadly, realized Alice had left. He was confined to the bed for next few days, but doctor said after that he would get his own wheelchair and could move around, if he felt good enough. Ryan's fewer had gone down and with proper food and care, he felt much better. The downside to today was that the strong pain killers were starting to get out of his system and pain came. But, he didn't complain, despite the strongly unpleasant feelings now ruling his shoulder. As long as he was going to live, it was all worth it. Most of the day he spent sleeping and thinking about many things, among which Alice was the first and most important. He wished he could go to her room, maybe listen to music with her, or read her a story. The man wondered if she would come again, but questioning nurses if the girl was walking around only earned him strange looks.

Leila slowly walked down the busy street. No one paid attention to her and in the middle of the crowd, she could enjoy a strange solitude. It was a change to the constant watch the girl had experienced for past week. Although Amante had disappeared for few days, they had not been restful. The girl had contacted the employer, who was not pleased with current results, and the rest of the time had been spent in constant searches and explorations.

Among the many people of various bundled up stages, Leila did not stand out too much. After enjoying a good, long bath and simple relaxing time, Leila felt much better and also looked so. Finally, the girl reached her destination which was a small cafe. It's outer walls were white and windows glass had animated snow flakes fall in it constantly, light bulbs wrapped around the edges in rather retro style. Bell jingled as she entered and she was welcomed warmly, to which she replied with smile.

Short while later, she was sitting at table by window, eating pancakes. Although it was unhealthy for an assassin to develop habits such as these, but Leila was prone to certain regularity and traditions in her life. They made her feel comfortable, as if some things were still right. She liked this place because it was cute, very welcoming and it served wonderful sweets and snacks - especially ice cream. That was something she could eat in middle of the winter. The cafe itself was a little piece of winter wonderland in middle of summer, too, always pleasantly cool.

She wasn't surprised that he managed to dodge a few slaps, but when he jerked her around and brought her down to one knee, she grew frustrated. No one had ever gotten close enough to twist her limbs and this actually hurt. Pain was not normal to her, not common, anyway. Eve growled and assessed the situation, quickly.

Her elbow thrust back toward his ribs and she threw a leg back, knocking his leg aside and making him lose his balance just long enough for her to twist out of his grip and kick him in the chest. He was forced back away from her and she threw her dark hair over her shoulder, strands moving over onto the other side of her head, parting unnaturally for her hairline.

Quickly readjusting, she rushed at him with a few kicks and punches, obviously not happy with how their fight was going. She had to hold back though, and that was the problem.

Alice was sleeping through the day, though she had gained a small fever. It was not detrimental and simply gave her a brief flash of sweating for an hour. The nurses helped her clean up, washed her clothes but put her in something less permanent in case she started to sweat again. As she slept, she remembered walking down the halls between people but no one ever reacted to her.

She found Ryans room and saw him sitting in bed, looking worried. It didn't matter how hard she tried but she could not speak to him and he could not see her. She could not even get herself to go into the room and settled for watching him through the glass window. The memories were subtle and she thought she had the same dream multiple times, though each one was less potent than the last.

He trudged along, trying to get over the upset that Leila had put on him for the past 16 or so hours. Finally, moving up to a little ice cream cafe, he pushed his way inside and wandered over to the counter. Amante scratched at his chin and neck as he looked over the flavors and finally asked for peanut butter cookie dough with extra peanut butter and no chocolate. He lounged against the side wall as he waited and noticed something faintly smiliar but much more potent and... clean.

As if knowing she was sitting right there, he looked directly over at Leila and felt a slight sense of dread, as well as curiosity. Putting on a little grin, he walked over and lightly tapped on the table, "Taking your day off?"

Elek had predicted his attack would turn the other way around, but he had managed to 'score' or 'prove' a point, with bringing her to knee. Man knew her arm had been hurt and now, the real fight would start. This was just the preparations and partial show off. Which had been unsurprisingly effective. The crowed had doubled or tripled and he could swear some people were betting. Some were rather confident of his skills - more than he was, but it could be because he knew just what he was fighting with.

With low growl, he slowed down the push back and spun out of her reach again, as Eve came back fiercely. Elek debated, for brief second, using his powers, or some other underhanded method, but decided against it. The anger was slowly paired with spirit of competition, or its twisted twin brother. Anger only fueled it, but he was not to the point he would go under his standards and sink low. That wasn't what he wanted to show the camp, too.

A well aimed kick to her knee most likely made her leg buckle and the other leg received the same treatment, only at ankle. Knee went to her stomach, rather heavily, as the air around them seemed to buzz, sing even. Energy field from concentration and using his powers was slowly becoming visible, taking a form. Emotions that he was full with now only brought it out further.

Leila stiffened inwardly the moment she realized who had entered the cafe. So, he had indeed followed her. Well, the girl was hardly surprised about that, but it still stung. This cafe was her private, secret place, comfortably kept in corner of her heart. She would endure seeing her apartment destroyed much better than seeing a single window here smashed. Such attachment was wrong, certainly, but as long as no one knew about it, it was fine... However, she couldn't kill Amante just because he had found 'her cafe'... Right?

Leila avoided eye contact with him, until he came to her table. There was silence for a moment, except for the Christmas songs playing from radio. And then she nodded. "Yeah." The girl then eyed his ice cream and corners of her mouth turned upwards. "No chocolate? That's... blasphemy."

The hits to her legs did nothing, not even making her move. She was utilizing her abilities as well and the fight would only get harder. The energy emanating off of him was almost palpable, at least to her, and she knew he was only going to make this harder on himself. However, it didn't seem that he was doing this on purpose...

Eve came back at him with more punches that were faster. She stopped blocking his hits and let them hit her body. she quickly became faster and faster with each blow, practically sucking the life out of the field growing around his body. The anger piled in on her own and her features began to twist. It looked like she was losing herself. More hits that landed on him threatened to break bone and grew stronger. One of them would have to come to their senses or she would start to beat him down to a pulp. Even once this moment crossed one mind, she began to lift a boulder with ease, one laying nearby them, and she threw it in his direction with unrealistic speed.

He had switched from a cone to a cup and had a little plastic spoon sticking out of it. He gave another grin and shrugged, "I like peanut butter." His fingers gripped the spoon and began to stir the sugary goodness. "So, you like this place too?" Just trying to make small talk, he glanced over the interior and then back to her, awaiting an answer.

Elek quickly realized that he was not hurting, but aiding Eve instead. He stopped attacking her, leaped back, to avoid whatever she was going to throw at him. And, indeed, not long after, the woman threw huge boulder his way (that turned out to be more literal than he had predicted). Snarling, he crouched and the energy field around him pushed forwards, clashed with the rock and smashed it into many tiny pieces. After thid dodge, the field became much smaller, just like Elek had planned. His anger was still fueling him, but need to survive (and win) won over. Moving the energy, which he was not used to manipulate with, under his feet, he used to it to propeller him self into air, but did not attack her. Instead, he simply moved quickly to other side of the field. The plan now was to drain the newly consumed energy out of her, tire her. Blocking, dodging and fleeing was his new tactics.

Aiolia, in the mean time, had finished the opponent line, and pushed trough the crowd to first lines. All her body hurt, she could barely move her left arm and leg, but she was upset not because of the pain, but the fact she had been so injured and nearly lost. "I have to get better," the girl thought, but at that moment, boulder flew Elek's way and all other thoughts were wiped from her head. She watched the fighting in horror, her heart freezing with fear. Aiolia wished she could intervene, but knew she had neither the power or right to... Elek wanted to prove something as well and there was no way she would stand in his path.

Leila looked up at him and nodded. She thought about saying "very much", "I love it", but then decided it was unnecessery information he had no reason to know. This was her spot... Maybe if she let Amante know how much she cared for it, he would again tease her or stalk her to here every time. That wasn't something Leila wanted.
"Sit down. You look too big for this place," the girl commented, seemingly out of blue. There was little chance Amante would 'get lost', so why ruin the nice scenery? Indeed, she loved the decorations of this cafe. Most walls were covered in paintings of wintery scenery, there was even pair of polar bear cubs playing. Every season, cafe owners ordered new paintings and the place got a whole new look within a day's time.

Leila got up and ordered her ice cream - cherry 'homemade' with dark chocolate and extra chocolate topping. "It's nice to see you here with a friend, Miss," the shopkeeper smiled at her, as Leila took her ice cream. Her eyes widened in surprise. "You sometime look lonely and sad, Miss, when you sit by that window... I am glad you're not alone anymore." Leila felt frozen for a moment, but then murmured thanks and returned to the table. Her gaze wandered out of the window, slightly clouded, before the girl shook her head lightly and returned to present. Suddenly, the silence felt awkward ("I hope he didn't hear what the shopkeeper said..."). "I never get why people start to prepare and talk about Christmas two months before them."

Obviously not happy that he had shattered the object, she ran for him but found him suddenly missing. Blue eyes watched him go overhead and she glared, sprinting along the ground under him and shooting herself into the air. It wasn't until she got closer to him that she went for a grab, clutching at his clothes and then gripping up at one of his arms. Her body climbed him and she tried to confine him with her limbs, wrapping her arms and legs around him.

The bad news that that he DID hear what the shopkeeper said. But there was good news- he didn't make any motion to confirm this. He just acted like he hadn't and gave her a subtle grin after licking some ice cream off of his mouth. When she sat down across from him, he shrugged, "I guess they just get really excited."

He poked and prodded at his ice cream before taking another bite and chewing on a condensed cluster of peanut butter. He made a sound that said, to anyone, that he fucking loved that ice cream, and then he spoke, "If anything it gives them a distraction from all of the torment, you know?"

Growling low in throat, Elek wrestled with Eve, trying to get her off, until he managed to throw her over him, but the woman didn't let him go, and they both pummeled to ground, where the wrestling continued. She was strong, very strong for a woman, and he was bad at combat this close. It was simply hard to see, from the viewpoint of others, so he was left to rely fully on power of predicting and feeling where she was and what Eve was doing.

Finally, he managed to trap Eve's leg, and grab her wrist, pulling it off of his other arm. Then, with full force he pushed her away, rolling backwards and scrambling up quickly. His chest heaved, but there was ferocious expression - Elek was nowhere near giving up or being defeated. "It's getting interesting, finally," he said in low voice.

"I guess some of them have a reason to get excited..." Leila said quietly, taking a spoonful of ice cream. It melted softly on her tongue, the unique cherry sweetness mixing with bitterness of black chocolate, even if it was tuned down now when in form of ice cream. "Like someone to celebrate with." Her eyes grew thoughtful and distant again and she looked out the window. The snow falling in the window made everything look more beautiful and pure.

Unlike most people, who were fortunate or unfortunate enough, to not remember their childhood, Leila had kept all memories from her childhood, even beyond the time most people would remember. She recalled how they would decorate their Christmas tree - it had been planted when her parents got married and it grew with each year, more beautiful and special - "just like our family" - her mother used to say. It had been such a warm, special time, not because of gifts, but that homily, sweet feeling...

Leila's gaze dropped down to ice cream and she took another bite. That's why week before Christmas had been such a perfect time to attack and destroy them. They had been too careless... "Still, it's also one of the times with highest suicide rate."

The two grappled in the air and struggled before crashing into the dirt below. Each side kicked at the other and scrambled away to regain themselves. She wiped some dirt from her face and looked at him when he spoke, throwing her fists up infront of herself again. Her grin was quick and subtle before she sprinted at him to tackle him down and wail on him.

Her fist came out at him but he dodged her and this continued for a few minutes. The excess he'd fed her earlier, all of that emotional energy, was being released. She didn't even want it in her system and that was rare.

Taking in a breath and releasing the rest of the energy, after 5 minutes of thrusting and dodging, she seemed to be herself again and motioned at him to come at her- to really fight her.

An eyebrow rose and his chewing slowed. "That's where you go when you think about Christmas?" he laughed, heartily, and took another bite of his ice cream before waving his spoon around at the table. "Yeah, I can see why. Everyone around you is bursting with joy and happiness and you have none."

Amante shrugged, "You have to watch everyone with their normal families and their normal lives and wonder why you can't have it." He mulled over the imagery of such happiness and turned his gaze down. "I mean, for those who feel those thoughts taking over them- not the whole world."

It had been tough, to avoid all her attacks, and quench wish to fiercely attack her. For Elek, emotions such as anger were unfamiliar and they felt somewhat alien in him, yet, even harder to control. It was a good training, this battle, not only in tactics, but also in finding some things out. Apparently, the side of him that he had always wanted to ignore and banish, was still alive, just waiting for time to rear its ugly head. Only now it had found other reasons to surface.

When Eve seemed to have returned to normal, Elek nodded, but didn't attack right away. He went few circles around her, then jumped, but not at her, sideways, and only then attacked her, using body weight and power to launch a difficult combo of kicks and punches, among which he attempted to knock her down.

Leila glared at him, when he laughed. But, halfheartedly, she had to admit it sounded quite unfitting for an opinion about Christmas time. Still, it was a fact, and it did say something about the excessive 'family and present time' propaganda that was wrapped around Christmas like second skin, even eating into its spirit.

"I know why I can't have," Leila said a little defiantly and took a bite, then wiped ice cream off the corner of her mouth with napkin. Her brows drew together and Leila now had an angry, hurt expression, with slight pout - the kind a unnecessarily scolded child would have. "But I don't mind them having their merry little Christmas..."

She crossed her arms over her chest to block the majority of the attacks. Elek mnaged to get her on the ground and she started to move up, leaning back on her arms, but before she could get up to her feet, he'd come over her.

With a quirked brow, she stared up at him and grinned. "Feel like a winner?" In one sqift motion, she was able to bring him to his knees. Her foot had jabbed up against his balls, crushing them up into himself.

Eve moved up onto her feet and dusted off her hands, "Remember, grub," She was talking to the people under her training, "Get. A Fucking. Cup. Dismissed."

He could sense the tension coming off of her, from more than one place, and decided to leave it alone. "Well, have you ever done anything for the holiday? Even by yourself, I mean." He wasn't going to tell her his answer to that question as it was distasteful and actually quite embarrassing.

Elek didn't think he had one, no, he was sure Eve would put up a good fight, until one of them was too exhausted, and he was looking forwards that. The man was planning to leap back and dodge, the moment she made any movement, but this time, his prediction skills failed him. Elek didn't expect anything so underhanded from her, he had avoided any such methods, such as grabbing the woman by hair and bashing her head against the ground... However, it seemed she didn't bother with 'etiquette'. "Should've known."

With a loud groan, Elek slumped to his knees, then grit his teeth with force to not moan again in pain. She would be able to finish him off if this was real fight, and the man knew it was his fault. He had lingered in an open position for a bit too long. Aiolia rushed over to him, and her worry, care and sadness washed over him like tsunami. Elek felt a little overwhelmed now, both physically and mentally. "Hey, don't worry 'bout me, we should better get you to hospital to get checked," he told the girl, as she helped him to get up. It did hurt, quite a lot - to say the very least - but there was nothing that would help him.

"I am fine, but..." Elek interrupted Aiolia, giving her a stern look. "You go to hospital. Now. I will check later if you went. In fact, I will follow you in a bit." The girl sighed softly, knowing there was no point in arguing when he was like this. It still amazed Aiolia how he managed to be so careful and thoughtful of others - he would be thinking of other people well being even if he was dying. "You've got to have someone watching over you, don't you," she thought, and started limping towards hospital.

Elek, rather stiffly, walked over to Eve. "If you put up training like this every time I join the group, I guess it's better if I don't come. But... I will be looking forwards to a rematch. It was a good fight, no matter what you say." He smiled faintly at her and then left, in direction of hospital.

Leila felt a little relieved that he didn't ask further. Either out of respect for her privacy and past (which she doubted) or not wanting to get into an argue. However, Amante's question didn't bring much happier thoughts to her. The girl took another spoon of ice cream and grew silent, in thoughts. Various memories went trough her mind, and in half absent minded manner, she shared some of them, although avoiding to mention any place names.

"In early years, there was always a Christmas party at where I resided... I usually went to the big Christmas tree in city's center instead." In fact, few times she had stayed staring at it whole night, until the Mistress came and dragged her home. It was only time she didn't beat her up for wandering away from "Home". Maybe even she felt tiny bit sympathetic... Or just wanted to use that pain, woken up by Christmas, to fuel the little girl's hate.
"Later, I tried decorating Christmas tree for my self, but... I didn't like that. So, I sit home, or wander trough streets in evening, sometime come here. Visit graveyard." As if the last words and memories had snapped her out of some hypnosis, she winced visibly and looked away. "I guess I won't this year."

"What about you?" she asked Amante, but thought wheels were already stirring in her head. If this was her only day outside in December, there was something she had to do...