Forced Withdrawals [Nox's Building]

[Marta]

Everything looked good and well set up. Some of them were beginning to get settled in. They needed to get some snacks and what not, but they were getting ready. Marta was excited. It would be fun. ”Yeah - we also can’t replace the pillows right now. So destroying them is probably not a good idea.”

Sterling leaned in and asked Marta if she was okay. Marta gave her a grin. ”Im okay. Better than okay.” she leaned in a little. ”Panicked a little at the start, but told myself I was safe. I kind of - didn’t want to stop.” It was true too - just the kissing and hugs. She wasn’t ready for more.  she didn’t want to go to into detail, but it was important for her to talk about it a little bit - to acknowledge the milestone.

[Tatyana]

The pair lay in the bed under the covers and got comfortable. Hayden sent a message on his wallet before putting it underneath his pillow. That seemed weird. Why not on the table? But people were often different. It wasn’t something that she needed to ask about though. He then flipped on thr baby monitor and asked her about nightmares.

”I don’t know,” she said honestly. ”Have trouble sleeping and don’t usually remember my dreams.”

She was quiet for a bit after that, deciding whether or not to say more. It was true she had trouble sleeping - especially sober. It was part of the reason for the medication. She probably had bad dreams, but didn’t remember them. ”Sometimes, I wake up crying.” She didn’t know why though.

[Sterling]

Liam looked a little lost, but then again he could have hung out with the others -- he was mostly on the outskirts of their group, which was alright, he was stuck in his computer -- like always. Sterling couldn't stay mad at him, and he did join them during the night time snack of smores -- a thing Nox had taught them all. An American tradition around a campfire -- they didn't have a real one, but the power was useful for some things, and Liv was there to supervise anyway.

When morning came the snow has mostly stopped but from the upper floors you could see the flakes still falling. But There was no way they were getting out any of the bottom floors now. With the daylight they could see the damage outside. It was like a blanket fell on the Red Light district. Nothing moved out there.

The kids were all sleeping late, Sterling found her way up stairs. What were they going to do until they could get the doors open? how was she going to get home. Not that this was a bad place to be but her parents had to be so worried about her. She texted them and told them she was good. She was making breakfast. Even sent them a picture of the kitchen she was using -- if that was one thing Nox had a lot of nice things it was his kitchen and everything in it he used. It was nice -- better than the campfire kits he used back at Kallisti to cook for everyone. But he wasn't here -- stuck with someone else at some other place. The kids were starting to notice late last night when they couldn't find him. Ari in particular hated him and loved him it was funny to watch that four year olds mind work.

Still quiet in the house Sterling started making a less than classic American breakfast -- she couldn't do the pancakes but she could certain make bacon and eggs and toast. A little bit for the kids to not feel so lost in the morning.

[Hayden]

It had been a joke -- Nox woke with nightmares precisely at 4am no alarm. Every morning. His guilt waking him. Hayden thought it might be something else too but you never know around here -- monsters were fucking real.

The room was still dark despite the large double windows that were actually a door out to the garden but Nox had it barred from the inside so no one could go out it. He didn't want people using the so-called office as an escape route. Or something like that. Hayden thought it was a big waste of a perfectly good door. But it let in a lot of light if the curtains were open, but he didn't open them as he sat there and wondered how the generator was fairing. The snow had stopped he could tell that much but food and breakfast were going to need to be made.

But he heard someone else awake so he let them do the adulting for now as he lay in bed with Tatyana. He hoped she didn't wake up crying he was happy to talk about it but he really did need a cup of coffee.

[Tatyana]

Tatyana had barely slept. At least a couple of times she had gone into the bathroom thinking she was going to throw up, but hadn't. She felt I'll - nausea, chilly, then feverish. It hadn't been pleasant. She had excused herself quietly as not to wake Hayden, but she wasn't sure if he had noticed her getting up or not. She was tired and still didn't feel well. Her head ached.

Tatyana knew what it was - anyone would have. It was once more her body rebelling because she hadn't gotten her fix. Hayden stirred a bit and his breathing changed, so he had woken up. She stirred shortly thereafter. She didn't cry, but she did yawn and she moved closer to him resting her head on his chest. She didn't hide that she wasn't feeling well, but didn't say anything about it either. She had an idea that he knew why.

Good Morning," she said, the words feeling odd on her tongue. She hadn't said such niceties in a long time.

Tatyana turned her gaze to the window. The snowing had stopped. "How bad is it?" she asked. They were all probably buried here for awhile.

Sounds came from the other room indicated that someone was probably cooking. Her stomach growled, but she doubted she'd be able to keep any food down. She felt nauseated enough without adding to it.

[Hayden]

Tatayana' movements caught his attention and he smiled. Though his head was starting to pound. Coffee was a little late this morning. "I have no idea. I haven't looked yet. And I need coffee before I do anything human like." Now that she was up and not crying he was grateful for that. "There is are some helpful things next to your bed. The small white pill will help with the nausea, and the red and blue are just over the counter pain meds. And Nox has water in the fridge the light's on, should still be cold -- generators still running well I think."

Hayden hadn't planned any of the meds, they were just a nicety. It wasn't his first rodeo. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and shifted form underneath her. "I need that coffee. You'll want to get dressed before leaving. The 4 year old is extra curious about bodies which is scary when you think about it -- she was raised by a bunch of canibals."

Hayden pulled on a pair of Nox's sweat pants from his bag and a t-shirt too. And grabbed his clothes. "You want me to do your laundry too?" She nodded and he grabbed her strewn clothes as well and headed to the door "Sweats and t-shirts are on top of the bag in the closet. I'd say don't snoop, you don't know what you'll find but there isn't much to see from a guy who lives out of two bags and has this extremely expensive house."

He opened the door and slipped out to the washer and dryer units down the hall. Sage left them in on all floors so they each have their own set -- no waiting on laundry. Sterling was making breakfast -- didn't surprise him much but he was glad it wasn't him. She was beating the eggs rapidly. Probably too much but Hayden didn't say anything just poured himself a cup of coffee and sat on the other side. "No one up to help?"

Sterling glared at him and Hayden chuckled and took the bowl of well beat eggs. "You'll make merague out of it if you keep beating it." Which she couldn't but he was pretty sure she neither knew what he was talking about or what merangue was. "Get the pan nice and hot and add a bit of butter then you can dump it in."

[Tatyana]

Tatyana waited for Hayden to leave the room before she moved again, firstly sitting up and looking around. Her hand went to her head. It throbbed with a dull ache. She looked at her hands, trembling slightly. She had said she wanted to give up the drugs, but now all she wanted was her fix. It was probably a good thing she had no access to any. She stood, feeling a little wobbly and looked outside. It was bad. She hadn’t ever remembered seeing this much snow.

She found a water bottle where Hayden told her and winced at the light. She grabbed a bottle and was about to take the medication when her stomach began to turn. She went to the bathroom and, her stomach empty, began to dry heave.

Fuck, this sucks, she thought as the heaving began to subside. Getting up, she washed her hands, took the meds and got into the clothes that Hayden had told her about. That made her think of here clothes. Right now they were in the laundry getting clean. She had showered the night before and was now probably cleaner than she had been in a long time. Now she was going to have clean clothing. She tried to hold on to that, but the withdrawal was still too strong.

Tatyana took the medication and began to shiver as the withdrawals gave her chills. She wrapped herself in the blanket making a sort of hooded cloak with it and after a moment decided to brave the common area rather than staying alone in the room. She entered and noticed Hayden was helping a teenager make breakfast. Tatyana gave them both a smile that didn’t really reach her eyes as a way to say she wasn’t trying to be rude, and she avoided looking at the food being prepped. She didn’t want her stomach to roll again. She just didn’t feel well. Her head pounded more with the light and she headed straight to the couch and lay down on it, pulling the blanket over her head. Maybe the meds would take effect soon. She didn’t know.

[Marta]

Marta awoke from an unusually dreamless night. Between the dream world and nightmares it was a rare occurrence. As a result she felt very well rested. She lay in her sleeping bag for a bit, but looked around a little. The kids lay scattered across the room, some in groups. Very few were more solitary. Marta had slept close to Sterling. Sterlings bag was empty, so she had woke up and went elsewhere. Probably for food.

On the other side was Jackson’s bag. They had decided to sleep close to each other and as they had planned, had occasionally snuck kisses to each other. They had tried to be discreet and if anyone had noticed, they hadn’t said anything. Marta smiled, still amazed at how she was taking it. The pair had been near each other most of the night and the snacking, s’more, and campy feel had been a fun time. As they neared sleep, they had taken hands for a bit. At some point they had detached and fell asleep.

Whereas the other people still in the basement breathed slowly and steadily, Jackson’s was slightly quicker and less deep, indicating that despite his closed eyes, he was awake. She smirked, sat up and stretched and leaned over to him, kissing him on the cheek before whispering, ”Time to get up, sleepy head,” she smiled and sat up, waiting for him to respond before they headed upstairs for breakfast.