Forced Withdrawals [Nox's Building]

[Ashton]

Ashton was sure McKenzie was fine. She wasn't new to the house. She liked everyone. Ashton was pretty sure Tatyana just needed the twins -- a comfort blanket.

He followed her down stairs with a soft hum. Arabella ran up to him and wrapped her tiny arms around his legs and he swung her around. "Ashton! Sing!"

He picked up the little girl and followed Tatyana towards where McKenzie practiced her forms. Of all the children Nox taught she was the most stubborn, she refused to dance with the others. It was Kata's and sparring -- real fighting. She wasn't a girly girl and she made sure you knew it.

"What would you like me to sing?" He grinned at Arabella in his arms.

"Practice on of those songs you are working on for us?"

Ashton chuckled. "I suppose I could do that." He sat down against the wall and watched McKenzie in the middle of the dojo, the rest of the kids were doing their thing.

Ashton didn't turn on the background music, he did however pull up the lyrics on his phone because the transitions sometimes were hard to remeber with all the repeating chorus he went through. "Remember when we said girl please don't go..." It was a medly of 6 different popular boy band songs. Nox was helping with the choreography. It was turning out great. And the shtick was going to be awesome. Ashton couldn't wait to show Carmen and the rest of the club, he hoped to convince Nox to join in on the first performance. It would be a one time showing he was sure -- Nox rarely did more than his usual routine more than once. It was kinda part of his thing since he was also bouncer.

[Hayden]

He knew she would -- normal was something both of these kids liked. "I'm sure he'd like to go. You need to ask him. Tell him I'm chaperoning and it's not Nox. Cause while Nox would be totally fine with you two, I think everyone is a tiny bit afraid of him. He did after all burn down their house with their parents inside." It had been a rougarou nest, but still. They had watched a very angry man flambe their family without a second thought.

Nox was a nice guy -- most of the time. And Hayden was one-hundred percent certain that under specific circumstances he would destroy the world just as easily as save it. And it wasn't about power, Nox said he wasn't very strong in relation to other's he'd met, but he had the skill to systematically destroy everything. He collapsed buildings with a thought -- and without any injury. That alone was fucking scary.

"And we'll make sure it all lines up with Liam so you don't have to worry about Lily."

Liam was turning 18 in a few days -- and THAT was a whole other issue he wasn't really ready to deal with.

Hayden's mind had wandered -- maybe he too had a touch of ADHD. Everyone did to a degree he supposed.

[Marta]

Marta was grateful. It seemed like an easy enough plan. In thought at least. In practice, well that was different. ”He could say no. Maybe he wants to go, but not with me,” she said.

There was nothing wrong with the statement. It could be completely true. Hayden would probably say something like “well he could say yes.” Marta was aware that was a possibility too. Only one of those options scared her though. She looked back down at Lily and chuckled. ”Ive seen a lot of scary stuff. Why is one boy so terrifying.”

Lily began to fuss a bit. It was that time. ”And you, little one, are hungry. Let’s get you something delicious,” she looked at Hayden. ”Will let you know if I need your chaperoning services. If I ever get the courage to ask.”

[Hayden]

Hayden chuckled. "Consider it an assignment Marta. It's important you do the things you are afraid of. And if he says no, and I don't think he will, but if he does say no. I'll take you out for ice-cream and we'll buy big fluffy blankets and come back and curl up and watch a sappy movie together."

He looked down at Lily and smiled. "You should check the baby supplies. I don't know how on top Nox is of things. Sky should be better but only if she can see them."

[Marta]

Marta nodded. That was prudent. Nox probably wasn’t on top of things, but she and Liam did a good job of communicating and letting Sky know what Lily needed. She was certain they were good, but it would be a good idea to check. ”If by sappy you mean one with lots of explosions, we can consider that a ‘boys suck’ date. But only if I fail.”

She stood up and had a thought. She was more likely to give up the longer she waited. It couldn’t hurt to ask Hayden. ” Tell you what, if you can get her fed, I’ll check the supplies and do this assignment before I decide it’s not worth it. Can take back over Lily duty after. Deal?”

He took Lily and said, ”Deal.”

”Thanks,” she said, beginning to go through the diaper bag to see what they had. ”Before all the adults get drunk, it might be a good idea to get rooms figured out. Got the Kallisti staff here, and with the twins and the other Lady here, just might be a good thing to have in mind. Given Juls stormed out and I haven’t seen Sterling or Liam lately, I can only assume there’s trouble there. I’d help, but,” she smirked. ”Nox says I have to be a kid very once in awhile. Those are the rules.”

She let Hayden get to it and checked Lily’s supplies. They would be good for awhile. That was at least good to know. She asked Sky to let Liam and Hayden know just in case. Then she went to find Jackson. Once again the butterflies were in her stomach.

”Hey! Can I ask you something?” she said, searching for your courage. ”Was just wondering how you would feel about maybe after the snowstorm clears up going to the mall and hanging out. Shopping…getting lunch…and what not. Hayden could chaperone for us.” there it was out in the open. It was up to him now.

[Hayden]

Hayden took Lily from Marta and took her into the kitchen. It was easier to make a bottle in the kitchen than in the bedroom. "Come on sweet heart. You know Nox makes this look easy with all the magic and only one arm." It always amazed him. The house was brimming full. There was a room down here, a room free up stairs that a few people could crash. Anna ... where was Anna? "Sky text Anna and make sure she's safe. And ask if we can have someone people crash in her room?"

All the kids could pile into two rooms. They should probably come downstairs with Lily It could be a sleep over. let the adults take the bunk beds as necessary even if they'd prefer the big beds. "Sky check on Elyse too." Nox wasn't home there was space there. He'd stay there with more of the kids. They liked the puppy pile anyway.

Hayden started feeding Lily, but "Sky tell the kids they need to gather some things and make a Nest in Nox's rooms, their all camping out down stairs in the back rooms. with me."

---

Jackson Li

Marta came up to him nervous. She was almost always nervous. "Hi." He smiled and she continued with push through. He grinned. "That sounds good and normal. And Hayden is fun -- and he'll make it less awkward if we get weird with each other." He took her hand and pulled her closer to the wall and sat slide down it to sit on the floor out of the way "What's your favorite place in the food court?"

[Marta]

Marta couldn’t help but smile at his answer. The butterflies went away. He took her hand and the skid down the wall to sit on the floor. She almost said something right away, but then realized that they were holding hands. Holding hands! She wasn’t freaking out. She was okay. She had no plans to push any farther. She was content with this.

”Normal is good,” she said with a grin. She doubted most teens felt that way. But they had enough struggles. Normal was great. ”Its hard to pick just one…” her voice trailed off and the nerves were gone. This was one of the few times she really felt like a normal teenager. It was cool and exciting. ”There is Mexican place there. Great tacos and tamales. The elotes are really good too! Most Mexican restaurants here are - well - meh. But that one is good. By the way - I’m going to make some tamales for everyone sometime if Nox will let me cook. Just don’t expect his level of cooking. I’m still learning.” she grinned. ”How about you?”

[Legione Sumus]

Jackson Li

Of course she liked Mexican food -- it was home for her. Jackson shrugged. "I don't know. I kinda like that I can get whatever I feel like. We didn't actually get to go to the mall often. Usually only when out looking for a new mark. But it's not a good place to pick someone up." It wasn't something he was ashamed of, and it didn't feel wrong telling Marta, but he wouldn't tell anyone else that -- no one else would understand.

"If I had to choose. I think it'd be borning -- something like the Roast Beef Place I forget it's palce. I don't get it often."

He squeezed her hand and smiled. "I think they have a comic book store. We could go there?"

[Legione Sumus]

Madison & Mackenzie

Maddi was playing with the girls. Kenzie was sparring. Tatyana came down with Ashton in tow. It didn't look like she was too happy about things. But for Maddi it was just normal for their friend to be sad -- she always seemed that way. Kenzie knew she was having some sort of problem. They didn't talk about it, but she was seen on my occassios with the wrong sort of people -- the drug dealers and she wasn't just being friendly. There was always an exchange of some sort. Kenzie knew what that meant. But she didn't care. Tatyana never put them in harms way.

Everything was getting crowded and there was talk about snow and not being able to go home. She didn't like that. There was a little bit of panic in Kenzie's heart. She didn't want to stay here -- but everyone said Nox wasn't here so that was good. He'd see it as some sort of victory.

Kenzie grabbed her shoes and her things from her locker and went into the bedroom that was down stairs -- most of the other kids were playing in the main areas. It was quieter in there. Maybe Tatyana would join her. They would claim this room for however long they were stuck. Kenzie wasn't looking forward to eating with everyone. This was going to suck

[Marta]

Marta smiled as she listened, letting the smile go only when he mentioned a mark. She’s squeezed his hand gently in understanding, letting him know she caught it, and was sympathetic. ”Yeah - it’s nice to get what you want, and it’s really nice if you want dessert you can get something different too. Roast beef is always a good choice - especially with cheese!” she smiled warmly. ”We should be able to make it a really fun trip. Definitely going to the comic book store. I have a few new issues to pick up!”

Marta let the moment sit for awhile. This was really fun - just sitting and talking with no pressure. They were still holding hands. It was an experience she thought she’d never have. She lifted their hands briefly. ”I like this,” she said, letting their hands down to rest again. ”Normal and not overwhelming.” she squeezed his hand again. ”You doing okay?” she knew he had similar issues. It didn’t seem to be stressing him out, but she felt like communicating was a good thing. She didn’t want to press too hard.