Family is Family, No Matter What

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Wolfsbane706

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Annaliece breathed softly as she slept, her face towards the wall. Despite the fact that there were four bedrooms, only the two on the top floor were occupied at night. It was too cold at night to sleep downstairs, during the autumn and winter seasons, and everyone knew that. It tended to lead to cramped sleeping conditions, which was good for keeping warm, but bad for comfort. Like now. . . . Annaliece's eyes opened. Someone else had decided to wrap their arm around her, likely not even aware they were doing it. Such things were to be expected with four mattresses packed into the room, but it was still annoying.
 
In the grand scheme of things life could be a lot worse for Luke. He could be in some orphanage or foster home with the faint hope of being adopted or taken in by a guardian, but most of those people wanted a toddler or a kid no less than 5 years old. After 5 years your chances began to diminish rapidly, and at the age of 18 Luke had a better chance of finding a Leprechaun at the end of a rainbow riding a unicorn holding the winning lotto ticket. At least here Luke was with what he viewed as his family. They were more of a family to him than his actual family ever was, and despite the cramped quarters Luke was all right. He laid on the mattress with his eyes shut, but not really sleeping. In fact Luke couldn't recall the last real sleep he had the slightest sound outside convinced him that Child Welfare Services were about to storm the house. Most nights, if he was lucky, Luke slept a solid 5 hours. He was hoping that this would be one of those lucky nights.
 
Obi was dreaming again. About her father. About their last Shabbot together. Everything seemed so real: his voice as he'd read that evening's mitzvah and their tiny menorah candles flickering in the dark. But she knew it wasn't real. She awoke reluctantly, coming back to the reality of the cramped room she was in and the worn mattress she was laying on. Hearing the collective breathing of the other girls around her brought some relief.
She sat up, pulling a thin blanket similar to the ones the others were using around her shoulders. It didn't offer much protection from the cold. Looking around the room at their sleeping faces in the moonlight warmed her heart. Her father may have been gone, but they'd become her new family. One life lost, several more gained. The thought, though somewhat sad, made her smile. Thankfully no one was awake to see it.
 
Raine always had only two modes when it came to sleep; A few short, choppy hours, or 13 hours straight. It seemed that currently, this was a case of the former. She had no way of telling the time, however, as her iPod was dead and she wouldn't be able to charge it again for god knows how long. All she really knew was that she definitely wasn't going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon. She noticed, dimly, that she had her arm wrapped around someone. Raine's eyes fluttered open at the realization, and oh haha oops, sometime during the night she'd wrapped an arm around Annaliece. She felt a slight prickle of heat in her cheeks and slowly moved her arm to roll over on her back. It was a struggle not to immediately burst out into apologies but of course, everyone was asleep, and it was just a minor thing anyways, and for all Raine knew, the other girl was still asleep anyways. Knowing Annaliece, she probably wouldn't say anything if she was or not, though.

Letting out an almost inaudible sigh, Raine stared up at the ceiling, waiting for others to awaken before she did anything. It was what she always did, that or try to force herself back into unconsciousness. In the warmer months, she might sneak out to charge her iPod somewhere, go on a walk, or scavenge for whatever food she could get her hands on. Admittedly, this was dangerous anyways, and now as cold as it was, it was downright impossible at this time. Even with insulated walls she was close to shivering. Maybe later...
 
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Corin slept soundly, her eyes closed shut and her short body stretched to as much mattress she could get without being a total hog. She slept on her stomach, her head resting on her crossed arms as she slightly shifted to get into a more comfortable position. A blanket was draped over her shoulders, small and warm, but did very little to warm up the young woman. She shivered a little, but she had a habit of wearing herself out throughout the day so she could sleep soundly at night. Corin kept her prosthetic leaning against the wall closest to her, its metal glinting just barely. However, the young gymnast had forgotten to make sure it was properly secure, and at one moment through the dark night it slipped from its position.

BAM! The contraption hit the floor and rolled a little, causing Corin to bolt upright with widened eyes, breathing heavily as she tried to get used to the darkness. She panicked for a moment before realizing that the noise wasn't anyone looking for them, but seeing that her prosthetic had fallen. She inwardly winced, hoping that it hadn't disturbed anyone else. She'd get a big lecture for that. Corin cursed quietly under her breath. She tried to be quiet as she carefully crawled to the wall, inspecting the prosthetic with her hands shakily, hoping it hadn't been damaged.
 
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Startled by a sudden crash, Obi lifted her head, frightened that Child Services had found them out. When she didn't hear anything else, she looked around the room. It took her eyes a few moments adjust, but she caught the glint of moonlight on metal.

She got up to investigate and saw that Corin's prosthetic had fallen to the floor, and it's owner was checking it for damage. Stooping next to her, Obi placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, giving the leg a quick once-over. "It looks like it's fine," she whispered. She knew how much Corin depended on it, and wanted to offer some kind of comfort for a change.
 
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Desi said:
Raine always had only two modes when it came to sleep; A few short, choppy hours, or 13 hours straight. It seemed that currently, this was a case of the former. She had no way of telling the time, however, as her iPod was dead and she wouldn't be able to charge it again for god knows how long. All she really knew was that she definitely wasn't going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon. She noticed, dimly, that she had her arm wrapped around someone. Raine's eyes fluttered open at the realization, and oh haha oops, sometime during the night she'd wrapped an arm around Annaliece. She felt a slight prickle of heat in her cheeks and slowly moved her arm to roll over on her back. It was a struggle not to immediately burst out into apologies but of course, everyone was asleep, and it was just a minor thing anyways, and for all Raine knew, the other girl was still asleep anyways. Knowing Annaliece, she probably wouldn't say anything if she was or not, though.

Letting out an almost inaudible sigh, Raine stared up at the ceiling, waiting for others to awaken before she did anything. It was what she always did, that or try to force herself back into unconsciousness. In the warmer months, she might sneak out to charge her iPod somewhere, go on a walk, or scavenge for whatever food she could get her hands on. Admittedly, this was dangerous anyways, and now as cold as it was, it was downright impossible at this time. Even with insulated walls she was close to shivering. Maybe later...
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Annaliece was still awake when Corin's prosthetic fell, having been woken by Raine's arm. She sat up and discarded the blanket, shuddering and wrapping her arms around her chest. Apparently, , her thickest unitard plus her skates wasn't enough to ward off the chill of the very early morning. Fighting back the urge to give in to the cold, she stretched, yawned quietly, and started to take off her skates. After a silly little incident which had ended with Annaliece at the bottom of a dogpile, she wasn't allowed to wear them around the house. She could carry them, though, which she often did. Right now, though, she had to slip her pointe shoes on and get them tied before the cold set in. Yeah, she could grab her jacket, but all of her clothes were downstairs in the master bedroom closet along with everyone else's., and Annaliece didn't wanna make a barefoot mad dash downstairs just for her coat. So, as she tied the ribbons around her ankles, she glanced up at the clock they'd stolen and synced to Raine's ipod. Four in the morning, on the dot. No wonder it was so cold.
 
The sound of the prosthetic falling and the impact made Luke bolt up right. Like he was shot out of a canon, but he did what he could to at least look somewhat calm. A lot of them, including him, were probably thinking that they had been caught. Luke looked over at Corin and saw Obi was comforting her. That was a good thing because Corin probably felt bad enough, and yelling and a lecture was not gonna help at all. Luke stood up and said, "All right everyone. We're okay just a simple accident not a big deal let's all try and get back to sleep. It's all right now." He looked over at Corin and gave a slow nod and a wink with a smile.

Granted Luke was 18 and a legal adult, but he had been a runaway since he was 16, so technically Luke wasn't in the clear he could still be hauled away. Knowing the legal system as he did Luke knew they would get him on some charge. One thing was for sure he was prepared to defend the others to his last breath. Luke laid back down on his part of the mattress and pulled the ratty comforter up a little closer. He closed his eyes and began to pray silently for another day with his family.
 
Corin let out a relieved sigh, nodding when Obi said it looked fine and trusting her enough to believe her. "Yeah.. phew.. That sure was a scare though, wasn't it? Thanks, dude." She said quietly to Obi, cracking an embarrassed smile. She wasn't quite sure whether to feel like she was being treated differently, but it was late and she was tired so Corin dismissed it entirely. She gently placed the prosthetic down, not wanting to chance another heart-attack in the dead of night.

Corin was also relieved when Luke didn't seem angry, smiling wide in response to his wink, showing him that she understood. Corin then gathered up her blanket and returned to her mattress, tired still but not feeling like she could go back to sleep. She was glad that her new "family" was chill enough to not yell at her, it was a pretty big deal for her. She glanced around at them, a small frown crossing her lips. It was only a matter of time before they were caught, and even though it could fall apart at any minute, Corin felt a stability among them.
 
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When the leg had fallen, Raine had simply flinched. Admittedly, when it happened, she'd thought her heart was going to jump out of its chest, but there was no need to let that show. As much as she hated being surprised, she didn't show it when she needed to make sure to be quite. It was like a weird defense mechanism. If that had happened in the middle of the day, she might've screamed a little. It would seem pretty much all of the others were awake; or, at the very least, had woken up and then gone back to sleep.
Carefully, Raine sat up and stretched. She hated winter, and if she had the option, she'd get up and go on a walk. Or something. Anything. Boredom was hell to her. But it was cold, and again, dangerous. So she glanced around, seeing most everyone laying back down. Annaliece was still awake, however, and Raine offered her an apologetic smile. She shivered, and as awful as the cold was, she was very glad she was lucky enough to be one of the people who was easily able to stand the cold. Granted, she'd shiver and shake like she was being electrocuted, but it didn't bother her too much.
 
Kyle bolted up from where he was sleeping. He had been curled up on his side, sleeping soundly and then he had been forced awake. He glanced up and saw that it was just corin's prosthetic. Once he realized what it was and that it wasn't someone coming in to attack, he lay back down. His heart was still beating quite quickly so he couldn't fall back asleep. He rolled over and grabbed his sewing kit and some of the pieces of clothing that he had been working on. He hated winter, it was cold and made his fingers stiff. He wrapped his scarf around a little more tightly and pulled his sweatshirt down a little.
He loved this group that he had become a part of, it made him feel like he really belonged somewhere, much more then his family had ever made him feel. He turned back over and stretched out his legs. He got up slowly and walked to one of the windows that they had put curtains on. For anyone who went by, if anyone ever did, they would think the house was deserted. He stood there for a moment and shivered as he felt the cold air creep into his bones.
 
During nights like these, Kirai would have a lot of trouble sleeping. Why couldn't she just stay with her Family Butler? Or even contact him? He probably resigned after Mom and Dad were killed. At least the Inheritance was left behind for her to claim, but that wasn't for another year. Rather then staying in the stuffed room, Kirai decided to get her Jacket on and walk downstairs where there was a lot more space. With no phone or electronics to use, Kirai found herself sticking to Martial Arts. Seeing a spider crawling on the window, she walked over and started looking at it. Compared to most, Kirai wasn't scared of spiders, unless she knew it was poisonous. Otherwise, she didn't worry.
 
No matter how she tried, Obi couldn't get comfortable. She sat up again, raking her fingers through her short hair. Bed head should have been the last of her concerns, but she'd always cared about her appearance.

When she felt satisfied with her hair, she got up and crossed the room on tiptoe. Kyle was focused on his sewing. Kirai wasn't there, so Obi figured she was also downstairs. On her way down, she felt the temperature drop from freezing to Arctic Wind. She wrapped her little blanket around her even tighter.
 
Nori was sound asleep, breathing deeply. When the sound of metal hitting the ground echoed throughout their makeshift home, the young male's eyes fluttered slightly before becoming still once more. It was the only sign that he gave to hearing the noise. Him being him, it took a lot more to wake him up. He was known for his heavy sleeping, which was a disadvantage if someone ever broke in, but he couldn't help it.

A slight breeze came over him, making him shiver and curl in on himself even further. It was like he was trying to disappear, or make himself seem smaller. Anything that could help him conserve as much body heat as possible, he would do. That being said, the white-haired teenager pulled the tattered blanket that was covering his small frame tighter around himself, snuggling into its warmth. The words that were coming from Luke's mouth were mumbled gibberish in Nori's mind, making him furrow his eyebrows and frown slightly in confusion.
 
The sun was finally rising, and that usually was welcomed sign on two levels. One it meant that soon the house would start to warm to a tolerable level of comfort as opposed to feeling like a glorified meat locker. Secondly it meant that they had survived yet another night, and they were blessed to see each other once more. This family had it's ups and downs but there was no denying that it was a family, and each member was prepared to lay down their lives for one another.

Luke climbed over some of his sleeping house mates, and then there were others who were starting to stir awake. Luke made his way down the stairs into the kitchen. It was far from a stocked kitchen and the pickings were slim to be kind, but they did what they could to make sure that no one went hungry around here. Even if it meant giving up a share of your food for another. Luke walked over to the pantry and pulled out a bottle of generic soda that had been discarded because it wasn't a big seller at one of the grocery stores. It was flat and the taste of sugar was almost enough to give one a diabetic coma, but it satisfied the caffeine addiction that Luke had. He poured the soda into the jelly glass and raised it to the sun shaft of sunlight coming through the kitchen curtain . Luke said, "To another day."

Luke took a swig and nearly choked but he kept it down. He then opened up a cabinet which had a plastic box in it, and in that box was some croissants that bakery had thrown out for being stale. Luke grabbed two, and saw that the rations were starting to get lower than made everyone comfortable. Which meant of course dumpster diving tonight for everyone for food supplies. Luke said, "Well good thing I didn't have any plans tonight" as he took a bite.
 
Corin was not sure when she had fallen back asleep, but she woke groggily, wondering how she had fallen asleep when she had felt awake with adrenaline. Maybe it was enough to make her tired body try to rest again? Either way, it took a few moments for Corin to analyze her surroundings and get enough motivation to get out of bed. She peered out the window, smiling softly at the small tendrils of light that filtered through. Well, might as well start a new day..

Corin carefully wobbled up, crawling over sleeping bodies to gather up her prosthetic, which took a few minutes for her to properly reattach. She timidly stood up, testing her man-made leg and took a few steps with pride. it looked like Obi had been right, it wasn't damaged from the fall that previous night. The young woman crept up to her backpack, putting on a slightly clean sweater and changing clothes, not caring if anyone saw. She was quick, and she was sure that everyone still in the room was fast asleep. Corin stretched, wincing when her stomach started to growl. The dark skinned girl shrugged her backpack over her shoulder. Well, might as well scrounge for food. She knew that they were starting to get low on rations..

Corin limped quietly down the stairs as silently as she could, hearing someone rummaging around. She started for the kitchen, raising an eyebrow when she saw Luke and crossed her arms, eyeing the small bit of food that they still had left. She was wide awake now, but her body was still a little fatigued.

"We're gonna have to go food-searching again soon, eh?" She yawned, stretching her arm. "Well, I'm free as I can be today, and I'm prepared for some rummaging. I'm also hungrier than a stray dog." She laughed cynically.

However, she would have felt guilty if she ate before the younger kids, so she decided to leave the remaining food rations be until they woke up or they searched for more food.
 
Annaliece had already been downstairs for what had seemed like a couple hours by the time Corin and Luke came down. Ironically, though she'd come downstairs to just stretch her legs and wander, she'd found herself falling asleep at the kitchen table, not really aware that she had. Once she heard Corin and Luke talking about going scavenging, though, Annaliece woke up and drowsily raised her hand to volunteer. Her head was still resting on her other arm, but her eyes were half-open and she knew what she was doing. Of course, if this tickle in her nose didn't go away, she might end up becoming alert faster than she liked.
 
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