Illstar

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She was so wounded in every way. How could he fix it? How could he fix her?

Aerin didn't know if that was even possible after this. Especially not now since she'd seen him just as hurt as he was. She shook in his grip no matter what he did, but it didn't stop him from trying. He couldn't help the wince as she touched his face, but he didn't let the expression linger. It was painful for her to see him like that. It was almost better if she couldn't see him at all. It was torture to have her pulled away when she was just beginning to open up again.

Green eyes searched her face, finding every flaw and every injury. He hated his artist's gaze, the one that discovered every detail, good or bad. His thumbs swept along her cheeks, wiping away the remnants of her tears. "They hurt me," he said, and while it was true, it was vague. She didn't need details. He'd had enough of those from Jenson to last him a lifetime. He felt her shift against him to compensate for his injuries, and he was grateful for it. His head tilted back against the wall, eyes closed. "We're going to have to keep enduring this. They won't stop until we tell them something." He couldn't bear this much longer. They both couldn't. Nova had suffered with this for three months and it had hardly been three weeks for the both of them.

"...I'm sorry." He was sure the words sounded old and overused on his tongue, but he felt the need to say it anyway. He could only voice so many emotions, and that was one of them. He wanted to tell her how much he cared for her, but the words wouldn't form on his lips.
 
Nova growled under her breath at his words, not upset with him, but furious about the whole situation and she shook her head slightly at his apology. "No. You don't need to be sorry. This isn't your fault." she whispered back to him and Nova pulled back just enough to look up at him, expression fierce in her bruised and battered face as her brown eyes searched his own, meeting his green eyes, eyes she was coming to long to see, to dream about when nothing else could keep her going. "They won't stop even if I could tell them something." she whispered back to him and then brought her hands up to rub her temples. The headache there wanted to split her skull and she winced when she coughed again as it sent a flare of pain through her head.

"Well, Nova, that is not entirely true."

The brunette jumped at the voice that came on over the speaker and she pressed to Aerin's side, shaking again as she looked up at the camera. She could almost see her mother's face on the other side, that smirk on her face. "If you give me information, sweetie, I will leave him alone."

"You're lying." Nova choked out and Jessamine chuckled. "Oh, but I'm not. There's no reason to hurt him if I have what I want. He means nothing to me. The only value he has is that he means everything to you. It's right here on the bio screen for everyone to see. Your heart elevates, breathing normalizes, your mind lights up, pheromones kick into action. It is clear you're attracted to him if nothing else. That is the leverage we have against you. As long as you know he's hurting, you'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe. I dare say you'd even sleep with Jenson willingly. Hmm..."

Nova shuddered, pressing closer to Aerin with the smallest of whimpers at that contemplative tone on the other end of the speaker and Jessamine spoke against smugly. "I would advise that you think long and hard in the next forty-five minutes, Nova. My scientists are running low on fresh Wanderers to study. You could save Aerin from that fate. Search deep, sweetie."

The speaker went dead.
 
Aerin looked down as she coughed. She was growing worse, and their treatments of her weren't helping the sickness at all. His head flicked up at he noticed the speaker attached the camera. Jessamine was trying to pressure her into giving information, and she was using him in the process. He hated being used, especially against Nova. Her mind was fragile and feral, and any thoughts of harm coming to him set her off. Aerin glared at the camera, but he said nothing. What could he say? Jessamine wouldn't help her own daughter and she certainly wouldn't help him.

Once the speaker clicked off, Aerin's hands cradled Nova's head to his chest. There was a worse punishment waiting for him if she didn't tell them anything. His forehead rested on her hair as his eyes closed. There was nothing he could do to help her except when he was around. He sighed heavily, her hair ruffling with his warm breath. His hands stroked her face and rubbed her back, the artist in him finding her strongest contours and her lines. He was desperate for a piece of paper and pen, but he hadn't been given one and he assumed his request would go unheard, like mostly everything else he said.

He had lost all of his drawings of Nova, the wolves, and everything else he drew. Somehow, the thought set a deep sadness in him, one that wouldn't go away until he could recreate the images.
 
Nova wanted to relax back into him, she did more than anything, but she couldn't. She stayed in his hold for perhaps another ten minutes, but all the while she could hear an invisible clock ticking in her head and she pulled away from Aerin after a time, running her hands back through her hair as she started to pace, shaking and desperate to figure something out, to do anything she could to keep him from the same fate she was suffering. She had to do something! She couldn't just let this happen! They were going to kill him!

In her movements were the wild qualities of a caged cat, a wounded animal backed into a corner and Nova made another turn before slamming her fists against the metal walls with a scream of fury. "I don't know anything! Why won't you believe me!" Fangs bared inside her mouth with a bloodcurdling snarl and the brunette started to pace again, unable to do anything else. She didn't note it but her fingers had grown into claws.

"My father made the Illstar. It was created from an alien bacteria and human science. It cured cancer, it would have cured so much more, but then it started to kill. What more is there?!" She directed the question to the camera and for a moment nothing came, but then Jessamine's voice spoke up again. "There is you."

"What about me!? What makes me so damn different from everyone else?!"

"You're infected Nova."

Nova flinched back as if she'd been struck, looking stricken, confused. "Wh-what?"

Jessamine's voice was cold and the brunette backed up into Aerin again, the fury fading to be replaced with complete uncertainty as she listened, finally getting answers she'd not known before. "You are infected. Your blood holds Illstar Virus but it doesn't effect you. Now why do you think that is, Nova?"
 
Part of Aerin wanted to go and comfort her, but he knew he couldn't. She had the mentality of a frightened and trapped animal. If he tried to touch her, she would lash out. He winced at the sound of her fists cracking on the table, but he remained silent. Watching the camera as if he could see what was gone, Aerin waited to hear the information he didn't want to hear: "You're infected, Nova."

She hadn't known, but he did. He hadn't told her. Aerin had a feeling she might have wanted to know from him, but he couldn't change it now. She was aware that she was infected. Still, he hated to hear that she was. Images of his father floated through his mind, or more notably, his dead body after Aerin had stabbed him. The thought made him flinch as Nova pressed against him.

The truth was, they didn't know. Nova's father had done something, but no one seemed to know what. All Aerin could do was hold Nova. It was all he knew how to do in this place. Jessamine's information and discoveries about both Aerin and Nova were confusing him. However, he was still concerned about her and her alone. He was nothing special in terms of immunity. He was just... Aerin. Nova was far more important in terms of science and figuring out what was so special about her.

"I knew," came the whisper before he could stop himself. "She told me. I... Telling you when we only have an hour... it wasn't worth it. I'm sorry."
 
Nova looked up at Aerin at his words and for a moment she looked hurt, but it passed swiftly as she shook her head. It didn't matter. She'd not told him many things, least of which being who her father was and that it had been her own mother who'd tortured her. If anyone deserved to hold something against the other person it was him against her. It was HER familial matters that had drawn him into this hell. She'd cared about him, something she should not have done and could not now take back.

The brunette simply pressed her face into his chest, a wordless action that told him she didn't care. She didn't. He was the only person she had in this place, the only person she cared about and she wasn't going to hold something so stupid against him.

She could hear the crackle on the other end of the speaker, Jessamine waiting for a response and Nova just sighed, defeated. "I don't know." she whispered, unable to answer any other way. The click of the speaker going off was ominous and then the door opened. The guards that poured in made her jerk her head up, instantly panicked. No! No, they still had time! She looked at Jessamine with scared, pleading eyes. "The hour's not up!"

The woman gave her a dispassionate look. "And that affects me how? This was done to get results Nova, and you've given me none. I'm revoking your privileges." She motioned to the guards then. "Take her to Jenson. Take him to the laboratory and give him to Marshall." A cruel smirk spread across her face as Nova blanched, knowing that among the scientist he was the worst, willing to push boundaries the others wouldn't, willing to risk bringing his patients to the brink of their sanity and even lives before pulling back. Brown eyes snapped to Aerin's green and all Nova could see was him strapped to a table, his flesh opened up, screaming. The image, the movement of the guards, the knowledge that she wouldn't see him again now and that she'd be going back to the man she hated...it all worked to trigger something dangerous in the brunette.

Her eyes dilated, narrowed to vertical slits and her skin seemed to ripple and then started to turn a deep, midnight blue. It happened in patches across her face, mottled on her arms and legs and Nova turned with an unearthly snarl before she leaped at the first man who approached. Claws tore into his throat, nearly ripping it out before she used the toppling male to spring at another. The blue spread across her skin and her hair started to seep a vivid green. The room was chaos and blood as she tore into anyone and everyone who tried to get to Aerin. It wasn't until the electricity arced through her and two tranquilizers pierced her flesh that she started to falter and finally fell to her knees, teeth bared and forked tongue coming out with a deadly hiss before she lost the battle with consciousness and fell completely.

Jessamine was already shouting orders for her to be brought to laboratory as well and even she seemed surprised...but perhaps not as shocked as most.
 
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Aerin thought they would take her away again, but this time, she moved away from him. He knew she was angry about Jenson, and he had no idea who Marshall was, but judging by Nova's reaction, he wasn't a good man. However, as he began to watch her change, he couldn't believe his eyes. Her skin was darkening so fast that she appeared black, void of color. Her hair shone like freshly dew-dropped grass and she was ferocious. Aerin took a few steps away from her, but she was defending him, not trying to kill him. Somehow, that thought didn't quell the rising fear in his mind, but he kept his position a few feet away from her.

She was eventually overpowered by the tranquilizers, but Aerin still didn't move. Her body hadn't changed back into what he could recognize, but she was still Nova, somewhere in that strange form. He looked up at Jessamine, finding her unsurprised at the entire fiasco. As the guards (the ones Nova hadn't slashed to death) came to collect him, he forced them to stop beside the scientist woman. "You... You knew something like this would happen, didn't you? That's why you wanted to know."

Aerin wasn't even granted a response as pain erupted from the back of his head and all he knew was darkness.

~

Pain was all he was ever aware of. Minutes felt like hours under the burning blade of the surgical knives. Years passed in his mind as they stuck him with needles in his arms, legs, neck, and sometimes his chest.

It was always pain.

He no longer tried to hide his screams of agony. His body never dulled the sensation, and he lost control of his other senses. He was always in a dark room or blindfolded, so his sight was the first to deteriorate. It wasn't gone, but it became awful to have any light shone in his eyes. The smells of drugs, chemicals and the too-clean antiseptic threatened to clog his nose, even when he was away. There was nothing but the sound of his screams in his ears, and so his voice grew hoarse and unusable, only showing itself when it was time to shriek again. His fingers and hands were scratched and bloodied from trying to slash at the scientist whenever he came near, and Marshall had developed a habit of bending his fingers back whenever that happened. Aerin soon had to be strapped down, and after a while, he stopped struggling. It only made everything hurt worse.

By the third day, Aerin knew he was going to go insane if the treatment kept up. He wasn't like Nova. He couldn't sit there for three months and endure this. She was... truly otherworldly. She had appeared to be something straight out of his dreams or his drawings.

So that was what he did to pass the miniscule minutes he'd been using to count his pain with. He imagined Nova and himself, her bearing several different forms, but always happy, no matter what. He wasn't afraid of her, and they were able to touch and kiss and be close with one another. Despite the cold pain, the thoughts brought warmth to his body in ways he had never imagined with anyone he'd ever been with. It was all he could think of to soothe the pain in his mind and on his skin. Marshall seemed to notice these changes, so he began to pump Aerin with nauseating drugs that made him fall asleep without dreaming. It corroded his thoughts, giving him fragments of what he once thought beautiful and perfect.

Aerin never uttered a single, coherent sentence, except once. He'd been alone in whatever chamber they'd thrown him into, and it was dark. He was staring up at the white ceiling, the one that seemed too bright in the pitch black surrounding him. It was then and only then did he say in his cracked and quiet voice, "I care for you, Nova. I wish that I had told you sooner."

More time passed, and Aerin wasn't sure if it had been three days or three weeks. He was sitting up, arms and legs strapped to the table with only a cloth covering the lower regions of his body. His eyes were closed and he was completely still and quiet. There was always a calm before a storm, but there was no calm in him. Only controlled chaos. And even that control was fading slowly.
 
Nova could hear his screams. They made sure she could hear them because it forced the change to come upon her again. When she was exhausted or calm or sleeping, her form went back to normal, back to tanned skin and brown eyes, dark brown hair, fingernails and teeth. She was human again, pure and pristine human. But Jessamine didn't want that and she'd found the trigger inside Nova: protective rage. They goaded her to it by any means necessary and if it seemed she was becoming numb to it, defeated, they switched tactics. There were times she had to watch what they did to Aerin rather than listen and it was during those times that they had to hold her down with both the cuffs and people. Her fury knew no bounds in those sessions and Jessamine seemed to want to see them as often as possible.

As time passed and they triggered her into her form more and more, it started to change, develop more fully. Dark blue skin turned to a lizard-like texture, sweeping across her entire body faster and more fully each time, no longer mottled. Silver seemed to glow under her skin when this happened, seemed to move like a light show in the depth of the ocean and her hair could become completely green now and if her rage spiked to new levels, there were times when it started to float. Her teeth were fangs and her nails claws, and newer developments were a thin, whip-like tail that had grown from her lower spine and the forked tongue. Her eyes were constantly glowing green, slitted and dilated and Nova didn't speak anymore.

No, she roared and screeched and screamed.

They gave her no rest, pushing her limits and when they found out her blood was blue in this form, she found no relief. They tested drugs on her, wondering at the side-effects. JUST to see the side-effects and Nova grew more and more withdrawn, feral as time passed. The only thing that made sense to her anymore was her desire to get to Aerin. Her was her focus, her goal and every day she struggled to reach it without success.

She was forgetting - forgetting what it felt like to not be in pain, forgetting sunlight and wind, forgetting the comfort of food and water. She was struggling to hold on to the feeling Aerin had given her, that safety he'd enveloped her with. She was forgetting who she was.

And it terrified Nova.
 
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He could never hear her. They made sure of that. Still, deep in the reserves of what little heart he had left, he knew she was still trying to reach him. He tried to think about her, but his mind wouldn't cooperate on anything. So when he heard distant booms and shouts, he didn't register what was happening. Footfalls slammed down the immaculate halls, and doors squealed on their hinges as they were ripped open. Someone was looking for something. If it had been the scientists, they wouldn't have been blowing up the facility.

Wait... explosions?

Aerin's thoughts connected and he managed to lift his head as a group of dusty and ragged bunch shoved the door open to his room. "Found one!" a male called out as two people went to work on the straps on his arms and legs. He hadn't even been aware of the chain around his neck until they managed to pry it from his skin. They helped him stand and he almost fell over. The men caught him, each arm over their shoulders to help support him.

"Son, are you okay?" Aerin's bleary eyes glanced up at the man's face, covered by a mask.

"Dad? You... You're dead...," he whispered, his head dropping back down.

"We're here to help you. Can you walk?" At Aerin's head shake, they lifted him higher so his feet were under him. "Do the best you can. We've been looking for this place for months. Are there any more Immune here?"

A slashed thought of Nova flew through his mind, and he started to shake his head. No, no, Aerin. She is. She's still... your Nova. "Y-Yeah... One... Nova... She-she's in... somewhere... I-I don't know." His voice was quiet and stammering, but they understood what he was trying to say.

"Jack, go find this Nova girl. What does she look like, son?"

"Dad, you... you know what she looks... like... brown hair... brown eyes... she's beautiful... S-sometimes she turns... into a creature...."

Someone sped off as Aerin fell in and out of consciousness. He was trying to stay awake and upright, but it became harder to do with each step. He coughed from the dust as it blew inside, on top of the rubble that was becoming one half of the facility. When they reached the outside, sand blasted Aerin's face, and someone in front of him threw a hooded jacket over his shoulders. He was only aware of pain all over his body as they helped him into the back of a covered truck. Darkness enveloped the space and Aerin was alone in stormy silence. His head rolled on the back of the truck, and one broken thought lingered in his mind: Nova was going to be set free.
 
Comet followed Jack out of the room, his heart hammering in his chest. S-sometimes she turns... into a creature.... Those words bounced around in his mind like the sweetest music to the black haired Indian. He'd found her. It had to be. Damn, she'd survived! He should have known she would. Daniel would have made sure of that. Haha! She was alive!

His feet sped from room to room, looking with Jack and others for more survivors, but for Comet it was for one in particular. He'd known he was sensing something in the mountains, had known something was here. He could hear, almost feel it screaming as they drew closer and now...now he was more than sure he knew what, who it was. Such a belief was finally confirmed as he and two other Wanderers burst into another room. They were confronted by a brown-haired, brown eyed woman that made Comet immediately put his hand up in warning to the other two. They heeded it, knowing better than to not and Jessamine smirked.

"Cometanesium. I was not expecting you...and with such company."

"You would be wise to flee, Nefenarasa. You can't win this time." Comet took a step forward and Jessamine - or perhaps Nefena would be more apt now - gave him a look of hate behind her calm exterior. "What is she to you? She is mine! Danielisnoros owed me a debt! He is paying it now with this hybrid."

The Indian stepped closer and under his skin seemed to seep some color, threatening and Nefena hissed, backing up. She was outnumbered and she knew it. Hated it and her vengeance for her defeat would be devastating if she ever got the chance to extract it. "She is protected under the ShadowWing Act. You're in violation. I could kill you right now and no one would question it."

Another hiss answered his calm accusation before the female fled and Comet watched her go with a curling of his lip in disgust. He beckoned to the humans then and they came without hesitation, obviously knowing exactly what he was. They approached Nova then and Comet cursed under his breath as they worked to get her free. She was already out cold, probably Nefena's work, and she was human once more, but as soon as Comet touched her, he knew she was the one he'd sensed.

He cradled her in his arms and looked to the other two. "Find the blood. Burn it."

He left then, quickly running through the halls and to the trucks, knowing those would leave first. Regardless of how they had to clean out this base, they would get the survivors away immediately. He took Nova to a random truck - not the one Aerin was in - and from there, the two rescue trucks sped away into the night.
 
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Aerin was unsure of how long had passed since the Wanderers had helped him into the truck and drove off, but it had to have been at least a half of a day. He had fallen asleep despite the bumps in the non-existent roads and dips in the sand, so when he woke up, he was in a bed. A comfortable bed that he wasn't strapped to. His wounds had been bandaged and his mind felt clear. His eyes weren't so fuzzy, but he still blinked in the... light? Wherever he was, they had electricity. Or maybe it was just a flame.

Maybe he wasn't as healed as he thought he was.

He wiggled his fingers and toes, finding his feet bare and his hands covered. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up, trying to ignore the dizzy feeling that settled in his head. Looking around the room, he found it it was an actual building and not a tent. There was a desk and a plush rug under his feet, covering the cool hardwood floor. The room was a soft blue, though slightly peeling, paint. It felt like a home, something he didn't have.

He remembered the Wanderers saving him from the clutches of Jessamine, but he had no idea if they'd gotten Nova as well. Maybe they didn't want her because she was a strange creature. No, he didn't want to think that. With some effort, he pushed himself off of the bed, using the small table at its side to steady himself. Once he felt like his legs could carry him, he put on a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved shirt with a hooded jacket on top. Padding to the door, he cracked it open, searching the hall. When he saw no one, he held the wall and then the railing of the stairs.

"Anyone here?" he croaked out, and the sound of his own strangled voice startled him. How long had he been sounding like that? He couldn't recall much from his last week except pain...

...Pain and the desire to die.
 
Comet's ears perked a bit at the noise from upstairs and he got up off the couch, being the one on babysitting duty as it were, to head up the steps. He smiled gently at seeing the blond awake and help up his hands a bit to show they were empty. Sometimes survivors were appropriately aggressive upon waking and not knowing where they were. "Hey, easy there. You don't want to fall. Christine worked for hours to get you patched up." he chided gently, looking Aerin over carefully to make sure he'd not pulled anything. Humans were such delicate creatures he'd come to find very soon upon coming to Earth.

"You're safe here in Galaxy. We're all Wanderers, too. No one is going to harm you."

He made sure to get that out right away and took a careful step forward, not knowing if the man would be all right with touch or not. "How do you feel? Are you hungry?" He kept his voice slow, steady so as to give Aerin time to process and held out a hand a little. "Would you like help down the stairs?"

The poor man looked like he could barely see straight, much less walk a straight line. Stairs? That seemed to be asking for trouble.
 
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Galaxy? He was either being called that or it was the name of the community. Aerin couldn't tell. He held his free hand to his head, unsure of what was going on. He knew he wasn't going to be hurt, that much was for sure. The man at the bottom of the stairs even told him so. He didn't sound like anyone he'd met before, but his voice was calm, something his mind could handle. He looked up as the man questioned his feelings and his hunger. He nodded at both inquiries, and then he was asked about having help down the stairs.

The prideful (manly) part of him wanted to refuse the help, but there was no point in risking a trip down the stairs. It would only end in broken limbs and his body in a heap of skin and bones. So he nodded, bracing himself on the railing as the man moved up. Together, they moved down the stairs, and even with a support, Aerin almost slipped several times. Once they were down safely did Aerin think to ask any questions himself.

"Where is this... Galaxy?" he asked, cursing the sound of his own voice. He sounded weak and helpless. "And... you got... Nova, right? Can... Can I see her? Where is she?" He almost fell, and he wished it was out of excitement to see Nova. Instead, it was just one leg giving way from under him, and only by bracing himself on the wall and Comet's supporting arm did he manage to keep himself from ungracefully slipping.
 
Comet might have looked like a rather wiry man, but there was strength in his body that was beyond human and he actually had to be very careful not to hurt anyone when he held them, even to help. So he easily kept Aerin from falling and he chuckled a bit as he helped him sit on a lawn-chair at a table in the kitchen. "Easy there, young human. Your body is not quite ready to keep up with your ambition. And I am going to hear enough of a lecture from Christine for letting you up at all. So behave."

He started to the fridge - they did have some running electricity - and pulled out eggs from the chickens that morning and got out a pan and other various things to start cooking some for the blond. They would be rather easy on Aerin's stomach and a good source of protein. "For your first question; Galaxy is the name of this community. We are made up of Wanderers and a few Infected who don't mind Wanderers. You're in Galaxy right now. We brought you here." he informed patiently, still talking a bit slowly for the harmed human's sake.

"As for Nova, she is here." he assured, scooping up the scrambled eggs and placing them in a bowl with a fork. He handed them over to Aerin before sitting himself, expression kind. "You may see her, I promise. I just want you to eat first. It will help that dizzy feeling in your head." He sat back patiently and pushed his fingers through his long black hair, watching Aerin. "I'm Comet, by the way. What might I call you?"
 
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Aerin let himself be sat down. He sank into the seat, glad as the descent made his head lighten up. He waited for the food to be made, marveling, almost like a child, at the fact that they had running electricity. He hadn't seen the light since... well two days ago, but he didn't think that awful place counted as a real thing. He didn't want it to be.

Once the food was in front of him, he picked up the fork and twirled it in his fingers. It made him happy to know he could see Nova without torture. He shuddered at the thought of Jessamine before he shoveled a few eggs into his mouth. Comet was right. He felt less light-headed as he ate. He finished off the food quickly, looking back up at Comet to answer his question. "Oh... Aerin. Aerin Belsaiven."

And then it became his turn to ask the questions. His mind had made the connection of their names. It wasn't every day that you came across someone called Nova, much less someone named Comet. "Are... Are you like Nova? She turned in... into that thing... to protect me." He didn't mention the thoughts about that form that had followed. "I... Do you have paper... and a pencil?" It was a completely different question from before, but Aerin's hands itched to do something rather than spin a fork between his fingers.
 
A smart one this one.

Comet chuckled a bit and nodded gently. In fact, he made sure everything he did was gentle, slow and kindhearted around new humans who had no idea what he was. He always expected some aversion at first, but eventually most got used to him. "I am like Nova, yes. I am a Reszna, an alien as your kind would call it, and Nova is only half Reszna. She is also human. What you saw was a variation of a Reszna form, a very mild version and that is because she is a hybrid."

He would not paint over such things, speaking truthfully. The sooner Aerin understood what Nova was and that she wasn't going to change, the better off they'd all be. Comet knew hybrids were unpredictable things and when they found life-mates...well, they were downright terrifying if kept from them. To be rejected by one... The thought made Comet wince a bit, his thoughts backtracking from such a sorrowful thought as Aerin spoke about....paper and pencil?

The Reszna chuckled and stood, opening a draw in the kitchen. He drew out a box of colored pencils, at least five different colors still in there and then went to another drawer and drew out a notebook. It was new, obviously a school notebook as this house had been privy to the presence of children before the Illstar. He handed both things to Aerin and then raised a brow. "An artist, I assume?"

He didn't much wait for a response before helping Aerin up and taking him outside. The wind had died down a bit and the settlement was clear in the hazy sun. They were in a part of a city, a wall built up around them and around the buildings they'd decided to take up residence in. Peopled milled about, going about their business and while some looked up to see Comet and Aerin, they merely smiled, nodded or waved a bit of a welcome and went about their work. Some of which included harvesting from a place where they'd broken up the pavement to get to the dirt beneath, the place shielded from the wind by the tall buildings on either side. There were vegetable growing there. Some livestock was penned up and children ran about, maybe five or six of them. Above all, the atmosphere was peaceful, but watchful of the outside and Comet led Aerin through it to another small building.

He opened the door and raised a hand to the humans inside, telling them to stand down. They did, recognizing him and the Indian looked toward the back room. "Anything to report?"

"Nah. She started to stir, but then nothing."

Comet sighed and nodded before looking to Aerin. "I will warn you now, we have her mildly restrained. We couldn't risk that she'd wake and start attacking us to find you. Once she knows you are fine, she will be released, you have my word." He led the blond to the back room then, as slow as Aerin needed and opened the door.

Nova was on her side, looking completely and utterly human. She'd been bandaged up just as nicely as Aerin, dressed in clean, but simple clothes - a loose white shirt and what looked to be pajama bottoms - and she slept. The only restraint on her was a handcuff around one wrist, secured to the bed. Comet made sure Aerin was steady on his feet, motioning toward the chair by the bed if the male wanted it and moved to Nova. His hand touched her forehead. "Come, little sister. There is someone here you want to see." He didn't mention that she'd yet to wake since being found in the mountains - nearly three days ago - and merely watched, stepping back as her eyes fluttered and then opened slowly.

There was that moment of instant, understandable fear as she tensed, not knowing where she was and then her brown eyes moved around and immediately caught on the one person she wanted to see above any other. Hope sprang into her eyes, such terrible hope and tentative happiness as she slowly lifted her head.

"Aerin?"
 
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An alien? He knew the Illstar had been crafted from... space stuff, but real aliens? He could hardly believe it. What was even more unbelievable was the fresh notebook and colored pencils that were given to him. He had little time to relish in the colors and the feel of the paper under his bandaged fingers before they were standing and moving. His head wasn't as dizzy, and his legs felt stronger, but he kept himself near Comet just in case his knees wobbled or caved in.

He tried to focus on the sights and sounds and the lack of wind in the area. The walls were tall enough so that sand passed over them, and while there were occasional sand showers, it was little compared to what was outside. They were able to grow their own food and have un-infected animals to use for meat and dairy. It was... peaceful. Peace had been lost to Aerin for many months, and yet here, in Galaxy, he could sense the joy coming from the people. They were to be the ones to rebuild the world, and Aerin hoped that there were other communities just like this one.

He couldn't help but smile at the people as they moved past, but then they neared a building and he was given a warning. Precaution was necessary, he understood, even if he didn't like it. Comet pushed the door open and Aerin saw Nova laying on the bed, just as peaceful as the rest of the community. He smiled wider, following the path of support Comet laid out for him. When she saw him, he was beside the bed in the taller chair so he could easily see her.

"Hi," he said, his voice still low and hoarse. He held out his hand to her, as if encouraging her to touch him, just to reassure herself he wasn't a hallucination.
 
Nova didn't care what he sounded like as she reached out and touched his hand without hesitation. As soon as her fingers connected with his own, it was like a great sigh of relief swept through the brunette and she closed her eyes, tears pricking under the lids before she opened them again. He was here. He was real and they...they weren't where they'd been before. Nova looked around again then and her eyes caught on to Comet. She tensed again, immediately, and he held up his hand, much like he'd done with Aerin. "No, no, little sister. There is no threat here and if you can assure me you understand that, I will take that off."

He gestured to the handcuff and Nova looked down at it, feeling a shudder of revulsion move through her, but her mind was starting to work, slowly, and she looked back to Aerin. Her brown eyes took in his clean state, the bandages with no real comfort as she'd seen him that way before only to be ripped away from him again...but the pencils and notebook in his arms...that convinced her and Nova gave a faint smile to see them. She looked back at Comet then and nodded slowly. "I...understand."

It was hard to make herself speak and even harder not to flinch away when the male came toward her with the key to the cuffs. He kept his contact with her brief as he unlocked the thing and then stepped back again. "There you are. Now I will leave you two alone. If you need anything, I will be right outside." he stated gently and then closed the door, but he didn't latch it. Most survivors were terrified of being locked in.

When he'd left, Nova sat up slowly, pausing, eyes closing as her head spun. She waited for it to subside before she opened her eyes again and looked back to Aerin. She reached for his hand again and gave it a very light tug. "Come 'er." she told him softly, rearranging her legs slowly so that he could sit on the bed, too. She needed him near and she sensed he probably needed the same.
 
Aerin waited, but he was impatient. He set the notebook and the pencils on the table, where they weren't in in his hands but within reach. He watched the interaction between Comet and Nova until Comet announced his departure. Aerin didn't move until the door was almost closed. When he glanced back at Nova, she was sitting up and moving. She pulled on his hand and he was happy to oblige her this time. He managed to settle into a cross-legged position beside her legs, his fingers gripping hers. His free hand came up to sweep a few stray strands from her face, and he smiled as he did.

"I'm glad to see... you're okay," he said. His body was suddenly overcome by a spastic fit of coughing, and he bowed his head to avoid doing so in Nova's face. "Sorry. My lungs aren't really... up to par right now." He didn't say it was from the screaming he'd done, because they both knew that was what it was for.

His fingers began to itch again, and he leaned over to set the pencils and notebook in his lap. "May I... draw you... again?" he asked, giving her the soft half-smile that was just for her. He knew how to speak through his art, and since his voice was going to be shot for a little while, he had to find a way to convey his feelings.
 
She smiled at him, wanting nothing more than to crawl into his lap and curl up there, but she settled for feeling his touch on her face. Worry, alarm really, flickered through her eyes when he started to cough and it only subsided when he mentioned his lungs in his hoarse voice and she connected the two. She relaxed again and watched as he grabbed his new drawing supplies. She felt tears prick at her eyes again when he asked the question he did, his smile warming her completely and she nodded. Nova laid back down, though, a bit sideways on the bed, her body curled and her hand reached out to touch his leg. She needed the contact, needed to be sure he was here, that he wasn't going to disappear.

Nova laid there then, quietly and she watched him. It was so hard to believe that this time they were going to be all right. That this time they wouldn't be ripped apart. That this time she wouldn't have to listen to him scream and know she could do nothing. She wouldn't be feeling groping hands and painful needles and knives. No harsh light and agony. No cold metal and hopelessness. It was so hard to believe.

So she watched Aerin instead, letting her eyes be filled with him, letting her eyes trace every single contour of his face, lingering over the bruises and the cuts, hating every single one of them. She ached to make them go away and she only realized she was crying softly when one landed on the arm curled under her head. Nova closed her eyes then and tried to calm her mind. She knew how to do this. She did. She'd done it four months back, had learned to push it all away.

Surely she could do it again.
 
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