Unexpected Consequences (Peregrine & Kaisaan)

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She was under the blankets when she woke.

Why Gabrielle's mind chose to focus on that first, she wasn't sure, but it stuck out to her in a way she couldn't make sense of just yet and she found herself rubbing the edge of the blanket between her fingers, eyes straying to David's form on the other side of the room. She....hadn't pulled the covers up before going to sleep....right? Had she done it half-asleep? But no, she would have woken fully if that had been the case. She was trained to wake all the way if she woke at all, had been that way for years and she knew she hadn't woken to pull the blankets up. That begged the question, though, of WHY she'd not woken up at all. She always woke in the middle of the night, sometimes several times a night. It had concerned her team and gotten her mandatory visits to a psychologist more than once. The nightmares always woke her.

So why hadn't they tonight?

A frown had worked its way onto the soldier's face, but it wasn't out of irritation, only a thoughtful need to figure out the mystery. The universe wasn't exactly inclined to follow her schedule, however, and a sound from the floor instantly drew her entire focus. Someone was downstairs.....several someones now that she was paying attention and now Gabrielle certainly was, sitting up and brushing her dirty-blond hair behind her ears, her facial expression far more neutral and centered as she pushed the blankets back and got out of the bed, glancing over at David. Whether he was awake or asleep, she looked away again, padding for the door on bare feet and cracking it open.

The noises from below got marginably louder and the Banshee listened closely to the many voices below, the clatter of pots and pans, the noise of many feet moving around and then extended her mind, her power to scout out energies and auras. Sore as her gift was - not having been truly stretched and used in some time - it gave her back the information she sought and Gabrielle closed the door again after a moment, looking back to David who was no doubt awake now if he'd not been before.

Moving toward his bed, she sat on the side and gave him a reassuring smile, soft and a bit more steady than any attempt she'd tried yesterday. Getting some unusual sleep helped. "There are about ten people downstairs. I will have to speak with them, but you don't have to come down with me if you're not ready. I won't let them bother you."
 
It took some time after David finally left Gabrielle's side for him to actually fall asleep again, and when he finally did it seemed the remainder of the night passed in the blink of an eye. He had stared at the blank darkness of the wall, listening to the quiet sounds of Gabrielle sleeping, until he suddenly heard the sound of her stirring. His eyes flickered open, and the inky obscurity of the night was gone. The pale white wall glowed in the light of early morning that filtered through the window curtain. He rolled over and sat up as Gabrielle moved over to the door It was only at that moment that David heard the faint sounds of commotion from downstairs.

He curled up on top of the bed as Gabrielle moved back over to him. Ten people. Dear lord, it had been well over fifteen years since he had ever seen that many people. It had been one thing in Serge and Maria's house, when there had only really been five people. But ten people, all of them strangers. A shiver raced up his spine as he imagined all of them looking at him. He knew that Falcon would have long since told the story of David taking... of what had happened in the car. He could not imagine that they would be friendly towards him after such a tale.

"Ten people..." he whispered, trying to reassure himself. It was such a relief to know that he had been given permission to remain behind, that he did not yet have to face so many pairs of accusing and prying eyes. He tried to convince himself that he should go along, that he had to meet these people and convince them to help hide him, that, if nothing else, he shouldn't leave Gabrielle alone to face them. It didn't work. The more he thought of it, the more he imagined himself back down in the kitchen, with all those people around him, the more he felt his hands shaking.

His head shook, back and forth, once. "I can't. Not... not yet." He felt like he should apologize, but what could he say? She had given him permission. "Thank you."

When Gabrielle left the room, David would rise from the bed, moving over to the door and cracking it open a sliver, just enough to let the voices from downstairs rise up to him. He couldn't go down, couldn't look those people in the eyes, but he did understand how important it was that they not think of David as a danger or a threat. Maybe there wasn't anything he could do to change their minds, but at least he could be aware of the situation.
 
She'd noted the sudden pallor in his skin long before the shaking started, but Gabrielle took notice of that as well, saying nothing but understanding the answer even before it was given. In truth, she hadn't really thought he'd come downstairs with her, not after yesterday. He wasn't ready and such was why she'd given the offer to let him avoid all this. David's decision to do so only brought a nod from the blond before she reached out, giving his hand a squeeze and then rising. A few fingers through her hair to put it into some semblance of order than the shedding of her sweatshirt to reveal the tank-top beneath, Gabrielle exited the room.

Her bare feet curled just a little upon making contact with the cold hardwood floor, but she kept on down the hall and then took the staircase, silent as a wraith. Gabrielle's ears took in the noise around her with a fine-tuned sense for details, picking up seven distinct male tones and three female in the five minutes she spent simply standing on the bottom of the stairs, gathering what information she could without actually confronting the people here. In time, though, not even just listening could help her anymore and the soldier took a breath, squaring her shoulders as she moved off the steps and approached the kitchen. In baggy sweats, a white tank-top and bare feet, her hair tousled from sleep, she knew she didn't look like much at all. Sure, she had some scars visible, some only partially hidden this way, but if one didn't look too carefully, she could have been any collage student rising on a weekend after sleeping in.

Those in the kitchen, when they finally spotted her, knew she was anything but that.

The many pairs of eyes that turned to her upon her entrance into the room would have been eerie to anyone else, uncomfortable and scary to someone like David, but Gabrielle was used to commanding attention. Among her own squad she'd been the leader and in the army, there was little concept of privacy or personal space. No, the blond was used to attention, to scrutiny and being questioned. It didn't phase her.

She couldn't really remember if she'd ever been around so many Gifted people, though. That...that was different and inside she felt a small knot appear in her middle, but deeper still there rose that same instinctive creature that had made brief appearance yesterday. It was ready for battle and Gabrielle couldn't say with certainty that she wouldn't need it....not when some of the studying looks she was getting were already filled with caution, question and suspicion. It made the Banshee take a breath, a careful, controlled one that she was glad to have drawn when Cobalt spoke, his deep voice reaching everyone in the enormous kitchen.

"Gabrielle. Will David be joining you this morning?"

"No."

Nor more explanation than that and the Banshee saw the group cast glances to each other, but Gabrielle refused to rise to the bait of it all, merely leaning her hip against the counter created by the island centered in the room. Her arms crossed loosely, no threat in her stance, but no weakness either. No nervousness, no anxiety or desperation. Calm. Collected. Every inch the soldier she'd been trained to be for years. She knew she and David needed these people, to be accepted here and perhaps Haven knew it, too, but that didn't mean she was going to beg, nor was she going to roll over and simply let them poke and prod as they wanted just because they wanted to. No, she waited and the inevitable next voice came, the silence too much for ten people to maintain.

"Well, Gabrielle, welcome to one of the many safe houses belonging to Haven. I am Yarrow. Allow me to introduce everyone else." The tall, slim Ukrainian woman, her hair a dark brown, gestured to the people gathered around. The other two females were African, twins by the look of them and Cobalt and on more male besides was of the same descent. An Asian, Mexican, Falcon and two Russian males, both blond, made up the rest of the gathering. They all seemed young, no one older than Cobalt, which struck Gabrielle as odd, but she said nothing, focusing on memorizing them names.

"The twins are River and Rain and the man beside them is Shadow." The Asian gave a nod of acknowledgement and Yarrow went on. "The blonds there are cousins, Wolf and Blaze and you already know Cobalt and Falcon." Yarrow pointed to the Mexican male next and the African beside him. "Those two are Copper and X-Ray."

Gabrielle's gaze flickered over each and every one, taking a guess as to their powers, but she couldn't be sure just yet and she knew it. It was probably the only thing she felt a bit uneasy about - though, she knew none of them to be Banshees. She would have sensed that. Giving a nod to show her understanding, she wasn't allowed to say anything in return before Copper was speaking, seeming the most disgruntled of the ten at the moment.

"This David, he attacked Falcon?"

Gabrielle's left brow rose almost of its own will, a challenging, almost imperious kind of expression flickering over her face just for a second before she controlled it and spoke levelly. "Attack is a bit of an accusation. Falcon tried to read David and David's power lashed out instinctively. That's not quite the thought-out, deliberate action that the word 'attack' insinuates."

"But he did hurt Falcon." Blaze insisted a bit more calmly and Gabrielle's brow rose again, a slight smirk touching the corner of her mouth and this time she didn't banish it away. "And you've never hurt anyone before? Any of you?"

The silence was answer enough before Yarrow voiced for the group again. "Gabrielle, we are not trying to deny David into Haven. We simply want to understand what happened, what he and yourself are capable of and whether we can trust either of you around our people. That is fair, is it not?" She seemed to be the mediator and Gabrielle could very well and easily understand where these people were coming from....but it didn't lessen her commitment to David and her protection over him. So she nodded and her words were measured carefully.

"It is fair, but so is David and my right to not divulge all of who we are to you. How can we know if you are anymore trustworthy than we are?"
 
There was a moment of rather angry muttering through the kitchen, before Yarrow lifted a hand to quiet it. "No, Gabrielle, that is not true." There was no doubt that the woman was pushing the conversation, and, by the faint thinning of her mouth and the wrinkles appearing on her forehead, that she wasn't entirely happy about being the one who had to do it. Yarrow seemed like a naturally peaceful woman, the one who would rather set all confrontation aside, but she also had her duties to perform in this conversation. "By contacting us, you, indirectly or directly, decided that we were the most trustworthy people you could reach. You would not have contacted us otherwise.

"On the other hand, you have given us no reason to trust you. Not only did you spend a good portion of the ride yesterday in a state of direct threat against Cobalt and Falcon, you are harboring a man who, by all accounts, has the ability to strip us of our very gifts against our will, and you are refusing to tell us anything about either him or yourself."

Rain, or River, it was hard to tell, stepped forward, and placed a gentle hand on Yarrow's shoulder to still her words. She turned to face Gabrielle, and there was a look of soft concern on her face. "I cannot even begin to guess at the kind of trials you and David must have gone through, for such fear for another to have grown within a Banshee. It is obvious that you care about him very, very much, and that you want to protect him from everything. Yet you are treating Haven like another potential threat. It isn't. It's in our name. This is a place of safety and refuge for the gifted. We want to protect him, too."

"But you've got to understand, this is a safehouse. All code names aside, most of us living here are members of Haven because we, too, require sanctuary. This is the only place in the world we have left to feel safe. Yet now I am here, but I still feel fear. It sends shivers up my spine to imagine being in the same room with someone who could take away River's power from her. I do not want to believe anyone would ever do such a thing, but David already has and, by your own words, involuntarily. Now we are walking on glass, wondering what unknowingly wrong action could have him do the same to us."

This time it was Rain's turn to have her words brought to a halt by a gentle touch. Cobalt stepped forward. "Can you understand, Gabrielle, why we absolutely must have you tell us something?"
 
The words washed over the soldier like the ocean against rock, the waves relentless to get their way, no matter how violent or gentle their contact was and the rock standing firm....but little by little unable to help the inevitable breakdown as the never ending sea just kept coming. They didn't mean it in such a way, not all of them anyway, but Gabrielle felt it and the more pressure placed upon her, the more she wanted to harden against it. Her body had stiffened gradually, but surely as the women spoke and by the time Cobalt interjected his question, the Banshee wasn't entirely sure how to answer, not right away.

So she didn't, the silence stretching uncomfortably throughout the kitchen. Sharp aqua eyes observed how it made some present rather nervous and alert themselves, as if they were preparing for some kind of attack or expected her to lash out. They were the ones gifted with powers that could defend them or fight back. Interesting. She wasn't overly concerned with that at the moment, though, and only noted it as a side observation. No, she was far more concerned with figuring out just what she wanted to do about this situation.

They spoke of being scared of what David could so, accusing him of attacking, just waiting for him to snap again.....and then in the same breath said this was the safest place for him and that they'd protect him. How was she to decide, on a whim, which one of those inclinations was going to be stronger within them once she spoke about what David could do and their situation? Haven might very well NOT be a safe place for him! She didn't bloody well know if it was or not! Gabrielle had only known it was a place to try, a starting point. That didn't make it the safest place for the man upstairs. She wasn't sure there WAS a place like that for David, but how could she make these people understand that? Understand her fear? Not ever Gifted person was going to be kind to him, was going to protect him, was going to do the right thing and even Haven would have its threats. Every place did and every person faced them at some point or another, Gifted or not, but.....Gabrielle was responsible for David....and David was like no one else on earth.

He was special and she couldn't just give away information simply because a group of people were scared. She wouldn't speak freely because they were scared.

But there was a thin line between discretion and paranoia. Just as there was a line between being careful and alienating themselves. She had to walk that tightrope now. These people, they could be the safety needed, or they might not be, but either way to find out Gabrielle had to appease their desires for assurance even as she kept her promise to David, kept him safe in case this wasn't what they wanted it to be, in case things went south.

When finally the Banshee spoke, it was not to directly address the words spoken to her, but it wasn't off-topic either. In fact, it was nothing short of a lie...at least, she was sure it was. She didn't know much about David's power, but she was pretty sure it wasn't what she was saying it was. "David has a kind of power suppression from what I can tell. It don't know the extent of his abilities and he doesn't either, nor does he know how to control it yet. He was forced to hide his power for a long time."

"Suppression? How powerful is his power? How long does the suppression last?"

Gabrielle gave the slightest of shrugs to Wolf's question. "I don't know."

Blaze interjected, unfolding his arms, interested now. "What caused him to lash out at Falcon? How long has he been using his gift?" Yarrow nodded after the Russian's questions, adding one of her own. "Has he ever tried to do this to anyone before?"

"I don't know." Gabrielle's answer was far more calm, more stoic than she felt as the questions whirled around her, only piling up and Copper gave a scoffing sound, a sneer in his voice. "What do you know, sweetheart? Maybe we should just talk to David, eh?"

If Gabrielle had been feeling overwhelmed a moment before, she was something on the other end of the spectrum now as her body moved away from the counter, rigid tension in every muscle and a sharp, lethal hardness to her eyes as they flickered with rapid speed between all ten people in the room. A wild creature with far too much intelligence for its own good. "You can talk to me." It was an unmistakable warning, but Copper was young and he'd never met a Banshee. The threat didn't register with the same weight as it did with some of the others in the room and he pushed the subject just a bit further. "Apparently we can't. You won't give us a straight answer. Maybe he will." He made to move forward then, but Cobalt stopped him with a muscled arm before the Mexican's chest even as a high-pitched, chilling sound started in Gabrielle's throat, only stilled again by Yarrow's quick voice.

"That's enough. Copper, stand down. Gabrielle, you too. No one is going see David if he doesn't want to be seen yet." So saying, both for her group's safety and Gabrielle's sanity, the Ukrainian addressed the blond Banshee in turn. "Gabrielle, while we understand David has been through a great deal, we need you to tell us all you can about how we can keep both ourselves and him safe while we are all together."
 
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As Gabrielle's conversation had continued with the members of Haven, David had found himself slowly moving further and further away from the room. At first it had simply been him opening the door further, and crawling out on hands and knees to sit in front of the door. However, Gabrielle and the other's words had still been choppy and hard to distinguish, and he had slid himself over, a foot at a time, down the hallway. Far sooner than he would have expected he found himself sitting at the top of the stairs, resolving that was as far as he would go. Yet, only moments later, he found himself moving one stair down. One stair. It wouldn't make much a difference.

It was entirely possible that David would have continued moving in that manner, one small space at a time, until he was sitting with his back against the wall separating the living room from the kitchen, only a couple feet away from the door, had Gabrielle not finally agreed to tell them a little bit about him. But when her voice began, David froze. He sat on the edge of panic and retreat, listening with an intensity that felt utterly foreign, to her words. What would she tell them?

...Power suppression. It hadn't been what he was expecting, but he hadn't really known what he was expecting. Somehow, though, it loosened the knot that had formed inside his chest, allowing his shoulders to fall limp and his head to bend forward. A soft breath filled the hallway. Power suppression. It made sense, if he took the time to think about it. Wasn't that, after all, what the Haven member had suggested he had done to Falcon? It was quick thinking, to promote what they already believed to be true. What was more, it wasn't fully a lie, even if it wasn't the complete truth. David's power might not have been power suppression, but he was certain he could use it in that manner. He had been doing it to himself for so long, surely it would be a small matter to apply it to someone else. It was almost the perfect lie, for it had enough truth to be deceptive, but was nowhere near the truth that David so desperately feared hearing released. It felt like a wall, like an extra layer of protection between these people and himself. Perhaps... Perhaps this would be safe.

In that moment, for a brief moment, he imagined standing up, and walking into that kitchen to face these people with Gabrielle. It seemed so brave, so controlled, like something someone who had no fear of the powers of other Gifted would do. And David was only an instant away from acting upon that impulse when Copper's voice, cruel, harsh, and grating, slammed its way through the kitchen, up the stairs, and straight into David's gut. Any illusion of courage was banished in that moment, and David froze in utter panic.

What had he been thinking? It was stupid, stupid, stupid. There was no way he could face those people. Could face so many cold, cruel eyes directed his way. He shouldn't even be this far down the stairs. David turned, and began to race as quickly and as quietly back up the stairs as he could. But, in his haste, he misplaced one of his feet on the edge of the stair instead of flat on it, and he slipped forward, catching himself harshly on the old wood. In the silence that followed the beginning of Gabrielle's shriek and Yarrow's strong words, that thump seemed to echo through the entire house.

There was only a moment of silence in the kitchen before Copper let out a barking laugh. "Well, well! It seems we have an eavesdropper. Why don't you come on out, David?" X-ray glared at the man, before turning his eyes to the wall that hid the staircase from sight.

David lay, sprawled out on the stairs, unable to move, barely even able to take in a breath. He felt the energy of that man's power moving up the stairs towards him, so quickly. He longed to retreat, to hide himself from those eyes that even walls couldn't hide him from. Yet he also longed to run, and he couldn't flee when he retreated. He would be leaving his body stranded on these stairs, and who knew what these people would do to his body. They had Gabrielle surrounded, and they would lock him back in one of those white rooms, where all he could do was quietly wait for an inescapable future. He wouldn't. He couldn't!

It felt like he was about to explode with the panic that filled his mind when a single, stray thought floated in, lazy amidst all the chaos. Power suppression.

That's right. That's what he was supposed to be able to do. That was a way to avoid these incorporeal eyes looming down upon him. In the instant X-ray's eyes touched him, David's power flashed out in semi-controlled self defense. It gathered every scrap of the man's energy, before shoving it, rather brusquely, back where it belonged. Away from David.

In the kitchen, X-ray made a surprised noise, staggering slightly as his hand sought stability on the table. "Damn," he muttered. "That kid really doesn't like any power directed his way, does he?"

"You mean..." Wolf began.

"Don't worry," X-ray replied reassuringly. "It's back already. I think I just scared him a bit." He looked back towards the stairs, although this time there was no magic in his eyes. For a moment there was silence as X-ray chewed his lip, before he turned to address Gabrielle. "May I go speak with him?"
 
When was the last time she'd lost control? Not edged along the precipice, tempting fate, but had truly fallen into that void, into the passion and the chilly embrace of death? When was the last time she'd let go of anything and everything that made her Gabrielle Ó Maoil Eoin and became instead the Bean Sidhe? Could she even recall the last time she'd truly and completely felt her power become who she was instead of just part of what she was? She could see herself going down such a road again. Now. Right in this kitchen.

It was a random thought racing around with all the others within her mind and she knew the moment, the very split instant that Falcon knew it, too. It was the smallest thing, the way he stiffened, and Gabrielle's eyes shot to him, saw the fear within them and jerked her gaze away once more. And she shoved the thought deep down, away with all the others like it, and closed her mind to the Telepath. She didn't need the distraction his reactions to her every instinctive whim would cause. She needed to focus on keeping control of the angry, frothing power within her as she sensed David's distress even before X-Ray confirmed it with words she didn't want to hear.

The man's power had gone after David. Oh, it likely hadn't been to hurt, but that was not the point, not what was important right now. What rankled was that her warning had been dismissed, ignored, perhaps not even comprehended. David did not have control of his powers. Whether they be power suppression or something else, he was just as dangerous as he was fragile and she'd essentially told them to leave him be! But no. Everyone else knew best, didn't they?

Always had.

Gabrielle could feel pressure building within her, a swirl of energy that buzzed through her blood and sang in her nerves, tickled her throat and flared in her eyes as sparks. To release that pressure would be glorious, but a nagging feeling checked her. A thought she couldn't ignore. Something important. Someone. David.

X-Ray was asking about David.

The fact of such became clear to her as if from a distance, then clearer and aqua eyes snapped to the African as the words started to make sense. Gabrielle became more aware of the tension in the kitchen then, so thick she felt she could suffocate on it. Every set of eyes was laid upon her, a heavy weight she had been trying to avoid feeling in this way, but she really should have known better. Haven had saved her once, ages ago it felt like, but there had been a reason she'd not stayed with them despite their rescue. Yes, this WAS the safest place for David, but she had never, not once, said it would be a good place for her. Safe? Yes. But that might be all it could ever be for her. Especially when word spread. Especially then.

He wanted to speak with David? Had she not already answered that question? Had she not been clear enough? Firm enough? Threatening enough? Ah, but this one wasn't like the others, was that it? Was she to trust that HE would do what all the others in the room would not? That he'd be kind enough to David, get through to the other male where all others had failed? Was she to trust the gentle tone and mild demeanor? Or did it merely hide a dark heart?

And if it does, do you think it would be shown now? Look at them. They're scared.

Gabrielle's eyes flickered, scanned, studied the group before her and in that moment saw the truth of it. They watched her with the wariness of prey, not hunters. Oh, there was no doubt they had power, that they would put up fight for their lives, that they'd try and subdue her - they might even succeed - but they knew. They knew just as well as she did that to face her would spell death for many if not all of them. They were scared of her and rightfully so.

With that kind of fear do you honestly think they would do anything to upset David? Do you think he would risk that?

Piercing eyes that could rival X-Ray's own pinned the male in question for an infinite moment that seemed to stretch on and on. It couldn't have been more than thirty seconds at most, but the end of it saw Gabrielle giving a curt nod.....and a warning.

"I'll be watching."

With that she moved over so the African could pass her.
 
It seemed to take all of the man's strength to resist the force in Gabrielle's eyes, to hold strong to his decision despite the look on her face and the power that cracked through the air. None in this kitchen had ever met a Banshee before, had ever faced the power of death, but legends of their capabilities were spread freely by whispered vices filled with admiration and fear. Now, he dared to go against her will, against what she had blatantly said could not happen. He regretted it almost immediately, but at the same time knew he could not back down. If he did, they would be right back to where they had begun, and would be no closer to reaching a resolution that would allow everyone to live, for a time, in peace. Something had to change.

When at last she gave permission he skirted carefully around her form, keeping his eyes trained on hers, waiting for her to revoke permission as suddenly as she gave it. When he reached the door to the kitchen, however, he forced himself to turn his back on Gabrielle and walk towards the stairs. For the first couple steps he was consumed with the thought of the Bean Sidhe's eyes on his back, but when he got closer to the stairs he slowed, and his mind turned to the task at hand.

David hadn't realized how much time had passed since he had lashed out at X-ray. He had rolled over on the stairs, pulling himself into a fetal position to clutch at his wounded shins. When he glanced up again, two pairs of dark eyes met each other. David flinched, pulling himself tighter together and nearly sliding down to the next step as he wobbled, but his reaction was nothing compared to X-ray's. The man whirled around, immediately breaking eye contact, almost as though afraid that his own eyes would have the same effect on David as the eyes of his power had. It was obvious that he had not expected to find David still sitting on the stairs.

David, for his part, wished he had fled. He had known the moment the sound of his tripping on the stairs had made its way into the kitchen that there was no way he was going to be able to escape without meeting someone, but at least up in his room he would have had the (albeit rather imaginary) defense of a wooden door between him and someone else. He glanced up to the top of the staris, somehow expecting to find himself trapped even though he knew there was no one on the upper floors. The way was clear. He could still flee.

X-ray appeared to have recovered from the shock of David's sudden "appearance", and the sound of him moving quickly drew David's attention back to the bottom of the stairs. X-ray had not turned around, but rather seated himself comfortably on the bottom step. His appearance gave every impression of ignoring David, although the young man was not tricked. He knew X-ray was waiting for any sound, any sign that David intended to retreat to upstairs, or even move at all.

If anyone had asked David why he didn't move, he probably wouldn't have been able to give an answer. But the closer David had crept to the kitchen, the more he had heard of the conversation between Gabrielle and Haven, the more committed he had become to the situation. At this point he was simply too committed to run. He could feel everyone straining their ears from the kitchen, desperate for even the faintest bit of information that X-ray's talk might provide.

When David didn't move, X-ray swallowed, slightly, before beginning to speak. His voice was soft and measured, as though speaking to a wounded animal. Perhaps, in a way, that was what David was. "Hi, David. I'm X-ray, but you are free to just call me Ray, if you want." David didn't respond. It didn't seem to surprise the African man all that much. "I'm sorry for startling you earlier. I didn't mean to. It was just habit. Will you forgive me?" Still no answer from David.

It almost seemed as though X-Ray's voice had gotten caught in his throat, and he had to wrangle it out around teeth, tongue, and whatever that strange lump that formed in the back of your throat when you were afraid was. "David are... Are you afraid of me?"

It seemed that David sat paralyzed for a moment, while he desperately wished he had taken the time to run away while he still had the chance. But didn't that answer the question? He nodded, faintly, slightly, but X-ray, with his back turned towards David and his power firmly suppressed to keep from accidentally spooking the young man, did not see.

"..Yes," he finally whispered, so faintly that it was barely possible for the sound to reach X-ray, let alone the eavesdropping ears in the kitchen. Some invisible tension on the African man's shoulders seemed to fade slightly.

"I see," he said, equally softly. David unconsciously leaned forwards slightly. "Why are you afraid of us?"

He thought about it for a moment, before a few words came to mind. They were not the whole truth, that was for sure, but they seemed to fit the situation well enough. "Because I don't know what you are going to do to me."

"We aren't going to do anything to you."

"Yes, you are." They were going to do something to him. It was unavoidable. They had already clearly demonstrated that they weren't willing to simply forget that he and Gabrielle existed and let them go on with their life.

"I..." X-ray sounded ready to argue, but he paused and thought about it for a while. "I suppose we are. But we aren't going to do anything bad to you. Not to you, or Gabrielle."

"...Someone wanted to."

The words this time were so quiet that even X-ray couldn't hear them. "I'm sorry, David, what was that?" he asked, starting to turn around. He caught himself mid-turn and paused, before once more turning to face the wall opposite the stairs.

"Someone wanted to." His voice was stronger this time. Loud enough to even reach the kitchen. There was a mutter of disapproval, hurriedly shushed.

"Copper didn't want to hurt you." X-ray tried to console. "He just... wanted to understand you better. So that we won't be afraid of you, either."

"Afraid of... me?" Hadn't he heard that, back when he was hiding by the door to his room? Isn't that what they had said? That they were afraid of him? Afraid of what he could do?

"We don't know what you are going to do to us, either."

"I don't want to do anything," David said, voice rough. "I just want you to leave us alone."

"You can't be completely alone in this world, David." X-ray said, rather sadly. "You've always got to rely on others. There's no way around it."

"I... don't want to."

"I know. But you've got to anyways." X-ray hesitated for a moment, before beginning around again. David flinched, but didn't move from his spot in the middle of the stairs. For a moment, X-ray wasn't able to look at him. Every time his eyes drew close to David's face they would flit away, to the railings, to the stairs, towards the kitchen, towards his own hands. Finally their eyes met. "Will you come into the kitchen with me?"

David shook his head, backing up a step. He wondered what he looked like in X-ray's eyes. Like some pitiable child, trapped in a young man's body, he would guess.

"Please," X-ray asked. David shook his head again. "The people in there really want to meet you, David." David shook his head again.

X-ray hesitated for a moment, before straightening and walking up a few steps. David flinched away, rapidly retreating up another step, and X-ray paused. He lowered himself down slightly, before stretching out a hand towards David. "Please?" David shook his head again. X-ray didn't move.

They sat like that for a minute. For two. It seemed that as long as David sat there X-ray would too, two pairs of dark brown eyes staring at each other. David wondered if he could simply wait him out. Another minute passed. He could see the strain starting to wear on X-ray, the way he repressed the faint shaking of his hand. If he waited long enough, the man would go away. X-ray didn't move.

Should he leave? He knew if he broke and bolted for the room, X-ray would go back to the kitchen. He hoped. He could leave this to Gabrielle. She's promised she would take care of it. His eyes started to stray away, his body started to turn.

"Please." X-ray's voice sounded like he was practically begging. His hand stretched out a little further. David's hand moved slightly, before coming to a halt. For a brief moment, in the echo of that movement, David saw hope suddenly bloom in X-ray's eyes, and then die once more. It seemed too much for the man. His hand began to withdraw. "Alright. I'm sorry for pushing you." He straightened once more, took a couple steps down the stairs. David slid down one after him.

At the sound, X-ray abruptly came to a halt. He almost turned around, before pausing. He took the next step down. David moved down one as well.

It was so much easier when he was away from those dark eyes. When he could almost imagine he was moving without being seen. When he wasn't obliged to follow through, when he could still turn and flee at any moment, at any wrong movement. It was so much easier that way.

X-ray moved back to the kitchen slowly, almost like he was walking in a dream. His steps were careful, hesitant, as though he was desperately afraid of making a mistake. He probably was. But they moved on anyways, until, almost unexpectedly, David found himself at the door to the kitchen.
 
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Gabrielle's eyes had indeed followed the black man as he exited the room, steely and full of warning, just daring him to make one wrong move, one wrong decision, to even tempt her to bring wrath down upon his head. Her physical gaze was forced away from X-Ray by the door as it swung closed, but it didn't stop her from watching all the same, her power reaching out, monitoring David and the African both. If anything should change, if there should be any spikes of fear, pain or panic in David, she would know it. And she would see the source of his distress obliterated completely. Whether X-Ray knew that or not, whether it was a warning hovering in the back of his mind like an angry bee or he was just genuinely interested in helping David, Gabrielle didn't know.

She just knew the man hadn't made a fatal mistake yet.

It was enough and she stood in silence, just like everyone else in the kitchen did, but Gabrielle was the only one not straining for a word from the two males outside the room. She already knew where David stood, what he felt, what his fears were and why. She already knew he had the courage within him to come to the group if he wished and she knew only he could make that decision, find reason to do so. No, the Banshee did not need to know what was said, rather she needed to know the intentions of everyone in the room with her. Their distraction provided perfect opportunity for her Gift to reach out, to study them and if they seemed to feel a chill pass across their skin, they were too preoccupied to truly think about what it could be.

X-Ray was right; no one here wanted to hurt them, but that didn't mean everyone here was welcoming either and slowly, but surely Gabrielle found out who those few were. Copper was an easy target and his lack of welcome didn't surprise Gabrielle in the least. Rain and Blaze, however, their unease and desire to perhaps reject the two newcomers surprised her, but Gabrielle said nothing, did nothing.

She only watched and waited. For David's decision. For anyone to speak. For anyone to move. For any excuse to release the Death contained within her.

The very latter never came, but David did. He came closer, all the way up to the door and as X-Ray opened it, revealing the young man standing a few feet behind him, something happened to Gabrielle that was astounding to witness - if anyone was watching her at all. The deadly power faded out of the room, nothing but a whisper in the atmosphere to give testimony to its existence and the blond seemed to instantly release the tension that had come over her, the visage of a lethal predator seeping away to give way to something softer. It showed in her voice, gentler, quieter as she moved just a little away from the counter, turning her body to David.

Her hand extended to him then, smile reassuring and eyes speaking trust, protection. "Come in. It's all right now, David."
 
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This was it. He was committed now. For an instant the desire to flee lingered within him, and he hesitated on the door step. He still had one more step before he crossed over the invisible boundary. And yet, at the same time, there was Gabrielle, smiling and inviting him in. X-ray, too, turned around and nodded gently at David, offering a silent promise that, somehow, it would all be okay. He didn't dare look at the others, didn't want to see what promise might be luring in their eyes. Instead he stepped carefully, precisely, across the doorstep, before walking over to Gabrielle. He hunched in on himself slightly under the weight of all the eyes, but forced himself to keep moving until he was at Gabrielle's side. Then slowly, ever so carefully, he turned around to look at the rest of the room.

"Hello, David," Yarrow said politely. "It is nice to finally meet you."

David didn't say anything in response, but did have the sense of mind to nod slightly. His eyes, once trapped, now strayed over the room, taking in all of the faces. It was nothing compared to all the people in the city, all the life forces running around, passing by him without even being aware of his existence. And yet, somehow, it was much, much more. Now, every single eye in the room was locked on him, studying him, silently dissecting his every twitch and breath. It felt like he was back in the Facility, under the clinical eyes of Doctor Dahnov and his assistants. And yet... those eyes had never held any emotion. These, on the other hand, spoke volumes about their thoughts. Fear, confusion, curiosity, distrust, he thought he might drown under it all.

His eyes turned up towards Gabrielle, silently begging her to say something, to get the eyes off of him if only for an instant.
 
The intensity of the gazes around them bothered Gabrielle as well, but perhaps not for the same reason they disturbed David so much and the Banshee was far better at tolerating them, absorbing the energy around her and deflecting as she needed to. It was the inner creature within her that could do so, that had been so close to the surface only moments before but now remained hidden for the male's sake. He wasn't ready to see it yet, to see what kind of monster lurked inside her. He'd just escaped from monsters. Gabrielle didn't yet want David to now that no matter where one went, monsters were always around.

No, she wanted him to feel safe, if even for a little while. He needed that far more than he needed to understand the reality of life around him right now. He knew too much of the reality he'd been trapped in and to add this world's reality to that as well, to slap him with two harsh ways of being was not going to help him gain confidence or feel sure about anything. It would only scare him further. So no, Gabrielle was not going to lie to David about what was around them, what they had to adapt to, but neither was she going to let him sink or swim. She'd rather extend herself to exhaustion before she stopped helping him stay afloat in this river of turmoil. She'd rather her body smash against the rocks as the current swept them on than see him unprotected.

So without hesitation, Gabrielle took another blow in the male's defense, sensing clearly the panic he was trying to keep at bay. She didn't need those dark eyes to look toward her to know what to do and her own aqua flickered back to the people surrounding them, voice far more neutral than it had been before, David's presence keeping it level. Keeping the true Banshee at bay for now.

"So what now? Are you somehow satisfied now?"

The words brought the eyes on David to her and Gabrielle mentally braced herself, but her outward stance and appearance didn't change, not even when Copper gave a snort. "Hardly. Now we just might get some answers."

Gabrielle's left brow arched high. "And what answers do you want that I haven't already given you? You know what I can do, anyone does, and you know what David can do. I already told you he doesn't have full control yet. He needs training, but that doesn't make him any more dangerous than anyone else who needed to learn control when they first learned they were Gifted."

"It does if we don't have someone qualified to train him, Gabrielle." Wolf said calmly, not desiring to cause a fight, but pointing out the logic of the situation. The Banshee wasn't fazed, though, calm. "I will train him." At the looks of beginning protest and unsure hesitation, she went on, resisting the urge to growl them into submission. "David knows me. Trusts me. I know his power and his power knows me. It won't harm me, it hasn't harmed me and out of everyone here and all the trainers you have in the real safe house, none of you will be able to do what I can, help David like I can."

"That's a bit presumptuous." Rain intoned with crossed arms and Gabrielle flicked a challenging look her way.

"Oh? Do you have another Banshee on hand? Do you have any idea how my power works? Because I guarantee I could tell you all there is to know about yours in three minutes flat." Gabrielle watched the African female bristle, but turned her attention away and to Yarrow, X-Ray and Cobalt instead. As the oldest here, they seemed the ones liable to make the final decision on the matter of she and David. "The point stands that I know David and he knows me. Letting me teach him will likely be the safest course, at least at first."

So saying, she turned her green-blue eyes to the male in question, demeanor softened once more. "But only as long as that is all right with you, David."
 
Training? It was a foreign idea to David. He had spent so long trying to repress his power, doing everything in his power to hide it, and now Gabrielle was saying she wanted to instruct him in it. David didn't know what to think about that. On the one hand, he knew that Gabrielle would not say something like that if she didn't think it was the best thing for him. But on the other... He thought back to that moment in the car, when Falcon had nudged towards him too many times, and David had finally grabbed him. He remembered what had happened, even if it felt more like a dream than it did reality. But that hadn't arisen from a lack of control of his power, that had originated from the fact that he had used his power at all. That had been the mistake in that situation. If he hadn't done that, they wouldn't be in this situation at all right now. What he lacked wasn't control of his power, but control of himself.

Now Gabrielle stood there, declaring so confidently that he would never hurt her. How could she be so certain? Yes, her power had brought him to a halt, when he had been prepared to do anything to reach Falcon's power once more. He remembered the way it felt to hold her essence gently in the hands of his ability, to push and pull it with eager insistence. Perhaps that was what she remembered, too. But had she forgotten, that moment so far ago yet only truly a little over a week away from them now, when he had nearly taken so much of her that it killed her? How could she say with such confidence that wouldn't happen again.

He could not deny it had been useful in saving him from X-ray only moments ago, but that could have been just as easily accomplished if they had all just left him alone. He didn't want anyone looking at or touching his power. Least of all himself.

But now was not the time to voice those doubts. Right now, Gabrielle was trying to protect him. Because these people were curious, and afraid, and they would do just about anything to get the answers they wanted. If Gabrielle didn't put some sort of barrier between them and him, there was no telling what they would do. He could talk to Gabrielle in private about this whole training thing, but what she needed right now was his agreement and support. Wasn't that why he had come here in the first place.

His hands twined around her arm like a child latching on to his mother, his eyes were downcast, hoping to keep his reservations firmly to himself, and nodded slightly.
 
Gabrielle knew that while the silence that followed her statements was unnerving, it was also a good thing. It signaled that decisions were finally being made and the Banshee was relieved for that much. It wasn't that she couldn't keep fighting on David's behalf or that she didn't have more she could say in defense of him. It was for the simple fact that she shouldn't have to. Yes, she understood why Haven was so careful about who it accepted into its fold, but when it came to David, Gabrielle was quickly learning that her logical voice was not always as persistent or loud as her protective, instinctive one. It was the strangest thing and something she'd never yet experienced for anyone outside herself, but there was no stopping it now. Her power, the very essence of what and who she was had somehow latched on to David and it wasn't about to let go for any reason. It made it somewhat difficult for Gabrielle to see things from a completely realistic point of view, but in all truth, she wasn't sure if she cared about that. For so long she'd been the soldier, someone who followed orders and didn't question if things were right or wrong, only doing what had to be done. Now life had given her a chance to do something more, to protect someone more and she'd....said yes. If that came with a slight loss of the person she'd been before....so be it.

So it was that the words she'd spoken, every one of them was true.

She didn't fear David's power and she knew it wouldn't harm her. Gabrielle had not forgotten in the least what had happened the first time their respective Gifts had touched and interacted. She knew very well that David had nearly killed her, but in the same way and perhaps the fact had been lost on him, she knew he'd stopped. He'd pulled back and even as his power had been taking so greedily from her own, it had been giving something back. She'd felt it in a way the soldier could hardly describe properly, but she knew it was irrefutable truth. Gabrielle had felt whole, complete in a way even in the flickering moments of near-death and it was for that reason that she didn't fear what David could do to her.

He wouldn't.

His power had stopped when confronted with her own for the second time. It knew her, trusted her as David himself did. In fact, the soldier would be tempted to say that much of what David could do was connected with his emotions or subconscious thoughts and desires. Powers held in such tight control tended to find outlets all their own. Gabrielle could attest to that easily enough because hers had done the same thing. She understood David, perhaps in a way many others could, too, but the difference between her and them was that out of every power in the world....hers might be the only one who could keep pace with his in any way. Oh, she'd never reach his level and if he truly wished, David could overwhelm her completely with what he could do - easily. Gabrielle had no doubts about that and no delusions about her ability to stand up to an onslaught of his Gift or stop it. She couldn't.

But he couldn't kill her.

It was the one thing his power could not control. He'd nearly killed her the first time, but nearly was not the same as had and even in that state Gabrielle had broken through to him, told him to release her and David had done so. If there ever came a time when he chose not to....the soldier couldn't say what would happen, but she knew he still wouldn't be able to kill her. It was simply how her power worked and not even David could change that.

It was a greater advantage than anyone in Haven would have...especially when Gabrielle herself was not an 'ordinary' Banshee - if her kind could even be called that - as she was the strongest in her bloodline in nearly five hundred years. It wasn't something she liked being reminded of and while it might have been helpful to mention now, for the sake of remaining under the radar, the soldier refrained easily and merely waited for the decision that would come from the group still mulling the situation and decision over. Finally, after what felt like a great deal of time, Yarrow spoke.

"Gabrielle, David, while we have reservations about accepting you, you've given us no true reason to deny you entrance into Haven. That being said, you will not have free reign of our facility. You will be watched, monitored and if we see any cause to reject our acceptance, we will without hesitation. I know this must seem harsh, but we have more than our own safety or yours to think about."

Wolf picked up where the female left off, looking between the two. "Do you have any questions?"
 
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Despite the fact that this obviously wasn't a true Haven safe house, David and Gabrielle ended up staying there for several days. In many ways, these days felt the same as those days of waiting in Serge and Maria's house, for Haven to come and get them. Perhaps that was exactly what they were still doing. They might be surrounded by members of Haven, distant and observant, but they were still waiting for Haven to come and get them. Unfortunately, this time it wasn't simply a matter of waiting for a car to arrive. This time, there was no set time limit of how long they would be left waiting. This time, it was a matter of Yarrow, and the rest, but mostly Yarrow, decided that the two of them were trustworthy enough to bring along. There was no telling when that might happen.

David tried his best to stay calm, and remain on best behavior. That was, in the end, the only thing that would get him out of this quicker. In many ways, he thought he was probably handling it better than Gabrielle. For one thing, David was used to doing nothing. Nothing was all he had done for the last 15 years, and he was equally used to doing nothing while constantly under observation from people who were looking for him to make one tiny mistake, one tiny mistake that would turn into a fatal mistake.

After the meeting in the kitchen concluded, and several of the Haven members turned to making breakfast for the rest of the gang, David silently retreated to the living room, grabbing a chair and dragging it over to the window, where he perched, legs tucked to his chest. He returned himself to the mindset he had occupied while within the Facility, to watch the world pass by around him. That was what he had always done in the time in between when Dahnov came to see him, and when it was time to sleep. He would watch the hallway, carefully studying everything about the doctors that came by, the occasional children walking with them, and then devoting himself to going over every detail of both room and hallway when he was done. Occasionally he would move his seat, just to remind himself how his little world looked from a different location.

Occasionally Dahnov would bring him things, as though hoping the break in the constant tedium might trigger some sort of reaction from him. One time, Dahnov brought him a pencil, and David carefully devoted himself to a hyperrealistic drawing of a snow covered tree on one of his smooth, white walls. When he had finished, when there was nothing left of the pencil but a nub that could barely fit into his fingers, Dahnov had taken him away. When he had returned, there was nothing on his wall but a new coat of clean, white paint.

But here, no distractions were necessary. How could there be, when there was always so much going on? Even the room itself was full of so many corners and shadows, cobwebs and patterns, that he could have spent several days studying it. Should that ever prove to be insufficient, all he had to do was turn his head slightly in the other direction, and he would be looking out the window. A window, to the outside world, where the bright sun cast down shadows onto the ground that would never be in the same place ever again. Even if he was watching the exact same spot tomorrow, the sun would be in a different place, the wind would have the branches of the tree in a different place. The world was so alive.

The house was alive, too. The members of Haven moved around constantly, or so it seemed, and what was even more, they appeared to use their powers just as often as their actual bodies. That was the one thing that was different from the Facility, and the one thing that set David on edge and sometimes almost sent him plunging off it. In the Facility, the only one who had ever used his powers on a regular basis was Dahnov. Any other flare of magic was a bad thing. It meant Dahnov was testing one of his projects. In the early years, that had usually meant that the magic would keep growing and growing until it consumed the child from the inside. Later on, when Dahnov began to get a better hand on his projects, when things began to work, it wouldn't often mean that. But it did mean, if something worked particularly well, that David would be getting another visit from Dahnov soon. Because David was the one pet project Dahnov had never been able to get to work.

He flinched every time a spark of power echoed through the house. Gabrielle would notice. Whoever had been assigned to watch him in that moment, usually X-ray, River, or Yarrow, but never Copper or Blaze, would notice. David always did his best to pretend he didn't notice it himself. He wondered how often it worked. When mealtime or some other gathering took place, David would always go, even though every part of him longed to simply stay bundled in his chair and hide from the weight of all the eyes. He never spoke unless asked a direct question, and even then his voice would often be so soft that all conversation at the table would suddenly halt in a strained effort to hear his words. They never held any particular depth, but the people of Haven seemed to take the fact that he was answering questions of any kind, no matter how trivial, a step forward.

It was a relief when night came, and both he and Gabrielle could retreat to the little room they had been given, and David would finally be away from all the eyes.

It took four and a half days for anything to change. In this patient, watchful mindset, that didn't seem all that long to David, but he could tell by Gabrielle's edginess that it was a long wait. That by waiting this long Yarrow was making a very clear statement about exactly how much she trusted Gabrielle and David. But David did not touch his power in that whole time, and whenever he felt like he was about to fall over the edge into panic before subsequently bringing his emotions to an utter halt and dropping into his bubble, he would be able to feel Gabrielle's eyes on him. Stabilizing him. Keeping him balanced. Those moments, David thought, was what finally convinced Yarrow it was time to take them to the true Haven. It showed that, as long as David was near Gabrielle and wasn't pushed too hard by another power, he would stay stable and under control.

It was a small effort to pack. They had been loaned clothes by a couple of the members of Haven so that they wouldn't have to wear the same clothes day after day, but those clothes were all handed back when it was time to go. Gabrielle and David were back to a small bag apiece.

They loaded up into three separate cars, with River, Rain, Wolf, and Blaze in one, Shadow, Copper, Falcon, and Cobalt in another, and Yarrow, X-Ray, Gabrielle, and himself in the last. The African man smiled at David just before they entered the car, and David did his best to return the grin. X-ray had been around a lot during the last several days, and the man had made more than one attempt to get close to David during that time. He, along with everyone else in the house, seemed to think David felt some kind of connection with him because he had been the one to get David into the kitchen. David didn't bother to correct them of the notion, or tell them that he probably would have followed anyone if they had approached it in a similar manner.

It was partially out of apathy, but was also partially because, if they were going to assign one person to "bond" with David, X-ray was as good a choice as any. The man seemed naturally kind, certainly much kinder than any of the other Haven members. Once word began to spread around the house of how David flinched every time someone used their power, Ray was the only one who started to make an effort to limit how much he used his power. David hoped it was out of sympathy, and a desire to make him feel more comfortable. David feared it was out of the man's worry worry that David might use his ability to lock Ray's powers away again. David never got an answer as to what it actually was.

He turned around to look back at the house as they finally got on their way, watching the dark wood trim get quickly smaller before it vanished from sight behind the trees. It had been a nice enough place, he supposed. He couldn't say he'd miss it.
 
[BCOLOR=transparent]She remembered this part keenly. The waiting. She remembered how it felt and Gabrielle remembered how keenly she'd despised it. This wasn't the kind of waiting she'd done in the army. It wasn't tension-filled, readying yourself for a signal, knowing anything could change at a moment's notice. This wasn't preparing or training. This was merely waiting, feeling the pressure of being observed, the knowledge that if you did one thing wrong it would cost everything. It was a waiting she knew well, among other kinds, and the soldier did her best not to go stir-crazy during that time. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It was hard. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It had been more tolerable last time as she'd several broken bones, lacerations and had suffered from crippling flashbacks. When she'd finally gone back to the military, she'd been diagnosed with acute PTSD. It was two years later and only after intense therapy that she'd been accepted back into the army and only six months after that given her team. She'd had them for a year. A whole year up until meeting David, if it could be called that at all. Meeting. Didn't that involve names and handshakes, common questions and half-distraction as other friends milled around? No, she'd had bombs and a mission, near-death and rubble-climbing in the chilling Russian wind. Why did that almost feel normal to her, though?[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]And now...now she was back with Haven. Waiting. Coming full circle again it felt like. It was nerve-wracking in a way David would not understand, in a way she could not show to the others in the house and Gabrielle was grateful when night came around, when she was allowed to let her body recuperate and simply sleep. The days drained her again, though, despite the lack of physical exertion, and the soldier found herself sharper than even she remembered being for a long time now, always watching those who came around David. She paid attention to each of David's coping mechanisms, what triggered him and who made it worse, better. X-Ray, Yarrow, Wolf and River seemed to be the best at acknowledging the young man's wariness of them and when they were around, Gabrielle could relax....just a little. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She didn't trust them, though. Not one of them and those who were the nicest to David she judged the hardest. They were in a perfect opportunity to hurt him if they desired as David himself started to grow used to their presence. Gabrielle would not allow that and if it somehow slipped through her fingers, she'd make them regret it without a second thought. No one acted against her charge, though, and Gabrielle was left with a partial relief, but a bubbling frustration, too as she did her best to hold herself together. This, coming to Haven, was supposed to make everything easier, but all Gabrielle could think about was the last time she'd been here and how very, very wrong it had all ended. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It had been her fault, of course, but that didn't help. The last thing she wanted was to screw this up for David. He needed a safe place, somewhere to train, somewhere people wouldn't look at him in fear and try to harm him, or use him for what he could do. Well, at least not all of them. And she would protect him from those that did. If they didn't throw her out first. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]They might. If they found out who she was, what she'd done the last time she was here. Gabrielle was determined that they not know, though. It was different this time. She had control this time. She was...stable this time. It had almost become a silent chant in her head by the time they left. Protect David. Lay low. Don't draw attention. Keep control. Above all, protect David, teach him, make sure that if something happened to her, he was able and ready to take care of himself. She could do this. She had to. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Gabrielle didn't watch the house disappear. It was just a house for her, one of many she'd been in throughout the years and it wouldn't be the last. No, her focus was on their destination and Gabrielle sensed more than knew when they were close to it. They'd come to another city and had made their way toward the industrial part of the layout, great tunnels and overpasses, water plants, electric grids and such centered here. They didn't head to any of these places, however, but to one of the tunnels, a place Gabrielle had been focused on for a while. Those tunnels, one of them, would lead them underground, to the city beneath the city. She'd seen it before; the walls of the tunnel moving, sliding away to reveal a winding road down into the depths of the earth. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It wouldn't be long now. [/BCOLOR]
 
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Watching the world pass by outside the window was like watching a movie. It might have been scary, had it felt more real. Instead, it felt like everything that was beyond the glass window was simply a projection. Everyone within the car stayed utterly silent, and David kept his eyes locked on what was going on outside the window as they drove. He purposefully avoided making eye contact with Yarrow and X-ray, especially X-ray, sensing the way their eyes strayed to him occasionally, and knowing that they would start asking questions about how he was doing, what he thought, should their eyes ever meet. Silent tension filled the car as he refused their wordless request, but David didn't care.

Instead of wondering about what Yarrow and X-ray might be thinking at that moment, David's thoughts drifted lazily back and forth between two different trains of thought. The first was simple observation of the people and places on the other side of the window. He imagined it would be possible to sit there forever and watch everything that was happening, and he would never even begin to get bored. There was simply too much taking place. He was glad for the separation, didn't want to think about being in the middle of such a crowd, but simply watching the world flit by was utterly mesmerizing. The other thing on which he mused was a simple curiosity of what the "true" Haven would be like. He'd thought of a lot of possibilities in the past few days, although none seemed any more likely than any others. Whatever it was, David knew it must be hidden well, simply because it was kept secret. Not only from the normal people in the world, but also from people like Dahnov, who might seek to exploit it for their own reasons. He would be fascinated to finally learn what place could be so well hidden.

The last thing he had expected, though, was for the car to slow in the middle of a place of concrete and electrical wires, and for a gaping maw to suddenly appear in front of the car. David felt something in his chest tighten, but he kept himself calm. He'd seen tunnels. They'd had to take one to get here. But only a few moments into this new place, and David realized something was drastically wrong. This wasn't just some dip below the surface of the ground to let something above pass by unhindered. This road kept going down. Down. As far ahead of him as he could see, it went down.

The little knot in his chest suddenly turned into a ball of panic. "Stop the car!"

Yarrow, much to David's surprise, immediately brought the car to a halt, forcing Cobalt, who was driving right behind them, to slam on his breaks. She turned around, eyes wide. "What's wrong?"

"We're..." David's breath gasped out of his mouth. "We're going down there?"

"Yes, but... David?"

He couldn't say anything. He could barely even think. It felt like he'd forgotten how to breathe. Like someone had struck him a terrifying blow to the chest, leaving him winded and gasping for a trace of air that seemed to refuse to fill his lungs.

He had been taken underground once before. It had been fifteen years before he'd seen the sky again, seen the sun again. He'd been hidden, buried fifteen stories underground, and imprisoned, stripped of every trace of freedom or free will.

And now... now they were trying to do it again. And they'd lied, oh they'd lied, because they'd called it Haven, but it was just another hole in the ground where they were going to trap him all over again.
 
Shit.

She was such an effing moron! She should have known, should have thought instead of getting so wrapped up in her own fears. She should have considered David's! Stupid, stupid, Gabrielle! Her inner voice snarled at her and the soldier didn't argue, too preoccupied with getting David's attention, with fixing the problem she'd been too blind to see until it was too late.

"David? David, hey...hey, look at me. David, look at me!"

Words were not going to be enough. She knew it even as she couldn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth and Gabrielle unbuckled herself, sliding across to the middle seat, her hands finding the male's head, turning his gaze to her, trying to get him to focus. "David, you need to breathe. Come on." This wasn't working. She knew it wasn't working. She could sense it, feel it from David, see it as he grew more pale, his gaze glazed with a fear she'd seen only in flashes before. It was now a steady thing, a blow to her own chest, but Gabrielle knew how to breathe past it even if it would haunt her later, that fear in his eyes. She needed to do something. Now. Right now to ease that terror, to soothe the paralysis that had come over the male.

There was no other way. She'd reached David twice before, she could do it again, but only by extending her power. There was no other way and Gabrielle didn't hesitate to delve into the nether world, into the shadows that welcomed her with rising glee each and every time she came back to them. Gabrielle knew the risk of that, but for David, for this man who'd been a stranger not a short while ago, who'd become so startling important to her in that small span of time, she would do it a thousand times over. Just as she did now, the blue of her energy reaching out to the gold instantly, the silver of her aura following not far behind, but far more cautious about making contact. She and David had connected auras before, red to silver, but it had brought her to the brink of death and she knew he would not forgive himself if he did that again, and she certainly couldn't risk Haven misjudging and turning on David.

No, her aura stayed well back, but her energy met his, touched the gold without any kind of pause, wrapping around David's essence securely, letting the gold take from the blue what it wanted, always offering more, more, promising protection. Safety. Warmth. And it whispered. It whispered as only one power could to another, as only one spirit could to another and in a language the Banshees had used for centuries, a tongue perhaps one with such power as David possessed would understand. It wasn't speech, not words, not quite an impression or a thought, but something much deeper, something that couldn't be described in words, but could be felt, resonating deep within the person who was able to hear it and comprehend.

You are safe, it whispered. You are protected. Nothing shall harm you. No evil shall touch you. You are safe. You are protected.

Gabrielle had leaned forward by this point, her forehead connecting with David's, eyes closed and her words murmured, for him alone despite the two in the car who were watching them, transfixed, worried, amazed by the buzzing of power they could sense in the car and what it could mean. No, the soldier's focus was for David and no one else. Her words for him and no one else. Her power was for him....and no one else, not even herself anymore and that was realization she'd have to feel shocked about later.

"I have you, David. You're not back there. You're not going back. You are with me and I will not let anything happen to you. You are safe, I promise. Trust me, cumhacht fíochmhar. You are not going back. You never will. I will not let anyone hurt you again. Trust me, David. Come back. Come back to me."

Her power tugged on him gently, urging what her words coaxed and Gabrielle waited, praying it would be enough. That she was enough.
 
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Why. Why did she always insist on doing this?

David knew the instant Gabrielle's power surrounded him. By this point, it had practically become rote. Familiar. Whenever he retreated, whenever he was in true need of the sanctuary it offered, there she was, luring him back out again. He couldn't understand why she insisted on it. In here, he was calm. It didn't matter what happened.

What did she want from him? He didn't understand. He could feel her power out there, insisting on something he couldn't even begin to comprehend. What was it that prevented her from just leaving him be?

And yet, all the same, he felt himself calming. He felt her power, and he grasped it instinctively, in almost the same way he had recognized it when it had surrounded him. He held it, held its unknown promise, close. Because something in him told him it was the right thing to do.

A part of him knew it wasn't the answer, but the rest of him didn't want to care. He didn't want to hear what Gabrielle had to say, didn't want to listen to the voice that told him he was going to have to find some other method of coping now, that this bubble of his wasn't enough anymore. Wasn't enough to face this new world that seemed to contain a new threat around every corner.

Why couldn't life be simpler? But, no, simple wasn't really what he wanted. Simple had been the Facility, where every day had been structured down to the minute. Where all he had to do was find a way to keep himself hidden from Dahnov's ever-prying eye, and endure the slow ripping of his heart as the gifted children around him died, and he was unable to do anything. What he wanted was a world that felt safe. A world where young children didn't have their lives destroyed by falling bombs, a world where crazed madmen didn't take people from hospitals and bring them to a place that was living hell. A world that didn't feel like it was constantly trying to overwhelm him with some new danger or threat or thing he didn't understand. How could people endure it all the time? Why couldn't he just live in a world like that?
And yet... wasn't that, in a way, what Gabrielle was offering? There was no way such a world could truly exist. Not with people the way they were. But Gabrielle was offering, with every part of her body and soul, to try and make that world he so desperately longed for. It might not really change the world. There would still be horrible things that happened, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that. But Gabrielle was promising him such a world.

Maybe that really was all she wanted. Maybe all she wanted was for him to feel safe and protected, to never feel like he had to retreat from the world, or fear what it might bring him. Maybe that was why she always did this, to remind him of all that when he forget.

He still didn't want to go down there. He didn't want to let himself be brought into another hole where he was separated from the sky by so much dirt. And yet, he was at least beginning to recognize that he didn't have much of a choice. No matter what he might think of it, this was Haven. Even if it didn't really feel like it to him.

He couldn't bring himself to say it. Couldn't give permission to take him down there, where he didn't know what was waiting. Where it was so far from the freedom that the sky promised. But he was, at the very least, ready to go now.

Some of the color returned to his face, and his hands unclenched, revealing the bloody marks where his nails had bit into his own hand. His eyes met Gabrielle's, briefly, telling her that he was okay now. As okay as it was possible to be.

A part of him wasn't sure of her promise. A part of him didn't think that she would have the strength to protect him from everything in the world that could go wrong. Yet David certainly couldn't protect himself. For now, that promise, that strength, was all he had to rely on.
 
Gabrielle came back to herself, to her body just as quietly as David had accepted her words, her promise, and if they were both just a little wary and silent, that was understood by both even if not by the other two in the car. Catching hold of David's hands with calm intent, the Banshee gave a slight nod of permission when X-Ray's eyes met hers before turning back to the young man at her side and looking at the damage he'd done to himself. She sighed softly, but said nothing, merely tearing part of her shirt and then tearing that again, wrapping the fabric around his palms, hiding the red crescent marks from sight.

When the soldier sat back, she didn't move to her side of the car, instead staying closely beside David, her hip brushing his, shoulder doing the same, offering the wordless contact and yet not pushing against or crowding him. He needed neither side of the spectrum - not too much distance or too much closeness. A balance inbetween. Gabrielle had never been the best at balancing acts, tending to keep away from people in all truth, but for David, she'd found herself doing a great many things that weren't typical in her everyday life. At least not anymore.

For him, however, she was willing to bend her own rules, bend herself. Why? Who could say. She certainly couldn't right now, but in the same breath, the soldier didn't care right now, either. She had more important things to be focused on, like the tunnel before them growing wider, the walls growing further away from the car, the ceiling doing the same as everything opened up. Turning a corner in the passageway, feeling a distinct kind of power ripple across their skin - no doubt the combined talents of many shielding Gifted - it was finally apparent WHY everything was growing bigger because before them, everything had changed. Where nothing but stone had been before, only the car headlights showing the road, now there was light everywhere and the road was a winding, twisting thing leading down to a great cavern. The ceiling towered high above them, a sky within its own right and from there came the lights, hundreds of thousands of them assembled on the roof of the massive cavern. Upon the floor, hundreds of feet below their present position on the winding road, was a complete city made of stone and steel, bricks and wood. Just as any place above the earth, this metropolis was thriving, bustling with people and activities. The only real differences that stood out were twofold; there were no cars. The exhaust and fumes would have been too much for the oxygen filters to take. And everywhere one looked, there was evidence of a power in play. Brief flashes of fire, children playing with water shapes. Floating objects and breezes that should have been impossible this far under the earth stirring up paper in the street.

It was a Haven, just as claimed and Gabrielle, just as astounded even if she didn't show it as plainly - the last place she'd been to when with Haven had been far, far smaller - turned to face David, trying to gauge his reaction. Ready to do anything she had to if it be a negative one. She knew the sheer size of the city, the amount of Gifted here, even just the fact that it was a new place might very well terrify him. The soldier knew it would take a great deal of an adjustment period for the young male to be okay with crowds, with the noise and with so many powers and minds around him.

Still, she knew it was the safest place for him for now. Here she could train him openly, could offer him a secure place to be himself, to use his powers and learn a more healthy form of control than the method he currently used.

She could only hope that David saw it the same way, or at least trusted her enough to know she would not have brought him here if it was dangerous for him. They didn't truly know each other, true, but all the same they shared a connection neither could deny and had since the moment he'd saved her. Call it Fate, call it Destiny if you wanted to. Gabrielle called it strange, but she didn't question it.

Not yet.
 
In many ways, Haven didn't really feel all that different from the upper world. It was still noisy, still filled with so much activity that David couldn't even begin to comprehend how people could live in such a world. The streets were lined with houses, and each of those houses was filled with people. Open spaces were filled with playing children, while a few watchful guardians stood around the edge and chatted.

But it was also different, so very different, because this place was filled to the brim with power. It was a massive cave, almost incomprehensibly large even if David could still see the walls that closed it in on every side, but in that moment it seemed far, far too small to contain all the power that was floating around within it. And while all the activity of people and bodies was still separated from him by that movie-pane of glass, the power was right there. There was no separation, because he could intimately feel every taste of it with his power. He never would have dreamed such a thing was possible.

In that moment, David's reaction was dual. On the one hand, David could feel something rising in the back of his throat, something that was like panic but also different, and made him feel like he was only moments away from puking. In the Facility, such bursts of power could only mean that Dahnov was in the middle of one of his experiments. But it had only ever come from one person. In that moment, David had trouble distinguishing the different types of power, and simply saw it as the flares of energy he intimately understood. And for it to be such a massive and continuous burst of power from one person... it could only mean one thing. Someone was about to die.

But this wasn't the Facility, as the laughing faces out the window so desperately longed to prove. That was what kept David somewhat calm. He could practically feel the happiness radiating from them, a type of energy so completely different from that of the powers. It slipped in through the car, and David would have sworn it was gathering around him, reaching out to tease him, to try and pull him out and share in its joy. He could feel something within him stirring, and for a moment he felt a desperate desire to reach out, to cradle all that power within his own, to take it and share it and weave it and twine it like he had done with Gabrielle's power. Somehow, in that moment, he was sure he could do it, because he knew that, with every scrap of power he held, he would be able to use it to reach out to the next, and the next, until the entire place was filled with a web of energy that was both his and not his.

David moaned slightly, burying his head in his hands, as though hoping hiding his face from the world outside would somehow protect him from the happy energy that seemed to be swirling ever closer to him. He told himself it was just another of Dahnov's tricks, even though he knew the man was dead. He was starting to wonder, if Dahnov had tried something like this, whether or not it might have worked. But David couldn't let it work. He began to carefully seal himself away, to make sure that narcotic energy couldn't touch him. He was already ready to leave, but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to leave any time soon. He was trapped here. Not in the way he had been trapped in the Facility, but still trapped all the same. He was going to have to endure.
 
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