Unexpected Consequences (Peregrine & Kaisaan)

[Kaisaan]

-----------

Gabrielle could easily admit that being here....hadn't been that bad. After the first initial dinner with the small family - and that was what they were, whether they were related by blood or not - everything had seemed to flow far better than it had before and the soldier had been able to lower her guard, just a little. She wasn't sure if it was because the others stopped asking questions or because David seemed to be a bit more stable after that night, but Gabrielle wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and she enjoyed the equilibrium for as long as it might last. She knew it wouldn't be long, not with their ride arriving today.

The blond was nervous about that.

She didn't let David see it. Didn't let anyone see it, but she was. While she trusted her contact and she knew he wouldn't have led her to anyone he didn't think was trustworthy, it was what he might NOT know that troubled her. There were only so many ways for a Gifted to betray their own kind, not the least of which was living dangerously and in such a way that they brought attention on others. What Gabrielle was most concerned for right now, though, were those that were willing to turn their own kind in to be granted favors by the government, to show themselves useful so they'd be left alone. In theory. Some were willing to risk it, to expose themselves and become traitors for the false promises of amenity.

Gabrielle knew if David was going to be discovered at this point, it would be in such a method. She couldn't let that happen, so even in this safe place, even among her own kind, she would have to be alert.

She only debated what she would tell David to do. She couldn't have him fearing everyone around him, thinking everyone was an enemy and never willing to trust anyone. That was no way to live. Even with all she'd been through - and Gabby didn't like to think about it, much less speak of it - the soldier had managed to trust those closest to her. Sure it had taken years of careful selection, constant observation and subtle tests, but she'd found friends.

And look where it got you.

Gabrielle sucked in a harsh, but silent breath at the inner quip, feeling her chest tighten and the pain she'd been trying to keep at bay for days hit her sharply, causing a rush of moisture to flood her eyes. She swiftly blinked it away, not wanting David to see it - if he was even paying the slightest bit of attention to her at all - and moved from the couch to the window, looking outside for what had be at least the tenth time in the last half-hour. She was trying to act calm, to keep him steady and make sure he wasn't scared, but Gabrielle had the sneaking suspicion that she wasn't doing a very good job. Still, she was trying and that had to count for something, right?

Uttering a soft sigh, forcing the hurt and the grief to bury itself again, she looked back at the male, offering a smile that managed to even make it to her eyes, a reassuring glow there. "They'll be here soon." Coming back toward him, she took a seat back on the couch, one foot touching the floor, the other tucked under her as she met the dark eyes of the young man. She wished she could know what he was thinking, what he might be scared of, any questions he might have. She wished she knew whether it was all right to reach out and touch him, to reassure him, but she didn't dare do so. Any contact had usually been initiated by David and Gabrielle had let it remain that way.

She didn't want to force him. Not like those who'd been so well-meaning had done to her. It hadn't helped, not really.

"You scared?"

 

[Peregrine]

The waiting was the hardest part. It had always been the hardest. Back in the Facility the times the Doctor had come to see David had never been scheduled. Dahnov had come when he had some need of David, when he had another kid who was reaching the end of their ability to hold onto what Dahnov did to them, and it was time for the doctor to once more see if he could force-feed the child's essence into David. Either that, or Dahnov had come up with some new horror designed to extract some form of latent power from him. Both of these events would only occur when Dahnov had some stroke of inspiration, when some new idea had come to him, or after months of careful study and cultivation of a young individual. David had always been certain that the thing he wished more than anything else was to know when Dahnov was about to come. Oftentimes David had fallen too far into his bubble of awareness, watching the world but caring little for what was going to happen, but during the days, weeks, or months of waiting, it had arisen. He had always thought that it would be better because there would be no need to worry during the intervening time. It would be possible to relax.

And in some ways that was true. These past couple days living in the house with Serge and the rest of his family had been pleasant. In fact, it wouldn't have been all that inaccurate to say that they had been some of the best days David had experienced in a good decade, even with the worry of what these people might do with the knowledge of his existence. Gabrielle had seemed to relax a bit as well, although the hawk-like vigilance that had become such a familiar part of her was never visibly seen to fail. What David had not guessed was that the time of peace before an event, knowing exactly when it was supposed to happen, made those moments before the arrival of the event far worse than he ever would have guessed. With Dahnov it had always been unexpected. There had been no time to dread or fret or worry over the coming.

And David was worried. He couldn't help it, not without dropping completely into his bubble, and separating himself from any concern over what would be happening outside of himself. There were moments where it nearly happened, simply by reflex as the emotion built up within him and his own power responded to quell the rising energy. He had grabbed on to Gabrielle in those moment, barely touching her, using her own bright power to keep himself centered in the rest of the world. There had never been a time before now when David had a reason to keep himself from dropping away. Now, he did it for her. To keep her from an even greater state of worry than she was already in.

In many respects, David was worrying for the exact same reason as Gabrielle, even though he did not know the specifics behind that worry. He worried over what would come from even more people becoming aware of his existence, and what they would do with that knowledge. And, in spite of himself, he worried over Gabrielle. She had gone to great lengths to protect him thus far, but she had also been protecting him from capture by the Russian government. For all he knew, these people who were coming to get them could be taking them to an American safehouse, where David would remain trapped until they had a secure way to take him out of the country. That worry, more than anything, he wished to quell. It was a shock to realize that David wanted to trust Gabrielle. It had been so long since there had been someone in David's life that he could truly trust that the instinct was almost overwhelming. It was human. In the end, it was quelled, same as the worry, as an unnecessary flux of energy within himself that could put him at risk.

He sunk down. The worry, and the hope, faded. But, only moments later, Gabrielle sat next to him, softly asking a question. There was a small, warm space in between them that felt more like a barrier than only a few scant inches. He rose back up.

"Should I be?" The emotions existed, but they never showed. Not obviously at least. Were Maria or Alla to touch him at that moment, they would find something. Were Dahnov to touch him at that moment, he would find far more than he was used to finding. But David would never have risen so far around Dahnov. Dahnov was dead.

David's question was mostly rhetorical. He didn't want Gabrielle to answer it. Instead, he continued to speak. "What do you know about these people who are coming to get us?"

 

[Kaisaan]

Well, in all fairness it had been a rather stupid question. Of course he was scared. She hadn't really needed to ask and she shouldn't have, not now when it was more than clear they were both on edge. But what else was she supposed to ask? What could she say? The soldier didn't want to ask David if he was going to withdraw around too many people or if he would have the exact opposite reaction and freak out. Somehow that didn't seem like the right thing to bring up, even if it was a concern she felt stirring around restlessly in her mind. She knew next to nothing about David and while the same was true for him concerning her, Gabrielle would have been willing to speak with him if he'd asked anything about her. She wasn't sure he knew that, though...and she certainly was not sure he'd answer her if she asked for answers in turn.

Communication didn't seem to be their strong suit.

He was still following her lead, though. Still trusting her to keep him safe....or at least David hadn't bolted yet, so even if he didn't actually trust her, he was at least aware he didn't have much option but to stay with her right now. Gabrielle which scenario would be worse; him trusting her and she entirely unsure about him or him using her because he had no other choice. There were problems with either option and right now the soldier didn't see a third choice to pick from.

Gabrielle DIDN'T know if she could trust him. Of course that would sound completely ridiculous to anyone else. All they would have to do was spend five minutes with David and they'd tell her was a broken, timid thing, unable to be anything close to a threat, but....the soldier knew differently. Every single time his power touched her, even just a brush against her aura, she could feel the strength within him, could feel the sheer volume of the ability he contained within. He could be more than a threat. He could demolish her with nary a flick of his fingers and it wouldn't even break a sweat upon his skin. She was nothing compared to him and Gabrielle was more than aware of it.

The question remained, however: was David conscious of such information, too? And if he wasn't, did that mean everyone around him was safe or could he be triggered and didn't even know it? And if he was aware, why was he going along with her? Was there true trust there or just a need to hide?

Gabby wished she knew, but had to settle for not knowing anything at all. She had to settle with her gut instinct. She only wished that method reacted faster to things like this instead of giving her five second warnings.

Blue-green eyes refocused upon David's ventured query and somehow the woman found herself relaxing just a little to hear it. The blond couldn't have said whether it was just the sound of his voice in the tense silence that helped or if it was the fact that he was asking, showing interest instead of bottling it all up. Did it matter? No.

Yes.

Why? She didn't know.

"I know they are an 'underground', worldwide network of Gifted people that call themselves Haven. They have communities and safety houses throughout nearly every country on the planet. They've been present and active for nearly five hundred years. Sometimes their objective is resistance and rebellion against those who oppress us and other times they are quiet and lay low, only helping in the shadows. Presently, that's where they stand on issues and they have for nearly two centuries now. It's safer for us that way." Gabby pulled her hand back through her hair, noting there was a slight trembling to her form, but ignoring it as she continued. Her eyes strayed to the window, unable to see the street from where she sat, but not needing to. "I don't know this particular group coming to get us and I don't know where they are taking us, but I do know we'll be safe."

Her eyes flickered to David for just a moment, a wry kind of smile pulling at her lips before the soldier looked away again, something distant and almost unfocused about her gaze, remembering something only she could see. "Haven rescued me once. I didn't know any of them, didn't trust them, but they came for me when no one else would have. They took care of me until I could take care of myself."

Gabrielle sighed, blinking, coming back to the present. "I am not saying everyone there is a saint, nor would I recommend trusting every Gifted we'll meet, but most of them are good people and there really won't be anywhere else safer for us. That is something I do know with certainty."

 

[Peregrine]

There really wasn't anything else to say. There was no way for David to know what these people were going to bring. All he could know was that Gabrielle truly believed what she was saying, and that she was right. There was nowhere else for them to go. He knew that they couldn't try and travel like normal people. Even if they somehow found the money, neither of them were in a position where they could draw attention to themselves. David didn't exist anymore, and Gabrielle was an American soldier who had undoubtedly been declared "missing presumed dead" by now. If either of them were found and questioned, the situation would get very bad very quickly. This was the only option.

Both of them seemed to regret starting the conversation, and they quickly returned to uneasy silence. Gabrielle looked out the window again. This went on for another couple minutes, before the unexpected interruption of a young girl arrived at the door to the living room.

Faina poked her head around the corner, looking somewhat hesitant. But when David glanced in her direction and met her eyes she realized it was too late to turn around, and apparently decided she might as well come in. With a broad smile on her face Faina bounded across the room, promptly wiggling down on the corner of the couch, across from David.

"Alla says you are leaving." Faina seemed to have gathered that David didn't really do much talking, and addressed her statement to Gabrielle. It wasn't a question, and Faina made it equally clear that she was not expecting an answer. Instead, she turned to David. "Do you have to go?"

The young man nodded.

"That's what Alla told me too. She said that you wouldn't be safe here, so you had to go somewhere else. That makes me sad. I'm going to miss you." Faina wiggled her way over, laying down her mass of wavy brown hair on his lap. For a moment David sat stiff, unsure how to react to this declaration of affection and the sudden contact, but eventually he gently laid his hand down on Faina's head. For a moment the two sat there like that, neither moving. Faina, however, was far too young to stay like that for any length of the time when it was still early in the day. He could feel the rising energy within her, her brief attempts to restrain it, and its inevitable failure. She pushed her way back up as David lifted his hand, and hopped off the couch, dancing over to the window. "I'll miss you too," she told Gabrielle. "Even though you talk funny sometimes."

The sound of another car approaching the house could be heard through the glass, and all of them glanced towards the window again. This time, however, the car slowed as it got closer to the address, before coming to a halt in front. David stood up and hesitantly looked out. A black sedan waited at the curb, idling softly. David knew there were people in there, even if he couldn't see them through the tinted windows.

Haven was here.

 

[Kaisaan]

Gabrielle had wondered when the sprite of a child would show herself and wasn't the least surprised when Faina made appearance. The girl had become rather attached and fascinated with David, and it had done the male some good as far as the soldier could see. Now, watching the two together, the blond could only hope that David might connect with someone else on any kind of level once they got to where they were going - even if it was just another child. He seemed to be far more relaxed around the younger generation, but she supposed that made sense. It was the older generation that had harmed him. It made sense that he wouldn't have any fondness for those around his own age and certainly not for those who were older than him.

Faina would be missed if only by Gabrielle for the things the little girl had managed to accomplish in David.

When had she gotten so...protective, worried, affectionate toward the male? The soldier couldn't rightly answer her own question, didn't dare venture a guess as to how it had happened. She only knew it was true. It was going to make things....interesting to say the very least and Gabrielle wasn't saying that out loud, even to herself. Not when even a simple, innocent gesture of care from a child made the male so unsure. Watching the two from the corner of her eye, the blond smiled just a little when David finally reacted, but she didn't make it known that she observed, nor did she speak. David had been the true curiosity for everyone here. They would speak of him long after he'd gone, but Gabrielle, while odd in her own way, was not nearly as noticeable next to the male and it would not be her they'd miss. She had no one to truly say goodbye to, nor did she care to and it was sensed by all.

But David needed this closure with Faina, even if he didn't realize it himself.

With such thoughts whirling slowly within her, Gabby had to blink in surprise at Faina's words directed at her and not at David. She'd be missed by the little girl? The blond offered a smile and a slight nod back to the child before she too looked out the window, feeling David's presence approach and Faina dart off to shout the news to the rest of the house. The soldier, for her part, took a breath and purposefully calmed her thoughts, glancing at the male at her side and jerking her head just a little toward the door. "Come on. Time to go."

Moving toward the door, she offered one more piece of knowledge. "They will have a Telepath with them, just like Alla. Whatever you do to block her, you can do with them, too." That said, they headed toward the front of the house and Gabrielle worked on bringing her own shields up. They were a bit...different than David's and at the same time different than most traditional shields, too. Most people built walls or made their minds go as blank as they could. Gabrielle had her own kind of defense as she dipped her mind into the shadow realm, a place those with powers didn't dare venture lightly....unless you were a creature of the realm yourself. A Telepath certainly did not fit either criteria. Such would protect the Banshee easily enough.

Saying a quick thank you once more to Serge and his people, David and Gabby were allowed outside to meet their ride. It was a tall, muscular black man who waited for them at the bottom of the small stairs and the soldier moved first, an assured confidence and authority in her demeanor and posture in an instant as they drew closer. It was recognized and their escort barely looked to David at the moment, understanding who was the leader of the two.

"Gabrielle. David. I am Cobalt. Do you have anything to bring with you?"

"No. We were in a hurry." A calm, simple reply and Cobalt didn't question it, only moving toward the car and opening one of the side doors for them. "In that case, we should get going. We have a long journey to make."

Gabrielle nodded before placing a hand on David's back and giving him an encouraging glance, gently urging him to get into the car before she slid in after him. Before shutting the door, Cobalt looked inside and addressed Gabrielle once more. "It will be near six hours before we reach our destination. There will be a few questions and when we arrive, we will need confirmation that you are indeed Gifted. Will you be able to accommodate these requirements?"

"Yes."

The answer was all it took for the door to close and a few moments later the care was starting, taking them away from the house and on to the next chapter in their journey.

 

[Peregrine]

There was another person waiting in the car, a young man with a thin face, blonde hair, grey eyes, and a sharp nose who introduced himself as Falcon. He and Cobalt sat together in the front seats of the black car, eyes focused on the road as they drove away from the little house that had offered David and Gabrielle shelter for a time. David's head turned, watching it get smaller in the back window, until they rounded a corner and it was gone.

It was a bit of a strange sensation, leaving a place and knowing he was never going back. For so long there had only been one place, and that was all there would ever be. Yet leaving the Facility had been so different. That had been a desperate flight, an attempt to escape a place that had been nothing but a nightmare for fifteen years. This was the first time he had ever been in a situation of leaving a place for which he held some affection, however small it might be. He had never gotten the chance to say goodbye to that home he had for the first ten years of his life on the American military base. That had simply been ripped away from him. But this was a proper leaving, with all the trappings. He might even miss it.

Cobalt and Falcon stayed silent as they drove on, first through the winding streets of the neighborhood, and then onto a larger road, and then to the highway. David scooted away from Gabrielle, not out of any fear of touching her, but rather from a desire to press himself close to the window, and watch as the city flew by outside.

Had he actually been walking through the city, hearing all the noise from the cars and people, in constant risk of being trampled by passersby, it would have been completely overwhelming. But safely secured behind a pane of glass, with the sounds of the outside world muffled behind insulation meant to cut out the noise of the road, it felt more like David was watching a movie than the real world. It certainly seemed unreal.

It wasn't that the city was all that different from David's memories of Moscow from his childhood, although the buildings certainly seemed to have gotten taller and the people paid more attention to the phones in their hands than where they were going. It was that it was so foreign to the life David had known for so long. This was reality for most people, yet it was so different from the unreal reality David had been given. He wondered if he would ever get used to it. If this world would ever feel really real.

Falcon had the decency to wait to start testing David and Gabrielle's mind until they were a good hour out of the city. Of course, it was possible that the man hadn't waited out of courtesy, but rather to make sure that they were in a place where Cobalt and Falcon would be able to handle the situation should something unexpected arise. David watched with an abstract sort of fascination as the energy of Falcon's power rolled lazily through the car on a narrow tendril, reaching out towards Gabrielle. The power never quite touched her, but for nearly half an hour David watched it whirl in patient circles, waiting for anything that might emerge from the cloud of Gabrielle's own power. The man did not seem particularly surprised that he didn't get anything, and eventually the power did retreat slightly. It was only a brief respite for the man, though, as the tendril began to reach out towards David.

Even had Gabrielle not given him permission, David would have let his consciousness dip below the world as the power drew near. Falcon seemed far more surprised to find no barriers or protections or walls or blocks of any sort around David's mind, and his power surged forth eagerly, curious to plumb the depths of David's consciousness. Only, instead of finding thoughts, the power found nothing. Where there should have been a mind, a consciousness, a combination of memories and perceptions, there was simply void. Lack. There was nothing that touched the outside world.

Falcon's power recoiled in horrified shock, although he was notably better at hiding the physical reaction than Alla had been. It was clear that this man had seen a lot inside of minds, things that no person would ever want to see. It was equally clear that there had never been a moment where he had found nothing, because for there to be a person there had to be something. Even if Falcon did not learn anything, there would still be something to block his progress.

The horror quickly changed to curiosity, and a larger quantity of energy peeled away from Falcon, reaching out towards David. David vanished under the bubble, letting the journey pass in utter separation from the outside world. He would remain there until such a time as Dahnov's power withdrew.

When it withdrew David began to rise, only to feel the power coming back almost immediately. He dropped in again. The power withdrew again, but once more came back. When next it witdrew, David wondered if he would even bother to rise. It was the thought of Gabrielle that brought him out again. He had no idea how much time had passed. Her power had not reached for him, he knew that, but what was she thinking of his retreat. Was she worried?

When the power came back again, something inside David sparked. It was faint but bright, and utterly foreign. That spark grew as Falcon's power grew closer, and when it reached the mind-space teh spark latched onto the energy, sinking in razor-sharp barbs that would never release. And when David dropped back inside, the spark came with. And it pulled Falcon's power. But the moment that power crossed over to the inside space, it was no longer Falcon's. Suddenly, it was David's. That once-Falcon power only served to feed the spark, which grew to become a ball of light, greedily reaching out to the still-Falcon power that was now desperately struggling to retreat, and which was slowly losing the battle.

David did not hear Falcon's scream.

 

[Kaisaan]

It was nearly an hour after she'd felt the Telepath give up on her mind that the scream rent the interior of the car. Gabrielle didn't know what Cobalt's power was, but her own had been aware of a tranquility between two powers in the car...up until the last five minutes before that scream. She'd felt the change in atmosphere before the physical results had manifested and the soldier was already cursing herself for not being more aware of what was going on, for not looking at the world through the eyes that saw the unseen realm. She should have been watching, she knew that now and made a mental note to do so in the future even as her power took instant action now.

Gabrielle didn't feel the car swerve to the side of the road, nor hear the cursing that came from Cobalt or the continued screams from Falcon. There was only David. It was so incredibly EASY to block out everything else, to find him. He was a bright as fire in the night, a beacon of energy she could feel like an expanding pressure in her chest, pressing against her lungs, longing to fill every inch of her even as it had to escape. His aura was agitated, something David himself wouldn't have shown outwardly and Gabrielle knew Falcon would not have seen it. Telepaths, Empaths, they felt power and they could pinpoint a mind, but they did not see energy, did not feel the auras. They did not see the world Gabrielle did. Few did.

What it showed her now was....gorgeous. Astounding. Remarkable. Beautiful. There were no other words, not for her, to describe it and for just a moment all she did, could do, was watch the gold energy reach for Falcon's green, taking it, demanding more, pulled into the red aura that was David himself. The sight was like nothing she'd ever seen and Gabby wanted to merely watch, to see the gold devour the green, to be witness to such a phenomenon, but she knew, some part of her consciousness knew she couldn't allow that. For Falcon's sake, but more than that, more than for just the sake of a stranger - for David. He would not be able to forgive himself should he do such. Under the influence of a mad scientist, that was different. Of his own power and choice....no.

The blond knew it was going to be hard and gods above, was it going to HURT, but decision made, she didn't hesitate. The blue of her own energy, her own power flared outward toward those strands of gold and green, but they didn't touch David. Rather the blue circled about the green and gold as Gabrielle forced her aura, her spirit to pull away from her mind, from her body. Every Banshee could do it, being creatures half of the physical world and half of the spirit world, but it was not easy, nor was it painless and it certainly came with its own dangers. For David, Gabrielle risked it with little thought at all and later, only later, would she think on that with astonishment.

At present the silver of her aura was surging toward the gray of Falcon's, wrapping around it completely until there was only the smallest opening that poured forth the green energy David's gold was still latched on to. The hard part came now, but still the soldier's blue energy did not touch the gold, but rather wrapped around the green and with a swift tightening of those loops, Gabrielle ruthlessly cut into the green energy belonging to Falcon, severing the connection between the two males.

She wasn't aware of the shriek the man uttered or the way his nose, ears and eyes bled or the near seizure that came over him as Cobalt kept a steady stream of curses, trying to help the blond male. All the Banshee was aware of as she released the gray and green, was the gold energy now surging toward her, in search of the prey that had suddenly gotten away when it couldn't have possibly done so on its own. The blue energy stretched out to meet it, the silver of Gabrielle's aura staying between the gold and Falcon, a shield David's power would have to devour if it truly wanted what it had lost.

Gabrielle felt no fear of that approaching storm of power, though. Rather, her energy waited for its contact, eager. It KNEW David. It had felt him before, had given it life before, had drawn it from the unseen realm of the world into the physical. It was not afraid and Gabrielle, as much as her silver aura shivered and moved with the pain wracking over her, was steadily calm.

Merely waiting for David's unfathomable power to make contact with her own unique, but far more insignificant one.

 

[Peregrine]

It was impossible, inconceivable, utterly incomprehensible.

Had David been in a rational state of mind, he would have known that the things happening around him should not have been happening. No, not should. They could not have been happening. The inside was inside, and the outside was outside. Things that were inside did not go outside, and things that were outside certainly did not come inside.

But David was not in a rational state of mind. He had separated himself from an understanding of the world that other people knew. The only thing that was left was the energy. It was all energy in one form or another. Energy surrounded him, bleeding through a shell of matter. Energy streamed away behind him as his presence in space hurtled forward. But, most importantly, a massive pocket of energy sat in front of him, and he had somehow grabbed that energy, and was drawing it in. The sensation filled him with a rush, a thrill unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He wanted more.

But, in less than an instant, something appeared. Something that first constricted that energy, and then cut it off entirely. He was left stagnant, floundering. He knew the energy was still there, even if it was now hidden behind something that stood like a wall in his way. He wanted it back.

There was something familiar about that wall. He did not try to grab that power, to pull it inside as he had with the other. That was not what this power was for. He wanted through it, but the moment he touched it he got distracted from that previous goal.

It was an intimately familiar energy, somehow the same, yet also different. It was not his, but that did not make it not his. He grabbed at it curiously, and it came, enveloping and folding it, curiously testing that strange, unfamiliar familiarity. He grabbed a piece, watched as it went from his-not-his to fully his, a transition that seemed so natural. It was equally natural to take that which was fully his, and restore it to a state of his-not-his. He took another piece, gave another piece back.

The energy he had gathered from the forgotten source was starting to fuzz, to dissipate as he no longer held it, and the idea of surrendering it back to the not-his cloud of energy that surrounded him seemed somewhat sad. Instead he took it, folded it into the his-not-his. It could have it.

Satisfied with this solution, he continued to gently toy with that cloud of energy, trying to identify it, that unknown sense of familiarity. It had been there before. It had once drawn him out, when he would have preferred to stay in. And once he had brought it in, when it would have rather stayed out.

Suddenly he knew. It was Gabrielle. But that was impossible. Gabrielle could not be inside. There was no room for anything inside that was not fully his. It was a place of infinite compassion and courage, but it was inside. It was not shared with the outside world. Gabrielle-as-Gabrielle could not be inside.

But if it was impossible for her to be inside that meant... that meant... That meant David was outside. Somehow he had done the impossible and left his place of safety, dumping himself into the outside. The realization was so shocking that it slammed the bubble between the outside and he inside back in place so fast that it severed the part of himself that was still outside. That stray bit of energy, so suddenly released, no longer controlled, changed into a burst of light that the eye could see, and heat that the skin could feel. It surrendered itself back into the energy-that-surrounded.

David was shivering, quaking from a sudden chill that seemed to fill his entire body. He longed to tuck himself back inside, but he no longer knew which way was in and which way was out. Instead he sat there, terrified, shaking, as silent tears streamed down his face.

 

[Kaisaan]

Gabrielle watched the gold energy's momentum stall even as she felt it make contact. It was nothing more than a brief brush at first, a bump against the wall her power made, but it was enough to send a rippling affect through her aura and when that gold truly took hold of the blue, she couldn't hope to stem the shudder of delight that chased away the pain. The blue of her energy complied completely with the gold of David's, giving freely what he wanted to take, accepting back what he gave, content to be near his, to be used.

It was soothing. Soothing and overwhelming and familiar. Nothing had ever felt so natural before, so easy. Gabrielle had given energy to others, but it had never felt like this; as if the power didn't belong to her anyway, but to another, as if she were only the vessel, freely pouring out what was not truly her own to hold. Rather than frighten her, rather than anger her or create a possessiveness, the Banshee felt complete relief and a beginning feeling of completeness. She'd been born of her power, was her power in most ways, far more than she was human, but she'd never seen the purpose for it, had never felt useful to have it.

The gold energy, with one touch, changed that.

Suddenly there was purpose, and want, perhaps even need and Gabrielle surrendered to it without second thought or hesitation. There was no conscious debate, no logical way of figuring it out and she didn't try. There was only the feeling that something was right or it was not, and being part of David's energy, being used by it, complying with it was right. Knowing that it was more his than it could ever be hers was right. Accepting what it took....and then what it gave back was right.....even if Gabrielle did not understand the latter.

As a Banshee, she had taken from people before, but not energy. Auras. Energy was not for her to grasp, to take. It was beyond her. She was a creature that heralded Death and she could be its instrument if she so wished. To take an aura, even a little, was to bring a person closer to Death and Gabrielle knew just how easy it was to take more than a little. It was downright addictive. But it was not an aura being folded into her now, but rather something new, something she could identify as Falcon and yet within David's energy it was not Falcon anymore....but neither was it truly David. It was the energy inbetween now, owned by no one....and he was giving it to her.

Perhaps if speech had been possible she would have told him to keep it, that she couldn't take what he was offering, that she wasn't able, but even that warning would have been proven false and as it was, there could be no warning. Only action, only results. It was a complete shock for Gabrielle to actually feel and see a result she'd thought impossible for as David folded the energy within the blue, her energy accepted it. The feeling sent a jolt through the blue, through the silver and in the seat, Gabrielle's body arched, eyes snapping open with a silver glow. The sensation of the new energy was almost painful for it didn't belong even as it now did and the soldier found she could only breathe when it sank deep within her, working its way down to a place she'd not known existed, a storage of some kind long dormant where the energy settled, satisfied to wait.

Only when it had did Gabrielle's eyes close and her body go limp again, her aura stop shuddering and the blue energy pay attention to the gold once more. It couldn't have been more than thirty seconds, but it was enough for her to understand that David's energy now knew who she was. It had been the gold's continued touch that had kept her own energy in control while the transfer happened, a soothing power that had coaxed her own to acceptance even if David was not aware of such and it was only for that reason that Gabrielle could focus so well now on what was happening to the male himself. She watched, felt, when the gold energy retreated, slamming back into the place she didn't dare even try to go and she felt the pain of the severed power that did not make it back in time. The silver of her aura watched as it dissipated, seeing the light just as easily in the unseen realm as others could in the physical one. They couldn't feel it, though, couldn't register when those flecks touched the blue of her power or the silver of her aura and were so easily absorbed. It was only flecks, only small amounts that wouldn't mean anything to anyone, but somehow Gabrielle was aware of them all the same.

And then she was aware of only David.

Her aura found her vessel, her body with a swiftness that brought all the pain back and Gabrielle stifled a scream behind grit teeth, forcing herself to breathe as the world swam and refused to come into full focus. It didn't stop her fumbling fingers from finding the seat belt and unlatching it. It didn't stop her from scooting across the seat to where David was, nor did it hinder her gentle hands as they took hold of him and pulled him close, giving him something tangible to hold on to as her fingers ran through his hair. The pain still radiating through her didn't stop Gabby from extending tendrils of her aura and energy outward again, but only far enough to wrap around the red of David's aura, his mind, giving him a shelter until he was stable enough to find his own.

Because somehow she knew. The Banshee could sense what others would not see, would not comprehend. She knew when David retreated and she knew when he was here, and right now he was here, but he was scared and that wasn't right. When David was scared he was never here, he retreated. He wasn't this time so it must be that for some reason he couldn't and Gabrielle was going to keep him safe until he could.

 

[Peregrine]

David's fingers closed around Gabrielle, unaware as they tightened to levels that would undoubtedly be causing the woman pain. Everything was a chaos of swirling energy, both outside and in. Gabrielle's barrier offered some measure of protection to him, but it did nothing to aid the root problem. In that moment, David had lost control of that which he had always controlled without question. David had lost control of his own energy. His emotions swirled without check, fear, anxiety, uncertainty, confusion, everything piling on top of each other in a mess that was utterly incomprehensible and uncontrollable. Only Gabrielle's presence kept David from descending into total chaos, for she was the only thing that reminded David that he was not in the lab, and that Dahnov was not watching David's utter breakdown and the revelation of the success of the mad doctor's plans.

He was so cold. It was unbearable, intolerable. Russian winters were cold, there were days when the lab had been so cold he had thought that he would simply slow down until he froze to death, but this was a different kind of cold. It was a cold that seemed to spring from his core, freezing everything inside of him that would normally work. He pressed himself closer to Gabrielle, hoping the warmth of her body might do something, but that cold was lost far before it managed to reach the skin. There was nothing to do but wait for it to thaw.

So David waited. He waited, shivering, head pounding under the strain of emotions he no longer knew how to control. He waited for the world to fix itself, for the insanity to end.

There was no telling how long it took. All he knew was that, gradually, the warmth began to return to his core, and his emotions began to settle. At some point it was as though someone had flipped a switch. One moment he had been in swirling chaos, a realm of untouchable energy, and the next the world was suddenly familiar. He reached out, grabbing at those chaotic emotions, regulating them, controlling them. He began to sink below the bubble.

And then it was there. He was submerged. The outside world was gone. The emotions were controlled, obliterated. And David had no intention of rising until Gabrielle lured him out again.

 

[Kaisaan]

Gabrielle didn't know how it was possible to feel David's panic, his pain, his utter confusion and fear, but she did. Somehow, curled so tightly around him with her aura, her energy and him pressed so close to her body as she held him tight, she felt it as if the chaos was her own. It was overwhelming, breath-stealing and she had to consciously remind herself to breathe, to simply keep holding him until he found equilibrium again. She couldn't help him do that, couldn't bring calm to bear upon him as an Empath might or guide his mind back to safety as a Telepath. She could only shelter him, useless in any other way until he came back to himself. In that moment, waiting, somehow impossibly feeling him so strongly, Gabrielle hated her power and longed for something that might truly help the man she desperately wanted to protect.

It was odd to realize; the fierceness in which she wanted to keep David safe. Gabby had not known she possessed such passion anymore, but now it rose up within her, hot and determined, and she let it. She couldn't hope to stop it by this point even if she didn't understand how it was possible that she cared so much for the strange male quaking in her grasp. It was true, though. So very true. So very undeniable and she could do little by accept it.

Just as she could do little more than wait.

Waiting did not last forever, though, and Gabrielle felt when David found his stability, felt him slip away into the place she could not follow. For a brief, lost moment it caused a lurch of panic all her own within the soldier, but the feeling simmered down soon enough when memory and sense took over. This was a good thing. David was safe now. Stable. He needed to be that way and she needed to let him remain such, for just a while.

Decision made, the Banshee finally pulled her aura, her energy away from him, back into her body where she became aware of the splitting headache threatening to tear her skull in two with a vice-like grip. Her body ached as if she'd done some strenuous activity while unaware and she was keenly aware of the faint pain upon her skin where David had gripped her. There would certainly be bruises from that, but Gabrielle paid it little mind other than acknowledgement as she blinked and then kept doing so, trying to get her vision straight. She could see movement ahead of her, a pale form and a darker one, and she was sure she should have been hearing something, but it wasn't coming through yet. And then suddenly it was, as if someone had turned the volume up and Gabrielle hissed between her teeth at how it pounded within her eardrums and tender head.

"Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Come on, wake up!"

Blue-green eyes blinked again and the Banshee almost shrank away from the noise, but a hand was rapidly approaching her and that triggered a far more primal response. A warning, high-pitched keening kind of sound left her throat and the dark hand moving toward her stilled very abruptly even as Cobalt's face started to come into focus before her. He looked wary, frustrated, worried, but Gabby didn't care. He was reaching for her and she needed to protect David, and she hurt, and her mind was having trouble separating past from present. She didn't know what demon the black male saw in her eyes, but he pulled his hand back slowly instead, merely speaking once more.

"You're safe, Gabrielle. You and David both. We need you to calm. Can you do that?"

There was no answer as the Banshee merely watched the black man and then Falcon as the younger male moved, finally looking back with a grimace as his body protested any action. "Just leave 'em be, Co. Shoulda done it to begin with."

With that last word from Falcon and a wary glance at the two and a shake of his head from Cobalt, they moved back to the road. Gabrielle wasn't sure how long they'd been here, but it was getting dark around them and Falcon's nose had stopped bleeding, and he was lucid, speaking to Cobalt in hushed tones as they closed the gape to their destination. What they could have possibly been deciding about the two, the soldier didn't know, but as her finger combed through David's hair, she knew she'd keep him from harm.

 

[Peregrine]

Inside David's mind, there was nothing but an infinite emptiness. It was vast and utterly silent, and he floated through it, a point of consciousness, immeasurably small against that boundless space. But rather than being alarming, it was far more peaceful than it was overwhelming.

David's thoughts moved slowly, spinning around in lazy circles before ultimately vanishing, unrecognised. This was a familiar place, a place of safety and security where he did not need to worry about what was taking place outside. He could simply exist, inside, and that was sufficient. Simple, uninterrupted existence was all he had ever craved. It was all he had ever wanted to obtain.

It was a mystery why the universe had decided to begrudge him that chance. He craved it as all living things did, that simple desire to find a place of safety and continue living, no matter what. Yet this was all he had, in a place that was not really a place, with a life that could hardly be called living.

This place was so different from that space where he had been before. There everything had been in constant flux, constant change. It had been full, full to the brim of life and energy. And, somehow, miraculously, he had been a part of it. No, more than that. He had not belonged with it, it had belonged to him. Everything had been his, to touch as he would, to take what he would, to give back what he would. Yet now that world was gone. And this place of infinite emptiness seemed all the more empty in knowing what he had possessed for a brief time, and then lost.

Where had it gone? Why had it left him? Him, to whom it belonged? There had been such a sense of rightness in that moment, such a sense of completion and perfection. In that moment it was as if the entire world had awakened. It had been good. So why had it left? To what untouchable part of existence had it fled? Wherever it was, it was far away from here. It was so far away that even the idea held no bearing in this place of empty security. This place of shelter which David had built, and to which he had retreated.

For it had not truly left him, had it? It had not filled this place of emptiness, only to pierce the surface and vanish like air rising through water. No. It was where it had always been, which was outside of here. It had not left him. David had left it. He had abandoned it, and had abandoned the rightness along with it. That was all there was to it. There was no room for deception in this place.

And yet, even knowing where it was, even knowing the rightness that awaited him should he reach out for it once more, David would not chase it. He couldn't. How could he possibly leave this space, which was the only shelter David had? This was the only shelter to protect him from a cruel world that did not long for rightness and completion, but only longed to control and dominate.

He would stay here. Where it was safe. Where he knew he was guaranteed the right to live, no matter what might come from the outside. Where he had been sheltered for so long, through so much.

Where it was empty.

 

[Kaisaan]

Gabrielle let David stay within himself for the rest of the ride toward their destination. It was safer that way, for him and for everyone else. He was protected there and she could focus on making sure no turn of events happened with their escort that she and David didn't want. Letting David stay within his safety bubble gave the added benefit of shielding the male from Gabrielle herself for she was quite sure her abrupt shift in demeanor might have startled him - or even make him distrustful of her. He would have no reason to be, of course, because the soldier's change in countenance was for his benefit and protection, but many people wouldn't see it that way. Better that David not have to just yet.

It wasn't the logical, reasonable soldier, reliable in her decisions and dutifully bound to orders and protocols that had come over Gabrielle now. It wasn't the Banshee, instinctive and impulsive, inclined to follow what felt right rather than what might be right, a creature of passions and emotions. Nor was it the side she'd yet to truly show, the scared, uncertain, abused woman that stayed hidden and locked away from the world. It was a combination of all three; a sharp, dangerous, wary, reflexive, keenly intelligent female who remained constantly aware of their surroundings, watching Cobalt and Falcon for the slightest indication that things were about to go sour and all the while she stayed close to David, nearly curled around him the in the seat. Keeping him safe.

Her existence, for the moment, had narrowed down to that one priority, that one goal. Keeping David safe. It wasn't a state she'd never been in before. Gabby knew all about intensely focused states and how effective they could be. It had kept her alive more than once when at the mercy of those who'd been determined to strip her of everything. They'd failed in that, but they had taught her well how to have a near feral, animal-like drive for survival - whether for her own or someone else's. The Army had seen it clearly when she'd come back. Her squad had seen it and had often commented on the scary as bat-s**t way Gabrielle could accomplish feats that tested the boundaries of human endurance and will to see a teammate safe. Losing them had not robbed her of such brutally taught lessons, had in fact cemented them further and in protection of the unique man pressed against her side, Gabby would use every skill at her disposal.

No action was needed, however, as night soon closed in but so too did the distance between them and their destination. It was as they entered the countryside and Cobalt informed her they'd be at the safe-house soon that the soldier seemed to shake herself out of her silent, lethal vigil and slowly blinked, sitting up straight, lifting her head from atop David's own to look down at him. He'd not stirred a bit since retreating and she knew nothing but reaching out to him with her energy was going to pull him back to her.

Her mind protested it, her body too, sore and strained, twinging with hurt when she detached to reach out to the male, but Gabrielle did it all the same. She even dared to go straight up to the emptiness and stop, circling just outside of it, essentially knocking without sound, without touch and without words.

Whether David would answer was entirely in his hands.

 

[Peregrine]

It was like the gentle prodding of a parent towards a child who had refused to get up. Time to go. Time to go. No, you can't hide under the covers any longer. It's time to get up and face the world again.

That kind of prodding could be ignored for a time, but it could never be ignored indefinitely.

It was full dark when David's eyes fluttered open once more. That, in and of itself, gave the young man an impression of how much time had passed. Several hours. It did not feel like long enough. Not with what he had happened. Despite the impossibility, the terror and awe of the moment, David still remembered it all. He did not allow it to intrigue him, or scare him. He simply silently observed it inside his mind as Gabrielle once more drew him out of the bubble.

She looked exhausted, even more so than usual. He knew without knowing that she would have known the moment he surfaced, the moment his eyes opened, but he still moved his hand, lightly placing it over her own. It was the closest thing to some small measure of comfort he could offer her, some vague thank you for the shelter, both physical and mental, which she had provided him. It was utterly inadequate, but in this moment it would suffice. It wasn't as though Gabrielle had done it for thanks.

He didn't know where they were, but in that moment it didn't really seem to matter. It was the countryside, which meant that the nearest neighbor was likely miles away. He certainly couldn't see any houses from here. It was like the Facility in this way, a place that no one would intrude. Yet David did not think of this place as a place of imprisonment. Instead it was a place of shelter. At least for now. If it ever became less than that, they would leave. Somehow.

They walked in a procession towards the house, Cobalt in front, followed by Gabrielle and David, with Falcon in the back. It looked like a nice place, a quiet place, a private place. Briefly, David wondered if that impression was true, or if it really only went skin-deep.If it was an illusion, it wouldn't be maintained for long.

Cobalt and Falcon had also been remarkably quiet about what had taken place on that lonely Russian road. That was something that couldn't last for much longer either. What was she going to say? How was she going to cover their tracks this time? Was she even going to be able to?

Once more, David's fate was in Gabrielle's hands, and there was nothing he could do about it. But this time, he found that realization wasn't accompanied by the uncertainty of Gabrielle's actions as it had been last time. He knew, without questioning it, that she would do everything in her power to protect him, to keep him hidden.

This time, it wasn't a matter of what her choice would be. It was a matter of whether or not she would succeed.

 

[Kaisaan]

Gabrielle released both the feral nature that had come over her as well as a breath upon David's reentry into the world. With that action on his part she knew he was all right and that was enough to soothe her hackles for the time being. The Banshee was more than aware and more than sure they'd be up again shortly, though, for as they grew closer to their destination, going so far as to exit the car and approach a large, sprawling ranch house, she could easily sense the rising questions in Cobalt and Falcon. They would erupt soon, those questions, the demands, the need to KNOW and Gabby wasn't ready to answer for more reasons than one.

They would not understand David. None of them would. He was....different and special, and at the same time exactly like them. Some would see him as nothing more than the next step in the evolution of their species. Others would fear him. Some would seek to exploit him, to urge him to side with their causes, to fight their wars. There would be few who asked David what he wanted in all this, that would consider him as a person instead of a person with powers.....and even fewer than that, if any, who would understand that David didn't have any idea what he wanted. All, in some way or another, whether they meant harm or not, would try to use that naive innocence to their use, to sway him to their way of seeing the world.

Gabrielle wouldn't let it happen.

David didn't know what he wanted, true, but that didn't mean he never would. It didn't mean that he wouldn't discover the world at his own pace and come to his own conclusions. The soldier was determined to act as the buffer between him and the world, a wall he could retreat behind when it became too much until he was truly able to stand against it. That was her sole purpose now and Gabrielle found some solace in such a thing in a way she'd never truly felt before.

She wouldn't lose that either.

Their quiet footsteps in the darkness led them up to a golden-lit house just seeming to await their arrival. Coming closer proved that the image was real as Cobalt opened the door and gestured them inside. It was silent inside as they moved into the foyer and Gabrielle almost instantly let herself sink into the ethereal realm, searching out the energy signals or auras in the building. She was somewhat surprised to find there were none and frowned just slightly to herself.

Falcon was the first to note the question in her eyes as he moved toward the kitchen - likely to get some ice for his aching head - and Cobalt motioned for them to follow. The younger man answered them as he rummaged around in the freezer and Gabrielle directed David to a seat on one of the dark-wood chairs around a table meant for at least ten people. She remained standing at his side, hip leaning against the chair itself, her hand settled softly on his shoulder, reassuring and almost eerily, casually familiar by this point.

"This place is only active during the day. At night we all go to another safe house."

A blond brow rose. "Another safe house?"

Cobalt and Falcon looked at each other, Falcon placing an ice pack at the back of his neck with a slight shrug and the black man looked back at the newcomers. He seemed to measure his words carefully and Gabrielle could appreciate the caution about such an action even if she just found it frustrating at the moment, tired as she was. "It is close and not entirely a house per say, but we can't disclose more than that until morning." He looked determined then and Gabrielle stiffened just slightly, knowing what was coming.

She wasn't ready. She didn't have a choice but to be ready.

"We must tell those who will come in the morning about what happened on the ride here. They will have questions. It would be easier if we could give them those answers ourselves."

"There's nothing to tell."

"He attacked me. I think there's something to tell." Falcon bit out carefully, not entirely accusing, but clearly not ready to let the matter slide, either. Gabrielle didn't care either way what they wanted, leveling each man with a steely gaze, her blue-green eyes snapping warning and a fierce sense of possessiveness not even she was entirely aware of.

"You poked around where you shouldn't have been. David doesn't have full control of his powers yet. There's nothing more to tell."

"That was more than inexperience, Gabrielle." Cobalt coaxed and the Banshee moved just slightly, shifting her weight to be closer to David, more protective than before and her voice changed in tone, no longer defensively calm but rather dangerously sharp. It carried the same weight as a knife against a vulnerable throat might and yet her pitch was low, soft even and she made no outward move and her words were not threatening in and of themselves. All the same, there was a lethal intent there should she be provoked. It was the only glimmer of the creature that lay within that she was going to let David see right now.

"Fine. You're right; there was more. David is special, but I am under no obligation to tell you why or how that is and neither is he. You don't need to know. You have your proof that we are Gifted, just as you asked and that is all the requirement you need. If there is to be a questioning, it will be from a higher authority than you and then, perhaps, I will deem it well to talk. Until such a point, thank you for your assistance. Might you show us where we will be staying in the house tonight?"

There was a rather deafening silence after her words, both men looking torn between speaking again and not pushing the woman they knew very well to be a Banshee. In the end, their choice was the wiser of the two and Cobalt sighed, but pushed away from the counter, starting for the living room and then a hallway. "Come. I will show you your rooms."

 

[Peregrine]

David had little experience in the matter, but even he could tell that the house they had been brought to was a remarkably beautiful place. Even in the dark it was possible to see the solid silhouette it presented, with rich red brick walls and dark wooden trim surrounding the glowing windows and running across the second floor. It seemed like a manor right out of medieval fairy tales. The inside was just as beautiful, with tall ceilings and clean, white walls, everything still trimmed with the dark wood. Every room was filled with tan, comfortable looking furniture, and all the light seemed tinged with the faintest traces of orange, giving the whole place an incredible sense of warmth.

The whole place seemed impossibly large and lavish for only two people. For some reason, David had expected that the Haven safe house would be a small place, where he and Gabrielle would be left alone, in peace. Now he was wondering if that would be the case at all. Indeed, it seemed that he was right to think about such things. Head buried in the freezer, Falcon's voice reached David, where he was taking a seat at the table. We all. There were people living here. And, if this table was any indication, it wasn't just a few. Lots of people lived here. Far more than the little family-group that had been at the previous house.

David sat in silence, apparently unresponsive to the feel of her hand on his shoulder. He longed to draw up his legs and wrap his arms around his calves, pressing his legs up against his stomach and lower his head in order to hide himself from sight. Instead he kept his feet down and his eyes blank, studying the ever-so-faint shadows of texture on the far wall.

The tension built, and it seemed to press down on him. Something would surely have to shatter soon. He hoped it wouldn't be him.

It was horrifying, in a way, watching the conversation between Gabrielle and Falcon. There had been no part of David that had believed Gabrielle was a gentle soul, such would have been nothing short of an utterly foolish illusion, but he had also never imagined the face she could bear in protecting him. It was made, if anything, even more alarming by the knowledge that this was only a small portion of the threat she could bring to bear. He didn't know how he knew this was true, but he knew it nonetheless.

A part of him longed to retreat, to not watch the silent battle of wills that was being fought because of his existence. In the end, however, he didn't. It wasn't because he didn't want to, but was rather because he couldn't. In that instant he was linked to Gabrielle, heart, mind, and soul. He was her dependent, and she his only source of protection. To try and sever himself from the outside world would have been to leave part of himself behind.

So he waited, silent, rubbing his palms quietly along his thighs in a futile attempt to generate warmth. He waited for Falcon or Cobalt to demand the answers they no doubt thought they were due, for Gabrielle to snap. But, somehow, miraculously, the tension was put away, stuffed into a little jar where it would sit for a while, undisturbed. It was by no means a resolution, but simply a postponement.

David was glad for it.

Cobalt led them upstairs, leaving Falcon behind in the kitchen with a bag of ice wrapped in a towel. The halls were narrower upstairs, the ceiling a little bit shorter, but the rooms were small and comfortable. The one Cobalt led them to had two twin beds, and a wooden desk with a hard chair. The man opened one of the windows, allowing a gentle breeze entry into the room, where it swirled amid the curtains. Then, without further word, he left.

David sank onto the bed far from the window without guidance, flopping back onto the mattress without bothering to move the comforter. Cobalt brought up the few belongings they had a minute later before leaving once again. He remained silent and vacant eyed on the bed for several minutes, waiting to see if either Falcon or Cobalt was going to come up again. They didn't.

He sat up slowly, pulling the comforter back but not laying down again. Instead, he turned to face Gabrielle. "We are going to need to tell them something, aren't we?"

It seemed a familiar question, somehow.

 

[Kaisaan]

Gabrielle didn't answer David, not right away. She moved to sit down on the bed first, slowly, staring absently at the floor, not seeing the patterns in the brown carpet there or the shoes on the male's feet. Her body shook and the soldier at first didn't know why, watching her hands tremble as she placed them between her knees, trying to hold them still, not understanding that it wasn't just her hands quaking. A breath drawn in slowly through her nose, seeming harsh and whistled in her own ears was followed by another one of the same depth and speed, a calming technique.

It had been a long while since she'd let the creature living just beneath her skin rise up and feeling the affect of it now, the aftermath of even just letting its leash loose for a moment was enough to frighten the Banshee, though, she tried not to show it. No, she pushed the fear down and locked the anger up with it, continue to take a few more breaths, stabilizing herself before Gabrielle made herself blink, focus as she looked up to David's waiting dark eyes. Her own were reassuring, but a hard steel lurked beneath that, ready to spring up in defense of him if need be. Someday he would be able to protect himself. Gabrielle would see to that, but for now she was all he had...and she needed that. She needed to be needed. It was the only thing that kept her demons at bay, kept the past from consuming her until there was nothing left.

"Yes, but not Cobalt and Falcon. They are recruiters. They pick up people, perform rescue missions if necessary, but they can not deny us sanctuary here and they know it." The blond gave a sigh and finally stood, curling her fingers just slightly to keep the tremors at bay and then flexing them again when she felt more in control. Moving toward the small bag that had been brought into the room, Gabrielle picked it up before going to the bed David sat upon, placing the bag there before pulling out a simple pair of sweats and a shirt, handing both to him. "Put these on. It will get colder out here in the country."

So saying, she pulled out the same kind of attire for herself, gifts from Serge and his family, before pausing in movement and finally truly addressing the male's question to her from before. "I'm not sure what we're going to say, David. The truth of that matter is that you are Gifted, just as I, but you are far different than anyone I have ever encountered or heard of. While that is not a bad thing, it is a new thing and people react in all sorts of ways to information like that, to the new." She crouched now before David, palms gently touching his knees as the soldier looked up into his face, honest and determined despite her clear exhaustion and inner struggle with a demon he could not guess at. "I can not promise that this will be the place you are safest and I can not know what the future might hold or how I will speak when the time comes or if I will speak at all, but I do know I will let no harm befall you. I will protect you until I have no life in me. That I can promise you."

Gabrielle wanted to attempt a smile, but knew it would never come across her face, that it would be false and so she merely gave David's left knee a gentle bit of pressure before standing again and gathering her clothes. "I will be in the bathroom. I'll be right back." She moved toward the door and exited, closing it gently behind her. A shower sounded tempting, but Gabby decided to wait until morning. She didn't feel right leaving David alone for that long, not tonight, in a strange house with people who wanted answers about him. No, she wouldn't do that. She would give him enough time to change, give herself some time to compose and then they would be try to sleep.

And she...she would try desperately not to dream.

 

[Peregrine]

In that moment, David felt a faint taste of disgust course through him. It wasn't for Gabrielle, for the members of Haven, or even for the situation. It was directed at himself. She concealed it so well when she was around others, concealed it so well that it was often possible to forget that it existed, but David knew that Gabrielle was exhausted. She was exhausted, and stressed, still undoubtedly grieving over the loss of the entire group of people she had called friends. Perhaps she was even afraid. David wished he could offer her something, some form of comfort that might give her strength in the days to come, but he could do nothing. All he could do was take, demand her time, her energy, and her kindness. Maybe some day, far in the future, their roles would be reversed, but that time seemed so far away now as to be utterly inconceivable.

Instead David listened to what she had to say, and he offered a faint, tremulous smile in place of the one she could not give. His fingers lightly brushed her own when she touched his leg, a silent acceptance of her promise to protect him from whatever threats might arise in this world against him.

Gabrielle was all he had left anymore. The security of the Facility had been taken away from him. David still hated the place, still feared the possibility that he might have to return to some place like it, but he could no longer deceive himself about it. The Facility had been secure. It had not been safe, not when the constant threat of discovery had always loomed over David. Not when Dahnov had caused the death of so many gifted children, and had nearly caused David's death a number of times. No, it hadn't been safe, but it had been secure. In the Facility, David had known what every possible danger was. He had known what things would pose a threat, and what times he could consider himself safe from harm. But out here in the world everything was a mystery. Everything was a possible threat. The only security he had was Gabrielle. She was his only real shield against the cruelty of a world that David had not even begun to guess at. He knew she would do everything in her power to keep him safe.

He simply hoped it would be enough.

By the time Gabrielle came back out of the bathroom, David had curled himself under the thick blanket that covered the little bed. His clothes sat in a heap by the side of the bed. His eyes were closed. It seemed he was asleep.

 

[Kaisaan]

Coming back into the room, Gabrielle wanted to check on David the moment she laid eyes on him. He looked so very young somehow, curled as he was beneath the blankets like a child scared of the world and....in truth that was the closest comparison, wasn't it? He was being brave, likely far braver than he thought, but he was little more than a child completely in over his head, innocent and naive to all around him, only knowing enough to fear it. It made something in her chest ache and before she could really think about it, the Banshee had moved to the side of the mattress, not sitting, but her leg brushing the side just for a moment as her slender fingers found the mop of dark curls, brushing a few from his forehead softly. It was a gesture she was sure he wouldn't have allowed if he'd seen her coming, but she didn't think much of it now, whether he was awake or asleep, merely acting as the desire struck.

It was only upon realizing that she'd started to gently card her fingers back through his hair more than once now that Gabrielle made herself stop and withdraw, bringing her hand away with an inner jolt of awareness. Gods, she hoped he was really asleep. The last thing she needed was him thinking she was....was...well, something not to be trusted. Weird or dangerous....though, those last two weren't entirely untrue. Shaking her head at her own foolishness, she backed up until her thighs met the bed and then Gabrielle sat, letting out a sigh. Her fingers racked back through her blond hair far less gently than she'd treated David's scalp with a faint groan before she fell back and sideways on the bed, tucking her feet up under her.

Staring at the far wall, the soldier really didn't mean to fall asleep that way, hoping to clear her mind a bit before she did, but her body had other ideas.

--

It was the cold that penetrated her dreams first, making her curl further into herself much like David had done upon laying down, too. The chill came from a lack of covering up, her blankets now pushed down to the foot of the bed as she'd tossed and turned, sleep restless as her mind visited upon her everything she tried to push away during the day.

Grief and fear, anger and a deeper pain still, older than just what the last few days had wrought tormented her and Gabrielle tired of fighting it, her brief, soft whimpers becoming more frequent until they were short, cries of distress. She shivered, trying to escape the cold that seemed to seep into her very marrow and mumbled in her native, Irish tongue words that could only be pleas for her attackers to leave her be.

Just what Gabrielle was trying to escape from was anyone's guess for she would not easily speak of what tortured her soul and darkened her mind.

 

[Peregrine]

David didn't know what time it was when the first soft sound of torment reached him. It dragged him partway out of his sleep, but all he did was roll over and drift back into oblivion. This was not the first time his sleep had been disturbed by the sound of one of Dahnov's techniques. When he had still been a child it had kept him awake at nights, leaving him weak and blurry eyed. Eventually he had learned to tone out the faint sounds, but sometimes they would still disturb him from his sleep. It always left him with a faint bitterness in his mouth when he woke the next morning, even if he could no longer remember the cause.

The noises were growing louder. David's eyes opened for a moment and he blinked. What was Dahnov doing? Did he have the kid out in the hallway? That was unexpected. He rolled over again, only to see faint traces of light streaming in through a window that was across the room from him. In front of his face, glowing red number illuminated a small portion of the room. It took David a moment to understand. This wasn't his room in the Facility. No, the Facility had fallen, and he would never be going back there. This was... This was a house in the countryside of Russia. A Haven safehouse. Had he dreamed those noises? Had the nightly cries of gifted children become such a part of his unconscious that they would haunt his nights wherever he went.

The noise came again. David sat up, almost becoming tangled in his own blankets. What was... Ah. Gabrielle. He remembered that night, not so long ago, in the living room of a little house that had taken in a couple of strangers for the night and decided to care for them. He remembered as Gabrielle had buried her face in the shoulder of a small Asian woman, and let out some of the torment that had built up inside her. But this time there was no Maria, and from the looks of it Gabrielle was not even awake enough in this moment to realize or halt the torment that her own mind had spawned.

David felt his feet swing over the edge of the bed and meet the cold wooden floor, felt his hands sink deeper into the mattress as he pushed himself up into a standing position. He didn't know what he was doing. It had been so long since he had ever had reason to comfort someone that he wasn't even sure he remembered how. Yet something in him still remembered. It remembered the instincts of being an older brother, of having a little sister in the same room who was ever so afraid of war. But Gabrielle wasn't a child, and her terrors were so much more real than the abstract dreams of a child.

He knelt next to her bed, looking at her curled, shaking form. He gently traced his fingers along the side of her face, nearly buried from sight between her hands and mass of blonde hair. His fingers continued to move, along her neck, over her shoulder, down her arm, until his fingers finally curled around her fisted hand. He picked it up, gently stroking the back of her hand until her fingers uncurled somewhat, and he was able to slip his own hand into her palm.

David knelt like that for a time, one hand in hers, the other placed steady on her knee. He remained like that until her hand unclenched from around his, until the sounds of secret terrors faded from the room and it once more echoed only with the noise of faint, rhythmic breathing.