Wild at Heart (w/ Hisoka Kobayashi)

CanaryCry

CanaryCry

Edgeknight
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Julius Koehler
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It was very, very late when Julius began the trek home from work - or, if one looked at it another way, very early. It was a time of night when there were no pedestrians strolling through other than himself, and hardly any cars either. He did have a motorcycle, but he enjoyed walking under the light of the moon and dim streetlights, when everything was silent and still, and had taken the subway most of the way back. Even alone, there wasn't much left in the world that Julius had to fear. In the dark it was easy to hide his shield if he needed to use it, and he was confident in his ability to stop anyone trying to steal from him.

Which was why he only started to slow down upon hearing someone running, instead of turning away.

It was odd, footsteps this late at night and with such speed, but the sound was too light to be anyone big enough to do him harm and they weren't so much headed towards him as coincidentally meeting him at a corner as he came around. The girl was about as small as he'd thought she would be, her running form sloppy and panicked, clear distress in her face. Like prey, being pursued - he'd just begun to hear the secondary footsteps following behind her as he saw her.

As small as she was, he did step back and turn his body when she hit him, too busy analyzing the situation to step fully out of the way, and let her bounce off of him onto the ground rather than having her run full tilt into his shoulder as if hitting a wall. What are you running from? He thought, as she began to quickly pick herself up and spout automatic apologies, but a faint thwip, thwip caught his attention just quick enough for him to throw up his shield everywhere except his exposed hands and face, the rest hidden beneath his clothes. He saw the dart in the girls' back as much as he felt the one in his own stomach.

Her small hands grabbed for his sleeve even as she began to lose her footing once more, knees buckling beneath her. "Please." She begged, grip tight, staring up at him in a desperation he could feel in his chest. "Help me. . . Don't let them take me back. . ."

"Just sleep." He murmured, holding her arm to help lower her gently to the ground. "You'll be fine."

It wasn't fair, he thought. How could fate throw something so pathetic at him and expect him to just walk away? He was a wolf, at heart, and wolves were strong and fierce but all about family, about pack - protect the small and weak. As far as the beast was concerned, this helpless little pup was his now.

Julius plucked the first dart from his jacket and had just enough time to pocket it before he had to throw an arm up to guard his head against the next one, scoffing and giving a roll of his eyes as the man with the tranq gun finally caught up.

"The first one I could let slide," he said with a roll of his eyes, shaking his arm out so the dart dropped to the ground, "but the second one was just rude."

Honestly, if he hadn't even wobbled the first time, what was the second dart for? He thought, even as the man reached for him, probably intending to take a shot at pistol-whipping him in the panic of Julius not going down. Instead, the small girl's pursuer took a fist to the sternum which, while covered in Julius' shield and not as yielding as most flesh and bone attacks were, was not unlike being struck with a bat at full swing. Julius took the tranq gun from the man's hand in the first moment of shock at taking such a heavy hit from such a seemingly small and unimposing everyday citizen, then cracked an elbow into his jaw and shot him in the leg.

It happened so quickly the second man was only just catching up, and Julius didn't bother to hit him, just shot him with a dart and raised an eyebrow at his continued rush forward, unimpressed when it ultimately ended in the man lying facedown at his feet. The two of them would've been effective against the small girl on the ground, or perhaps a normal person his size walking around at 3 am, but it was unfortunate luck for them that they found Julius instead.

"Well," he mused out loud, looking for a safety on the dart gun before tucking it into his waistband for safe keeping, "guess we should get going. No telling how much of a head start we'll have before they wake up."

As if the girl on the ground were conscious and listening. He got her up onto his back without much difficulty, as light as she was, and once she was settled with his arms keeping her up and hers dangling over his shoulders, he took a moment to be grateful the streets were empty and no one would see them, then set off towards home. He would put her on the couch with a blanket, so as not to panic her by having her wake up in his bed, and treat her wounds once she was conscious. Then they could talk about what on earth she was running from, and if she wanted him to take her to the police.
 
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It was fifteen minutes til three in the morning and Charlotte was in her room lying in bed deep asleep. As she quietly slept a camera in the top corner on the left hand side of her room silently filmed her every move. Every night she had to be closely monitored just in case things ever started to get out of hand. This was because Charlotte wasn't like other ordinary young women her age, she was psychic. As a psychic she could use precognition, psychometry, telekinesis and even levitate although she didn't have total control of her powers. She could mostly only used her powers at random or if she was feeling any kind of strong emotion. The stronger her emotions are, the stronger her powers are. So she had to be watched closely to make sure she wasn't having a dream that would cause her to become emotional in her sleep. Unfortunately the man assigned to watch for any signs of disturbance in her sleep that night, had fallen asleep in his chair.

So far Charlotte's dream had been a pleasant one but suddenly something in her dream had started to feel off. In her dream she was enjoying a peaceful walk through the woods and everything seemed so real that she had forgotten that it was a dream. From the rays of the sun shining through the trees ,to the soft forest cover beneath her feet everything seemed just like she remembered. It all made her feel safe and at peace, that is until she heard the sound of a twig snapping behind her. As soon as she heard the noise she froze in her tracks. Charlotte felt the feeling of fear appear and rapidly begin to grow in the pit of her stomach like a weed in a garden. Out of fear she swiftly turned around as her eyes rapidly began to scan her surroundings, in search of what had produced the startling sound. As she looked around she saw the bushes start to rustle and she froze like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. To her relief it was only a small rabbit that hopped out of the bushes and started to sniff the air around it.

"Relax Charlotte...it's nothing to worry about. It's just a cute little rabbit." She thought out loud and let out a relieved sigh.

Without warning a large black wolf leaped out of the bushes, snatched up the rabbit in it's jaws and started to violently shake the rabbit from side to side. In only a few seconds the wolf had killed the rabbit and dropped it's limp body on the ground. Poor Charlotte could only watch in horror as the snarling wolf set it's sights on her as it's next prey. Charlotte was terrified but she was also very knowledgeable about wolves so she looked closely at the wolf.

'Somethings wrong, wolves normally avoid humans. There has to be some reason for this wolf to behave this way toward me.'She nervously thinks while closely watching the wolf.

She could clearly see that the wolf didn't have any injuries, so she wondered if she could be to close to where it's offspring were. Then she noticed something around it's mouth.

'It's foaming at the mouth. This wolf is rabid. This isn't good, I have to get out of here!' She nervously thinks as her heart races.

The wolf snapped it's fangs at her causing her to turn around and take off running out of fear for her life. She still wasn't aware that this all was only a dream so she believed that her life was actually in danger. All of the fear she was feeling because of her dream was causing her telekinesis to make objects float in her room. As she tossed and turned in her sleep her nightmare continued. As she ran as fast as she could and she could hear the sound of the wolf chasing after her. There was no doubt about it that it's intent was to take her life and all she could think about was surviving. Although she was running as fast as her legs would carry her she knew that the wolf was gaining on her. She darted left and right through the forest in an attempt to lose the wolf but failed to shake the wolf. Her mind was racing and her surroundings began to become a haze as she ran from the wolf. With every second that passed she could hear the sound of her own heart beat grow louder and louder, as her legs seemed to become heavy. She couldn't understand what was happening or why it was happening now. Suddenly the wolf leaped into the air knocking her down and she screamed out in her sleep.

It was at the very moment when her fear had reached it's peak triggering her telekinesis which created a powerful force. A force that pushed outward in every direction around her pushing the objects that had been floating around her outward as well. This caused the walls around her to crack before collapsing under the pressure and the window in her room instantly shattered outward. At the time Charlotte was still asleep but immediately opened her eyes after hearing the loud booming sound. What had once been her so called room was now a chaotic scene that resembled a small explosion. As she gazed at the aftermath around her in disbelief it wasn't long before sirens began to sound alerting everyone in the building of the damage. Within seconds she had gotten up off remnants of the bed she had slept in and quickly started searching through the rubble. She knew she didn't have long before security would arrive, so she rushed to find her shoes and backpack. As soon as she found her shoes she slipped them on before putting her backpack on her shoulder. Then she turned to the shattered window and looked down at the ground below. Her room was only two floors away from the top floor in a five story building so she knew the fall would kill her if she couldn't levitate. While she was deciding on if she should risk jumping or not she could hear security approaching. Before she knew it a group of men was pointing their tranq guns at her and a scientist carefully stepped into what was left of her room.

"Subject X-35, don't get any ideas. You're way to valuable to Mr Sekiro, so we can't afford to lose you. Just come here and we won't hurt you, I promise." The scientist said then smiled and beckoned her to him.

As Charlotte turned to look at the man and watched him beckon to her the only thing that she could think about was how sickening his fake smile was. He was clearly lying, they had been hurting her since they brought her here when she was sixteen and they hadn't stopped now that she was twenty-one. She was afraid but it was now or never so she faced her back to the window and simply let herself fall. The way she saw it either she would be able to use her levitation or she would die. In her mind death was better than continuing to live her life as an imprisoned lab rat, forced to use her powers for a corrupt man's financial gain.

"Freedom or death...which will it be Charlotte?" She says to herself as she free falls.

Time seemed to pass slowly as she fell and she could feel her heart start racing again. Just like in her dream the world around her became a haze and she started to hear the sound of her heart beating loudly. She shut her eyes waiting for the end then suddenly she felt her body start to levitate. When she opened her eyes again she was only three feet from the ground safely levitating. Just when she started to feel happy she dropped to the ground. It wasn't much of an impact but it still hurt, although Charlotte didn't have much time to focus on her pain as security was already running toward her. She quickly got on her feet and swiftly started running because there was no way that she was going back now after nearly killing herself.

Charlotte had managed to give two of the men chasing her the slip by hiding behind a dumpster in an alley before running in a different direction. They had spotted her and started chasing her again but this time she was further ahead of them. So hoping to lose them again she ran toward a corner but she looked back behind her and by the time she turned around she had ran into someone. Losing her balance she stumbled backwards and fell to the sidewalk shaking her head. When she looked up she saw a male standing there staring at her and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed and confused. She couldn't help but wonder why on earth was there someone outside this late? She quickly stood up remembering the situation that she was in but she couldn't help but apologize to the male although she was about to take off again.

"I'm...I'm so sorry. I hadn't seen you. I really should've been watching where I was going. I'm so sorry about that. I don't mean to seem rude but I'm really in a hurry right now."She said frantically.

Just as she was about to start running again she felt the familiar sting of a tranquilizer dart in the upper left side of her upper back. She quickly pulled it out but her effort was useless as it had automatically injected it's contents into her bloodstream. She had heard two darts fired so where had the second dart gone? She could already feel herself starting to become drowsy so she reached and grabbed the male's right sleeve.

"Please...help me. Don't let them take me back."She desperately begged the unknown male, as she started to lose strength in her legs.

She was afraid that she was being put to sleep but she found comfort in the male's words as he grabbed her arm and lowered her to the ground. She had fought it for as long as she could but she had finally fallen unconscious.

When Charlotte finally woke up she found herself lying on a couch with some cover over her in a completely unfamiliar area. She sat up and discovered that her shoes had been removed and placed beside the couch. She was still feeling a little drowsy but she had started to worry because she was now at the mercy of a total stranger. Sure he had put her on the couch instead of in his bed but she still didn't know him. So she carefully pulled the cover off her and gently placed her feet on the floor before slipping her black high top sneakers on. Once she had her shoes on she located her backpack leaned up against the side of the couch before picking it up to put it on her shoulder. Now that she had her things she was ready to get out of there but she had to be quiet so she wouldn't get caught. As she was quietly tiptoeing toward the front door she started to smell something that smelled good and heard the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks then looked into the kitchen to see the male she had ran into cooking something but she couldn't tell what it was. Charlotte sniffed the air before finally remembering what the familiar scent was. It was the smell of eggs, bacon and pancakes which made her mouth start to water before she suddenly shook her head. The food smelled heavenly but she couldn't let food distract her, from the fact that she didn't know if she could actually trust this guy or not. Just as she turned and was about to continue toward the front door her stomach let out a loud beastly sounding growl and she froze hoping the guy hadn't heard it. At that moment she held her breath while thinking about bolting for the front door. Should she just run now or would he chase her if she ran?
 
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With no one around so early in the morning, the most difficult part of bringing the girl back to his apartment had been balancing her in his back while he fished his keys out of his pocket. If she hadn't been carrying a backpack it would have been easier, but he wasn't going to just leave her things in the street. He took her inside, locking up behind them, and lowered her carefully to the couch, setting her shoes and bag nearby where she would see them whenever she woke - proof that he hadn't stolen anything from her, though he did look inside the bag to be sure she had no weapons. She didn't seem the type, but caution had been beaten into him a long time ago.

While she slept he made no attempts to be quiet or turn off lights, knowing the sedative would keep her down for a while no matter what he did. He took his time looking over the dart gun, separating the darts from the weapon itself and locking it in the small safe in his closet which held his other weapons. He left her in the apartment briefly afterwards to do a quick check around the building outside, make sure they weren't followed, then went back in and decided it was all right to take a shower and relax as much as one could with a stranger in their home. As small as she was, he was always wary.

By the time the girl woke, he had changed into a simple t-shirt and jeans, barefoot and relaxed in his own home, and over the sounds of cooking was surprised still that he hadn't heard her moving around. She was quiet, and he couldn't tell if it was on purpose or not. Cooking at the stove put his back to the rest of the apartment, but when he heard the shuffling of her backpack, and the growl of her stomach, he only turned his ear towards her to indicate he knew she was there. Was she trying to sneak out? He wondered. It was probably in her best interests, given she had no idea where she was, but he was going to need to find out who had been following her before she left.

Julius gave a small smile at the growling of her stomach, something she would perhaps only barely see before he turned and picked up a plate from the counter nearby, slipping two pancakes onto it before turning and setting it on the kitchen island in front of one of the two chairs. There was already butter and syrup waiting, and a glass of water with a small paper packet of Alkaseltzer next to it. He tore that open next, dropped the two tablets into the water so they began to fizz and left the paper where she could see it and be sure he wasn't poisoning her.

"In case sedatives make you nauseas," He said, in way of explanation, and finally actually looked at her. Her eyes were wide, surprised still at the noise she'd made and perhaps panicked at having been caught. He offered her another gentle, toothless smile. "You're all right. They didn't follow us here."

Julius let her have her space, drawing her in with a lack of trying to physically or verbally stop her from leaving, and turned to start dishing out eggs and bacon onto a separate plate for her. "Do you remember me?" He asked, honestly curious. It wasn't as if he had let the sedative reach him as well, so he had no idea what kind it was or how foggy her memories of just a few hours ago were. "If you're hurt, I have a first aid kit. You should at least have breakfast before you run off."

He set the eggs and bacon plate down next to her pancakes and stepped back so she would know it was for her, making up his own plate but staying at the counter so she could sit with the island between them as a physical barrier. "My name is Julius," He offered, leaning on the counter with a hip to poke at his eggs with a fork, looking as relaxed and defenseless as he could in his own home to try and put her at ease. "If you'll let me, I'd like to help you."

That was as much as he could offer without being too insistent, so he simply waited, and started eating breakfast after glancing at her again. If he gave her too much intense scrutiny now, she would surely run off.
 
Charlotte nervously turned her gaze toward the male who's back was facing her as he cooked and noticed that he turned his ear toward her a little.

'He definitely heard me, but so far he's not making any attempts to come after me. Should I just head for the door now? Maybe he doesn't care if I leave.'She nervously thinks to herself.

Although she was thinking of leaving she couldn't help but wonder why he helped her to escape. It wasn't like he knew her and she hadn't offered him any money for his help. While she was thinking she could've sworn that she had seen a hint of a smile before he turned to grab a plate and put two pancakes on it. She was cautiously watching the male but was caught off guard when he turned toward the kitchen island with the plate of pancakes. She took a quick step to her left not realizing how close she was to a near by floor lamp and bumped into it knocking it over. Thankfully her quick reflexes allowed her to turn toward the lamp and grab it before it went crashing to the floor. She let out a soft sigh of relief and carefully stood the lamp back up. Once she was sure the lamp was alright she carefully moved away from it because the last thing she wanted to do was damage anything. She sure didn't want the male upset with her for any reason and breaking something would have been really embarrassing for her.

'Watch it, now's not the time to be clumsy. Hopefully he didn't see that.Talk about embarrassing. Get it together!'She thinks feeling more embarrassed than nervous.

Charlotte returns her gaze to the male's location to find that he had sat the plate of pancakes down and was opening a package of alkaseltzer. She watched as he let the tablets drop into the glass of water that was already sitting there but was caught off guard when he spoke. She had heard his voice before but only faintly because she was falling unconscious. Now that she was wide awake his voice seemed more gentle, if not a little soothing to her. It was strange but hearing his voice had made her feel more at ease. That was until his gaze met hers causing her to quickly lower her gaze to the floor for a moment before slowly meeting his gaze again. His eyes were unlike any eyes she had ever seen before so she was staring at them without realizing it. They were golden in color and held a certain calmness within them, yet she felt as if she was looking into the eyes of a predator. She couldn't help but wonder who he was but she wasn't feeling comfortable enough to ask at the moment. She was a little surprised when she saw the male smile at her but his words had made her curious. Just her burning curiosity caused her to blurt out a simple question.

"How?"She said curiously.

There was a lot that she wanted to ask but she decided against it shortly after speaking for the first time since she had waken up. She couldn't help but wonder what he thought of her, although at the moment she wasn't sure of what to think of him. Just then her thoughts were interrupted by the growling of her stomach that reminded her that she really needed to eat. So she looked down at the pancakes also taking note of the syrup and butter that was nearby on the island. She had to admit that the plate of pancakes did look tempting and just as she looked up again she saw the male putting eggs with bacon on the side on another plate. When the male suddenly asked if she remembered him, Charlotte hesitated for a moment before gently shaking her head from side to side. She lowered her eyes hoping that he believed her because she really didn't want to talk about it. Just thinking about running into him caused her to feel enough embarrassment. Also she wasn't sure if it was a wise idea to talk about where she had escaped from or why she was at the compound to begin with.

'I don't think he needs to know to much about me or it'll just keep leading to more questions. I can't have him find out that I'm not a average human.'She cautiously thinks to herself.

She didn't want to appear rude so she looked up again and give a slight smile as the male sat the plate of eggs with bacon on the side down on the kitchen island. She couldn't believe that he would cook food for her when he didn't even know her. He had even brought her into his residence without even knowing what she was capable of or if she was a threat to him. This caused Charlotte to wonder what would cause the male to be so relaxed, so trusting of a total stranger. Then it dawned on her, maybe the male wasn't an average human either. If she was right then she couldn't help but start to worry about what he could actually be capable of. She wasn't sure if he could be a threat to her but she knew she had to be cautious around this male. He best bet was to eat so she could maintain her strength and leave as soon as possible. When he offered a first aid kit her eyes almost gave away her shock. She hadn't told him about her injuries from the experiments and she hadn't shown any sign of injury so she couldn't understand how he knew.

"I'm...I'm fine but thank you. Okay...I'll eat before I leave. Thank you."She said trying not to sound nervous.

She carefully slipped her backpack off of her left shoulder before gently sitting it on the floor close to one of the chairs then she sat down in a chair. She looked down at her backpack that had some gauze, wrap and bandages at best then looked back up at the male. Had he gone through her backpack? If he did then he also saw everything else she kept in her backpack. Like her medication for panic attacks, her journal which thankfully had a lock on it, a jacket, a shirt, a pair of pants, a bra, a pair of panties and a framed picture of her parents and her. Just the thought of him seeing the contents of her backpack caused her cheeks to flush with embarrassment for a moment. She looked up at the male again after hearing his name but her face was still slightly flushed.

"I'm...I'm Charlotte. Thank you for helping me but I'll be okay."She managed to utter through her embarrassment.

Charlotte couldn't help but wonder why he wanted to keep helping her. She could see how relaxed he was as he spoke but after everything she had been through she had learned not to be so trusting. Although getting kidnapped and experimented on would cause anyone to be on guard almost all the time around any stranger. She watched as the male started to eat his food after glancing up at her again and decided that she should do the same. So she picked up the knife and fork that he had placed on a napkin on the island, then used them to cut off a piece of pancake. Normally she would've added syrup but she was to uncomfortable to reach for the syrup right now. She also was worried that Julius might ask why she had been wearing white gloves since the moment she ran into him. Her gloves weren't the only strange thing though because her whole outfit covered almost all of her skin. She wore a white long sleeve button up shirt, blue cut off denim shorts, black leggings and white high top sneakers. Her outfit was definitely strange she kept her skin covered just incase her psychometry activated at random. The last thing she wanted was to touch anything or anyone and receive information about them or the item at random. She had already seen all kinds of things after the experiments caused her to awaken the new psychic ability.

As Charlotte took the first bite of her food her thoughts drifted back to when her mom would cook breakfast in the morning. She couldn't help but remember her smiling as she placed a plate with a stack of pancakes and berries on the side in front her. It was at that moment that forgot all about her worries and started eating the pancakes in front of her as if she was alone. Maybe it was because she hadn't had any real food in years or it maybe she was just hungrier than she thought. Either way she had started eating the eggs and bacon along with the pancakes as she enjoyed every bite of the food. While she was eating she got a little thirsty so she picked up the glass of water and placed it against her lips to drink from it. At that exact moment her eyes widened in shock as she began to see unfamiliar images flash before her eyes. In her state of shock she rushed to put the glass down but ended up dropping it. Once the images where gone she looked at the male slightly breathing a little heavy with confusion and panic written all over her face.

"I'm sorry."She said clearly unwell and slightly starting to sweat a little.

It was only for a moment but she had seen Julius kill someone due to her psychometry activating when her mouth touched the glass. Right now she was trying to calm down to avoid having a panic attack.
 
It was clear to Julius that as he was trying his best to analyze her and her reactions without looking at her, she was also trying to read him. Wary, as one could rightfully be waking up in a stranger's home. He was trying to soothe those worries by staying away and making himself seem soft and gentle, a helping hand rather than a firm grasp around metaphorical wrists. He needed information, but he wasn't going to force her to stay or slam his hands on the counter demanding answers. Worse come to worse, if she left before he got what he needed he would quietly follow until someone tried to attack her again. Surely, given the speed and desperation of the men pursuing her the night before it was very important that they get to her. They would come again, he was as sure of it as he could be while knowing nothing about them.

"How did I keep them from following you?" He asked when she finally spoke, trying to clarify with a sheepish sort of smile on his face and ignoring the lamp in an attempt not to make her more uncomfortable. It wasn't broken, so it was fine. "I've taken a lot of self defense training, and I really don't think they were expecting anyone walking around sober so late at night," he explained, trying to make light of it just a little without appearing to not be taking the matter seriously. He glossed over the fact that he'd disarmed the men and shot them with their own tranquilizer gun, unwilling to part with that more detailed knowledge of his skill level just yet. "We were only a couple miles from home, and I didn't know how long you'd be asleep, so I just brought you here. Sticking around didn't seem very smart."

Given she had been conscious enough to speak to him before the tranq dropped her, Julius wasn't sure if he believed the idea that she didn't remember him at all - but it had been dark, and he didn't know what kind of drug they'd given her, so it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Her strange getup could just be fashion he wasn't familiar with. Her not speaking to him much could just be nerves. The fact that she was refusing his help was really what set off alarm bells inside his head. Something wasn't right, and he needed to know what.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do for you? No one you can call?" He took his phone from his pocket, sure not to move too quickly, and set it on the island between them where she could reach it, a concerned furrow in his brow. "I don't know anything about your situation, so I didn't call the police, but you're welcome to if that's what you need." That was what a normal, rational person would do, he was sure, but he was beginning to understand that she wasn't normal. Was it drugs? Some sort of trafficking? A larger crime ring?

He was doing his best to stay still and unthreatening, to use everything he knew about intimidation to decide what not to do, but when she suddenly jumped and dropped her glass it was a struggle not to instinctively dive forward and catch it. The glass was thick; it bounced on the island and broke off a chunk and a couple little shards but didn't shatter or roll to the floor. It was just a glass. It wasn't important.

"Are you sure you're all right?" He gathered his will power to step away from her, get a few paper towels, then put his body as far away as possible as he dried the water and carefully picked up the pieces of glass so she wouldn't cut herself. "You look pale." Perhaps it was just his instincts screaming nonsense, but something was wrong. He needed to know now.

"Listen, I'll be straight with you." He stepped away to toss the paper towels and glass, then finally stood still across the island from her, wary but still radiating concern. "I work in private security, and I've seen my fair share of weapons." He reached into a pocket, took out the dart he'd plucked from his own jacket and set it on the island, the tip covered in a thin layer of tape so as not to accidentally prick anyone. "So I know that this costs a lot of money, and is extremely illegal to just go shooting random pedestrians with. The men that were following you saw my face, and I'm pretty sure I broke one of their jaws. I really would like to help you. But if you won't accept that, at least tell me what sort of mess I got myself into."

There was something brewing behind her eyes, something that could have been the sedative, could've been anxiety, or could've been some sort of illness - whatever it was looked dangerously like she was going to sprint out of the room at any second. The locked front door would stop her for a moment, and that was going to be the only time he would have to make a decision. He didn't want to stop her by force, didn't want to scare her, so he was sure grabbing her was a bad idea. His only other option would be to follow her, but it would be so much easier for them both if she just stayed and talked.
 
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As Charlotte was trying her best to avoid a panic attack she was still putting the pieces together in her mind. She had heard the male when he said that he had taken a lot of self defense training and from what she had seen there no doubt that the male was also a skilled fighter.

'Calm down Charlotte, whoever this Julius is...he could have killed you while you were unconscious if he really wanted to. Although maybe he's keeping me alive for information. I definitely have to be careful because he isn't an ordinary guy. Just don't let your guard down.' She anxiously thought to herself.

Her heart was still racing but she was determined not to keep relying on her anxiety medication. She only started having panic attacks after she was kidnapped so she believed that she could overcome them on her own. She shut her eyes tightly trying to get her heart rate under control but she could feel her chest starting to tighten. She reached up to her chest and placed her clenched right fist against it in an attempt to help the muscles in her chest relax. Slowly she started to take small breaths but she was still struggling to breathe in-between the pains she felt in her chest. Normally she could manage to get her pain to begin to subside by now but knowing that Julius was there made it harder for her relax. It was obvious that she was struggling and the pain made it hard for her to focus on anything else. She was used to it so she was able block the pain out enough to focus on what Julius was saying. Responding was the difficult part because the pain and tightness in her chest made it harder for her breathe.

"I'm...I'm fine. I have a cousin...that lives in the countryside. I can't call him. He doesn't own...a phone. I'll just take a train...to where he lives."She said in-between labored breathes.

She glanced up at Julius hoping that he would believe her about her cousin and leave it at that. Although the truth was she had no idea where her other relatives were or if they were still alive because she couldn't contact them. It had been years and she had contact information to reach them. The poor girl didn't even have her own cell phone because the night she was kidnapped all of those years ago her cell phone had ended up destroyed. All of her classmates, friends, family members and followers. She had lost contact with them all years ago. Charlotte had gotten lost in thought for a moment before releasing that she had been starting at Julius the entire time while he was wiping up the spilled water. Not only had she been staring but her panic attack had completely subsided. She was shocked but quickly became embarrassed before lowering her gaze and placing her hands in her lap.

"It's nothing to worry about...I'm fine now."She said realizing that she had actually said something honest for the first time to Julius.

Upon hearing what Julius said next Charlotte couldn't help but look up at him again unaware of the shock mixed with fear that clearly showed on her face. She looked like a cornered rabbit gazing up at some kind of predator that could tear her to shreds at any moment. She had tried her best to show as little emotion as possible but in an instant she had just slipped up. Realizing her mistake she quickly looked down at her hands again and started to fidget. She was trying to think of a lie or a way to answer him without giving away to much information.

"You don't have anything to worry about...they're not after you. They're after me because...I'm important to their boss, so they probably only attacked you to stop you from taking me away."She said trying to sound distant although a hint of worry was showing in her eyes.

She stood up and bent over picking up her backpack before putting it on her left shoulder. She looked over at Julius and looked down at the floor. He was right she had pulled him into something that didn't involve him and the longer she stayed the worse she was making things.

"I have to go...the longer I stay here the higher the odds are that they'll come here to reclaim me. If you're around me they'll probably hurt you...or worse. Sure you could take down those guys even though one of them had a tranq gun, but their boss has other people he can send after me."She says in a monotonous tone of voice.

She folded her arms contemplating on how much she should tell Julius. Maybe he was right, from what he had seen he wasn't an ordinary guy and the moment Mr. Sekiro got in the wind of that he would want to collect him as well. She enhaled then let out a soft sigh because she could clearly see how concerned Julius was. Not just about her but also about his own safety. It was a tough choice to make but she had no choice but to come clean. With her arms still folded Charlotte turned to face Julius and looked into his eyes.

"You're right, I got you involved in a huge mess. I'm not sure of how skilled of a fighter you are but let's be honest with each other. You're clearly not a normal human and neither am I. Although I'm sure you probably wonder how I know that."She said sounding a little hesitant.

She sat back down in the chair and nervously watched Julius for his reaction before continuing to inform him.

"For starters I'm a psychic and when my mouth touched that glass that I broke my psychometry activated. Psychometry allows me to see things about objects other people have touched or people by touching them. My psychometry activated on it's own and I saw a glimpse of you using some kind of ability I've never seen before. I also have other psychic abilities like this..."She says still a little nervous.

Without another word she reaches out her right hand and focuses on the tranq dart on the island. At first nothing seems to happen but she continues to start it at intently until it slowly turns clockwise one time before completely stopping. She puts her right hand back in her lap and looks up at Julius.

"My telekinesis requires a lot of focus and I can't always use it unless I'm in a highly emotional state. It's the same for my precognition and levitation. The stronger my emotions, the stronger my abilities are."She says feeling her nervousness grow.

She looks down at the tranq dart again only to discover that it had started rapidly spinning without her even focusing on it. This confirmed that her level of nervousness was pretty high at the moment but she just tried to focus on calming down before continuing.

"That's why Mr. Sekiro is so obsessed with me and he won't hesitate to send others who have powerful abilities to bring me back. Unlike me they're dangerous and blindly follow any orders that they're given. I heard that he calls them his hell hounds. Although I've never met them and I don't want to either."She says clearly shaken by the thought of them.

She inhaled then slowly exhaled still trying to make sure that her telekinesis didn't start to move other objects around her. It was tough but sure enough the tranq dart had started to slow down and had finally came to a stop. Seeing that caused Charlotte to breath out a sigh of relief before looking back up at Julius.

"I really don't want to go back to the compound. My plan is to hide out in the countryside for awhile and no I don't know where my cousin actually is. I was kidnapped at the age of 16 after my parents were killed and I lost contact with family as well as everyone else I knew. Also if my emotions get to out of control it...could cause a kind of psychic explosion. So I think I should really go. I mean you're lucky I didn't have a nightmare while I was asleep or this place would be rubble right now."She said slightly flashed a nervous smile.

She had shared her story in a nutshell but she wondered would he share his or had she shared to much information to soon. She looked down and started to fidget with her fingers again before looking back up at Julius.

"Um...so...what's your story?"She asked starting to feel a bit awkward as she wondered what he thought about her now. She really hoped that he didn't work for someone like Mr. Sekiro or even worse that he wasn't secretly sent to bring her back. Although it couldn't have been the latter otherwise he would've taken her back while she was unconscious. Still she wondered who was he and what was he after.
 
This Charlotte was an interesting little houseguest, that was for sure. For a moment, Julius thought it had all been too much and she was going to bolt, but even when little bursts of surprise or shock or nerves filtered across her expression she remained seated, staring at him, watching his every move. Some part of her life had to be terrible to make her that wary, he was sure of it.

She had almost started to calm down, telling him she was fine, that she was going to see a cousin she couldn't contact, and he almost wanted to believe her. It was too easy. An unknown relative, in an unknown place, conveniently without any sort of telephone in their modern age - he was relatively sure she was just lying to get him to let her go without explaining, was even getting to her feet and retrieving her backpack, but she didnt run right away. No, Charlotte began to speak, and when he only raised an eyebrow at her claim that the men after her wouldn't care about him, waiting to let her continue and see how much information she would give him, it was like floodgates breaking open.

Julius listened as she went on, for the most part with a carefully neutral expression, but when the dart on the counter began to spin he raised his shield beneath his clothing, wary of where else it might move, and lost most of the softness he had been deliberately projecting for her. It was a subtle change, a slight straightening of posture, a hardly noticeable tightening of the muscles in his jaw and around his eyes as he watched the dart spin and spin and spin.

Sekiro.

It was the man's name that finally broke him, eyes narrowing sharply even as he looked at her again, the dart done spinning and the pieces of the puzzle rapidly coming together inside his head. Sekiro, the hell hounds, the telekinesis, wanting her alive. He'd thought she was small and helpless before, but as she told him just what had happened to her family and how long they had kept her the beast in him was practically howling with the urge to both defend itself and coddle her. Finally, he had it figured out.

"Oh, fuck." He said suddenly, expression shifting rapidly from wary to a sort of surprised revelation. "You're from the Phoenix House."

He had come from a different place, where agents were trained from birth or from a very young age, given the Heart to trigger their change before they could awaken a beast in themselves, but the Phoenix house was a place of rebirth. Adults or teens, with their own awakened gifts, repurposed and changed to do his bidding. Perhaps it was some sort of contest, to see which brought better results, but Julius had never been privy to motives, only facts. The only reason he had heard of the Phoenix division was because he was supposed to be an agent for Sekiro's bidding. If he had never left, he might have been chasing Charlotte himself.

Julius gave himself a little shake and leaned back against the counter behind him, trying to remind himself that despite all the revelations he still needed to be careful, to not scare her off. She'd dropped a lot on him. "The hounds aren't as brainless as you think," he said, a sort of casualness in his voice born from experience with the strange and otherworldly. It was a grand coincidence, but otherwise Charlotte's existence didn't faze him. "I should know. I was one of them."

He knew it could scare her off, but it was proof that he knew what he was doing, and that he'd already tangled with Sekiro's men before. "I got myself out, a while back, me and a couple others." He gave a small huff that could've been laughter or exasperation, a faint, rueful smile on his face. "How lucky for you, running into me instead of some random joe. I actually know what I'm getting into."

Only, now he had a choice. Dump her immediately to keep Sekiro's men from figuring out who he was, or dig his claws in and brace for impact. It was only an illusion, that choice. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't abandon the small, scared pup that had been dropped into his lap.

"We're on the same side, Charlotte." He said after a pause to let her think, daring to come closer to see what she would do but only taking his phone from the counter before retreating back a step again. "You have a choice to make. Does your mysterious cousin with no cell phone exist, or are you going to let me help you now?"
 
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It was faint but Charlotte was pretty sure that she had seen his posture change. Had Julius been put on guard by the movement of the dart. When she thought about it his reaction made sense due to the type of ability she had. If she had wanted to she could have easily turned that dart into a deadly weapon by using sheer force to move it like a bullet. She knew how dangerous her ability really was but deep down it was her fear of hurting others that actually prevented her from using it to it's fullest extent. On the outside she was a scared a little rabbit but on the inside slept a ferocious beast with far greater power. Unknown to her that beast wouldn't remain asleep forever but the real question was...when would it awaken? That would all depend on how long Charlotte would continue holding back her true strength.

After watching his reaction hearing Julius state the house she was from her eyes widened with shock. Now her heart rate was staring to rise again as the question ran through her mind. How did he know that and just who was he? Charlotte started to slow her breathing in order to stay calm and she slightly nodded her head.

"That's correct...but did you...?"She started to ask a question but she paused when Julius spoke again.

She could only stare at him with shock, confusion and fear in her eyes. Surely she must have misheard what Julius had just said. If what he said really was true then what she had seen about him was starting to make sense now.

"What?! What do you mean you used to be one them?!"She said raising her shaky voice a bit out of panic before realizing that she had let her emotions get the better of her again.

Just then the thought came to her mind that maybe she really should leave now because this guy was more dangerous than she thought. The hell hounds belonged to sub division Z, making them the strongest ability users out of all the sub divisions. Charlotte couldn't believe that she was actually sitting across from someone that had that kind of power. Just the thought alone was causing her heart to start to race again but when she heard him say that he got himself out it helped ease her mind. Also hearing him state that they were on the same side is what put her at ease the most. Once she managed to slow her heart rate again she was able to continue speaking.

"That's good to know that you're not an enemy but the hell hounds may have changed members since you got out. I'm not sure if I would call it luck. Maybe more like fate...if you believe in that kind of thing.As far as I go...I'm part of the sub division X so they gave me the code name X-35. I don't know how your house did things but in the Phoenix house each sub division was assigned a letter. People with the weakest abilities were assigned to sub division A and those with the strongest abilities were assigned to sub division Z."She said starting to relax a little.

She was still a little on edge due to everything she had been through and the fact that she knew how persistent Mr. Sekiro was. There was no way he would give up so easily on finding his little bunny rabbit as he called her. She hated that man and the dumb nickname he had the nerves to give her. All she wanted she wanted was to be free from him and all of those corrupt people who willing worked for him. She just wanted to live a normal life and be able to go where she wanted. She was a little tense but remained still when Julius had came closer and reached for his phone. Right now her biggest concern was the people who were no doubt searching for her already. What abilities would they have and what did they look like. Not knowing what they looked like meant that they could be anywhere and could be anyone. Years of her life had already been taken from and she wasn't about to be taken back to the awful place. Just thought of what had been taken from her causes her slightly furrowed her brows for a moment. After letting out a soft sigh she gently shrugged her shoulders.

"Honestly I don't know if my cousin is alive anymore or where he actually is. The last time I talked to him was when he said he was thinking about moving out into the country. I don't know if he ever got to or not. For all I know he could've been killed too."She said with sadness in her voice.

She knew that no one lives forever so it was possible that her cousin could have passed away from an illness also. With there being so many different causes of death she needed to make sure that she didn't get her hopes up on ever seeing her cousin again.

"Trying to find him isn't the best idea right now, because if he is alive I don't need to bring trouble to his front door. Also I don't have a job, a place to live or any money to buy food. So it's looks like I have no other choice but to accept your help."She says a bit reluctant.

She really couldn't afford to reject the help that she needed. Especially not with people being sent to capture her. She was nervous but she finally managed to raise her right hand and hold it out to offer a hand shake as a friendly gesture.

"So which house you were in and what can you do?"She asked with curiousity starting to show in her eyes for the first time since they had met.

She actually had a lot of questions but she wasn't sure if Julius would answer them or if she should even ask them. Maybe it was to soon but he already knew so much information about her so wouldn't it be fair for him to tell her more about himself.

"Also...how did you and the others manage to get out? I only managed to escape because I blew a huge hole in the compound after I was emotionally upset by a nightmare. It's probably all over the news by now and there's no doubt that they'll cover it up. They'll probably say it was a gas leak and faculty wiring that lead to a spark which caused the explosion." She says and shakes her head in disgust.
 
Julius had to cringe just a little at her tone, but the reaction wasn't completely unexpected. She'd expressed fear in the demons in the night, hunting her down for sport, and he'd voluntarily exposed himself as being among their rank. It was natural for her to panic before thinking harder about how he hadn't hurt her, and how offering the information freely was a gesture of good will. He was just glad she hadn't truly started shouting or his neighbors might've grown suspicious of the noise in his otherwise mostly silent apartment.

"Phoenix did things differently." He said when she expressed worry that new hellhounds might have shown up in his absence. "I came from the Lupus House. They started young. Any seemingly new agents would've been present before I left, or else too small to be sent out."

It was strange, the way she described how she had been ranked, and he did manage a somewhat impressed expression, though most of his attention was devoted to going through all the information she was dumping on him. He'd thought the Phoenix House was meant to churn out Agents like him, but they were something wholly different. If Sekiro was sifting through them and keeping only the strongest, Julius wasn't even sure he wanted to know what they would all eventually be used for.

"Where I was, we were ranked for efficiency, not raw power." He continued, deciding in the moment just how much he would share. For now, he would let her infer just how deadly they had all become, and how often they had been used. "They put us through training from the time we were small. Taught us how to use our bodies, gifts, and weapons, how to endure anything they could throw at us, survive anywhere. We were meant for precision. If what you're telling me is true, Phoenix was making ticking time bombs."

Julius was a person that kept his cards close to his chest, exposed things about himself only when it was truly necessary, but Charlotte was here front of him, telling him everything, sharing his alienation from the rest of the world. Even if he didn't feel the need to reciprocate, he would probably lose all of her trust at once if he did nothing. She was going to need all the reassurance he could manage, given the news about her cousin. She really had nowhere to go.

"Well don't sound too eager for my help." He said with an amused little smirk, shaking his head at her begrudging acceptance. Finally, he gave a little sigh and shifted his weight away from the counter, accepted her gesture of good will and gave her a firm handshake before stepping away again. "Well, 'show me yours and I'll show you mine,' I guess. We didn't have numbers, just dumb codenames."

He gave a little shrug, holding his hands up where she could see them, and all at once his shield spread from beneath his clothes to cover his arms, hands, head, even his hair. It took a fraction of a second, and he was left black as night and practically featureless, unless one were to look very closely. "They called me Shadow. I was useful to them for stealth and endurance. When I armor up like this, nothing can hurt me."

It was only half a lie. Pain was something he'd learned to endure, but his shield kept him from lasting injury, not temporary agony.

With a little roll of his shoulders, Julius let his shield down and was left looking pale and defenseless once more, expression somewhere between curious and wary. "They raised us to be very skilled." He answered after a small pause to see how she would take his transformation, and crossed his arms loosely in front of his chest. "Some of us decided we didn't want to be used anymore, and we turned everything they taught us against them to get ourselves free. But we're replaceable. The risk of trying to get us back was great enough they only tried for so long. But you. . . You they might search for harder."

New Agents could be exposed to the Heart and trained, but people as powerful as Charlotte had the potential to be were rare. After a pause to let that sink in, Julius shook his head a little. "In any case, they'll want you alive, so we've got that going for us. They'll throw normal people and lesser agents at us before they release the hounds." It was a decision which could be sped up by the fact that Julius was with her, but he was hoping the men he'd knocked out wouldn't remember enough or know enough about him to realize just who and what he was. It had been years since he'd escaped, and he'd had no idea anyone like Charlotte had been brought so close to him.
 
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Charlotte wasn't to surprised by what Julius said about the house he was from. She had never heard of Lupus house but that was likely to keep her from getting to curious about it.

"So Lupus House raised people with abilities and trained them from a young age? Phoenix House was definitely different. They kidnapped people that they discovered had abilities and treated them like lab rats inorder to make their abilities stronger."She said with a mixture of pain and anger in her voice.

She lowered her gaze as she fought back her emotions. The last thing she wanted to do was end up crying I front of Julius. In her mind that would make things really awkward and she didn't want to look any weaker than she probably already looked.

"When they first kidnapped me...I only had two abilities. Precognition and telepathy. I gained psychometry and levitation due their tests. I guess I fit the description of a ticking time bomb then huh?"She said being sarcastic at the end of what she said.

It made sense that people in Lupus House were ranked for efficiency instead of raw power. Although people in Phoenix House were ranked differently.

"Phoenix House is ranked by raw power, potential and skill. The more potential or skill someone shows the higher they're ranked. Most of the high rankers have those ranks because of their skills. I was only given my rank because of the potential the scientist saw in me. I don't think I have much potential though."She says sounding a little sad.

She was starting to feel a little bad about herself but what Julius said about her accepting his help caught her off guard. She tried to prevent it but she slightly chuckled at his words and behavior. It was hard for her to believe that she had actually just chuckled. At had been years since she had felt any form of amusement, so the feeling almost felt foreign to her. It also hard for her to believe that she had actually seen him smirk a little, and that he had just joked around with her. She was surprised by him and almost smiled at the thought. Still thinking about his smirk, she quietly watched as Julius leaned forward from where he had been to accept her offer of a hand shake. For a moment she almost moved away but she managed to stay still and return a hand shake that was softer but still a little firm which reflected how timid she was. Judging by his handshake Charlotte had already something else about Julius. His handshake was firm but didn't hurt her hand at all. It was more on the firm but gentle side and there wasn't any aggressiveness to it. She had summed it up to be the handshake of someone caring but also someone who wasn't anyone's door mat.

"Alright, but I can't promise that I'll have full control or that I can even activate my abilities. They're pretty random so I'll have to focus more. You might still end up disappointed though."She said feeling a little nervous.

Charlotte closely watched Julius as his armor as he called it covered his body and she was a little caught off guard. She almost jumped out of the chair she was sitting in but after her shock passed she couldn't help but feel curious. Part of her wanted to reach out to touch the strange substance that was now concealing his entire form, but she knew it was a bad idea. She wouldn't want anyone to invade her personal space so she invade his personal space. She just couldn't help but wonder what his armor felt like on the surface. Sure she thought it was a bit strange but mostly she thought that it was pretty cool. Even his control of his ability was impressive so she could see how he used to be one of the hell hounds. There wasn't much to her abilities though and only two of them could actually be seen.

"That's really impressive Julius and Shadow sounds really cool! I wish I had a cool code name but all I got was X-35. You're lucky that you have such a useful ability. I can still get injured. Mostly because I haven't figured out how to create a defense. I've been working on teaching myself how to though."She said a little excited.

Charlotte was clearly curious and fascinated by Julius now as she listened to him speak. So he and the others had used their abilities to escape. Now it all made sense because there was no way Mr. Sekiro would ever agree to let them go. He simply decided after awhile that they weren't worth the trouble and gave up looking for them. Julius was right though she was far to valuable to Mr. Sekiro for him to give up on her capture.

"This isn't the first time that I've escaped. My other escapes were...very short lived. Odds are I would've been caught last night if I hadn't ran into you. So what's the plan to keep them from capturing me again?"She asked looking worried.

Her best plan was to stay on the move and never stay in one place for more than one night but her being broke with make that difficult. In his case she didn't know how much trouble he was willing to go through because of her but she did know that staying on the run wouldn't be cheap. It also wouldn't be easy, especially not the moment Mr. Sekiro decided to send his Hell Hounds out to look for her. Hiding from them would be nearly impossible due to their different abilities and one of them being trained to be a tracker. For now Charlotte didn't want to think about it so she shifted her thoughts to showing Julius her abilities.

"Well...it's my turn now, so prepare to probably be disappointed."She said and nervously smiled.

She stood up from the chair then slide her backpack off her left shoulder and gently placed it on the floor. Afterwards she turned her back to Julius and walked over to the couch where she sat down then removed her shoes. With her shoes removed she crossed her legs and holding her hands in the meditation pose.

"Cross your fingers that I don't break anything. I'm going to attempt levitation first then telekinesis, precognition and psychometry."She said nervously before shutting her eyes to focus.

After shutting her eyes Charlotte decided to think back to the moment when she was free falling after letting herself fall from the compound. She figured that would be her best bet at activating her levitation again. She blocked out everything about her current location and put herself back in that exact moment. The moment her heart was racing from the fear she felt of dying. The moment she was to afraid to open her eyes to see the ground fast approaching below her. The feeling of fear and uncertainty. It all was coming back to her and in that moment time seemed to slow down around her again but only she could feel it. All Julius would see at first was her just quietly sitting there for a few moments breathing deeply. Then her entire body was suddenly lift up off the couch as if she was weightless as she started to levitate. Charlotte had felt her body start to levitate but she didn't open her eyes because she wanted to maintain her focus. She was now floated two feet above the couch but she wanted to try something that she had always failed at in the lab.

'I can't believe it. I'm levitating! Don't get over excited and stay focused Charlotte. Let's try telekinesis at the same time.' She thought to herself.

Maintaining her focus she reached out right hand focusing on the objects around her. She had remembered that there different items on the coffee table in front of the couch so she focused on them. First the TV remote started to slightly shake a little then finally it was lifted into the air. Then all of the wrapped candy that sat inside of a glass candy dish was lifted up into the air and the last item was a magazine about cars that was also lifted into the air. Charlotte couldn't believe how good she doing and that she hadn't lost focus so far. Was it knowing that those creepy scientist were watching her made it harder for her focus? She couldn't help also feel like she was putting in more effort because she didn't want to look totally helpless in front of Julius. Although she may have also been trying to show off or compete. She wasn't completely sure but what she did know was that at that moment she was in control.

'Okay...now for something more impressive. Hopefully I don't mess up.' She thought feeling a little unsure.

Without a word she motions her right hand toward her causing the TV remote, the candy and the magazine to all slowly fly toward her. Then all of the items start to slowly orbit around her in a clockwise direction. To anyone watching what she was doing would look pretty easy but Charlotte was actually starting to struggle to maintain focus.

'No...not yet. Just little longer.' She thought as she was starting to feel her abilities fade.

All of a sudden the TV remote, wrapped candy and the magazine all fell out of the air with Charlotte landing back down on the couch. The last item to fall was the magazine which just happened to open up and land on top of her head like a hat. She opened her eyes to see the wrapped candy and the TV remote on the couch but was embarrassed about the magazine on her head.

"Well...apparently that's my limit and sorry about the mess. At least I didn't break anything though."She says awkwardly as she removed the magazine from her head and placed it back on the coffee table.

She glanced over at Julius for his reaction before she uncrossed her legs and stood up. She had started picking up the wrapped candy and placing it back in the glass candy dish it had been in. Although she felt embarrassed she was still trying to figure out how she was going to show Julius her precognition and her psychometry. Those two abilities weren't easy for her to use and using her psychometry was sure to show her things that could be to personal. So she had be careful about what item she chose to touch. Just she trying to decide on what item to touch she looked down at the TV remote that still lay on the couch. That should be a safe item, unless Julius was the type to watch dirty movies. She glanced over him again with a questioning look before she decided that he didn't look like the type to watch those kinds of things.

"I'm going to try touching your remote to activate my psychometry. Is that alright with you Julius?"She asked not wanting to cross his boundaries.


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~Last Night~


"You had better have a good reason for calling me at three thirty in the morning and breaking my sleep. Hold on, let me go to my office so I don't wake my wife up." Mr. Sekiro practically growled into the phone but in a low whisper. He pulled back the covers and got out of bed slipping on his slippers before leaving his bedroom. He was tired and already feeling annoyed with the man who actually had the nerves to interrupt his sleep. Once he reached his office he quietly shut the door behind him incase his anger got the better of him and he walked over to his desk. After reaching his desk he took a seat in his expensive Italian leather chair and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Okay, I'm in my office. Now what do you want?"He said impatiently.

Upon hearing the bad news that the man shared with him he could feel is anger rapidly beginning to boil over like a pot a boiling water.

"What?! What do you mean she got away?! You all only had one job and you couldn't even get that right! Are you kidding me!! Please...explain to me how that was even possible?!" Mr. Sekiro yelled into his cellphone while he was sitting at his desk. The more he heard the more his anger grew and he turned his chair to face the window behind him that had a view of the city. Normally it would calm him but right now it wasn't working and he was seriously pissed off. He stood from his chair and walked over to the window tightly clutching his phone in his hand.

"Look somebody had better find out who the hell that guy was and where he took her! I don't care how you do it, but just get her back! I'll only give you pieces of shit so many chances to bring her back! If you can't do it, then I'll send the Hell Hounds to retrieve her! If I have to send them to take care of this then you can be sure that all of your asses will be fired! I'm only giving you all two weeks to find her! Are we crystal clear?!" Mr. Sekiro said with a tensed jaw.

The man on the other end of the line had started shaking but he managed to stutter out a nervous yes sir.

"Good, and don't call me again unless she's been captured or you're notifying me of your resignation. Now get the hell off my phone." He said then pressed the red button on his phone screen to hang up the call. He gazed out the window angry but also stressed out. He couldn't lose his little bunny rabbit. Losing her was like losing one of his most valuable possessions. He had to get her back even at the risk of exposing what kind of dark and secret operations he ran. Maybe he was thinking to rashly but he could see the true potential that this female really had, even if she couldn't see it herself.
 
For a moment, Julius thought that Charlotte might break down on him and start to cry. He couldn't blame her. She'd been hurting for a long time, and the last day or so had been extremely stressful for her. It was human nature to feel overwhelmed and finally let go once they were safe. Thankfully, she distracted herself by beginning to speak about her own abilities, and codenames, and he hadn't the heart to tell her that his shield was more a curse than a gift. They could hurt him more and for longer while he was shielded and wouldn't die.

He only shrugged when she asked what the plan was. "I've only had a few hours to think about it. Give it some time. For now, you're safe here." As long as she stayed inside, where no one saw her, they had a little time to work up a plan. He had a few ideas about where he could take her, but he hadn't decided yet.

Curious, Julius trailed quietly after her into the living room space, leaning against the back of the couch on the opposite side as where she'd sat and staying quiet. His eyes widened a little when she started to float - sure, he'd seen her move the tiny dart, but it was something else to lift her entire body. He was impressed. She even managed the control to lift the things from his coffee table closer to herself, and though for a moment he feared having to clean up more glass the little bowl of candy did at least land safely on the couch when it dropped.

When she stood, he straightened up away from the couch and gave her a quiet little round of applause, a slight smile on his face. "Very impressive, for having your gifts for such a short amount of time. They could be useful." He had wondered what someone who gained their powers late in life might be able to do with them. His had been with him for so long they were second nature by now, as it was with most of the hounds.

"I suppose," he said when she asked if it was all right to touch his remote, making a mildly displeased face and wondering just what she would get from it if touching the glass he'd handed her had shocked her so much. Would she get more from something he used more often? Was that even now it worked? "Is it going to tell you how many times I've watched The Notebook, 'cause that would be embarrassing."

He had never seen the movie before, but he said it with a little smile, hoping to amuse her and help her to relax further. Clearly, using her gift had put a lot of stress on her, but at the same time he wasn't sure if he really wanted her to do it either. In the same way, he was curious if his shield would stop her gift from working like her clothes did, but not enough to risk it. There were still a lot of things about him that it was too early for her to be comfortable learning; how much he'd been hurt, how much he'd hurt people. It wouldn't sit well with someone who had started life as a normal person. Morality was a thing that hardly existed where he'd grown up.

"Is that why you're dressed like that?" He asked after a pause, gesturing to her gloves and long sleeves. "You don't know when it will work, so you cover up? You know, Charlotte, you really don't have to show me. It's clearly difficult for you, so it's all right. Words are enough."
 
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Charlotte pursed her lips together for a moment in thought while picking up the wrapped candy and placing each piece back into the bowl. Sure she was safe hiding out there but how long could she stay inside? She looked up at Julius with a slightly concerned look on her face.

"Yeah I'm safe for now but what about certain things I need? At the compound they took care of me and gave me everything I needed." She said a bit awkwardly.

The thought of having to say what she was about to say was seriously embarrassing but the issue had to be addressed sooner or later. Sooner would be better but deep down Charlotte really wanted to avoid the topic altogether. She deeply inhaled and quicky exhaled before continuing as a way of working up her courage.

"They always gave me a type of birth control that made it so that I didn't have to deal with...um...that time of the month. My room was a mess and I didn't have time to dig through rubble to find the pills."She said clearly embarrassed.

She wished that she could hide but she knew this matter was an important matter and she had to face it. She had decided that she would get this topic out of the way and then change the subject as soon as possible.

"I don't have a prescription and trying to get it means talking to the doctor who wrote it. I'm not completely sure but I think he works for Mr. Sekiro. So I need some things from the store and I can't risk being seen. That means you'll have to go get them for me."She said finishing the most embarrassing part of the entire topic.

At this point she was so embarrassed that she had completely broke eye contact and was staring down at her shoes. Discussing her time of the month with a guy who wasn't a doctor was seriously awkward for her. She barely knew Julius and here she was asking him to buy feminine products for her. That was something that even some boyfriends dreaded doing for their girlfriend and a few husbands were embarrassed about doing for their wife's. Yet here she was asking a guy who was a total stranger so that made it so much more awkward for her.

"I can write down what I need or...you can find a way for me to sneak out unnoticed."She said with an nervous smile.

Finally she picked up the last few pieces of wrapped candy and placed them back into the glass bowl on the coffee table. Upon hearing the sound of Julius clapping she looked over at him and gave a timid smile.

"Thank you, that's the best I've been able to do so far. That is besides when I was lucky enough to levitate at the last moment so I survived free falling. I really need to practice more so I can gain better control of my abilities though. I want to save lives not make a corrupt man richer."She said frowning at the thought of Mr. Sekiro's greed.

Charlotte laughed a little after hearing Julius mention The Notebook. She couldn't help but wonder if he had actually watched that movie or not. Even if he hadn't watched it, the question still remained what else had he watched? Would she manage to get a quick glimpse? She looked down at the remote with curiousity in her eyes before looking back up at Julius.

"I really can't say. It's random so my psychometry might not even activate. Yeah, I got tired of it activating at random from simply bumping into someone or someone touching my arm. I've seen a few things that I really wish I hadn't seen."She says folding her arms feeling a bit uncomfortable.

She had seen a teenager stealing from his own family, a married man telling a female coworker that he was single and another man setting his home on fire in an attempt to commit insurance fraud. Those weren't even the worst things she had seen but she was still curious about what she would see from touching the remote.

"It's okay, I'll be fine unless I happen to see a bit of a scary movie you were watching. Thank you for your concern though. Well...here goes..."She said smiling.

Charlotte sat down on the couch before she carefully removed her right glove and placed it on the couch. She felt a little nervous but mostly curious as she slowly reached toward the remote and finally picked it up. At that moment she froze and her now widened eyes seemed to stare into space. After a few moments Charlotte finally blinked her eyes and looked up at Julius completely silent for a moment. Then her lips suddenly formed a faint smile and she seemed to be struggling to hold something in. All of a sudden she started to laugh almost hysterically and she fell over on the couch laughing. By now she was laughing so hard that she had started crying. It took a few minutes for her to catch her breathe but she finally managed to stop laughing long enough to speak.

"You were watching a tv commercial when the delivery guy showed up with the food you ordered. You answered the door and paid him then got your food from him before closing the door. After you sat your food down on the kitchen island you realized the remote wasn't on the coffee table and searched everywhere for it."She said in an amused tone of voice.

She stopped for a moment to laugh a little before she continued.

"You even looked under the couch cushions but it was nowhere to be found or so you thought. You were exhausted from searching so you finally sat down only to realize the tv remote was in your back pocket the entire time. What on Earth? How do you lose your tv remote in your back pocket?"She said starting to laugh again.
 
When Charlotte started to act uncomfortable, Julius only raised an eyebrow, gave his head a tiny little tilt to indicate he was paying attention, and tried not to let his mind leap ahead of her actually explaining. There were a great many things that she could be concerned about - whatever she'd seen while touching the drinking glass from earlier, something from her time with the Phoenix group, maybe some sort of mistake on her part that would get them caught. He couldn't imagine what that could be, but no matter what he'd started to suspect he would never have guessed the answer was so mundane. He supposed he was more used to dealing with the female agents he'd grown up with, who out of necessity had very little filter against what the world at large considered inappropriate conversation material.

"Charlotte," he started when she was finally winding down from her clearly stressful request, and gave her a little wave of the hand to dismiss her worries as he leaned his elbows on the back of the couch again, calm as could be, "You can relax, my friend. I assure you that I am wholly unbothered. I'll get you some paper so you can make me a list of whatever medications and products you'll need, and be specific so I don't pick the wrong box. While you're at it, I'll have you write out the name of the birth control if you can remember it. It can't, unfortunately, be a priority, but I'll keep it in the back of my mind." One never knew where his resources might lead them. If it was something easy enough to acquire illegally, he would consider it.

He was sure to have a very carefully calculated poker face on when she spoke of free falling, and worse, saving lives. It was probably best he leave his own past mostly implied for the time being. When she trusted that she was safe with him, perhaps then he would consider letting her know what kind of life he'd lived. It wasn't as if he'd had many options, after living the majority of his life in a place that trained him to fight, kill, and manipulate. If she didn't already know what kinds of tortures and atrocities had occurred at the Lupus compound, and all that the hounds did outside of it, it was best he not panic her over it so soon.

When Charlotte finally dared to pick up the remote and went still, he automatically kept track of how long her psychometry distracted her and how immediate her reaction was afterwards, even while considering the idea that he shouldn't let her touch too many things in his house. But then, she was laughing suddenly, harder than he'd thought she was capable of, and he couldn't imagine what he might have done while watching tv that had made that happen.

"What?" He asked as she fell over onto the couch, resting his cheek on a hand and looking down at her with a little smile. "What's so funny?" He had to chuckle a little at the way she kept going for so long, her cheeks turning a bit red, then just rolled his eyes and waited while she wore herself out, amused.

"That's all?" He laughed softly when she was done explaining, and shook his head at her. "How rude of you to laugh so hysterically at my stupidity. I probably thought it was my phone." He did, vaguely, remember something like that happening, but given he hadn't slept for a few days straight before then it was a very hazy memory.

Rocking back away from the couch, Julius turned to go to the kitchen and retrieve a shopping list notepad, then came back to hand it and a pen to her. "If you're done mocking me," he said, clearly amused still, and waved the pen at her, "go on and write down what you need. If you know your clothing measurements offhand, I can get you something new to wear. Call it a makeover, if you'd like. I promise my fashion taste isn't as horrible as you'd think." He would have liked to let her escape the apartment for a bit, but it was too dangerous for now. Eventually the search radius would expand from where he'd found her far enough to reach this place. It was better if she kept her head down.
 
At the sound of Julius saying her name she looked up at him and watched as he waved his hand briefly. She couldn't understand how he was so calm after what she just said to him. Most guys would have tried to change the subject or behaved awkwardly about the topic. Her best guess was that he was already used to topics like that so it didn't phase him. Just as she had came to the conclusion that he wasn't phased he had confirmed it with his own mouth. She still felt awkward about it but it was somewhat of a relief that Julius wasn't giving her any weird looks about it.

"O...okay, thank you. Also it was just a birth control that made it so I didn't have to deal with that time of month. They felt that it was easer that way. It's no big deal. I'll just write down the other things I need." She said still lying down on her side.

Charlotte cleared her throat a little remembering how hard she had laughed at Julius searching for the remote. She found it hilarious but it really was pretty rude of her to laugh like that. She could tell that he was amused from watching her laugh so hard so she was glad that she hadn't offended him. She knew that an apology was still in order though.

"Also...I'm...uh...sorry for laughing. I just found it so funny that I really couldn't help it. I mean you're phone was on the coffee table and you didn't even think you're back pocket..."She said slightly starting to laugh again.

It was a bit of a struggle not to burst into laughter again but she managed to fight off the urge to laugh as she watched Julius walk off to go retrieve a notepad and pen. She sat up on the couch and put her right glove back on and watched as Julius walked back over to her holding out the notepad and pen. She carefully took them from him and smiled.

"Okay and yes I'm done laughing now...I promise. Thank you! I definitely need a makeover because it would help me blend in better and make it harder for anyone looking for me to recognize me. Unfortunately I don't know my measurements anymore so...do you have any measuring tape?"She asked as she started to write down things that she needed on the notepad.

After writing down everything she could think of she paused for a moment as the anxiety medication she had been taking came mind. She put her shoes on and walked over to her backpack. She bent down and unzipped her backpack pulling out a bottle that had a few pills left in it. With the bottle in hand she walked over to Julius to show it to him. She was unaware that the corner of the label was slightly sticking up and if peeled back would reveal a different label hidden underneath.

"This is the anxiety medication they gave me but I'm been trying to wean myself off of it because I don't like having to take it. So far I don't have as many anxiety attacks as I used to have and they aren't as bad. I just feel better having the medication incase I have a really bad anxiety attack because I'm not out of the woods yet. I can't pronounce it but here's what it's called."She says holding out the bottle for Julius to see close-up.


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~Meanwhile at the Compound~


"What's the latest report? Has anyone had any luck locating X-35 yet?" The head of security and operations inquired as he walked into the room in a panicked frenzy.

The room was filled with desks, papers stacked everywhere, filling cabinets, computers and billboards with maps of the city covered in red X's. Most of the people in the room were typing like mad men on their computers while talking on headsets and others were putting red X's on the maps to keep track of areas that had already been searched. The city was large so there were only about 15 red X's on the map which compared to the size of the map didn't look like much. The who had walked into the room was the head of security and operations. The same man who had spoken with Mr. Sekiro earlier that morning and he was clearly distraught. One of the men looked over at him from the map he was looking over and shook his head with a frown.

"No sir, she hasn't been located since a male helped her after she escaped. Although there's no way that male couldn't have taken her very far from where they were last seen. That means she has to be somewhere in one of the near by areas."The male says nervously trying to reassure his boss.

"You're right, they couldn't have gone far. Keep searching and I'll send out more agents to join the search. If we keep going at this rate someone should locate them by nightfall. Carry on."He said nervous but still hopeful.

The male by the maps gave him a quick nod and turned around to return to his work. Then the head of security and operations quickly turned and walked out of the room. He was in a rush to go dispatch more agents to join the search and once he was gone a male stepped out from around the corner.

The male deviously smirked, 'So that's what all the fuss has been about huh? Some chic who escaped. How interesting. Well...I don't have any missions right now and it's not like I've got anything better to do. So I guess I'll tag along for kicks and to see if these useless drones can actually find her. She must be pretty important to that bastard Sekiro. I don't know who you are X-35 but I'm gonna find out.' He thought to him with a cocky attitude before he turned and quietly walked away.
 
Julius raised an eyebrow when Charlotte apologized, at first unsure how to respond. It wasn't as if anyone had ever been sorry for the things they said or did to him before; even now out in the world most 'sorry's he heard were polite platitudes, nothing meaningful or sincere, or about anything of importance. It was . . . sweet of her, he supposed was the right word. He hadnt been offended by her laugher, but it was another reminder just how differently they had grown up. Once upon a time, she had been a nice, normal girl that learned societal norms through in person practice, not theoretical training.

"It's all right," he said with a little smile and a shake of his head. "It takes a lot more than that to get under my skin. Glad you're amused, at least." Really, with the trauma of breaking out and running away, he was surprised she found it in herself to laugh so much. It was good for her. The fact that it had been at his expense didn't matter much to him.

"I don't have measuring tape." He looked back at the kitchen for a moment, thoughtful. "Not the soft kind, anyway. But a regular measuring tape and some string will do." He would go and find it in a minute, once her list was complete.

When Charlotte turned around with a pill bottle in hand he was already dreading the idea of having to dig up something to help, knowing keeping anxiety attacks at bay could be their savior if it happened at a bad time, and as such was necessary, but also that it would take time and effort to obtain. He kept a straight face on, showing only a bit of curiosity, and glanced over the imperfections in the bottle even as he reached to take it from her.

"I'm sure I can dig something up." He said, rather than address his concerns about it out loud, then held a hand out to take the notebook back. "Here, let me write it down so I know how to spell it, then I'll get something to measure with."

He took both bottle and notebook back to the kitchen island as if for a flat surface to write on, but really it was just to get some space between them, and to have his back to her to hide his hands. As he carefully spelled out the name on the notebook to prove he was doing it, he peeled the label back with his other hand to read what was underneath, and had a few pieces of the puzzle slide into place almost immediately. Of course Sekiro and his men would never care about her comfort. It was all a manipulation tactic - but for now, he would let her believe it, and try to address further concerns about Charlotte's ability to sleep safely later on.

"All right." Julius turned when the label was smoothed securely back into place and walked back to hand the bottle over, leaving the notepad on the island. "Let me go get that measuring tape." It only took a short trip into the hall closet to find both of the things he needed, and he came back with a length of string just a few feet long and a measuring tape. "Come stand up and we'll measure your shoulders, chest, waist, and the length of your legs. You can wrap this string around yourself, then hold on to where the ends meet so we can measure it after. Simple enough. When I have your measurements, and if you don't need anything else, I'll go get the supply run over with, and we can discuss your options for the future."

He was already beginning to form ideas, but it would be best to learn more about her and how she behaved before he decided solidly on any one thing. If he was going to take her anywhere near his very few allies, he was going to need to make sure it was safe first.
 
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Seeing Julius smile made Charlotte feel a little better about laughing at his absent mindedness and she was happy that he hadn't gotten upset about it. Hearing his reassuring words was nice but it seemed a bit strange to her. It had been so long since anyone had said anything kind that wasn't some form of an attempt at manipulating her. She couldn't help but think back to how the staff at the compound had always manipulated her in some kind of way. Even whenever she wanted to ask a question they managed to manipulate her and make her feel like she was wrong for asking unnecessary questions. They even did their best to make her feel like she was wrong for having her own opinions. They only wanted her to do as she was told and only ask what she was supposed to do on missions. Just thinking about it caused her to start to feel bad but she quickly hid her faintly sad expression behind a smile.

"That's good to hear and alright. I'm fine with making do. Getting my measurements are all that matters anyway."She said softly.

She quietly watched as Julius took the bottle of medication from her and looked at it. Then she handed him the notepad and pen before he walked into the kitchen and she sat down to wait on him.

"Alright. Also I'm not sure if it'll be easy to get the same medication. I'm fine with any genetic anxiety medication, especially if it's cheaper and easier to get. I don't want to cause you to much trouble."She with a little concern in her voice.

While watching him write down the name of the medication Charlotte couldn't help but wonder why his back was turned toward her. She had seen the scientist do that in the lab when they didn't want her to see something or know what they discussing.

'Is it my imagination...or is Julius trying to hide something from me?'She thought a bit concerned.

Maybe she was just overthinking things. The last thing she wanted to do was jump to conclusions, but she couldn't ignore the fact that he was still a stranger. For all she knew anything that he had told her could be a lie. Could she really say that she could actually trust him? What if this was all part of how he was trained to act and what he was trained to say?

'No...don't be paranoid. Sure you don't know him but he could've handed you over to them while you were asleep if he was going to. Relax... everything is fine.'She thought trying to put her mind at ease.

By the time she had managed to calm herself she noticed Julius turn around and start walking toward her with the bottle in his hand. He handed it to her then walked away again to get the measuring tape and string. Once he returns she quietly stands up from the couch and walks over to where he was standing.

"Okay, honestly I've never done this before. I'll do the best I can but I'll need some help on measuring certain areas though. Like the length of my arms to make sure the sleeves on my shirt won't be to short. I also can't message the width of my own back but I can hold the measuring tape for you. Can you help me with measuring those two areas first?"She says sounding a bit unsure and nervous.

She really wanted to do all of the measuring herself but some areas had to be measured by someone else in order for the measurements to be accurate. It still was a bit awkward to ask a stranger something like that, especially since Julius didn't work in a clothing store and he clearly wasn't a seamster. Although she couldn't help but wonder how things would've been if they had met in a clothing store instead. What would things had been like if she was a customer and Julius was seamster? She couldn't help but slightly smile at the thought of watching him sew. It was a really pleasant thought that almost caused her to slip into a day dream but she snapped out of it to avoid smiling again. The last thing she wanted for him to think she was some kind of weirdo for smiling like she had lost her mind. Plus there was no way she was going to share her thoughts about him sewing all kind of beautiful dresses and outfits. That would be way to embarrassing to even mention to him. Although he probably wouldn't care but she would pretty much die of embarrassment. Thinking for a moment she realized that she had forgotten to write down an item she needed.

"Oh that's right...I forgot to write down a cell phone. I need one that will allow me to make calls and send texts so I can text you if I'm not able to call. I know I might not need it but I would really feel better knowing that I have one. You know incase we get separated or I need to call the police. That I can tell you where I'm at so you can come get me."She says softly.

She really didn't feel comfortable with having to use his phone so she hoped that he wouldn't mind getting one for her but she knew that he might not. Mostly because it may cut to much into his finances and she didn't didn't have any money or a job. Hopefully she could solve that problem soon.
 
Julius only nodded when Charlotte said he could get her any anxsiery medication, and didn't point out that it would be best to get the same one since her body was used to it. She wasn't actually taking any anxiety medication at all, so it wouldn't matter what he got her. He would fill a blank bottle with placebos, tell her he had acquired it through less than legal means if she questioned the lack of label. It would've been the truth if he'd actually needed to get her the medication. Acquiring a prescription wasnt an option.

"Don't worry," he said when she doubted her ability to measure, "It's simple enough, and there's some room for error with clothing sizes anyway." A half inch off wouldn't make much difference. "Hold your arms straight out to your sides and hold still. I'll do your arms and legs."

From her shoulder to her wrist was an easy measurement, minimal touching, hardly any need for her to be so nervous. For her legs, he gave her one end of the string and told her where to hold it to measure both outer and inner seams, then measured from there to the ground without putting his hands on her. As much as her current clothing kept her psychometry at bay, he had to imagine she wasn't very used to or fond of being touched, especially by strangers.

"The width of your back isn't as important as the circumference of your chest." He said as he finished writing down the measurements for her arms and legs, and took the string to show her on himself how she should wrap it around her back and then pull it up to measure the widest part of her chest and then the narrowest, her waist, and the widest part of her hips. With the way women's sizes fluctuated, it was the only way he would find anything that fit. "I'll do my best to find something comfortable for you." She would probably appreciate that later, when they were necessarily on the run for long stretches at a time. It would be a while before she was anywhere safe.

When she mentioned her need for a cell phone he nodded and wrote it down just to appease her. He'd already been thinking he would get her a burner of some sort in case they were separated, but it was fine to let her think it was her idea. "Ill find something. I'll have to go to a few different places for supplies, so I might be gone a while."

Their list completed, Julius took the measuring tape and string back to the closet and disappeared into his bedroom for a moment, coming back out in day clothes instead of pajamas, and sticking a wallet in his pocket as he went. He'd gathered enough cash from the safe to get him through this trip, already calculating costs in his head. There was a lot they were going to need if they were going to get her away from Sekiro's many eyes and ears.

"I'll go as quick as I can." He said as he went to the island to retrieve the list and put it in his pocket. "Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, and feel free to snoop anywhere but the bedroom, I have weapons I don't want you hurting yourself with." They were all locked in his safe, but she didn't need to know that. Part of him wanted to see if she would look anyway, though he wouldn't blame her if she did. Beyond the safe in the closet, his bedroom was as plain as the rest of the house. "Don't open the curtains or answer the door for anyone, no matter what they say. You can watch tv anywhere below volume 7 so no one who comes to the door can hear it."

He paused, made sure he had everything, then looked her in the eye. "It's important that you follow those instructions, Charlotte. I don't care if someone comes to the door begging for help to find their lost child or something else ridiculous, everyone needs to think this apartment is empty while I'm gone." The last thing they needed was someone coming by searching and hearing her voice answer the door. "I'll be back before lunch. Try to get some rest and relax. You've had a hard night."
 
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After seeing Julius nod to what she had said about the anxiety medication she couldn't help but wonder how he was going to get the medication. A prescription was always needed for something like that but she didn't have one and neither did he. He would have to visit a doctor to get a prescription and there was no way that would work. Currently his only option would be to acquire the medication by illegal means, which he no doubt knew how to do from his training. Charlotte hadn't been at the compound as long as Julius had but she had learned a few things in the few years she had been there. Two of those things was the art of observation and analysis. She was sure that Julius was withholding information from her and odds were he was also observing and analyzing her as well.

"Okay and thank you for helping me."She said in a cheerful sounding voice as she softly smiled.

As instructed she held her arms out to her sides and watched as Julius started measuring the length of her arms. She also held the string when instructed to and helped measure her chest, waist and hips which was easier than she thought it would be. Charlotte was also glad that Julius avoided touching her because she likely would've freaked out or became highly uncomfortable from it. She was thankful that it didn't take long to measure her as he wrote down the last numbers for her measurements.

"Okay but nothing to tight or to baggy. Oh and I hate certain colors. I like any colors that followers come in but hate salmon pink and light orange. Pastels or dark colors are fine."She said sounding a little excited.

She hoped that she didn't sound to picky even though her requests were small. She didn't want to appear like she was putting any pressure on him or like she was going to be hard to please. The last thing she wanted was to come off as hard to please.

"I know it may be difficult to find my size so whatever you can find is fine with me. Same goes for the phone because being able to make calls is more important. Alright, I understand."She says a little nervous.

After the list of things that was needed for her was completed she watched as Julius walked into a room which she guessed was his bedroom. At the time she decided to go sit down on the couch and some time passed before he came back out in different clothes. She looked up at him and taking note of his clothing style before smiling. She really found it strange that he hadn't told her not to touch anything, being that she could easily learn all kinds of things about him by removing her glove.

'Why would he tell me feel free to snoop anywhere but the bedroom? Is he testing me to see what I'll do if left alone?Also why isn't he concerned about me using my psychometry? Then again using it pretty unpleasant and draining.'She curiously thought.

Maybe due to her wearing gloves he figured that she didn't want to touch anything or that she was worried about seeing things she didn't want to see. Learning something that she didn't want to know couldn't be undone and maybe he was aware of that.

"Alright, I won't do anything dumb and I would say be careful but you're way better at this than I am. Okay, I'll take it easy."She said softly.
 
The practical part of Julius wanted to tell her she was being too picky about colors and fit, that he was going to get her whatever he could find in a reasonable amount of time, and pick out whatever would help her be noticed less, but he had to remind himself that she wasn't like him. She'd grown up a normal girl with choices and freedom, and losing it was difficult. If he was going to get her to stay calm and not rebel against any future instructions he might give her, he was going to have to be a little less rigid.

"All right," he said instead of saying no outright, and gave her a little shrug, "I'll do my best. I'll lock up behind myself."

That said, he took his keys from near the door and walked out, making sure to lock everything behind him so she wouldn't have to worry about anyone but him trying to get in. What she did while he was gone couldn't be his concern right now. He had to focus. If she was going to look through his belongings, or if she learned any unsavory truths about him with her gifts, he would deal with it when he got back.

Even taking his motorcycle, the trip took several hours. First he picked out clothes for her: two pairs of plain denim pants, a pair of grey sweats, a few shirts in black, grey, blue, and a shade of pink that wasn't too eye catching, as well as a pack of underwear and both a sports bra and regular bra. He didn't know if she would like any of it, but they didn't have time to be going around finding everything that was perfect - as an afterthought, at least, he did also get her a new pair of gloves in black. The phone he picked up in the same department store, a simple pay-as-you-go smartphone he would set up once he was back at the apartment, something that would work well enough for calls and text messages even if it wasn't a model she was used to. Afterwards, he stopped to get her a wig, paying extra for a blonde one that was realistic, then swung by a sporting goods store to get her a new backpack, a small, portable tent, and the most compact sleeping bag they sold. If they ended up going to the woods like he imagined they might, they were going to end up spending at least one night outside.

The prescription bottle was a little harder to find, but he managed to grab an empty one, and filled it with generic ibuprofen pills that had no branding and no way to identify them. For now it would have to be good enough. Despite it having been such a short time since he had come across Charlotte earlier in the morning, he knew that there would be people already out looking for her, and he kept a sweeping search going as he left the apartment building and as he came back. So far, there were no overtly suspicious vehicles, but he didn't like the amount of salespeople on foot that he had noticed in different neighborhoods as he drove around town.

"I'm back," he said quietly as he walked back into the apartment, though he was sure the sound of his keys moving for the past 30 seconds could've clued her in that it was him and not a stranger. "Did anyone come by while I was gone?" He wasn't going to ask if she had found anything interesting inside while he was away. If she had, she would surely show signs of it soon enough.
 
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Charlotte quietly looked back behind her to watch as Julius was leaving the apartment. She thought about asking him to get her some nail polish but she decided against it. Some nail polish would've looked really cute but it wasn't a necessity so mentioning it to Julius would've likely earned her an eye roll. Although nail polish wasn't a nessesscity it still didn't stop her from wishing for it.

"Okay, see you when you get back."She said softly before giving a gentle smile.

She turned back around and picked up the tv remote gently pressing the power button. She looked back one more time as Julius closed the door then she turned her attention back to the tv. She pressed the down arrow on the volume to check where it was at and saw that it was already on 7.

'He must have turned the volume down ahead of time likely while she was unconscious. So what else did he plan ahead of time?' She thought to herself.

She turned and looked back at the door listening while Julius was locking it from the outside. She looked back at the tv then sat the tv remote down on the coffee table and stood up from the couch. She slowly made her way over to the front door and looked out of the peek hole just in time to watch Julius walking away from the door. She stood there and watched until he was completely out of sight and then she turned to walk over to her backpack. She unzipped it and took out the picture of her and her parents then turned it over opening the back of the picture frame. Inside it there was a small key that she had hidden which she carefully removed from the picture frame. After laying the picture frame down on the floor she took her journal out of her backpack next and used the key to unlock the small lock on her journal. Then she placed the key back inside the picture frame and opened the lock so she could open the journal. Once the journal was open she grabbed half of the pages inside it and flipped them out of the way to reveal a hidden lockpick set. It was an item she had managed to steal during one of her training sessions and it had aided her in one of her escapes from the compound. Although shortly after she had gotten recaptured and cameras were installed to keep a closer watch on her. The good part for her was that they hadn't found out how she had escaped or found out about the lock pick kit she was hiding in her journal.

She may have been a little bunny rabbit in Sekiro's eyes but she wasn't as helpless as she seemed. She didn't like having to hide what else she could use her telekinesis for from Julius but she still didn't trust him yet. In all fairness she was sure that he was hiding things from her too. It made sense because they hadn't even known each other for even a month yet. She just wasn't the type to completely trust a stranger so quickly, especially not after all of the terrible things she had already been through. So she closed the journal back and locked it with the key before putting the key back in it's hiding place. Once the picture frame was closed again she put the journal and picture frame back into her backpack glad that her hidden items were still there. Knowing that there was no way that she could go anywhere unnoticed she decided to at least change her clothes.

With her decision made she removed her hoody and put it in her backpack then she slipped off her shoes. In almost no time she had switch her tank top with a dark grey tee shirt that had small white skulls all over it. Then she switched her blue denim shorts with a pair of black jeans with rips in the knees. After tucking her tank top and shorts back into her backpack she pulled out her black reversible jacket. For a moment she thought about switching it to the khaki tan side but she decided against it for now. It was a good jacket for helping her blend in if she was in a crowd or in the woods which was why she chose it. She had learned that doing good on missions meant that she was allowed to make a request. Her request was to go shopping and that was how she had picked out the jacket and other clothes that she owned. Unfortunately she had left most of her things behind at the compound. Although fortunately she had planned ahead putting her jacket and a few other things in her backpack for a quick escape. She was lucky that Mr. Sekiro had a soft spot her because she was allowed a few perks just not what she wanted most. Which was her freedom and to live a normal life again.

'I'm finally free so no way I'm going back. Not this time.' She thought to herself with determination in her eyes.

With her outfit changed she slipped her black high tops back on and finally zipped up her backpack and stood up with a satisfied smile on her face. Charlotte was happy but still feeling hungry so she glanced over at the pancakes, bacon and eggs that she hadn't finished. Finishing up the food wouldn't take to long so she picked up the fork and started eating the pancakes. Once the plate was clean she started eating and when they were gone she made quick work of the bacon before sitting the fork down. Now that both plates were cleared of food she walked over to the front door to peak out of it again.

'I wonder how long it's been since Julius left?' She curiously thinks to herself.

Even though she knew it was a bad idea she couldn't help but feel tempted. She took a deep breath before she reached for the door knob but she suddenly froze. A thought had dawned on her, what if someone he knew was watching? Even if he didn't know them they could still tell him that they saw her or worse call the police thinking she had been kidnapped. The last thing she wanted was for people to get freaked out and start asking questions. She sure didn't want Julius to find out because of someone asking him about her. She could use her telekinesis to leave unseen but people would still see the door open and close. She bit her bottom lip in frustration as she tried to think of something.

'How can I leave without creating suspicion or freaking people out? Surely there has to be a way.' She thinks refusing to give up.

Nomatter how hard she thought about it she couldn't find a way out so she let out disappointed sigh and walked over to the couch. She didn't want to admit it but she felt defeated as she plopped down on the couch. How was it possible that she could leave whenever she wanted to and yet she couldn't leave. Julius had actually managed to do something that Mr Sekiro's men couldn't even fully manage... prevent her from leaving. That was only because she didn't want to draw attention to herself and end up leading the agents or worse the hell hounds to her. For now she needed to lay low until she could put more distance between them and her. There was also the fact that Julius had managed to pull it off so she was better off following his instructions, at least for the time being. She sighed and picked up the tv remote from off of the coffee table.

"I guess I might as well see what's on tv." She said still feeling defeated.

An hour had passed and she started to feel drowsy although she was trying her best to stay awake. She wasn't sure why but her best guess was boredom was making her sleepy. So she slipped off her shoes and laid down on the couch yawning one last time before shutting her eyes and drifting off to sleep. By the time Julius was back Charlotte was still asleep so she hadn't heard him unlock the door or heard him speak the first time. She was out cold and slightly snoring. Then all of a sudden there was a knock at the door that was just loud enough to startle her awake. Charlotte shot straight up and looked around completely confused then she looked at Julius.

"What was that?!" She slightly whispered hoping that she had just dreamed that she heard a knock.

Although her fear was confirmed as the knock at the door was heard again, this time a little louder than the first time. Then the knock was following by a male voice that sounded pretty young.

"Hey, um...I don't mean to bother you but I just saw you outside a moment ago. Oh and...no I'm not one of those annoying salesmen that have been going around pestering people." The male said and laughed a little.

Charlotte cautiously listened but was surprised by how young the male sounded. She looked at the door then back at Julius again with questioning eyes. Weren't all of the agents older males? There was no way that this younger male was an agent, so would Julius still ignore him.

"I'm actually trying to find my pet and wanted to ask if you had seen her or if you would be willing to help spread the word? She's a cute little white bunny with adorable pink eyes and her name is Angel." He said sounding very concerned.

Charlotte couldn't help but feel bad for the guy although she remained silent as Julius had instructed her to do earlier. It was hard not to say anything but she knew it was best to stay quiet. If anyone was going to say anything it could only be Julius but she was beginning to think that he was serious about ignoring anyone at the door.

"My dumb dad opened the front door when she was out of her cage and she escaped. I'll never forgive him if anything happens to her. Anyway...I'll leave a flyer with her picture and my number on it. Please call me you find or see her. Thanks." He says sounding sad, worried and desperate. Then he could be heard taping a flier to the door before he walked away.

Charlotte sat silently to make sure that the male was actually gone as she looked at Julius feeling conflicted. Hearing that the male had lost his pet was terrible and the sadness in his voice was almost heart breaking. Was this guy actually being honest or was it a trap? What if he was actually searching for his pet bunny?

"What if he really did lose his bunny Angel? Poor Angel could end up hurt or killed outdoors. I want to help him look for her but I can't. If I stay here you can help him right?" She faintly whispered so only Julius could hear her.
 
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