sadiebrin

[sadiebrin]

"It's busy out there." Which was doing them a favour, it made for a good distraction. She held her hands out instinctively, as Dustfinger swung his legs from the bed, brows furrowed with concern. "Do you-"

He seemed determined to walk for himself, this time, so she just grit her teeth and stayed near. A nod of agreement met his suggestion. Blue eyes instinctively moved towards his arm as he directed her attention to it, and the IV taped to it...

Restraints.

Rubber between her teeth.

Bright shocks of electricity nearing out of the corner of her eyes-

She'd yanked more than one of those out of her own arm, she was sure.

"... I can do it." The soldier murmured, distantly. Her stomach swirled with unease, feet stepping forward. She subconsciously worked to steady her breath; calm her nerves so as to calm her mutation as well. And in a blur, he was free of it. She could hardly recall the motions that lead to the point, but it was done all the same.

"We can go out through the wall, mitigate the risk of attention?" She suggested, grateful they were on the first floor. She'd have been able to figure something out if they were higher up, but given their injuries, it wouldn't have been ideal. She'd have considered taking their chances with the people. Still, she waited for his thoughts on the idea, wanting to give him a say.

"I don't, either." She agreed immediately, empathetically. But. And that was the operative word. To check now. To get it done with. Would she be able to will herself back to this place anytime soon, if not now? Or would she procrastinate? Focus on looking after Dustfinger, and then the area she'd torn up in their escape, and then and then and then... Pushing away the object of her fears? How was she even supposed to approach the topic with the nurses, without alarm, or worse, them thinking she was creating the story in her own mind? Would she even be able to get the words out, or would she sink into herself?

Maybe she could simplify, tell them she believed she may have an object fragment under her skin from an injury years before, ask for a scan to check? Of course, that wouldn't get across the urgency... A flash of metal, shadowed eyes. She'd come across Winter, James' story, in her searches at the local library. In her attempts to find information on herself, on her history. Their stories had been weaved together. And his was broadly known. Maybe some level of honesty was her best bet.

Her brows had furrowed in thought. Her ear throbbed beneath the bandages once again pressed to it. Finally, she focused back on her Dustfinger. "One hour, hm? I'll see if they can scan me, remove the tracker, if one's there, within the hour, and if not-if not I'll return another time..." As long as Hydra didn't find them before then.

With his agreement, she stood, vision weaving as she did. She held the chair arm for a moment, steadying herself. Once her balance straightened out, somewhat, she reached out towards him. A gentle squeeze of his arm. "I'll hurry back. And then we'll go." It made her nervous, after the day's events, leaving him on his own.

But she stepped out, into the wilds of the hall. Blue eyes flickered restlessly, landed on a nearby clock and noted the time. And the search was on.

She didn't need to look for long. A nurse froze mid step, taking in the sight of her ear, the waver to her posture. "Hi, can I help you? Would you like a chair?"

"..." Speak. Tell her. Her hands were trembling uncontrollably, and the soldier felt strange, almost as though she was floating off the ground. The words left her lips, though, even if they felt separated from her, "My name is Sadie." She just went into the basics; she'd been captured. She'd escaped. She had reason to believe she might have a tracking device on her person. She watched the nurse's body language carefully. Concern, alarm, maybe a little apprehensive, but leaning into empathy. Everything sort of blurred, once they were on the move. The staff were incredibly patient with her. It took longer than she'd hoped, to sort everything out.

Her fears were confirmed. She did have a tracker. In her forearm. Feelings on the matter were surprisingly unobserved, though evident amongst the staff. It took a while for them to work out options that would work for her metabolism, but they incorporated her into the decision making process, which came as a pleasant surprise, greeted by apprehension. As soon as the device was in sight, she wanted to destroy it. To disintegrate it beneath the pads of her fingers. But Hydra could be watching. And she didn't want to lead them to the hospital, knowing this was where it was destroyed. So she pulled up a name in her memory. "Call Shield. An agent named Mike. Ask him to come." He was the one who'd brought her back to herself. He wasn't Hydra. He was an old friend. He'd know what to do. He could fly it somewhere, drop it off in a random, isolated environment. Send Hydra on a goose chase. He could take it far away.

Fresh bandages wrapped around her arm, and over her ear, so she didn't have to constantly hold the gauze up to it, and Sadie returned to Dustfinger's room. The exhausted relief was evident in her face, as she stepped up beside him. "Okay. Let's go home."

[sadiebrin]

The faces in the van had long since blurred. The only one she recognized was Dale. Red hair. Green eyes. Crinkling protein bar in hand, on breath. Once they pulled to a stop, he reached over, fingers easily finding the button on each of the gauntlets, releasing them from her wrists with a clang that rattled the floor as they dropped. Her hands were freed from the barrier.

"Listen up." He went over the mission details once again. Retrieve the device, neutralize any witnesses. And the girl was joining in. The soldier had hardly noticed her presence on the drive. She was young. There was a fire in her eyes. For the briefest moment, the soldier's mind flickered to the dream she'd been yanked from that morning; the warm weight on her chest. And then she focused back in on Dale's instruction.

Sunlight broke through the doors to the van, and she stepped into the cold. If it wasn't for the armoured mask, her breath would rise visibly through the air. Blue eyes squinted as she adjusted to the new environment; snow was layered up upon the field, blinding bright. Once they were properly equipped, she and the girl were directed to head off. Dale would stay in contact over comms. Otherwise they'd maintain position in the vehicle, as long as everything went according to plan.

[sadiebrin]

Despite not being able to feel the effects of standard alcohol, she had sipped on the occasional beer over the summer. After a hard day's work on the farm, out in the blazing sun, it was refreshing all the same. She could picture the flavours melding together on her tongue. "It sounds good." She agreed. A smirk met his craving. Pancakes were something she hadn't yet tried since her escape. She was familiar with their imagery, however. She'd seen photos, videos, and could recall a moist, golden disk, topped with butter and syrup. She imagined adding blueberries to them would likely be quite tasty, as well. If waffles were out of the question, she wouldn't verbally tempt him with the suggestion he get pancakes as well. "They might."

"You don't have to apologize, I'd have had different hesitations if you'd handed it over no questions asked." Her own brows furrowed at the word, pondering. Unhirable. Was it not a word? "You'd think it would be." She blinked, confused. "It must be... isn't it? It just makes sense. But yes, protect your computer. I'm pretty unhirable, and zero stars, would not recommend." An amused smile despite the weighty topic. That was one of Madison's lines.

The tiny girl, maybe five, had come up to her one day, lips pursed, and had tenderly placed a slice of lemon with tiny teeth marks embedded in it's fruit, into Sadie's palm.

"Do not eat t'is wit'out sugar. Too sour. Zero out of five-" A small palm held up in show, some pulp still stuck to her fingers. "Staws, would not recommend."

"... that's good to know, thank you." Sadie had replied, a bemused smile tilting the corners of her lips.

She processed the rest of what he'd said a moment later, however, expression growing concerned. "Sorry, did you say worse? Your boss wouldn't-" The words slipped out before she'd fully thought them out, and then halted, hanging in the air with regret. Hurt you. Who asked that? Typical jobs weren't like Hydra. Her cheeks grew red, and she grabbed at the next, most reasonable thing she could think to ask, "wouldn't have you arrested or something?"

She shook her head, as he decidedly announced he had no interest in joining a wanted list. Of course, there was a reasonable chance she was on one. But her search had little to do with that, outside of being the reason for her absence. And the reason she'd hesitate to reach out if they found Rockland, and he seemed content without her. "I have no plans to get you put on a Wanted list." She assured. His impulsive inquiry was met with a tension in her jaw, a quirk of the brow. To her relief, it was rescinded just as quick. A nod.

"Sure." She typically avoided relaxation, if that meant just sitting in quiet, she couldn't trust her mind in it's wandering. But for a moment, she turned towards the window, and focused on the rain drops pattering against it. People walking against the breeze in raincoats, pinching at the hoods over their heads in an attempt to keep them up. Umbrellas being tugged back, and almost set free, into the wilds. The sky was a deep, dark grey. She sipped at her tea, the warmth beneath her fingers a contrast to the cold glass humming beside her leg.

The soldier bunched herself up under the desk, palms pressed to her ears with enough pressure that she could hear the squeak of her joints. She was trying to block out the noise. The angry shouts as she disobeyed direct orders. When had she entered the office? One minute she'd been searching the aisles...

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

Being a vampire sucked, pun intended. Needing blood all the time was not only unappealing to Wade, but it was massively inconvenient with his schedule and lifestyle. And he refused to give up the foods he loved, even if they did nothing for him nowadays. At least he could eat whatever he wanted without fear of getting fat or developing heart disease, since whatever made him a vampire seemed to regulate his body to keep it in tip-top shape without him having to do much of anything.

His deliberations on exactly what kind of indulgent human food to buy were interrupted by a very distressed woman staggering from near where he was toward the back of the store. Confections could wait. Wade followed her, sensing that something was very wrong. When she went inside an office and slammed the door, Wade stopped and watched as the manager began pounding on the door like a child throwing a tantrum. "Really?" Wade mumbled to himself.

Making his way to the door, Wade laid his hand on the manager's shoulder. "Take a breath, okay? I think she's havin' some kinda problem." The manager was taking too many breaths, as it were, and spouting more boisterous nonsense about how she wasn't allowed in there, and if she didn't come out right this instant he was going to called the cops!

With an irritated smirk, Wade reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Dude, relax, I am the cops," he said, flashing his badge just fast enough for the manager to see something that looked official but not long enough for him to actually read that it only said government licensed bounty hunter on it. It worked, and the manager took a step back from the door. Only one. Wade looked at him like, you gotta be kiddin' me with this bullshit. "Yeah, you wanna gimme some time here, man? I'll handle it, don't worry." With that, the manager huffed and left to deal with an irate woman who couldn't find the type of cheese she wanted and was making it everyone else's problem.

"Hey... miss?" he called through the door. "You okay in there? Need some help?" He was trying to get through to the woman but also sound as non-threatening as he could manage.

[sadiebrin]

Blueberry belch? She made a face, the corners of her eyes crinkled with amusement.

"I don't know about that marketing, but I could see blueberries complimenting the hops." Sadie mused. Depending on the blueberry flavour, of course; she wasn't overly fond of them when they were freeze dried, but fresh were great. She imagined they likely used blueberry juice? Curious.

Gratitude was evident in her features a moment later. At least she wasn't making things worse, based on what he was telling her, of course. "Okay. Good." She murmured, taking another sip of her tea. The hot liquid washed down her throat, soothing. He didn't seem the type to judge her on her appearance. She appreciated the sentiment, nodding understandingly as he spoke of his own struggles.

He wouldn't be giving her his laptop. Well that was a relief, frankly, as much as it's own challenge. While she hadn't planned on walking off with it, necessarily, she had hoped to use it with the screen turned away from him, for privacy, and she doubted he'd be thrilled by that concept either, under the assumption he his important information held on the device was also confidential. She was glad he was using his street smarts, however. At least if he let someone else use the laptop, he'd hopefully ensure they weren't digging around in her confidential searches, either. Now it was more a matter of trust. "It would." She agreed, "I would've been concerned if you had."

Classified government...? "No, nothing like that." She assured, quiet for a moment as she ran through scenarios in her head. As though she could predict the outcome of her decisions in this interaction, when she very well couldn't. Trying to mitigate her fears with plans. With preparation. With supervision. Was she comfortable with that compromise? One person was better than multiple sets of eyes, right? Than a public system? It minimized the risk, didn't it?

But what if he's Hydra? She studied his features once again, searching for any sense of recollection. If he was with Hydra, she didn't recall him. But that didn't say much. The organization was massive, and her memory spotty. He had resources, though. Out of all the people she could've run into, would she be a fool not to take him up on them? She could also agree, for the time being, and decide once she sussed him out a bit more. It's not like it was a binding contract, she could back out. "... alright." The word was tentative, "Thank you."

The soldier bunched herself up under the desk, palms pressed to her ears with enough pressure that she could hear the squeak of her joints. She was trying to block out the noise. The angry shouts as she disobeyed direct orders. When had she entered the office? One minute she'd been searching the aisles...

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

Being a vampire sucked, pun intended. Needing blood all the time was not only unappealing to Wade, but it was massively inconvenient with his schedule and lifestyle. And he refused to give up the foods he loved, even if they did nothing for him nowadays. At least he could eat whatever he wanted without fear of getting fat or developing heart disease, since whatever made him a vampire seemed to regulate his body to keep it in tip-top shape without him having to do much of anything.

His deliberations on exactly what kind of indulgent human food to buy were interrupted by a very distressed woman staggering from near where he was toward the back of the store. Confections could wait. Wade followed her, sensing that something was very wrong. When she went inside an office and slammed the door, Wade stopped and watched as the manager began pounding on the door like a child throwing a tantrum. "Really?" Wade mumbled to himself.

Making his way to the door, Wade laid his hand on the manager's shoulder. "Take a breath, okay? I think she's havin' some kinda problem." The manager was taking too many breaths, as it were, and spouting more boisterous nonsense about how she wasn't allowed in there, and if she didn't come out right this instant he was going to called the cops!

With an irritated smirk, Wade reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Dude, relax, I am the cops," he said, flashing his badge just fast enough for the manager to see something that looked official but not long enough for him to actually read that it only said government licensed bounty hunter on it. It worked, and the manager took a step back from the door. Only one. Wade looked at him like, you gotta be kiddin' me with this bullshit. "Yeah, you wanna gimme some time here, man? I'll handle it, don't worry." With that, the manager huffed and left to deal with an irate woman who couldn't find the type of cheese she wanted and was making it everyone else's problem.

"Hey... miss?" he called through the door. "You okay in there? Need some help?" He was trying to get through to the woman but also sound as non-threatening as he could manage.

[sadiebrin]

"I don't, either." She agreed immediately, empathetically. But. And that was the operative word. To check now. To get it done with. Would she be able to will herself back to this place anytime soon, if not now? Or would she procrastinate? Focus on looking after Dustfinger, and then the area she'd torn up in their escape, and then and then and then... Pushing away the object of her fears? How was she even supposed to approach the topic with the nurses, without alarm, or worse, them thinking she was creating the story in her own mind? Would she even be able to get the words out, or would she sink into herself?

Maybe she could simplify, tell them she believed she may have an object fragment under her skin from an injury years before, ask for a scan to check? Of course, that wouldn't get across the urgency... A flash of metal, shadowed eyes. She'd come across Winter, James' story, in her searches at the local library. In her attempts to find information on herself, on her history. Their stories had been weaved together. And his was broadly known. Maybe some level of honesty was her best bet.

Her brows had furrowed in thought. Her ear throbbed beneath the bandages once again pressed to it. Finally, she focused back on her Dustfinger. "One hour, hm? I'll see if they can scan me, remove the tracker, if one's there, within the hour, and if not-if not I'll return another time..." As long as Hydra didn't find them before then.

With his agreement, she stood, vision weaving as she did. She held the chair arm for a moment, steadying herself. Once her balance straightened out, somewhat, she reached out towards him. A gentle squeeze of his arm. "I'll hurry back. And then we'll go." It made her nervous, after the day's events, leaving him on his own.

But she stepped out, into the wilds of the hall. Blue eyes flickered restlessly, landed on a nearby clock and noted the time. And the search was on.

She didn't need to look for long. A nurse froze mid step, taking in the sight of her ear, the waver to her posture. "Hi, can I help you? Would you like a chair?"

"..." Speak. Tell her. Her hands were trembling uncontrollably, and the soldier felt strange, almost as though she was floating off the ground. The words left her lips, though, even if they felt separated from her, "My name is Sadie." She just went into the basics; she'd been captured. She'd escaped. She had reason to believe she might have a tracking device on her person. She watched the nurse's body language carefully. Concern, alarm, maybe a little apprehensive, but leaning into empathy. Everything sort of blurred, once they were on the move. The staff were incredibly patient with her. It took longer than she'd hoped, to sort everything out.

Her fears were confirmed. She did have a tracker. In her forearm. Feelings on the matter were surprisingly unobserved, though evident amongst the staff. It took a while for them to work out options that would work for her metabolism, but they incorporated her into the decision making process, which came as a pleasant surprise, greeted by apprehension. As soon as the device was in sight, she wanted to destroy it. To disintegrate it beneath the pads of her fingers. But Hydra could be watching. And she didn't want to lead them to the hospital, knowing this was where it was destroyed. So she pulled up a name in her memory. "Call Shield. An agent named Mike. Ask him to come." He was the one who'd brought her back to herself. He wasn't Hydra. He was an old friend. He'd know what to do. He could fly it somewhere, drop it off in a random, isolated environment. Send Hydra on a goose chase. He could take it far away.

Fresh bandages wrapped around her arm, and over her ear, so she didn't have to constantly hold the gauze up to it, and Sadie returned to Dustfinger's room. The exhausted relief was evident in her face, as she stepped up beside him. "Okay. Let's go home."

A gentle, and confused glance was tossed his way. He was willing to risk them being tracked? Or did he have something else in mind?

"I do if I want some kind of chance-" at life. Whether she deserved it or not, she was choosing to continue, and she didn't want to be followed by a fear and weight she could be rid of. "of-of sleeping. Of going back to how we were. I can bare a lot but I can't keep running on empty forever, that's what got us into this mess, I missed something today and... it could've been so much worse. We got lucky." He could've been lost. And so could she, in many ways.

His request met her ears a moment later. One she understood immediately. Every moment in this place was unsettling, even amongst the kind voices so unlike the white coats in other facilities. She nodded. "You want to leave right now?" She confirmed, sitting up in her seat. Her mind began to race, questions and concerns and adrenaline kicking in once again. Should she risk asking the staff questions on his care? Or would they clue in, and insist he stay? Could the facility try to hold him here? If they had to fall back on it, she could help him escape out the window...

She could come back to inquire about a scan, if they were to leave immediately. She didn't love the idea of waiting, risking being found again so soon, but she could see an all too familiar fear in his eyes, and she couldn't help but want to get him out.

[sadiebrin]

"That's true, we'll just have to see." She mused. She was trying to spend her savings in moderation, since she had no idea how long it would take to find Rockland, or what her job prospects would be outside of Oline and Derek's farm, if she had to relocate long term. Of course, she wasn't going to say that to Mr. Generous over here. "Sounds delicious." She snorted softly with his enthusiastic exclamation. "They're definitely cozy." She'd grown quite fond of them, in the previous year or so. She hesitated a moment, before adding, "I have a friend who's given me local tea blends, in the past. They were very good, it's incredible how many flavours are out there, too."

A shrug met his interpretation, "Could be. Who knows how any of this works?" He was obviously really struggling. An understanding nod met the sentiment, "Yeah... Just one day at a time, right?" She considered asking if he had anyone else, someone around who he could turn to, but it sure didn't sound like it. Depending on how the rest of their interactions went, maybe she'd offer him her contact. Email, or... she technically had a cell phone for emergency use, but it was a burner with limited minutes. "Sorry if I'm completely flopping at this, by the way, my social skills are a work in progress and I'm not exactly a beacon of self care, either." She was quite certain under her baseball cap, she had at least a couple crumpled leaves weaved into her hair. She could feel them rustling around, tickling her scalp.

She pursed her lips as he returned her sentiment, and matched his shrug with her own, not about to argue otherwise. Average Joe Schmoes. She sure hoped her experience wasn't average. A nod met his agreement on the room, grateful not to dwell on it. "Thank you."

Nice. A tilt of the head back and fourth, complicated feelings towards the organization flickering into her gaze. If it wasn't for being with Shield, she probably wouldn't have been taken by Hydra. And then it turned out the organization she'd worked for had been infiltrated for years. And had they even bothered to look for her? She hadn't had a chance to ask. She wasn't exactly eager to come face to face with the organization anytime soon. She just wanted to be done with them.

His intrigue was evident in his body language, it was nice to see him perk up. Her brows drew together, as she contemplated his suggestion; His laptop. While she at least wouldn't have to worry about the public eye, a personal device came with it's own challenges. She didn't know him, outside of this conversation. Would she be able to clear any trace of her searches, once she was done, so he wouldn't be able to see them? And if it was so secure, "You'll let a stranger use your protected laptop?" Maybe he planned to look over her shoulder the entire time, in which case he'd know exactly who she was looking for, anyways. It felt like a trap. She mentally retraced the day's events as best she could recall, searching for signs of it being so. Doubtful. But she was wary all the same.

The soldier bunched herself up under the desk, palms pressed to her ears with enough pressure that she could hear the squeak of her joints. She was trying to block out the noise. The angry shouts as she disobeyed direct orders. When had she entered the office? One minute she'd been searching the aisles...

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

Being a vampire sucked, pun intended. Needing blood all the time was not only unappealing to Wade, but it was massively inconvenient with his schedule and lifestyle. And he refused to give up the foods he loved, even if they did nothing for him nowadays. At least he could eat whatever he wanted without fear of getting fat or developing heart disease, since whatever made him a vampire seemed to regulate his body to keep it in tip-top shape without him having to do much of anything.

His deliberations on exactly what kind of indulgent human food to buy were interrupted by a very distressed woman staggering from near where he was toward the back of the store. Confections could wait. Wade followed her, sensing that something was very wrong. When she went inside an office and slammed the door, Wade stopped and watched as the manager began pounding on the door like a child throwing a tantrum. "Really?" Wade mumbled to himself.

Making his way to the door, Wade laid his hand on the manager's shoulder. "Take a breath, okay? I think she's havin' some kinda problem." The manager was taking too many breaths, as it were, and spouting more boisterous nonsense about how she wasn't allowed in there, and if she didn't come out right this instant he was going to called the cops!

With an irritated smirk, Wade reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Dude, relax, I am the cops," he said, flashing his badge just fast enough for the manager to see something that looked official but not long enough for him to actually read that it only said government licensed bounty hunter on it. It worked, and the manager took a step back from the door. Only one. Wade looked at him like, you gotta be kiddin' me with this bullshit. "Yeah, you wanna gimme some time here, man? I'll handle it, don't worry." With that, the manager huffed and left to deal with an irate woman who couldn't find the type of cheese she wanted and was making it everyone else's problem.

"Hey... miss?" he called through the door. "You okay in there? Need some help?" He was trying to get through to the woman but also sound as non-threatening as he could manage.

[sadiebrin]

His brow raise was mirrored by hers, with that particular exclamation. If it was that strong, maybe she should've gone for coffee. Her tea smelled lovely, but wow could she use an energy boost. It probably wouldn't make a difference. She was yet to find a coffee that did what it was meant to. Perks of the serum, in addition to the effects her metabolism had on medication. "You're really selling it, I'm starting to question my own choice." She blew on her tea, and then took a sip, floral notes coating her tongue. She tilted her head to the side, "This is quite lovely, actually."

The words Wade followed up with were... unnervingly familiar. It was as though he was digging around in her brain. She nodded, expression solemnly understanding. And then he continued, and she bit at her lip for a moment while considering her response, "Maybe it's not about you, what you deserve, or think you do. Maybe it's about someone else. Maybe you stick around to help people, to try and create something." That idea helped her continue, at least. She didn't think she deserved much either, but maybe someone else, did. Rockland deserved her protection, at the very least. Derek and Oline, Madison? They deserved good, too. Maybe Wade could make a difference.

No, there aren't? Her jaw set, brows furrowing. And then he praised her, and she shook her head. That made her a- "I'm not. I'm no better than you." Arguably worse, from what he'd told her, but she wasn't eager to announce that over coffee. Not to mention he was a bounty hunter and she didn't want to increase her chances of the law coming after her, maybe later, but not when she had a mission. As for accepting the money, though? She pursed her lips, took another sip of her drink, and then kept her eyes fixed on the table as she murmured, "I'll accept a very basic hotel room for one night, if you still want me to have it, but I don't want you to-to put me on some pedestal."

She appreciated that he didn't pry further into what had set her off, that he respected her right to choose what she disclosed.

At least the topic of his job seemed to perk him up a bit, "Good. I... I was a Shield agent, a while ago. So, I was trained in locating people, but we had resources... from what I recall. I don't know this area well, and I'm-I'm looking for someone. Do you know where I could find a computer to use... Something secure, if possible?" A local library could be an option, but she feared others looking over her shoulder, or hacking into such a public system, somehow. Was it likely? Maybe not, but that didn't ease the nagging part of her brain.

The soldier bunched herself up under the desk, palms pressed to her ears with enough pressure that she could hear the squeak of her joints. She was trying to block out the noise. The angry shouts as she disobeyed direct orders. When had she entered the office? One minute she'd been searching the aisles...

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

Being a vampire sucked, pun intended. Needing blood all the time was not only unappealing to Wade, but it was massively inconvenient with his schedule and lifestyle. And he refused to give up the foods he loved, even if they did nothing for him nowadays. At least he could eat whatever he wanted without fear of getting fat or developing heart disease, since whatever made him a vampire seemed to regulate his body to keep it in tip-top shape without him having to do much of anything.

His deliberations on exactly what kind of indulgent human food to buy were interrupted by a very distressed woman staggering from near where he was toward the back of the store. Confections could wait. Wade followed her, sensing that something was very wrong. When she went inside an office and slammed the door, Wade stopped and watched as the manager began pounding on the door like a child throwing a tantrum. "Really?" Wade mumbled to himself.

Making his way to the door, Wade laid his hand on the manager's shoulder. "Take a breath, okay? I think she's havin' some kinda problem." The manager was taking too many breaths, as it were, and spouting more boisterous nonsense about how she wasn't allowed in there, and if she didn't come out right this instant he was going to called the cops!

With an irritated smirk, Wade reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Dude, relax, I am the cops," he said, flashing his badge just fast enough for the manager to see something that looked official but not long enough for him to actually read that it only said government licensed bounty hunter on it. It worked, and the manager took a step back from the door. Only one. Wade looked at him like, you gotta be kiddin' me with this bullshit. "Yeah, you wanna gimme some time here, man? I'll handle it, don't worry." With that, the manager huffed and left to deal with an irate woman who couldn't find the type of cheese she wanted and was making it everyone else's problem.

"Hey... miss?" he called through the door. "You okay in there? Need some help?" He was trying to get through to the woman but also sound as non-threatening as he could manage.

[sadiebrin]

Did she?

Sae-sae!

"I... I think so." She blinked, expression soft and contemplative, searching. Did she have...? Was she comfortable saying so? She met Dustfinger's gaze, vulnerability swirling about in her stomach.

Did she trust him enough to say?

"I think my sister and I, we saw them as kids." The words left her throat tentatively, but more easily than she'd expected. A pause, "Do you have siblings?" What had his family been like, growing up? What had lead him to live in the woods, on his own until they'd met?

continued from [x] @sadiebrin

"Did you have these where you grew up?"

Dustfinger was learning to tread carefully and purposefully whenever memories pushed to the surface of Sadie's mind. They spooked more easily than water-nymphs, but seemed to respond similarly to a trusted face and a gentle encouragement.

[sadiebrin]

She watched his features sink with her words, and felt as though their paths had diverged when she wasn't looking. He didn't have what kept him going... and yet he kept going. She recognized the fragility there; a sense of hope like a match on a raft, floating along at sea. She at least had a paddle, and a destination in mind, albeit far off in the distance. There was no certainty there, but it was still a paddle. How did he lose his?

She could see the guilt in his eyes, the sorrow as he spoke of what had happened. He'd lost his team, his family, his- She found her hand subconsciously wrapping around her stomach under the table. Her own brows furrowed, a deep empathy cast across the table. There were no words. A part of her was inclined to reach out, to lay her hand open on the table for him to hold if he felt inclined; a gesture of comfort. One she'd been offered, herself. But that had been after some time of adjustment. Of building trust, in Oline's company. Wade was still a stranger to her, and while he'd been nothing but kind as of yet, she couldn't bring herself to feel comfortable. So she refrained. And instead, she just listened, murmured a soft, "I'm sorry." For his loss. That so much had gone wrong.

A slow, solemn nod met his words, his self-loathing reflected in her own eyes. She still doubted herself, at every step. Was she doing the right thing? Was she putting Rockland in danger by even searching for him? A scar on her arm had healed over where a tracker once resided. She'd been reassured that no others had been located within her person. And yet she still felt watched. She still questioned near everyone. It felt like a matter of time before Hydra found her again. And fighting alone was easier. Hydra couldn't use her own life against her, but she was terrified of being around people, finding good people, and then having them used as leverage, of being the reason they-

She could understand questioning. She could understand guilt. She was quiet for a few moments. The scent of jasmine. Her tea was brought to the table. It steamed in it's cup.

She wanted to give him a paddle. "Maybe there's a reason out there. A reason you survived... Something to hold on, for. Maybe you just haven't found it yet." The words were gentle.

Another nod met his note on the money, on the room. She could understand his disdain towards it, now. "There are charities out there. Maybe they could help, take some off your hands. I'm not-" Worth it. "There are better people you could spend it on."

She moved the tea to her lips, blew on it as he apologized. Her lungs still didn't feel right. A sensation she'd grown unnervingly used to. "It's alright." She wasn't going to go into detail, but she supposed he had saved her ass. "It was a smell. It just-it brought back some bad memories." The woman paused. He'd said he was a bounty hunter. That meant, "You look for people, that's your job, right?"

The soldier bunched herself up under the desk, palms pressed to her ears with enough pressure that she could hear the squeak of her joints. She was trying to block out the noise. The angry shouts as she disobeyed direct orders. When had she entered the office? One minute she'd been searching the aisles...

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

Being a vampire sucked, pun intended. Needing blood all the time was not only unappealing to Wade, but it was massively inconvenient with his schedule and lifestyle. And he refused to give up the foods he loved, even if they did nothing for him nowadays. At least he could eat whatever he wanted without fear of getting fat or developing heart disease, since whatever made him a vampire seemed to regulate his body to keep it in tip-top shape without him having to do much of anything.

His deliberations on exactly what kind of indulgent human food to buy were interrupted by a very distressed woman staggering from near where he was toward the back of the store. Confections could wait. Wade followed her, sensing that something was very wrong. When she went inside an office and slammed the door, Wade stopped and watched as the manager began pounding on the door like a child throwing a tantrum. "Really?" Wade mumbled to himself.

Making his way to the door, Wade laid his hand on the manager's shoulder. "Take a breath, okay? I think she's havin' some kinda problem." The manager was taking too many breaths, as it were, and spouting more boisterous nonsense about how she wasn't allowed in there, and if she didn't come out right this instant he was going to called the cops!

With an irritated smirk, Wade reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Dude, relax, I am the cops," he said, flashing his badge just fast enough for the manager to see something that looked official but not long enough for him to actually read that it only said government licensed bounty hunter on it. It worked, and the manager took a step back from the door. Only one. Wade looked at him like, you gotta be kiddin' me with this bullshit. "Yeah, you wanna gimme some time here, man? I'll handle it, don't worry." With that, the manager huffed and left to deal with an irate woman who couldn't find the type of cheese she wanted and was making it everyone else's problem.

"Hey... miss?" he called through the door. "You okay in there? Need some help?" He was trying to get through to the woman but also sound as non-threatening as he could manage.

[sadiebrin]

So cuddly

[sadiebrin]

When she was going through it. As considerate as that was, her brain couldn't help but pipe up, when am I not? All things considered, it was still far from her worst day. "I'm alright. You don't have to curb anything, I'm open to the- to a distraction." She rephrased, opening the dialogue, allowing wiggle room for a change of topic if he chose.

"F-" She swore, "yeah it does." A sparkle in her eyes, a softening of her features as she attempted to build rapport, to reassure he could speak as he wished. She wasn't looking for him to censor himself.

A nod met his dismissal, glad he could find comfort in his coffee at the very least. "There is something about it." Of course, while she could appreciate the flavour of the roasted beans, they didn't do much for her in the way of energy. A drawback of the serum, she assumed. She'd certainly appreciate the boost.

All you can do is try not to fall off the back of the truck. "Yeah..." She agreed, soberly. There was a pause, as she considered the words, and then, "You just need to cling to what keeps you going." Rockland. He was her anchor. She had to find him, make sure he was safe. Her bebis was out there somewhere.

She sat back in the booth after ordering, raising a brow with Wade's question and shrugging. "No." Had she given him the impression that she was what? Shy? "That's not what it was about back- back there. It wasn't because of talking to people... Not just because of talking to people." Sure, maybe that was part of it. Communicating with strangers- well, communicating entirely, could still be a challenge at times, but it was just one element of a complicated whole, and it hadn't been what had driven her to hide out in the office.

The soldier bunched herself up under the desk, palms pressed to her ears with enough pressure that she could hear the squeak of her joints. She was trying to block out the noise. The angry shouts as she disobeyed direct orders. When had she entered the office? One minute she'd been searching the aisles...

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

Being a vampire sucked, pun intended. Needing blood all the time was not only unappealing to Wade, but it was massively inconvenient with his schedule and lifestyle. And he refused to give up the foods he loved, even if they did nothing for him nowadays. At least he could eat whatever he wanted without fear of getting fat or developing heart disease, since whatever made him a vampire seemed to regulate his body to keep it in tip-top shape without him having to do much of anything.

His deliberations on exactly what kind of indulgent human food to buy were interrupted by a very distressed woman staggering from near where he was toward the back of the store. Confections could wait. Wade followed her, sensing that something was very wrong. When she went inside an office and slammed the door, Wade stopped and watched as the manager began pounding on the door like a child throwing a tantrum. "Really?" Wade mumbled to himself.

Making his way to the door, Wade laid his hand on the manager's shoulder. "Take a breath, okay? I think she's havin' some kinda problem." The manager was taking too many breaths, as it were, and spouting more boisterous nonsense about how she wasn't allowed in there, and if she didn't come out right this instant he was going to called the cops!

With an irritated smirk, Wade reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Dude, relax, I am the cops," he said, flashing his badge just fast enough for the manager to see something that looked official but not long enough for him to actually read that it only said government licensed bounty hunter on it. It worked, and the manager took a step back from the door. Only one. Wade looked at him like, you gotta be kiddin' me with this bullshit. "Yeah, you wanna gimme some time here, man? I'll handle it, don't worry." With that, the manager huffed and left to deal with an irate woman who couldn't find the type of cheese she wanted and was making it everyone else's problem.

"Hey... miss?" he called through the door. "You okay in there? Need some help?" He was trying to get through to the woman but also sound as non-threatening as he could manage.

[sadiebrin]

"Okay, thanks." Sadie conceded, watching as he stood and raised his badge into view. "Micah." Not Agent, just Micah. "Nice to meet you." She hesitated a moment, instinct encouraging her to withhold her name. There were whispers in the back of her mind,

What if he's Hydra? What if he recognizes me? What if-

"I'm Sadie." She suppressed the concerns. He could find out easily enough if he asked around, anyways. Besides, there were files on her in the system, she was sure. As they walked, a silence fell over her, and she searched for topics of small talk. Nothing that might read as too personal, as scouting for information. Light but not dull.

"If it's not an inconvenience?" She agreed, tentatively, watching as he set his things aside and whizzed away from the desk in a dramatic fashion.

"What's your name?" Sadie eyes scanned over him in search of his badge, and then slid back up to his eyes. As they set off, she trailed towards the walls yet again, subtly (at least she hoped) keeping within arms reach of one wherever she could. A subconscious comfort move. She frequented their surroundings with her gaze, taking in the details, making note of faces as they walked past. Maybe she was searching for someone. Or multiple someones. Visiting the facility was becoming less stressful the more often she came, but that didn't mean it was easy.

[sadiebrin]

"If it's not an inconvenience?" She agreed, tentatively, watching as he set his things aside and whizzed away from the desk in a dramatic fashion.

"What's your name?" Sadie eyes scanned over him in search of his badge, and then slid back up to his eyes. As they set off, she trailed towards the walls yet again, subtly (at least she hoped) keeping within arms reach of one wherever she could. A subconscious comfort move. She frequented their surroundings with her gaze, taking in the details, making note of faces as they walked past. Maybe she was searching for someone. Or multiple someones. Visiting the facility was becoming less stressful the more often she came, but that didn't mean it was easy.

Another day, another appointment. At least it gave her a reason to brave the crowds. To peek her head out of the cave that was the apartment. And do her hair. And make herself generally somewhat presentable. Mandated therapy. Not intimidating at all.

Luckily she arrived early, anticipating the Shield therapist’s office to be as elusive and it’s location as lacking in transparency as the rest of the organization. Her hand practically brushed up against the nearest walls as she walked, keeping an eye out for hazards. Or information. There was a sign up ahead pertaining to communications. Well, maybe they’d know where she needed to go.

She made her way up to a desk, behind which sat a man. Did he look familiar…? Maybe she’d seen him during one of her other meetings.

“Hi.” A little more information would probably be a good call. Just what she wanted to do, tell a stranger she was looking for private medical services. Although she could just be looking to visit someone there, she supposed. “I’m looking for the therapist’s office.” (Sadiebrin)

Just another day. It was weird of how easy it felt to just slip back into the grind of his old position, despite everything he had gone through. It was nice though to have something to take his mind off of the various things that plagued him the last few years. Being busy helped more than he had expected.

Was taking on as many shifts as they would allow him the most healthy coping mechanism? Probably not, but one hurdle at a time.

He glanced up briefly from his desk as he heard foot steps followed by a woman's voice. He flicked off his headset. "Oh. You are definitely in the wrong part of the building." His fingers flew over the keyboard as he redirected calls away from his desk. With the possibility of calls interrupting him, he looked back up to her. There was something about her he couldn't place. He scanned her over, trying to find a badge or visitors pass somewhere on her person. Not that he'd be able to read the name on it, but it didn't hurt to take some cautionary steps. "It's pretty much a maze in here if you don't know the way around."

@sadiebrin

[sadiebrin]

"You're not kind?" She called him out, tone warm. She may not have much experience socializing, but she did know that he'd respected her boundaries, he'd offered to share what little he had, he'd been forgiving of her mistakes and he'd been far gentler when tending to her wounds than she recalled any of the white coats at Hydra being. If that wasn't kindness, she didn't know what was.

Unless he had some secret plan he'd been harbouring this whole time, and he'd been manipulating her, which she sincerely doubted. "You speak like I deserve something amazing. I don't. This is better than I could've asked for." But maybe this was his gentle way of saying he didn't want her around any more. That he wanted her on her way. She couldn't fault him for that. She was the reason he'd gotten hurt.

Plenty of people would make your life better too.

Rockland.

A missing poster with a blurry photo, on the library computer. Her family. She needed to know whether they were okay. Would she make contact, if she found them? That she wasn't sure on. But there was a longing in her chest that she couldn't ignore. And it was her responsibility to make sure at least Rockland was alright, before she decided on what came next for her.

"I found a lead on-on my family... I've been thinking of heading towards Ohio." It showed how much she'd grown to trust him, that she was telling him this much. "Would you want to come with me?" There was his opening, if he wanted to take it. It was his choice.

Alright, she quirked a brow at that. Blue eyes flickered up to meet his, pausing in her work. She was quiet a moment, considering his words. Their implications. She didn't take offence; he was largely stating truths. It wasn't as though she was out socializing on the regular, and she could only hope the people at Hydra weren't representative of the average person.

What did concern her, however, was the self deprecation. The suggestion that he wasn't normal, and that her thoughts and feelings and assessment of his character in regard to her were somehow void due to her lack of social experience.

"Well, what does that matter?" She finally asked, sitting back on her ankles. Soil stained hands came to rest on her legs. "And what is normal anyways? Every life is different."

[sadiebrin]

A gentle, and confused glance was tossed his way. He was willing to risk them being tracked? Or did he have something else in mind?

"I do if I want some kind of chance-" at life. Whether she deserved it or not, she was choosing to continue, and she didn't want to be followed by a fear and weight she could be rid of. "of-of sleeping. Of going back to how we were. I can bare a lot but I can't keep running on empty forever, that's what got us into this mess, I missed something today and... it could've been so much worse. We got lucky." He could've been lost. And so could she, in many ways.

His request met her ears a moment later. One she understood immediately. Every moment in this place was unsettling, even amongst the kind voices so unlike the white coats in other facilities. She nodded. "You want to leave right now?" She confirmed, sitting up in her seat. Her mind began to race, questions and concerns and adrenaline kicking in once again. Should she risk asking the staff questions on his care? Or would they clue in, and insist he stay? Could the facility try to hold him here? If they had to fall back on it, she could help him escape out the window...

She could come back to inquire about a scan, if they were to leave immediately. She didn't love the idea of waiting, risking being found again so soon, but she could see an all too familiar fear in his eyes, and she couldn't help but want to get him out.

A warm and gentle pressure came to rest upon her knee, grounding. A gesture of comfort, which her free hand didn't hesitate to meet. His voice washed over her, nothing but kind. After all he'd been put through, because of her. Blue eyes flickered up to meet his, apologetic and disbelieving, grateful and guilty all at once.

But you deserve to. Maybe it was best to wait, anyways. For him to recover, for them to be somewhere quiet once again. Away from prying ears. Would the forest feel safe, still? Their place of wonder and comfort and sanctuary. She'd known it wasn't secure, from a logical standpoint. But... they'd gone for so long, comfortable. She supposed it still felt better out there than in the city. The forest had protected them as best it could, behind the trees and the walls she'd built. It had allowed them to get away.

It's okay, Sadie. Her thumb, resting in the crook of his, smoothed over his skin. Her features quivered for a moment, and then she set her jaw, and gave a nod.

"... I'm so sorry." She should've seen signs, should've reacted faster, set up a blockade right away rather than ran, she should've ensured he ran ahead of her... She'd just responded on instinct. Now, all she could do was take accountability, and act, to try and prevent them being caught off guard like that again.

"I-I think I'll... try talking to the staff.. in a little while. Ask about-" She swallowed, mouth dry. "Ask about a scan. See if-if I have a tracker. Maybe that's how they found us." They'd been careful. She'd even changed the print of her boots every so often. The concept of a tracker had occurred to her before. She'd felt her skin over on more than one occasion, searching. But she wasn't sure how else they would've known. As much as she dreaded every step that would entail, she had to check. She couldn't think of any other way. Would they even believe her? She watched Dustfinger's features, tried to gauge his thoughts, and then a gentle squeeze of his hand,

"Is-is there anything you need? Anything I-I can do?"

[sadiebrin]

A nod met his agreement. She appreciated that he was respecting her decisions, even if they might not make sense to him.

As long as nobody gets hurt.

Tunnel vision. A thudding heart. Hands, freed of gauntlets, flat on the soldier's knees to allow the material to soak up the sweat. The van doors opened.

Her hand coming to rest on the holster of her belt.

Cold metal fingers clenched around her neck-

Hydra's idea of order almost always ended up with someone hurt.

"... definitely." She replied a moment later, pulling her gaze back up to his. He kind of deserved it. Interesting. "Do you want to talk about that?" She wasn't about to pressure him to do so, but he was the one who brought it up. Maybe he needed to get something off his chest. She wouldn't be offended if he replied with a blunt Hah, nope. She wasn't eager to go into her stuff with a stranger.

He had a nice laugh. It was nice to bring someone some humour. "You don't have to apologize, I've got a mouth like a trucker." Where had she gotten that particular phrase from? It had just slipped from her tongue before she'd really had time to process it. Did it even make sense? Was there something there she hadn't quite placed?

A waste? She quirked a brow, curious, until he continued. An understanding nod. Maybe he was gluten free, or diabetic, or allergic. "That's too bad." Was that a good response? Or would it make him feel worse? She made an awkward face, and then added, "Hopefully the coffee will help make up for it."

She tossed him a small smile of her own, as he returned the sentiment regarding their introduction. "What even is normal, anyways?" She agreed. And then the waitress came by, and Wade ordered first. Okay, just say the line. Nothing to it.

"I'd like a jasmine tea, please."

"Would you like cream or sugar with it?"

Soldiers don't want anyth- Oh, back off. Focus. Cream or sugar. How had Oline prepared it? She'd used honey, hadn't she?

"Um... Both, if that's alright."

"Of course. Is there anything else?"

She shook her head. "Thank you." The waitress stepped away from the table and she resisted the urge to sink back into her chair. Phew.

The soldier bunched herself up under the desk, palms pressed to her ears with enough pressure that she could hear the squeak of her joints. She was trying to block out the noise. The angry shouts as she disobeyed direct orders. When had she entered the office? One minute she'd been searching the aisles...

well,

Shallow breaths

A tap on her shoulder, sending her jolting alongside her racing heart, wide eyes searching for the source- an elderly woman with a light laugh, and an apology for startling her. She was only reaching for the milk

Bright, fluorescent lights

Constant chatter and clanging and beeping that was not, in fact, a heart rate monitor, and was instead the tills as the cashiers scanned various items

Too many options

kind of.

At some point she'd passed the bakery, and a small child in a cart had wheeled by, holding a...

And then she'd found herself in the office. The door was locked from the inside. The desk had the indent of fingers on the edge of it's surface, as though imprinted in wet cement. One of it's legs wiggled like a snake. Both still gleaned with the sweat of her hands.

The manager kept slamming on the door, shouting and raving about calling the police, and company files and trespassing. And yet she was frozen in place. - For Wade, sadiebrin

@sadiebrin

"Donuts or muffins?" Wade muttered to himself as he looked around the bakery section. His head tilted to one side, then the other. "Eh, they each have their good points..."

It was supposed to rain today. Not just rain, thunderstorm. So far, though, the sky had gone dark for a couple hours and it had gotten rather windy, but so far... no rain or thunder. Perfect weather for Wade to do a little shopping during normal human hours without fear of getting too impaired by the sun. He'd felt a mild tingling on his skin when he stepped outside, but... not too bad. And really, he just had to go from his apartment building to his SUV, and then from there into the store. He could do that standing on his head, so... time to shop.

Being a vampire sucked, pun intended. Needing blood all the time was not only unappealing to Wade, but it was massively inconvenient with his schedule and lifestyle. And he refused to give up the foods he loved, even if they did nothing for him nowadays. At least he could eat whatever he wanted without fear of getting fat or developing heart disease, since whatever made him a vampire seemed to regulate his body to keep it in tip-top shape without him having to do much of anything.

His deliberations on exactly what kind of indulgent human food to buy were interrupted by a very distressed woman staggering from near where he was toward the back of the store. Confections could wait. Wade followed her, sensing that something was very wrong. When she went inside an office and slammed the door, Wade stopped and watched as the manager began pounding on the door like a child throwing a tantrum. "Really?" Wade mumbled to himself.

Making his way to the door, Wade laid his hand on the manager's shoulder. "Take a breath, okay? I think she's havin' some kinda problem." The manager was taking too many breaths, as it were, and spouting more boisterous nonsense about how she wasn't allowed in there, and if she didn't come out right this instant he was going to called the cops!

With an irritated smirk, Wade reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Dude, relax, I am the cops," he said, flashing his badge just fast enough for the manager to see something that looked official but not long enough for him to actually read that it only said government licensed bounty hunter on it. It worked, and the manager took a step back from the door. Only one. Wade looked at him like, you gotta be kiddin' me with this bullshit. "Yeah, you wanna gimme some time here, man? I'll handle it, don't worry." With that, the manager huffed and left to deal with an irate woman who couldn't find the type of cheese she wanted and was making it everyone else's problem.

"Hey... miss?" he called through the door. "You okay in there? Need some help?" He was trying to get through to the woman but also sound as non-threatening as he could manage.

[sadiebrin]

"Sorry." Sadie mumbled as she caught the man's flinch. She'd tried to set him down gently, but she knew even the slightest jostling likely wasn't comfortable given his injury.

She wasn't quite sure why he was so fixated on the time, but a nod met his words all the same. She didn't have a watch on her either, nor a phone to show him the time. "I'll try to check in a little while, if you'd like."

As the nurse began working on the wound, the soldier found her arms wrapping around her waist. There was a metallic scent in the air, alongside the anesthetic, and nausea bubbled in her stomach. Walk around a little- or maybe sit down? No. She didn't want to sit. But pacing probably wasn't ideal, either. I don't know. I don't know... She rubbed at her arms. Hands were not gripping them. She wasn't being directed towards a chair, or table. You're fine. Just breathe.

A quirked brow was tossed the others' way. He didn't want to stay overnight? She couldn't blame him for that, but it did sound risky, unless he had enhanced healing abilities or something. "Do you live far from here?"

David Vincent was in trouble.

After an encounter that had led to him stopping a small, local group of aliens, he had once again escaped. 

He had successfully stopped their little plan, but he hadn't escaped unscathed.

He was lucky at least that it hadn't been one of their weapons, but all that changed was that instead of being incinerated, David had been shot.

He should have stopped already to tend to it, but David had wanted to be sure he had gotten away from those pursuing him. 

He was tired, sore and bleeding. He stumbled through the brush, one hand pressed to his side, the other with a firm grip on the gun he'd snatched off them, still not convinced he had escaped them.

@sadiebrin