#cade&aiyla

[elpida]

closed starter for @isolatednights

cade shoved his foot between the closing elevator doors to keep the doors from shutting. he was purposefully trying to catch aiyla, see he'd liked her for long enough and.. he was very well aware, he was probably too old for her, too grumpy, too anti social, all of it... but out of everyone in his life, he was soft on her.

as always his face was marked, the odd scratch, a bruise here and there. he always looked like he'd had a bar brawl, a fist fight in the streets. "aiyla?" he said, trying to put his best smile on. "cade, number 7, few doors down from you. listen i needed to ask a favour, mrs dent next door can't do it she's busy but i'm working late this week, and i just got a cat a few weeks ago, cute lil' thing. i was wonderin' if you wouldn't mind popping in and just making sure she's got food down and water, if that's okay?"

did he get that cat because he was lonely? absolutely, but it was an excuse to talk to her some more, that being said he did hope she was a cat person. "it 'aint a problem if you can't, i just thought i'd ask and she's uh, she's a real affectionate cat. she wouldn't be a problem, loves a fussing." his smile softened, he already loved that cat. "how are you by the way? haven't seen you in a while, things going okay?" he knew it wasn't the best start, but it was a start and he was just.. in awe of her.

[elpida]

through the worst of it. they were through the worst of it. were they? because she knew she had to be steel for a little longer, she had to make sure he was okay, to tend his wounds. she'd gone to find warm water, cade had offered her some latex gloves that he had, so at the very least she could help silas without having to wait. plus, he could see it, that the drying blood was bothering her from how she was itching at her hands absent mindedly. it wasn't that blood bothered eris, it never had... it's that it was edens. it's that it was closer to home than it ever had been before.

"silas? come on, your turn. come sit here." followed by a brief grumble on him being too tall. sshe would've been fine, if cade hadn't slammed a door and it .. well she startled, none of them were used to loud noises anymore, but it was like cade said- safe here and eris simply didn't expect it. silas might have been the only person that saw the few seconds that she wasn't in that room, that she was somewhere else, stuck in distant memories that she'd so briefly mentioned to him, things that she'd done and seen that could never be undone.

"it's gonna sting, cleaning this bust lip, where else? and no being brave about it." it was only when she was working, when her hands had something to focus on, that she could really.. speak about eden, or what happened, because she had a job to do and it wouldn't overwhelm her mind. "what if she doesn't wake up si?" she whispered, her eyes glued to his bust lip, and the gentle way she held his face still, her hands might be covered by latex but it didn't change that she was so gentle, almost affectionate in the way she dabbed at his torn skin. "i know- it stings, i'm sorry." then came something she never thought she'd be saying, but he deserved to hear it. "i'm proud of you." what a place to say it, him sat on a kitchen table, her stood there, in the space between his legs, so intent on making sure that her person was okay. "it isn't easy, in a situation like that to.. i just, i know you did your best, i know you were brave and i know you did everything you could, everything i'd talked about before.. i'm proud of you and i'm.." she took in a deep breath, a brief pressing of her lips. her brows had furrowed, but only because she was focusing so intently on his injuries. "i'm just relieved that you are okay."

"aiyla?" cade called, walking down the corridor until he found her and gestured with his head. "c'mon, i want to see to your wrists." he's scrubbed his hands clean, still wore latex gloves just to be safe, he had plenty of things that he'd scavenged in the early days hidden away, he had the vodka at the ready to disinfect and he swore by that method. there was a silence that overtook cade though, when he was sat, crouched before her, holding her hands and turning so he could look over the sore marks on her wrists, where they'd bound them and his jaw physically tightened, clenched, that crease between his brows forming. "i'm sorry, if.." he sighed, and brought her hands up to his mouth, pressing his lips to her knuckles and kissing over the area his thumbs soothed across. "i'm sorry aiyla, that i wasn't quicker or- that this.. it should never have happened." he paused, eyes closing. "not to you."

there was something else, that they had to talk about. "do you think i made the right call? with these just... the kids, you know? they were good, i mean they stuck to their word, they were great backup, couldn't fault that what so ever. if i'd left 'em that woman would be dead, n' i'd be taking a mom away from them two kids and i don't... i don't want to be a bad person, just 'coz it's the end of the world, not like that. what do you think? the right call or?" as always, her opinion mattered heavily to him. it was how it always had been and how it'd remain.

"i was hurt like that once- well, stabbed, not shot." elias revealed, not something he shared easily. actually, he really didn't share a lot from his life before.. he never thought it mattered much, that world was gone and this was what remained. "pissed the wrong people off, it was meant to be a send a message kind of situation but.. similar place, difference was i had to keep the knife in, and we had you know, ambulances, medics with all the equipment. pain relief by the masses when i came around, dread to think how shit that woman is going to feel but i remember feeling cold, when i came round from surgery." he was looking off, remembering. "not just a little chilly either, my entire body was shaking that's the kind of cold, so if that happens at least this would something helpful."

"that's a good idea, for the kids. as for the antibiotics i think they're just through there. we'll take the lot too, any of the medical supplies, worth having at the farm so nobody else can get them, we can always come back for pillows but those are more value than anything else." elias turned, at the three words that created the softer smile on the mans lips. "well, if we're making things crystal clear, just to make it abundantly, immensely obvious." he moved across the room, moving his hand up to cup one side of her face, he had rough hands, hands that'd got used to working on a farm but.. it didn't change that he'd always looked at her the same way, the same adoration. "it was always you, rhea. i loved you before rhea turned up and i love you after too, it never changed." with that he leaned down, his lips findings hers easily, he'd thought about kissing her enough times that it felt.. easy, normal, like they were meant to be. the tip of his nose resting against hers, it was brief, but like she said, they had to get back as soon as they could. "crystal clear?" he whispered, barely parting from her lips. "we can talk about it all night, you can call me an idiot every hour if you like, doesn't change how i feel."

"someones' gotta look after the kids while rhea and eli are gone," she notes softly. "i'll get cleaned up and the two of us can watch them until they get back, then i wont protest laying up in bed and resting, as long as you're with me." crinkling her nose at him, aiyla flashed a brief smile before turning to start toward the house. her trek is slow, the aches of her frame beginning to shine through. the woman can hear the offer to the others to stick around until eden's better, or potentially longer if things work out. later, aiyla will praise cade for being open minded. to looking toward their future and seeing potential. for now, she glances briefly over her shoulder before he completely vanishes around the side of the house with the kids, "bring some buckets of water in?" she calls, "everyones gonna need some warm water to clean up. i'll get a fire going."

the man steps forward slightly, trying to ensure he's within her line of sight and demanding her attention. "eris, breath," he prompts. "we're through the worst of it, right? they'll go out for more supplies, and we'll take it step by step from there. you did everything you could with what we had." and no one could blame her if things took a turn for the worst. "let's get eden and asher settled, then we can both get cleaned up. maybe aiyla and the others have some clean clothes we can all borrow while ours are drying out over the rail."

asher is perhaps the slowest to slide from the vehicle - not wanting to disturb eden, even if he's determined to carry himself into the house. this time around, he's careful, slow in slipping his limbs beneath her before carefully, carefully lifting her from the blood stained bed. glancing up at eli at his comment, asher manages to nod his head once in silent thank you before he's starting in the direction of his house, eden's frame cradled close to his own. "i'll stay with her," he notes, taking the earlier instructions as he moves through the house. "watch her temperature, clean her up. be there when she wakes up." the room they've offered is nice. big, with natural sunlight. access to the porch and a view of the whole farm. it's something asher knows eden would appreciate if she were awake. grimacing as he lays her bloodied body onto the otherwise clean sheets, his head tilts toward the dresser. "set them there. did someone grab her pack? she had clean clothes in there. maybe some water.." releasing a shuttered sigh, he waves her off. "go see to silas. i'll yell if something happens."

aiyla's head pops into the room, clothes and a clean cloth draped over one arm, and a warm bowl of water cradled between her hands. "heard you mention her pack. think it's still in the truck and eli and rhea already left. grabbed a shirt of cades and some of my sweats. should be comfortable enough for her." flashing the man a smile, she sets it down beside the blankets. "cade and i will be around if either of you need anything. just yell." with that, aiyla departs and asher is about to turn to care for eden when fern appears. reaching over, he runs a hand over her head. "why don't you hold mommy's hand while i get her ready to sleep, okay? she watches over you and forrest when you're scared right? right now, mommy's a bit scared, so we've gotta look out for her, okay?" the words are met with a quick nod, the girl scurrying from the doorway into the room to grasp one of eden's hands as asher takes up the bowl and cloth to begin cleaning the woman.

glancing up from her crouched position as she rummages through a bag, rhea's brows furrow. there is too much good stuff here to justify keeping it out in the open like this. another time, she'll sit down with cade and try having a length discussion about bringing it all back to the farm and storing it away properly. god forbid, if anything happens in the future, at least they might be better prepared. "it's a good idea," she offers lightly, brows furrowing slightly. there is a question sitting on the back of her tongue - wanting to know how he'd know that, as rhea can't recall eris mentioning anything. perhaps she just wasn't paying attention?

"more pillows. we'll need to go through the nearby houses for new clothes too. pretty sure a few farms over, there were those kids rooms? see if we can find anything in their size as well as toys and what not." for now, the kids would have to be entertained with the chickens, or helping out around the farm. it was a whole new place to explore. that was bound to keep them busy for a while. stuffing another item into her bag, the woman rose and stepped to rummage through another storage bin. the question makes her pause, a soft sigh escaping her. "don't apologize. it's my fault. i should've said something sooner. if i'd communicated, maybe we wouldn't have been in this whole mess." waving a hand about vaguely, rhea leans against the shelf, tilting her head to look over at him, mirroring his weak smile. "we're good. and just so we're crystal clear - i love you. and we can talk about that plenty later, but we need to find those antibiotics and get back."

[elpida]

"we need to find somewhere more long-term. with land to farm and fresh water, somewhere high up and isolated. somewhere we can survived and live until this mess is over." (cade & aiyla)

"farmin' land isn't the hard part, it's the fresh water. we need land that's got a well or somethin' 'coz as long as we can boil down the water, it'd be safe to drink, even if it's rain water you know? or a stream near the land, that'd do." he half grumbled his response but he knew that aiyla was right, they weren't going to survive like this. "hey, it's gonna work out, 'aight?"

cade flicked his map open wider, using the tip of a knife to point out where he was referencing. "we've been here, and we've been this way, so listen whilst it's more dangerous to get through, i think we go this way, through the woods, beyond that there's just open fields so surely we keep goin' and we're going to find a farm, how about that? i can clear the space, make sure it's safe." above all else he wanted aiyla to feel safe and if she'd have asked him to run a marathon then take on a hoard, he'd do it, just because she asked. he was protective in his nature, incredibly when it came to her. "high up s'gonna be more of a problem sweetheart."

[elpida]

"Wait, who are you?" (aiyla & cade)

"darlin' you know who i am, you know me, cade- cade sabelle, thick and thin me and you, remember?" he pulled her into his harms, holding her like she was going to slip through his arms and disappear from his life, holding though as if she were smoke that'd disperse into nothing he could grab. one hand purposefully cradled the back of her head and the other ran up and down her back. "it's me darlin' n' i'm sorry, i'm so sorry, i'm here now yeah? i'm here n' i've got you." and it didn't matter either way because it was too late, damage was already done.

"aiyla, sweetheart, say you know me, you do don't you? we've been through so much shit together you can't just, there 'aint no way- you can't just forget all of that." he was fretting, fretting because what could be more cruel than this? still right there in person, but not his person.

[elpida]

@isolatednights we know who this is, wh know elias put this on their door as a funny little haha, but they absolutely kept it on their door.

[isolatednights]

@elpida

THE MUMMY 1999 — dir. Stephen Sommers

[elpida]

@isolatednights oh eris, our sweet eris, and cade tbh. this is them in a nutshell. but more eris. she'd do....crazy things.

[elpida]

@isolatednights cade&aiyla when he needs a lil calmin' yk? a little soooothing

[elpida]

[ shower ] for aiyla / cade

he'd pushed aiyla against the tiles, his hand at the back of her head to not let her harm herself with the impact but he couldn't stop the way his lips slammed into hers, the way he'd quite literally shower her with affection. his other hand was gripping one of her thighs and with a small hoist he'd lifted her, planted her legs up around his hips, her back against the tiles for leverage. either way his lips moved, peppering along her jaw and down her neck, the rough of his beard catching on her skin.

"god you're literally fuckin' perfect." he groaned it against her skin, skin that covered in running drops and streams of water that rained down over them both. he'd argue that the noise of the shower covered all sound, when in fact everyone on the farm just pretended not to hear anyone else, it was the easiest way. "ah ah-" he tutted when aiyla moved her head, one hand wrapped then around the length of her damp hair, pulling enough to angle her neck and leave it exposed to him, a devilish smirk because he'd leave marks behind, he liked seeing them, knowing she was so entirely his. he'd never tired of knowing he was that lucky.

he was impatient, his cock already throbbing, aching and given the lack of time they'd have it wasn't long before he was holding a hand briefly over her mouth to sink his length in to, cursing as he felt her tight and warm around him. "thats it- fuck look at you, you look so fuckin' pretty when i'm inside you." he has this gravel to his tone sometimes, a bit of a deepness that seemed to vibrate like it did now. he moved his hand, letting his tongue run across her lower lip. "tell me darlin', tell me how pretty you look takin' me." his thumb fell to take her chin, tilt her head and make sure she'd look at him when she said it, right when he thrust his hips.

[isolatednights]

@elpida

You went out with Rachel before, did you? Did you sleep with her? I did. Once. Like… last year. But it wouldn’t be the kind of thing where, like… feelings would be involved.

NORMAL PEOPLE (2020) | EPISODE THREE

[elpida]

@isolatednights i'm giving cade bombastic side eye because he' would read this in a book and know that his feelings have been described, so accurately.

[isolatednights]

"When did you get this?" reverse - cade&aiyla

@elpida

ever since they'd arrived the farm, they'd fallen into a routine of pairing together for whatever project required doing that day. most were necessities - repairs to the fence, hooking up solar panels, tending the gardens or going for supply runs off the property - but occasionally there were things that popped up that allowed them to live rather than just survive.

elias had approached the pair when it had been agreed additional raised beds would be built to expand their produce. the other man had wanted raspberries for rhea - a surprise, he'd claimed. cade had grumbled about the lack of necessity and only begrudgingly agreed after a silent exchange with aiyla.

the summer sun was high and hot - leaving the conversation between them restricted to the occasional comment or confirmation in hopes of reserving energy and getting done faster. when cade suggested a break for water, aiyla had stood - blue hues raising to look at him just as he's grabbed the edge of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow.

she'd moved before she'd even thought about it - fingers of one hand snatching the fabric and raising it back up while the others ghost over the spiderwebbing against his side. new - if the angry red color had anything to say about it. "when did you get this?" why didn't you tell me?

[isolatednights]

closed starter for @elpida

the moment rhea watched aiyla slip through the doors of starks, rhea knew cade would spend the next several hours thoroughly distracted - and when the man disappears into the back with the woman and asher seems otherwise busy dealing with some young vampire if the threats escaping his lips are anything to go by, she takes her chance to duck out the front and take off in the direction of the woods. cade's been more strict recently on any of them wandering off alone now that a new pack has begun to creep into their territory, but the night is too beautiful to ignore and instincts are screaming at her to take advantage of it.

sometime later, she lays sprawled on her back within a meadow, human once more, as her chest rises and falls in attempt to catch her breath. the run had done her good ; releasing that stored up energy she'd been unable to shake. "it's rude to lurk within the shadows," she calls, head lulling to the side ; eyes flashing in warning to whoever remains out of her immediate vision and scenting distance. looking back at the moon, she sighs. "so either present yourself properly or move along." she could only bask in this little bit of freedom for some long before she needed to return home.

[elpida]

"am i not picking you now? is this not me picking you?" his eyes softened. "i'm sorry, that i made you feel like you were second choice... i really just needed time to figure my head out darlin'. it wasn't you." he meant that, the way he spoke? soft and warm? that was a voice for her to melt in to, to soothe and it was utterly serious. he couldn't help the bit of laughter that escaped. "because apparently your type is me, i mean, has to be according to that test thing, right? so i'm going to take a chance that tall, dark hair, rough around the edges is your type."

"don't wanna be mean to me, but you're angry at me, so what can i do for you to not be angry at me? then we've half solved that problem right? i can't read means, wish i could, but you might have to give me a clue on what it is i could do." the noise of his door hushing opened and then closed behind them, he was setting her down on his bed as gently as he could. "there we go, easy" he'd go find a bed elsewhere, maybe the sofa so he wasn't too far, but he wanted her to be comfortable. "right, let me get you some water and something for how much your head will hate you in the morning."

eris was staring down at the mug of hot chocolate he'd as good as pushed into her hand, she didn't know what to make of it because.. how the hell did he know that she loved a hot chocolate? it was always her choice when it came to something sweet. it threw her too, the kindness of showing her this first, the normalcy of a cafe and she hadn't half been craving some form of normality the past few days. sure the androids were a little strange but at least a cafe would seem like something they'd have all done in their day to day life before this. it was such a simple pleasure, her fingers curving around the comfortable warmth of the mug.

she followed him again, looking out into such vivid greenery, and this little smile started to tug at her lips. "is that grass?" she could see so much here, so many rooms, it wasn't just boring grey either and seeing the room garden room, such vivid green it made her feel more... more normal. "why are you showing me this?" she moved to the window, clutching that mug close to herself like there was a risk someone was going to snatch it from her, the other hand on the glass pane that looked down to the garden. "can we get in to that room yet?" she was in awe of it.

maybe it was the heat of his chest, or the strong arms that she knew weren't going to stop holding around her until she was ready for it, but something about how he cradled her felt so surrounding and safe. enough that her own hands stopped gripping at herself and instead, gripping into his shirt, her hands balling the material into fists as she held to him, firm and secure and close, she was so close. she was crying, a soft sniffle as she just cried in to his chest for a little bit, because that was fine.. that was fine because he soothed it, he ushered little words of being there, that he was there.

it took a minute for her to calm, for her to breath without the rushing, without the panic in her bone, for her hands to stop their trembling but it did work.. eventually she was nodding her head a little bit because what he'd done had worked a treat. he'd given her something else to think about and focus on, making some space here, a home, how to make it cosy, how to make it feel like a home for him too so he could experience that. "i think so. i can try my best. you should get to have a home, even if it's not one with me for that- the thingy." despite calming, she didn't want to move, she wanted to stay right there. "my head feels all.. all fuzzy." she mumbles into his chest. she could stay right here and be perfectly happy. "it hurts, the fuzzy feeling i don't-" the noise she made was halfway to a hiccup. far too much to drink. "i don't like it."

"see that - that's the problem though!" she points out - voice cracking slightly. "i signed up for it because i - i deserve someone who picks me. someone who loves me as much as i love them." some part of her knows she isn't being fair to him, but aiyla left people she loved behind to get on this ship. she'd hoped to find someone who was hers - and to have learned that not only had he not signed up for the program, but that he'd been married? it broke part of her. "feels like i'm second choice." snorting at his proposal, her head lulled against his shoulder - hoping to scowl up at him only for the world to spin slightly. "dizzy," the word is hissed beneath her breath as eyes squeeze shut. "why would i want you to go around screaming lies?" god he was confusing her. "how would you know what my type is?"

she falls silent as they walk - drunken energy lulled by the steady footfalls, and warmth of his body. "am angry with you," no. not angry, but disappointed? probably. "stupidly handsome face," she grumbled. "don't think i wanna insult you. can we skip that part? i dont wanna be mean to you."

"whatever you want to tell yourself," he remarks with a shrug, silently relieved that she's agreed to follow him. while the path he takes them on does lead them up in the direction of the floors she refers to, they stop several short at a little area that's set up like a cafe. "this floor has the best hot chocolate and has a garden with a huge window. androids don't do bad, but the garden could definitely use a humans touch at some point." stepping around the counter the mix them both a drink, he eventually slides a mug across the counter to her. "caviar never was my speed. neither were oysters. slimy, nasty things. a good dessert though? now that, i would've spent money on. c'mon." snatching up his own mug, the man hardly allows an opportunity for the woman to reject coming along with him before he's moving in the direction of the gardens.

"this was originally meant to be the control deck, which is why there are so many windows. ended up expanding the size of the ship though, so it was repurposed."

it ached to watch her break in such a way, as asher was quick to imagine his sister saying the exact same words when she woke and he was nowhere to be found. would it have been easier, he wonders, if she'd only discovered this information after they'd safely landed at their intended destination, or would she have had the same reaction regardless? "you aren't at fault for any of this," he tries to sooth, brow furrowing as he stays crouched before the woman. "we do... unspeakable things for the people we love. i doubt he wanted to leave you anymore than you wanted to be separated from him."

home was not something he could offer her, not in the literal sense at least. "'m gonna touch you now, alright?" even with the question asked, he hesitates for a moment, waiting for some sort of resistance to the phrase before long arms are reaching forward to scoop her up and hold her against his frame. "'s alright. 'm right here." even after he has a firm grip on her, he doesn't move much - only shifting enough so that he can sit properly on the floor, leaning against one of the shelving units with her cradled on his lap. "never really had a place i would've considered home before," he admits. "was hoping once we got where we were going i could make one. wasn't picky about the destination either really. so this'll work too, you know? 'm not good at making things feel that way though. like home. you look like you'd be good at it though. making it cozy and comfortable or whatever. think you could help me?"

[elpida]

closed starter for @isolatednights

cade was tormented by this whole situation, see he liked aiyla. hell, he really liked aiyla, and that was the proble, 'coz from the ring on his finger he was really meant to like his spouse. his spouse that he could never see again, well.. what's worse is that he could see her, but she'd remain in that pod. hell, may as well be dead in that pod. he wouldn't wake her, that much he knew, it was out of the question. unless he could reverse it if she wanted that, but even then... even then how could he wake her to begin with? he couldn't take that opportuntiy at the new planet, away from someone else but he'd made vows and.. he sighed, his hand running over his face. that's when he heard the steps.

"hey" he spoke, first all this shit with the malfunctioned pods, now this... this shit show. "you know what fucks me off i wasn't even meant to have a compatibility partner. i never signed up for it, didn't check the box, it wasn't even meant to be an option, then they go and find me someone basically perfect coz i mean, christ she really is basically perfect." he hadn't heard the other, too busy talking to rhea and internally torturing himself.

"how'd you deal with it? just knowing that there's people we know n' love in those pods that we never get to speak to again or.. i mean, it's like being dead to them before we even are." it'd been a different world, different circumstances.. and none of them had expected this. "what about you, is it that eli kid, he's your compatibility match i'm assumin'? this is all so fucked... i mean there's no way at all that we could programme to get people put back into the cryo sleep? like reset pods or somethin' then they could have the choice?"

[elpida]

"You know who I am, don't you?" (aiyla & cade)

"yeah, a woman." he grunted, his eyes looking her up and down quickly, as though she were just any old stranger he'd have passed in the streets. this wasn't cade, cade never looked at her like that, he looked at everyone else like that, he raised his eyebrows judgementally at everyone else, but now it was at her and he wasn't exactly speaking, wasn't a good sign for him.

he still looked beat, his face bruised, his upper cheek bone to the left was almost purple, a scratch across his jaw. he didn't look himself when he was different shades of purple and yellow, he'd taken a hell of a beating. "i help you with somethin' miss?" he didn't even know the depth of his question... cade was rude to everyone, she was his exception and even though he looked at her with no memory, he was polite.