January 10th, ??? / 10:55-11:10

Leroy Hall/Ethan Brimstone/Axel Founte

16/B-/O/A/Male/Trans male/Water/Aura Sensing/Quicker Healing/Both/Pansexual/Gay/Asexual Panromantic

Leroy noticed the way Nabih slowed, his eyes on the glass, but he didn't say anything. He really did need to get this mess cleaned up though.

“You’ve got to at least tell me the plan before we get there then, so that my face doesn’t give it away with surprise or something similar.”

Leroy shrugged. "Simple, you fell, the glass broke and you hurt your hands, you're an idiot, and we are now going to have to pay for the damn bottle that we probably weren't supposed to have in the first place." He looked at Nabih and raised a questioning eyebrow. "But then, you aren't that clumsy in general, so we could always say someone accidentally tripped you if that'll work better?"

Despite knowing Nabih probably wasn't completely in the right mind, the question was genuine, a small sign of respect and kindness shown in the most subtle way possible, and it probably wouldn't be picked up unless you knew Leroy well because his voice remained as passive as ever.

His eyes remained on Nabih, as he waited for an answer, arms crossed as he walked, keeping careful pace with Nabih. He looked calm enough now, more composed than a few moments ago when he had been on the verge of tears, but his chest still felt tight with pain and worry.

No pity though, never pity. Not for anyone. Pity made people feel worse, not better, and it didn't help anything at all. He could be kind and helpful or steady and strong, whatever that person needed, but that mixture of sorrow and compassion made people feel guilty more often than not. So Leroy would never give pity, and he would never ask for it.

Axel's smile faded as he realized what was happening, and he backed away slightly, reaching up on his tip-toes to grab Aries' hand as it scratched his scalp, tugging to pull it away, he didn't like this, he hated seeing people in pain. "A-Aries?!" Axel gasped, looking at his friend with wide, worried eyes. "W-what's wrong? H-how can I h-help?" His brown eyes were gleaming with rising panic and worry as he watched his friend struggle, a low groan of pain coming from his throat. It scared Axel so much because he couldn't see the problem, if Aries had a physical wound, Axel could have done something, but whatever was going on was below the surface of Aries' skin where Axel could not reach.

Ethan watched as the formally wholesome scene suddenly turned dark, Aries groaning in pain, digging his nails into his scalp, and Axel reaching up to pull his hand away, panic in his eyes and voice. E watched with wide eyes as well, thoughts racing in his mind as he tried to figure out how to help. The first thing E thought of was that it must be something going on in his head. Ethan had an old friend, Talon, who experienced voices and reacted similarly, though not quite the same, Talon generally lashed out or would start crying, clutching their head and telling someone invisible to 'shut up' or 'stop'.

The first thing that needed to happen, Ethan thought, was to get Axel away, or at least behind Aries, out of reach. In this state, he might accidentally lash out. E tapped rapidly on the bench to get Cal's attention.

"Cal, hold his arms, but make sure you aren't being aggressive about it, just make sure he can't hurt himself or others. And talk. Talk a lot, loud and as much as you can, about anything you can think of."

After he was sure his message got through, Ethan rose and hobbled painfully over to Axel, who was obviously panicking now, and gently pulled him away, wrapping him in an awkward hug, carefully adjusting his arm so it was in the most comfortable position possible. Axel turned into E and took several deep breaths, calming himself.

"S-sorry. I was w-worried... I am. I-I don't know why I r-reacted so badly though."

Ethan smiled slightly and nodded, his eyes fixed on Aries with a worried expression as he held onto Axel a moment longer before letting him go again.

He hoped Cal could help and he wasn't completely wrong about what was actually happening to Aries.

Cal ‘Collie’ Thi Lê | 16 | AB- | Male | Visions | Both | Questioning | M: Everyone (Dir)

Cal thought he fucked up big time. He really did. Part of him thought that the whole hugging thing made everything worse. Especially since Aries was doing that thing again. The shaking and heavy breathing. The fact that he couldn’t help his friend made him feel terrible. Cal was used to being able to at least help slightly, but if anything he just made things worse. Cal glanced worriedly to Axel before back down to Aries and-

Oh… Oh god…

“Aries…,” Cal spoke in an almost low growl. His tone wasn’t supposed to be mean. It was supposed to warn Aries. Aries was scratching himself again. Deeply too. Cal wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t the only one who saw all the crimson blood. Hell anyone could smell it. Cal hated the smell of blood. It just felt like a gross thing to him. He was totally fine with seeing blood or dealing with it. Cal has patched himself up before when dealing with large cuts. But when there’s a lot of blood, the smell overwhelms him. It kills him, really.

Axel started to look like he was having a panic attack and every bone in his bone wanted to go get up and help him. Instead, Ethan started tapping. Cal tried to focus but there was so much… stuff happening with now both Aries and Axel not doing well to concentrate fully. All he got was ‘arm’ and ‘talk.’ That was all he needed to know.

Cal grabbed Aries’s wrist, glaring at him. Cal didn’t say anything yet the silence said it all. ‘You’ve done fucked up.’ The kind of glare a mother gives her child when she wants to scold them but they are in public. The glare was long enough to make just about anyone uncomfortable. He would talk later but for the moment, he never moved his mouth. Cal just sighed and shifted his grip on Aries. Cal gripped Aries’s wrist with one hand and pulled him into his chest, wrapping an arm around him.

“Are you alright, Axel?” Cal asked, his lips pressed together in a small frown. “I mean, Aries will be fine, so there is no need to panic. He’s alright!” Yeah. Positive like that could fool even himself. Wait. Was Aries crying? Cal couldn’t tell, but Cal was scared of the answer already.

“No more scratching alright, Aries? Come on. We talked about this,” Cal mumbled softly, concern lacing his tone. He was still frustrated though. Not mad, but definitely frustrated. They were just talking about this, this exact thing with Aries hurting himself. Cal hadn’t imagined that moment had he? “Are you doing alright? Seriously. Honest answers only, Aries.” Cal glanced again to Axel, hoping that Axel could feel his nervousness. Cal had no idea what to do. What could he even say in a moment like this? Nothing? No. No, that would not do. Maybe he could just talk about something and hope that this would help the scenario.

“You know what this reminds me of?” Cal beamed, a soft grin on his face. “All this hugging and stuff? Olly! Olly was this one kid I knew when I was younger. He was two years younger than me and he would be almost fifteen in six months from now. Every time I saw him, he’d just hug me! No kiddin’! Every. Damn. Time. He was always so happy to see folks!! You woulda liked Olly, ya really woulda.” Cal grinned widely as he looked up at the ceiling remembering all the details he could about him. “He liked chocolate chip cookies too. Loved ‘em really. Even when he was younger, like younger younger, he woulda killed for them. One time, they got straight out the oven and he ran through the house screaming Spanish- he didn’t speak very well ya know- and practically climbed all over me to get to the oven. He burned his mouth eating them to the point where he was cryin’, but he sure as hell did like the cookies! Even though it burned his mouth, he still gave the biggest smile you’ve ever seen!! Big dimples too. He was seven and one quarter at the time. He always bragged about the quarters and stuff. The halfs too. He’d be so damn proud to be 7 and a quarter, you woulda thought he had one the lotto. He always seemed happy like that. Like he was constantly winning. Don’t know how he did it, but he did!” Cal paused for a moment, his smile fading. “He is six feet under now. You woulda liked him though. He loved those damn cookies. He really did.”

Cal can remember the day Olly died. Well, not the day it happened. More of the funeral. The day it happened was just a blur. Guillain-Barré syndrome. Cal drilled the name into his head afterwards. Guillain-Barré syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome.

It caused Olly to become paralyzed and caused him to die.

Cal wasn’t there when it happened- when Olly died- and to this day he didn’t know if that made anything better or worse. At the time, Collie was so mad that he hadn’t even remembered Olly’s last words to him or his last words to Olly. Guillain-Barré syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome. He still remembered the funeral as clear as day though. He dragged Mark, Sally, and Peppy to the funeral. At the time, he hadn’t gotten to know or meet the rest of the crew, and Cal had no other friends outside of them. Guillain-Barré syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome. The worst part about everything wasn’t the fake speeches, the parents pretending to care like the fakes they were, or Olly’s older brother, Carlos, sobbing over the coffin so much Cal had to psychically pull him away.

It was the tiny coffin.

The coffin had a seven and a quarter year old boy in it, with dimples on his smile, a love for chocolate-chip cookies, who danced to the radio, who hated English, and who was always happy like he won the lottery. The thought of that alone made the tiny coffin weigh far more than any other coffin. Cal didn’t know why, but he just couldn’t cry after the funeral. He cried during it of course, hiding his face in the backs, the chests, and the hands of his friends whenever possible. But afterwards? At the next funeral for the next far too small coffin? Maybe he was just already numb to the sadness of it all. Maybe this was just a long denial that Olly was dead and that a year from now the emotions would finally catch up with Collie and he would burst. Guillain-Barré syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome.

“Well that got depressing fast,” Cal grumbled before looking down at the few you might be listening in on the conversation. “Anyways,” Cal quickly started to talk again to bring up the mood, “after that whole thing, I got to know Olly’s older sibling, Carlos. He kinda radiates Leroy-energy and he taught me how to fight. Carlos had a bunch of other friends too and that lot of folks were hilarious as hell!! They taught me soooo many good jokes and anything I need to know about how to pick up a chick. Pick-up lines included. It also turns out Carlos likes chocolate chip cookies too!!” Cal was back to smiling again, his brown eyes lighting up with excitement. “Even though he is a lot meanier than Leroy, you guys would like him. I actually know a friend of his- of mine- who lives in Anamosa. He ain’t too friendly to strangers, but worst case scenario we could go there!! I think you guys would like to meet at least one of my old groups of friends!”

Cal paused. His jaw was starting to hurt again after all this talking. Maybe he had been punched harder than he thought. Something else he did notice was how hungry he was. “Hey ummm… Axel why don’t you tell a story? I have a few snacks in my bag if you guys want.” Cal’s bag was barely within reach, making him have to let go of Aries briefly before dragging the bag across the floor and closer to him. It must have slid further away thanks to the train so that would explain how far away it was from him. Cal shouldn’t probably let his bag wander off too far. He had a knife in there and he didn’t want anyone on the train to see it. Cal pulled out a few snacks, granola bars, popsicles, and canned fruit. “Well? Anything seem interestin’? I got more in ma bag if ya give me a sec.”

January 10th, ??? / 10:55-11:10

Axel Founte/16/A/Trans Male/Quicker Healing/Asexual Panromantic (Plus a little of Ethan's POV, but I'm too lazy XD)

“Are you alright, Axel? I mean, Aries will be fine, so there is no need to panic. He’s alright!”

Axel nodded, giving Ethan another grateful smile before gulping in a deep breath and dragging his brain back to the present. Ethan returned the smile and took a step back to lean against the wall rather than standing, his ankle was shooting a bunch of needles through his foot. "I-I'm okay, Cal. Just w-worried is all."

“No more scratching alright, Aries? Come on. We talked about this. Are you doing alright? Seriously. Honest answers only, Aries.” When Cal glanced at him, Axel bit the inside of his cheek, return the look with his own nervous eyes. Then Cal launched into one of his stories and Axel relaxed a little, listening to his words carefully and nodding along, though his eyes stayed fixated firmly on Aries.

“Well that got depressing fast, anyways, after that whole thing, I got to know Olly’s older sibling, Carlos. He kinda radiates Leroy-energy and he taught me how to fight. Carlos had a bunch of other friends too and that lot of folks were hilarious as hell!! They taught me soooo many good jokes and anything I need to know about how to pick up a chick. Pick-up lines included. It also turns out Carlos likes chocolate chip cookies too!!” Axel allowed a small smile to play on his lips. “Even though he is a lot meanier than Leroy, you guys would like him. I actually know a friend of his- of mine- who lives in Anamosa. He ain’t too friendly to strangers, but worst case scenario we could go there!! I think you guys would like to meet at least one of my old groups of friends!"

Ethan smiled as well. He wouldn't mind meeting a new friend, as long as he didn't make fun of him for being mute or something.

“Hey ummm… Axel, why don’t you tell a story? I have a few snacks in my bag if you guys want. Well? Anything seem interestin’? I got more in ma bag if ya give me a sec.”

Axel blinked in surprise while Ethan waved away the snacks good-naturedly. "A s-story?" The shy boy questioned, chewing thoughtfully on his cheek before nodding as an idea popped into his head. "O-okay, I have a-a story, though it's not t-the happiest, and I'm n-not as good at t-telling stories as C-Cal."

He took a deep breath and started talking, his eyes becoming distant with memories as he spoke. "W-well, as you know, I-I'm sick a lot, b-but my family never r-really had enough m-money to get me the proper treatment, s-so a lot of times I-I was stuck at home s-sick without any h-help. My parents tried t-to help, of course, b-but they aren't licensed d-doctors or anything. It was m-mostly fine until I g-got really sick at a-age twelve, there was s-something wrong with my l-lungs, lots of fluid h-had gotten in and was m-making it really heard t-to breath. We thought I just had a-a cough or something u-until I woke up one m-morning and couldn't breathe. I-it kind of felt like I-I was drowning."

Axel paused, his nose wrinkling at the unpleasant memory. "W-well, my parents rushed m-me to the hospital as you m-might expect, and it turned out I-I had really bad pneumonia. I-It probably wouldn't have been too b-bad if I'd been able t-to get medication before, b-but obviously I couldn't, so I e-ended up staying in t-the hospital for s-several days while they d-drained my lungs and gave me m-medicine and other stuff as my p-parents tried to figure out money. While I t-there I met a boy my a-age, his n-name was Apollo, after the g-greek god of music and the sun, a-and his voice and personality suited that."

A smile touched Axel's lips and a hint of pink entered his usually pale cheeks. "He w-was very kind, always s-smiling and trying desperately t-to cheer everyone else u-up, similar to Cal, actually." He said, eyes flickering to Cal as he said this. "He had c-cancer though, and was g-going through treatment, though t-the doctors only gave him t-two years to live. A-Apollo never seemed b-bothered by that though, at l-least not out loud. H-he still kept smiling and h-helping out around the hospital. E-everyone knew Apollo, h-he was the nurses f-favorite, everyone's favorite, actually, h-he always seemed to know e-exactly what to say to c-cheer you up." Axel sighed softly. "I met h-him my second-day i-in the hospital, he didn't have a-any trouble talking to me or t-treating me like... well, l-like a person. He didn't t-talk to me like I was a baby and h-he didn't make fun of me or h-hurt me, the first time anyone had t-treated me like that. One d-day, he overheard my parents t-talking with the doctors about b-bills, and he didn't say a-anything, but the next day the doctors c-came in and told us that A-Apollo's family would be taking c-care of our bills. T-thousands of dollars t-that we couldn't even d-dream of paying were suddenly t-taken care of."

He couldn't help but laugh softly, the idea still amazing and confusing to him. "W-when I asked Apollo a-about it the next day, t-though, he just shrugged, smiled, and s-said that he wanted to d-do what he could while h-he still could and it n-never came up again. E-eventually, I got out of the h-hospital, and Apollo insisted on p-paying a month's w-worth of my medication. If I-I didn't have t-that everything would have g-gone backward again and I-I probably would have d-died, honestly. Still, I kept m-meeting up with Apollo, a-and over the course of t-three months we got very c-close. I'd always b-been so scared of being different b-before I met him, but he w-was the one who helped me realize t-that it didn't matter who I w-was, I still deserved to be t-treated nicely. I-I still find it hard to believe s-sometimes, but I r-remember what he told me and I g-get through it."

Axel paused for a long moment, eyes changing from warm and affectionate to sad. Ethan leaned forward, assuming what was coming, but scared of being right. "We h-hung out all the time and did s-sports and other stuff I didn't ever think I-I'd do because of my sicknesses, but he d-didn't limit or pressure me, just let m-me do what I could and s-stopped with me when I couldn't d-do more. Everything was great, and then... He g-got sick about f-four months after we met. R-really sick, and the doctors couldn't f-fix it this time." Ethan's gaze dropped, he'd been right.

Axel shifted slightly, shaking his head. "H-he told me to do t-the things I wanted t-to do while I could, a-and not to let others limit me." He closed his eyes. "A-and he promised w-we'd meet again one-day a-and he'd wait for me as l-long as it took."

There was a long stretch of silence before Axel opened his eyes again and smiled sadly. "I-I warned you it w-wasn't happy. I don't t-think I-I have to be too u-upset though, because I t-think I'm doing exactly w-what Apollo would want r-right now, and I h-have you all, s-so I'd say I-I'm doing a decent j-job of enjoying l-life, because you all make me h-happy."

January 10th

============================================

Tyler 'TJ' Jacobson/16/O+/Male/Spotted Hyena/Mono/Bisexual/Mentions: General

============================================

Well that got depressing fast. Cancer, self-harm, near-death experiences... Truly, if this was the typical level of angst in everyone else's backstories, it was an honest to the gods miracle that they were even remotely as socially adjusted as they were now. Plenty of people would have broken or done the stupidest shit with that kind of baggage. Jeez, he's going to have to fund therapy, isn't he? Or at least steal several soft fluffy not-going-to-kill-anyone-I-swear animals for them. Really guys, black bear cubs are perfectly safe to interact with as long as you follow the proper protocols. Just don't offend them with uncouth human mannerisms or touch them without permission and it was all fine, Tyler swears. Oh great, and now he's missing the Court back in Colorado. He should send a fruit basket soon. Who knew hyper aggressive omnivorous mammels were such sticklers for 19th century customs? Tyler blames the insular nature of the communities and the introduction of those backwards European swine. Curse them and their unchanging cultural norms! It was infectious... At least the more modern American and Mexican pigs were much more open to change. But those stuck-up French twats could not see the direction the world was headed in. World War One happened, you idiots, and France has never held any kind of international power since! There would be no need to spout on about the majesty of an empire that hasn't existed since Napolean was exiled the second time. The countryside out the window became filled with more houses and other signs of human artifice as the train began the last leg of its journey into Anamosa. Hopefully Nabih and Leroy would show up soon, because it would be near impossible to find each other if they got separated now. Tyler certainly didn't have any modern communication devices on him, and he didn't know either of their numbers. Or even if they had phones on them in the first place.

January 10th, ???? | 10:55-11:05 PM

G.A.F. 'KhorneAriethous'/N.R.V. | 16/17 | AB/B+ | Male | Pain Adren/High Intel | Both | C Demi(HML)/Pan | Mentions; The Others(Ind. & Dir.)

“Simple, you fell, the glass broke and you hurt your hands, you're an idiot, and we are now going to have to pay for the damn bottle that we probably weren't supposed to have in the first place. But then, you aren't that clumsy in general, so we could always say someone accidentally tripped you if that'll work better?”

--

Nabih nodded slowly, noting the subtle respect and kindness but not planning on pointing it out, “Either works for me… Quite honestly, my falling while a train hit a bump would probably be most believable. My balance, nor eyesight, has never been the best. So we could say that the train hit a bump and I, trying to grab onto something to keep my balance, ending up falling over and in a moment of pure desperation tried to catch myself with my hands, which resulted in the bottle breaking on my face and hands.”

--

If he were being honest… It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened. So it would certainly be believable, maybe even for Ethan. He hoped so, he really wasn’t looking forward to the idea of Ethan asking him about it. Or anyone asking him about it, for that matter. He paused in the hallway, thinking it over and looking at Leroy. He really did need to make sure that Leroy wasn’t going to tell anyone. Ever. “Hey, Leroy. You… You won’t mention all of this, right? To any of them? I don’t feel like my entire reputation being ruined and all…” He tried to keep his voice light at the end, like it was a joke. He wasn’t too sure if he succeeded, but at least he was trying.

--

It almost yelped, almost lashed out, as its hand was pulled away from its scalp. Not only was the gesture painful too, but made the voices yell at it in anger. And then the hand pulling its own away from itself was gone, and immediately it was back to clawing to stop the yelling. The noise hurt, worse than the pain from the scraping of its claw like nails against its scalp.

--

It was in the middle of the start of a rather deep laceration when it's wrist was grabbed- This time the sudden movement the grip caused actually made it let out the slightest hiss of pain.

--

It’s eyes wouldn’t focus either, everything seemed red- Everything was blotchy. It wasn’t sure if this was normal or not but… Something felt familiar so the situation couldn’t be that bad. Everything was blurry too, which definitely wasn’t helpful.

--

Nothing was happening, and after a few seconds, it decided it didn’t want its wrist to be held any longer- Not with how loud the voices were getting, not with how ruthless they were getting, not with how cruel they were getting. So it pulled at its wrist to take it back right as the volume seemed to raise in its head and it had to take a shakingly heavy, deep breath.

--

It’s wrist wasn’t freed though, instead it was pulled into something and held there- Someone? It couldn’t tell, but whatever was holding it seemed to be breathing. It tried to pull up its other hand to continue but something was being wrapped around it.

--

A muffled sob escaped its mouth as it tried to get its claws back up to its scalp, everything was too loud, too bitter, too heartless, too merciless- Too deserved… But it was stuck, pinned, confined, cornered, trapped- It wanted out. It needed out. Everything was too loud, too much, too mean.

--

“Every...I...him,...hug me! No kiddin’! Every. Damn. Time. He...always so happy...folks!! You...liked Olly, ya.... He...cookies too. Loved ‘em.... Even...younger,...younger younger,...killed for them. One..., they...out the oven and he ran...screaming Spanish- he didn’t...ya know- and...climbed...me to...oven. He burned his mouth...point...cryin’, but he sure as hell...cookies! Even...burned his mouth,...biggest smile...seen!!.... He...seven and one quarter.... He always bragged...quarters.... The halfs too….damn proud...7 and a quarter, you...he had... lotto. He always...happy.... Like...constantly winning. Don’t...it, but he did! He...six feet under.... woulda liked him.... He loved...damn cookies….really did.”

--

It winced at what the volume must’ve been, but the voice had cut through the other ones… With something that wasn’t about it. But the silence of that voice came far too soon and the others were quick to try and take the place of the nice one. Louder than before, harsher- It gritted its teeth in slight pain, its hands automatically trying to scratch before realizing that it couldn’t. It was still stuck.

--

“Anyways, after..., I...know Olly’s older sibling, Carlos. He...radiates Leroy-energy... taught me how...fight. Carlos...bunch of other friends too...lot of folks...hilarious as hell!! They taught...soooo many good jokes...need...know...how to pick...chick. Pick-up lines included. It...turns...Carlos likes chocolate chip cookies too!! Even...lot meanier...Leroy, you guys.... I actually know a friend...his- of mine- who...Anamosa. He...friendly...strangers, but worst...scenario...there!! I think...would like to meet...least one...groups of friends!”

--

It was quiet again, the voices immediately cutting in. It took heavy, shaky breaths to try and not react too much from the voices. But then it was let go and after a moment of adjustment to the fact that it was free… It’s hands were on autopilot to start grating itself against its scalp. It didn’t have long before it was being grabbed again though, so it let out something scarily close to a whimper and muffled sob as its hands continued to try to reach- It didn’t understand why they wouldn’t let it scratch, it was just trying to get some peace and quiet. Trying to get its head back to normal.

--

“W-well...sick...lot, b-but...family never...had...m-money...proper treatment, s-so...I-I...stuck...home...without any h-help. My parents tried…b-but...aren't licensed d-doctors.... It...fine until I...sick...twelve, there...wrong...l-lungs,...fluid...gotten in...m-making...hard...breath. We...cough...u-until...woke up...m-morning...couldn't breathe. I-it...felt like I-I...drowning….parents rushed...hospital as you...expect,...turned out...bad pneumonia….wouldn't have been too b-bad...medication before,...I couldn't,...staying in t-the hospital...days...d-drained my lungs...m-medicine...p-parents tried...money….t-there I met...a-age,...n-name...Apollo, after...g-greek god...music...sun,...voice...personality suited that.”

--

It strained its ears to hear more at the end, the voices having calmed ever so slightly at the topic of a greek god. It wasn’t sure what that was, wasn’t sure what was even going on but… The topic made them quieter, and it wanted that. It wanted peace and quiet, so it would take any solution. If it couldn’t scratch then this would have to do.

--

“We h-hung out...time and...s-sports...stuff I didn't ever think I-I'd do...my sicknesses,...limit or pressure me,...what I could and s-stopped...I couldn't d-do more. Everything was great, and then... He g-got sick...f-four months...we met. R-really sick,...doctors couldn't f-fix...time. H-he told me...do...things I wanted t-to do...could, a-and not...others limit me. A-and...promised w-we'd meet...a-and he'd wait for me as l-long...took.”

--

Silence took hold again and after a few seconds the voices swooped in again, full force. It flinched at the suddenness and let out a low, muffled sob or whimper; it couldn’t tell. It’s hands tried to reach automatically, trying to claw its scalp but ending up clawing at whatever was holding it instead.

--

“I don't t-think I-I...too u-upset though, because I t-think...exactly...Apollo...want r-right..., and I h-have..., s-so...I-I'm doing...decent j-job...enjoying l-life,...you all make...h-happy.”

--

It didn’t know what to do, everything was too loud still and it wasn’t able to claw- It didn’t know what to do. It wanted out, it wanted them to stop. It wanted them to stop telling it was a thing, a tool, an object, an it, wasn’t alive, wasn’t a person, was a freak, a beast, a monster- Like the minotaur. Whatever that thing was. It wanted out, it wanted out. It didn’t want to be here, it didn’t- It let out another muffled noise as it’s face scrunched in pain, everything too loud and too much for it to deal with.

January 10th, ??? / 10:55-11:10

Leroy Hall/Ethan Brimstone/Axel Founte

16/B-/O/A/Male/Trans male/Water/Aura Sensing/Quicker Healing/Both/Pansexual/Gay/Asexual Panromantic

“Either works for me… Quite honestly, my falling while a train hit a bump would probably be most believable. My balance, nor eyesight, has never been the best. So we could say that the train hit a bump and I, trying to grab onto something to keep my balance, ending up falling over and in a moment of pure desperation tried to catch myself with my hands, which resulted in the bottle breaking on my face and hands.”

"That could work." Leroy agreed, nodding. It would actually make more sense for the train to hit a bump than for Nabih to just have randomly fallen. "Guess it makes more sense."

“Hey, Leroy. You… You won’t mention all of this, right? To any of them? I don’t feel like my entire reputation being ruined and all…”

Leroy, missing the joke, as usual, looked at Nabih seriously. "There's no reason I should, it'd cause unnecessary tension and worry. Besides, you've already embarrassed yourself enough in front of me, I think." His eyes flickered to the other boy, again, his eyes gentler than usual despite his normal swift, knowledgeable tone. "Anyway, I don't aim to hurt you at all, and telling the others would do more harm than good to both you and them."

Sighing, Leroy reached out and gently pulled Nabih forward a bit faster, aiming to get back to the others. "Just let me do the talking, and don't worry about anything other than sitting down and cleaning up a bit more. Oh, and maybe avoid Ethan, the guy doesn't handle the smell of alcohol too well. You can keep the jacket, by the way, I have another anyway."

Axel watched Aries, he didn't seem to be doing better at all, in fact, he seemed to be struggling even more, but then he faltered. Only for a moment, specifically when Axel mentioned the name Apollo, so maybe...

"O-oh! I know something!" Axel said quickly, glancing back at Ethan and meeting his eyes for a moment. The mute smiled, suddenly understanding what Axel meant. About a year ago they had done a small project together for school, a mythology project. E limped back over to his backpack and pulled out his notebook, flipping through a few pages until he landed in the correct spot, he handed it over to Axel who took it with a grateful smile. "W-who want to hear a-a presentation? We w-worked really hard on i-it, and Ethan drew all t-the pictures! He's a g-great artist!" Ethan blushed a little at the comment and looked down, hiding a rather pleased smile. He had worked really hard to improve his art for this presentation. "I-I know you know a-a lot about G-greek mythology, Aries, s-so if you want to a-add anything or anything, f-feel free!" Being as informed as he was, Axel was acting more confident.

Axel cleared his throat, probably the most dramatic thing he would ever do in front of the others, and pasted on a smile. He had to seem energetic and happy, that way Aries knew it was safe, he wasn't sure if that was the correct logic, but it was the best he could come with at the moment.

"O-okay, so, as you probably know there were t-twelve major gods that the a-ancient greeks worshiped. Z-Zeus, the king of the gods a-and lord of the sky, H-Hera, the queen of the gods and t-the goddess of m-marriage and life of w-woman, Poseidon, g-god of the sea and Zeus's b-brother, Hades, the god o-of the underworld and d-death as well a-as Poseidon and Zeus's b-brother, Demeter, g-goddess of the harvest, A-Athena, goddess of wisdom and w-war, also Zeus's d-daughter, sprouted right from h-his head! A-Artemis and A-Apollo, the twins, Artemis is t-the goddess of the m-moon and hunt, and you already know a-about Apollo. Then there's Hephaestus, g-god of smiths and metalwork, Aphrodite, g-goddess of love, beauty, and s-sexuality, Ares, god o-of violent war, Hermes, m-messenger of the gods, and D-Dionysus, god of wine or Hestia, g-goddess of the hearth. B-both of the last two were c-considered 'major gods,' depending on who you t-talk to. I personally prefer Hestia."

At this point, Axel paused, taking a breath and showing the picture Ethan had drawn of all the gods and goddesses sitting on their thrones along the bottom of the page.

"W-well, me and Ethan h-had to agree on which g-god or goddess to do. I s-suggested Apollo, for o-obvious reasons, and E wanted t-to do either A-Athena or Hestia." Ethan smirked, tapping a quick message to Cal.

"Gotta love the queens!"

"S-so, of course, w-we chose a god that n-neither of us care a-about to avoid conflict. Hermes!" Axel continued, ignoring the interruption, assuming he knew the general message Ethan had sent to Cal. "S-so, basically, Hermes was t-the messenger of the g-gods and was also known as t-the god of trade, wealth, and a-animal husbandry. Plus he i-invented the lyre! P-pretty cool, right? His r-roman name is Mercury. Well, t-that's the basics anyway, a-anything else you want to k-know? About any of the gods or a-anything."

Ethan was leaning against the wall again, but he turned when he heard footsteps approaching. Leroy and Nabih had returned, Leroy kind of dragging Nabih a little. Nabih himself looked like absolute shit, to say the least. His face was patchy and red, his eyes bloodshot, and his hands were wrapped up in toilet paper. Along with this, probably the most surprising part, actually, was the fact that Leroy's jacket was draped around his shoulders.

E's eyes narrowed in concern, and he took a painful step forward before freezing, the smell of alcohol hitting his nose and making him flinch, backing up again to lean against the wall. His previously hopeful and enthusiastic expression turning suddenly guarded and worried and he wouldn't meet anyone's eyes anymore.

"Wonderful, people are having mental breakdowns in here," Leroy grumbled so that only Nabih could hear, and even he wasn't really supposed to, but with how close they were, it couldn't be helped. "Right guys, look who I found! This idiot managed to fall when the train hit a bump and broke the fucking bottle when he tried to catch himself. Now we're gonna have to pay for it when we probably shouldn't have had it in the first place." He stated, louder this time, and in his highly annoyed, highly 'Leroy-style' voice. "And to make things worse, he managed to hurt himself as well!" There was nothing in Leroy's eyes, posture, or voice, that would possibly give away that he was lying. In fact, the only thing that he couldn't quite manage to cover up was his worry and care for Nabih. He didn't doubt that E would come at him for that latter, probably Cal too, and he was certainly not happy about it. Still, it couldn't really be helped. He'd given Nabih his jacket anyway, so even if he could hide the emotion in his eyes, the care would still show through that.

"O-oh! Are you okay, N-Nabih!" Axel exclaimed worriedly, eyes flickering between Nabih and Aries, unsure of who needed more help at the moment. Ethan relaxed a little at the story, willing to give Nabih the benefit of the doubt, but he still didn't step forward to help, he couldn't stand the smell of alcohol that close to him at the moment. Too many bad memories.

Cal ‘Collie’ Thi Lê | 16 | AB- | Male | Visions | Both | Questioning | M: Everyone (Dir)

Apollo.

Jesus Christ…

Cal wasn’t a religious person. He really wasn’t. Hell, if anything, Cal felt a sort of resentment towards Him. Cal’s mother was very heavily, swear once and you’re going to Hell kind of Christian and let’s just say if Satan were a woman, it would definitely be her. If there was a God out there, He sure as hell hated Cal for no reason. This just made Cal question things more. Why hate Cal? Why hate him? Who even knows? Well, God apparently.

Despite not being a religious person, Cal was kind of praying for that little guy. A kid he had never met and a face he had never seen. He had been given a good description, but he barely knew Apollo. At the same time, Cal felt a deep guilty feeling. Cal felt grief- no agony, full up agony- for a kid he never even meant. It was a super depressing feeling, you know? To mourn for someone you never even met. It just gets more depressing and gloomy the more you think about it. Cal didn’t want to keep thinking about this depressing story, but it just kept floating around in his brain. Never in almost two years had he wanted to cry more than in that moment for some reason. Why even cry? Cal didn’t cry a whole lot and only remembers a few times when he has cried: when he was eight and trapped in that alleyway, Olly’s funeral, and about a week after he had moved to the shithole he just escaped from. There were other instances he was sure, but for some reason, every time he kept trying to think of the other times he had cried, Cal just wanted to cry more. It was so damn depressing. It was moments like these where Cal was just about ready to throw himself off the nearest tall building. Hell, even a small building would do.

Cal stopped zoning out when he felt a slight pain. It wasn’t unbearable, but it was irritating. Like a cat’s sandpaper-y tongue slowly grading across a bruise. Cal looked down at the source of the pain and it was… Aries? No, that couldn’t be right. Aries was scratching him. Cal was just confused for a moment before he finally reacted.

“Aries, you’re scratchin’ me,” Cal stated, a soft sigh escaping him. “I know you don’t mean to hurt me so just don’t do that.” Cal smiled warmly down to Aries who he still had pulled to his chest. “I am pretty hurting someone who is trying to help ya is a tad bit rude to say the least!” It took Cal a moment to realize- Wait, is he whimpering? Like a wounded dog with his tail between his legs, Aries was whining and crying into him. It broke his heart into about a trillion pieces. Cal loosened his grin on him slightly to get a better look at his face, Aries’s face distorted with anguish and what seemed to be fear. Cal just rubbed his back gently. Cal gasped slightly as he got an idea. Cal always wore bandaids on his fingers to cover cuts and bruises that litter his bony fingers. If he had remembered this sooner, he would have put the bandaids on sooner. Cal blamed his stupid ADHD brain on forgetting this fact. Or was it ADD? Cal wasn’t sure anymore. “Hey erm… Aries I have some colorful bandaids for you?” Cal fished in his leather jacket pocket for a moment. He held out three bandaids. One was blue with yellow stars, one was green with pink and yellow flowers, and the last was a teal color with yellow smiley faces. “Here. Pick a color you like and I can put them on your cuts.” Cal gave a wide grin, hoping he finally did something right for once.

Cal listened intently to Axel while he talked about the Greek Gods, a goofy grin on his face. He must have looked like a dork with his grin or perhaps a creepy serial killer. He couldn’t help his dopey look though. Cal loved it when Axel got passionate about stuff. Ethan’s comment made Cal burst into laughter as well. He was the only one who could understand E’s message, as far as Cal knew, which just made it 100% better because little E knew just how to make Cal chuckle like a madman. Cal tapped a shaky ‘Hell yeah,’ back, not able to stop his grin anymore.

“God! It fuckin’ blows my mind you know this much stuff on the Greek gods and all!!” Cal grinned. “All I can ever remember about the Greek stuff is that Zeus was a slut-” Cal put his hands up defensively and looked up as if to talk to the god himself- “no offense Zeus, Apollo was a homosexual or whatever, and that Hercules was the best movie ever.” He didn’t even say Hercules right. Hercules is actually Heracules in Greek mythology. Cal glanced over to E with a wide grin before tapping gently on Aries’s back which made a soft echo. “Your art looks amazing, E.”

As soon as Cal finished tapping, Leroy and Nabih finally returned. Cal beamed wildly before he paused. A strong odor of alcohol resonated off of Nabih. Cal almost flinched at it in truth. Cal swallowed hard and listened to Leroy’s explanation of what happened. Cal believed it. For the most part at least. The fact that Leroy’s first thought was to quickly fill the need to give an explanation and just how easily he said it all felt almost rehearsed. Other than that though, everything was fine. His tone, his voice, his posture, his everything. Leroy was a good liar so maybe… What was he thinking? He needed to trust his friends. If Cal was truly that worried that Leroy had lied, he could always ask him later. Ethan was so damn tense. You could tell from halfway across the whole damn train. He seemed to relax a bit after the explanation, but he looked like he needed to be distracted from that stuff.

Looks like a job for little ol’ me.

“Okay just because he is wearing Leroy’s jacket,” Cal started, tapping carefully with a sly grin on his face, “doesn’t mean they are dating.” Cal relaxes a bit more into his train seat. “I doubt Leroy is even gay. Love triangle between Aries, Leroy, and Evie is what is happening! I’m telling you!” Cal gave a wide mischievous smirk. It was nice to have someone to joke around with while using a code no one else in the group, that Cal was aware of at least, could translate. It made for some fun moments.

January 10th, ???? | 10:55-11:05 PM

G.A.F. 'KhorneAriethous'/N.R.V. | 16/17 | AB/B+ | Male | Pain Adren/High Intel | Both | C Demi(HML)/Pan | Mentions; The Others(Ind. & Dir.)

“There's no reason I should, it'd cause unnecessary tension and worry. Besides, you've already embarrassed yourself enough in front of me, I think. Anyway, I don't aim to hurt you at all, and telling the others would do more harm than good to both you and them.”

--

Nabih nodded slightly, silent as the relief entered him just as quietly. Of course Leroy wouldn’t say anything… Yet. Maybe eventually, but not right now. This was Leroy, after all. The one who knew when a secret was better left untold.

--

Nabih allowed Leroy to pull him forward again, noting to himself the fact that Leroy hadn’t taken his jacket back yet… Maybe he should tell him…? The story would be more believable without it, since it would allow Leroy to stay in his usual persona of cold and distant… He opened his mouth to speak, but Leroy beat him to it.

--

“Just let me do the talking, and don't worry about anything other than sitting down and cleaning up a bit more. Oh, and maybe avoid Ethan, the guy doesn't handle the smell of alcohol too well. You can keep the jacket, by the way, I have another anyway.”

--

Nabih made a face at the mention of Ethan. He really didn’t want the mute to find out, he really didn’t want to be the cause of something happening, he really didn’t want Ethan to find out which then causes something to happen. So yeah, avoiding Ethan until the scent was gone was definitely a good idea. For both of them. But hey, at least Leroy mentioned the jacket.

--

He was oddly glad about it too, about the fact that he wasn’t going to just take it back again… One of his hands had found its way to the jacket, keeping it in place as they went. It was comforting, in a way. They hadn’t done this for him, no matter the state they found him(which was often worse than what Leroy had seen, though Nabih did not want to think about that). The most they had ever done was pull him up, help him wash off, and then… Let him crash on their couch or send him back off to his place with one of the others leaving. The differences between the groups was astounding, to say the least. And he had thought Leroy would be the most similar to them, which only proved that further.

--

It reacted almost immediately to being let go, it’s hands going up and gripping it’s scalp, digging it’s nails in and scraping across the surface.

--

“Here. Pick...color you like...can...on...cuts.” It could barely piece together the information, and afterwards, it simply gripped tighter as it stared at the colorful… Objects. It winced as the voices yelled out for the red, for the one that could’ve been a depiction of a wound just as easily as what the thing actually was supposed to be.

--

It took that one, hoping it would quiet them- At least a bit, the volume didn’t even have to go down by much, just- Just by something. Something to prove it could get out of this mess. The idea proved to be well founded, as it picking that one did seem to appease them in some way. It was glad, it still didn’t even try thinking about moving its hands away from its head though.

--

“W-who...hear...presentation? We w-worked really hard...Ethan drew...pictures!...g-great artist!...you know a-a lot...G-greek mythology, Aries...you...a-add anything…f-feel free!”

--

There that topic was again- The one that seemed to calm the voices down ever so slightly. It apparently knew plenty about the topic too. It didn’t think about trying to figure out what all it knew right now though, not as it was trying to strain its ears to hear what was being said now.

--

“O-okay...probably know...t-twelve major gods...a-ancient greeks worshiped. Z-Zeus, the king...gods...lord...sky, H-Hera, the queen...gods and t-the goddess of m-marriage...life of w-woman, Poseidon, g-god...sea and Zeus's b-brother, Hades, the god...underworld and d-death...Poseidon and Zeus's b-brother, Demeter, g-goddess...harvest, A-Athena, goddess...wisdom and w-war...Zeus's d-daughter, sprouted….from...head! A-Artemis and A-Apollo...twins, Artemis...goddess...m-moon and hunt, and you...know...Apollo. Then...Hephaestus, g-god...smiths...metalwork, Aphrodite, g-goddess of love, beauty...s-sexuality, Ares, god...violent war, Hermes, m-messenger...gods, and D-Dionysus, god...wine or Hestia, g-goddess...hearth. B-both...last two...'major gods,' depending...who you t-talk.... I...prefer Hestia.”

--

Somewhere in the middle of the long ranting, it had glanced in the direction of the voice. It’s vision was still blotchy, if not worse from absolutely everything going on, but it could make out the outline of a drawing. If it focused long enough and the voices allowed it to for long enough, then it could make out figures sitting down. It assumed those would be the gods and goddesses.

--

“W-well, me and Ethan...agree...g-god or goddess…. I s-suggested Apollo,...reasons, and E wanted...A-Athena or Hestia. S-so..., w-we chose a god...n-neither...care...avoid conflict. Hermes! S-so...Hermes...messenger of the g-gods and was...god of trade, wealth, and a-animal husbandry….i-invented the lyre!...cool, right? His r-roman...Mercury. Well,...basics...a-anything...you want to k-know? About any...gods or a-anything.”

--

It could ask about what it kept getting compared to, the minotaur. But it also didn’t want to know, not really. It wanted to know in the sense that then it would at least understand why it was getting called that… But it didn’t want to know and find that they’re completely justified in calling it a minotaur.

--

In the silence, it began scratching again. The voices weren’t as loud as before, though the volume was still relatively terrible. This time, the scratching wasn’t as violent, and it was more because of the fact that it couldn’t decide what to do. Couldn’t decide if it should ask or not. Though exhaustion was probably another factor to the softer movements.

--

It’s eyes were still glossy, not really landing on anything. It still wanted to know what had caused this too, but that wasn’t something it could ask. Not to the people around it, at least.

--

“Wonderful, people are having mental breakdowns in here.” Nabih actually held in a huff of a laugh at that, allowing his eyes to scan the scene.

--

Ariethous did seem to be in what looked like the aftermath of a mental breakdown, at least. He looked over at his bag, where his notebook was. He would have to put that in his notes, there was no way that he couldn’t. It was literally the first mental break any of them had seen from him yet. Now that he thought about it though, he also needed to put in about how he had punched Leroy.

--

But right now, he simply had to let Leroy tell everyone the lie first. Nabih knew that he couldn’t look Ethan in the eye right now, it would give away too much. After all, Ethan was a pro at reading into eyes.

--

“Right guys, look who I found! This idiot managed to fall when the train hit a bump and broke the fucking bottle when he tried to catch himself. Now we're gonna have to pay for it when we probably shouldn't have had it in the first place. And to make things worse, he managed to hurt himself as well!”

--

Nabih allowed his gaze to drop to the floor, tightening his hold on the jacket Leroy had allowed him to keep for the time being. Not only did he actually feel like doing exactly that pose, but it would make sense for him to do it too. Mostly though, right now, he simply wanted to get to his notebook and begin writing the new information he had on Ariethous and Leroy.

--

“O-oh! Are you okay, N-Nabih!”

--

He looked up at that. He thought for a moment, too long to, he knew. A beat too long went by before he answered, having to make sure his voice wouldn’t immediately give him away. “Yes, Axel, I’m fine now… Leroy helped me…” He would never be used to saying that after the situation that just transpired. Not when it just wasn’t something that happened in the past. Now that he thought about it though, the hesitation there may be what Ethan needed to figure out. He hoped not…

--

He allowed himself to sit down where the scent wouldn’t be as strong for Ethan or Cal, having noticed their reaction to the smell. He glanced around at the group again, eyes staying on Ariethous for a few seconds. The man definitely wasn’t in good shape, to say the least. That much was obvious.

January 10th, ??? / 10:55-11:10

Leroy Hall/Ethan Brimstone/Axel Founte

16/B-/O/A/Male/Trans male/Water/Aura Sensing/Quicker Healing/Both/Pansexual/Gay/Asexual Panromantic

“God! It fuckin’ blows my mind you know this much stuff on the Greek gods and all!! All I can ever remember about the Greek stuff is that Zeus was a slut- no offense Zeus, Apollo was a homosexual or whatever, and that Hercules was the best movie ever. Your art looks amazing, E.”

Ethan nodded his thanks, smiling while Axel nodded along, blushing slightly at the initial praise.

“Okay just because he is wearing Leroy’s jacket, doesn’t mean they are dating. I doubt Leroy is even gay. Love triangle between Aries, Leroy, and Evie is what is happening! I’m telling you!”

Ethan couldn't help but smile at that, looking up and relaxing a little more, though also being extremely careful not to breathe too deeply or look towards Nabih.

"No, that's not what's happening, at all! Don't tell me you're that blind, do you even know how Aries acts around you?! Oh, and Leroy is definitely not into Evie. No offense to her, but she doesn't seem like Leroy's type at all. No, no, no, Leroy and Nabih totally have a thing for each other. AND, Axel... Okay, if you haven't noticed how much he's admiring you and Aries you are a lost cause. The guy compared you to Apollo, for God's sake, he wouldn't stop talking about Apollo for a month after I met him, major crush, I'm telling you! Now he's saying you remind him of him, man, he likes you! Aries too, I've never seen him so eager to do a presentation, he hates talking in front of people, but as soon as you asked him to tell a story he jumped on it, and he noticed Aries reaction to greek mythology which is why he offered to do the presentation. You can't seriously tell me he doesn't like you two."

E raised an eyebrow at Cal, amused while also hiding the panic that still remained in his chest. Axel glanced back and forth between Aries and Nabih again, eventually deciding Aries still needed more help when Nabih walked over and sat down.

“Yes, Axel, I’m fine now… Leroy helped me…”

The hesitation made Ethan nervous, but he told himself it was just because Nabih was shocked that Leroy had helped him. He really shouldn't be though, E had caught the way Leroy glanced at Nabih in admiration when he thought no one was looking, a little fear too, though he masked that more easily.

"W-well, there's a first a-aid kit in my bag if y-you need it, N-Nabih," Axel said, smiling at him before turning back to Cal, who was tapping on Aries back lightly to communicate with Ethan, and Aries, who was still obviously in a bad spot. "O-oh, Cal! Maybe h-he could have more than o-one color of a band-aid? W-would that work? Aries, hold o-on, I have something for y-you!"

He exclaimed suddenly, trotting over to his bag and unzipping it to pull out a rather beat-up-looking stuffed bear, then passing his bag over to Nabih to get the first-aid kit. Once he made sure Nabih got what he needed, Axel walked back over to Aries, smiling at TJ, who was also attempting to help him and held the bear out to Aries with bright eyes.

"T-this is Mr. Fluff. I-I got him when I was l-little, and he's helped me w-with a lot of panic attacks a-and when I didn't feel good. N-now I want you to h-have him, A-Aries! He's kind of ruffled, b-but he's still soft a-and nice to hold!" Axel had always been kind of childish, but now, with the way he held the bear up to Aries, as though he was presenting a gift to a king, he seemed even smaller and more child-like than ever.

Leroy crossed his arms, watching Nabih carefully as he walked across the cart to sit down again, and nodded slightly when Axel handed him his bag. There was something close to affection in his eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came, and he glared at Cal and Ethan who were both smirking.

"What the hell are you two talking about now?"