Ian grinned, this guy had some sort of spunk, though Flower Boy could never keep up with Killian, at least he coul be teased and not be hurt by it. "I'll forgive you for telling me that I talk out of my ass sometimes, solely because you just forgave me for trying to kill you." Killian was again, obviously joking, but the grin was slipping off his face as they approached Rhys' apartment. Two people sat on the sidewalk, playing cards or something along those lines. They were two of Ian's gang, and he could not be seen grinning like an idiot in front of them.

As Ian pulled to a stop, he spoke. "Give me a moment with them Flower Boy, I'll wave you in when you should come." Killian sighed as he pushed open his door and slammed it loudly behind him. Both of them looked up, the woman standing up first, staring into Killian's car with a glare at Flower Boy. Ian blocked her view and spoke to both her and the other man with a fierce expression and quiet words. They exchanged a heated argument but the woman quickly backed down and stood there like a scolded child, Ian's hand resting on the pommel of his wand, the blood in the globe swirling menacingly as he waved Rhys over, a deep frown on his face.

Rhys slipped his hand inside of the Void before getting out of the car, and felt the cool wood of his wand. He pulled it out, and kept it close to his chest as he exited the vehicle. Rhys reaches out his senses and felt the presence of the weeds in the sidewalk cracks. They had been cut down by the other gang after Rhys had made them grow, but they were still alive.

He categorized the rest of the present plants in his mind, and devoted some of his conscious to praising and complimenting the plants. They always grew better and would cooperate better if their egos were swelled.

Rhys kept his eyes down, trying his best NOT to further upset the angry lady, "I have my key... but the window should still be open too, if it's better to go through that way."

Rhys was new at these... dash in and grab stuff... sort of stuff. He wasn't used to any of this stuff at all, and he REALLY just didn't want to be yelled at.

The woman grinned at Rhys' nervous words, but the grin was wiped off her face as soon as Killian looked at her with his fierce eyes. The other man seemed rather curious, staring at Rhys with large brown eyes. He gave the other man a small, friendly smile, hoping that he wouldn't be too put off by Marisol's annoying ass. "We can go through the front, there's no point in going through the side. Let's just hope that they aren't watching for a bit." Luke sighed, he wasn't used to having to be worried that another gang could win but after last night...

"Boss, what happens if they are here?" The man's voice didn't sound too afraid, but he did sound concerned. "Well that's simple, we fight them the best we can and win while we're doing it." Marisol grinned at Killian's words. She was a danger to most people, she craved violence, but she was a good fighter. Which was why Ian had asked her to come.

"Let's go then," Ian looked at Flower Boy with a slightly softer expression, hoping that the dude wasn't too afraid of goig back into his apartment.

Rhys gage a hesitant smile back to the friendlier looking guy, but didn't dare to make eye contact with the woman. If that other gang happened to be here, and were there in large numbers, Rhys didn't know if they'd be able to do it. Rhys couldn't imagine hurting anyone, but he knew well enough by now that the people in this world did not share his same reservation.

When Ian began talking to him, Rhys lifted his chin slightly. He had to be brave. "Okay. I'll lead the way to my apartment." His voice was wobbly at best, but that was just what came out.

Rhys led the way into the complex, past the sketchy front desk man, told them NOT to try the mints after he saw a hand reaching for one, and down the creepiest looking hallway. At the end was a set of stairs, and they began to head up them. A few patches were weaker, and Rhys pointed them out. They weren't classified as a safety hazard, but if this many people walked on it, the stairs would certainly give out and break.

They went up to Rhys's floor, and he headed down the hallway before turning to a door that was clean and dusted.

Rhys unlocked the door and carefully peeped inside. The plants seemed relaxed, so Rhys took it that there was no one in here. He stepped inside, and took a deep breath.

Home.

...

Home happened to be one chair by the window, a small bookcase, and an inflatable mattress with a dresser beside it. The kitchen was tiny, and had a few plants on the counter, along with a tiny TV.

Ian, Griffin and Marisol followed Flower Boy up the stairs. Marisol glared suspiciously at the sketchy front desk man, but with a quick flick of his hand, Killian told her to back off without even a word. She grumbled a few, quick, harsh words before Ian shut her up with his own signature glare.

When they finally made it into Rhys' apartment, Marisol released a muffled snicker. Griffin turned to her, his brown eyes fierce. "Shut up Marisol, you used to be a street rat with nothing to your name so you really shouldn't be saying anything." Now it was Killian's turn to hide his own grin, as Griffin had said exactly what was on his own mind. "Ignore Marisol Flower Boy, just grab whatever you need. Marisol, go back to the door and stand there on guard. Now." Killian added in the last word when Marisol frowned at his words. She swore to kill him under her breathe as she left the apartment, Griffin releasing a sigh of relief as the door closed behind her.

Rhys rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, and forced out a laugh, "Haha... It's fine. No biggie." He grabbed a suitcase and began putting lots of clothes inside, his phone charger, wallet, and surprisingly, the cushion of his chair, along with a few books.
Rhys flipped over the cushion and pulled out some rumpled dollar bills. It was his "just in case" cash, if he wasn't able to go to the bank, or he had lost his wallet. Rhys sat on his suitcase to get it to close, and finally got it zipped up. After standing, Rhys did a quick survey of his barren apartment, and finally grabbed the blanket on the air mattress and folded it up. There was a photo frame on his dresser that was turned to

face the wall, and Rhys paused in front of it for a moment. He didn't know how far this new gang would go, and in the off chance they broke into his apartment, he didn't want anyone else to be targeted. Rhys slipped the photo out of

the frame, and tucked it in his pocket, "Alright... I think I've gotten everything."

Griffin and Killian spoke in quiet, snapping words. They weren't mad at each other, but they were discussing the earlier loss, and how the gang would retaliate. They hardly paid attention to Rhys, which was probably a good thing for Flower Boy, as he didn't need to get anymore involved with the gang than he already was. If he did, he'd be a real target.

Once Flower Boy announced he was finished, Griffin and Ian quickly quieted. "Good, now let's get out of here before we are noticed." Ian's voice was colder than normal, it was a definite change from earlier, when it had seemed he was warming up to Flower Boy. Now he seemed more closed off than ever.

Ian opened the door rather quietly, worried about the fact that Marisol hadn't said a word since going into the hallway. Fortunately, she was just sitting on the floor, on her phone, definitely not doing her job. Ian rolled his eyes and nudged her with his foot, she quickly stood up, her wand revealed for a second underneath her red leather jacket.

"We need to go now, I'm pretty sure a few someones are trying to climb up the fire escape. Their phones are giving them away, there is too many of them for just us to fight. We need to leave, now." Ian's announcement was expected, but Marisol still paled slightly. Griffin quickly shut the door behind them, and they began to sprint down the hallway. Killian staying behind everyone, his hand pulling out his wand, just in case.

Rhys also paled at the idea of confrontation. He really hoped to avoid any fighting. He paused at the door, aware at Ian might be annoyed, and set his little houseplant down in front of the door. He pulled out his wand and concentrated, little lines furrowing his brow. Moments later the plant had grown to a giant size. The vines wrapped around the door, sealing it, "That should buy us some time." With that, Rhys whipped around, grabbed his bag, and sprinted down the hall. He felt around his jacket pocket for some of the moss balls he had also grabbed. Expanding them and throwing them at an enemy might be useful.

Killian had waited for Flower Boy, despite his instincts commanding him to do the opposite. It seemed that his patience paid off though, because Flower Boy had actually done something rather helpful. So helpful in fact, that it pulled a small grin onto his face, this guy was kinda getting the hang of this all. Though technically, that wasn't exactly a very good thing, especially after what he'd just said in the car. Marisol had already ran over to the stairs and was scouting ahead, a wild look in her dark brown eyes.

Ian began to sprint down the hallways, making sure Flower Boy was always close on his heels. He didn't think he actually cared about this guy, but he owed him, which was more than enough to make him worry about his safety. Griffin was waiting at the stairs as well, his own dark gaze stoic but his shifting eyes gave him away, he was nervous. Just as Ian was, but no one would ever see that. Marisol led the way down the stairs, her menacing black wand already in her hand, Griffin closely followed her, behind him was Flower Boy and coming up last was Killain. Being the strongest meant that for safety purposes it was best he remained in the back. And Ian was fine with that, he enjoyed the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins. Though he didn't crave it like Marisol did.

Rhys was very obviously nervous, and did not try to hide it. He could still keep moving, and would not falter. The cool wood of his wand pressed into the grooves of Rhys's hand like it always did, creating a comforting and familiar presence.

Rhys could do minor plant magic without his wand, but it wasn't controllable. For instance, when he sneezed and the plants grew outside of the temporary home. He couldn't control that, yet he was still able to do magic. With the wand acting like a megaphone for his powers, and offering direction, growing plants became more precise, and the plant voices were amplified, letting him better see who was there in that area. Most of their conversation was mindless chatter, but sometimes, when something really caught their attention, they would tell.

Like right now. Rhys's head snapped to attention as he heard the weeds in the cracks of the concrete complaining, and he jumped forward and grabbed Griffin's shoulder, and gestured for him to stop Marisol, "Uhm... there are a group of people out front," Rhys's forehead crinkled as he tried to listen to the plants, "And some of them are the people who were originally chasing Ian and I.... so we can assume it is the other gang." The plants couldn't give a direct summary of what was going on - Rhys's magic wasn't powerful enough for that - but he could hear some of the weeds bragging about how they were the ones who survived these people cutting them down, and helped the Plant-Friend (which is what Rhys figured he was being called).