And so it begins

Ayalla shook her head, clicking her tongue as she wasn't in the mood for him to excuse her. To her it wasn't just a pawn shop, it was a public space where they could be spotted and later questioned.
The clerk smiled as Gareth asked for the price, naming it and getting payed cash. Ayalla looked over to him, and as he handed her the box she felt herself get angry. His nonchalant way of saying it made her grit her teeth, looking at the box and hearing him leave. She sighed, thanking the owner before going out after him, taking out the chain and placing it around her neck before tossing the box in a random trash can they passed. "It's not an anniversary," she just mumbled, rolling the chain between her fingers lightly. He could make her mad and happy at the same time, and she knew it was because of her feelings for him. "But thank you," she finally said, breathing out in a sigh, walking beside him again.
They reached his place in relatively short time, making her wonder how time felt like passing this fast. To be honest she didn't really know what to say, looking at his lavish mansion she sometimes wondered what he wanted with all that space, but she guessed it was just a money thing. She turned her head, her eyes recognizing someone moving closer. "Hi Darren," she said, frowning as she looked around. "Where's Ethan?" she asked, rather confused. Sometime the two seemed inseparable. "Rig't 'ere, open ya eyes!" Ethan said loudly, leaned against one of the trees on Gareth's property. "Are we rea'y to make this town unsafe?" he chuckled, kicking himself away from the tree and walking over to Gareth with a grin on his face. Pointing at the daemon's neck he snickered. "Who is she? Sumone I kno?" he asked with a large grin.

Ethan grinned from ear to ear, even if Gareth wasn't telling, he knew he would know eventually. Either that or hear stories later. "Mad lad thinking he can get away with sneaking some fine lady past us," he said shaking his head as he kicked a few of the small rocks of gravel. As Darren asked where Vanessa was and Gareth didn't seem to have an answer, the human frowned, shrugging it off lightly. "Vane will show ... She always does, innit?" he said with a faint scoff.
"You really don't care about anyone, huh," Ayalla said glaring at Ethan with her green eyes cold. "Oi! I am worried - juss, she can take care of herself," he said, in a defensive manner looking at the hybrid, rolling his eyes. "Whatever ... Darren, how about we go out back to the garden?" she suggested, focusing on the one of the guys she got along with better. Ayalla wasn't the easiest person to read, but a lot of people seemed to be when they had been in the near vicinity of Samuel Prideux. The hybrid held out her hand to the human, not sure if he heard her or not. Sometimes his mind would wander, getting him distracted by some voice in the distance.

"Been pretty easy with most of my girls," he teased the human with a chuckle, but then Darren had to bring up Vanessa. He swore, for a guy that could just seek minds for answers, he was surely asking a lot of questions. He shrugged at Ayalla's accusation towards Ethan, "He's not wrong," he remarked, but you never knew with Samuel. The mighty Samuel Prideux that did anything in the name of science; Well as long as there was money to gain from it.
Darren had looked back down at his hands, looking for a spot that he hadnt quite peeled off yet. He was good at fixating on something he could do with his fingers, but sadly that often resulted in sores that stung. It was Ayalla's hand in his field of view that made him realize she had spoken to him. "Sorry 'bout that Aya," he said as he let her lead the way. Gareth watched them go before he turned his eyes back to Ethan, "I've got something I want to show you," he said as he started walking up the stairs, flicking his cigarette bud as far as he could get it.

Ayalla always struggled a bit around Ethan, perhaps because he was so out and open about everything and she liked to keep things to herself. In a way she envied that freedom, and maybe that was why she preferred taking Darren for a walk in the garden instead. At first it didn't seem like he had heard her, but she soon caught his attention anyways. "I've barely seen you lately ... What's up?" she asked, walking over the grass. Gareth's garden was large, much larger than the mansion itself, but she guessed it was easy keeping nice when you had people to keep it for you. "I mean, you've been more distant," she said, frowning as she didn't really know how to explain it. She had a vague understanding of Darren's ability, mostly understanding that he was built like a radio, but instead of one channel he was tuned in to everyone.

Ethan nodded, following Gareth up the stairs. "Wassup?" he asked, his grin still present on his face as he caught a glimpse of Ayalla and Darren going for the garden. The human thought that maybe it was the chance for Darren to make his move. Turning his face forward he stretched a bit.

It wasnt a secret that Darren was seeing Ayalla in a different light than everyone else. It had started when he realized that he never got any type of feedback from her, he could neither hear her thoughts or dig into her story; It was relieving in a way. But he wouldnt ever muster the courage to straight up admit that he was feeling some kind of way about her, because he was fearful of rejection. If there was one thing he couldnt deal with, it was rejection. He couldnt understand how Ethan could handle being turned down by the women he pursued and still keep going, it was admirable in a way. "My head," he explained, pointing towards his forehead with a frown on his brows. "It's been bad lately with all the thoughts and shit, so I've jus' been home. Samuel gave me some pills, but they work for shit," he explained, sighing to himself.
He nuzzled some of the grass with the tip of his shoe before he looked up at Ayalla. "It's fookin' stupid because I dont get anything from you, so we could've hung out or sumthin'," he said with a scoff towards himself. He shook his head. "How's your week been then? Been alright, yeah?" he asked.

"Samuel sent me some dope shit from his latest production," Gareth explained with a smile as he led Ethan to his livingroom. There was a box on the sofa table that the daemon opened, pulling out different sized packages. "I thought we should save the psychedelics for movienight," he chuckled, putting aside some packages, one he knew Vanessa would want to help her sleep. Then he found some pills and powder, "Kinda weird to have snow in summer, huh?" he said with a broad smile, before he read the amount in each package.  

Ayalla sighed, chuckling lightly as he explained, but not in a way that she found it funny. Rather she felt sympathetic with him. "You have my number, you can always just call and we can find a time and place," she reminded him but she could understand how it could be hard to reach out. She looked at his hands, frowning slightly as she took the one that he seemed to pick at the most. "You need to stop doing that," she mumbled, but truth be told she had some weird habits of her own. However him hurting himself like that didn't sit right with her. He asked her about her week and she shrugged. "It's been alright, I'm mostly just trying to pass time," she said with a faint shrug. "But I feel like I'm losing control too, so I guess we have that going as a duo," she scoffed, looking at his hand.

Ethan's face lit up at the mention of some goods. It was no secret that the human enjoyed any substance he could get his hands on, but if it came from a Prideux, he knew it was clean and pure. Sitting down on the couch in the living room, his eyes fixated on the box, raising an eyebrow at the mention of psychedelics. "Well as long as they're not as itchy as last time, that's fine," he chuckled. He had awoken with scratch-marks all over his body and it hadn't really been pleasant. The human reached out, taking one of the bags of powder, opening the bag and feeling some of the powder between his fingers. "Well Solstice has come early I see," he chuckled, closing the bag once more. He felt his phone vibrate, groaning as he dug his free hand in to his pocket looking at his phone. "Facking ... I swear this girl," he mumbled, typing fast before raising an eyebrow. "Ya know, fack it, have a look," he chuckled, scrolling up to some of the picks the girl had sent. She was blonde and rather curvy, posing rather cutesy and sexual in every photo. "I mean she's a tenner, but her personality is like cardboard," he sighed, shaking his head.

"Yeah I know I know," Darren replied quietly, scoffing to himself. "But I rarely remember that kind of stuff when it gets really bad," he then said, hoping she would understand that he wasnt being this way on purpose. She grabbed his hands and if she hadnt believed that it had been bad at first, his hands were a prime example of someone who clearly wasnt that well; or at least restless. Her mumble made him sigh as he looked at his hand, frowning a little to himself, "It doesnt look that bad to me," he remarked, but that was because he knew what the worst could look like. "Pass time?" he asked as she replied, raising an eyebrow. He sat down in the grass, running his hand through the soft textures, feeling the faint reminder of the warmth that the sun had provided just a few hours prior. "I thought you were doing be'er?" he asked as he looked up at her with a concerned look. He could hear some lady pass with some thoughts about a meeting with someone else's husband, but he chose to ignore it, there wasnt much worth in hearing these rich prick's thouhts anyway. "You can talk to me about anything, yeah?" he assured her if it wasnt already obvious.

"Well, they shouldnt itch this time," he chuckled, sorting out the bags as he sat down himself. They sure had some stories to tell about the odd drugs that Samuel had produced. Luckily for Ethan, it seemed that there yet hadnt been made one that would kill him; Gareth after all didnt really have to worry about that that much. "I think snow will do. It is getting a bit chilly outside," he remarked, grabbing a few smaller bags that he filled with the powder. Just enough to keep them going for the night. He ignored the phone as it vibrated but Ethan's mumble made him turn his eyes. He looked at the picture presented to him before he scoffed. "She looks a lot like this one chick I met at a bar one night. She could do this thing with her tongue, but I didnt get to know her," he explained before he chuckled and threw the bag to Ethan. "You should go for the fives. Their middleground makes them thrive in the other departments. And their want to be a ten, even if it's just for a night in your eyes..." he stopped himself as he whistled in a sigh. "They'll do anything, anything" he said, closing another bag. He then grabbed a last package, looking at it curiously. "This one is the pills for Darren," he said, placing the package between him and Ethan. "Also just one girl? Have Ethan Spencer finally gone through enough girls in this city to not have his phone blow up every minute?" he teased him, pouring some powder onto the back of his hand before he sniffed it in one go.

Sitting down on the grass alongside him, shaking her head at his words. "I thought so too," she said, shaking her head a little. She tried to pretend that she had everything under control, but it was getting harder and harder, at least as of lately. "I guess it's just a rough patch," she mumbled, not wanting to make a big deal out of it, laying back on the grass, looking up at the sky. It was getting a bit darker, but she didn't really mind, mostly because she was good at keeping heat in. Moving her hand up, she touched her chain softly, rolling it between her thumb and index finger. "But if I start talking about it ... I'm gonna be pulled in for tests and I'm scared of that," she confessed. She didn't like being open like this, squeezing her eyes harder shut. "Can we - fuck - talk about something else?" she pleaded, keeping her eyes closed, shaking a little. Fuck, she couldn't be thinking of that now, she had just been in such a happy mood and now she felt like she was on the brink of breaking down.

Ethan chuckled, shaking his head no as Gareth asked if he was only seeing one girl. "Nah mate, this link is just the most fun right now," he explained, grabbing the bag that got tossed to him. He looked at the bag of pills for Darren, trying to remember to give it to him. "I don't kno, I guess that I'm just waiting around for the next big fing, y'know," he said, shrugging lightly as he looked for at while at the white powder. "Gurls 'round here are tiring, always wanting more and commitment n shit," he said, screwing a small part of his locket he always wore about his next, filling the powder in it before inhaling a small pile of powder himself, leaning back and closing his eyes. Truth was Ethan didn't like powder as much as he did pills, it always made his nostrils so dry, but it did always give him a better high. "Like is it really so hard to just get a blow job and dip?" he scoffed.

Instead of reacting too much she just stuck with nodding, listening to what Darren said but keeping her eyes closed. There was just something about metal, any metal really, that seemed to calm her down. That and having someone tell her stories. However she felt like she couldn't be silent a minute longer, sitting up she felt her heart rate increase. "No ... No, Darren I-I," she stumbled, falling over her words as she got to her feet. "I don't ... I don't wanna go out tonight, I feel like shit," she said, wrapping her arms around herself and squeezing herself tightly. It was how she hugged herself, showed herself that she needed to relax. "I just - I just feel sick," she whispered, shaking a little more, feeling like her hands were itching, a small metal ornament in the garden starting to bend and snap. "Fuck ... fuck ... fuck," she mumbled as she started to pace.

"Well yeah, Vane deserves better than someone like us shit heads," he agreed, a faint smile on his lips. He knew what he was feeling for Vanessa was something that could never reach the surface, but he felt better just being friends with her. "Hell Ayalla is a stuck up bitch, but she deserves someone good too," he said looking up at the ceiling as he felt the high slowly get to him. It was good, making him energized. "Fuck, haha, have you heard that Darren's got this massive crush on Aya?" he giggled.

This was bad, this was really bad. And the worst part was that she was trying to control it, because she was afraid of hurting those around her. Darren cupped her face, her eyes glowing green and she knew he could feel how she was shaking. It wasn't until Gareth was there, guiding her hand to his where she felt the metals under her fingertips. It was hard to focus, but she tried, taking deep breaths that Darren had tried to teach her before she felt her body calm down somewhat. Her eyes stopped glowing, her body falling forward a bit, her head landing on Darren's chest as she was heaving for air. She should've known this was bound to happen, she hadn't felt in control for a few days, but the thought of spending time with Gareth had made her push herself out.
Ethan came running down, wiping his nose clean as he saw the guys handling the hybrid. He couldn't even begin to understand what was going on, perhaps because he had no special superpowers of his own. However he had never let that stop him. "Does she need to lay down?" he asked, ready to run in and fix the couch so that Ayalla could be there.
The hybrid felt dizzy, her hand still on Gareth's as she felt both his skin and the metal against her fingers. It was calming, her heart rate slowing down a little, but she could just as easily go back to the out of control part of herself. "I'm sorry," she mumbled in a slur, her eyes closed as she was just leaning against Darren unless Gareth moved her.

Ayalla didn't really know how to move yet, feeling like she just needed to gather herself. Then she felt herself being pulled and lifted, looking up as she saw it was Gareth holding her. Damn him. She still felt like he should keep his distance, and especially when she was like this. Her eyes fell shut again, just leaning her head against his shoulder as he carried her into the living room. The couch felt soft against her back, placing an arm over her eyes just to shield out some of the remaining sunlight coming in from the windows.
Ethan was a little hyped, but was trying to keep it under control as he watched Gareth carry the hybrid. "She's gonna be fine ... However that sick statue seems dead," he said, looking out at the snapped ornament in the garden. Whistling a little he looked over at Ayalla on the couch. Had she really done that just from losing control? It was kinda awesome, but also rather scary, but he wondered what had made the usually calm hybrid be like that. Had Darren finally confessed or something? Ethan moved outside, greeting Vanessa as she passed by him, but she seemed angry, and he was not going to be the reason she got more annoyed. He reached his friend. "Ey, Dare, what's going on?" he said, frowning a little as he didn't know if he was supposed to be worried. He hummed softly, reaching in to his pocket and handing over the pills that Gareth had gotten for him. "G got you these ... They're supposed to work better," he said in a light mumble before looking at the ornament with wide eyes. The metal hadn't just given in, it looked like it had been twisted like a piece of gum before it had snapped from the pressure.
Ayalla was laying on the couch when she heard Vanessa come in, feeling like she needed to apologize already, however she was silent until the daemon decided to speak. She was clearly not in a good mood, but it wasn't like she could blame her for that. "It's nothing," she finally said, sitting up but having to lean back against the couch to support herself. "I'm just not feeling too good," she said, looking to her best friend. They had known each other from childhood, but there was a lot of things that Ayalla couldn't remember from that time. All she could remember was how close she was with Vanessa and how the daemon always seemed to make her calm. Then she noticed the drugs, sighing as she shook her head. "I didn't take any, you know that," she mumbled. Truth was she was afraid of losing control, so often she even counted the drinks she was allowed to have on a night out. "G, do you have like ... I don't know, like a spoon or something?" she mumbled, just needing something metal that she could bend and control.

Ethan was worried as Darren was usually not the most talkative, but he at least seemed to always have something on his mind he wanted to share. "Aight, bruv, ya do what ya gotta do, yeah - Juss like text me or sum shite when ya home?" he said. He knew that his own mind probably wasn't helping either, seeing as it was going a thousand miles an hour. However having heard that Vanessa had touched Darren, he knew what that meant. Hell, the human had felt that feedback more than once and it sucked. "I'll look after Vane," he promised, though he felt a bitter taste in his mouth from saying those words. He knew he couldn't pretend to protect her, but at least he knew what might help her. Ethan waved at Darren as he headed off, not really knowing what to say before he formed his hands around his lips, yelling at his friend. "We'll catch up tomorrow, yeah?"

Ayalla shook her head at her friend, she knew of course she did, but going there always seemed so sterile. She hated it. "I don't know ... There's always someone that stares creepily at me and I don't like it when they do my bloodwork," she said looking down to where her hand was resting on Gareth's. Fuck, they were outing themselves right now, but she just needed to feel that metal. However Vanessa didn't seem to even notice, so perhaps the male daemon was right; Their friends would see it coming even if it hit them in the face. "I guess I just want to try and figure it out myself," she breathed out, just looking at the ring on his finger that she had bought for him. Normally she would've scolded Gareth for speaking like that to his servants, but she didn't really feel in the mood for yelling or getting angry. It would only upset her more. Nodding at his soft words she just stared blankly until the spoon was promptly delivered to her. Holding out her hand she didn't even touch it, instead greenish-black glow emanated from her hand, controlling the metal with ease and moving it closer to her. "Thank you," she mumbled to the servant, but keeping her eyes on the spoon that she manipulated to just float in mid air. Her eyes were glowing slightly, but it was more out of focus and not from losing control.

Ethan joined them as soon as Darren had left, walking in to see Ayalla control the spoon, and frankly he didn't know if he liked watching people use their abilities like that. It reminded him too much of superhero movies, and it was rather surreal. "Dare went home, uhm, yeah - I guess we ain't really in a party mood tonight, huh," he said, his eyes drifting to Vanessa. He could see how agitated she was just by looking at her body language. If there was one thing that Ethan had learnt with the time he spent with Gareth it was that the Prideux showed their emotions differently. While Gareth always seemed to not care, you could always spot his real feelings in how he carried himself. He could see right now that he was worried about Ayalla, and rightfully so. Ethan was worried about her too, even if they didn't get along too much, he still cared for her. "Vane, do ya wanna go for a walk, maybe?" he asked, looking to Gareth to see if it was alright. He wouldn't try doing anything with her, but he wanted to make sure that Gareth knew of his intentions.

Ayalla sighed, her fingers moving and bending the spoon in a small pattern. "I guess I ruined the mood," she mumbled, but she tried not to seem too upset about it. Some times her life was just hard to deal with, and with her abilities acting up she did feel like she should've gotten some help. However she was too stubborn, and most of the time she had it in control. She had always showed signs of mood swings, but perhaps she should come clean eventually. Vanessa knew that Ayalla didn't just struggle with her abilities, there was some mental issues behind it.

Maybe it would be a good idea to get a check up, but she felt like she already knew what they were going to do; Tell her that she was having a manic episode and dope her up on some drugs so that they could control her. She much more preferred to stay here, be herself and not get herself locked away again. "I just wish it could be on my terms," she mumbled, but she also looked at Vanessa, hoping that she could understand. If things got worse, she would seek out help, but for now she felt like she could handle it - at least with the help of her friends. She could feel Gareth looking at her rather attentively, and she honestly wanted to look back at him, but for now she kept her eyes on the spoon that was no longer a spoon.

Ethan sent Vanessa a brief smile as she got up, but he knew she was far too gone in her mind right now, so he just bid his goodbye to Gareth and Ayalla and headed out. "It's not his fault," he reminded her, placing a hand on her back, helping her with her balance and ready to grab her if she needed more support. Other than that he tried keeping his touch to a minimum. "C'mon, we'll walk through Faith Garden or sum'fing," he said in a more encouraging voice.

As their friends left, Ayalla felt herself less tense, but still not completely alright. "I do blame myself," she mumbled. He knew better than most that she bore a lot of guilt deeply, but perhaps that came with the fact that she kept imagining if he hadn't been there. Would she have hurt Darren? Perhaps made that metal sculpture erupt and spread out like a million bullets? She shuddered a bit at the thought, letting the not-spoon land on the coffee table, leaning back in to the couch as the green shine disappeared. "Yeah, I don't think I want to be alone right now," she confessed, turning her head to look at Gareth's grey eyes. She reached up, touching his cheek, running a finger over a few of his tattoos. Sometimes it felt like she could remember them all even when they were in the dark. "You worry too much," she sighed, she could see it in his eyes. How he had come running when she was feeling bad - had anyone ever done something like that for her?

Fuck this was bad. She was really out where she didn't even joke around. He frowned, placing his hands in his jean pockets as he walked beside her. Then she spoke again, making him scoff. "Since when do ya care who I'm seeing," he mumbled, but honestly he didn't care to hear the answer. But he was way too stubborn to just leave her now. She needed someone to be there for her, and it was just how it was going to be. "If ya goin' home, I'm following ya to the fooking door," he said, looking at Vanessa, but his gaze was calm. He didn't care if she would protest, he would keep her safe, even if she kept pushing him away.

Truth was that she needed closeness even if she feared it. Having Gareth here seemed to help, but she couldn't really explain why. He got up, and she looked at him a bit puzzled, however taking his hand seemingly blindly. Getting to her feet, she sighed at his words. "Alright," she said, looking at him. The way his face relaxed when it was just the two of them made her feel like her heart was beating faster. Sometimes she wondered why he was hiding this side of him, but on the other hand she understood it completely. Her eyes softened up a bit, looking at him as she moved with him to the large bedroom. To her it didn't matter how grand of a bed they could share, as long as he would at least hold her close. "You have that look ... What are you thinking of=" she asked, looking at him, still unsure of how she was feeling in the moment.

//Ethan out for now n shite

Feeling their hands entangle made her smile slightly, looking at him as they went to the bedroom. She knew she must've looked a little hopeless a well. His question made her scoff softly, but she let him step closer anyways. Part of her didn't know if they would ever tell each other how they really felt, but it didn't seem to matter. She could feel it in moments like these, how he truly cared for her and wanted to have her close. "Well, you have me now," she said, feeling a little breathless as she bent her neck slightly backwards to look up at him. He was quite tall, even taller than Ethan and Darren, but even she was quite tall compared to them. "Do you think you'll get tired of me?" she asked calmly, she knew the answer would be yes in the end, but she just asked from time to time. If he kept replying with no, she knew that he still wanted her. She leaned closer to him, placing her free hand on his chest. She could feel his heart against her fingertips, always making her feel so happy. Even though she had been dying to be alone with him too, she felt almost hesitant now. Did he still like her even though she had been moments away from killing one of his best friends? "What are your plans then?" she asked, a faint smirk creeping up on her lips, leaning in to kiss his chest softly. The black shirt was soft, but she much more wanted to just kiss his bare chest.

Not bored yet. That was at least a good sign. To be honest she felt nervous the longer they stayed together. A month had passed, and she couldn't recall a time where he had been with a girl longer than that. She knew the expiry date on this was approaching, and yet she wanted to be in denial. He let go of her hand, pulling her closer as she looked up at him. His whisper made a small shiver run down her back. "There are many ways to make me feel good," she replied, keeping her voice down even though she didn't have to. Frankly she liked this little game. It was like cat and mouse, only it wasn't decided who was the prey yet. "Do you want something?" she asked, feeling his face so close to her own, raising an eyebrow as if she was challenging him. "I mean, you don't just pull someone close unless you want something, right?" she added, the smirk on her lips growing a little bigger. She leaned closer to his face, her lips hovering over his. Both of them were predators in their own right, however she didn't sense anything in her that actually wanted to hurt him.
She wanted to play along, stepping away from him and walking over to his bed, touching the fine silk. She liked the rich things he had, but only because every time she was just as surprised at the feeling of soft fabric between her fingers as the last time. "I want that ring, though," she said, looking at him with seriousness in her eyes. Maybe it was stupid, but she wanted it. She wanted to wear it even though she knew this was destined to end.