Last Airbender

Angelique recoiled back a step in surprise at the answer. Out of anything she could have expected to hear, that was not it. After the moment of shock wore off, it was replaced by the temper that had been trying to flare up for a while now.

"What are you talking about?" She snarled, pushing Gale aside to grab Alexis by the shoulder and shake her. "Whatever may be wrong in that little mind of yours, snap out of it right now, because this is NOT the time to be playing games with me, Alexis."

Alexis’ eyes widened, darting erratically after she wrenched herself away from Angelique. She stumbled over her mantra, trying to ignore the thoughts that raced through her head. Ignore the fact that Angelique was yelling at her. Ignore the rising tensions in everyone around her. Memories flashing in front of her, violent images of her friends tearing into people. Gale surrounded by the remnants of blown up soldiers, Coden with a bloody corpse, hands soaked in blood. Angelique blasting a wave of fire at her. Gale attacking her in a blind rage. Coden… the blinding pain as tendrils tore into her. They were all dangerous, and she knew it. They brought her here, and now she was being yelled at. They were mad, and she knew they killed people. She was afraid of what they were planning on doing to her…

She whimpered as she backed away from the three of them, nails digging into her arms. Muttering nonsense under her breath, she clung to the wall, eyes darting between all three of them.

He should have intervened Angelique sooner. What kept him from yelling at her like he'd planned to? As soon as she started getting physical with Alexis, Coden dropped what he was doing and yanked Angelique away from Alexis and making himself a human between them.
"Let her alone, Angel," he warned darkly. "You're not helping matters any yelling at her."
He carefully turned his back on Angelique to attend Alexis, pulling her hands away from her arms. Muttering something mildly comforting to her. He should move her to another part of the house not torn asunder. Or get her some food; she probably hadn't eaten since she'd left them.
"Come on, Alexis. Let's go to the other room." He curled his arm around her shoulders, shielding her as he coaxed her across the house.

Shoved away by Angelique, then Coden took Alexis, carefully moving her by. The boy's ears drooped and he looked on silently at her pain. In all honesty, he didn't know how or why he was feeling what he was.

His head hurt. But he also felt very insignificant... very small. Did he not want to be seen? But he did... he wanted Alexis... but Coden was taking her away.

That should have angered him, should have sent him to a killing edge to destroy coden and get back Alexis. But he didn't. Wing pressing to his back, he watched with watery golden eyes as Coden took Alexis to another room.

With a sigh, he kicked at some rubble. Then he headed to a corner, making a nest out of torn curtains, broken planks of wood and half a pillow from the couch. Turning around twice like a dog, he flopped down, eyes closing. At least Alexis was back. Now he could... get some rest...

Maybe he could see her later...

Angelique tensed up as Coden came over and took Alexis away. It wasn't any of his business...

"Don't call me Angel," she snapped at him. "It's Angelique, not 'Angel'."

'We're never going to get out of here at this rate,' she thought, glaring at the far wall. Turning, she went to sit on what was left of the couch, unsure of what else to do. '...I hate the law of plot.'

Alexis fell quiet as she was lead into the kitchen and was settled in front of the table. Her hands ran across the table/door, twisting and playing with the doorknob still attached. Her head turned, looking outdoors to a small garden. A small bird perched on a flowered tree, a non-yelling-at-her-one. She watched it for a while as it flittered around from branch to branch. She wondered if it ever had voices stuck in its head. She was envious of the bird, for being able to fly around without a care in the world.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a bowl of soup somehow appeared in front of her. She stared at it for a while, before her hands fumbled on the table before snatching a pair of chopsticks. Leaning on the table/door sluggishly she picked at the soup, eyes following Coden as he worked around the room.

Alexis was back...she was back and she wasn't ready. No good. It was too much pressure for her; she'd never get well again with all that pressure. She's not any better by herself either thought. Damn it. At least Gale will stop tearing up the house. Hopefully. He'll get better. Can I leave Alexis alone with Pala and Angelique? Pala....I don't.... Alexis trusts. Trusts. She trusts too much. To much trust. In them. In everyone.
"Dahnah..." Idiot...

Coden stopped and looked across the kitchen, tilted his head and hummed. "Alexandria, you cannot eat if the food does not make it to your mouth."
He crossed the room to stand over Alexis. Pushing a small smile into his lips.

Too much trust. Not...enough trust. He glanced up towards the living room. Listening. Waiting. Sighing. Touching. Caressing ebony hair. Feeling empty. Frustrated.
"Eat up. Eat it all. I'm going to go...clean up.....don't...don't go anywhere."

Slipping away reluctantly, Coden went into the living room again. Paused as his eyes fell upon Angelique and held an expression as lively as a slate. Tried not to get angry again. Looked over at Gale in his corner and tried not to get frustrated. Tried very hard to...to not care.

Inside he found another box. Empty and untouched. Stuffed the emotion inside and shut the box tight. Locked it up and pushed it away.
Don't care, don't care. No face, don't care. Don't care enough to not...to ignore. For now.
He quietly started picking up the mess. Piling broken glass and shattered fragments into a box. Picked up chairs and tables and rolled up dirty rugs. stuffed cotton tufts back into tears on the coach. Wondered silently if Angelique happened to carry needle and string.

Angelique watched Coden wander back into the living room and begin picking the place up. She was about ready to start screaming in frustration and setting things on fire...or drenching them depending on whether she was near any water or not. Not that that thought helped to improve her mood at all...

Everyone was slipping. Alexis had apparently lost her mind completely, the same could most likely be said for Gale, Pala had vanished, and Coden...didn't seem to be holding up as well as he had been before Alexis returned. She herself couldn't exactly fathom why her temper had such a hair trigger at the moment. True the situation was bad, but usually she had a fair amount of control...

She shook her head, feeling that nagging at the back of her mind once more, and let it drop. She was just tired and stressed as the rest of them, but it seemed that she was going to have to be the one to suck it up and try to pull everything together.

With an aggravated sigh, she got up and began helping Coden pick up the place, not looking at him...or Gale...or at the kitchen where Alexis currently sat. She just wandered around, straightening things, trying to keep control. Control of a temper and situation that were both crumbling apart around her.

"You deal with the kid, I'll clean up here as best I can," Angelique said to Coden finally. "Later I want to talk to you about some things I found out while I was gone."

Seeing Angelique actually get up and help him clean had startled Coden. If anything, he expected her to do as much as she was thinking of doing. Setting fire to or flooding to house. Somehow he was relieved to see her participation. It was like one big obstacle had finally been passed. Teamwork was never a strong point, but things, hopefully, would start falling into place.

"Good. I've been wanting to talk to...someone....for a while," Coden quietly admitted. Taking the filled box, Coden carted over to the front door and left it sit to the side. He'd take it out with the rest of the trash when the house was cleaned. Turning back towards the kitchen, He went straight to Gale and awkwardly picked the boy up, blankets and all.

He normally felt more comfortable when it came to doing anything to or with Gale. Now it just felt weird. It must have been because of Gales detachment from him. He forced the pang of hurt that built in his chest into a box; and quietly carried Gale through a door and up to the second level of the house.

He never did get to look upstairs. Surprisingly it was spotless. Seemed Gale had gotten in quite as much exploring as he first thought.
Coden paused at the top step; maybe putting the boy up her wasn't a good idea? Shaking his head, Coden continued and started looking into each room. There were just enough rooms for them all, plus some downstairs yet, he was sure. Choosing the smallest room, albeit it was pretty big even for a small room, Coden carried Gale in and propped him on a corner of the bed. Taking time to strip it of it's sheets and blankets with out disturbing Gale and, one layer at a time, began to make a nest in the corner of the room.

"Hmph...make no mistake I don't mean make conversation," Angelique snapped as she began repairing what she could. "I found some information I think would be helpful to blending in here." She never was one for needless conversations with humans. They were all the same, anyway, with few exceptions.

Moving from the now upright and patched table, she began picking up things off of the floor, putting them out with the other stuff Coden had collected by the front door. Slowly, the room began to resemble a living room again...albeit with less decorations and furniture, and a couch torn half to hell, but livable nonetheless.

Finished with what she could do in there, she turned to head into the kitchen and wait, sitting down at the door-turned-table, idly running her fingers over it.

"Hm...perhaps I should switch them back at some point..."

The boy was complacent as Coden picked him up and lead him upstairs. Upstairs? When did they have an upstairs? He was silent still, until Coden placed him on the bed. Then he stiffed, muscles tightening and eyes going wide, golden color just dots in a sea of white.

Fear evident. But Coden didn't do anything to him. Sheets came off and were tossed in a corner. Gale followed him closely with his eyes, tiny fingers peeling and tearing at the cloth about him. Once there as an adequate pile in the corner, Coden came and lifted him off the bed. As soon as Gale was no longer touching it, the bed crumpled to splinters.

He lie limp in Coden's arms now, drained once more. "U... U qlbbl fi iyrausw." He mumbled, eyes closing slightly, ears drooping. Too close to painful memories right now... had to escape... them and the house. But he was a bit too tired to go outside right now. Still... To feel teh sun and the air without being stared at again... Maybe he could sleep outside. for now. For a bit. He looked at Coden hopefully

Alexis watched Coden as he left the room, then stared at the soup. Apparently it had to go away. She picked at the noodles for a while, eventually the offending soup was vanquished. She felt a good deal warmer now that she had something in her stomach. She glanced around slightly confused. No one was around. She was alone again.

The bird outside caught her attention again. With no one around to pull her focus back, she stood up, making her way outside to the porch. Leaning against the posts for support, she looked around at the garden. It hadn’t been kept up recently, but it was still nice. Several flowery trees were placed in the garden, overlooking a pond. A small waterfall led into the pool, as several koi swam in circles in the water. She slowly made her way through the pond and sat on a large rock overlooking the water. She was hidden from sight by the foliage, as she leaned over the rock looking at the waters below.

The fish were colorful wafts of aura in the shallow blue water, swirling around and around. They were mostly unaffected by her presence, stopping occasionally to stare up at her staring down at them. She picked a flower from the tree above her, delicately fingering the petals. She felt like she should be doing something important, but for the life of her could not figure out what. So instead she stared at the colorful fish swim round and round, sleepily mesmerized by the sight.

Coden glowered at the ruined bed. The again, it wasn't as though it was really useful to Gale. And then the box creaked. Cracked. splintered and burst like the bed on the floor. Damn...Damn it....

"Not....Bir...Bir Biq. Nltrw klrwe. U Oeinuaw, Klrwe qw qukk fi iyr."
It was odd, speaking that what again. Odd, but warningly pleasant. So much, it kind of hurt. His lips brushed against Gales forehead before he could stop himself, though it wasn't quite a kiss. And Gale was nestled into his little nest of blankets with Coden's hand brushing through the boys messing hair.
"Akwwo, Reiiowe. Qw'kk fi die a qlkj klrwe, qgwb rgw arlea aubf."

Tonight... they would go out tonight. When the stars were out, singing silently to them all, brightly looking down from above. The sea of blackness that he wished to traverse once more. But he knew he couldn't.

If only he could remember how to make that wing... but painful memories connect to painful memories prevented him.

The boy grabbed at Coden's hand, tiny fingers feeling his knuckles and wrists, stopping when he closed his eyes. "Oeinuaw?" He breathed.

If he didn't have an important discussion waiting on him, Coden would give in to the need to be fatherly and hunker down with Gale for the rest of the night. Would abandon the importance to getting back to his traitorous duties as swiftly as possible and Take Gale out doors right then an there. Everything had it's pro-ta-ques, though. He had to follow through a certain way. If there was anything he'd learned from Alexis, is was causing the least damage possible of foreign worlds. Despite he knew the inevitability of visit a strange new world and not screwing up something.

Caressing Gales Finger on his with his thumb, Coden Nodded. "Oeinuaw." As he gave Gale one last ruffle and left the room, Coden wondered about the promise. When had he ever made a promise and meant it?
Eager, Coden bolted down the stairs. The sooner he got that conversation over with, the sooner he could spend some good quality time with Gale.
As soon as he hit ground floor, Coden took a moment to straighten himself out and hide the eagerness in his physique before Calmly opening the door to the living room and entering into a rather hospitable looking house. Still a wreak, but nicer looking.

"Glad to see you actually did return," Angelique stated, watching Coden through the doorway between the dining area and living room. She still sat at the table, leaning back in her chair as she motioned for Coden to join her. "I thought you might benefit from what I learned while I was out...though you may have already heard some of this from working with the guard...but I managed to buy information in the lower ring about this whole war mess we kept getting waylaid by as well as pertinent information about the city itself."

She paused, waiting for him to sit down before continuing.

Letting his gleeful temperament slip away, Coden joined Angelique at the table. "Afraid not. Seemed they don't like talking about this war much. Odd, for being soldiers. I've only heard the General speak sparsely of the fire nation and the avatar. Strategies and observations. Opinions. Morosely useless information, as it's pretty outdated, as far as I could tell."

His eyes darted out to the windows. It wasn't too late in the day. It would be a while before it got dark. Did he want to take Gale out at night? He returned his attention back to Angelique. "Tell me in detail what you picked up. I'll see if I can't compare."

"Well as was mentioned to us at the docks, mention of the war is forbidden inside the city. An attempt to create some sort of false sense of security, no doubt...and it's held up by a group known as the Dai Li, elite earthbenders that are crawling all over this city. My contact said as much that people who are taken by the Dai Li don't tend to turn up again, and they take anybody they hear talking about the war." She leaned forward. "Also...airbenders...the reason everyone was coming at us when Gale and Alexis began moving the air around is because they were wiped out in a fire nation genocide a century ago. The only one left is the Avatar, which is why they kept being called that. Given that I think that we'd be best suited to keeping Gale and Alexis inside as much as possible...we'd rather not draw attention to ourselves in those regards."

Alexis eyes glazed over as she stared at the colorful swirling motions, drawing her in. The garden disappeared around her, trees sprouting out of the ground high into the air. The pond stretched out into a large river that cut deep into the earth. She found herself to be sitting on a large stone in a misty forest that spread out for miles and miles in every direction. And for some reason, it was alright. She didn’t feel any major sense of worry, everything was alright somehow.

Floating balls of light distracted the girl as they appeared in the air, dancing around in an erratic array. A rustling in the trees overhead shattered the silence as a long winding creature broke through the leaves. A ferocious looking dragon wound its way down through the trees and branches, halting right in front of Alexis. She stared up at the dragon, a blank expression on her face. It stared back at her, eyes boring deep into her, a single claw reaching out towards her and placed it on her head. It growled in a deep guttural tone at her, smoke billowing around her as it began to speak.

“You are not of this world and yet seek to learn the original sources of our world’s magic?” It paused, continuing to gaze deep into her mind, “You seem to be experiencing deep hardships, yet your intentions are pure enough…. It seems the fate of all of our worlds resides on you leaving this one safely. I can help guide you on the path only, the one who has the knowledge you seek resides within the mortal realm. When the moon is in the fullest position in the sky, seek out the moving island. He rises and falls with the tides, and is the only one that has the knowledge you seek…”

Alexis nodded to the dragon, somehow her mind felt more clear in this place. She didn’t know where this island was supposed to be, but that would be something she would have to figure out herself she supposed… It wasn’t like these spiritual experiences for the spirit guide to be clear and concise…. But something did bother her… “Thank you for helping me spirit... But...Is there anything that you also could do about the voice that sounds like me but isn’t me?”

The dragon growled at her, sparks of flame shooting past the girl in what could be closely assumed as irritation. “Be happy with what you were told mortal…. There is a presence inside of you, but it is something you must defeat on your own. Now good luck…. You will need it.”

The dragon began to fade out and dissolve around her, as well as the trees. The entire world began to fragment and break around her, shattering into nothingness. The world slowly dissolved into black, as back in the mortal world, Alexis slumped over in a dazed state, muttering about spirits and dragons and moving islands.

"Dai li." He pondered the organization of subject. "They're probably pulling strings, that Dai li. A city this big and secure doesn't need an elite group of fighters. Best we avoid them at all costs..." Of course, he was thinking of pulling some strings of his own. It was always nice to have a name and rank in high places.
Her last piece of advice after informing him disheartened Coden a bit. Inside. She just had to suggest... Of course, that didn't mean they couldn't go for a late night walks when everyone in the city slept, and under certain disguise.

"Agreed. Of course, all flowers need light and room to grow. Let it be that we restrict the use of bending to none and out door venture are not to be done alone or without proper coverage." An obvious answer.
Best to say it than simply know it, though.
"Gods, Pala is still out there someplace. You don't think she'd be stupid enough to use her elements, do you?"
Of course she would. The woman had no sense of control, so to speak.
"I promised Gale I'd take him outside tonight. If she's not back before then, I'll keep an eye out for her. I;m certain Gale could keep Alexis company enough that she'd stay in the house, or at least the yard. Tomorrow, would you be willing to take to the skies and seek her out? If she were to be found as an 'avatar' they could link her back here, endangering our cover."

Angelique gave him a slightly annoyed look. "In case you haven't noticed, Gale isn't exactly inconspicuous even without his powers. If you do take him out, you might consider actually wrapping up his wing so he isn't rustling it like he usually does when it's covered." She pushed away from the door-table and stood up. "But if Pala doesn't reappear, yes I will look for her, though I don't guarantee how much distance I can cover or how quickly." Without powers anyway, she added mentally. "But I'll leave you to Gale and Alexis."

Now she just had to figure out what to do for the rest of the afternoon. There was no doubt about it...this world was boring.

With a curt nod, Coden accepted Angelique's advice. He knew as much; as well that Gale wouldn't be very pleased about binding his wing. 'Perhaps for the freedom of seeing the sky over his head,instead of a ceiling, he may do with it for a while?'
Shaking his head, Coden left the possibility for later and instead went to check on Alexis.

Though as he entered the kitchen, Alexis was no where to be seen. He knew better than to panic, but his box cracked open again and the worry slipped out. Frantic, He swept across the kitchen, pausing when an open door caught his eye. It lead out side to a yard he'd never known they had.

'I didn't know we had a back yard...', He thought rapidly to himself. The box creaked as Alexis came into view. Still and on the ground. At least she hadn't gotten far, but his heart didn't slow.

"I take my off of her for a second and--" Hissing, Coden bolted across the fenced yard, skidding to his knees by Alexis' side. His fingers pressed against her wrist; against her neck. And almost immediately, he gulped back the emotions that escaped his mental box.

"Sleeping, of course. She's just..she's not-- She's asleep...that's all."
Coden strained to convey a better mask, hiding the obvious fear portrayed on his face. Containing the fear and the panic and--
He over reacted too much too often these days. It was discomforting.

For a moment he just sat on his knees, watching Alexis slumber. Silently worrying about leaving her alone the next day. Anything could happen. He didn't trust taking his eye off of her till she was well again. Not that he had much choice, did he? He wasn't really apart of this world. He didn't HAVE to partake in their rituals.
'It's for their safety. If I don't, we're nothing more than a bunch of suspicious immigrants. And the Dai li... That's just one more problem I've yet to face...'

Rubbing his forehead, Coden stare at the the fish in the pond. Glowered, really. More at his own reflection than the innocently circling Koi. He could still see the immense worry streaked across his brow and struggled make himself look angry and mean it. The just seemed to stare back, and Coden just felt silly.
"Attachments are troublesome and yet.... where would I be without these fools, otherwise?" He smirked a little, imagining a darker, more crazed version of himself wandering fragment in search for his next bloody thrill. It only lasted a moment and he frowned.
"Sometimes I wonder who's more Insane. The willing open-hearted or the brutally heartless..." He rubbed his eyes and pinched his nose. "who do you think, Koi?",He gave an empty chuckle as he hunched over Alexis with a grunt, pulling her into his arms. As serene as she seemed, sleeping in the garden, He'd rather her sleeping in the safety of a bed of sheets and blankets in the house than in a bed of flowers by the pond.

The boy lay there in his nest for a good long while, thinking of how good it would be to get outside. How good it would be to feel the currents of air slip around his body like many tiny feathers. With that thought in mind, he was able to ignore his heavy body and the stale air inside enough to fall asleep.

Then he had nightmares.

His mother's advances, blows and words. His father's kind words, praise and acceptance - unknowingly a lie. His puppy. That night. His insanity. All came as waves, rolling about him and crushing against his jagged emotions and frail mind.

He groaned and clutched at the blankets and pillows. A gasp escaped him like a shot and he jumped up, panicking as the blankets he tossed about gripped him tightly like hands. Finally tossing them off, he looked about the room. Destroyed bed. Night time... His ears twitched as he calmed, old memories being suppressed like a smothered seed.

Coden said they could go outside. He wanted to go outside now and stretch his wing.

It was nightfall in the small room where Alexis sat on the bed, curled up blankets hiding all but her eyes from view. They stared out at the floor, unmoving as she was lost in thought. Trying to piece together whatever that vision was supposed to mean with a fragmented mind was difficult, thoughts wandering and looping around. The sleep had done her some sense of good, in that the fatigue that wracked her brain down this path had eased, clearing it up a little. Slowly and steadily the pieces began falling into place, and she stood up. Her steps were unsteady and shaky as she made her way to the window.

She stared up at the sky, attempting to see the satellite that she knew was too far away for her to see. Giving up, she turned around, making her way towards the door. Muttering to the shadows that roamed the room about dragons and moving islands. Insisting that she needed to go find it before it swam away on her and it was too late.

Coden stood just outside Gale's bedroom door, holding a colorful green hooded coat at arms length,observing it's stitches and seams. He smiled at his handy work, imagining how nicely it would look on Gale.

Coden worked all evening on it; making his own needles from wire and scrounging for material around the house. It was so silly, but he knew it was cold and he didn't want Gale to get sick. And it turned out so nicely; he wondered how Gale might like it. Though as he looked it over and recalled his eagerly accomplished task, he couldn't help but realize how silly he must seem. He was a grown man, a murder, and mercenary....not a seamstress.....

"What was I thinking...making jackets for children--Absurd. He probably won't even like it...let alone where it..... Waste of time and good curtains...." He muttered dismally to himself, picking at a stray thread on one sleeve. Rubbing the material between his fingers, he wondered if it might be obvious he used the old curtains in the spare room?

Making a face, He bundled the coat under his arm and faced the bedroom door. Gale would never like it. The color was faded...the stitching wasn't perfect...and it was from him, anyway. He shouldn't have bothered. I'll just throw it in the trash on our way out..., Coden thought begrudgingly. Knocking once, Coden quietly opened the door.
"Trooper? It's getting late. We better hurry...before it gets too late," He informed the child somberly.