What's the catch?

[flint_garou]

Just a few questions.

19 June, 2012
The moon is in the waxing New (Ragabash) Moon phase (5% full).

The door to one of the apartments down the hall opens, closes, and there're soft footsteps, along with a humming that's more or less instantly recognisable as Flint's as he heads towards the breakroom.

"Ex," Rina says quietly. "I have a question. But it's not about the past or anything, okay?"

Kavi once again glances back toward the others as he starts the water running and reaches for the dirty plates.

Ex mutters, unenthusiasm personified, "Okay."

Flint makes it to the doorway of the breakroom, and pauses, slipping in with a nod of greeting, though he heads for the computers at the moment. The young galliard seems cheerful enough, and better-rested than when he'd left, earlier.

"What d'you like to do?" Rina asks softly. "Do you know?"

Nicodemus finishes clambering up the stairs, shirking the elevator. He's carrying a lone made-from-recycled-plastic grocery tote, probably full of groceries. He enters the hallway, catching sight of Flint just as he enters the breakroom. Nick moves to take Flints spot, standing in the doorway. "Hey, Flint. Rina. Kavi. And new person. Brought some fruits." He hefts the bag, indicating the fruits he brought are groceries and not unusual people from a gay bar.

As he rinses the dishes, Kavi keeps his attention on the task, avoiding looking toward the kin or the cub. The entry of the others, though, does grab his attention, and he nods a silent greeting.

Ex lifts a hand and digs two fingernails idly into the back of the armchair. "No," she says sullenly. Nick's arrival has her sitting up, albeit lethargically. She peers at him over the top of the chair back, feverish eyes narrowed. "Sufferer, or Carrier?"

Rina winces a little, and looks over her shoulder. "Hey, Nick," she says quietly, unfolding herself from the couch.

Flint gets distracted from heading for the computer, and looks over towards Nicodemus. "H-hi Nick," he offers, moving over to take the grocery bag if Nick will let him. "Here."

Nicodemus does indeed lift the bag so Flint can take it. It's filled with all colors of apples, oranges, plums, peaches, and even a couple lemons, limes, and grapefruit. "Hope fruit is okay? Good to see you again, Rina. Been a while."

"Kin," Kavi says over the running water. "Nick is kin." He turns the water off, though the dishes aren't finished, yet, and moves to the edge of the counter.

"Carrier," Ex says, as if confirming the matter to herself. She rests her arms on the back of the chair and continues to stare at the newcomer. A muscle in her jaw tenses and relaxes in a slow cycle, with the occasional tic in her scarred right cheek.

"Nick," Rina says quietly, "this is Ex. Who's… a very unique lost cub. You're good with people… maybe you guys would get along."

Flint carries the bag over to the kitchen, setting it down on the counter, and beginning to put the fruit away. "Thanks, Nick. It. It's good, thank you," Flint says. The cliath, at least, seems excited by the groceries.

"I'm good with people?" Nick echoes with a somewhat dubious tone in his voice after Flint relieves him of the groceries. He does, however, enter the room to get a better look at the newcomer, sizing her up, and then stepping up to offer a black-gloved hand to Ex. "Pleased to meet you. I'm kind of new to all this. So how're you unique, if I might be so bold to ask?"

Kavi draws in a breath as Nick asks the question, but clamps down on anything he might say. He glances briefly to Ex, but quickly turns away, helping to unpack the rest of the fruit.

Ex watches Nick as he approaches before her gaze drops, and she eyes the gloved hand very, very carefully. "Fuck if I know," she says. Her voice sounds a bit hoarse. "I'm new too." She lifts her right hand slowly, and then, as if this were all very experimental, she takes Nick's hand for half a second before dropping it. "I want some of those."

A faint smile, barely there at all, comes to Rina's lips as she watches.

Flint looks over at Ex. "Which?" he asks her, raising his shoulders.

Kavi reaches over for a grapefruit and holds it out for Ex. "This?"

Nicodemus pulls up a chair, forming a triangle with him, Rina, and Ex. "I'm kind of new—newish—to it all, too. About a year now." Pause. "It's confusing at first. Hell, I'm still pretty ignorant about a ton of stuff. But it gets better. Easier, at least. Or—perhaps—simply more familiar."

Ex shakes her head roughly. "No, those." She points to Nick's hands. "Gloves. Rogue wears gloves." She settles back on the armchair, still resting her arms on the back of it. "There are too many stupid words for everything. And they keep watching me. And there's weird paintings on the walls." She sucks in a breath through her nose. "The spirit monsters are unexpected though. The last one was pretty dumb, but Kavi summoned a fucking sphinx."

Rina's mouth tugs up at one corner. "She wore gloves because she couldn't touch people, though. You just don't want people touching you."

Flint shakes his head a little, and returns to putting away the last few groceries, before he pulls out a soda from the fridge and cracks it open.

Kavi looks to Nick's gloves and gives a small nod. He puts the grapefruit away, and starts the water running to finish off the dishes. Even as he does, though, he keeps an eye on the other three.

Nicodemus listens, then peels one glove off. Then the other. His hands look perfectly normal, despite his habit of wearing gloves constantly. "I'm not a big fan of being touched, either. Try this armor on for size and see if they fit?" He holds the gloves out with just two fingers, ensuring his bare hands need not be touched in any upcoming transaction.

Ex touches her tongue to the corner of her mouth as she regards Nick more out of her left eye than her right. She reaches out again, just as gingerly as before, and takes them from the opposite end that Nick is holding them. They're pulled on very quickly once she's leaned back, and there's a certain pleased light in her face, even if she doesn't smile. "Yeah. These are nice. And not fucking creepy rubber ones either."

Rina's brows lift briefly as she watches.

Flint turns to watch Ex and Rina, before he walks over towards the computers, actually turning one on and sitting down at it.

Kavi sets the last plate on top of the others and turns off the water. He stands there for a moment more, and then looks across to the others again. "There's soda. Or juice?"

"They're yours," Nick says, indicating Ex can keep the gloves. He glances up to Kavi as he stands, declining with a hand. "I was just dropping off some food and need to get going. Is there anything anyone needs from the store on a future delivery run?"

Ex looks up from opening and closing her newly gloved hand to squint at Nick. "What's the catch?"

"The only catch is Nick's a good guy," Rina says softly, a faint smile lingering. There's sadness in her eyes, but warmth as well.

Flint scoots the chair so that he can watch Ex, and Rina, but for the most part, he seems rather intent on reading a website he's pulled up.

Kavi nods to Nick and then crosses to join Rina on the couch. "Thanks," he says to the departing kin, though without specifying what the gratitude is for.

"The only catch is you've got to give them back when you don't need them anymore—or pass them on to someone who needs them more than you," Nick states. He flexes his own recently liberated fingers as he takes a couple backwards steps towards the door. "See you all later." And he heads out the door, quiet as a ghost.

Ex rubs the gloves fingers against her cheek as she watches Nick depart. "Weird catch," she mutters.

Rina offers Kavi a swift, small half-smile, but doesn't sit down again. Her attention shifts to Ex, and she says quietly, "How was your stomach today?"

Flint chews on his lower lip a little as he reads, then picks up his soda can and moves back to the kitchen.

Kavi's attention shifts from Rina to Flint and finally back to Ex. "It's… It's a catch that. He knows that you need them, now. But you won't always. And when you don't, it will be time for you to do for someone else what he's doing for you."

Ex clasps her hands under her chin. "Better," she murmurs to Rina. "Just felt a bit queasy." She gives Kavi the squinty look now. "What, give them gloves?"

Rina hitches a shoulder. There's a sadness behind her smile, still.

Flint turns to look back at Rina, and past Rina to Kavi, brows furrowing slightly.

"If that's what they need?" Kavi's gaze ducks downward, and then rises again. "You'll be ready to help someone else. To give them what they need. If that's gloves, or a hat. Or if it's just time and… and understanding. His catch is that, when you're ready, you help someone else. Don't waste his gift by letting it end with you."

Ex snorts softly. "Yeah, I'm not any fucking good at that. I eat people."

"Not. Not anymore," Flint says, quietly. "Control, r'member?"

"It'll come," Rina says quietly.

Kavi glances to Rina and nods. "Not today," he says, looking again to Ex. "Not now. But. Rina's right. And when you're ready, you'll know. You won't need the gloves, anymore." With those last words, he reaches for Rina's hand.

Ex's hands shift from under her chin to folded over her chest. "Well, that's a pretty fucking fairy-tale, anyway." She scoots around, so that she's finally sitting semi-normally on the arm chair, though her legs are still drawn up. Her eyes flick to the mural on the wall. "…So you kill GLS two babies, and you die a lot. What else do you do?"

Flint turns back to the kitchen, can of soda in hand before he moves to start getting himself a plate of some lasagne from the fridge.

"Told you," Rina says quietly. "We don't kill babies."

Kavi's eyes go a little wide at the notion of killing babies, and he swallows, nodding eventually at Rina's denial. "I. We don't," he says with a swift shake of his head. "I. I sing. Sometimes alone. Sometimes with a band? Rina paints. Flint," he says, nodding toward the boy, "carves. There are other things, too. But. For me? Singing and writing? Music is most of my time."

Ex gives a long-suffering sigh. "The GLS two guy said you kill those kinds of babies. And you said not here." Her eyes dart toward Kavi, and then away. Her jaw tightens for a moment. "I don't do anything. Sit in a room. Hit the walls. Eat people."

Flint glances to Kavi and Rina, a moment, before he sets the plate in the microwave and puts it up.

"But you can," Rina says quietly, sitting on the arm of the couch and watching her over the back. "You can, and you will. And you'll find out who you really are. Get rid of all the— shit they put in your head."

Kavi pushes up from his seat. "We don't," he says, more firmly now. "We don't kill babies. Not metis, not… We don't." He swallows as he passes Rina and heads toward the doorway. "And you can learn… You can be anyone. You can learn who you want to be. I. I'll be right back."

Rina gives Kavi a questioning look.

Flint looks over at the older galliard, and doesn't look at Ex. "Kavi-rhya?" he asks, quietly.

Ex knocks her head against the back of the chair. "That's the problem," she says, low and tense. "They didn't put anything in there. Nothing. Just knives. Bits of wire. Everything else went in instead. What else am I supposed to do?"

Kavi answers Rina's look with a hint of a smile. "I'll be right back," he says again, and then heads down the hall.

Rina comes to the end of the couch that's closer, glancing over to Flint briefly. Then she looks to Ex, and says, softly, "I don't understand?":

Flint manages a faint, small smile, when Rina looks, though it's grim, and then the microwave beeps, and the young galliard goes to see to retrieving his dinner.

Ex baps her head a few more times against the cushioned chair back. "They didn't put anything real in my head." Her tone is one of strained patience. "They don't talk to you. At you. Through you. Oh, nice piece of furniture for the office. Lots of questions that don't mean anything. How can they put anything in your head if they only care about taking things out? That's what I'm saying."

Rina presses her lips together for a moment, as she listens. "But you remember," she says softly. "And it's… clouding everything up inside. Like silt in the water. We just… gotta help it settle. Be in the past, where it belongs."

Ex's frown deepens. "Yeah? Then what'll I be?"

Rina watches her, the shadows heavy behind those dark eyes. "You'll be you," she says quietly. "You'll be… free." A little shake of her head, and she swallows. "We can't ever erase the past. But we don't hafta be caged by it."

Ex hunkers down in the chair. "Isn't that fucking ironic?" She gives the television a brief, irritable glare.

The door at the far end of the hall opens again, and Kavi starts making his way back toward the others, arms laden.

Flint looks over at Ex, a moment. "You. Whoever. Whoever that is. And. It'll… it'll be good."

Rina presses her lips together hard, and leans forward, elbows resting on her knees and head bowed. "Yeah," she says quietly. "I get that."

Ex studiously refuses to so much as glance toward Rina; the floor is getting the full brunt of her glaring now. She twitches a little at the sound of Kavi's return, but doesn't look toward him either.

Kavi steps back through the door, carrying his burden nearly all the way to the cub. First he sets down the guitar case—the new, electric, not his old acoustic. The book in his other hand is set on the table, and then he lets the backpack slide from his shoulder. "I brought some things for you to try. To see what you think. If they… If you like them." He opens the pack and pulls out one of Rina's empty sketchbooks, casting a glance at the kin even as he sets the pad on the table. He also pulls out a spare spiral bound notebook of his own. Next comes a handful of pencils, mostly simple number 2 type, but also a charcoal pencil and a few prismacolors.

Rina straightens, twisting to look toward him.

Flint takes his plate of food now that Kavi's back, giving Ex a wide berth to move over and sit down at the far end of the couch, but he's also watching Ex, to see her reaction. "I. If," Flint says, for a moment. "I. There're some things, I could get. From the workshop. To try, too."

Kavi's guitar gets a faintly interested glance, the book less so. She's actually starting to look away when he plops down the sketchbook, but then her gaze focuses on it. Ex's forehead wrinkles. When the pencils are added to the mix, she stares. There's something a little glassy about it, but she seems either unwilling, or unable to look away. She's gone quite still.

"Ex," Rina whispers, "talk to me." Rina swallows. "Or just— just do what you need to. It's okay." Her voice is hoarse, rough.

Kavi leaves the materials on the table and takes a step backward. He looks again to Rina before adding another step, and then another.

Flint takes several bites of his food, unwilling to set it aside while it's warm, and willing to pay attention to it since the older galliard is present. Nonetheless, there's a cautious gaze kept on the cub.

There's a faint trembling to the cub, and then she kicks the nearest table leg as hard as she can. She shoves up out of the armchair and fairly rushes into the breakroom's bathroom. Slam. Click. Silence.

Kavi's backward progress stops at the first sign of trembling, but by the time Ex kicks the table, Kavi is moving forward again, not toward the cub, but to put himself between her and the kin. At first, he simply moves quickly, but at the sudden burst of movement from Ex, rage and instinct take over, and with a low growl, Kavi is simply there.

Rina just draws in a breath, holding it for a tiny moment; the bathroom door closes, and she exhales. "Oh," she says. "Okay."

Flint starts to get up as Ex moves, plate of food still in hand, but there's a deep breath and the cliath sits back down, returns to eating. Enthusiastically.

There are several heavy thumps from the bathroom—kicking a wall, possibly her only current pastime—and then those subside into quiet again.

Kavi draws in a breath at the first series of thumps, and he turns to Rina with a worried frown. "I…"

Rina's brow furrows a little as she watches that door. "It's okay," she whispers. Hopefully, maybe.

No noise from the bathroom now.

Kavi's frown doesn't subside, but he nods once to the kin. His gaze turns to the bathroom door, but as the silence continues he looks back to the pile on the table. "What did she see?" he asks in a whisper.

Flint finishes his food in silence, and sets the plate down on the coffee table to get up and walk over to the other two, and he looks between Kavi and Rina, and the table.

Rina wets her lips, still watching the door. "It was the pencils," she says softly.

Kavi nods and starts scooping the pencils back into his pack. "I should have…" He swallows down the rest of the sentence, finishing with a soft shake of his head, instead.

Rina shakes her head quickly. "No," she says, maybe a little sharply. "Don't put them back. Leave it."

The continuation of no noise from the bathroom has Flint chewing on his lower lip, glancing back towards the door every so often, almost nervously.

Kavi stops at the sound of Rina's voice and he looks to her, the unspoken question clearly visible in his face.

By then Rina's watching the bathroom door again. "Leave them out," she says softly. "We're not walking on eggshells, y'know? Just… trying to create an environment that she can interact with. Safely. Without negative events. I don't— I'm not sure what kind of trigger it was."

Flint glances down at the floor, then goes to retrieve his plate, and wash it.

Kavi's frown doesn't fade, and he seems to consider Rina's words for a long moment before he finally nods. He takes a few of the pencils back out of the pack to leave them on the table before he moves to join Rina.

"Let her have all the time she needs," Rina says quietly, rising and turning to Kavi. "You want something? I want some tiramisu."

Flint turns, even from watching the kitchen, to look towards the bathroom, frowning again, but there's a nod to Rina's statement about time.

Kavi lets his breathing ease, though the frown remains. "I… Maybe?" He glances toward the silence of the bathroom and then back to Rina. "Okay."

Rina gets down four small plates, and pulls the plastic-wrap-covered dish from the fridge. She dishes out three squares of the creamy dessert, two of them sizable.

Flint looks towards Rina, and then towards the tiramisu. "That. That looks good," Flint notes, a smile appearing on his face again. "It… thanks."

Finally, there's the faint sound of stirring in the bathroom. Ex doesn't emerge, but she's apparently alive and such.

Kavi watches Rina, though at the sounds from the bathroom, his attention shifts. His posture shifts, as well, and he half-rises, a line of worry creasing his brow.

Rina brings two dishes out to the wooden table, glancing across to the bathroom door for a moment as she sets them down.

Flint glances at Kavi, a moment, and the cliath walks over, just to where he's the closest to the bathroom when and if it opens again, although he stays plenty away from the door itself.

Kavi settles back into his seat when Rina returns, and looks across to Flint with a shake of his head. "You should… Come sit at the table and eat."

Flint looks at Kavi again, and nods. "'kay," Flint agrees, and paces over to the table, pulling out a seat for himself across from Kavi.

Kavi glances toward Ex when she emerges. His gaze turns back to Rina after just a moment, though he keeps an awareness of the cub even then.

Ex shakes her head very, very slightly. "Gonna go to bed," she mumbles. It's audible, if only just.

Rina turns to look to Ex, then, focusing on her for a moment. "Okay, sure," she says quietly. "'Night, Ex."

"G'night, Rogue," Flint offers. "Seeya." There's a glance to watch the cub go, before Flint pulls one of the plates of tiramisu over in front of him.

Rina looks to Kavi and asks, "Walk her over?" softly.

Kavi looks across to Ex, and at Rina's words he rises, crossing to join the cub. "If you need anything," he says softly as he nears.

Ex doesn't look at Kavi. She doesn't look at Rina, or Flint. She especially doesn't look at the sketchbook or the pencils—but as she passes near them to leave, she nevertheless reaches out and snatches up both book, and a single pencil, and hurries out in front of the Galliard.

Rina lets out a slow breath, and a smile dawns; the sort of smile that softens away some of the hard lines of her face.

Flint picks up his fork and takes several bites of the dessert, glancing to watch Ex leave the room. And then, with all the usual enthusiasm, proceeds to finish the piece of tiramisu such that the plate is left clean.

Kavi doesn't try to encroach, but he does accompany the cub to her room, pausing just at the door. "We'll be close," he says gently. "If you need us."

Ex continues on into the room with nary a glance back, and only a grunt of acknowledgment. She takes her prize to the slashed up bed, and flops onto it. The hand not holding pad and pencil lifts, so that she can squint briefly at her 'new' gloves.

Rina turns away, going back to the counter to put away the extra plate, and pick up her own. A hand comes up to rub at her forehead. "Jesus," she says softly. "This shit is getting to me."

Flint looks over to Rina, a frown etching his face slightly. "Is…" The query is cut off, and Flint shakes his head, and looks to his empty plate, which is picked up, taken to the sink. "Take care of. Of yourself, too, please?"

Kavi remains for a short while, turning to give the woman privacy even in his presence. Eventually, he heads back to the breakroom, leaving Ex to sleep, or not.

Rina looks over to Flint with a thin little smile, warm despite the fact that it doesn't quite chase away shadows. "I'm aright, kiddo," she says in that rough-edged voice. "You?"

Flint busies himself with washing the plate for a moment, rather than answering, or looking back at Rina, or at Kavi when he returns. "I. I'm… okay," he decides, lips pursing slightly. "I. The… it's hard, that she doesn't. Feel it. Understand. But 'sokay." The young galliard looks down at the plate in his hands, finally remembers to turn off the water tap.

Kavi doesn't stop at the doorway when he returns, but crosses directly to Rina, one hand taking hers and holding tight. "I'm sorry," he whispers.

Rina turns to face Kavi when he gets close, looking up at him in searching confusion. "Sorry?"

Kavi meets her gaze for only a second before looking down again, and away. His eyes close for a second, as he nods, and his grip on her hand tightens.

Rina swallows, her brow furrowing. "You got nothin' t'be sorry for," she says quietly.

Flint sets his plate in the dishrack to dry, before he moves over towards the fridge, coming out with the carton of juice this time. However, there's a sense that the teen is giving Kavi and Rina a little space, and intentionally not listening.

Kavi draws in a breath and holds it for long enough to meet Rina's gaze again. The nod that follows is more one of acceptance than agreement, but he lets the breath slide away. "Okay," he whispers, and glances toward Flint.

Rina gives his hand a little squeeze, and musters a taut, closemouthed smile before letting go and turning to get her plate of dessert. His own is already on the table.

Flint considers the juice for a long moment, then turns towards the refrigerator again. The juice is put back away, and the cliath comes out with a bottle of hard cider, moving over to one of the drawers to search for a bottle-opener.

Kavi watches them both without moving, though as Rina retrieves her plate, he finally moves to take his seat.

Rina comes to join him. "I'll drop a box of good pencils in there for her, tomorrow."

Flint does find a bottle opener, moving back over to the table to take a seat, and a long sip from the drink. There's a faint, tight smile for both of them.