Nikola couldn’t sleep. He was told that it was normal for new graduates to have some nightmares but he never realized they were this bad. He slid out off of Maya’s couch and went to her room, peeking in from the door frame. He didn’t want to bother her or wake her up but he always felt better knowing that she was there—that she was alive. He used to call her from his apartment at nearly all hours until she finally asked him if he wanted to move in with her. He moved in the next day.
He thought she would hate him for what he did. He told her everything that happened, not keeping a single detail out, even if he wanted to. She comforted him afterward, assured him that she was alive, but he didn’t know if it helped. He felt her there, but he could only see Katya staring up at him with fearful eyes and then later dead ones. It was different now. Three months after his mission and some days the only way he thinks he can make it through is by seeing her, touching her, hear her and reminding himself that he killed a little girl, not Maya.
She slept on her bed, completely peaceful. He watched her chest rise and fall and he released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He was tempted to wake her and assure himself further, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Besides, he didn’t want to accidentally see a part of her he’s not supposed to. He’s heard some people went to sleep without clothes on and on the chance Maya was one of those people… he didn’t want to risk it. Sighing, he closed the door and returned to the couch.
Maya had a no fire policy in her apartment although he doubted she would do anything if he were to light a candle. He’s kept a lighter hidden from her since he moved in and while he doesn’t like keeping it secret, he refuses to give it up. It was the first lie he ever told. He holds the lighter in his hand, flipping the top open and closed several times. No, Maya wouldn’t toss him out for starting a fire. She would understand and give him a hug, tell him everything would be alright. After everything he’s done, he wonders if he could ever do anything to make her angry.
He’s kill three separate times now: James Henderson, the boys during the flood, and his mission. That didn’t even count all of the other people he may have killed in any of his fires. The psychologists in Division had told him a number, but that couldn’t be right because they were missing the forest fire on Mount Diablo and the house fire in New Orleans, and many, many others that made the number of times he’s kill a lot higher than 34. He hadn’t thought about it before his mission. He thought it was their fault for not getting out of the houses in time. He knew now it wasn’t. It was his. He was a murderer before he had shot Katya. That was why Division wanted him. He killed and felt no remorse. Even now, the heat of a fire was more powerful than the faces he’s killed because of it.
With a flick of his thumb, a small flame appeared at the end of his lighter. In the dark living room, it gave off a warm glow, filling him up with the warmth he always looked for when he started the fires. He was tempted to burn something. A piece of paper maybe or the discarded blanket on the floor. It would easily spread from there, latching onto the carpets until it began to lick at the walls. By that time people would smell the smoke, but they wouldn’t move. They would wait for the fire alarm, the one that Nikola had tinkered with in the living room. The place would be up in flames before they realized their mistake. And it all started with a little lighter and a blanket. Even the smallest things, or insignificant people can create something.
He blew out the fire and pulled on his pants. He wouldn’t burn down Maya’s apartment. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. But they are constructing houses down the street that is waking up everyone in the neighborhood. Perhaps they deserve to see what such an insignificant thing can do. He slipped on his shoes and slid out the door, not bothering to grab a jacket.
Once he made a fire he wouldn’t need a jacket. Once he made a fire everything would be better. He released a breath as he walked out into the cool night. A policeman might find it suspicious that a boy was walking around so late, but Nikola didn’t care. He wouldn’t get caught. He had started over a 100 fires before they caught him the first time. He killed over 34 people. He killed a little girl. A police officer who thought he was in charge wasn’t going to bother him.
With a sigh, he continued on, humming his favorite song in his head as he anticipated the warm embrace of his fire.
Twenty minutes. He had less than twenty minutes to get the girl out in time. It would be a difficult--technically impossible--but there was no alternative. He refused to kill little Maya--Katya, he reminded himself--and this is the only way to keep her safe. There was a barn not far that he would hide her in and from there he wasn't sure but he would think of it when he came to it.
His hands shook as he carried the heavy gun through the house. Gunfire started over five minutes ago, shattering his nerves completely. Due to Magnus's injury, he had been spared from having to knock her out, but her eyes were still on him and her voice buzzed in his head as she walked down the hallway. He was to kill the girl first then her father according to his handler. But his real plan was to kill the father then take Ma--Katya to safety.
The two men stationed outside of the large double doors told him that he arrived at his destination and he shot both men without thinking. Nikola didn't glance down at their faces as he passed them. They would kill him before letting him get inside their master's room. Besides, he needed to get to Katya and he didn't have time to worry about this. Her safety was more important than any of theirs. He took a deep breath and opened the doors, his gun ready for fire.
The large man he met at the cafe less than a day ago stood in the back of the room holding two very precious objects, a gun and his daughter. Nikola didn't know how it was possible. She was supposed to be in her room. His plan rided on her being in her room. He swallowed uneasily, trying to get his hands to stop shaking.
"I can protect your daughter," he said before Maksim could try shooting him. The large Russian glared at him, as his grip around his daughter grew tighter. Her arms were wrapped around her father's neck, her head resting on his shoulder as she stared at Nikola with frightened blue eyes. He hoped he would never have to see that look in Maya's blue eyes.
"You lie!"
"No! I was going to take her away from here. I'll keep her safe." Magnus's surprise rang through the com and Nikola quickly took it out and smashed it on the floor. Maksim watched him with narrowed eyes.
"And why should I trust you?"
"I'm her only chance," Nikola said desperately. He checked his watch less than ten minutes. "Please, there's not much time."
The Russian thought about it, his eyes jumping from him to Katya and back to him. Nikola watched him as he silently counted the seconds. Finally, the mark spoke. "No."
"No? But--"
"Katya and I will get out of this safely. You on the other hand--"
Nikola didn't have to be a genius to understand what that meant. He took aim and pressed the trigger, the ring for three bullets dancing around his ears.
He thought himself to be a fairly good shot. Maya had trained him herself and it was widely known that she was one of the best shots in Division. He was no where as near as good as she is, but he thought he could at least hit his desired target with relative ease.
And he did hit his target. He aimed for the space in which Katya did not occupy to bring down Maksim. What he didn't expect was for Katya to move at that moment. Her last minute effort to cling to her father, or perhaps even protect him, earned her a bulled in the back.
Everything moved slowly as Maksim fell to the floor, clenching his daughter in his arms. Why was there so much blood? Why was she bleeding? Nikola thought he would die right then and there. He shot her. He shot Maya.
Maksim roared as he came at Nikola, completely ignoring the two bullet wounds in his chest. He tackled him to the ground, his monster hands wrapping around Nikola's neck. "You killed my daughter!" All the air left his lungs (although he couldn't be sure if it was because of the hand on his throat or shock). He killed her. He killed Maya.
Nikola deserved to die. He killed the most beautiful girl in the world. He killed his best friend, his crush, the girl he swore he would do everything to keep safe.
The next thing he knew, Maksim's grip on his neck loosened and his entire body weight collapsed on top of him. Someone pulled him out from under him, but Nikola didn't look at them. He ran as fast as he could to where Maya lay, his hand shakily checking her pulse. Maksim was right. She's gone.
Hot tears spilled down his cheeks as he hunched over her head body. It was all his fault. He failed. No. It was her father's fault. Nikola tried to tell him but he wouldn't listen. He wanted her to be safe. With an anguished cry, he grabbed the Russian's disguarded gun and turned it on his mark. With dry eyes, he emptied the entire clip into his back. It was his fault Maya was dead.
He continued to press the trigger long after the clip was empty. He wished he was alive. Nikola wanted to see his face when he burned him alive. He wanted him to know that it was his fault his daughter was dead. He pulled out a his lighter and threw it on Maksim Volkov, a smile filling his face as he went up in flame.
Nikola didn't know how, but he somehow ended up outside, although he soul was still inside the building, watching the body of the most dangerous Russian assassin burn. Someone put a blanket around him and asked if he was alright. He said nothing, did nothing.
His eyes were glued to the house that was beginning to become consumed in flames as a single phrase echoed in his head. I killed Maya.
Parks were good places to burn down. It only took a tree to get the job done and most of the time they were replaced with much nicer parks for people to enjoy. Nikola didn't want to burn down the park, but it was nice knowing that he can if he wanted, especially because of the lack of cameras in the area. He sat in the park bench, mindlessly playing with his lighter, wishing he had brought his guitar with him. He told Maya that he was making a special song for her--which he was--but he was never very good at making songs and he came to the park in hopes of getting some kind of ideas. So far there's nothing.
"Excuse me, mister?" Nikola glanced down to the sudden voice and saw a little girl staring up at him with tear stained cheeks. She clenched a little stuffed rabbit to her chest as she sniffled. "I can't find my daddy. Can you help me?" He glanced around at the busy park, hoping thtat there would be a man around looking for his child. Unfortunately, there was no such person visible.
"Uh, sure. My name is Nikola. Can you tell me your name?" She sniffled again and held out her little hand.
"My name is Yvette." He shook her hand and stood up.
"That's a pretty name. Now let's find your daddy."
It was easier said than done. He asked every man and woman in the park if they saw her father but no one seemed to fit that description. He thought that maybe he went somewhere and would come back for her, but it was almost sundown and there was still no sign of him. Eventually, he gathered the little four-year-old in his arms and took her home with him. Maybe if him and Maya can't find her dad then they can keep her. He's sure she would like their apartment. He hoped Maya wouldn't be mad at him for bringing home another girl.
Imagine Person A of your OTP taking a fatal blow for Person B, yet instead of having a dramatic death scene play out, Person A is dead before they hit the ground.
AU in which Nikola had his graduation mission as a field agent.
Note: the dialogue in the << >> are phrases said in Russian. Google translate was being a dick to me so that's all you get.
Russia was colder than Nikola realized. Magnus warned him about it, but he thought he could handle any type of cold after staying in Maine for three months after a snow storm kept him and his parents from moving forward. He was wrong. It was colder here than he thought it could be and he wondered how Maya had managed to survive here. He wished he were here with her now. He knew how much she wanted to go back to Russia.
He sat in a little café that he was told his mark, Maksim Volkov, came by here often and Nikola wanted to see what he was dealing with before the set out to kill him in a couple days. The thought of murdering anyone left a bitter taste in his mouth. The only bright side was that he may not have to kill any of them. He was working with Magnus to set a way for the house to burn down and Maksim being caught inside of it. It would be different from the other fires he made of course, but at least he wouldn’t be a murderer, at least that’s what Nikola thought.
He pulled his jacket closer to him just as a little girl skipped by him. Nikola froze. Her eyes, her hair, her skin, even her face. She looked like Maya—or at least what Nikola had always imagined Maya to look like when she was a child. She sang a little song as she waited by the door for someone and Nikola got a better look at her. If he didn’t know any better, he would have said that Maya was in front of him.
<<why are you staring at me?>> Nikola blinked and met the eyes of the little girl. She even sounded like her a little. He focused on all the Russian lessons that Maya made him sit through and nervously replied, <<You remind me of a friend.>>
<<Is she pretty?>> Nikola smiled, a blush attacking his face.
<<The most beautiful woman in the world.>>
<<Do I look like her?>>
<<Yes.>>
<<Does that mean I am the most beautiful woman, too?>>
Nikola laughed at her and nodded. <<You can be the most beautiful girl.>> The little girl grinned at him and he held out his hand.
<<My name is Nikolai.>>
<<I am-->>
The man that Nikola had been waiting for walked through the door and he nearly peed himself. He was much bigger in person and he seemed ever scarier than the picture they gave him. He swallowed nervously.
The little girl ran to the man and grabbed his hand. No. Please don’t tell me. This was Maksim’s daughter. Magnus told him about it, but he didn’t want to know about it. He promised to lock all the doors and he would never have to know about any deaths other than Maksim’s. Now he had this innocent little girl to worry about.
<<Papa! I’m the most beautiful girl in the world!>> she exclaimed to Nikola’s target. The man smiled down at his daughter and lifted her up into his arms.
<<Oh course you are, my little Katya.>> The two of them went to stand in line, completely forgetting about the dumbstruck boy in the corner. He stared at his hands that had begun to shake and it definitely wasn’t from the cold this time. He had to kill her. He’d have to kill little Maya.
The AU in which Nikola was torn away from his mother at birth and was instead raised by his father and step-mother.
In other words, an AU with a very mean and sadistic Nikola.
"A man takes what he wants. Are you a man son? Are you?" Nikolas fiddled around with the cigarette in his hand, his eyes glued to the slow burning embers and the ash that flew off into the air. School ended several minutes ago, but he remained leaning against the back wall. The sun beat down on his tanned skin, illuminating the white scars on his arms.
"Real men don't cry so stop crying, boy." His pinky traced the white circles, his eyes closing as the distant smell of burning flesh bounced around in his mind. No tear had left his eyes after that day, not even when his father broke his arm, or the time he stepped on his hand, or the time…
He blew out a puff of smoke before taking another long drag of his cigarette. “Smoking is a man’s sport son. Get used it now.” His teachers tell him that it gives you cancer and ruins your teeth and makes you smell. His father gives him a packet every week and expects it to be finished by the end of the week, if not earlier. He sold most of them to his classmates and smoked one before going home so the smell could linger. He coughed a little and put out the cigarette on his shoulder. His teeth gritted together as he fought back the tears that were beginning to build behind his eyes. He let out a breath and withdrew the cigarette, glancing at the new burn on his skin.
“You got a smoke?” Nikolas glanced at the young kid, no more than thirteen years old. His voice still hadn’t matured.
“You got twenty?” he asked fishing for the packet in his pocket. The kid’s eyes widened.
“I thought it was only ten.”
“Well, I’m raising it. Twenty.” The kid frantically searched his pockets, but only produced a ten dollar bill. He looked up at Nikolas with large, sad eyes.
“Please, I need a cig.”
Nikolas glanced at the small bud he had in his hands and flicked it toward the kid as he snatched the money from his hands. The kid picked up the cigarette and glared at him. “This has been used! Give me my money back!” The kid tried jumping for his money, but Nikolas held it out of his reach.
“You be lucky I’m giving you anything at all, you fucking pussy. Now get out of my sight before I take your shoes too.” The kid ran off and Nikolas chuckled humorlessly. The kid’s backpack practically slid off of his shoulders as he ran off and Nikolas noticed the eagle patch on his bag.
His fingers curled into a fist as he ran after him. “You fucker! You’re the one who stole my little sister’s phone.” His sister, Leah, came home crying because a kid with an eagle on his backpack took her phone. Their father screamed at her for most of the night. This kid would pay for the torture he put his little sister under.
Nikolas tackled him down onto the concrete, the kid’s arms managing to stop him from falling face first. Before the kid could do anything to try to push Nikolas off of him, his fists met with his nose, drawing a smile from Nikolas’ face as blood began to drip down his cheek. “This is for my sister you fucking little bitch.” With every word he landed another punch to his face.
It wasn’t enough to see the blood. This kid didn’t know the pain of having to listen to your father tell you how worthless you are for hours on end. No blood was not enough. He wanted to see him cry the same way she did.
Nikolas pinned his arms down with his knees and pulled out a cigarette and his lighter from his pocket. “You wanna smoke so fucking bad?” He lit the end of his cigarette and blew a puff of smoke on the kid’s face. Nikolas took the beanie that the kid was wearing and stuffed it in his mouth. “I don’t want you alerting the entire neighborhood.” Then he pressed the hot cigarette above his breast. The kid screamed into the beanie and thrashed around as best he could. Numerous tears slid down his eyes as he begged Nikolas to stop. Nikolas rolled his eyes at him. This kid could never be a man.
Once the bud was dead, Nikolas leaned close to his face. “You ever even look at my sister again or even tell anyone about this, you’re dead.”
With that he got up and walked away, tossing the kid the cigarette that he burned on him. “So you don’t forget.”
knowing your partner well makes writing together a lot easier. tag this with the people you enjoy roleplaying with but want to get to know better. i was tagged by: angelic1x1
BASICS:
name: Jes
age: 20
prefered pronouns: she/her
sexualiy: mostly straight
zodiac sign: Pisces
taken or single: single
three facts: i'm an x-men nerd, i know happen to know a lot of useless facts that make me a good trivia partner, and badass female characters is a requirement for me for all movies, tv, and literature.
EXPERIENCE:
how long (months/years?): about 4 years i think, maybe 3
how’d you start: A huge fanfiction collaboration type thing
platforms you’ve used: tumblr and fanfiction
worst experience: cliques. There's been a few in the different rps i joined, but one in particular had three or four people who only ever replied with each other.
best experience: shipping with all my friends, and basically torturing everyone with various forms of angst
MUSE PREFERENCES:
female or male: both? I prefer females in face and personality, but my males are fun with angst and backgrounds.
least favorite face: one direction will be the death of me and ariana grande. I used to hate disney and glee stars as well, but several rpers proved that they could be used properly, so I don't mind.
multi or single: multi as in multiple characters or multiple muses or multiple personality disorder?? Either way I'll go with multi
WRITING PREFERENCES:
fluff, angst or smut: angst. love the angst damn it
plots or memes: plot
long or short replies: I am prone to short replies, but the long ones are just as lovely.
are you like your muse(s): most of my characters have small bits of me in there, but for the most part, I'm nothing like them. It's more fun being in someone else's shoes anyway.
Not a single word escaped his lips as her endless salves of questions remained seemingly unheard or at the very least ignored. Her gaze wandered over his features, concern radiating off every fiber of her body and yet he kept still, standing in the frame of her apartment door as he stared at the ground, not even blinking after this one apparently endless moment.
Something had happened. And judging by the way he looked - his face dirty and knuckles tainted with blood she hoped wasn’t his - Maya knew that it was bad. Not urging him further to talk to her she reached out, carefully, as if not to traumatize him even more until smooth fingers took one of his hands into hers, pulling him into the apartment with gentle determination before she closed the door.
His clothes were partly torn, revealing cuts and bruises on skin that she always assumed to be flawless and with sadness in her eyes she led the way to her bathroom, not daring for a second to let go of his hand since she feared to lose him then. Or maybe she had already lost him.
Her free hand reached for the faucet, allowing warm water to fill the bathtub before she turned around to face him once again while his blank eyes were still directed at his feet. Maya bit down on her lower lip and a frown appeared on her features before she started pulling on his jacket until it dropped to the ground, soon followed by his shirt and jeans once she had managed for him to step out of his shoes.
Only left in his shorts she pulled him towards the tub, until he was finally in a sitting position. The way his body was slumped over expressed utter defeat and she couldn’t help herself but fear - not wonder - what had happened, seeing that the events were already taken their toll on him.
She got into the tub behind him, not caring whether or not the clothes she was wearing got wet or tainted with blood and dirt, and once she was certain that he wouldn’t just up and leave she took the shower lotion from the shelf next to the tub and washed him, deliberately, while she hoped to remove any trace of the cruelty that he had been forced to endure. The only words that now left her lips were meant to provide solace and yet she feared that he would probably not hear them after all. “It’s going to be alright. I’m here.” It was the truth. That much she had to hope.
He didn't think it was real at first. After Toronto, he snuck back into the United States and made his way to New Jersey. Amanda wasn't there, but there was a phone number and the call he made changed his life. Through dumb luck, Amanda had found where Maya was and it wasn't a very good place. It took him longer than he wanted to find the money to get to where she was and it came to a point where he thought about walking there instead. Maya needed him. He needed to go to her.
After a very generous tip, he finally was able to pay for the bus ticket and found himself at the double doors to a hospital with a tiny bouquet of roses in one hand and his guitar in the other. He felt strange standing there when he hadn't showered in days and he was running on an empty stomach since he wanted to make sure he didn't run out of money getting to the hospital. He took a deep breath and went inside, asking the nice lady in front if he could be shown the room that Jane Doe number 7 was. He fiddled with his hands the entire elevator ride up there, his fingers itching for the lighter in his pocket. It smelled too clean and it made him smell even worse than he thought he did. He swallowed once he got out of the elevator and walked down the corridors until she found her room.
Nikola froze as he set his eyes on the woman he had been wanting to see for the past year. There were a lot of wires and tubes connected to her and she was a lot paler than he remembered, but she was still the prettiest girl he's ever seen. He watched her lie there for a few moments before stepping inside and placing the flowers on her bedside table. "Maya?" he said softly, his hand gently touching hers. His eyes began to water but the tears didn't fall.
Her doctor interrupted his little reunion and began asking him questions, most of which he didn't know the answer to. How did she get the injury? Who is she? Did she have prior injuries? Why did we find a gun on her? Nikola blinked and only answered the one question he knew. "Her name is Maya. She's my best friend and the nicest person you'll ever meet. And... and I left her." He looked at her guiltily and touched her hand again. All this time he thought she left him, but in truth, he left her.
He sat beside her and held her hand. As long as she was there he wouldn't leave. Never again.
What happens to Nikola about one year after the Fall of Division...
Somehow, Nikola ended up in Canada—not that he particularly minded. The cold reminded him how much he loved the heat, namely the fire. He flipped the lid of his lighter open and close as he waited just outside the bus station. In the distance, his eyes kept going to a small woman with dark hair and pale skin and part of him hoped that maybe he had found her. However, she turned around and Nikola noticed the long pointed nose. Sighing, he opened his lighter and made a small flame before resting his hand over it.
He told himself that he wouldn’t actively pursue Maya. Since the day when everything he had begun to get used to suddenly began to change again, he hoped that maybe one of his new friends would want to let him stick with them. But they disappeared. Isaac and his brother left. He couldn’t find Daniel or Keira anywhere. But Maya he searched for. For her he waited, hoping that maybe she wouldn’t forget about him. But she never came and eventually he knew he had to leave too.
Finding his parents was out of the question so he did what he always did—he travelled. He found himself in a new city and played his guitar at local venues until he had enough money for a bus ticket. Then he would start all over again. It was lonely and quiet, and it reminded him of his life before Division. It was strange how badly he wanted to return to his old life when he was cooped up in the confines of the bunker but now that he was out, he missed it—or rather his friends. He wondered where they were or if they were happy. He wanted to know that they were safe. But mainly, he wanted to say hi.
Gritting his teeth, he put the lighter back in his pocket and pulled out his guitar. Before leaving New Jersey, Magnus allowed him to stay with her as she gave him a very firm warning about his future endeavors. "You may be free now, but if you get caught, then you will be in even bigger trouble than before. As far as the world is concerned, Mr. Sarabia, you are dead." She then gave him a guitar and let him on his way, which eventually brought him to Canada. Sighing, he plucked at the strings to make sure they were in tune then slowly began to play "La Vie en Rose." It was his mother's favorite song and she always insisted that he played it better than anyone she's ever heard. It was a favorite when playing out on the streets and maybe a bypasser would give him some extra change.
Tossing his hat on the floor, he continued to play as his mind grew lost in the past year. He wished he could forget about it, because then he would have never known what he was missing. He liked having friends and people who didn't seem to get scared around him. A snowflake fell on his nose. He looked up at the sky as a light snowfall began to come down. Maya had said she wanted to go to the snow. Maybe she would be here. Of course she's not here. Don't be an idiot.
"I love that song." He was thrown out of his thoughts by a voice and he glanced at the red haired girl who took the seat next to him without him realizing.
"Uh... thanks," he said softly, unable to stop himself from blushing.
"You played at the Pear Cafe, right?" He nodded. "You were great. Way better than I thought you were going to be."
He smiled. “Uh, thanks,” he muttered again. He stared at his feet, as his fingers continued to play the song.
“I’m Millie.” She held out her hand and he paused his playing to shake it awkwardly. The minute she let go, his hand continued playing. “So what are you doing around here? We don’t get a lot of visitors.”
“Just passing through.” A bus came through the station, but he relaxed when he realized it wasn’t his bus.
“By yourself? That’s pretty cool.”
Nikola shrugged. He preferred the back seat of his father’s van or the scratchy blankets on the hard cot in Division. But it was better than a prison cell. “It’s something to do, I guess.”
Millie laughed even though Nikola didn’t think what he said was very funny. He had been serious. “Listen, my friends and I are having this party and it would be cool if you could go.”
He blinked and missed the note on accident. “I don’t really play at private parties but, I guess--”
“No, not as entertainment,” she said with a smile on her face. “As a guest.”
“Oh!” Nikola blushed, embarrassed that he didn’t catch on. Maya might have teased him for it and gave him a warm hug. He missed her hugs. She gave the greatest hugs in the world. “I was…” He swallowed and stared at the floor as he finally stopped playing. “I was just leaving…”
Her smile disappeared immediately and he wished he could have taken it back. She was being nice and he made her sad. “I understand. Maybe next time you come through town we can do something.”
“I never come to the same place twice.” He stared at his feet before glancing back up at her. She had scooted away from him. “I’m sorry. I just say things sometimes.”
“Yeah.” She trailed off and stood up. “I guess I won’t see you around then.” She turned around and left him there, not even glancing back as she went back inside the bus station. If I was in Division they would have understood. Maya would have understood.
His bus pulled up and he put his guitar back in its case. Toronto was his next stop and he was hoping that the big city setting might mean he finds some of his old friends. Or maybe he would go back to New Jersey for a little bit to see Magnus again. He swung the single backpack that held all of his clothes over his shoulder and stepped onto the bus. He glanced back and noticed that the woman with dark hair was already gone.
With a sigh, he began to play with his lighter, planning his next fire as his eyes glued themselves to the window, just in case he happened to see her. Just in case fate decided to be nice to him today.
No, I mean are you guys just acquaintances or are you best friends or I don't know, something else? Maya is nice like that. That's why I love being her friend.
How close are you guys, if you don't mind me asking. It's just Maya doesn't talk about a lot of people and I'd like to know who else she's friends with.
When Nikola was traveling with his parents, he kept himself busy by finding new sounds on his guitar or learning new song. If it became really dull, he would take out his lighter and stare at the flame, imagining what he would do once they got to their destinations. In Division, however, he could do none of that. He found himself annoyed by the lack of activities outside of their training. What could he do outside of studying languages or punching a bag? Hell, he couldn’t even get a decent book to read.
After lunch and his evening shower, he walked down the halls, prepared to find something to do before curfew. He knew he didn’t have much time—or any time at all—but he figured that there had to be something out there that could cure his boredom. He thought about sneaking into the kitchen to see if there was a way he could try starting a fire, but he figured there would still be kitchen staff in there. Maybe there was somewhere else he could go though. If they wanted to stop the fire starter from starting fires, they should at least give him something to do that wasn’t so boring.
With his hands in his pockets, he smiled at some of the guards he past, most of which accused him of being up to something. Nikola didn’t realize that smiling could make people so anxious. Nonetheless, he assured then that he wasn’t trying to do anything which they didn’t believe, but they let him go anyway. He hoped that they wouldn’t go around spreading rumors about him because of it. He didn’t want Magnus to get upset over nothing.
He was walking past Medical when he saw one of the doctors with their hands full and trying to grab more stuff. He went to her quickly. “Mind if I help you?” he asked as he took some of the files from her hands as she grabbed some of the needles and other syringes. “Thank you,” she said. “Sometimes, I wish there was a procedure to get more arms.” Nikola smiled at the joke although he didn’t find it very funny. Why would someone want so many arms?
“I’m happy to help. It gets kind of boring around here.” The doctor raised an eyebrow at him as she started walking toward the room at the end. “Boring? You have a very full schedule as a recruit.”
“And that schedule is boring. I don’t like doing the same thing over and over again.” The doctor laughed a little and shook her head. “I suppose the monotony could get dull after a while.” She placed her things down on a desk and Nikola followed her action.
“Do you need my help with anything else? I can do almost anything.” He just didn’t want to go back to the hallway to find something to do. At least here he can keep himself somewhat busy for a little bit. Even finding something to do was boring. “Actually there’s a box on top of the cabinet in the main room that I need, but I’m not tall enough to get it.” Nikola nodded in earnest and left the room to go to the cabinet she spoke of. He returned moments later with the box.
“Don’t you have nurses or other doctors to help you?” he asked when he put the box down.
“Yes, but we got a couple groups of field agents that came back from a mission and their conditions are less than ideal.” Nikola looked down for a moment and then back at her.
“I can help you. We have free time in between food breaks and I can come here to help you out if you want. I mean, I’ll do anything, even if it means just making sure the bandages are in order.” She paused for a moment and looked at him. It looked like she was going to say no, but she sighed and then shrugged.
“Only for a couple a weeks until the agents are able to leave. Then you have to focus on your training.” With a smile he nodded, grateful that he would have something to do. She told him to get him one of the dressings and he ran to do it with a little hop in his step.
