Lock Yourself Down.

Little Talks | Seth & Valerie

"Really? Exactly 87%?" She grinned a bit, trying to find ways to distract herself and hide the nervousness. Valerie could tell he was being honest but also reassuring her. It didn’t do as much as he probably thought it did, but it was good to know he was at least trying to be safe. She pulled the sleeves of her shirt into her palms as she stood up. Her jacket was still on, but she wasn’t even’t thinking about taking it off. Val walked behind Seth, putting her hands in her pockets. "Well, yeah, it’s your place, but last I knew, your cooking skills weren’t spot on. Not that mine have improved living where I am, but I’ve gotten good at making a lot from a little."

Her insides went icy when he asked if she was okay. “Yeah, no, I’m — I mean, I’m fine. Everything’s fine with me.” Valerie wasn’t lying, but she also wasn’t really looking at Seth as they entered the kitchen. Her heart was beating in her ears and she was regretting coming. The immediate effects were bad, but her thoughts straying back to Eileen reminded her that the long-term effects were far worse. Val’s biggest fear was losing Seth, and she didn’t know if such a question would be enough to push him away. On one hand it seemed ridiculous that something so small could ruin everything, but was it worth the risk?

"You don’t need to worry about me or anything." A frustrated frown crossed her face momentarily when she realized her voice was higher than normal. Lying and talking her way out of things had gotten easier, but Seth. Even with years apart, his very presence was different than anyone else, for better or for worse. Valerie walked over to the refrigerator and tugged it open. She was impressed with the contents. The Carnies barely had a working refrigerator, and even then, it wasn’t filled with things that would spoil quickly. All too often something broke or the generator gave out.

Valerie crouched down and pulled open one of the drawers, paying way more attention to the contents than was necessary. “I mean, I had a question for you, but it seems stupid and I’m not even sure how to ask it.” She swallowed hard to try to quell the twisting of her stomach. Val straightened up and shut the door, leaning against it and pursing her lips. “I’m glad you’re being safe though.” Pushing herself off the refrigerator she walked over to Seth and wrapped her arms around him. He smelled faintly like leather from his jacket, but otherwise it felt like home. If she closed her eyes, she could almost believe that she was back in their old bedroom after a long, hard day.

She pulled back away from him but still stayed close, putting her hands in her jacket pockets again. No matter how desperately she wanted to be as comfortable there as she had been when she’d spent several nights with Seth, she couldn’t shake her nerves enough to do so. “They kept you because you tested positive, didn’t they?” She looked at Seth with a slight pain in her eyes, knowing the subject was a difficult one for him.

#para: Seth&Val #omfg FINALLY A REPLY...I am sooooo sorry this took so long!

Since finding out his sister was still alive and actually locating her - Seth's attitude had certainly changed. That wasn't to say that he had suddenly become some fluffy bunny who everyone and their brother wanted to be hanging out with or anything. He was still very much the same dry and to-the-point sort of man. It was just that he was more likely to maybe ease up on someone he was working with during combat training and hey, even once in awhile, if you caught him at the right moment - you'd be able to get a joke or two out of him.

It wasn't anything huge, really, but to anyone who had grown used to the tall, dark haired man being the way that he was - it was definitely a very notable difference and if someone asked him about it - Seth could credit that change to having found Valerie again. There was something about having her back in his life and knowing that she was safe and sound that not only put him in a better mood - that wasn't all that it was. It was more than that. After that first week that Val had stayed with him, Seth had noticed the way his sister would frown slightly or give him a look when she clearly thought he was being too hard on someone or speaking too harshly. So it was so much more than just being relieved at knowing where his sister was. It was a matter of somewhere deep inside himself, there was this need to live up to being the man that he knew Valerie remembered. He wanted to be someone that his sister wasn't afraid of and if that took rediscovering himself, then he would need to do just that.

Over the years, something that Seth had honed to perfection was his ability to read a person. He was typically a fairly quiet sort because he preferred to simply watch what was unfolding around himself before he acted upon anything. Right now, he was watching his sister like a hawk.

Everything was off about her. Oh, sure, she was telling him that he had no reason to worry about her and Seth nodded as though he were agreeing with her words. But one of his eyebrows arched as he watched Val sort of...flitter around the kitchen area of his flat. She moved around like a nervous little bird and although it made him a bit edgy - wondering what had her this way - he wasn't going to pry at her. Valerie wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a grown woman who unfortunately, had been on her own for awhile now. When she was ready to talk to him about...whatever this was - she would.

“I mean, I had a question for you, but it seems stupid and I’m not even sure how to ask it.”

And there it was.

Seth's eyebrows both lifted barely an inch and he gave her a look to encourage her to ask it before he spoke up; "Well...that sounds ominous," he gave a light chuckle and almost the second it rumbled in his chest, his sister's arms were banded around his frame.

The hug took him by surprise, but he immediately snapped his arms around her. His one hand ran lightly up and down her back a second and he gave her a little extra squeeze because it seemed like she needed it.

"Val, what's going on? You're practically shaking...what is it?" He frowned a little and then studied her; "Do you need someone taken out or something?" he asked - as though that were clearly a logical question. But hey - in his line of work, it really wasn't that illogical.

Val stepped back from him just barely a few inches with her wide brown eyes turned up to him.

“They kept you because you tested positive, didn’t they?”

To say that the question caught him by surprise was putting it lightly. "I-they..." he stuttered a second trying to catch up with her question and part of him wasn't entirely sure if he'd definitely heard her correctly.

He had. Of course he had. He just hadn't been expecting that to be what she asked of him. In a way, Seth would have much preferred if she had asked him to kill someone for her. That was a simple thing - just over and done with. This was...well, he wasn't angry with her for asking. He just wasn't used to talking about any of this with anyone and it still felt like slowly pulling a scab off a terrible wound to discuss it - even with Val.

Not wanting to just stand there gawking at her like a dope, Seth swallowed his stuttering words and licked his lips, focusing on answering her and doing his best to keep memories that were begging to flash forward pushed to the back of his mind.

He nodded very slowly and leaned back against the counter behind himself; "They did," he kept his voice steady and low - as though he were afraid someone was going to overhear them. He swallowed a lump in his throat and continued; "That was part of their fascination with the two of us - twins. It was likely one or potentially both of us would test positive. Why...why do you want to know?" He wasn't angry she asked - nor was his voice angry...just...curious.

mancandykings

#Seth-ish things XD

OOC

Omg. I am SO sorry for the vanishing act...again *facepalm* This time was thankfully not due to my immune system hating me. My boyfriend surprised me with a trip to Fiji where I had absolutely ZERO mobile service sooo...thus the case of the vanishing Layla. But alas! Here I am and as soon as I sleep for a few hours/days to catch back up from the trip - I'll be back and making posts!

#OOC STUFFS

Little Talks | Seth & Valerie

Valerie felt something on her cheek, clearing the fog in her mind enough to hear the television once again and, then, a deeper male voice that wasn’t talking about something to do with New Hope. Even though Seth’s way of waking her up had been gentle, Val sat upright quickly, blinking a few times before the television came into focus and she remembered where she was. She turned and found herself looking at Seth. A small smile came across her face and she lightened the grip she’d had on the arm of the couch when she’d first woken up.

"Hi — Sorry. I guess… New Hope news is just so enthralling," she joked dryly, gesturing to the screen and the news anchor that was still talking about some Carnie attack with fireworks. It drew her attention for a moment, realizing that she’d helped with the aftermath of that stunt. Too many people had gone to leave and come back successfully. When they did come back, some were missing but even more were injured. A few lost some fingers. It hadn’t been pretty and it sure as hell hadn’t been easy to patch people up. The faces that started going across the screen were ones she knew and, with that, she turned back to Seth, hoping to avoid reliving any more of those awful nights.

"What did you have going on today?" He didn’t look like he’d been up to anything too strenuous. It wasn’t anything like the day she’d watched him help train people. Val almost apologized again for asking, unsure if he’d have the same sort of reaction to questions that Roderick did. It wasn’t that Roderick minded she asked questions — at least, it didn’t seem like it. But the lack of answers wasn’t any more encouraging. Valerie was good at taking hints, even if they weren’t really there.

Guilt gnawed at her stomach as she watched him, though. Realizing she hadn’t come to see her brother just because. She’d seen him when he’d realized she was in the Carnies, and then she was coming back when she needed something from him. Part of her wondered if she should lie and pass everything off as just being a ‘well, why can’t I just come see my brother?’ sort of thing, but she doubted she’d be successful. She knew she was easy to read. That was that obvious from her time with the Carnies, especially with Eileen. Seth would be just as good as Eileen, if not better, at reading Val’s expressions. The biggest difference is Val couldn’t get Seth to back down as easily. He’d want — need to know what was going on and what had brought her there.

Maybe she could delay it at least. To get her nerve up. “Do you want me to make you something to eat or something?” Val pressed her lips together in a thin line while she pulled her arms through the straps to remove her backpack. She didn’t realize how uncomfortable she’d felt until Seth was actually there. Having him in front of her and talking made her feel like she at least belonged and could exist there without being in trouble or intruding.

#Roads Untraveled #Linkin Park #Seth-ish things XD

"Hi — Sorry. I guess… New Hope news is just so enthralling,"

A chuckle left him and Seth pushed himself upright; "Ah, can be if you're listening to the right information. Unfortunately about 87% of it is absolute shit so you end up going cross eyed out of sheer boredom from it these days."

"What did you have going on today?"

As he stood, Seth peeled the black leather jacket he wore from himself and draped it over the back of the couch. Under it he wore a black long sleeved button up shirt with a greyish tie fastened around his neck. He almost immediately loosened the tie and pushed his sleeves up over his forearms - getting himself a bit more comfortable as he spoke up.

"You'll be happy to hear I wasn't knocking anyone around nor was I getting knocked around," he flashed a little grin at his sister as he sat down in a chair across from her. He twisted slightly, stretching his back to loosen the muscles a little before continuing; "Not all that much going on today. I was keeping an eye on someone," he paused to let another grin slip across his features as he reassured her; "I promise it sounds far more exciting and potentially dangerous than what it is. I'm good at what I do and this was literally a day spent standing at a distance watching this asshole try and chat up government officials - nothing remotely exciting." He explained, wanting to deter any concern that his sister may express.

As Seth got himself a bit more comfortable, he couldn't help observing his sister. There was something about her that was...off. Seth hadn't been back in Valerie's life for very long at all just yet. But there were some things about people that just never changed and one of them was how they handled and reacted to things like stress, guilt, innocence, etc. After he had been released from all the testing he had gone through, Seth had been employed by the government as a trainer of sorts. In that position, he had needed to use his skills of observation in a way that almost interrogated a person without even needing to speak to them. It had been a sort of natural skill that he had possessed all of his life - but he hadn't truly honed that ability to any sort of perfection until he needed to really use it. At this current moment, although he didn't like to use any sort of 'skill' to invade his sister's privacy or whatever, he couldn't help himself from taking note of the way she was behaving at the moment.

“Do you want me to make you something to eat or something?”

Nervous.

And it wasn't what you might consider a normal sort of nervousness. It was genuinely fidgeting twitchy nerves.

A tiny frown touched his features - causing a little crease to form in his forehead. Had something happened to his sister since he had last seen her?

"You're at me place - I'm the one who should be asking you that," he stood upright and nodded for her to come with him into the kitchen area, turning to glance over his shoulder at her as he did so; "Val, you okay? You're kinda twitchy...what's going on?"

#para: Seth&Val

Visit Original Link

Weep not for roads untraveled Weep not for paths left alone 'Cause beyond every bend Is a long blinding end It's the worst kind of pain I've known

OOC

#ooc stuffs

donaghan-deactivated20150403

Desperate people. [ Eileen stop and considered the statement for a moment. Recognizing the truth in it that reflected in her own history.] I know you are right about that. I do believe you. [She smiled at the lighter topic of conversation.] Val is wonderful, you two are luck too have each other. Seems like a dream come true. As far as I know she been okay, but she’s usually the one taking care of me, and make sure no finds me stealing fruit or something. I don’t blame you for worry, some of the people we live with aren’t the most trustworthy all the time, but hey there family now.

[nods and flashes a slight grin] Glad to hear you believe me. Wish that weren't the case but...all my experience gives me no choice but to come to that sort of realisation, darlin. [allows the corner of his mouth to twist up in a bit of a smile at the mention of his sister] Yeah? She was always like that when we were younger...someone you just kind of always wanted to be around. [realises he's talking too much and quickly stops before he says anything he'll regret] Glad she's been able to take care of you...she's a good one to have keeping an eye out for you. [frowns slightly at the mention of untrustworthy people] Oh? In what sense?

#chat: Eileen

Little Talks | Seth & Valerie

By the time she reached the warehouse Seth lived in, she had passed four uniformed officers on the street and narrowly avoided getting caught in the middle of a confrontation that looked like it would draw even more government personnel. For the most part, she avoided going into the city. Sure, she’d go if she had something she absolutely had to get, and she sure as hell went when someone else needed something, but in general, staying at the amusement park was safest. She pushed forward simply by remembering that she was probably less likely to get shot, taken, or killed than some other Carnie members when it came to navigating New Hope. Val got to his door and knocked twice, quietly, though the metal sounded so much louder than the wood of her own shelter. When there wasn’t any sound coming from inside, she knocked again, only louder this time.

More silence.

Val had the key to his front door in her hand. When she’d left to return to the Carnies the first time she stayed with Seth, he’d given her one and told her to come if she needed anything. She’d convinced herself the whole way here that this was something and she did need to talk to him, but at the same time she wasn’t sure if it was her place to just walk in and ask him the question that had been in her mind since Eileen first told Valerie what she needed and that she was dying. Dying. Surely that meant she could use the key to get inside even if he wasn’t there. Valerie contemplated just sitting in the hallway by his door until he returned, but then thought better of it. If anything she’d hear again how he’d told her the key was for anything and she should have just let herself in.

Valerie took another deep breath and put the key in the deadbolt to unlock the door and let herself in. She opened the door slowly at first, just to make sure that if Seth was inside she didn’t startle him. But everything was quiet. Shutting the door behind her, she re-locked the door and made her way to the couch. There wasn’t water running in the shower, no banging of pots or pans in the kitchen. There was just barely a hum from the refrigerator. Even though it was her twin brother’s apartment, she felt like an intruder into someplace she didn’t belong.

The silence pressed in on her and made everything worse. Val sighed and sat down on one end of the couch, leaving her boots on, feet on the floor. A little while passed before she didn’t think she could take the silence anymore. Picking up the control on the small table she flipped on the television. The screen lit up to show New Hope’s main news station. The anchors went on break and the screen changed to some infomercial on the dangers of the Outlands with radiation and bandits. A small smile crept on her lips, thinking about how much more drama the government and media tended to put into situations.

Valerie kept her eyes fixed on the screen as commercials, PSAs, and news stories crossed the screen, none of it doing anything to calm her nerves. Her mind wandered, putting her in situations such as watching Seth’s face flash across the screen with a news story about someone being killed or apprehended. She kept herself busy and calm by focusing on her breathing and the small things, like the weight of her bracelet on her wrist or the sound of car horns or bus brakes outside. Time was passing far too slowly and eventually, Val leaned to the side to rest her head and arm on the arm rest. She couldn’t bring herself to actually take off her shoes and lay down — it wasn’t her apartment, after all — but she managed to get comfortable enough to doze off.

#para: Seth&Val #hope this is okayyyyy

Seth's dark eyes narrowed and he frowned, releasing a slow breath of air as he scanned through a newspaper article. Of course there were the usual headlines - warnings about where not to go and who to avoid, that sort of thing. Then there were the death and accident reports. It was the usual standard. Loss, death, blood, betrayal - the things that made up the world they now lived in. But he wasn't looking at any of that. Actually, he wasn't even reading what was in front of him. Sure, the paper was covering half of his face up, but his eyes weren't really even taking in what they grazed over. Instead, they darted up across the letters and numbers on the page and peered out over the top of it to a man crossing the street in front of him.

The young man's gaze lingered on him a few seconds before dropping back to the paper. He shuffled it a little to adjust where it was in his line of vision and then raised his eyes once again.

The man he watched rooted around in his jacket pocket a few moments before he finally pulled out a set of keys. The keys were jiggled and rifled around as the man seemed to be sorting through them. Seth watched him carefully - studying his movements. His brown eyes flicked across his body - taking in what he wore, focusing on his hips - taking note that there was no type of holster to indicate that the man was carrying any type of weapon. That idea made a slow grin touch Seth's lips. He was unarmed. Good. That meant that was how he normally went out and about - unarmed and unprotected.

Arrogant.

Who was the man he was watching?

A "doctor".

The same fucking "doctor" who had harvested Seth's blood for the years the government held him. The same man who had harvested the blood of countless other teenagers like Seth had been when they had taken him.

Seth watched the man a few moments longer before he finally folded up his newspaper, tucked it under his arm and walked away. As he did so, he pulled out a tiny notebook and jotted down a few notes - mainly times and habits and things that the "doctor" had done throughout his day. He would compile something of a report and hand it over to the other members of the resistance and the decision to move forward would be made before too much longer. Not to kill the man or anything. Nah. That would be letting him off entirely too easy. No killing - just using him for information. The more insider information they had, the better the chances of actually being able to do anything would become and if there was anything Seth wanted to do with the rest of this life - it was make some sort of difference.

The walk back to his apartment didn't take long. Particularly not with his mind reeling in a million different directions. He considered all the things he had seen and upon thinking about the man, his thoughts strayed to Valerie. He needed to go see his sister soon. He missed her and honestly just hated having her out of his line of vision at this point. He was convinced that she was just going to somehow vanish from his life again but he knew she had her own life and he couldn't force her to stay with him. But that didn't mean he couldn't check in on her as often as possible. Plus, he needed to let Aimee know what size heater he needed and the only way to do that was to get an accurate measurement of his sister's 'room'.

With those thoughts on his mind, the dark haired man made his way to his apartment door where he immediately stopped and let a small frown crease his eyebrows. There was a faint sound coming from inside and Seth hesitated a split second before leaning forward and letting his ear rest against the door. He could hear a voice that sounded somewhat monotone and it took him only a few seconds to realise that was the television. Upon that realisation, a grin touched his lips. There was only one person who had a key to his apartment and if the television was turned on, that meant that one person was there.

Valerie.

Seth turned the doorknob and felt an instant flood of relief upon noticing that she had indeed locked the door behind herself. He slid his key into the lock and stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind himself; "Hey, you actually --" his words cut short when he realised she had fallen asleep on his couch.

There was something sweet and incredibly innocent about the fact that she had dozed off and it made him relieved that she had felt safe enough here that she could rest. But seeing her also worried him slightly - why was she here? Had something happened to her? Because if someone had fucked with her, Seth was going to put his fucking foot directly up their ass.

He crossed the room and upon reaching the couch, Seth squatted alongside his sister and gently ran his finger across her cheek a few times so as not to wake her up in some terrifying manner. Her eyelashes fluttered a bit and Seth grinned; "Hey, sleepyhead...what brings you around here?"

verticalfilm

#Seth-ish things XD

To be honest, anyone in the Outlands has something like that. Finding one the size you want would just be a matter of shopping.

The catch is that to get it for you, I’ll be leaving some family without heat. It’s no skin off my back, but if you want something with morals and less chance of a body count, I’ll have to hit up a ruined city. That trip will cost you. And I might drag your ass with me so I can test my theory of finding a door you can’t fit through.

Right, right... [scratches slightly at the light scruff of facial hair beginning to crop up on his cheeks]

[frowns as he considers this] I mean... [groans a little and scrubs his hands down over his face] Fuck. Yeah, I can't do that. [shakes his head and sighs a bit] Alright, what're we talking about as far as cost? [gives her a look] Good thing is I can easily enough borrow a vehicle and then I can test my theory on how well you fit into an automotive trunk.

#chat: Aimee

[snorts] Oh — Yeah! You should go with me and we can recreate the scene from those fantasy Lord of the Rings movies. You be the tree guy and I can be the hobbit person riding along on your shoulders. Really inconspicuous. I dig it.

[sighs, looking up as she thinks] Riiiight, and you need me because anything in city will be electric. How kosher do you wanna be about obtaining this for your someone?

[stares blankly at her for a few seconds before responding] Yeah, that's exactly what I had in mind. How'd you know all this time I've been just secretly dying to try out my acting skills? It's like you're a goddamn mind-reader or something.

[chuckles a little in spite of himself and then focuses back on what she's saying] Precisely. Already checked a few out around here and there's nothing that'll work for the location I need it. [considers her question and shrugs a little] Not kosher at all so long as it gets me what I'm looking for. You have something or someone with such an item in mind?

You’re welcome. You get a big head and the height, people will start to think you’re overcompensating for something.

Nah, not throats. I wouldn’t want to stretch and damage my delicate frame. Just a nice knife between the ribs in the right place does the trick. Just had to off a few to get out in one piece. [raises her eyebrows in return] What, like a babysitter? I think I can handle your errands and not have to split the payoff.

You're so thoughtful. Looking out for me like that. [rolls his eyes and refrains from chuckling...a little]

[nods] Ribcage'll usually do the trick to change a stubborn mind. [rolls his eyes once again - this time a little more obnoxiously] For fuck's sake. Yes, I'm suggesting you take a babysitter with you. [shakes his head and releases a huff of breath] Jesus Christ. The shit you come up with sometimes. [shakes his head] Look, I need a space heater. Can't be electric. Gotta run on some sort of fuel. Need's to be fairly big in size. That was a quiet way of me offering to go with you if you think you can find me one. I'll pay tops for it so long as we can get one in damn good condition. I need it for my sist-- [clears his throat a little to cover up his words] I need it for someone.

#chat: Aimee

steffypinkman

#Seth-ish things xD

Again with the height jokes? I’m sorry your six-foot-plus didn’t come with the mental capacity to understand a simple sentence that lacked the finite details.

[takes off her backpack and unzips it, pulling out something long, wrapped in a couple of old shirts covered in blood] You’re lucky I don’t up the price on this. There were unexpected difficulties.

[raises his eyebrows and a little and then rolls his eyes] Again with the mental capacity jokes? [shakes his head and gives a slight snort of a laugh] You know, Aimee - I can always count on you keeping my ego in check. I appreciate it. Really. [shakes his head again]

Oh? [frowns just a little and reaches for the package] What the hell happened? You have to slit someone's throat for it? [studies Aimee a second and raises an eyebrow] You need someone to accompany you next time you go out for me, Shortstack?

#chat: Aimee

finley-scott

You should really clean it up though and put something on it. Wouldn’t want it to get infected, you know?

donaghan-deactivated20150403

Ah... [glances down at his arm and gives another laugh, lifting his eyes to meet hers] Might not be a bad idea now that you mention it. [uses his other hand to wipe some of the blood off his forearm and then pauses slightly] Sorry, you don't have a real weak stomach, do ya?

#chat: Finley

Why isn’t it smart? I’ve thought a lot about it recently and I think that most people are just doing the best with what they are given. They aren’t evil or bad just struggling like the rest of us. [She smiled and nodded] I’m pretty quick when I need too be. Val is one of my best friends! She told me she had a brother but it was a secret and I that I couldn’t tell anybody about. But I can tell you cause you are the secret brother so that doesn’t count as breaking my promise. Yes! Come back with me, you can see where we live, and what we do, and Valerie will be so happy too see you, I know. She was so happy too find you, Seth. It must be so great to have each other back.