Snippet #2678584

That could have gone better. Devon and Gabriel watched as Elise headed back up to her room, incensed and holding back tears from the sarcastic reply from the Newkid. While Lisi went off to grab something from upstairs, they turned as one to face Ash, their faces and body unreadable.

For a moment, the silence was almost uncomfortable. Then Gabriel launched himself towards Devon with an emotional wail.

"Wahh, Brother, they didn't enjoy the show!" Ignoring Ash, Gabriel clung to his brother with a tearful look on his face, Devon patting Gabriel comfortingly on the back. "Even after all the trouble Lisi and Elise went through - and us, of course - they didn't like iiiit!"

"There, there, brother of mine. Maybe its because you made the wound too big? You always had trouble with that." Devon mused, placing a hand to the back of Gabriel's head as he rested his chin against Devon's shoulder. "Or maybe he didn't like me healing Lisi's wound with a touch, or Elise's closing act, or our theatrical attempts to get him comfortable with the place - dearie me, there's so many to choose from!" He looked thoughtfully at Ash. "Which one do you think it is?"

"Hmm, I dunno, maybe all three?" Almost as if he'd forgotten his disappointment Gabriel let go of Devon, whirling around to face Ash with startling suddenness. He smiled brightly and leant down close, eyes shut in happy small crescents. "My ability is to cause injuries with merely a touch, while Devon's power heals." he said breezily. He waved a hand in the air, as if to say I know right? "As you can expect, people didn't take kindly to that since they fear what they can't understand, and my power is destructive. They tried to lynch us, haha! But it doesn't matter here, because Mr Cosmo took us in." Gabriel laughed, whirling around and taking a couple of steps back to Devon's side. He turned to face Ash with a smile and half-lidded eyes, leaning against Devon's shoulder once again. "Any child in need arrives here -"

"And Mr Cosmos will help!" Devon finished. He shot a smile towards Ash as well, although his eyes weren't quite as bright as his brothers. He reached up with a hand to readjust his glasses. "What we're saying that it's ok to use your abilities here, no one will prosecute you for it. We didn't do it for appreciation, although that'd be welcome. Sorry if it was overwhelming. We did the act to make you feel welcome, and to show that even if your ability is destructive it's ok because nobody here will care about it! Unless you try to use it on them without their permission, of course." He smiled warningly at Ash, placing his hand in his pocket. "Mr Cosmos would not be pleased. If you can't control it, though, it's ok! We'll help you learn how to control your ability here. It would be cool if you could be a little nicer so that the others would find it easier to approach you - look how you made Elise cry?- but its ok if you don't want to. It doesn't really matter anyway - once you're here, you're one of us." The two of them smiled warmly at Ash.

Before Ash could respond, Lisi had rushed down the stairs and towards them, shoving a notebook into Ash's hands. The twins stood back and watched the scene unfold, smiling to themselves.

It didn't matter if Ash hadn't received their message, or thought of them as jerks with no sense of proportion. What mattered was that they had heard the message. It'd probably sink in one day, the way it had for them when Mr Cosmos had talked to them all those years ago.

The two looked up as the front door burst open, revealing Willow who barked out something about a really cold kid. They looked at each other in concern as Mr Cosmos talked about blankets, and when Cecil burst through the door with Dennis (who was carrying a macaroon carefully in his hands with a look of concentration) and Sapphire, who was carrying somebody on his back, the two exchanged a look of surprise.

Gabriel was already moving when Cecil asked for the Zarzuela twins to check up on the unconscious boy. Devon stayed back a little longer to leave some parting words for Ash. "We're off to check on the other new kid now, but you should apologise to Elise." he advised Ash, glancing up the stairs. "Doesn't matter if you meant it or not, you were still pretty mean to her. You made her cry, so you should apologise. That's what people normally do when they make people cry."

Sure, there were extenuating circumstances sometimes, but this situation was not one of them. Devon went off to see the unconscious kid, who was laid out on the couch. He took his place beside Gabriel, who had brought the kit out and was examining the boy. For a while, they looked him over, grabbing a towel to dry him off as they both went about their work with a professionalism that had been belied by their age.

"I can see his ribs, his skin is hot and sweaty to the touch despite him shaking up a storm, his lips and fingers have also turned a bit blue..." Devon said at length, frowning. "Cyanosis, temperature of 38.4 degrees celsius and malnutrition." Gabriel finished. They both looked at each other, exchanging internal conversation faster than people could register.

"We've dried him off the best we can without actually taking his clothes off, but he should still put on something warm," Dev instructed, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. The normally smiling teen had a serious look on his face as he continued, "Keeping him warm is a priority, he should rest near the fireplace, I think."

"A change of clothes is in order, and he should probably eat something liquidy and warm tomorrow like warm milk so that his stomach won't reject it, but.... Gabriel looked up, glancing at Devon as if for confirmation.

"He should be fine." They chorused, smiling up at the others with relief.

Meanwhile, Dennis had carefully, carefully broken the macaroon in four equal pieces, with the help of a knife that he'd found in the kitchen. He'd nearly cut his finger, but luckily there was no wounds that needed to be attended to. Dennis closed his eyes in bliss as he slipped one piece of macaroon in his mouth, savouring the flavour of the sweet. Cupping the pieces tenderly in his hand, Dennis walked over to Sapphire and Willow before slipping two pieces into Sapphire's hands, gesturing that it was for the two of them before wandering off towards Cecil.

Hopefully it'd cheer them up...

Next was Cecil. Dennis still remembered Cecil's comment about not eating for two days. That had been why he'd held onto the macaroon instead of eating it like Cecil had meant him to, hiding it in the palm of his hand. He'd thought of breaking it into two pieces at first, but what if Sapphire and Willow felt left out? That wouldn't be nice... So four equal pieces. Dennis was still vaguely disappointed about not being able to stay out as long as he liked, but that didn't really matter anymore, now that they'd found a new household member. Better him living in the house than dying out in the snow.

Walking up to Cecil, Dennis grabbed his hand and dropped the macaroon onto his palm, curling Cecil's fingers shut with his own. He pushed it towards Cecil, looking up at him and gesturing for Cecil to eat the macaroon.