Cerys
#C7BBB4
Lucy
#571616
Dhani
#b85c9e
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When Cerys sat down next to Dhani, bumping a shoulder against his, he leaned down to gently tap his head against hers. Kind of a hug-without-hugging kind of maneuver. He shook his head when she asked if he thought Icarus and Aboleth were in on it too. âNo, I donât think Att would-â He stopped suddenly, almost like a deer in headlights, but continued on before Cerys had a chance to call him out on that slip, âI donât know Aboleth well, but Icarus was genuinely worried when he asked for help finding Red Witch. I donât think they knew.â He sighed, âHey, uh, Iâm sorry for all of this, Care bear.â This was part genuine apology, part distraction, âI should have seen the signs that it was a trap and gotten you out of there.â Heâd always felt responsible for protecting Cerys, in a way. That protective nature was probably why Helen asked him to help while she was training Cerys in the first place.
There was a rough knock on the door before it opened with a command, âNo funny business.â Dhani shot Cerys a sideways glance, but the guards were quick to cuff them. Not that they could realistically escape anyway, if security was as tight as it seemed. As the guards prepped them to go out the door, one of them said, âShower time,â And after a pause, added, âYou could use one.â Dhani wasnât sure if he should agree or feel offended.
Cerys raised an eyebrow as Dhani seemed to call one of the villains by their first name, before recovering and continuing. By the sounds of it, Icarus was the one heâd called âAtt.â He didnât give her a chance to remark on it, but she stashed it at the back of her head to bring up at some other point. She smiled a little at the use of her nickname, knowing he was trying to change the subject but letting him. She sighed and shook her head a little. âDhani, it wasnât your fault. Neither of us spotted it was a trap, I donât think anyone did.â She wanted to say more, wanted to remind him that he didnât need to worry about her as much any more. She knew that heâd worry regardless, but it was still nice to remind him. But she was interrupted as the door opened. Instinctively, she was assessing the situation, meeting Dhaniâs look. But they were outnumbered and outpowered, and they were quickly cuffed. The guards were probably a tad rougher than they needed to be, but Cerys figured it was probably better to keep her mouth shut. She shot Dhani a confused look as they said they were being brought for a shower, but truth be told, the idea of a shower was more welcome than she was prepared to admit.
The shower stalls were nicer than she was expecting, if she was honest, with partitions between each of them so their modesty was somewhat protected. As she stepped into her stall, she heard voices from the door again and whirled around, prepared for this to be some sort of sick joke. Instead, another girl was shoved into the room. Cerys shot Dhani another look, unsure of what to do or say in this case. Part of her was concerned that it was some sort of trap, and she instinctively braced herself for a fight.
Dhani was initially a little concerned about the fact that theyâd be showering in the same room, but was happy enough that they had stalls set up, even if he was going to have to duck to be able to get his head under the water. They had fifteen minutes, roughly, but Dhani wasnât entirely sure he trusted the guards not to rush them out quicker, so he wasnât about to waste any time. The door opened again shortly after heâd gotten started and he felt a bit of panic rising in him, even as a woman was pushed into the room. Cerys looked about ready for a fight, but the woman was just⊠Staring at them. She looked a little rough- shaken up, maybe even a little scared.
And of course she was, she was here, she looked injured, so he presumed she was some sort of prisoner, and there was a tall muscular man in the room while she was supposed to be showering. âAre⊠Are you okay?â He asked, hoping to try to settle the apprehensive air in the room. She quickly stated she was fine, and went to a shower of her own. Dhani didnât want to stare, but he did want to make sure this wasnât some elaborate ruse or something. He quickly turned to mind his own business, however, when he saw the amount of scars covering the womanâs body. His mind started turning; were these people doing that to her? Was she okay? Could he get her to open up if he tried? âHey,â He could try to establish a rapport of some kind with her, at least, âI donât know how it usually is, but the water temperatureâs a little finicky today.â A part of him was worried that guards would burst in and yell at them to stop talking
Luciana turned the valve and water quickly came out of the shower, causing her to flinch as she wasnât expecting it to be as cold. A second too late Dhani remarked about the temperature being a bit finicky. âYou think?â She said instinctively and sarcastically, and then sighing to herself as she realized she doesnât want them knowing who she is and should probably play along. Then an idea came to her, she could possibly pretend to be on their side as they donât know who she is and get any other information from me.
She quickly rubbed some shampoo into her hair before turning back and looking at the two, a small laugh escaping as she realized Dhani had to duck. âGuess they donât have a tall shower section?â Lucy teased, flashing a fake smile. Then turning her gaze over to the woman for a second. âSo⊠you two captured super-powered people as well?â She asked, already knowing the answers, though curious how they would respond. âWhat type of restraints are you kept in?â
Cerys stayed watching the woman somewhat wearily. Sheâd spotted the cuts and scars covering the womanâs body as well, but a lot of supers had their fair share of scars. Honestly, the only reason Cerys herself didnât have more was because if Dhani noticed (and he always did), heâd insist on healing her. The sarcasm got half a smile out of her, at least, as she undid her braids and stood fully under the water.
The woman made a joke about the showers not being tall enough for Dhani, and Cerys chuckled despite herself. âEven a tall shower section probably wouldnât be tall enough for him,â she remarked, shooting a grin at Dhani. But the fact that the woman asked about their restraints didnât sit quite right with her. âSame as you, Iâd imagine. Why?â She asked lightly. She still wasnât sure that this wasnât some sort of test or something. She turned slightly to shoot Dhani a look, telling him to play along and not give too much away.
âI donât see much of others here, due to the mask they keep me in. The metal one over there.â Lucy said with softness behind her voice, referencing the mask the guards left in the room along with the wrist restraints.
Dhani ignored the comments about being too tall for the showers, it was a common enough thing to hear. But when she asked them about having powers, and what kind of restraints they were using on them, Dhani wasnât sure how to deal with those questions. He caught Cerysâ look, and then turned his head to glance at the restraints the other woman had mentioned. He had to wonder what kind of powers she must have, to be kept in a mask where she couldnât see.
âDo they keep doing your restraints too tight, too?â He asked, wondering if he could parse out how long sheâd been there, or if this was some kind of trap. He knew they had to be careful about how much information they gave out. On the chance they got out of here, he didnât want to be giving anyone more information than they already have. âItâs nice to talk to people who arenât here to push me around.â He paused, thinking carefully, then added, âFor ten to fifteen minutes, anyway.â
Luciana was just about done with her hair and spread the soap over her body, not getting too distracted with talking with the heroes. âActually, not too much. I believe they think they have me under their control with the mask and wrist restraints... And the injectionsâŠâ Luciana trailed off, mumbling the last part and rubbing her skin where the needle went into her neck. âIf I act up they tend to give me a little zap. Some guards are nicer than others.â Which was true. The guards treated her like a normal prisoner, while Mr. Anderson and her mother seemed to treat her with a more friendly demeanor.
âNot much time is given for conversations around here. You two look smart enough to realize they donât want us freaks to interact with each other too much. I heard the nervousness in the one guard's voice about me showering here with you two around.â Luciana paused for a second, looking between the two of them. âYou two know each other outside of here?â She asked with a tilt of her head.
Cerys hadnât noticed the metal mask theyâd had on the woman until she pointed it out, and for a few moments, she felt guilty about her suspicions towards her. Dhani remarked about them having the restraints too tight, and Cerys was glad that he also seemed to not want to give too much away. She forced a smile at the comment, combing through her hair with her fingers.
When the woman went to explain about everything they were using to control her, she frowned a little bit as she stepped under the water again and her expression was hidden. She wondered what type of power the woman had that required that level of control.
She forced another smile as the woman asked if she and Dhani knew each other. Something about these questions had her a little on edge, unsure if the woman was just making small talk or if there was something more to her questioning. She glanced at Dhani and back at the woman. âUh, yeah, weâre friends. What about you?â Cerys asked, deciding to turn the interrogation back on the woman. âYou know anyone around these parts?â She asked.
As she started rinsing the water off of her, Artemis spoke, saying they were friends, but then asking her about herself. Luciana stopped for a second, the water dripping over her body. Friends. Of course the heroes considered themselves friends, but Luciana hadnât really had many of those besides Atticus and Piper. And where were they now?
It wasnât until Lucy heard herself drop the bottle of soap that she brought herself back to reality. âOh, uh. Sorry. No, not really.â She finally answered the heroes question, quickly picking up the bottle and finish rinsing herself off. She wrapped a towel around herself and started drying herself off before stepping out of the shower.
While it was obvious that they were friends, Dhani didnât like the probing questions about whatever their relationship might be. He caught Cerysâ glance at him out of the corner of his eye. He let her deal with it, ducking down to rinse out his hair, and give himself a little time to think. The moment of silence after Cerys asked the other woman if she had any friends in⊠Wherever they were, it was a little worrying. Dhani had to quickly decide if he thought she was taking the time to make up a lie, or if she was, like Cerys and himself, trying to decide if they were going to use whatever they found out to hurt her.
As he finished up in the shower, he found himself wondering what- if anything- he should do. He dried up as much as he could before stepping out of the shower so he could start getting dressed, at least enough to be considered decent. âDonât worry,â he said, âIâm not going to stare at you or anything weird, Iâm not,â He paused, âI mean, youâre⊠Itâs just-â He shook his head at himself. His attempts at being reassuring were more awkward than anything.
There was a silence before the woman answered the question, lasting a second or two longer than she would have liked. But at the end of the day, they were two strangers, and she probably didnât want to give too much away. She just nodded as the woman said she didnât know anyone. She decided against braiding her hair again and simply pulled a towel around her as she shut the water off, drying off. Dhani began trying to reassure the woman he wouldnât stare, and Cerys properly laughed for the first time.
âHeâs as gay as they come, is what heâs trying to say,â she said, looking back towards the woman. âSo, as pretty as you are, youâre not his type.â Had it been any other circumstance, she might have been tempted to crack a joke about her being more Cerysâ type, but decided that it wasnât the place. She pulled on the clothes they had left for them. While they werenât her style, they were at least clean, dry, and comfortable, so it could have been worse.
Luciana was going to start getting dressed when she heard the water shut off, pausing for a moment again as the heroes got out and Dhani spoke. Well, more so mumbling, stuttering, and bambling about not staring at her. Idiot⊠She thought to herself, and then heard Artemis spoke, about him being gay. Lucy wanted to say she knew, but stopped herself, as that would reveal that she knew of the heroes. âItâs fine, heâs not my type either. Far from it.â Though she unconsciously added the last portion of her sentence.
She quickly got dressed in the clothes they had sitting next to her restraints and mask. Staring at the wrist restraints and feeling her wrists, Lucy felt the tenderness from the small burns the guards had given her. She signed to herself as she sat on the bench taking a moment to herself.
Dhani chuckled when Cerys commented that he was âgay as they come,â and nodded when the blonde woman said he wasnât her type anyway. In a better situation, he may have made a joke, but it wasnât quite the time or place for that. Instead, he got dressed. The clothes werenât what he would typically choose, but they fit okay, were comfortable enough, and best of all clean.
He turned and looked at the blonde woman, debating with himself for a short moment. He didnât know if it was the right move to make, but in the end he decided that if he decided if he helped someone and they used it against him, that said more about them than him. So he sat down next to her and cleared his throat, âIâm,â He paused, wondering if this was a good idea to introduce himself. If she worked for these people, though, she likely already knew everything about him. âIâm Dhani.â He gestured towards her wrists, âThat looks like it hurts.â He shot her a soft smile, âI, uh⊠I have healing powers, and if you don't mind, Iâd like to help you.â He shrugged, âThe freaks have to stick together, right?â
Luciana was taking a breather from everything going on when she noticed Dhani sit down and introduce himself. I know⊠She thought to herself, not needing his introduction. She was shocked though when he mentioned his weisst and offered to heal them. Lucy wanted to immediately shut him down, she didnât need his charity, but that might raise some questions that she didnât want to answer. âIâŠâ She stuttered for a bit, looking over at Artemis for a second and then back at him. âOkay. It better not sting.â She said, holding out her wrists to him.
What came next felt strange to Luciana, but also warm and comforting. Within moments her wrists were healed, clean in a sense, they didnât feel tender and the redness was completely gone. She was speechless for a moment, never having felt Paladinâs power, but was quickly brought back into the moment and pulled her wrists back quickly.
Before Lucy could speak again the door to the showers opened up and some guards walked in. âHey! Back off!â One of them shouted realizing the prisoners were intermingling, another coming up and tossing Lucyâs confinements to her again.
She let out a sigh as she slid the wrist restraints over the freshly healed area, but still felt warm and not so uncomfortable for the moment. Luciana stood still as one of the guards secured the mask over her face again, blocking her eyesight. As she was ushered towards the door she stopped for a second and turned back towards where she could hear Paladin and Artemis. âThanks PaladinâŠâ She spoke softly, flashing a soft smile before she was shoved again and told to be quiet.