Hearing the distant sounds of screams, Henry came to a halt. He was almost home, but that scream. He knew something was amiss, and so, he forced himself to turn around and head in the direction the sound had come from, scolding himself for being too concerned for others. He didn't run, but he didn't quite walk either. It seemed as though others had heard it too but no one seemed too concerned about it. Shaking his head at everyones callousness, he continued walking.

Henry reached the other side of town, and was unsure of here to look. Then another scream was heard and he realized that it was coming from the outskirts of town. That isn't good. He broke into a sprint and ran in the direction of the sound. As he left the town, Tamera came into view. She was with a sickly looking man and her hand seemed to be bleeding. He slowed to a walk and a questioning look crossed his face. He waved to her and approached the two. "I heard a scream all the way across town. What the hell happened?"

Zeke heard the noise behind him, it sounded as if someone tried to get Ceara as she was trying to escape. He turned to see her disappear into the crowd the man that tried to grab her still with nothing to show. That was a wrong move; he was going to be the first one to go. He felt his face go wild for a moment, as if something had clicked and he was no longer home, yet his body still moved.

Don’t worry it’ll be over quick, they will barely feel a thing. It’s not like anyone is going to miss those losers.

He scanned the area, and it seemed that as soon as the kidnapping turned to a failure, everyone had the same idea; they all started to move in. He couldn’t stop the arm being lifted into the air, almost as if his body moved on its own, for his own survival. He heard a scream out in the distance; it was something of a shrill and it sounded familiar, as if he had heard something like it before, it sounded like something that had escaped his mouth once before. The circle around him closed in closer, soon it would be upon him, he threw his hand to the ground, the swirl hitting the ground before freezing it, he pushed himself, through his power he forced ice lances to shoot outward, in a 360 direction, a perfect defense for close combat.

He heard shouts of regret followed by yelps of pain as the first wave crashed into the spears. They had tried to stop, but it happened so fast that the second wave hadn’t had a chance to stop when the first had, they had pushed their own friends into the spears, and some had figured that out while others were struck with fright as they saw their comrades impaled through ice. Zeke kneeled at the center of the gore, blood had pooled shortly after around his feet, that was in fact where all of the spears erupted from. He stood slowly, looking around, it seemed that that might be the end of this confrontation; even himself wasn’t that stupid, though now he might have to go into hiding. He thought it over a moment and realized that he would do no such thing. He hadn’t done anything wrong, he just put up his defenses, and they were the ones that ran into it.

He looked about the people hanging there on the pikes, the one that had grabbed for Ceara, hung there on the pike, lifeless, out of all the people to suffer he did the less, then again he could think of it the other way, out of all the people he was the right one to die, it made him laugh a moment, a dark sadistic laugh, he held his hand out to feel the blood of the man. When he recovered he saw the others trying to get the ones they knew off of the ice pikes, and he didn’t mind, he got more glares and this was a new reason for people to hate him, though right now they seemed distracted.

You don’t need them. You held back, none of these people should have lived through that if you pushed yourself. You can’t hide that from me! I know more about you than you think.

He shook his head, in the mist of all the others trying to recover their comrades; he snuck out, quickly and through the crowd. He knew where Ceara had gone, and he headed in that direction, avoiding people as much as he could, there was a crowd there, and it didn’t take long for news to travel, he was going to have a headache later, though he knew he was in the right. He arrived at the door, pausing a moment, but gradually knocking on the door lightly, hopefully she was still there.

Tamera froze at the sound of another's voice in front of them. Without looking up, she knew who it was and stepped cautiously in front of her brother, shielding him as much as possible from view. Yes, she trusted Henry, but not with a secret this big. However, she knew that Flynn would want to speak to him before they left, to ensure that he too trusted them man who would have his little sister's back up on the surface. Releasing his hand, she tucked her other one out of the way so that he couldn't see the blood, but she didn't doubt that he already had, it was fairly obvious. Swallowing, she brushed the hair from her eyes and tried a half-smile. "Hi Henry," He voice betrayed how she really felt inside and she licked her lips nervously. Behind her, Flynn shifted uneasily as well, keen to talk for himself. "Nothing happened. We were just...messing around." Not meeting his eyes, she continued to stare at the floor, keeping Flynn from view.

But he wasn't having any of that. When he wasn't having one of his "episodes", Flynn was a normal guy who was kind and gentle to everyone. He gave a smile to Henry and nodded his head, his sightless white eyes on his face, almost looking into his eyes, but not quite. "Hey, there. I'm Flynn, Tam's brother. But I know for a fact that you won't know that." He gave a sad smile and a small shrug, glancing in the general direction of Tam, who was watching carefully. She was tensed and ready for Henry's reaction. Everyone knew of the rumours about the "crazy" who were hidden from view. But they were never seen. They were hidden. Because Tam had continued with the lie about him dying the last time he went up the top, it was clear that there was something wrong with him. Tam cursed herself for agreeing to bring him out here for a walk. He looked so ill. But she knew that he wanted to escape the confines of the house and if they were caught, well it would be better for him in some ways if they were. At least he would get help.

Unsure of what to think, Henry just shrugged. The man's eyes didn't seem to focus on anything, it was obvious that he was blind. Despite Tamera trying to hide here bleeding hand, he had already noticed it. Ignoring the obvious lie he had just been told, Henry approached Flynn and Tamera. "Hello, Flynn. I'm Henry. I met your sister not two hours ago." Tamera was putting on some sort of guise. She obviously was hiding something. He could see it in her face. She seemed nervous and wouldn't look at him.

"Yeah, I just sort of heard screaming and thought someone was in trouble," Henry said sincerely. "So, what did you do to your hand?" he asked, tearing a strip of cloth from his sleeve. He didn't wait for an answer and grabbed Tamera's arm and began wrapping the cloth around her hand. "You don't want to leave that exposed too long. It'll get infected." He kept eying Flynn. He could tell something was strange about the man other than the eyes, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Syler released a beastly howl of laughter as Genesis struggled to try to push him away. The level of this scenario to Syler was nothing more than that of a bad prank -the prank being his trickery of the girl-. One could easily perceive all this as a sick joke, but then again an innocent girl being in the clutches of a practical sociopath might be seen as a much more serious matter. Syler would tilt his head in confusion at such ‘narrow-minded’ thinking if he had the chance. He did not live by such tedious impulses. “Oh what a damsel you are! Except this time there is no one to save you from your distress!” He only had time to let out another short cackle, before he felt Genesis’ delicate white hands furiously pushing his head away, though not a second later, she began to pull on his mask. A less caring person in Syler’s position would succumb to the whimsical impulse of trying to stop Genesis from removing the mask, but Syler was waiting for the inevitable.

He felt the weight of her body beginning to pull him down, and since the girl wasn’t completely out of his grasp, Syler quickly placed a hand behind her head, which would shield it from the knot it would receive were it to hit the rocky floor, and waited for the minor bruising his hand would have from the impact. A second later they both tumbled over. One might wonder why Syler didn't just simply try to reason with the girl, in his own way of course, but because he noted her to be so obviously stubborn, he cleverly chose not to, and instead was able to feel the cushiony softness of her bosom beneath him. To not only leap through, but also make, a window of opportunity, was another one of Syler’s principles. Yes, he was indeed a caring man, especially when it came to his own pleasure.

Syler felt strange. His face felt cold, it felt bare. He was lying on his cheek -the left to be exact-, and his nose was burrowed into the locks of Genesis’ hair. She smelled like strawberry marmalade, which just so happen to be his favorite flavor. His cheek bone was reddened from a small bruise and had a very mild scrape over it, so mild that he didn’t even notice, but if he had then Syler would’ve milked the so-called ‘injury’ for all it was worth, all in hopes gaining pity from Genesis, if she even had any.

Syler naturally lifted himself off of Genesis, his arms as pillars on either side of her shoulders. He inspected the girl’s legs as she scooted out from underneath him. How stunning they were. She was indeed ‘the apple of his eye’. Syler stood up, and placed a hand over his face. “Oh my…” He spoke in a whisper as his eyes pin-pointed on the object in Genesis’ hands. His eyes widened as Genesis was about to throw his mask over the cliff. Syler quickly stepped toward her, and began to reach out his hands to possibly persuade her from throwing it. “No-!” His voice echoed throughout the cave walls. Syler suddenly froze and lowered his arms in relief when Genesis refrained from tossing the mask.

The mask was Syler’s most treasured piece of the surface world, along with his explosives of course. In a sense it was his ‘security blanket’. He did not feel complete without it. Syler didn’t utter a word in reply to Genesis’ inquiry. He only watched his mask in her hands. Syler’s heart dropped when Genesis finally put it on. He had never laid eyes on such a fearful, yet majestic sight such as this girl wearing his mask. It made him smile.

Syler stayed silent and in awe -give or take a snicker or two when she stuck her finger in his face-, as Genesis went on to list her demands of him, and the conditions of their somewhat inept partnership. Syler raised his brow in amusement as she began to walk toward him. He threw up his hands, and let out a slight chuckle. “What now?” Syler’s eyes augmented the second Genesis ran her hand through his hair. His mind was not able to compute what she was doing. He did not learn how to react toward such behavior directly toward him, after his breakdown. He lowered his hands and his body went stiff. “What… is…this?” He wasn’t sure what to feel. A sharp pain shot through his chest. His heart was quite literally skipping beats. He took a step back, his eyes filled with fear. “What are you trying to do?!” His words weren’t shouted, but his voice was raised some, which caused it to echo once more. His body began to quiver, as he swallowed deeply. Was this what Syler feared?

Ceara had been sitting on her mattress staring up at the ceiling. Pondering like she often did about the people of the community. She fiddled with the threading on her bed cover. Her father had salvaged this especially, and one of the women had helped her clean it. She loved the way in a place so devoid of colour, she had a multi coloured bed spread. She loved anything colourful. She had a few items of colour. In the corner of the room, her most treasured possessions, books.

Her father had always taught her to read, she had hated it at the time. Hours a day he would force her to read the few books they owned. He forced her to read aloud, and bullied her terribly if she stumbled across words. She never understood why it was so important at the time, but now she thought she did. The few stories she had read were of courage, and she felt she needed that. They also spoke of a time before what they lived in now. She didn’t know whether the places in the books were once real, but her father told her they were. That there were brick houses, outside. That the houses had gardens, where the children played under the ‘sun’. She read now, by candle light. Though her mind kept straying from the faded print, where was Zeke? What had happened to those men? Did her father know she had kissed him yet, would he be angry? Maybe he would be happy that she had finally got involved with a man. Maybe he wouldn’t see her as such a failure anymore.

Ceara was interrupted by a knock at the door. She knew it couldn’t be her father, he rarely came to her living space. When she had first painted it, he had yelled at her. Telling her she was ungrateful and that she had ruined a perfectly good space. She was used to it now. Although she felt she must remain loyal to her father, she also learnt to stop caring so much. She still saw him occasionally, she cooked him meals when he was busy with work though he normally moaned about her cooking.

When she opened the door she saw Zeke. Something was different, she knew something had happened, and she knew it was bad. There was a glint in his eye that she had not yet seen, it frightened her. But she swallowed that fear, and smiled brightly at him. She motioned for him to come in and take a seat on her bed. She did not say anything, just fixed contact with his eyes.

He was a little reluctant to stay after he knocked on the door, he was just going to make her life harder, he had convinced himself to walk away when the door opened, it made his flinch a second, what was he expecting? She was home and he knew he was going to feel awkward, then why did he come here? When she looked at him he knew why, she had forgiven him, and he hadn’t had anyone do that before, that and she was friendly, hell she had kissed him, and on different terms he would have let himself dissolve in the situation.

She had a look of concern on her face, almost as if she could see the troubles he had had, though not first handed. She also had a look of worry, as if she was afraid of what might happen next, he didn’t want to force himself on her, but when she smiled at him, that one thing changed his mind, she motioned for him to come in and he did after a moment taking in the views of the colorful room. There weren’t many places to sit, she took a seat on the bed and he followed, feeling a little uncomfortable, though it wasn’t that bad. She looked at him, not really saying anything, but at the same time, he could see the want for information, what had happened. He sighed, sitting there looking at her a moment longer.

“You said you forgive me, for whatever it was that I had done in the past.” He looked at around the room, not wanting the eye contact, it felt like she could see into his soul, and that was something that he didn’t want her to see. “I’m not a proud man, things in the past stay in the past for me; I can’t change what I did back then, or save the people who are already dead or dying.” He got caught up on the books in the distance. “I’ve killed before,” He paused for a moment thinking on his next words carefully. “It wasn’t by my hand like this time, and I am not one to linger on the thought, it was either them or me; with you in the possibility,” He stopped a moment, the chattering in his head a little more annoying than ever.

“Look, the reason people don’t like what I have to offer is because I have gotten members killed in the process, and after today…. I have actually killed for the sake of nothing other than killing, you were safe, and yet, I still killed that man that laid his hands on you.” He looked up to her, keeping his sight just below her eyes, not really looking into her eyes fully. His hand did find hers though, sitting on the bed next to her. He had no idea what he wanted from this, though he felt a little better.

“If you can forgive that then,” He stopped himself. He didn’t want to say anything else. It was one thing to accept forgiveness, but to think that one person could do that was childish, and he hated himself for the thought. How could this one person make him feel like there was something better out there? Why was he doing all this for the people again? They didn’t like him, so why should he bother? Then again what made her that different than the others?

“Don’t hate me.”

Genesis was struck utterly dumbfounded at Syler's reaction to her ruffling his hair. She took a step back from him for a moment as he stepped back from her. "Wh what?" she mumbled as she looked at him through the mask for a few moments. "Don't tell me you're afraid of some affection," she added as she slipped her hands up to the clasps on the mask and took it off and smiled up at Syler.

"Or is this how you always act when your precious mask is in the hands of someone else," she teased as she walked back over to Syler completely oblivious to him really being afraid, if he was at all. "Here, if you want it back so bad you don't have to act so dramatic," she added as she held out the mask to him like a child would hold out a toy they were offering to share.

She looked up at him curiously and stood on her tiptoes and riffled his hair again gently. "You don't have to freak out, but if something is really bothering you why don't you just get it off your chest?" she asked as she ran her fingers through his soft silky dark hair, she really liked the way it felt and liked touching it, it was really healthy for a man in their society. "So...... IS somethign bothering you?" she reitterated.

The pulsing of Syler’s heart was sounded loud in his ears, causing Genesis’ words to seem distorted, and mulled over. His pupils narrowed as she removed the mask and smiled at him. He gazed into Genesis’ dual-colored eyes with terror. When she began to tease him, his heart raced even faster. It felt as if it was about to break out of his chest and jump into Genesis’ arms like a sex crazed baboon wanting to pound a coconut. Only a man like Syler would think of such things.

With every step Genesis took toward Syler, a pillar of panic built up in his mind. He didn’t move a muscle until she offered him the mask back. He lifted his stiff, quivering arm, and slowly extended his fingers toward the mask, his eyes anxiously glancing back up to Genesis for approval. He finally snatched it out of her grasp, and held it tightly as he examined it closely. He quickly began to smear off any little smudges on the goggles with the tip of his thumb.

Then she did it again. That most unpleasant action, which Genesis so clearly loved to partake in, and caused Syler to feel more helpless than a little boy who lost his mommy at the local market. When he felt her soft, delicate fingers caress his hair, he immediately clutched his mask, the leather of his gloves flexing as he did. He regarded Genesis' inquiry, but only slightly, as a foreboding fear was dashing through his conscience.

Syler’s trembling knees began to buckle under him. Only seconds after Genesis restated her question, did Syler suddenly collapse to his knees, dropping his mask to the ground by his side. His rustic eyes welled up with tears, his bottom lip quivering fiercely, and an expression formed on his face which could only be compared to that of a hysterical toddler. Syler sobbed like there was no tomorrow, tears streamed out of his eyes, and his cheeks became flushed, as he frantically wrapped his arms around Genesis’ thighs, and buried his face in her skirt. “I’ll do whatever you want, just promise me… promise me that you’ll keep on doing that! I’m so sorry, my darling Genesis! It feels so frightening and so pleasant when you touch me like that. I feel like I’m falling, and flying through clouds all at the same time!” His words tumbled over themselves as he practically spat them out. He let out a small whimper, and squeezed Genesis’ legs tighter.

Syler was truly one to be explained, but was not explainable. He feared the girl’s touch, but at the same time he found pleasure in it. In this aspect one could say Syler was some kind of emotional masochist. His pain was also his pleasure.

Genesis was caught completely off guard as she felt Syler's arms wrap around her thighs and hips. She hadn't seen this coming, him falling to his knees, embracing her legs and ontop of all the crying like a little baby. "Uh...." was the only sound that escaped her lips as she stared down at the top of his head as he cried out and spoke to her. She wasn't sure how to react but her comforting side was the first thing that kicked in. Slowly moved her arms down and her hands over his shoulders and onto his back and gently patted his back with one hand while the other moved up and gently played with his hair.

She didn't think Syler was capable of crying it seemed so out of character for him, but then again she hadn't known him long. she let him stay close to her for a moment more and then another before sighing and slowly prying herself away from the crying man. She crouched down infront of him wrapped her arms around her knees and looked at Syler. "Hey, pull yourself together," she said in a cheery casual tone as she smiled at Syler. "I'm kinda lost at what just happened now but I can only assume it was a passive agressive conffession of love," she teased him and added a soft giggle to the end.

She picked up his mask with one and and rubbed his hair again with the other before handing him the mask. "Now stand up and calm down and I'll take ya to a tavern in town and treat you to a drink to celebrate your discovery of your ability to care" she added continuing to tease him, unser of how right or wrong she may actually be about the whole situation. She wrpped her arms around his and heaved him to his feet and then took a step back and stretched. "I guess I owe you a favor now too..... seeing as how you did use your hand to sheild my head from the ground after all.... oh and I'll want to take a look at your hand later, and your cheek looks a little red too so I'll want to treat that as well," she added cheerfully as she waited for him to put his mask on. She decided he'd follow her and turned on the heels of her feet and started to casually walk back towards the path up the cliff.

Syler lightly twitched at Genesis’ touch. Technically he had never received any affection from a female his age, but then again, he had never done anything to gain such a thing. As one could assume, he did not care for such things in the slightest, until he met Genesis of course. She was the only one to ever show him any kind of empathy, the only one to ever see him in such a vulnerable state. Who, or what, was Syler underneath it all? Perhaps this was something only Genesis herself could dig out, but right now he could be compared to some stray dog whining for attention from its newfound companion.

Syler gradually released Genesis from his clutches, and let his arms drop limply to the ground. He didn’t bother to wipe away his tears, as only less pathetic humans would do such a thing. In fact if Genesis hadn’t taken it upon herself to cheer him up, then poor Syler would have most likely pulled the most exciting stunt of blowing up his own getaway just to entertain himself. He was not so loathsome as to just pitifully stare at the ground like some mundane hobo. No, he indeed had much more thrilling things to do.

Genesis’ next words caused Syler’s jaw to drop. She mentioned his reaction being that of ‘love’ toward her. In truth, Syler’s perspective of love was… complicated, and quite erratic to say the least. He shut his eyes in pure pleasure when she stroked his hair again. It took him a moment to finally realize she was giving him the mask. He took it from her, not revealing a smile, or any sign of thanks. He was wondering who was eating out of who’s hand. He found the thought of a game between them to be quite intriguing. A game of giving. The question in his mind was who would give more.

Syler didn’t care for the people of this underground city, as they were but filthy vermin in his eyes, but since Genesis wished to go, then he would go. He was now hers, and she was now his, at least that’s how he perceived it. Because he viewed her as his, he would not let anyone else touch her, not one grimy finger was to feel her skin, and not one blasphemous word was to enter her heart.

After she helped him up, Syler looked over her Genesis as she stretched. It was indeed a pleasurable sight. He tilted his head with curiosity when she claimed she owed him a favor. Syler released a slight chuckle. “I see… What a witty little fox you are, Genesis.” His last set of words contained a playful tone inside them. It would look, and sound odd, seeing as how his eyes still harbored dry tears down his cheeks, and his voice still crackled from his previous sobbing.

When Genesis turned away and started walking, Syler followed, his mask in his hand, and dangling at his side. He concluded that he needed a change of image, and once they reached the cave’s exit, which lead into the tunnel entrance, Syler ceased his trotting, and shuffled over to a brief-case sitting underneath a torch light. He squatted down, and opened it, only to reveal twenty preserved grenades strapped inside, and one other gasmask, which was his half-gasmask. He strapped the other half-mask on, and stuffed in his full mask in with the explosives. The most notable reason why he decided to change masks was simply because, like a dog of course, he couldn’t wait to be ‘petted’ again. Syler clapped shut the brief-case, and rose with it dangliing from his fingers, and turned to Genesis with a half-hidden smile, as he extended his arms out to his sides, and released another chuckle. "So, my little posy... How do I look for our big date?"

Tamera attempted to take her hand away from Henry, but he held it in his own. Suddenly she remembered his touch earlier and felt the blush in her cheeks. Chewing her biottom lip, she shook her head, looking away. "I just caught it on some rock," She lied, allowing him bandage it with a strip of cloth. Looking up, she gave him a half smile, before firmly taking her hand away from his and tucking it into her pocket where it couldn't be seen. Behind her, she could feel Flynn stirring and knew he was mentally taking note of the things Henry said or did. Without a glance at him, she stepped towards Henry, stretching out her hand and placing it carefully upon his arm, so to lead him away to somewhere more secret. "I need to talk to you," she whispered, worry flickering across her face. "I need to explain and I need your help." The look in her eyes was enough to tell him that she was serious. Tam had long accepted that Flynn was broken, but only now had she chosen to accept that she could no longer do this alone. And she trusted Henry, more than she trusted anyone else. Something about him made her feel safe, like she didn't need to worry about anything.

Taking Henry's hand, she tugged him towards a building, grabbing hold of Flynn as well. He followed without question, nodding to her just once. He understood and if his sister trusted this man then he would as well. Tam's judgement in people was usually exactly right. Henry seemed nice enough and he was concerned about the injury to her hand, which Flynn knew nothing about until that moment, he had no memory of it. Frowning, he listened as Tam led them into building and placed him in a room, whilst she took hold of Henry's hand and took his somewhere else in the building. Once they were out of earshot, she turned to Henry, tears in her eyes. Never had the tough Tamera, who everyone knew to be stronger than most men, shown any sort of weakness. "Help me," She whispered, shaking her head. "I don't know what to do anymore. Henry, I can't do this."

Holding back a comment to her obvious lie about a rock, Henry finished tying the makeshift bandage onto Tamera's hand. After a moment, she led him away to a more secluded spot with her brother. They all entered a building and went to an area where there weren't any other people. When she turned to look at Henry, she was crying saying that she didn't know what to do. This caught him off guard and a look of confusion crossed his face.

Henry placed his right hand on Tamera's shoulder and pulled her into his arms. He then brought his hand up and plaved in on the back of her head and began soothingly stroking her hair. "Shh. Calm down, okay?" Pulling back, he looked her in the eyes and said, "What is it? Whatever it is, you can trust me. I will do whatever I can to help you." His voice made him sound a little less concerned than he was. He wasn't used to situations like this and wasn't sure what to do.

To Tamera's surprise, Henry pulled her into a hug, which she gladly returned. As more tears fell carelessly down her cheeks, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face against his shoulder. She let out a small sob, which shook her body violently. When he stepped back, she wished that he hadn't, for it was comfort that she needed. Gathering herself together, she mentally prepared herself to part with the secret that she had held onto for far too long. With a sad glance to the place she knew Flynn to be hidden, she took a deep breath and returned her bright eyes to Henry. "You don't understand. Flynn...He's not right. Not after what happened on the surface. A Soul Eater got to him and now...well now he's obviously blind, but his mind is going as well. If anyone finds him...I don't know what they'll do. But it won't be good. Flynn wants to be found though. He can't stand this any longer." Her babbling ceased as another sob left her lips and she pressed her hands to her face, in an attempt to control herself. It didn't work and soon she was crying again. "I can't lose him. Not now. I've been caring for him for years, ever since he lost his mind and our father died. Flynn saved me and I won't give up on him..."

In an instant it was evident just how young Tam was and how vunerable she could be. Everything was too much for her and now that she was losing control, it made it even worse. Henry was her last hope, her last saving grace. If he couldn't help her, well then no-one could. He was a kind person, one that she liked and trusted. He had to be able to help her. At least he needed to help her hide Flynn before he got into too much trouble, or was discovered...

Ceara watched Zeke sit beside her and allowed him to speak uninterrupted for a while. She did not reach out and touch his hand, although it was extremely tempting, she could almost feel it's heat against her own palm.

She knew something bad had happened, she was the master of expression reading . Whatever it was, she wasn't going to like. But she was a forgiving person, hell to survive in this hell hole you had to be. This really couldn't be that bad surely. Then again, for all she knew he could be a psycho... it wouldn't surprise her, most of the people around were not exactly sane. She laughed inwardly, she was included in this craziness. She had spent hours of her life mindlessly wondering the cave, and pondering human nature. As if that was normal.

She listened to his voice, at first not really taking in the content of the conversation just listening to how oddly familiar his voice had already become. The words began to sink in... Killed before. well she had guessed it must have been something like that long before, but the past was the past, right? She told him she had forgiven and wouldn't go back on her word. She was disturbed at the fact she barely even cared, killing was serious... she hated violence. But it was a long time ago, why was he telling her now?

Killed today? For the sake of killing? Well... she felt numb. She looked at him, waiting for her fear to kick in. This man was a murderer, and yet... She wasn't afraid. She still trusted him, and she didn't know if that made her even crazier than he was. She guessed it did.

She wasn't sure if she should say anything, what if she told him it was ok, then later realised she really wasn't ok with it. She needed time to think, time alone.

He thought she hated him?

She still did not speak, she wanted to be alone, but could allow him to leave with any doubt about how much she liked him. Cared about him. She finally couldn't fight the urge to touch his hand any longer but could not hold it either. Instead she feebly patted it.

'I don't hate you Zeke' She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. 'I just need time to think, but please don't leave to go up the top without saying goodbye.'

(OOC: This is a convo between Karri and myself. The purple is her posts, and the normal black is mine.)

Genesis looked over at Syler as he switched out masks and looked at him curiously as he stood up with it on. She arched an eye brow at him as he asked her how he looked for their date, she smiled rather charmingly while spitting out words covered in acid hidden behind a sweet tone, "Creepy as always." she said and then she began walking. "So Syler, we'll be travelling together, why don't you tell me about yourself? Don't you have any family, or people you mildly get along with?" she asked curiously as they started to walk back to the populated area of the cave.

She walked steadily as the soft clacking of her heels on the hard floor sounded and echoed slightly through the area. Her hair flowed lazily around her and she held her hands clasped with her fingers laced casually as she walked, she looked up at Syler with her large vibrant dual colored eyes and awaited his answer as she thought of another question. "What's the surface like? Do you have a power?" she asked them both back to back not realizing how much of an interest she was taking in him.

Syler let out one of his short maniacal cackles at Genesis’ response toward his “new” appearance. “I love you too, little posy.” To put it quite simply, he spoke in a ‘baby voice’. It took them a reasonable amount of time until they reached a more inhabited area of the underground. People, beings Syler could obliterate in seconds. All it took was one little pluck of a pin, and they would all splatter across the cave walls surrounding them. Syler didn’t hate the people. He was indeed aware of what needed to be done to achieve the salvation of the human race. The thing which he despised was their actions, their slow, ethical, and blatantly mundane ways of proceeding toward that salvation. Like ants they were. They dug more tunnels, and multiplied underground, only to see the sun every so often.

This conception was brought more so to Syler’s attention when Genesis began to ask about him, and whether he had any relations with the people of this underground society. Asking Syler such a question was like asking a spider if he was friends with his lunch. Syler chuckled, as he always did, and strutted behind her with the tips of his fingers pressing together in a slightly anxious manner. “People? Why would I associate myself with the tasteless individuals in this place? They are but a plain jar of bitter salt, and I am a sensational peck of pepper.” He threw up his hands at the last of his words, as he spoke in a witty tone, and trotted up to her side with a smile. “They are them, and I am I.”

Syler didn’t bother to return Genesis’ gaze when she looked up at him. He found it quite inspiring, as well as amusing of course, that she portrayed her interest in him. He furrowed his brows for a moment at her question about the surface and his abilities, and then grinned. “The surface is… like a rose. It is both beautiful, and painful in its constant inspiration. The Soul Eaters are its thorns, and once they prick you… you’ll ooze out of your sanity within seconds.” Syler lifted a hand to his stomach, and began laugh once more. “And as for your other question… well, a magician never reveals the secrets to his tricks.” He grinned deviously, and lifted his hand to pat her head.

Genesis walked quietly as she listened to Syler's replies. She didn't have much of an instant reaction until he started to go on about the people of the underground society and their ways. "Their ways are archaic and barbaric, forcing people they deem weak to procreate....." she mumbled as she frowned and crossed her arms, causing her chest to become slightly accentuated.

She listened to him go on and felt him pat her head causing her to frown again. "You like touching me a lot," she said as they walked getting closer to the 'town' part of the cave, if you could call it that. "And....." she pasued before going on, “If they are them ad you are you and they're salt and you're pepper then what am I? Salt? Pepper? Neither?" she asked curiously, she really was curious to see what she already meant to him though she hid it well and made it seem like she was just giving him a hard time.

Syler lowered his hand behind Genesis’ lower back, keeping it only inches away, as if to just caress the air lining her body. He could feel her warmth. “Indeed I do…” Syler only muttered his reply. There seemed to be more citizens around them now that they were nearing the living areas. Syler didn’t pay any mind to them, he simply let his eyes waver over Genesis’ figure, but he looked away and at the faces of the small clusters of individuals around them. He retracted his smile, and a look of disgust washed over his half-concealed face, as his eyes glazed back over to Genesis. He could hardly stand the very sight of them. His ears perked at the sound of Genesis’ inquiry. This was his chance. “You my dear…” Syler suddenly set his hand -his right- on Genesis’ lower back, and gradually began to slide it around her waist, as he completed his former statement. “… are my little Nightingale, and I will keep you safe from all the other little birdies out there who might steal you away.” Syler had lifted his left hand –palm up, and hand open, his briefcase dangling-, discreetly directing it toward a boy standing to the side ahead of them. He was near their age.

He was about the same height as Syler, if not somewhat shorter, he had blonde hair and blue eyes, and appeared to be on the lean side, as well as a bit dirty. He wore a tattered and dirt-stained, long sleeve white shirt, and a pair of pale blue-jeans, which had a patch of rag-tag cloth on one of the knees. If Syler had a conscience for such things, he would say the boy was as nearly as good looking himself. Syler had noticed this boy eyeing Genesis for the few long minutes they had been walking in this area. Perhaps it was someone she knew.

Genesis wanted to chuckle at Syler's protective comment but she was still mentally frozen again as he wrapped his arm around her waist. It caused her to blush slightly as she listened to Syler continue to speak. She looked up to follow the motion of his hand and looked over to see a face she recognized. Her eyes widened momentarily just from slight surprise of her seeing someone she didn't really want to see.

It was Alex, the Wilson's boy whom her parents were speaking of her marrying. He saw Genesis' eyes meet his and Alex smiled over slightly smugly at Genesis as he took a step away from the wall he was leaning against, he uncrossed his arms and clasped his hands behind his head as he casually walked over. "Hey there little Genie," he said as he walked up to them and utterly ignored Syler. "I'm sure your parents have already told you the news that you're going to be my wife. Don't worry, I'll be good to you.... and gentle," he added as his smile went from smug to charming to smug again. Genesis blushed slightly more and took a step back away from Alex as she felt the weight of Syler's arm still wrapped around her waist and became more aware that Syler was with her and became less nervous.

"I hardly think just because you like me I'll marry you and let you do anything to me, I'd rather be tortured to death!" she said softly yet sharply as she looked up at him. Like Syler, he was very tall, he towered over Genesis and turned his smug smile from Genesis to Syler. "Ah I know you, you're that freaky gas mask guy, I've never seen you with a half mask on. Don't tell me you have a little crush on my Genie here, because that just won't do." he said smugly as he brushed some of his hair out of his eyes and smiled at Syler.

Syler set his eyes on the conspicuous figure approaching them. His despondent gaze lingered over the boy, as he spoke to Genesis. Syler noted how Genesis responded, and he looked down at her with a deviously satisfied grin as she stepped back closer into his arm. However, Syler acknowledged this boy as little as the next citizen, but when the boy turned his attention to Syler himself, and denied him Genesis’ company, well… the masked man’s perspective of this unfortunate citizen changed.

Syler lifted his arm, and more-or-less, shoved his brief-case into Genesis’ arms. He slid his arm out from behind her waist, and stepped toward the boy. Syler’s expression was involuntary. His eyes began to augment with exhilaration, as he took one more step closer to his arrogant opposer. “Little mice… should know their place.” Syler narrowed his eyes and presented a wry sneer to the boy. Capitalizing his agile speed, no more than a second later, Syler stepped around and behind the boy. He quickly began to lift, and reach his hand out over the boy’s head, and in the wisp of that moment, Syler grabbed the boy’s hair, his greasy blonde locks sprouting up between Syler’s fingers. Syler was always glad he wore gloves for occasions such as this. It was one of his principles that an upstanding man should always have clean hands.

Genesis watched as Syler grabbed Alex's hair in a matter of moments and took a minute to register a reaction. She moved forward and stepped next to Syler and used his own briefcase to push him to the side slightly. "S stop it! We don't need any trouble Syler just ignore him and let's go!" she said as she then tugged on Syler's arm and looked up at him.

She then saw Alex getting up from where he stumbled after he fell slightly from Syler pulling him a little with him when Genesis pushed him. "C'mon!" Genesis said and then pulled Syler into a nearby pub that happened to be quite crowded. Genesis pushed through a crowd of people until she came to a darkened corner of the wall. She looked behind them to see Alex walking into the pub and Genesis pulled Syler with her as she placed her back into the corner of the wall and she pulled Syler close to her. She pulled his mask up off of his head so the straps wouldn't give him away then peered carefully out of the darkness passed Syler until she saw Alex starting to look their way and she stood on her tip toes to kiss Syler to hide bother their faces, with the added aid of the darkness Alex looked at them without realizing it was them, huffed angrily and then left. Genesis then pulled her lips away from Syler and let out a relieved sigh and blushed deeply.

Syler tilted his head in slight confusion at Genesis’ opposition toward him. He didn’t understand. She had no reason to protect this repulsive little rat, which stood before them, now at Syler’s mercy. But, Syler was at Genesis’ will in this moment, and he reluctantly complied with her wishes as she dragged him along into a tavern close by. Syler couldn’t stand being surrounded by such distasteful individuals. They were drunk, and drinking nearly to their hearts content. What lofty pigs they were, only governed by the slop they consumed. Syler was not against alcohol, but it often drove him to be a bit “thoughtless”, and he never remembered much, as he would only go the full measure of drunkenness. He concluded it was best to recall his lucid actions. After all, who would want to forget such sensational behavior as his?

Syler followed Genesis’ lead, only darting his eyes to maneuver through the crowd with her, though when they finally reached a less than somewhat solitary corner in the barroom, Syler jittered and shook off the feeling of the satiable beings which rubbed against his frame. He was unaware of Genesis’ status toward the situation, until she once again, tugged him down. He was even more flustered when she removed his mask. Had she been any other human, or non-human, Syler would have killed her in some explosive manner, which only a kitten of death would purr at. This is what Syler thought of Soul Eaters as, kittens of death, because they played with their prey just before eating them.

He was only refrained from this thought, when Genesis kissed him. Syler’s eyes widened, and his body tensed. The taste of her lips captivated him, so much that even after she pulled away, Syler couldn’t help but yield to his desire to savor them once more. He wrapped his arm around her waist, as well as combing one hand abruptly through her hair, and kissed her once more. Syler’s need for affection was growing at an exponential speed thanks to this girl, but maybe he was ‘biting off more than he could chew’ too quickly.

Genesis was surprised when Syler pulled her too him and kissed her back. She had done so to take cover from their pursuer, and here he was kissing her back for a reason unbeknownst to her. Her eyes widened slightly and she tried to pull away slightly at first, but that was mainly just a general reaction. Before long she found she was enjoying the kiss and the feel of Syler's arms around her and she wrapped her arms around him and stood up on her toes more so that he did not have to lean down as much to kiss her. Normally she wouldn't do such a thing as kiss a man she'd just met, but she found something so attractive about Syler. Whether it was his physical appearance, the knight in shining armor act he had going occasionally, the dangerous guy act he had going, or just the adrenaline rush, she didn't know but she liked it, and she liked him and the feel of his lips on hers.

Finally she came to her senses and pulled away from Syler with a deep blush and looked down shyly. "I uh, I'm sorry for kissing you suddenly, he was scanning faces an and," she started to speak softly as she looked down at the ground her shyness finally coming back and getting the best of her as she wriggled her hands together and tried to hide the blush on her face.

Syler chuckled with perverse satisfaction at Genesis’ acceptance of his behavior. One could wonder who was really being tamed in this scenario. Syler licked his lips vigorously, as a viper tasting air, and titled his head with a sense of curiosity at their flavor. They tasted like lemonade, the sweet, yet sour tang, of Genesis herself. He removed the glove from his left hand, which retained the bruising from the previous tumble he took with Genesis, and ran his index finger across his bottom lip. He lifted it to eye level, only to see a vaguely pink smudge. “It seems some of your zest, has rubbed off on me, Genesis.” He stuffed his right hand into his jacket pocket, and took out the hanker chief he “borrowed” from Genesis when they first met. He wiped the delectable gloss off his lips, and peered down at the pink smudge with a smirk before he folded, and placed the, once pure white, hanker chief back in his pocket.

Syler leered at Genesis, and reached his bruised hand to Genesis’ as she covered her face, and he graced her skin with his touch. He took her right hand, and lifted it away from her cheek, only to run it through his own hair. Syler let out a deep quivering breath, as he nuzzled into Genesis’ palm.

Genesis was confused at Syler's actions yet again. Her hand ruffled his hair and her blush stayed on her face as she looked up at him. "Sy Syler? Wh what are you doing?" she whimpered softly as her hand started to move through his hair on its own. "Sh shouldn't we go? Ya know before he comes back or one of these drunkards causes us issues, it seems like almost every man in the cave is here right now.... " she stooped and looked past Syler's shoulder again. "Oh no...."

Genesis' father was looking right at her in disbelief from across the room with Alex near him and he walked right over to them and pulled Syler away from Genesis. "What are you doing to my daughter?!" he boomed his voice at Syler.

Genesis instanly moved forward, “Father stop, he wasn't doing anything wrong!" she said. Her father glare at her and grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her back behind him somewhat throwing her into Alex.

"If I catch you around my daughter again I will make living very difficult for you, you pathetic freak!" he said, the words dripping from his mouth like venom as he walked away and Alex started to follow pulling Genesis with him.

"Let go of my wrist Alex!" she yelled but he simply turned to face her then looked at Syler, smiled smugly, wrapped one arm around Genesis' waist and pulled her closer to him still holding her by her wrist with his other hand and started to kiss her.

Syler was too focused on the stroking of Genesis’ hand to conceive what might happen next, along with anything else for that matter. His mind was completely entrapped by her touch, which led him to ignore her actual being, along with their environment, that is until his delight was rudely interrupted. Syler stumbled back, bumping into one of the jolly drunks, who was not so jolly anymore. “Oy! Watch where’ya steppin’ pretty boy!” The drunken man cried out after Genesis’ father questioned Syler. Syler didn’t answer.

Syler didn’t pay any mind to the stranger, and his eyes were just as impassive toward Genesis’ father as they were when seeing Alex for the first time. He felt no need to respond to such an intolerable man, especially one who made the dire mistake of touching him. The only things that brought life in his eyes were the bright boomings of explosions, and Genesis. He was still undecided on which he enjoyed more. Syler watched his mask drop out of Genesis’ hand when her father threw her into Alex, though she seemed capable enough to hold on to his brief-case full of fatal explosives. Syler’s expression turned slightly glum as the mask landed on the dusty floor, though he completely disregarded Genesis’ father’s persistent scolding. “Aw, and I had just cleaned it too.” His tone was almost child-like.

As the three began to walk away, Syler bent down, picked up his mask and dusted it off, before strapping it on again. In more ways than one, he could breathe easier now. He slid his hand back into his glove, then lifted a finger to his chin, and tilted his head. “Now, where were we… ?” Syler peered over at the direction of Genesis’ shouting, only to see the little mouse carrying away Syler’s cheese. Syler did not scowl at Alex, he simply smiled and stared on. “I’m sure you’ll make a good couple, but… not if these men can help it.” Syler raised a cuffed hand to his mouth, and began to shout as he quickly made his way toward Genesis, and Alex before they reached the exit. “Come one, come all! This delectable woman is on the prowl for a new man, and one of you… will be that man!” Syler directed his hand toward Genesis and Alex with a smirk, presenting them as some kind of street show to the drawn attention of the crowd of men, drunken, and most likely sex crazed, men.

They all had their eyes on the couple, and Syler, whispering in confusion. Syler raised his voice again. “As you can all see this woman is with another, but he is a mere boy, and she wishes for a strong man, one from a lot like you. And don’t worry, my good fellows. This little mouse will indeed go down without a fight, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try…” Syler turned his head over to Alex. “Isn’t that right… Alex?” Syler quickly turned his gaze back over to the crowd. “So, c’mon what are you waiting for?!” The crowd looked on, and one of the men chuckled. “Well, I know I could use a woman in my life, what about the rest o’ yall?” The man said. Syler smiled in amusement, before replying. “And don’t let that pint size blondy get in your way either, gentlemen!” The men cheered and let out an all-in-one ‘hurrah’ of agreement, before wrestling over each other to get to Genesis.

Syler turned to Genesis and Alex with a wry grin as he extended his arms out to his sides, his back facing the crowd. He glanced over at Alex, before letting out a maniacal cackle. “I’m sure you’re gonna go far, kid!”

As Tamera spoke, Henry slowly became aware of what was going on. Flynn had lost his mind to the Soul Eaters. Henry felt his pain in that he had dealt with it as well, it just seemed as though Flynn's situation was worse. He lifted his right hand and gently wiped the tears away from Tamera's face. "Shh, calm down. Let's just sit down for a minute." After he brought his hand down from her face, he sat against the wall, guiding Tamera down next to him. Looking at the wall on the other side of the room. "No one will take your brother. I won't let it happen."

Sighing, Henry ran his hand through his hair. "I have a bit of a confession before we get too into this." Looking over at Tamera, he continued saying, "I'm not what I seem to be. I lost a bit of my mind a long time ago. I...I see things. Things that aren't really there. They seem so real, though. It can happen at any moment, without warning. Earlier, I saw the rotten corpses of my parents attack me. At first I thought these things to be real, but over time, I found out that they aren't." As he spoke, he kept glancing away, finding it hard to say this.

With another sigh, Henry continued his little speech, now looking back at the wall. "All I know is that what they do to those who have been affected by the Soul Eaters isn't right. There has to be a way to truly help them. I know there is..." His voice trailed off. This was a bit of a sensitive topic for him. He had always wanted to help people in better ways than going to the surface for whatever they found to be useful at the time. They needed a long-term solution, not so many temporary ones.

Tamera sat down beside Henry, putting her head on his shoulder, as more tears tracked down her cheeks. When Henry had wiped them away, she had wanted his touch to linger. It felt safe. Wrapping her arms around Henry's waist, she closed her eyes and listened to his breathing, his heartbeat and then his words. She looked up at him, her eyes locking onto his and even when he looked away, she didn't break her gaze. Henry was explaining how Flynn and himself were alike, how they had both been badly affected by the Soul Eaters.

"But you're not insane like he is," Tam whispered, looking at him with a new found desperation, as she shook her head. "Your Henry. You wouldn't hurt me. You wouldn't do this." She tore the make-shift bandage from her hand and held up the bite wound to him. "I trust you. You couldn't harm me. But he's so unpredictable. I can't be around him with worrying that he's going to slip into that self that I don't recognise." Putting her head on his shoulder again, she pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly, instead of them being around Henry's waist. "He's not my brother anymore Henry." Chewing her bottom lip, she closed her eyes again.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you though. It must be awful." She muttered, without looking up at him. "There is nothing worse than those beasts on the surface. Well, perhaps the ones down here. We have to help them Henry. We can't just leave them be..." Her voice trailed off, as she thought about a way in which they could help her brother and the others who were like him, including Henry.