Dylan reached out and grabbed her wrist just as she began to pull away. "No. Wait," he said, closing his eyes, "you're helping something." After a while, he opened his eyes and let go. Nothing happened.
"I'm sorry, I don't quite know what that was. It felt like I was… being taken apart by light. From the inside."
Avery rubbed her arms again, for no apparent reason.
"And I helped?" she questioned quietly, looking confused. Well, not confused, more like… curious…
How would I help that? she wondered to herself.
Dylan nodded, "It was like you were blocking some of the light. Or repelling it, or something. Either way, it's done and over with, now." He looked around, curious to see if there was any immeadiate cause. Finding none, he shrugged and looked to Avery, "I don't think it's anything serious yet. Just something to look out for."
"Mm. 'Kay," Avery said, nodding once. Remembering the list she had been making, she had a sudden thought. With a smile, she asked Dylan, "What do you think about having a superhero name?"
"Kinda weird timing, wouldn't you say?" Dylan replied, then shook his head with a smirk, "Aww, who am I kidding? Sure, why not?" He nodded and sat down, "Any ideas?"
Her grin widening, Avery sat down next to Dylan.
"Well, of course! Why would I ask if I didn't have any ideas?" she asked teasingly. "What do you think about 'Shadow' or 'Shade'?"
Dylan thought about that. It was his thing, after all. But part of him wanted to include light in there, as well. It was a part of him whether he like it or not.
Besides, "Shadow" just sounded evil.
"What else could we do?" He asked, "I like where you're going with it, but I'm a mixed up kid. There's some light side in me too."
(I'm kinda falling over on my keyboard. I need to sleep, we can finish this up tomorrow?)
(I'm kinda falling over on my keyboard. I need to sleep, we can finish this up tomorrow?)
(Lol. Sure.)
"Hm…" Avery thought for a second, looking into the distance. She turned back to Dylan with an idea. "What about Night Star? I mean, it's not really that great, it was kinda just the first thing that popped into my head that made sense, but…" she trailed off, ending her rambling.
(Bumping.)
(This is going to be a long thread…)
(I'm honestly sort of having fun with making this longer and longer…)
(Bumping.)
(This is going to be a long thread…)
(I'm honestly sort of having fun with making this longer and longer…)
(10th line.)
(Bumping.)
(This is going to be a long thread…)
(I'm honestly sort of having fun with making this longer and longer…)
"Night Star?" Dylan couldn't suppress his laugh, "Going back to Warriors, are we?"
Avery grinned widely.
"You read Warriors?!?" she exclaimed excitedly.
(I have almost all of the books in the main arcs…)
(…Don't judge…)
"Used to. In 6th grade," Dylan laughed silently to himself, "I think I could get away with Shadow. But between you and me it could be Shadow Star?"
"Gosh, I used to love those books," Avery muttered, more to herself than to Dylan. "Cool. Shadow it is then."
Vaughn finished cleaning in the kitchen, half listening to the conversation in the other room. He set the note down for the family on the freshly cleaned counter before walking up the stairs, muscles aching. He went into his room, sitting on the bed for a minute.
"Great!" Dylan said, "Now… is there anything major we need to have before we leave for Botswana?"
(Geez, I was gone longer than I thought I'd be…)
"Yeah, actually. We'll need food and water, obviously, transportation, possibly some weapons (just in case we can't use our powers for some reason), and different clothes for exploring," Avery read off the items on her list.
"Sounds like we're in it for the long haul," commented Dylan, "we might want a place to stay, and store any extra gear. Somewhere off the beaten path, preferably."
He pulled up the computer, "I'll explore options as far as transport and storage go. You wanna handle general supplies?"
Vaughn pushed off the bed, stretching his arms. He kicked the door shut using his shoe and exhaled, going back to the bed and standing up on it. He pressed on a panel of the ceiling, shifting it aside with a scraping should. He remembered when Veronica’s parents designed the small, secret room for him. It would be a safe space for him, they had said, and it was filled with special things for him. God, he loved that family.
"Sure. I'll ask Vaughn if he wants to help, too," Avery declared, standing up and starting to walk down the hall.
Vaughn pushed the tile completely out of the way, grabbing onto the edge and doing his best to pull himself up, grunting with effort. He pulled himself into the small room and pulled a chain wire above him, a single lightbulb flicking on. There were labeled boxes labeled all over, ranging from weapons to medical supplies to simple sanitary necessities. Vaughn actually grinned widely, filled with appreciation for the family.
When Avery reached Vaughn's room, she knocked lightly on the door. She then knocked a little louder after waiting for a response and receiving none.
"Hey, Vaughn? Did you want to help Dylan and I gather supplies for the mission?" she asked through the door.
“I’m doing that right now!” Vaughn called back, his voice sounding muffled as he rummaged through boxes.
"Oh. Well, all right. Uh, we'll just be in the living room, then," Avery stated.
She went back to the living room, where Dylan was still on the laptop.
"He said he was already getting supplies," she said, sitting down and pulling out her phone. She sent a few quick texts, then put it back in her pocket.
(Bumping.)
(This is going to be a long thread…)
(I'm honestly sort of having fun with making this longer and longer…)
Vaughn found a box labeled ‘photographs’. He had been tossing the non breakable things onto the bed below him, but sat on the floor of the room to go through the box. It was filled with clippings and actual photographs, some of him with his mother and sister, others of him, Veronica, and the demon boy. It almost brought tears to his eyes. After he was finished, he had packed two duffel bags worth of various necessities, including the small box of photos. He went down into the kitchen after closing the hole in the ceiling. His hands were splintered slightly, but it didn’t concern him.
Avery looked toward the kitchen as she heard Vaughn enter it.
"You finished already?" she mused. "Wow, that was fast."