Cage shrugs. “I’m not allowed out of the house. Here,” he takes the DS back and promptly equips his character with a shovel. “Watch. If you whack your neighbors with the shovel enough, they get mad and gossip about you.”
*
Ryder gives a slow nod, “riiiight. Not weird at all.” He puts a few more candies in his mouth. “What’re gonna do about em? You just want elemental friends or is there something else?”
Miki burst out laughing. "Cage! You're terrible! How did you find that out?" She gave him a skeptical look. "Do you always hit your neighbors with shovels to find out what they'll do?"
Silver jumped when her phone dinged and snatched it up. She sat still for several minutes before responding "Silver."
–
Dio glanced up at him. "Both, hopefully. I want to help them, if Benjamin will let me, but i also want to be their friend."
Lackey appeared at the top of the stairs, having climbed in an upper window, and paused when he saw Ryder.
Oh. He's back.
Dio picked up his phone again and read the text. "Oh. Oooh dear."
Cage shrugs, giggling as he whacks his neighbor. “I dunno I got bored. I whack my neighbors when I’m bored.”
*
Ryder raises an eyebrow. “What? They tell you they hate you and plan to spill your guts? Come on, Dio, I’m dying for something exciting to happen.” He flops so he’s laying down on the couch and catches sight of Lackey, giving him a sharp smile (GET IT HAHAHA).
“Yo, kid. Wassup.”
Name: Ryder D’von
Age: 22
Gender: male
Appearance (clothing, face and body): Ryder is 6’2 and proud of it. He weighs a ton due to muscle mass, but probably less than Ben still. He’s not that buff. He isn’t as skinny as Gabriel, but he is slim. He’s very fit. His jaw is defined and almost square and his cheekbones aren’t as jagged as Gabriel’s but they’re still very visible. Half of his head has very short, only inches long hair (probably used to be shaved, but it’s just long enough to lay down but not brush) and the other half is an elegant wavy thats a little past his chin (barely). It’s ashy grey at the roots and the rest is pure white. Unlike Gabriel and Kissa, his skin is a richer, darker tan, making him look more middle eastern, and his eyes are a dark orange. His lips and palms are a lighter tone than the rest of his skin. His lips are not full or thin, and his nose is more square looking from the front and an average size. He has a few thick, white scars across his chest, resembling that of a very large animal attack. His wings are twice his size (so, normal for a Kavi) and are feathery and huge. They’re not as angelic and fluffy as Kissa’s and are more like bird wings. The feathers colors are ashy, white, grey and black. Normally shirtless inside (what did you expect) but other than that he wears a cream V neck and jean cargo pants. Normally has some kind of wrap on his forearm or is wearing gloves.
Additional info: he’s a sassy boi so watch out. He gives off a lot of Bad Boy vibes and does that cocky half smile all the time. Winking is his favorite thing to do right after making people uncomfortable. Even though he may seem very irritating, he’s very smart and knows a good bit about fighting and how to plan strategically. He can be a very big help. Also, he’s not great with his wings so they knock things over all the time. HIM AND GABE ARE LONGTIME FRIENDS
Element: meh, he’s Kavi.
Miki shook her head. "And here we thought you were the sweet innocent one."
–
Dio stared at his phone, only looking up and glancing toward the stairs when he heard Ryder greet Lackey. Lackey slowly descended the stairs, giving Ryder a nod of greeting. Dio could tell by his stiff, calculated movements that he was still in pain from whatever punishment Etienne had exacted on him for not turning Ben over. This was the first time Dio had seen him since that day he met Ben for coffee.
I'm fine, Lackey said, in response to the worried look on Dio's face.
"I went shopping yesterday." Dio said, turning back to his phone. "The pantry is full." To Silver he texted, "Hello, darling. Is everything alright?"
Cage giggles, setting the DS down. “Where do you think Sil ran off to? She bolted up the stairs earlier and I haven’t seen her since..”
*
Ryder clicks his tongue. “Was full, Dio. Was.” He pours the rest of the M&M’s into his mouth and stands, heading back to the pantry.
Miki glanced toward the stairs. "She did? That's weird. She probably did something she shouldn't have."
"Yeah, we're fine. I was just wondering if you were gonna come back."
–
Dio nodded absently, mind racing over the implications of Silver texting him.
A hint of a smile ghosted over Lackey's face as he followed Ryder into the kitchen. He retrieved a bowl from the cabinet and bared his teeth at Ryder in a fake threat when the other Kavi came back out of the pantry.
Cage squints at the stairs suspiciously and stands. “Wanna find out?”
*
Ryder bares his teeth right back at Lackey, scrunching his nose up. “You think you could possibly hurt me with those small fangs? Looks at mine,” he opens his mouth, feeling along his fangs with his fingers, “dere bihg.”
Miki pocketed her phone and stood up, heading for the stairs. "Sure. Better us find her doing something bad than Ben."
–
Lackey rolled his eyes and eased around him into the pantry, filling his bowl with trail mix before coming back out. He flicked an almond at Ryder on his way back to the living room where he stopped and watched Dio, still staring at his phone.
Dio glanced up when he felt Lackey's watching and sighed, shaking his head. "It's just… one of Benjamin's children. I'm quite sure she's not supposed to be texting me which means she's going to be in a lot of trouble. But I'm concerned why she reached out."
Ryder ignores the almond and quickly stands by Dio, leaning down to nestle his head on his shoulder. “Is she cute?”
*
Cage heads up the stairs, seeing the ladder to the attic down. “Mm? She’s hiding?”
"Oh boy." Miki said, heading for the ladder. "This can't be good. Silver!" she called up the ladder. "Are you doing something bad?"
Silver jumped when she heard Miki's voice and tried to scoot farther into her corner, frantically checking her phone every five seconds.
–
Dio made an exasperated, growling noise in his throat and turned his phone screen off so Ryder couldn't see Silver's texts. "Ryder, she's a kid! She's like eighteen or somethin–well, you're a kid too so I guess that's fine. I don't know if she's cute; she's not really my type. Also way too young for me to notice."
Ryder ruffles Dio’s hair standing up straight again. “Chill, Dio. It was a joke.” He turns around, walking back to tree couch with his trail mix. A sly grin crosses his face, “Give me her number?”
hes gonna punch me I can feel it.
Cage scrambled up the ladder and pushes the hatch open. “Sil?”
Lackey shot Ryder a sharp glance and leaned on the doorway of the kitchen. Idiot.
Dio glared at him and deigned not to answer, looking back at his phone. Instead of replying to Silver's last text, he decided to call her.
–
Silver gasped for breath, hearing them come up the ladder and wishing beyond anything that she could turn invisible like Gabriel, when her phone rang. She shrieked, jumping in freight, and then stared in horror at the caller ID.
"Yep, she's up there. Go on, let's find out what she's up to." Miki said, following Cage into the attic. "Sil, what are you even doing up here?"
Cage stumbles around with his hands, the room to black to see much. He catches sight of the phone light and heads over. “What are you doing??”
Silver panted, fighting away panic as her phone kept ringing and Cage and Miki found her. "I'm sorry!" she wailed as she answered her phone and held it to her ear.
"Oh my word." Miki came over and knelt in front of her. "Who are you–"
Silver made a silent shhhhh! motion, her eyes darting back and forth as she waited in silence.
–
Dio paused, hearing Silver pick up his call but not saying anything. "Hello…?" he finally said.
Ryder looks back to Dio, raising an eyebrow and listening closely.
*
Cage covers his mouth.
“Miki!” He whispers, “Sushi man!”
"What?!" Miki yelped. "Silver, why are you calling the Sushi Man?"
Silver flailed her arm, effectively slapping both of them repeatedly.
–
Dio raised his eyebrows, hearing chaos and growing more concerned. "Silver? Are you there? Are you okay?"
–
"Hi?" Silver said, staring at Miki in horror and guilt. "Yeah, I'm here."
Cage scoots back, rubbing his face. “Geez, Sil. Put him on speaker I wanna hear.” He looks into her lap and gasps. “IS THAT BENS PHONE!?!?!”
"Silver?" Dio said again. "What's going on? Who's there?"
Silver flinched and shoved Ben's phone into Cage's hands. "I'm sorry." she whispered. "I grabbed his phone to get Dio's number."
"Silver? What was that?" Dio asked.
Silver leaned her head back until it thumped against the wall and set her phone on speaker with a resigned sigh. "Uhhh. Cage and Miki are here too. We're okay. They just… they just found me right when you called. Sorry."
Cage bites his lip and shoves the phone into Miki’s hands. “I don’t want it.” He whispers. He looks down to the phone. “Hi Dio!”
"Hello?" Dio said again. He looked up at Lackey, his face completely covered in confusion. "Is everyone okay there? Why did Silver contact me?"
Silver swallowed and shoved her phone into Cage's hands. "You talk to him." she whispered.
Miki held Ben's phone up by her fingernails. "Guys we are dead if he catches us with this."
"Miki?" Dio asked. "Is that you? What's going on?"
Cage smiles. “Ben is gonna kill us, don’t worry.” He shoves Miki, “get rid of it please.” He hisses in a whisper. “Dio, when are you coming again?”
*
Ryder bites his lip, holding in a laugh. “Geez, they’re noisy.”
Dio held his phone away from his ear a little and nodded to Ryder. "Why is Ben going to kill you? Silver, what did you do?"
Silver sighed and dropped her face into her hands. "I stole his phone to get your number to ask you when you're coming again!" she moaned.
Miki crawled over to the hatch and carefully dropped Ben's phone down to the floor below. "Hey, Cage." she said, turning back to them. "Is there any way to pull the ladder up while we're up here?"
Cage gasps as Ben’s phone thumps on the floor downstairs. “Mik! You’re gonna break it!” He sighs and looks back to the phone. “Ben probably doesn’t wanna see again, but we were thinking maybe you could meet us somewhere or something,” he looks up to Silver, “right?”
*
Ryder smirks, “you’re kidding, they want you back? BAD IDEA KIDS!” He fake shouts, cupping his hands to his mouth.
Silver blinked at Cage. "That's… not what I was gonna say. I was just gonna ask if he was gonna come back. He can't come unless Ben invites him otherwise Ben will kill him too."
–
Dio rolled his eyes, glaring at Ryder. "What, do you think they should have you over instead?" he sassed back. To Cage and Silver he said, "I would love to come back and see you all but I don't want any of us to get in trouble with Benjamin."
–
"Benjamin," Miki mimed as she rejoined them. "Benjamin doesn't really need a reason to kill us, so don't worry about that. You should totally come back though. You're the first new person Silver's ever met and she likes you, so that's a good sign."
Silver's eyes widened and she gave Miki a hard shove. "Miki!" she hissed. "Shut up!"
"Well??" Miki asked, sitting up again. "Why else would you steal Ben's phone to contact him? You can tell he's good, right?"
Cage giggles. “I bet we could set up a time for you to come over! But we’re not allowed to leave the house anymore.”
-
Ryder purses his lips, holding in a smile. “Nah, I’m a bad influence. Continue.”
Dio sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Okay. Let's… let's take care of one thing at a time. Is… is everyone there? Is everything listening?"
Miki gently slapped Silver's arm. "Hey. Behave. He says we have to listen."
Silver groaned and crawled back into her corner. "Yeeeeees, we're here."
"Okay. Silver, why did you text me? I know you don't have Benjamin's permission." Dio said.
"No. I don't. I stole his phone to get your number. I just…" she sighed and pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. "I just wanted to know if you were coming back because you're the first good person we've found since…. since we found each other. But Ben's still mad over how that evening went so he probably won't invite you back for a million years. It… it was just nice to meet another person. Another safe person. Who knows about us."
Dio swallowed. "Silver… how do you know I'm safe?"
Cage shakes his head, whispering to Miki, “he’s not gonna let him back because Vi got so stressed she drank a whole bottle of wine.”
Miki nodded. "Yeah, legit. I think he was most upset about that, when he realized how drunk she really was. So basically we're good as long as Violet doesn't get drunk."
Silver blinked at the phone. "You… you didn't feel bad. I could tell. You were really open and honest and real with us. Nothing in your energy field made me feel like you were hiding something or pretending. You were just… you really enjoyed being here and meeting us. That's… that's how I know you're not a bad guy. The bad guys feel different."
Dio stared at the space in front of him, not really seeing anything. 젠장, 에티엔이 그녀를 다시 원한다는 것은 놀라운 일이 아닙니다. 그녀는 실제로 그가 만든 최고의 Kavi 실험입니다. After a moment he took a deep breath and nodded, even though they couldn't see him. "Alright. Okay." How do I even respond to that.
Cage turns back to the phone. “Will you please visit again? We'll send you home with good food and make sure Ben doesn’t figure out.”