Avery shivered as she walked through the darkening streets of New Orleans. She pulled her cardigan tighter around her body, trying to keep the wind out, and she kept her head ducked down, trying not to draw attention to herself.
It was so noisy, fragments of thoughts coming at her from all angles and she didn't know where they were coming from. Maybe she was going crazy, a normal person didn't hear all of this, did they? But what was normal? Was she normal? Who was she?
She was looking for any kind of shelter to spend the night in, her eyes sunken and blank, no trace of the sparkle they usually held, and she let out a startled cry as someone grabbed her arm forcefully.
Avery looked up into the dark eyes of her attacker, whimpering and trying to shield herself, hearing things... things she shouldn't be hearing, and just as soon as she heard them, they started happening to her.
Even though it was futile, she let out a loud scream, both out loud and (unknowingly) telepathically, before he roughly clamped his hand over her mouth.
Christian
Christian was walking back toward his motel room when he heard a woman's scream.
He wondered idly if he should get involved, before scorning himself and heading toward the sound. Just because a city like this was full of assholes, it didn't mean he needed to add to the count.
He rounded a corner into a dark alley where he saw a man towering over a young woman, coyly undoing his belt.
He carefully slid the dagger into his hand.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he walked closer.
Avery
Avery looked over at the new arrival through blurred, tear filled eyes.
"Walk on, dude," the man said, before flashing Avery a menacing grin. "This doesn't concern you. This is just between me and the girl."
He pushed Avery's head back against the wall, hard, and she blinked, dazed.
I'm gonna kill him, then enjoy her...
She shook her head slightly, trying to clear it, and he moved his hand a fraction to the left and her mouth was free.
"He's going to kill you!" she warned Christian.
Christian
"That's adorable," Christian muttered, before frowning.
He knew that voice...
"Avery?!"
He telekinetically focused on the assailant's belt, then grunted to himself when his power failed him. Instead he grabbed him by the collar and pinned him back against the opposite wall, the dagger firmly placed by the man's family jewels.
"I suggest you put your dick back in your pants unless you want to lose it," he stared into the man's eyes, no sign of exertion evident in his features.
Avery
The man paused, and swallowed audibly. "Ok. Cool your jets, let me just..."
Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and he released his hold on Avery, and she wiped at her eyes.
Christian
Christian's eyebrows rose.
"Thank you," he said pointedly.
He took a step back, let the guy go, and held the dagger up menacingly.
"Run," he ordered.
He watched the guy take off, then quickly sheathed the blade and turned around.
Avery
Avery choked back a sob and she wiped at her eyes again, pulling her cardigan tighter around her body, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Thank you," she said quietly, looking up at Christian.
Christian
Christian looked down at her, suddenly unnerved.
The last time he saw her this upset was when he'd abducted her to get Craig's collar off.
Not to mention they didn't exactly part on the most comfortable of terms.
So instead of scooting down to give her a hug like he felt he should, he simply offered his hand to help her up.
"What are you doing out here? So far from New York?" he asked, confused.
Avery
Avery reached up reluctantly and let him help her up, then took a step back when he started talking as though he knew her.
"What?" she asked, brushing her hair away from her eyes. "Do we know each other?"
Christian
Christian blanched at that, his mind racing.
Something had happened to her memory. To Avery Hanson's memory. This was no small feat.
"I'm sorry," Christian held his hands up, before holding his right hand out.
"Name's Neal. And your name is Avery. Avery Hanson. I'm ah... a friend. Of your brother's."
Avery
Avery took his hand slowly, and pulled back almost immediately.
"Do you... do you know where I live?" she asked quietly, meeting his eyes again.
She just wanted to be off the streets and be somewhere warm, even if it was only for a night.
Christian
"I'm not sure," Christian answered honestly.
"Your family is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But we lived together in New York for a time. I moved out a couple of months ago and hadn't seen you since... you're really the last person I expected to find in New Orleans."
He looked to the mouth of the alley as some people walked past.
"But maybe we should get off the street. I have a motel booked just down the road from here. There is more than one bed in the room," he offered, "unless you have somewhere to go?"
Avery
Avery nodded, processing the information that he was giving her. "Oh ok, thank you."
She looked over at him and weighed up her options.
"Could I stay with you? I don't... I don't have anywhere to go. I've..." she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, something that wasn't helped by the random other voices she could hear. "I don't really know how I got here."
Christian
"Sure, sure thing," Christian said softly.
He noticed her shivering and quickly took off his jacket to give to her.
"Right this way," he indicated for her to lead.
Now that he was down to a shirt, the muscles he'd recently regained were evident, so he was sure they wouldn't have any more trouble on the short walk back.
Avery
Avery smiled her thanks, and lead the way out of the alley, then turned to him to take over on the way to the motel.
She started to reach for his hand, then stopped herself at the last minute.
Christian
Christian noticed the movement, and opted to reassuringly put his hand on her shoulder instead.
He led the way to the motel which was barely three blocks away, unlocked his door, and opened it for her.
It wasn't his best accommodation, but it was far from his worst. A double and single bed, flat screen television, table and chairs, refrigerator and microwave made up the main room.
"Bathroom's through there," Christian indicated as he threw the room key onto the table.
Avery
"Thanks," Avery said quietly, heading in the direction he pointed.
She turned the light on and closed the door, stripping out of her dirty clothes and starting the shower. She stepped under the spray and tilted her head back, enjoying her first hot shower in a long while. She washed her long hair and then started on the rest of her body, then stopped the water.
She grabbed the towel and dried herself off, borrowing the comb from the bathroom sink and combing through her long hair. She wrapped the towel around her body and opened the door, hesitating for a second, before walking over to the bed Christian wasn't occupying.
"I um... don't have any other clothes," she said to him. "So... sorry."
Christian
Chris sat up from where he'd collapsed onto the single bed, thinking over what possibly could have happened to her.
"I'll see if I can find you something," he offered, going to grab his backpack from the table.
He rummaged through, picking out a pair of jeans and a basic black tee, quickly smelled them to make sure they were clean enough, and offered them to her.
Avery
"Thanks," Avery said, taking them from him.
She retreated back to the bathroom and dressed quickly, pulling her hair back from her face. She hung the towel up on the rack, and then left the bathroom, going to sit on the bed.
"So I have a family?"
Christian
"A pretty big one," Christian nodded, leaning back on his arms.
"I think it's... six siblings? I really only know your two oldest brothers, but you have another two of those and two sisters, I believe. Or from what I remember, I haven't seen them in years."
He sighed.
"Although I know at least one of your brothers is married with four kids now."
Avery
Avery nodded, absorbing all of this, and she looked over at him again, rolling onto her stomach to face him.
"And we used to live together," she said, remembering what he had said earlier. "So, were we friends or...?"
Christian
Chris hesitated, but took a deep breath and decided to be completely honest. Or mostly anyway.
"More associates. We both just happened to be in the same place at the same time, wanting the same apartment. So we decided to share."
He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.
"I guess we became friends."
Avery
"Oh, ok," Avery nodded.
She turned around and lay on her back, looking up at the ceiling. She brushed her hair back from her face.
"Well, thanks, for... tonight, and everything. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come."
Christian
"I hate to think," Christian was staring at her worriedly.
He suddenly caught himself, and turned away.
"How's your head?" he asked.
Avery
"It's ok," Avery told him, reaching up to touch the purpling bruise on her forehead.
She paused for a second, wondering if she should tell him the next thing. He did say they were friends, after all.
"Um... I have a bit of a headache though... it's been... noisy."
Christian
Christian nodded.
"Understandably. If you don't remember who you are, how are you meant to remember how to-"
He cut himself off, thoughtfully.
"Sorry I don't have any telepathic pain killers on me. I don't know if regular ones would help. Are you... having trouble blocking things out?"
Avery
"What do you mean?" Avery's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"How did you know I could..."
Christian
Chris really didn't want to delve into the 'hey, you're an alien!' speech, so he sat forward on the bed and leaned forward on his knees.
"Look here," he indicated his eyes.
"Focus on my eyes, and just my eyes. Listen very carefully. If you concentrate enough, I should be all that you hear."
He paused a moment, then began talking to her in his head.
"You're what is known as a telepath. It's an ability of the mind to communicate with others without speech, and to read thoughts at will. Unfortunately for your situation, you're on the higher level of abilities. Which will make it harder to block out the thoughts of random people on the street. Sorry in advance for the couple next door."
He smiled a little.
Avery
Avery sat up and looked into his eyes, brown meeting blue and she focused, instinctively touching his temples to hold onto the contact. Her eyes gleamed golden for a second, then returned to normal.
She dropped her hand away from his face when he finished speaking to her and she nodded.
"Oh... wow. Well... I guess that's better than me thinking I was going crazy."
Christian
"Much better," Chris said aloud for her benefit.
"My father was a telepath. I can try and help you all I can, but if you have some higher end problems then we'll need to go to the next best person..."
He cringed a little, realising he hadn't spoken to Tanya at all since getting out of rehab. She may be a little sore about that.
"Either way, you'll have help. So for now, picture yourself as if you're on an island," he used his hands for emphasis, "and imagine building a solid brick wall around yourself. Every now and then you can build a window - like looking at me through a gap - and the people you fill those windows with you should still be able to hear. But for now just concentrate on building that wall. It should hopefully block out most of the... static, if you will."
Avery
Avery nodded to show she understood, and she closed her eyes, focusing on doing what he said. She found that it seemed to be coming quite naturally to her, and with very little effort, she could no longer hear any of the voices she had been hearing before.
"Thanks," she said again. "Um, Neal?"
Christian
Christian smiled again, realising it was working.
"Yeah?"
Avery
"I know I've been a pain already tonight," Avery said, looking up at him.
"But... could I get something to eat? I haven't eaten in... I can't really remember."
Christian
"Oh!" Christian realised, "I'm sorry, I didn't even think! Umm."
He got up and headed for the fridge, grabbing the last noodle box.
He hesitated, then put it in the microwave.
"Sorry it's not much," he admitted, setting the timer for one minute and rifling through a drawer for a fork.
Avery
"No, it's ok," Avery said, smiling her thanks when the timer went off and he handed her the food.
"Thanks again. I'm sorry, I'm taking up all of your time... if you have stuff to do, I can just... I'm probably just gonna sleep anyway."
Truthfully, she was petrified that he would leave her alone, she had been on her own for too long already, and with what had happened earlier that night, she was even more afraid of being on her own. What if something else happened?
Another thing that was sort of weird was the way he was looking at her, and some of the fleeting thoughts she could hear passing through his head. She wondered if there was more to their relationship than he was letting on.
Christian
"No it's no bother," Chris insisted as he sat down on the bed again.
"I was... in the middle of a transition. In fact I was planning to leave New Orleans soon anyway. I guess I could head for Tulsa."
Avery
Avery smiled at him, and then continued eating, finishing the noodles in no time. She yawned, then got up and put the fork in the sink and the noodle box in the bin.
"Thanks, I guess... I guess seeing my family might help me," she said, going back to sit on the bed. She pulled the covers down and slid under them, taking his jeans off while she was under there, clad only in her underpants and his black shirt.
"Could you..." she bit her lip, not really knowing how to phrase her next request. "I know this might seem weird but... could you just... sit with me until I fall asleep?"
Christian
The question caught Christian off guard, but he wasn't all that sure why. Of course she'd be worried - she just got attacked!
"Sure, I guess," he nodded.
He waited until she was settled, then scooted over to her bed. He sat with his back to her, looking down.
"Are you gonna be alright?"
Avery
Avery nodded sleepily, rolling onto her back.
"I think so," she yawned.
Her eyes closed tiredly, and before long, her breathing set into a slow steady pace.
Christian
Christian watched as she drifted off to sleep, moving some hair out of his eyes.
A mild panic fluttered through him when he realised what he'd done.
He held himself together long enough to make sure she was definitely out, then carefully stood and made his way over to the fridge. Opening the door, he knelt down to reach the group of blood vials at the back, carefully taking one so as to remain silent and making a mental note to pack them up once Avery was in a deeper sleep.
He quickly readied a syringe, measured out his dose, and plunged it into his arm. Taking a deep breath he relaxed back into it, his hair beginning to recede already.
"That was close," he murmured to himself.