(I'm ready when you guys are)

(Oh.... okay, sure if you guys want the time skip I’m ready too... I guess we can just write or flashback what happened with Yoon and Abel since we didn’t write about their side like I thought we would. Flashbacks work too.)

[Six months later]
[June 19th]

[Raven]

The smell of burning that entered her nostrils caused her cough, her hand covering her mouth to stop herself from inhaling the thick smoke that the fire around her brought about. It burned her eyes, and as much as she tried to swipe the smoke out of her way, she found herself being engulfed once again until she fell to the floor. And that's when she saw it through teary vision, the small body that laid crumpled, the fire threatening to swallow it. She opened her mouth to call out to what she knew was a boy, but her voice was mute. The only sound that she could hear was the crackling and snapping of the flames, the collapsing of the foundation above her.

Again and again she tried to call out to the boy and with each time she did so the smoke filled her lungs. She didn't know why, but there was something familiar about him, and among all of the motionless bodies around her there it was only one that she felt the need to get to. But as she neared the boy, crawling on her hands and knees, she could see that not only wasn't he moving, but there was something pinning him against the ground. Once she reached him she struggled to free him, pushing at the chunk of ceiling until it toppled over. But the only thing that she would find was half of the body– a torso who's bloody and torn shirt was black with soot and his arms and face suffering from burns. Yet when she looked at him, his face was only a featureless blur that caused her to stumble back. But then she went to him, fear knotted in her throat. Her inaudible shrieks rattled in her head, the scene suddenly stretching further and further away from her. She felt like she was being snatched away from everything around her and into a distant darkness where she was left to flail about in fear, in hopes to grab something as she fell into the abyss. Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. The blackness filled with a ringing, and she was snatched down faster and faster until–

Raven's eyes opened wide, and for a moment she laid there in bed holding her breath. Sweat trickled down her face, and slowly she sat herself up. She ran her fingers through her hair, combing messy strands back and then moving the sheets to the side roughly. It had been the same dream for six months straight. And somehow, it managed to get to her every time she had it even after she had come around to expecting it every time she laid her head down and closed her eyes. It felt real–to real. The feeling of the heat from the fire, the smell of the smoke. Holding the body, the feeling of burned flesh and hot blood as she embraced it. But what she knew for sure was real were the sharp headaches that she woke with.

Smashing her hand down onto her phone to shut the alarm up, she moved into a sit on the edge of the bed and reached out for the nightstand, rubbing at her temple while pulling open the top drawer to grab the medication that she had been prescribed by her new therapist–or rather psychiatrist–for the headaches that she had been getting. She was too happy with having to be given a new therapist out of the blue, but the woman that had taken his place was alright at least. Though strangely enough she thought that she looked way too pretty for the job and would have been better off as a model or something. She dumped two of the strangely soft blue pills into her hand, pausing for a moment before adding a third one. Placing the bottle on top of the nightstand, she reached blindly for the bottle of vodka that she had been drinking and hoping to drown herself in. The bottle was nearly empty, much like she felt.

Regardless, she popped the pills into her mouth and drank away the rest of the alcohol.

~

[Abel]

The man's eyes opened. There was no blinking, or grogginess in the action. They just opened. He sat straight up in the bed stiffly and then turned to sit on the left side of the bed, performing both motions as if he were being led through them. It was almost like a robot performing the actions of a human. He stood up from the bed in the same stiff way that he had sat himself up, his eyes staring straight ahead as he walked to the bathroom.

Step one was to empty himself of urine before initiating the process of hygiene. The first step in this process started with bathing. He turned on the shower and stripped himself of the white t-shirt and boxers that he wore before stepping in. He systematically followed through with bathing himself, starting from his head and ending at his feet, repeating the process twice. The second step in the process was brushing his teeth. He stepped from the shower, not seeing it necessary to include a towel at this stage. After brushing, he continued with flossing, which was followed by a simple evaluation of his teeth to ensure that they were still in good health. The third step of the process was an evaluation of his face, checking for any signs of stubble or anything of the liking so that he could tend to it.

Step two of the routine was to get dressed and only when he reached this step did he render a towel something that was required. And so he dried himself, relocating his suitcase from by the door and onto the bed to retrieve precisely folded black suit that awaited him. From there he dressed himself accordingly, finishing with straightening his tie in the mirror and going through his hair with a small grey comb until the desired professional appearance was complete. Afterwards he pulled the jacket to his suit over the pale grey button-up that he wore and gathered his belongings to place them back into their respective places within his suitcase.

Abel stood in the center of a room for a moment to observe the space. One-hundred and fifty-five days was how long he had been occupying the hotel room in Florida. Despite Kyungha's insisting that he stay with them because it would be more convenient for their situation, he declined the offer due to believing that it would be inconvenient for the Park household for him to be coming and going as his occupation required him to do so often.

He straightened the bed sheets as the final act of his morning routine, folding the part at the head of the bed back and placing the pillow there. After he finished, he departed from the hotel to go to his next destination: The Park residence.

~

Edgar let out a groan as he placed a cigarette between his lips, listening to the music that began to play when he was put on hold. "Dammit. That's just great," he muttered, turning on the stove to light his tobacco stick since he had lost his lighter yesterday after his vehicle had gotten towed. The situation was ridiculous! He had only left his car parked beside the sidewalk for a few minutes while he was making a run into the store. It hadn't even been in park! By the time he had came back out with his microwavable meals and a fresh pack of Newport Blues, they were attempting to take both his RV and his mini house.

He had to pay a fine that wasn't exactly small, and if anything unreasonably high in his opinion. Which brought things to now, where he was on his the phone in the beach parking lot trying to have money transferred to his bank account so that he could pay the rest of the fine that he had gone to court for. "This is fucking stupid," he groaned again while he waited.

Mason sat up from the bed, the alarm having gone off a moment ago, but he let it blare for a minute extra until Sammy pounded on the door, "Turn that fucking thing off".
Mason sat up, the room he was in now a mess of strewn about clothes and empty snack wrappers lying around. Basically, he let the clean apartment go as he had stayed here for the passed few days. As he shut off the alarm and got himself out of bed, he slowly lumbered his way out of the room, Sammy already dressed and ready as she proclaimed, "Come on, Mason. You know what today is. It's been six months and I think now's a good time as any to go and check on her. Besides, you need your training, don't you? You've been slacking off for three weeks now"
"I know, I know. Just let me get ready" Mason said, clutching his aching head
"You got thirty minutes" Sammy said, being more strict about it now as she went to wait outside on the balcony

Leonard had been sleeping in his own apartment, a run down, low income apartment, or as he called it, his own little home as he was investigating in New York. He hated it. The apartment. The city. He missed his jobs in smaller towns. Being stuck out in the city where everyone was just a blur to him while he waited for his next move was enough to make him sick. He rolled out of bed with a groan, already taking out a morning cigarette to let out a smoke as he looked out at the lights blaring from his window in the early morning

Raven eventually forced herself up from the bed, muttering to herself after downing the pills and walking with a slump towards the bathroom. She almost tripped over one of the piles of clothes that she had let build up over the last month, and out of annoyance she kicked them out of her way. She felt too tired mentally to actually pick them up off of the floor, or take the dirty ones to be washed. In fact for the passed couple of weeks she had been to tired to do much of anything aside from using the bathroom. And even then she barely felt like doing that. Unlike she would have months ago, she rarely showered unless she had to leave her apartment. Which was something else that she hadn't been doing at all. Not to get food, not to talk to anyone or even get her favorite coffee. Instead she had gotten insta-coffee the last time she had been out, and for food she had just been ordering takeout online. And if it wasn't for her fast metabolism, she would have been more than just a five or six pounds heavier than she was before.

It all felt more like chores than necessities now–everything just felt exhausting. She had even done the one thing that she had been against for the longest: cutting her hair. It had become too much to consistently take care of as she was currently, and so she cut it shorter so that she wouldn't have to deal with it any longer. Most of what she would be doing currently in the morning was no longer a part of the routine. j

When she got to the bathroom, she flung her hand lazily to flip the light switch, looking into the mirror–which had been cracked only two months prior to now during a meltdown–and stared at the individual that stood there. The rings under her eyes were darkening from lack of proper sleep. Her expression was that of someone who looked like they had died inside. Her cheeks had filled out just a little, and her skin was paler than usual. She didn't continue to look long though, becoming aggravated with just looking at herself and turning off the light.

Sammy was tapping her food in a rapid manner, waiting in an annoyed patience. She was wearing a pair of shorts with black shoes underneath, black suspenders that she let hang to the side over a white long sleeved shirt with her usual shades on over her eyes. It wasn't long, thankfully for him, that Mason had stepped out of the room, wearing a usual baige short sleeved shirt and blue jeans, giving a tired yawn as he replied, "You're getting too worked up, Sammy. Relax"
"I'll relax when I see the results. I've only been texting Raven every few days, and I'll be damned if I let one single visit go to waste because you slept in"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it" Mason replied, still sensing that Sammy was still frustrated even months later about the whole thing. Sammy, who had Jackie's phone number, had already texted seven times, and was damned if she wasn't gonna text another time.
LONG LEGS! >:(
Where the fuk r u?

"Do I have to confiscate your phone?" A voice came from the bathroom, and a couple of seconds later a fair faced woman with dark brown and a white coat came from one of the rooms. She was dressed in a business attire that was paired with heels, her plump lips glossed with a cherry red. This was Raven's "therapist". And pettily, she texted Sammy's phone back with a message that said "Right here", and then proceeded to correct Sammy's misspelled words. There was a gentle poof, and a shroud of green engulfed the woman and replaced her with Jackie.

"There's a reason I stopped answering after the first two," she scoffed, having become slightly irritated since Sammy had been texting her nonstop in the same fashion since last night. "And if you're going to turn my phone into a buzzer then the very least you could do is have manners and learn to say good morning first."

"Good morning. There" Sammy said as she put her phone into her pocket, turning to Jackie with her arms to her side as she replied, "Now come on, let's get going. You promised that Raven was doing better and we could check on her. I can't wait another second. It's driving me nuts. Also, Mason's training, I guess"
Mason stepped forward with his hands in his pockets, a look of discomfort on his face as he gave a slight wave, "Hello, Jackie"

"Goodmorning, Mason," Jackie greeted him. She looked him up and down for a second. "Though you should learn to put a comb and brush to that facial mane of yours, you appear to be in a much better condition in comparison to before. Good." She gave a small nod of approval at this, smiling some before turning to Sammy. "And you. You seem to be in a rather grandiose mood today. Keep in mind, again, that when I said "better", I mean that she is in much better condition compared to...that," she said, referencing the state that Raven had been in months ago.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you" Sammy said, not wanting to think about that again. It was something she'd rather keep suppressed forever, shaking her head about it before she added, "Look, I get she won't be in the best state of mind. But if I can help her, in any way, I'm gonna. So.... Whatever state she's in, as long as it's better, I can handle it"
Mason gave a nod. Though he looked better, in his mind, stress still took over him. Stress, worry, and so much more. But he didn't show it. He didn't dare show it. He kept those thoughts to himself, rather than letting them bleed out once again

(don't you love it when you typed out a whole long ass scene just to accidentally zoom out and refresh the page. :)))))))))))))

(That happens to me too, only my fucking computer fucking crashes. RIP Old post)

It had taken a couple of weeks for Alana to finally believe Galiah about her origins and goal once she was forced to witness a few unforgettable events Galiah took part in. Her first instinct had been fear, enough to where she almost kicked out the elf from her home. But eventually she held back her tongue. It wasn't pity that made her do so, but rather comprehension to the new perception of reality. She knew and believed that only 5% of the ocean had been explored and there was more mysteries yet to be unsolved, so who was she to not believe Galiah's word of a different world? It made her extremely cautious yet curious about her surroundings, wondering if the little boy she saved the other day could project magic unknowingly, or if the organic pastry shop she attended used special ingredients to brainwash their customers to continue buying from them. It made Alana curious of the spectrum within the supernatural between the good and the bad. But most importantly, it made her question that if there were forces beyond the unknown with bad intent, who would stop them considering the police stood no chance?

And as she pulled into the beach parking lot early morning, her mind flashed back to all the conspiracy theories she obsessed over as a kid. She had already bombarded Galiah during the first few months with a bunch of questions that ranged from whether mermaids were real, to asking if if truly wanted, could she potentially duplicate money and become a 'self-made' billionaire. Not that I want to... Alana answered mentally with a guilty frown for even considering breaking the law.

* * *

“초점!” The middle-aged woman shouted as a reminder to her struggling daughter across her. She tossed upwards the tennis ball in her hand, swinging the ends of her broom and smacking the ball with great force like she would a baseball towards the young woman in front of her.

Yoon was currently trying to balance herself on top of the slippery floors her mother had drenched with olive oil and soap within their apartment. She was blindfolded, and her ears were plugged, which meant Kyung-ha’s constant scolding wasn’t as helpful as she thought it would be. “O-OW!!!” She shrieked, the tennis ball hitting her right on her left breast. But it didn’t stop there. Her mother sent several more balls her way, which luckily she avoided by unfortunately slipping and falling on her side.

Over the last six months, a lot had changed for Yoon. After Kyung-ha realized the jeopardy her whole family was in now, she took matters into her own hands. Although she couldn’t quite teach her magic, she could teach her other mechanisms for self defense and control, including overall lifestyle. These were the months Yoon saw her mother become more strict than ever. She started off by changing Yoon’s sleeping and eating habits. All her junk food had been stripped away, including the snacks Yasha had gifted her. Her portions were reduced to only one large, but healthy meal during the afternoon and a single nutritious snack in the evening. Their training routine started from 4:00AM and usually lasted as long as 4:00PM, making sure Yoon was already in bed by 9 the latest. Despite the fact that her workout schedule varied, many of the times it would consist of a three mile run, followed by 10 sets of going up and down the apartment stairs, endless punching sessions with pillows, lots of jumping on and off the tables, and usually ending the day with some modified and intense yoga–or what Kyung-ha liked to call kimoodo or tai chi. She followed through with this using taekwondo training despite Yoon’s routine mostly consisting of plyometrics.

In six months alone, Yoon noticed more change in her ability than her weight. Before, she wasn’t able to touch her toes, but now she was able to touch her heels by completely arching her body backwards in a single standing pose, along with being able to complete a full split. She realized that despite her height, she was quite a fast runner and a very high jumper. Of course, she began with not being able to jump two stairs simultaneously. Today she was able to jump on the kitchen counter with ease. This was thanks to her mother’s inspiration for what she saw back in the hospital: Yoon’s ability to climb and jump a tall height to achieve something she wanted. Most of Yoon’s snacks were used as bait and reason for Yoon to accomplish the workout. For example, Yasha’s pocky sticks were left at the very top of a streetlight, which took Yoon exactly two days to be able to reach it–only to find a single stick waiting for her as a treat due to her diet. And although she still wore her oversized clothing, her body had become more defined with muscle replacing the small amounts of fat. But the “compressed” look on her body made it almost impossible to notice until close inspection.

“일어나서 싸워라!” Kyung-ha mercilessly sent more balls crashing Yoon’s way, who was slipping in her attempt to stand.

Yoon’s senses were all blocked out except her sense of touch and the mana in her. It took a while, but eventually she was able to accept being blindfolded and deaf in order to dig deep for another source of help. Once she found a grip to stand, she mimicked skating to keep herself standing by continuously rubbing her bare feet side to side. Kyung-ha was pleasantly surprised by this, but that didn’t stop her swinging. Beads of sweat trickled down Yoon’s forehead, and before she could suffer the pain of the tennis ball smacking against her face, she caught it in midair to her surprise.

This caused Kyung-ha’s eyes to widen and to pause in her striking. She stared at the ball in Yoon’s hands, who continued to shuffle to stay herself afloat and not slip again. But then her brows furrowed, and instead she aimed directly at Yoon’s face again.

Yoon took in a deep breath, taking into consideration what she learned from her breathing lessons and holding it in for a couple extra seconds. Despite not being able to see, she visualized the ball swirling towards her like a springing ball of fire. Rather than a tennis ball, it was airy and light. So light that it blended in enough with the air around her, yet too airy enough to decipher and pinpoint the location of the intruding object near her aura. That’s when Yoon’s body instinctively squatted, successfully avoiding her mother’s ball.

Galiah was snoozing off in her sleep as Alana had pulled up to the beach. She had found more comfort around Alana than she ever did before, though that did not stop her attempts at trying to find a magic user. Every day was a new day for Galiah to get herself and Alana into more trouble as she attempted to find her magic user for the passed few months. Asking a multitude of questions to people, scaring them off at the sight of her fire, and even had an incident where one woman tried to hit her with her car simply for asking if her child wanted to see magic tricks. However, despite the constant hurdles, she never did give up. She had told Alana many times, however, that it could never be her that was the magic user. "You don't got the spirit", she would tell her regularly when she asked about any spell. She would never say if they existed or not, just that, if they were real, Alana would never see it

Abel was soon at his car, which had been parked in a position to where the trunk of his car was facing away the both the hotel and the street. He opened his trunk, the space within being empty. His hand slid around the inside until he found the thumb-sized lever that was hidden out of sight.

This lever would cause a light to come on from the corners of the trunk while the floor of the space gave a couple of clicks and began to transition into a vertical turn. After the transition was done the trunk's floor split down the middle and opened like a door, a display of weaponry was presented to him. From there he began to do a supply check that ranged from strange arrows and transparent bullets with gleaming tips. The firearms were nothing short of unordinary, some of them not looking as if they were firearms at all. There were copper and silver spheres that when flattened caused three thin but exceedingly keen blades to curve the sides. Others were explosive contraptions that when exploded released a toxin discombobulating toxins or other gasses used for individual purposes. All of it was modified weaponry crafted to his suitability based on the results of the countless operations and assignments that he had completed over time, an aspect that only belonged to the higher ranked agents of the Constables.

On the separate space within the trunk that was above everything else were two curved bronze blades that hung crossed across one another. Below them was another bladed weapon that was designed after a harvesting scythe. The trio of bladed weaponry were covered in unknown letters of red and black from blade to handle. Everything within the trunk held a cleanliness to it despite the many times they had been used to follow through with massacres.

After finishing with checking his supplies and the condition of his tools he closed the trunk and entered his vehicle and was exiting the parking lot in no time at all. But before he would stop by the Park residence–though he hadn't been there in the passed month or so due to having to be temporarily sent to Georgia to complete and assignment–duty called for him to put his tools to work.

~


"Samantha," Jackline said her name in the way that she had become used to doing when she needed her to listen. "Don't go about this carelessly. Remember to watch what you mention around her for the time being. The dreams that we were discussing yesterday have yet to cease, which makes me wonder if the restrained memories are starting to leak again. The medicine that was prescribed to her should be taking care of it if that's the case, but I won't be certain until we get there."

Kyung-ha eventually stopped swinging balls at Yoon once she began to duck and avoid all of them in her blindfolded and deaf position. She dropped the last tennis ball on the ground, approaching Yoon with her broom still in hand. She could see the confusion in Yoon's face when she no longer sensed a small object coming towards her–but rather a human being slightly taller than her. To her surprise, before she could even squat defensively, her mother snatched away her blindfold. This made her eyes narrow to adjust to the light, before they widened when they finally saw the end of the broom ruthlessly oscillate her way.

Yoon struck her arm up for the broom to hit her wrist rather than her face. And when her mother noticed she had winced in pain, furrowed brows along with a disappointed expression plastered her face followed by the words, "FIRM ARMS!!!!" being shouted.

The young woman didn't even have enough time before she had to duck again to avoid her mother's hits. Not to mention she also needed to focus on standing since the warm of her feet had just made the oily floor more slippery. This time she blocked another hit with the opposite wrist, cringing internally rather than physically. She could see the rage and sadness behind her mother's eyes every time she trained her. After all, it had been four months since the police arrived to their door to take Sangeon away from her when the papers she filled out at the station were finally processed and revealed she had no custody over him. Her financial background did not meet the requirements, and the authorities deemed the place unsafe after the recent incidents, especially with the destroyed section of the apartment.

Sammy turned her eyes to Jackie, giving her a rate serious look and tone in her voice as she replied "I'll be careful. Trust me". Sammy didn't add anymore as she made her way to the balconys stairs, before she turned back to Mason and Jackie and exclaimed "Come on. The sooner we get going the sooner Mason can start training"

While Sammy was already going down stairs, Jackie stood behind with Mason, looking over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Have you not informed her that we've already began?" But then she smirked a little. "I approve of this. The less distractions you have the more time you will have to improve. My grandmother has assisted me in completing the outlines for you tutelage. Now it should be easier to focus on getting passed the first phase, and from here on out I want no more complaints of how "complicated" things appear to sound." She started down the stairs, the platforms of her heels clicking against the steps. And as she was going down, she tossed a key chain behind her for Mason to catch. "You're driving."

~

Abel wouldn't arrive at the residence of the Park's until the next hour after he had finished what was required of him, which hadn't taken long at all. With the recent increase to his underlings, tasks were gone about with more precision and haste than usual thanks to what had happened just last month. Which brought along the reason that he was there to start with.

He exited his car and went into the apartment building, his eyes going to the place where the floor had been destroyed not too long ago. They had made enough progress to have the hole sealed at the very least, but the elevator that had been destroyed at that time still hadn't been repaired. The area had been closed off by yellow tape and warning signs that kept people away from that part of the building.

Soon he was knocking on the door to the apartment, something that had become somewhat of a reoccurring normalcy over the months that he had been in Florida.

Outside the Park residence, Abel could hear Kyung-ha's scolding towards her daughter as she checked the kitchen cabinets, accusing her of sneaking a chocopie into her room since one was missing the last time she counted. This was one of the few snacks she kept in the kitchen since she herself enjoyed them. However, Yoon was unable to respond since she was taking a shower for a longer than normal time because of such reason.

Kyung-ha muttered under her breath, tossing the napkins she wiped the oil off the floor with into the kitchen trashcan. But when she heard the doorbell ring, the expression on her face softened only lightly since she had a good idea on who it was. She cleared her throat and dusted off her hands on her pants before approaching the door. And upon opening it, Abel would be greeted with a smaller than usual smile from Kyung-ha. Her hair was slightly disheveled from the training from an hour ago since she hadn't gotten the chance to shower yet. "좋은 아침, Abel-pie." She gave a small bow and opened her doors further to welcome him. "I no see why you in hotel and no here with us, enough room for all." She reminded him again.

"Good morning, Kyung. It is pleasant to see you today," Abel was saying while returning the bow she gave him with one of his own. But when she reminded him that there was more than enough room for him there within her home for him, he shook his head in disagreement as he entered the home. "I don't wish to intrude upon your living space in such a manner," he gave the same answer that he always gave when she insisted that he stayed there instead.

He waited until the door was closed, taking a brief gaze around the familiar setting before asking out of courtesy as he always did when he stopped by to visit, "Have you been well?"

Unlike other previous times when asked the question, Kyung-ha took a longer moment to reply. She blinked in thought, her eyes momentarily gazing at the ground before they returned to Abel's. "I have been better." The woman cracked a joke with a poor attempt of a smile, though it was truthful. "You no intrude, you family, remember? You more than welcome here, I make cozy spot for you. You no need spend more dum-dum money on expensive hotel shampoo. Fresh here all the time." The mother described before asking the same question back. "How is my Abel-pie, hm? You look handsome and squeaky clean. Good skincare and pearly teeth." She complimented.

"You're still as beautiful of a woman as you were when we first met, Kyung." Abel returned the her compliment with a pleasant one of his own. But he could tell that she was distressed, and he assumed that it was due to Sangeon no longer being a part of the household currently. He had yet to tell her of the steps that he had been taking behind the scenes to assist with the situation though and instead kept a muzzle on the information.

However he paused when it came to answering the question she had asked, the most recent turn of events coming to mind. "I've been well enough. The organization has been keeping me reasonably active as of late."

Mason, before he could speak with some pride, even if it were fabricated, was caught off guard when he caught the keys in his hand, looking down in surprise as he asked "Surely we're not driving to Los Angeles area we?" He looked down at the keychain,letting it dangle on his fingers before adding "I know there's more to these keys by this point"

Kyung-ha's smile lifted some when she heard Abel's compliment about her appearance. "You sight for poor eyes." She got the saying wrong, but the thought and logic was still there in spite of that. "They better no overwork you, or else they run out of best agent." She called him with a motherly gesture. "I go slice them to sashimi pieces if they mess with you too much." Kyung-ha promised him. "Would you like tea?" She offered.

"엄마, do you have any more ointment for my---WAAAAAAHH!!!!" A flustered Yoon shrieked when she saw Abel standing next to her mother. She had abruptly joined the scene to ask her mother a question, unaware of her guest. The young woman was wearing a white bath towel around her chest that covered up to below her knees since the cloth was much bigger than her body. Her once short hair now went past her shoulders, the ends of them currently dripping water since she recently exited the shower. She had a few bruises here and there from previous training, but overall held a naturally pale and soft skin complexion, similar to her mother's. And now that her arms were exposed for the first time, they had notably became more toned and defined despite the stubbiness still there.

Her mother on the other hand simply blinked and tilted her head. "That's not how you treat special guest!" She told her, processing now her question. "Oooh, ointment for your bo--"

"Shhhhhaaaaa!!!" Yoon suddenly yelled to shush her before she could finish. She quickly retreated back into her room, cursing to herself with a growing blush.

* * *

When Alana finished her parking, she turned off the engine to her car and yanked out the keys. Her attention went to Galiah who was still sleeping, which caused a small smirk to expand on her face. She saw that there was little to no people at all where she currently was since she had arrived pretty early, and with that in mind, she honked her car to startle Galiah into waking up. This would be her payback for Galiah keeping her up late at night and disrupting her organized schedules. "Wakey time, I got work to do and you got to stay outta trouble. Brought some buckets so you can build something to keep your mind busy instead of scaring children with your stories."

"Well of course not," Jackie answered while they were going to the parking lot, continuing on to say, "Los Angeles he says–why in the name of the gods would we be going all the way out there? Sure, that would have been the case around 3 or 4 months ago, but not now. We're going to Orlando," She said. "Also you are correct. There is more to those keys. Samantha has been complaining for weeks about having to take Lyfts and Ubers–despite the money being used to call them not being anything that she had to work to earn–and it annoys me. And so I've taken care of that. Those are yours."

~

If Abel was able to give a chuckle that was more than just the small breaths of air that came from his nostrils when Kyung-ha spoke of how she would get on to the organization, then he would have. It brought thoughts of satisfaction to see her smile more than she had been seconds ago, and when she asked him if he wanted tea he was going to nod until Yoon entered into the room.

His gaze turned to her, seeing that she was only dressed in a towel. And though his expression shifted as little as possible to a puzzled one, he greeted her all the same. "Greetings. I was coming around to asking about your well being." He blinked at the brief exchange between her and her mother, watching as Yoon made her escape to her room.

And so his attention turned back to Kyung and he picked up where they had left off casually. "Yes, some tea would be delightful."

Mason was now completely startled, looking down at the keys as he turned back to Jackie with a shake off his head, "Jackie, you didn't have to go and do that. You've already done more than-"
"Yo whose car is this?" Sammy loudly interrupted, forcing Mason to peak over the railing

Galiah woke up with a loud scream, any ear piercing one at that. She had taken the liberty to dress in more stylish clothes off the season, a short sleeve shirt and shorts. She gave a grimace as she looked down at the bucket. "Duh hell. I don't need no kiddy stuff, fam". She had also taken up modern language much to Alana's annoyance

Kyung-ha let out a small, dry chuckle as she witnessed her daughter scurry away back into her room. "Chest chafing no joke in Florida weather during summer. Require lots of ointment for my Yoonie!" She explained casually without her present since she knew she'd probably be strangled if Yoon had heard that. Kyung-ha welcomed Abel to take a seat as she left to the kitchen which was close by, getting started with boiling some water as she fetched a mug.

Meanwhile, Yoon continued cursing to herself as she wiggled her joggers up her legs, patting dry her back with her towel and slipping on a new oversized hoodie she had bought for the time being. She shook her hair like a dog within the grasp of her towel, combing them messily with her fingers as a temporary solution.

* * *

"Oh my god, what have I told you about using those terms?!" Alana exclaimed with building annoyance. "I knew I shouldn't have ever showed you Instagram or Tiktok. You're talking like those dusty teenagers I always have to clean up after." She rolled her eyes. "And for the last time you don't need to take a picture of every single thing and upload them with over 50 useless hashtags!"

Galiah looked over at Alana with a confused stare, before her expression bled into one of genuine relief before stating "Thank god. If I had to talk like that all day, I'd puke". Galiah replied with a sigh before adding "At least you admit to this dreadful butchering of a perfectly good language"

Abel didn't know how to exactly respond to Kyung mentioning Yoon's chafing, but he was well aware of what she spoke of. He stood still for a moment when invited to sit down in the living room but did so a second or two later. He sat stiffly in a correct no-slumping posture, though his shoulders were a little more relaxed than usual since he had become more comfortable with being in the household after so many times including when Yoon had been texting him trying to persuade him to sneak junkfood to her. Which at the time, he hadn't been aware of her training. But once he was, he had of course scowled her about it and helped encourage a diet that was more beneficial to her instead.
He waited patiently for Kyung to return, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular while doing so.

~

When Mason looked over the rail he would find a link who's gleam greeted him under the morning sun. It's windows were tinted enough for there to be privacy but also just light enough to not be a problem to the authorities.

"That's a van, Sammy. Not a car. You're a simpleton, but not that much of one," Jackie said almost insultingly, but that had become the way that she and Sammy spoke to one another. There was no intent to harm behind her words but rather a light jab of humor. She looked over to Mason. "Consider it a late birthday gift since I was unable to stay to celebrate."
In fact, she had been so caught in trying to get things done here and there and dealing with Raven to the degree at the time that she hadn't even been aware that it was his birthday until after the fact.

As for the van, she had gotten the impression that despite how beaten down and passed its prime their old one had been they had been attached to it. Initially she had planned on getting a car for them instead, but she couldn't find anything that she thought would fit the driver. Because as big as Mason was, she had come to learn that he was a gentle man, soft at heart. She thought about just getting the Constables to issue an SUV for them to use, but most of their vehicles were equipped with technology that they weren't going to be eager to share. And so to avoid the hassle, she decided that she would just buy another van and use the Constables as a source of finance to do some remodeling on its interior. Because what better way to fix the problem of a valued thing than to replace it with something of even more value? Literally.

Jackie joined Sammy now down the stairs, pulling the sliding door open only to reveal the unexpected link while she climbed in. "Well come on then, don't just stand there. Were you not in such a hurry just a moment ago?"

The interior of the van was nothing like the previous one that Mason and Sammy had as their home. The driver's and passenger's seat were separated from the rest of the van by a cushioned wall that had a wide opening in it. In the back there were two rows of seats, two which were in the front and three that were behind together behind them. Above the opening in front of the first row of seats was a television screen that was currently on the weather channel and just below it on either side of the same opening were two speakers that were embedded into the wall.
Below the opening was were two smaller seats that were on either side of a built in table that had cupholders on the top and what looked like a mini-fridge under it as its foundation.

"Quiet, Long Legs" Sammy shouted with the same kind of tone as Jackie. "It's got four wheels so it's a fucking car".
"Wait, wait, Jackie" Mason replied as he got down to ground level, good wide eyes on the van as he spoke in shock "You didn't have to do this. This is ins-"
"Yes, she's awesome, now move it!" Sammy spoke, pushing Mason in the van "Orlando awaits"
"Jackie, this really isn't nece-". But he fell silent at the interior of the van, the sight of it bringing comfort. It was no fancy cadillac, but it was just right for Mason. Hey sat down at the drivers seat as if on auto pilot. Good hands grasped the wheel Ashe answered in a shakey tone "o-okay"

As Kyung-ha waited for the water to boil, Yoon soon came out of her hiding hole that she called a room. She peeked her head out first, eyeing that her mom was in the kitchen and Abel was on the couch. Yoon patted at her hoodie and squeezed her hair some in case there was any excess water, before awkwardly walking towards the couch. She leaned against the side of it rather than sitting down, standing ungracefully. She discreetly sniffed at herself to make sure she didn't still smell like olive oil. But the smell of brewing tea her mom was making hid any possible smell in the house.


* * *

"Believe me, I already have." Alana unlocked the doors and got off the car. "I'll be surfing for the first half of the hour until my shift starts, there's surprisingly less people than I expected. It's summer after all." She shrugged, waiting until Galiah stepped out to lock the car again. She made her way to the Staff shack to retrieve her surfboard.

"Yes, please do hurry Mason. We are on somewhat of a schedule, meaning that I don't have all day." Though Jackie actually had the day free to herself, she didn't want to waste it all in Orlando but in a relaxing bubble bath full of rose petals. She didn't see anything wrong with wanting to pamper herself for a job well done after how stressful the last few weeks had been.
She crossed one leg over the other, resting her elbow on the arm rest and her cheek against her hand as she took out her phone and opened the Twitter app.

~

Abel didn't move any when he had heard one of the doors down the hall open after a few minutes and instead continued to stare blankly while in thought. His gloved hands remained on his lap, and it wasn't until Yoon came into the living room didn't his head turn in her direction slightly when he started speaking. "You appear to be doing well. Your mother's teachings have been coming along well I'll presume?" He asked.

Yoon internally jolted when she heard Abel's voice finally make its presence. Her thumbs twiddled within the pockets of her hoodie, which she wasn't able to enjoy doing so whenever her mom forced her now to wear appropriate clothes when they went out. "M-Me? Yeah... I'm um, well, I guess... A little tired... and hungry..." Her stomach growled in cue. "B-But overall, w-well... She's uh... very aggressive..." She lowered her voice into a whisper. "A-and mean sometimes..." She finally made eye contact with him. "....you look... the same as ever..." Which quite honestly he did without a doubt. ".........did you by any chance bring that twix bar I a-asked?" Her voice barely being audible now.

Abel's left eyebrow lifted at what he assumed was some sort of compliment from the young woman, and very peculiar one at that. Regardless though Yoon wasn't exactly wrong, being that he kept his professional and clean appearance no matter where he was or what event was happening. At her question about the candy bar though he looked towards the kitchen briefly, his brows furrowing some as his attention returned to Yoon not too long afterwards. He lowered his voice when he spoke flatly. "You're fortunate that I was near a store." He slipped his hand into his jacket and pulled out the twix bar. He didn't even know why he had followed through with purchasing it for her to began with. There was just...something that made him do so. And though he found no logic within going off of a whim, he knew that driving back to the store to return it would be a waste of his time at this point.

Yoon's eyes immediately lit up and gleamed like never before in the past six months when they eyed the twix bar. She would never admit that she was addicted to sugar, but she could never say no to a taste. A small smile expanded across her cheeks, stopping momentarily to glance at the kitchen to ensure the coast was clear. Yoon scooted forward to retrieve it, quickly hiding it in the pockets of her hoodie. She inevitably couldn't help but release a squeal of happiness. Before she could shout a thank you, she stopped herself and whispered it quietly instead, retrieving the two dollars in her jogger's pocket and holding it out for Abel. "h-here! you can, um, maybe buy a cup of coffee somewhere?" She guessed.

"I don't drink coffee," Abel replied while waving off the two dollars that Yoon was attempting to give him, somewhat internally annoyed with his own actions of handing the candy bar off to her. He thought of it as a betrayal Kyung-ha even if was something so small and harmless. And so he said to her, "And you'd best appreciate that for what it is. I won't be going out of my way to assist in tending to your cravings again."

Yoon frowned when Abel didn't accept her money, however a part of her was expecting that reaction. And so when she heard what he said next while saving the two dollars in her pocket, she replied, "Of course I will, why wouldn't I?" She asked him. "You do a lot for us and even though this is minor, I think it's the best act yet!"

During the first few months of her training, she was able to sneak in snacks through a friend she had made within the six months: the pink-haired lady at the gas station. She seemed to be quite reserved regarding her background, but whenever Yoon needed sugar, Kore was always at her window to deliver a large bag of it. That is, until Kyung-ha caught on to their little game and stopped it immediately. She never met Kore, but she figured it was on of her close friends. And that's when Yoon had no other choice but to ask someone she would truly trust like a son: Abel. And even though this Twix bar was small, she would ration it evenly to last a few days. She was told her addiction to sugar should stop within a few weeks, but six months later she stayed up all night salivating for a snack. It forced her to watch mukbangs on Youtube and pretend to enjoy something she herself could no longer eat.

"M-Maybe if I spam you with e-enough emojis and dog memes you'll change her mind." She gave an effort of a joke, snickering softly until her mother entered the scene once more. For Abel and herself, she had prepared hibiscus tea with honey. Meanwhile, a tall glass of water awaited Yoon on the tray. This made her externally sigh of annoyance, slouching now on the edge of the couch.

"Please, I'd rather you not," Abel responded gruffly to Yoon's joke. Even six months later he didn't reply to any of her texts except for once, though he did come around to reading them once they were sent. But even so, he would scoff internally every time he saw an emoji within what she texted. He, of course, found them pointless. "You're mother's mind has already been made, and I have no reason otherwise to believe that she'd reconsider her decision due to the likes of me." His attention shifted when Kyung-ha joined them, and he thanked her while accepting the tea from her. And after his first sip he sat it back down onto the tray carefully, releasing a quiet sigh.

Yoon was about to disagree with Abel until she found herself needing to be quiet now that her mother had returned. And after told she shouldn't be sitting on arm rest of the couch, Yoon slowly made her way to sit besides Abel, her legs dangling off the edge of the seat unlike him. She sighed herself, reaching for the tall glass of water and taking small sips after silently thanking her mother. She hated the taste of water, mostly because it had no taste. But that was what her beverage consisted of for every meal of the day. Yoon was bound to do anything for a slurpee or a redbull or a can of coke.

Kyung-ha pulled a seat of her own, retrieving her own cup of tea and blowing on it softly before taking a sip. She had used the teapot set that was given to her as a Christmas present by Yoon's friend. After taking another sip, she licked her lips to talk. "Abel-pie has been paying for hotel shampoo and hotel food for months now." She said while her eyes were on Yoon to inform her of his silliness. "Abel think we no want him here, you do something to hurt him?" She asked her daughter with raised brows to see if there was another reason as to why he didn't want to come.

"...h-h-uh? N-No, I didn't do anything--" She stuttered. "I don't mind him h-here--" Yoon began before she was interrupted.

"See? Yoonie pie agrees you are very silly man." Kyung-ha gave a small dry chuckle. "Yoon be perfect punching bag for you, help train both of you." She suggested.

"Uuuuuuhhhh---" Yoon felt nauseous at the thought of combating against Abel since she knew she stood no chance. "I-I'm still a beginner--haha--" She felt the need to remind them. Sitting next to him was intimidating on its own.

"Oh yes" Galiah said as she followed behind Alana with a fantastical thought in mind, or rather, her on interpretation of surfing, "The 'catching of the waves" as you call it. Honestly, I don't know why you'd want to capture water with a board, but I must admit, you seem to have fun doing it"

"Yeah, Mason. We can gawk over this van later" Sammy said as she patted the seat from the back "Giddy up"
"Okay, okay" Mason said to the two's response, turning the key into the ignition, "We should be in Orlando in an hour, so just... talk about stuff until then, alright? Till then, you contain your excitement..." Mason said looking at Sammy in the reflection of the rearview mirror before he turned to Jackie and joked, "And you contain... something about you. You're wise comments, I guess."
With no more hesitation, Mason got the van started, moving out from the residential area and soon onto the busy highway

"My training has already been complete and has been for years," Abel said flatly when Kyung-ha had suggested that he and Yoon be sparring partners. He knew very well himself that he could potentially cause more harm to the woman than he would intend to. A fist was much more harmful than a ball, especially when it came to his own hands.
He didn't know why Kyung was so insistent on wanting to persuade him to stay, finding her persistence another thing that Yoon had in common with her. When it was something that they desired, they would keep at it until eventually something gave or until realizing that nothing would give.

And so he went on to explain to Yoon what Kyung-ha was talking about. "I have no qualms with being present here. However, I don't agree with living within the household. I have no issues with paying for the services provided by the hotel, it's their purpose to serve as a temporary place of stay. I don't, however, indulge in the services that provide sustenance." He lifted his cup again to drink some of the tea, and then he spoke to Kyung again. "I was taught to be capable of providing the necessities for myself, after all."

~

Jackie rolled her eyes at Mason but couldn't stop the small chuckle that came. "If you insist, Mason. Though one of us has to have common sense. Oh whatever shall we do if I were to contain my wisdom?" She said playfully with an exaggerated sense of distress.

Kyung-ha listened carefully to Abel's words while taking another sip of her drink. With anyone else she wouldn't have been as persistent about the situation, but because it was someone who she cared deeply for she couldn't help but do so. Perhaps she thought Abel would be safer with them rather than a hotel. Or perhaps he would have a better stay with better food and comfort from her house. Perhaps she missed Sangeon and wanted someone to occupy his leave. Quite honestly it was most likely a combination of them all. She remembered accepting Abel into her home back in Korea when the incident first happened. Her therapy strategies were extensive, but she treated him like a child of her own. From bathing, eating, sleeping, to training, she was determined to care for it all. She realized that perhaps her persistence was now due to guilt and longing after she had made her leave.

Although, Kyung-ha She was relieved to hear that at least he wasn't paying for disgusting hotel food since she held him up on a much higher standard than that. She was quiet for an extra couple of seconds. "I just miss my Abel-pie sometimes." The mother couldn't help but admit. Her small smile from earlier had now turned into a frown as she reflected upon things, especially her son. She closed her eyes momentarily, opening them to reveal the glassy look on her face rather than a saddened one. Kyung-ha took another sip of her tea and cleared her throat. "You are right, you are a very smart and organized bo--man." She corrected herself with a small grin. "You always welcome here, never forget that." The mother reminded him for what seemed the 100th time.

* * *

Alana blinked. "Capturing waves?" She repeated what Galiah said until she soon realized what she meant. "Ooohhhh...," Alana began, "I mean its not the physical capture of the wave but rather the feel of it that I like. It's like you're gliding on air, being entrapped within a beautiful wave for only a few seconds before it finalizes. It just makes you want to do it again and again. You've never tried it?"

"Even if I attempted to make a conscious decision to do so, I'm certain that you wouldn't allow me to do so," Abel replied with an attempt at a chuckle. But all that came were brief exhales of air. He drank more from his cup and then sat it aside. He didn't say anything for a couple of seconds. "There's something that we need to discuss," He said finally. "It is unclear as of this moment, but we may have to ask the both of you to relocate due to a dire turn of unforeseen events. According to information from our C.O.M., Yoon may very well be in danger."

Kyung-ha blinked, wondering if the jokes she heard were currently still happening. Her expression was now serious with concern. "Why, what is happening? Where would we possibly relocate?" She asked, wondering if this time is was her who would be eating hotel food for a while now. After taking another sip of tea, Kyun-ga urged a response from Abel.

Yoon gulped, the possibility of her being endangered making her nauseous and unsafe. She wondered if it was because she didn't privatize herself on social media and that now people had access to Yoon's private things and downloads.

Abel's brows were furrowed again, and he rid his cup of the rest of the tea that was in it before speaking. "Last month the boy–Nicholas," he used the kid's name. "He was abducted during being relocated himself. The agents that were responsible for completing the task were killed along with six others. Among the bodies the boy himself was nowhere to be found during the investigation. There is no doubt that the one responsible for this is the Droven, and we have reasoning to suspect that it plans to attack again for whatever reason it has to be pursuing Yoon. The C.O.M. has decided that if you were to be relocated, it would be to an area in Tampa that will be heavily secured by means of magic with the assistance of the former Head of Council's wife."

Mason gave a sigh at Jackie's response, not really adding anymore to it than that and instead, he asked, "It's good that Raven is doing better now. Has she... has she said anything about Sammy or I?"
Though Sammy kept her peppy attitude, her eyes moved up from her phone to the front of the van at the mention of this, wanting to hear what she had to say as well

Galiah shook her head almost immediately at Alana's question, answering her as she did, There are many things that I have not been able to do, Alana. This just so happens to be one of them, "She looked out onto the ocean, staring at in with a bit of amazement before she spoke, "Though I must say, fighting against the currents of the sea as sport, it does sound enticing"

Jackie looked over at Sammy, and then up to the front seat where Mason was, her eyebrows raising as she blinked in surprise at the both of them. "You're asking that now?" She asked. "After six months, this is when you make the decision to ask such a thing? Granted, you've only known the girl for a bit, but you two are at a horrible start." She said this with such casualness yet with bit of concern and with a half joking manner all in one. She rested her phone against her lap for a momentarily. "Yes, she has mentioned the both of you in one of our sessions, but by the way she spoke her memories of both of you may be a bit blurry. Samantha, did you not say you've been texting her every now again? I take it that you never received one back?"

"Of course I have" Sammy said before she flicked Mason in the back of the head, "And fuckin' shame on you for waiting until now to ask when I've been asking every fucking second"
"I-I'm sorry! I was asking for your sake anyway though" Mason answered in defense, deciding it would be easier for himself to remain quiet. Sammy gave a sigh before she answered, "Yes, I've been texting every day whenever I got the chance. I thought maybe she'd answer eventually, but no good. That's why I've been so hellbent on seeing her. I'm... really worried about her"
"We all are, Sammy" Mason replied as he turned onto the mass freeway, sticking to the detours to avoid traffic, "That's why we're all going to see her"
"I... guess" Sammy said, though she was... very much worried, more than she thought she was. She only met her once in person. Why was she so worried about her now

"You two...are almost hopeless," Jackie said, sighing as she shook her head. But then she paused as she remembered something. "And now that its crossed my mind, you'll have your chances to see her as many times as you'd like without the hassle of a drive if things go as planned." She sat up a little, wiggling her butt into the comfy seat slightly. "Yes, if things go as planned, then she will be in the next door apartment where she can be monitored."

Sammy, without warning, grabbed the back of Mason's seat and jolted forward, causing Mason to swerve a bit as she shouted, "Really!?"
"Jesus, calm down, Sammy" Mason said as he was able to straighten out the car once again, letting out a sigh of relief afterward as he asked, "But still, I'm hoping it is the case. But... Wouldn't it be bad if Raven's magic goes off like that again? If so, I doubt we'd be able to survive such a destructive blast a second time, especially in our sleep"
Though Sammy wanted Mason to stop talking about it, she couldn't help but agree. If Raven were to lose control again, they probably wouldn't survive if they were that close to her