The Other Side of This Life

Location: Wayne's place
Time: Afternoon
Weather: Cold. Rainy.
Topic for: @Wayne xx
Outfit: Link
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It was way to many times people did this. Suddenly moved out of her life without a warning, not really because he had moved away or anything. But he had taken a break from the academy, and as one of her only friends - she wasn't to fond of that. Therefor, Maya had made it her choice to make a scene. She was the type of person to take care of everyone else but herself, the type of person who would fight though any battle without thinking about if she wat going to live or not. It had only been a few months ago since she had tried to end everything, put herself out of her own misery. But she was still here, despite everything she could only hope life would get better one day. Jack did his to make her own the fact she was a thunderbird, and even if it was just a small step along the way it was steps in the right way.
This afternoon her steps were leading her to Anthony's place. It was selfish of her to want an explanation for his break from the academy, it was very much unlike him. Maya was still a master of breaking in places, and it came with the evolved brain she had - also one of the reasons she liked Anthony so much - he could keep up with her. She got the front door opened and walked in. "Anthony?" She asked out in the room, letting har sharper senses try to catch his scent. But something was wrong, the scent was all wrong making her frown a bit as she took her jacket and hat, and hang it where she usually did. Maya then took off her shoes and walked further in. The frown didn't leave her worried face, werewolf why did his place smell like werewolf? Her first thought was maybe he had a girlfriend over, but she couldn't remember him mentioning anyone - but then again, she had been a bit distracted with everything in her own life.

Then she found him. Maya breathed out as she put the pieces together about what was going on. "Oh Way," she walked over to him, just wanting to embrace him, even if she was just a tiny little person next to him - it didn't mean she couldn't show him that she was there for him. "I'm here - okay? I'm here." Maya couldn't know how it had happened, other than the obvious - but she knew what it was like to have everything change around you. Suddenly become something else.

The apartment was one that someone had sponsored him, promising that he wouldn’t have to pay it back. Was it Lucas? Or Artemis? He couldn’t remember. Wayne had set his mind to paying it all back anyway, as soon as he was fit to do so, but right now it was hard to even think more than two minutes ahead. It was small and his room was dark and dusty and he hadn’t done anything to make it cozy or homely. He was crouched down in the corner of the room, next to his bed, where he had sat for the majority of the day staring into the dark wall in front of him. He hadn’t drawn the curtains yet, nor had he eaten and his muscles had started to hurt a few hours ago from sitting on the hard, wooden floor. Not that he really felt it; his whole body hurt none the less and had done so ever since that night about a week earlier.

He heard her as soon as she reached the doorway. He smelt her too, her scent hitting him straight in the face causing him to whimper in despair, hastily putting his head between his knees as the nausea kicked in. The overwhelming amount of senses knocked him out; not knowing what was what and who was who clouded his usually sharp mind. That’s why he hadn’t gone back to the academy. So many smells. So much noise. So many people. He didn’t understand it all. Artemis had told him he would get used to it but it had been about a week now and he still felt sick every time a new smell hit him. This smell felt particularly heavy; like heavy clouds and thunder.

Wayne’s head shot up when he heard a voice but his eyes were glazed, not really picking up who it was. An awful lot of people had been calling him Anthony this past week he thought dryly. It was probably just Artemis that could feel that he was feeling shitty. Again. He still hadn’t quite wrapped his head around her. She scared the living hell out of him and he couldn’t really figure out if she liked him or despised him. The thoughts had his anxiety push down on him and he quickly lowered his head between his legs again as another nauseous wave washed over him, making him groan. He heard her voice again, this time using her nickname for him. Finally it clicked.
“Oh,” he mumbled, his voice thick making it very clear that he wasn't feeling well. It mirrored his clouded mind stating that he was on a deep, downward spiral. “Oh, hey, Smartie.” He said as he tried breathing in through his nose; something people said to do when feeling panicky, yet something that had never worked before in his life. “You smell funny,” he said matter-of-factly. “Very funny. Like rain and humid air. Very funny, that.” He raised his head to look towards him, placing his chin on top of his knees that were still pushed up under him, and put his hands around his legs like a hug. With a heavily shaking hand he raised his arm towards her, hoping she'd grab it, just to feel some sort of warmth and closeness for a second. Some sort of home.

It hit her hard, seeing him like this. All hopeless and pale, it wasn't like she knew a lot of werewolves, if she had there would be something she could do. However, as he reached out for her, she quickly grabbed his hand and sat down close to him. Her crystal blue eyes analyzing his expression, every blink how he was breathing. To say she was worried was an understatement. Maya smiled a little by the comment about how she smelled. Her scent was weird to most creatures, because most people didn't even know a species like hers was real, at least till they saw it with their own eyes. "I call it all natural," she replied with a little smirk. Maya took a deeper breath in. She remembered the pain of her first transformation, how freaked out and scared she had been- how much she had wished for it to just stop. How she had wished everything would just stop - she still felt like that most of the time. "How are you feeling?" She then asked, asking if he was fine seemed utterly stupid - he looked far from fine. He looked like a lost puppy who had been washed up on the sidewalk alone in the cold. "You are going to be okay, I promise you that," she assured him, knowing that wanting going back to normal at this time might be the only thing he wished for.

Maya had never had anything normal, her life had been anything but that. She also knew what it was like to feel alone in the world, and it was the last thing she wanted for Wayne, the very last thing she wanted. Maya took a slightly deeper breath in, before moving closer to him so she could wrap her arms around him, holding him just a little bit closer. "How did this happen to you?" Maya asked carefully and held him a little bit closer. Wanting him to know she was there, and she wasn't going anywhere.

He couldn't help a low, frustrated chuckle. Yes. How did he feel? It seemed to be the question everybody asked him and he hadn't come any closer to an answer. He rubbed his chin, carefully considering his words so that she wouldn't be more worried about him than she clearly already was. Wayne didn't like pity. People always looked at him pitifully because he was a rambling mess but he saw it and it hurt him. Even now, when he clearly needed pity and compassion, he couldn't help but reassure her that he was fine. Almost an automatic reply at this point. "Uh, some times I feel a lot," he replied, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. He had no idea if it made sense, but in essence it was exactly what it was. A lot. "And then nothing. At all. And my head feels thick," he looked up at her with a slight pout, his usually bright blue eyes seeming dark and grey. "I can't think," he whimpered, moving his hand from his chin to his forehead. His other hand still held onto hers. "Will I, Smartie?" He asked dryly to her reassuring words with a desperate fry to his voice. "Will I?"

He usually wasn't one for excessive amounts of physical contact, but as she put her hands around him, he embraced the moment, letting her warmth spill onto him, breathing in the smell of a thunderstorm. He couldn't help the emotions hitting him in the stomach, and with a sniffle, he let his head dump onto her shoulder, his eyes still focusing on the back wall but now they were awake; awake and wet.
How did this happen to you?
Wayne flinched. He had tried not to think about it at all. Lauren had called him about a million times and sent heartbreakingly apologetic messages up until the point where he had flicked the phone across the room in a fit of rage. He groaned at the thought of it, feeling horrible that he hadn't returned her calls. "I went to a party," he whispered. Maya knew that he didn't party. He didn't like it. He enjoyed drinking beers with his friends in confined, safe spaces where he could hear what people were saying. Not loud music and flashy lights and sweaty people. Not drinking until you couldn't feel or talk. His eyebrows furrowed again and another desperate laugh pushed its way out. Desperate and panicky. "Imagine!" He cried out. "A party." Unconsciously he reached for his neck and touched the sore part where Lauren had bit him - the teeth marks still evident and healing slowly.

Will I? She held her breath for a little while before giving his hand a little squeeze. Truth to be told, she had no idea - but she could only give him the comfort that she believed in him. She believed he could win this. Maya was here for him, and she wasn't going to leave - because he needed someone, and she didn't want him to go trough this alone like she had done. Loneliness was a terrifying thing, and even more if you were dealing with something so life chancing as changing into a new species. He had went to a party, the thought made her chuckle like an natural respond - if it had been a different situation, she would have thought he was messing with her. Maya didn't like drinking or parties, the flashy lights made her uncomfortable and with her already being jumpy it made her abilities lash out. And alcohol was far from the best solve on that problem, so she had liked hanging out with Wayne just sitting there actually using her brain and not wasting her potential - as some would say. "I can't even imagine that," she whispered softly as she took a deeper breath in. Maya hadn't really been fond of sharing her transformation into a thunderbird, as far as people had known - she'd been a shapeshifter with a weird scent. That had changed when Jack had found her around October - realizing she was at least almost like him.

"I'm going to help you, okay?" She assured him, letting her hand gently caress his upper arm. "You won't be alone," Maya took a slight deeper breath in and closed her eyes shortly. "Did you know, something like that happened to me back in summer - not really a party or anything fancy however," she chuckled trying to take his mind off everything. If he could focus on anything else but the change he was going through, maybe it would make him able to just feel a little like himself. "I heard the storm calling me.. crazy enough.. I went out to the forest in the middle of the night - I know stupid," she rolled her eyes a little by herself, still keeping herself close to him. "I met someone.. and I don't know how.. but she activated a hidden gene - and I was turned into this.. giant eagle.. and it felt so overwhelming and I was so scared," she closed her eyes taking the words she spoke in, because it was the truth. And Maya was no better than Wayne in this scenario. She had been pushing people away from her as well, or at least acted out the perfect act on how everything was fine. "Which one of us is the freakiest now huh, the thunderbird.. or the werewolf. I think it sounds like a pretty cool team." Maya finally let go of him, but still kept herself close. "I know you will get through this, because I did. And we will do it together. Alright?"

I'm going to help you, okay?
Self pity wrapped around him making him feel heavy and unfocused and poked him all the wrong places. What did she know about any of this. What could she possibly help him with. She didn't understand the pain or the confusion - nobody did. Not Artemis. Not Maya. Nobody. And everybody seemed to think they did, when in reality the only possible person that could help him right now was the goddamn person who bit him in the first place and turned his life into a living hell. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. The flare of anger that hit him was so unexpected that he whimpered and had to bury his head between his knees again, trying to calm himself down.
You won't be alone.
"Maya," he whimpered, and breathed in loudly through his nose. "I'm so angry all the time. I don't know how to not be that." Tears pressed on his eyes and he shut them tightly, squeezing his entire face into his knees. He swallowed, focusing on her voice. Her light chuckle made his head clear up a little. A little laugh he always spent time thinking about how to have her do, when he was talking. She was the only girl that seemed to understand his way of thinking and seemed to find him funny enough to laugh like that. Little laugh. Slowly he raised his head back up, so that he could look at her whilst she spoke. His eyebrows furrowed in light confusion. Thunderbird? He thought she was a Shapeshifter. "Oh!" He exclaimed, hit by the realisation that of course she wasn't just a shapeshifter. "That's why you smell funny!" He would have thought that maybe thunderbirds smelled like - well - birds, but she smelled like mountains and rain and heavy thunderstorms. Artemis smelled like sage, he thought, and Lucas had smelled like a weird mix of humid forest and something that made his nose itch. For someone like him that had already been sensitive to smells as a human this had been the most overwhelming part of it all - even though he hadn't gone through a full transformation yet, his smell had heightened massively.

For the first time in what felt like years, Wayne couldn't help a smile. A smile through shiny, teary eyes and on a pale face, but a smile none the less. Yes, he thought, they did sound like a good team indeed. He felt warm thinking about anyone wanting him to be on their team at all, and the fact that it was Maya was even better. He nodded to her, every ounce of anger disappeared from his body. If she could do it he could too. If Lauren could do it he could too. "Okay," he replied slowly. "Okay."
He shook his head mid smile, grateful that she had come but also embarrassed that he was in such a state. Not that him being in any sort of state was new, of course, and she had seen him freak out more than once.
"Do I smell like a dog?" He asked after a few seconds of being lost in his mind, wrinkling his nose by the thought. "Because that would be kind of gross."

The emotions were far from under control, a part of her related to that - also a reason she had spend so much time controlling her abilities. Her telekinesis went insane when she lost her calm. Just she was allowed to feel like shit, so was he, even if they didn't want anyone to see them like that. Anger seemed like the most common feeling when it came to werewolves, one thing she had noticed - all expect for one at least. Maya caressed his back and let him at least just feel, things weren't going to become better just by saying one should move on from them, or keep saying it would be alright. How did everything so overwhelming ever seem like alright? Maya even regretted that choice of word before, because if she had been so close and on the edge of trying to kill herself to escape her pain - how could she tell someone else that everything would be alright? It wasn't the same pain, and how he felt it could be worse or less worse than her. One shouldn't compare ones pain to another person's. Maya usually didn't channel anger, if she did there would be nothing but destruction coming her way - but it was also the easiest emotion to channel, when everything went wrong it was so much easier to become angry at the world.

Her lips curled up in a little smile, "I guess so," she replied liking the thought of not just smelling like a roasted chicken. Maya took a deeper breath in, reminding herself to breathe. He seemed to open up to her words, fight the darkness just a little bit and that was the first step in the right direction. She needed to believe it herself that she had people around her that could guide her through her own darkness, but like she'd said: they could make a pretty good team. Do I smell like a dog? Maya couldn't help but let a small laughter escape by that question. It was funny how vampires had started that rumor, but she had never quite understood the reason behind it. "No you don't," she replied honestly, "besides, werewolves are wolves not dogs - silly." Maya tilted her head a little to the side letting her eyes analyze his face as she gently brushed his hair a little bit back. "You still smell the same to me, just a little bit different - but the same." The worst part would be just before the transformation, and she wondered how he would handle it shortly. One thing was Maya's mind was build to adapt quickly to whatever happened around her, it didn't change the fact that everyday her body was forced to break due to transformation - he would only have to once a month. Maya did remember Jack talking about an alpha werewolf friend he had, because honestly, Jack spoke too much when he tried to let someone gain his trust - and Maya rarely forgot anything. Maya didn't wish for Wayne to have go through that pain, and it stung her that she knew he would have to.

Wayne tried to focus on anything but his thoughts. The way his sight had become better in the dark had him watch how the dust lazily whirled around them every time they took a breath, reflecting in the few beams of light that came through the ragged curtains by the window. The light was cold, matching the weather outside and there was a low drumming rhythm of rain hitting the roof. Her hand on his back did tiny circles and reminded him of Artemis and how she had done the same when he had been having a panic attack. He usually didn't like physical touch much, but lately he had been craving it. The nearness of other people, just to make sure he wasn't in fact fading away. That's how he felt. Faded. His eyes found hers as she spoke again, and he shook his head.
"No, really," he said trying to convince her as she didn't seem convinced. "You do. But in a nice way," he nodded slowly, to make her understand. She smelled like home. Like Scottish highland and rainy spring days. Like the mountain air walking through clouds on a foggy day. "You smell like..." He knitted his brows trying to put words on his thoughts without it sounding too sappy. "Home. You smell like my home. Like the North." If it hadn't been for the fact that him and his mother had literally fled Scotland to get away from his father those many years ago, Scotland would have been his home and he missed it gravely. He didn't have the heart to go back, though. Not with his father still possibly there and not without his mum. It wouldn't feel right. That was just another little thing to add to the anxiety these days. The outbursts of anger had his stress levels skyrocket because they reminded Wayne of him. His father. Always so angry, always having to tippytoe around the house to not upset him. He didn't want to turn into someone like that.
He regarded Maya with a pained expression by that thought. The thought of becoming dangerous for those around him had never ever been a worry. Not until now.

Maya's gentle fingers as they tugged a strand of hair between his ear had him momentarily loose focus of the horrid thoughts that were raging inside him. "Oh," he mumbled. "Well, that's always something I suppose." At least he didn't smell like a dog. He returned her gaze with lightly knitted brows and nodded. She was right. Dogs and wolves were not the same. Although in fairness they probably did smell the same. Her reassuring words made him smile softly and he returned his gaze to the floor. "That's good," he said. "Very good." He liked the idea of not having changed that much. It made him feel less of a weirdo. His lightly worried eyes returned to her. "I'm sorry for not replying to your calls and all," he said, his voice small and embarrassed. "Uh, and for not telling you about this. I - I just didn't really, you know - uh - understand it. You know," his voice faded into a mumble. He knew her well. He also knew that him disappearing without a word had been rude and could be triggering for her. For the first time in a week his self-pity was gone and had been replaced by worry for someone else. The thought of having caused her distress was overwhelmingly horrifying.  

You smell like my home. Maya held her breath for a small second as her heart skipped a small beat, drowning in your own head, your own traumas you forgot what you could mean to someone else. Yet, he had no idea how much words like that meant for her. "I'm glad to give you a sense of home then," she replied with a little curl pulling her lips up to a little short smirk. Home was rare, and Maya had been living som many places - she didn't really remember what home was supposed to feel like, which was odd for someone with a memory like hers. The closets thing to having a real family was from when she had been trapped in a dream reality by a creature who wanted to drain her from blood. In that reality she'd had everything she wanted, actual parents that wanted her.. the perfect life without all this pain and terror. Dean, her mind pushed that memory away, still not knowing why that name meant something to her, but it was like it was ripped from her soul and it hurt to even attempt to think about where that memory belonged.

It seemed like his spirit changed a little bit, and she was glad not to stay in a deep hole for too long. It took a lot of her, but she didn't mind going into the darkness if it meant fishing him back up to the light. Maya's eyes widened a little bit to his apology and she held her breath for a second. It was never easy when she couldn't get a hold on someone, she had far too many cases where people never picked up or was untraceable. But she didn't want to come off as clingy either so she had been keeping herself from spamming him with too many calls - but still managed to perhaps look like a crazy jealous girlfriend or something close to that, however her worry came from the purest essence of fear. Maya had been walking around in circles like a trapped animal, possibly breaking most of the things in her room after her ability had started acting out. In the end she couldn't taken much more of the worry so she had hacked his phone to find his location - if he was home or not was a different question, she hadn't been able to tell that from the phone. Maya took a deeper breath in and gave him a little nod. "It's okay," she assured him as she breathed out slowly. "I hacked your phone in the end to trace the signal - " she confessed with a small laughter as she shook her head a little bit. Wayne was one of the few people who knew just how good she was at hacking almost everything. Her past working in the field at the military at a young age, just how trained she was in areas she wished she didn't knew about. But even if he knew a lot, there was still parts he didn't know, things she was still processing. One of them being her entire stay at umbrella and the dream reality Persephone had helped her escape from.

"I'm just happy you were here," she confessed with a smile, only letting the small pained glimpse reach her eyes for a small second. Change like this was going to make everything different, and it would change him - how much or how little, she didn't know. One thing she did know was she wouldn't let him go through it alone, he shouldn't end up like her. Maya had often wondered why she was send here to be so hopeless and doomed to be unhappy - so she appreciated what she did have. She had Wayne in her life and she was forever thankful for that.

Wayne held her gaze, something very uncommon for him to do, but he needed her to understand that he truly felt horrible for leaving her like that. After everything she'd been through, and he hadn't had the decency to go to her. Actually he had gone to Artemis, though he hadn't known her at all, in hopes of her getting rid of whatever was happening with him with some sort of magic. He didn't understand magic really, it wasn't like mechanics, but she had told him that she couldn't do anything about it. At least she had been very helpful and nice for once; helping him getting a place to stay so he hadn't had to go back to the Academy while he was panicking. But that meant he had forgotten literally everyone else around him. Maya was by far the most important person in his life. He knew that and had known it for a while. He wasn't dramatic but knew that he would die for her.

I hacked your phone in the end to trace the signal.
Wayne's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "What. The hell." Okay maybe he wouldn't die for her after all. Although he was grateful she'd come he regarded her sceptically. "You hacked my phone?" He asked, his Scottish accent creeping in a little heavier than before as he narrowed his eyes a little to watched her. "My phone?" He was brilliant with electronics, just like she was, and his phone and computer were hack-proof. At least he had thought so. He wondered then, if that was why it had taken her a whole week - maybe it had taken long to hack the phone. "You hacked my phone." He repeated, looking towards the window with a grumpy expression on his face. He really had to update his methods. If she could hack his phone that meant that others could too, and he had sensitive data from work lying around his harddrives. The puzzled expression intensified as he shifted his focus back to her. "How?!" He screeched, genuinely shocked that anyone had hacked his location. Embarrassing. Even if it was Maya, who was just as much of a genius as he was, that was outrageous. Yes, she was a brilliant hacker no doubt about it, but as was he. And even more brilliant at covering his steps. His surprise dulled down at her sweet words, and he scratched his messy hair, whilst studying her eclectic eyes. He nodded slightly. "Me too," he replied. He was happy she'd come, even if it had meant hacking his phone. He hadn't realised how much he needed the nearness of a friend. After everything. That made him think of Artemis. The thought made Wayne bury his face in his hands.
"Uh - Peanut?" He asked, slowly looking up at her with a lightly wrinkled nose. "This - this thing - this is not the only thing that's, uh, you know, happened." The mumble was back and he bit his lips trying to focus. "Do you know Artemis? The, uh, the teacher?"

Maya fought with all her power to not burst into laughter over his reaktion, now that she thought about it, this was the most likely reaction - but she had been so worried that she had forgotten that part. "I did yeah," she replied as he repeated his sentence. Maya shook her head a little bit as his face turned towards the window, if anything a sentence like that made him feel slightly back to his old self. "Oh please," she replied with a lighthearted eye roll, "as if you made it easy. But I've been hacking military bases most of my life," she pointed out and raised her left brow a little bit. Maya didn't usually mention her military background, it wasn't something she was proud off, the things she had done. The life she had ruined by the commands of others, the people she had lost in the war against the undead few years back - being the only one in her trope that had made it. Survivors guilt always kicked her ass. "Don't underestimate the power of wanting to find your best friend," she added the conclusion. Maya folded her lips together shortly and took a deep breath in through her nose, still keeping her eyes at him. A week was a long time. A day could even be long, especially if you worried about someone.

Suddenly he buried his face in his hands, which made the worried expression return to her face. Sometimes she wished she was a mind reader, being able to hear what went on inside other people's heads so she could find a way to help, then again she was reminded her own thoughts already was overwhelming enough. Not the only thing that had happened? What the hell had been going on while she hadn't been there? Artemis. She remembered Artemis clearly, she was the only teacher that let Maya be Maya whenever she needed. Let her set fire to the chemistry lab and do crazy experiments. Letting her have an outlet for whatever that troubled her, even if there was a few times where she went to far. You didn't forget neither Jack or Lucas' 'you-went-too-far-faces, also if they only meant it for her own safety. "Yeah, what about her?" Maya then asked. She knew Artemis could be tough, and acted in her-own favor and could even be harsh to some of the people at the academy. Maya wondered shortly if she had said or something that had upset him, and her muscles tensed up. "What happened with her?"

“Oh please?!” He repeated, entirely flabbergasted. “But I’m better than military bases,” he mumbled a little miserably. And he was. God, of course he was. That’s why Umbrella had hired him before he’d even heard of them. Don't underestimate the power of wanting to find your best friend.
Wayne’s eyebrows knitted slightly before his entire face softened up and he shifted his focus onto her, regarding her a little surprised. Wayne never really knew when it was socially acceptable to tell people he loved them, so he usually never did. Easier than making mistakes, that. He also wondered if they’d ever called each other ‘best friends’ before and it made him oddly emotional that she had said it so casually and with such warmth. It nearly broke him again, but as he looked away and took a shuddering breath, he managed to blink away the tears that were threatening to overflow his bright, blue eyes. “Mh, thank you,” he muttered, his voice a little hoarse.

The emotions faded a little as absolute, agonizing embarrassment rolled over him like a wave. He couldn’t help a miserable whine. Why did people know this teacher and how had he managed to never run into her for all those years?! Wayne wrinkled his nose and took a rather theatrically large breath. “Oh, she’s - uh - you know. A witch, right? And you know how witches have,” he paused looking towards the window again, fiddling slightly with her sleeve as he spoke. “You know. Mates.” The last word was whispered almost fearfully as though it was a monstrous thing not to be spoken of. Mates. What an entirely inappropriate concept! “And so I didn’t tell you because I thought it was a joke but then you know, all of this happened and I’m pretty sure - uh - that she’s right, you know.” He pinched his lips together. “But she’s so scary!” He ended witch a screech not really knowing if his point had gotten through.

"Military bases suck, I don't," she pointed out and poked his nose with her finger for a second. It was the truth though, Maya had never liked the military base it was just work, everyday just working up to a point to achieve something that didn't wasn't for her. A lot of things wasn't meant for her, and she had accepted that, so she appreciated the small things she did have. Maya wasn't used to him feel so emotional, but then again she wasn't known to throw words of affection around like this. Her love came from sarcasm and teasing the people she loved, not from declaring it by direct words like she just did.

Maya knew witches, she was related to witches even if she didn't want anything to do with that family - her biological family had left her, abandoned her a long time ago - why should she even give them a chance now that some had reached out? Mates, she frowned a bit, as she didn't like where this was going. Maya knew about witches and mates, and her mind did the puzzle quite quickly - she just didn't know what to say, so she let him talk. Artemis having Wayne as a mate, it seemed like a match made in hell. If God was real, he clearly had to up his game a little bit. However, Maya was also a problem solver and she knew there was ways around it - and question was how Artemis handled it. She clearly had scared him with that. "She is a bit intense time to time," she confirmed with a little nod as she looked around in the room. "You know, you aren't forced to do anything you don't want to, right?" Maya returned her piercing blue eyes to him and folded her lips shortly. "A witch is bound to you, you aren't forced to be linked to them. You have choices," of course no one with their humanity in check would want to reject a witch, knowing how painful their deaths would be. Maya didn't want Artemis to die - but she didn't want Wayne to be forced into anything either. Maya had lived to long being controlled to do things she didn't want to do, and having people walk all over her - so wanting to protect him from hurt was naturally from her. No one had ever protected her, so it was the least she could do. "It freaked ya out huh? Everything must have been quite overwhelming, I don't blame you for not saying anything. It takes time to process a bomb like that."

Wayne could only nod in agreement to her words. “Well, you’re right about that,” he mumbled and smiled a little somberly. He wrinkled his nose lightly as she poked it. She had never explicitly told him about her military days and what had happened to her but he knew only too well that it had been horribly bad and so he could only appreciate that she was jokingly talking about it to lighten his mood. Truth be told he needed it.
He saw it in her face, how the little pieces came together and she fully understood his words. This is why he loved her, he thought a little sadly. She understood every babble and every quirk and she never judged him for anything. Even now as he had left her alone for a week, practically lied to her and not told her about Artemis and had somehow gotten himself bitten by a werewolf; she wasn’t judging him. It made his eyes tear up as he listened to her comforting words.
You know you aren’t forced to do anything you don’t want right?

It hit him in the stomach. Those words had been said to him so many times by his mum. When Dad had been horrible or sent him off to wherever to ‘get normal’. Heavy words they were, lying on his shoulders. He tilted his head to rest it on her, staring into the wall in front of them.
“But she will die,” he whispered, his voice shaking slightly. “A horrible, miserable death.” At least that was what he had read up on. Worst possible scenario. He had also read, however, that some witches managed to live side by side with their mates without being romantically invested but that it was very few who had that control. Artemis had kissed him, so he wasn’t sure if she had that.

Wayne suddenly felt incredibly tired and weak. For the first time since the accident at the Lake Party he felt a little at ease. His head on her shoulder like that. Her comforting smell of Highland and humid mountain air and wet grass. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “Thanks for being understanding like this, Peanut.” Wayne closed his eyes to listen to her heartbeat. “Thanks for being you.”

Death. He was right if he rejected her she would die. Maya had read about witches and their painful deaths after a made rejected them, not something she would wish upon anyone - or a few people could actually make the list. If Artemis, however, just chose to leave and never return to Gaia, the problem was solved. It didn't even have to be Wayne sending her away. Maya stopped herself, it wasn't even sure he wanted that, and it wasn't her choice to make. Wayne and Roman were the most important people in her life, and there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for the two of them. "It's magic. There is a loophole for anything -" she reminded him and folded her lips together as her brain worked in trying to come up with a suggestion, then again, she didn't want to overwhelm him more than he already was.

The young thunderbird pulled a little smile as she leaned her head against his. Maya exhaled calmly and closed her eyes for just a small moment, reminding herself everything was alright - she had found him, things were going to be alright. Thanks for being you, the words made her open her eyes and she held her breath for a while, feeling the smile curl up a little bit more. She blinked a few threating tears away as his sentimental mood was affecting her like a sneak attack she hadn't seen coming. "Anytime Way, you can always count on me. Always," she took a deeper breath in, feeling the guilt slightly hit her of how selfish she had been. Even if she hadn't pulled that trigger, even if she hadn't taken the safety off - she had still almost done it, and she would have left him alone. Maya wouldn't have been able to sit here with him and comfort him if she had been gone, and that thought was hitting her hard for a moment. "And.. I'm going anywhere," she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze to ease her own guilt a little bit. Maya breathed out a little heavily and licked her lips shortly, as she managed to blink a few single tears out from her wet eyes. To think she had gotten so deeply inside her own head, and made herself believe that no one needed her, how had she let herself fall that far? Loneliness was no joke, but that she had went that far. It was something she had to learn to forgive herself for, but wasn't going to be easy. "It will be okay," she whispered underneath her breath.

As soon as he heard her trembling breath he realized that perhaps the topic was a tad heavy on her. Death. His head perked up to study her face with lightly knitted brows, making sure she was okay with the conversation.
It's magic. There is a loophole for anything. Maybe she was right. Normal rules never applied to magic, he felt, yet it wasn’t exactly enthusiasm he felt about it all. Witches had been around for so long and if they hadn’t found a loophole yet, perhaps they never would.
“I don’t like magic one bit,” he mumbled a little growly, satisfied that her face didn’t signal that she was going into a panic-attack. “Absolute worst. Too irregular. Bloody irregular and nonsensical.” He let his head rest back on her shoulder again, wrinkling his nose in frustration. Of all things why did it have to be magic, he thought with a loud sigh. Bloody magic.
At least right now he felt at ease for the first time in a whole week. The trembling in his hands was gone and his mind felt a little quieter.

You can always count on me.
Wayne smiled softly. He didn’t count on a lot of people; he’d leaned that the hard way. He counted on his hands and his head. Maya was different. She had the same need and want for a family as he had, and he felt they had formed a little safe bubble between them. He nodded; the movement a little awkward on her shoulder, when he felt something wet touching his cheek. He pushed his head upwards a little, gently moving it from under hers to look at her.
“Oh. Oh. No, no,” he mumbled a little dazed and caught a tear with his finger, softly drying it away from her cheek. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Funny how his entire mind stood still when people he cared for seemed to be in the middle of a storm. It was like his own anxiety just vanished when he focused on somebody else. “You better not, no,” he replied with a wider smile, nodding at her. “I wouldn’t be strong enough to be in a world without you in it.”
He had no idea where those words came from but he had thought them ever since she had told him how close to doing something drastic she had been. He didn’t know any details about it but the fact that she had been so miserable that the thoughts had even been there freaked him out and made him feel somewhat of a responsibility towards her. A responsibility he had not honoured by disappearing like this.
“I hope so, Peanut,” he mumbled to himself. “It better be.”

Magic had never given her anything good, now that she came to think about it. But then again, there wasn't many things in life who had been good to her. Magic was a thing that didn't make sense, something you couldn't touch and explain in the same sense of science - she understood why he didn't like it. Then again, Maya had lived almost a year with a fairy who used magic for almost everything, she had learned to handle with some of it - speaking of Alison - maybe she could help them in this. "Magic is tricky like that," dangerous even. She remembered that from the cave where the djinn had placed her in a dream reality, how terrible it was to be give you everything you ever had wanted in life - only to let yourself wake up to the harsh reality of it being nothing but a dream. Magic was heart breaking like that.

Maya didn't want to hurt anymore, but she had come to terms with it having to hurt a little bit longer before it would get better. It was better when she was around Wayne, like he chased the chaos away from her and left her with more normal things to think about, even if it was random things. It was nice to feel just somewhat normal time to time. This right here was her safe place it was peace away from the chaos. "It's okay.. it’s a happy tear," she said with a low voice chuckling a little bit, as he caught the tear. Crying was for the weak it was always something she had been told; it was how she was raised. Crying wouldn't save you from the war. However, she had learned it was okay sometimes. It was okay not to be okay. I wouldn’t be strong enough to be in a world without you in it. Her entire world stopped for a second, it was like she even forgot to breathe. It wasn't still her mind reminded her that she needed to that she took a deeper breath in. It was another stab mixed with the guilt of having been trying to kill herself, now mixed with the fact that somebody did need her. This was what love felt like, knowing you were loved. Maya blinked another tear out and took a deeper breath in, usually no one was able to stop her from talking, but then again she wasn't used to this kind of confession. Her head tilted a little inch to the side as she tried to come up with words to say. "The same goes for you," she finally managed to let a soft whisper out from her lips, as she breathed out. "I wouldn't know what to do without you."

They would both be fine, she needed to hold on to the hope that things would be better. There were a few steps on the list till they would reach that, but she had hope and hope was the only thing stronger than fear. It wasn't like she was alone. She had people who cared about her, and she felt selfish for isolating herself in that pain and grief she carried. It was like she had locked herself in a room and suddenly being faced with everything that ever had happened to her. She had thought she was safe in there, and it wasn't till that arrogant ghost had stopped her that she had found the key to lock herself out again. "I am so happy to have you in my life.. you know that right? Don't ever forget it."

Magic is tricky like that.
Wayne grumbled unamused at the notion. He knew that. Everyone always said that magic came with a price and now that price was seemingly something as heavy as life and death. He didn’t like not being in control of things. That’s why computers and electronics and everything materialistic like that made him feel calm and collected - they all made sense and behaved in regular patterned ways. Patterns he could somewhat easily crack. It made his fingers itch to go back to work. He hadn’t felt different from everyone else at Umbrella. On the contrary he had fit in perfectly; they trusted him to do his thing and he delivered results. He wondered what they would think of this new side of him.

Wayne was still a little confused by the crying. He gently caught another tear fleetingly escaping her eye. A happy tear? “Hey, it’s all good hm?” He confirmed her, trying to make the tears stop. Even if they were happy she looked so sad. He didn’t like it. She wasn’t usually emotional like he was. She was the little bundle of joy that would explode in laughing fits and waltz around the room like she was meant to be there. “You’re good,” he repeated softly and gave her a little squeeze.
She seemed to break a little at his sentiment and he couldn’t help but smile gently towards her. He wasn’t good with feelings like this. Sarcasm had always been his best defense and most other feelings were so obviously connected to his anxiety that it wasn’t often he got to genuinely tell people he loved them. It made him seem a little cold at times but he was such a emotional person and never knew when he was simply overreacting or when he was overwhelmed and it would be inappropriate to say something like that. So he was happy that he had timed it well and that it was received as he had intended it to.
“Oh stop it you,” he mumbled and gave her a gentle push with his shoulder. “You’d be fine.” Wayne knew that people would be fine without him and he was so very okay with that fact. He had all faith in the world that Maya would be every bit as amazing as she was even if he wasn’t there but he didn’t know if that was something he should share. Instead he bit down on his bottom lip and -
I’m so happy to have you in my life.

Wayne blinked a few rapid blinks in surprise before he turned his head towards her. He nodded softly.
Don’t ever forget it.
“I won’t, Peanut,” he replied with yet another nod. “I won’t.”
He felt better. Less lost. Less anxious. Knowing that his best friend had gone through something similar to what he was about to made it all a little bit better, and somehow kickstarted his brain a little. He couldn’t just sit here an sulk all day. His hands were itching to be used and his braid felt weirdly buzzy from not having been used properly for the whole week. Okay, he thought to himself. Okay. Other werewolves could function normally why shouldn’t he be able to do the same? The only thing he knew for sure was that he didn’t want to go back to the academy. No more parties. No more studying. He needed to do something more meaningful than that to get over all this passiveness.

You’d be fine, she didn't reply, mostly because she didn't want to dig up the list of reasons why she wouldn't be fine. She was sick and tired of everyone around her leaving her and picking her second hand. But living in a world without Wayne in it to not get her stupid puns and jokes, or to sit with her whenever she felt like the world were against her - even if it was in silence or just sitting there talking about all kinds of science stuff. She needed that in her life. She needed him, even if he couldn't see it. It was mostly a matter of fact that she had underestimated the role you could play in another persons life, you never really knew what the person next to you were dealing with, or how important you were to them. Maya had lost sight of that in a moment of weakness and she was never going to do that again. I won’t. maya gave him a nod. "Good," she breathed out and tilted her head a little bit to the side.

Maya took a deeper breath in then looking at him with a slightly confused expression. "You know, silly, you should just call Roman. I know he is having a lot on his plate, but he would be able to help you," Maya suggested and exhaled a bit. Roman had lost his older brother Romeo a month ago, brutally killed in the woods. She had let them heal together since Roman somewhat had kept his distance from everything and everyone till a couple of days ago. Not Maya's best week with her best friends going into self-isolation.

You should just call Roman.
Wayne whimpered; leaning his head back onto the rough wall they sat against, to raise his eyes to the ceiling. For someone with so many werewolf friends, it was a bit silly to not call on any of them, he knew. It had probably mainly been denial from his side, hoping that by not talking about it, it wouldn't happen. Three more weeks and it would, and he would have absolutely zero idea of how to control any of it. It was selfish though, he thought of himself, to just up and leave one of his best friends alone with everything that had happened to him.
"I know," he whispered. He pouted his lips slightly, squinted his eyes and in the end decided to just close them. Maybe with closed eyes it seemed less serious. "You know how I get with change," he mumbled. Maya knew only too well that Wayne hated change. He didn't like it one bit. If he could stay in the same bubble doing the same things every day he would be highly content - not at all like herself and her constant need for adventure and fun. And family. That they had in common. The need for a family. That was what Maya had become. Family. As had Roman. Even Roman's siblings felt a bit like family. And his parents. They had all been so nice to him. Maybe they did know someone who could help. "Do you - I broke my phone. Has he been worried about me?" He asked, opening his eyes back up, thinking of Roman. "Do you think you could tell him I'll be ok?"

You know how I get with change, she breathed out and folded her lips together shortly. "Yeah, I know." Change was never funny, yet, Maya lived in a world where change happened so much she expected everything to be different every morning. There wasn't much that was consistent in her life, other than her way of being somewhat met by disappointment repeatedly. Perhaps, it was one of her reasons to seek out the best of everything, in a world that didn't nothing but bring you down all she really wanted was to find something that brought her joy. Anything to keep herself away from the dangerous thoughts that always seemed to be wanting to be a part of the game. Maya frowned a bit and exhaled when he asked if Roman was worried about him. "Yeah, we have called me at least four times a day - till I told him I would get back to him when I found out something." She confessed. There was no need to lie or put it lightly. Roman had lost his older brother, his older brother had been killed, of course Roman was worried that something similar had happened to his best friend. This was also one of the reasons why Maya had taken the choice to be the one finding Wayne, because even if it had been anything like that - death - she didn't want Roman to go through more grief. Not that she knew how she would have handled the situation if she had found him anything but alive. That horror scenario frightened her for a second, but she blinked it away, pushed it way back in her head as she breathed out. "Of course I will. He is already going to kick my ass for not showing up at chemistry this entire week. But I will tell him," she gave Wayne a assuring nod.

Maya took a deeper breath in and let her thoughts out, "do you want me to tell him what happened, or would you like to do it yourself?" She then asked softly. Maya knew for a fact that sometimes it was nice having someone tell it for you, but sometimes it was nice just to do it yourself. Roman would pick up on it the second he saw Wayne, she knew that, and she knew Roman would come to see Wayne right away if he knew. Then again, it wasn't something she liked keeping from him again, but if that was what Wayne wanted till he had found some sort of peace with it - then so be it.