You help the ones in need. I'm in need.

Place: Firm Roots youth center.
Weather: It just stopped raining.
Time: 00.24.
Date: 21st of July.
Surroundings: Most places are shut down and lights turned off. There is still smoke in the distance from the attacks on the city earlier.
A more bloodied and destroyed version of this
Topic partner: @Yadira

Each step became more of a challenge for him. He still had quite a way to get back home, but he was trying to fight his way through it. But with the injuries in his body, he was finding it hard to keep his abilities under control. He kept seeing a lot of probabilities, which didn’t help his state. He leaned against a wall and saw yet another probability. It was about a woman at the youth center. There was a high probability, she was going to help him. He couldn’t go any further in this state, so he would have to go there and hope for the best. His head felt like it was on fire. He was drenched by the rain. But that was probably best. It had washed away a lot of the blood. He was still limping. Mostly because the bullet in his knee was hindering him to walk normally. He closed his eyes for just a moment.
It made him find the energy to go on. He made his way to the youth center. He went inside and took in a shaking breath. His legs betrayed him, and he fell to the floor. He removed his glasses and pinched his nose bridge. He was not a person to be helpless like this. He should have made it back home, no matter how terrible his state was. He was sure many people in this place were sleeping, so maybe he could avoid being detected and leave before anyone woke up. He rolled up his pants leg and looked at the pullet that was lodged into his knee. He had to get it out, before his body healed and it was stuck in him. He looked around, searching for anything he could use. It was hardly the first time he had been shot, and probably wasn’t the last.

Elijah was feeling the effects of his injuries now that he was able to sit down. He gave up on finding a way to get the bullet out. He also felt like his head was not in the right place, after his mind had been affected by the werewolf earlier. He couldn’t keep focus and drifted in and out of an almost delirious state. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. If he got a little rest, maybe he would soon be ready to go home. He healed quickly, especially since he had gotten blood earlier. Speaking of, there was still some of Mariella’s blood left on his collar. It had mostly been washed away by the rain, but there was still a stain. He didn’t fully get his attention and focus back before lights were turned on. He looked at the woman moving inside, an angel. How appropriate. Elijah knew, this was technically Serpent territory, but he was just stopping by for a moment. He still had a lingering feeling she was going to help him.
He looked at the frying pan in her hand. ”Those could kill a man. Or cause a serious brain injury.” He didn’t notice she was not wearing a lot of clothes. His mind was in a haze. But even if it wasn’t, he might not have done it either. He just didn’t care much about things like this. His brother was the ladies’ man of the two. Maybe if Helio could keep it in his pants, the Serpents had less leverage over him. She started rushing around the room. He just stared in front of him. Once she was by his side, his eyes fell on her. ”That’s a little dramatic,” he claimed. Although he did look pale from the blood loss he had already suffered. He was not going to answer her question, even if she hadn’t changed her mind. ”Losing your loyalty to the Serpents?” He leaned his head back, just letting her work. He would twitch his leg slightly once in a while, but not react much otherwise. ”You seem used to this.” It probably wasn’t. Injuries of different kinds, were an everyday feast around here.

”How angelic of you,” Elijah muttered. He groaned shortly when he could feel the bullet moving around in his knee. He looked at her, when she spoke very openly of her past. Maybe she was just the type to be open with anyone. She had angel in her, after all. He looked down to her hands, when she started to open his clothes. He looked back to her face. ”What ideas?” One might think it was him being coy, and acting like getting undressed by a beautiful women was a normal thing for him. It wasn’t. He truly didn’t understand what she meant by “fancy ideas.” She explained why she was removing his shirt and he just nodded. He looked around for a moment, but let his gaze find her again when she spoke. ”But you aren’t likely to do that.” He kept his eyes on her for a long while. ”It’s good you have loyalty to something. But how can you know they are on the right side? Yes, we blew up the trailer park. The former leader killed my father. Am I not justified in getting revenge for his death? Your serpents would do the same.” It was not black and white. They were all doing things to hurt each other. He moved his arm out of the sleeve and just flinched slightly when he had to move his shoulder. ”That’s because I am.”

Elijah scoffed by her words. ”Peace can never be achieved here. The world is too affected by greed and lust for power.” He felt he might as well try to get some power himself. But mostly, he was just following in his father’s and brother’s footsteps. He was not one with the capacity to lead. He knew that and was okay with it. Because Helio shared his power with him. And it wasn’t because Elijah didn’t do anything. He was often the one to the do the dirty work. While Helio was busy being a leader, trying to make deals and what-not, Elijah was the one to act, if things fell through. It was what had happened today too, which was partly why he was used to being shot. He was often caught in the crossfire. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
”You didn’t shoot me,” he said with a slightly hoarse voice. He was growing tired. His body was working to its full capacity to keep him alive. He looked at her in confusion, when she said a lot of medical terms. ”I don’t know what you just said.” He didn’t get to stay more, before a bun was pushed into his mind. Was she trying to shut him up or was it for the pain? He would never know. His eyelids flickered slightly when she pressed on his wound, a soft grunt was strangled by the bun. He could feel how the blood was disappearing from his head, making him feel dizzy and looking even more pale as well.

Elijah was not known to understand social cues very well. He just assumed what people meant or wanted him to do, which was often incorrect. He shrugged with his unharmed shoulder when she spoke. He bit down when she gestured him to. He knew what that meant, at least. He sat still while she went to work. He didn’t care if she was going to make it pretty or not. It was going to heal quickly, so it didn’t matter anyway. He nodded, although he wasn’t completely sure what she had said. It was hard for him to keep focus now. But he tried his best to stay with her, as she had asked him to. It had not been his idea of a perfect night, but honestly, he had had worse. To him, fun was facing down another person, fighting against them. You couldn’t win every time. Not, when the odds were as uneven as they had been. He had been able to hold his ground. But he also knew, he would likely have been killed, if Ares hadn’t shown up. But the thought didn’t even scare him. He would end up in hell for a bit, but that was where his ancestors had come from, so how bad could it be?
He was not easy to get in contact with by now. He looked at her through half-closed eyes, when she grabbed his chin. Her words became almost distorted for him at this point. He couldn’t make out anything she said. But what he did react to, was the smell of blood. He felt the blood on his lips. He felt his nature take over. His fangs grew forward and his eyes turned red. He was just about to drink, but he got some sense, and forced himself to retract the fangs. Instead, he just sort of sucked the blood into his mouth. Slowly he regained some color. He had to push her arm away, to not drink too much. He didn’t care much about if she died or not, she was just a stranger to him, but he truly didn’t want to make more messes for Helio at the moment. Killing a Serpents ally would do just that.

Control was just something you needed to practice. He had had years enough to practice. It had been important to him, that his bloodlust wouldn’t ever take over for him. He did feel a movement on his face, but to him it felt more like a feather, so he was unaware it was her touching him. While she went around cleaning the kitchen, he was just gaining back some strength. He rose a hand to his brow, still feel her touch lingering there.
He got on his feet with her help. He was not so proud; he couldn’t accept the help she offered. Although he would have preferred to go back home, he knew he would collapse before going there. He still needed to rest, slowly regaining his energy. ”Yes,” he said with a low voice. He slowly made his way forward. His knee was still hurting and so was his shoulder, but it helped to have her to lean on. ”Thank you,” he muttered. It was not words you heard from him often, but she went out of her way to help him. Some might even say she betrayed The Serpents. So a ‘thank you’ was in order. He didn’t know where she was going to lead him, so at times he would stop to let her choose the way to go. ”I won’t stay here long,” he promised her. He wanted to get away from Serpent territory and it would probably be best for her to have him gone too.

She hummed when he thanked her, she couldn’t say it wasn’t a bother or that he was welcome. Because this was a bother, and she wasn’t sure if he was welcome that he had gotten her help. Because when it came down to it, she had just about as much to lose as he had. Because if she put him in bed, what was keeping her from calling serpent members and telling them where to find Helio’s brother? But she wouldn’t do that, even if the Serpents protected her, she had never gone into an allegiance with them. Because when it came down to it, she was as against the Serpents as she was against the Coyotes and everything they stood for. They were the reason she was even heard, to begin with.
A soft sigh left her as she walked with him into her private apartment, which consisted of a small kitchen, a bathroom, a small living space with a comfy couch and then her bedroom. She managed to get him through the French doors into the bedroom and walked him over to a small chair where she placed him “there is no way you’re getting into bed like that and getting my sheets bloody” she told him, without asking for permission she started to undress him. After all, he had seemed rather indifferent to how she looked, and he had been so oblivious when she had told him not to get any funny ideas. So, she came to the conclusion that he was either asexual or maybe she just wasn’t his type. If anything, it made her more comfortable in his company and she didn’t have to think about how she herself was dressed.

Elijah didn’t need a ‘you’re welcome’ because it was no small feast she was doing. It could possibly get her into trouble. To even expect this much, was asking a lot of her. Yet she seemed to do it, with nearly no hesitation. She could still call for someone to share his location. It was a choice many others would make. Normally, he would have trusted the probabilities much more than his gut, but using his abilities now, would just hurt him even more. He had to trust her. If he couldn’t, he would just have to get out of there as quickly as possible.
He sat down in the chair. He managed to kick off his shoes, after she had declared he was not welcome in the bed with bloody clothes. He felt a jolt of pain from his shoulder, and it sent his control of his power out of the window. His gaze moved across the room, seeing the many possibilities to what could happen between the two of them. A lot of them were in bed. He squeezed his eyes shut and massaged his template. ”Mierda,” he mumbled in his native tongue. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. ”Where are you going to sleep?” He was getting a little pale again, but it was no longer because of bloodloss, but because of the headache taking residence in his head. He would feel better, once he had gotten some time to heal.

Elijah tilted his head a little. So she knew Spanish. ”Didn’t think you would understand,” he claimed before looking towards the bed again, when she mentioned her different options. ”54 percent chance you will sleep in the bed,” he said, looking back at her. ”Might as well do it.” He truly didn’t care. She had been on the right track, when she thought of him as asexual. It was nothing he identified as. He just knew, being with a person didn’t matter much to him. He didn’t feel the need for being intimate with someone. He had done it once, and it just didn’t do anything for him, so he labelled it as a waste of time, and had never pursued anything since. He gently touched his cheek when she mentioned further injuries. ”Thought as much.” He looked down himself, when his upper body was fully revealed. He was more muscular than he seemed underneath the suit. He was a demon, after all. He noticed the cuts and bruises all over, Some had already healed, however. ”Might as well have,” he said. It was easier than to admit he had been bested by someone. Although the odds had been against him, and he still got away with his life, so that was something. He did as she said and folded his arm around her, so she could easier remove the pants. They were not worth much anymore. It didn’t matter. He had more at home.

”It’s practically impossible to surprise me,” he declared. He could explain, but it was difficult to do so, and he just tried his best to keep his energy until he was able to sleep. He was maybe insensitive, but he had not much interest in getting to know her. She was helpful, and he was appreciative of that, but he had no desire to get to know who she was, know her secrets or anything like that. She was not that important to the Serpents, that he needed to keep tabs on her. In reality, you could be just a few things for Elijah. Family, allies, enemies or nothing. Every once in a while, a nothing was bumped up to enemies, ally or the special group of collateral damage. Yadira was closer to be his enemy than anything else.

Elijah nodded when she spoke. He just stayed behind, closing his eyes to fight against the headache settling into his skull. He looked to be more relaxed and comfortable, when she started to clean his skin. His eyes flew open, when there was a knock on the door. He listened to the conversation between her and the serpents. No way, they were not going to go away, without taking a look inside. He had to do something to get them away. He made sure he was unnoticeable as he stood up. He could barely keep his balance by now, and he was definitely going to collapse at some point. Was it wise to use his abilities? Not at all. But it was the only thing he could think of doing. He made his way to Yadira. ”Don’t move,” he whispered for only her to hear. ”Let them search the room, they won’t find me,” he continued before he removed himself from her. He went over to lay down in the bed, still fighting with everything to keep his ability active. He just had to hold on until they were gone. When they were let inside, they made a quick sweep of the room. When the moved to the bed, Elijah focused more, and that was when he could feel the strains on his body more seriously. Once they turned their backs to him, his focus became lesser. They apologized and left. Elijah deactivated the ability and put his hand up to his nose, where blood was running from his nostril. ”Fuck,” he muttered, before his sight became spotty, then all the way black. His head fell to the side, as all he had been through tonight finally took it’s toll, claiming his consciousness as payment.

Elijah couldn’t directly feel her fingers on his cheekbones, but he did feel how he started to heal better. He let out a sigh, and his face fell into a relaxed expression. He looked more vulnerable in this state. He was without any masks, which was why he normally didn’t want to sleep next to someone. He felt like he was an easy target when he slept. During the night, he turned on his side and was laying with his face towards her. He was still far from healed, but the moment he woke, he would find his way back home.

Kian understood why Yadira might have other responsibilities at this time, with everything happening at the Southside at the moment. It had not been easy to calm down the scared younger people at the center, but he had tried his best. The language barrier did make it harder, but he had made it through. Luckily he had summer break from the academy, and had enough time to be at the center longer. He was in the kitchen, making breakfast ready before the youngsters woke up. While some bread was being warmed in the oven, he made his way up to Yadira’s room, just to see if she wanted to join them for breakfast, if she was even there. He knocked on the door and stood patiently outside, waiting for her to open the door.

Kian's outfit