^{Human Territory Chpt. 1.}

*****
Reid groaned loudly in protest, knowing his "probation officer" wouldn't like it. He tugged at the handcuffs around his wrist and glared at them. "This isn't fair." he growled.

"Shaddup." said the man that was supposed to be watching him for the night. "Just go to sleep, wouldya?"

"Fuck you." Reid snapped and threw a stone pebble that had crumbled from his cell wall, threw the bars of his cage and at the man. He grinned a little when the pebble hit its mark and the man let out a shout, a hand going to his temple. "I said let me out."

The man stood from his seat and glared down at Reid with a fury. "I don't listen to stupid, punk kids like you, Reid." he growled and turned, leaving to find a first aid kit, seeing as the mark the pebble gave him was starting to bleed. "Damn you, YOU BROKE THE SKIN!"

"Wuss." Reid scoffed under his breath.

"Shame it wasn't his neck." Said a cool, female voice from one of the other cells. "Then we could all get some peace and quiet around here." The girl was hidden by the shadows, but it was clear that she was sitting in the corner of the cell, her legs bent with one arm resting across one of her knees.

Reid looked at the other cell and wrinkled his nose. "Don't talk to me, loser." he grumbled and went to work on pick-locking his handcuffs with a bobby pin he always kept hidden on him. The guards still hadn't realized it was how he always escaped.

"You call me the loser, yet you're the one wearing the handcuffs." The girl smiled, even though it couldn't be seen.

Reid growled and bit his lip, ignoring the girl until the heard the click in the metal wrist cuffs. He grinned in triumph and pulled them off one by one, then tossed them into the corner of the cell and stood, stretching with a grunt and a sigh. "Welp, love to stay and chat, but I gotta be somewhere." he said and got to pick-locking the door of his cell. He stopped when he thought he heard the guard outside again, staying absolutely still.

There was a quiet giggle as the girl in the other cell shifted a little. "Watch him, Pete. He's kinda good." The girl had actually moved towards an area which had little light source. The light from the lamp in the main room shone on the girl's hair. It was black of course, and her fringe was extremely long, so neither of her eyes were visible at all. She wore a black choker around her neck, and what also seemed to be a black longsleeved t-shirt with a skull ornament on her right shoulder.

Reid's eyes snapped to the girl in a glare as Pete came back into the holding area. In quick movements, Reid sat on the ground where he'd been before, drew up his knees and put his hands in his lap so they looked like they were still handcuffed, but hidden by his legs. He looked at the ground sullenly, pretending to be bored.

Pete raised an eyebrow at the girl and then looked at Reid with a scowl. "Whatcha been doing, punk?"

"Sitting here, fatass." Reid growled back, snapping a look at him.

"He's out of his handcuffs, Pete." The girl said sweetly to the guard as she twirled her hair with her index finger. She seemed to be watching Reid carefully. No surprise there, really. She had been here for weeks, and he was the first boy around her age she had seen for a while.

"Why should I believe you?" Pete asked the girl as he moved to Reid's cage. Even if she had lied, it was still standard regulation for him to check anyway. "Stand up, Reid, you know the drill."

Reid glared at the girl, then at Pete. He didn't stand until Pete had opened his cage door, standing with his hands together at his front, but his wrists hidden by his sleeves.

The girl just giggled again and watched the two. Aver today, Reva tomorrow.. She cocked her head at them both for a moment before eventually standing and moving to the bars of the cell door.

Reid stood still, glaring up at Pete angrily as he moved closer. Once inside his cell, Reid smirked and lifted both hands, but not for Pete to see the cuffs were gone. Instead, he stuck up both middle fingers and stuck out his tongue.

"HEY!" Pete shouted, seeing the missing cuffs and getting flustered at the disrespectful sign. He reached out for Reid, but let out a shout.

Reid had simply stepped to the side, pushing a rock in front of Pete's leading foot with his own, causing him to trip. As Pete went down, Reid, grabbed a handful of rocks and stones, then jumped over Pete's falling form and ran for his cell door.

"You're good." The girl smiled at Reid. "But he won't stay down forever." She had her arms crossed and her eyes were still covered by her overly long fringe. "Okay, you're out. What next? Just keep on running?" The black haired girl questioned him, interested as her head cocked to the side again.

Reid glared at her as he kicked the door to the cell shut again, then held up and jangled the keys he had swiped from Pete. "You take me for a fool?" he scoffed and locked the cell. He then turned and started to walk away.

"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" Pete shouted, back up on his feet and shaking the bars.

"Shut up." Reid snapped and abruptly threw another stone pebble at Pete's head. It bounced off, made a few crackling sounds as it landed somewhere in the cell, and everything went quiet. A small bubbling line of blood slowly leaked from Pete's forehead and he slowly fell backwards, unconscious. "Loser." Reid spat and turned to leave.

The girl waved her arm at him. "Oh fine, just leave me here why don't you? It's a shame I've got my dad's pistol here with six rounds of ammo and no one to use it.." She smiled at his back. "I should have used it earlier, but I thought 'Hm.. why not save it, Aver? This guy is good!' So I did. Plus I've never actually shot a gun before.. so.."

Reid stopped short of the door and thought to himself without looking back at her. I could use the gun... It'd come in handy when getting around the other dumbass cops.. He clutched the handful of rocks he still held, having planned on using those as ammo for himself instead (which were just as good, except they had a more difficult flight pattern), but a bullet was better. He suddenly opened his fingers and let the rocks drop, then turned back to her cell and stomped to it, unlocking the cage. "Give it to me." he growled, opening a hand at her.

"Sure, I'll give it to you." Aver said, even though she didn't move to take out the pistol from her skirt pocket. "But you have to let me come along too." She paused. "Don't worry, I'm not as annoying as you think I am. I just do it to wind up Pete. He hates it, see?" She grinned.

Reid's face fell into an absolute glare at her and his hand fell back to his side. This compromised everything. He hated her. He hated everyone. The last thing he wanted--or needed--was someone following him. But he needed that gun. He was better with a gun than a handful of rocks. He thought hard about it, chewing the inside of his cheek habitually.

Aver blinked at him, waiting for his reply. And I thought I was mysterious.. She fiddled with her sleeves, rather bored already.

Reid watched her, grimaced, then sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine." he growled. "Just give me the gun. You stay quiet, you stay low, you listen to everything I say and we'll get out just fine." he explain angrily, then held open his hand again. "Give me the gun."

Without another word, Aver nodded and reached into her skirt pocket. When her hand came out of the pocket, it was holding a shiny, silver pistol. She handed it to Reid, her lips thinning slightly as she did.

Reid snatched the gun from her, making sure their hands never made contact, then looked it over. He clicked open the round and looked inside, counted the bullets, then slammed it shut again. "Okay. Let's go." he demanded, keeping it in his hand, motioning for her to get out of the cell.

Aver almost hesitated to leave her cell, but she didn't make it too obvious. She walked out of it obediantly and rubbed her arms with her hands. It was quite chilly, now. Or was it just the eerie atmosphere playing a cruel trick on her to make her look stupid? Maybe, just maybe.

"C'mon!" Reid snapped and gave her a small push. "This isn't a leisure walk. We only have until Petey over there wakes up. Once he starts screaming, we're on the most wanted list." he grumbled, walking past her and leaving the holding area. He stopped at the door and looked around outside. Nearly every building around was crumbling because of the war. He gripped the gun, knowing a second guard might show up any time to trade shifts with Pete.

She mumbled something, but it was too unclear to understand. Aver hurried after him, looking at the buildings herself. All of this happened.. because of us? Because of our kind? She thought, biting her lip as she carried on walking. "Do you know your way around here?" She asked softly, but not in an annoying or childish tone.

Reid scoffed. "Of course I do. I've been hiding out and running around these ruins since my parents died." he muttered, his tone angrier at the last few words. He held the gun loosely at his side and waved for her to follow, moving out from behind a building.

"My parents died, too. But I don't miss them." Aver said quietly, tracing his every step.

"I don't care about you or your family." Reid snapped, not looking at her. Hatred and malice raged in his eyes as he stomped forward, but quietly, slinking between the buildings. Before the war, his family was his life. His proud father.. loving mother.. and bright older brother.. School, laws, the promise of a future, it had all been his life. Now death and violence were his life. Survival of the fittest. And he'd be damned if the animals were going to win this war in his lifetime. He may have only been fourteen, but he felt like he had an entire army in himself. All ready to fight to the death.

Aver looked down at the floor instantly when had snapped at her. She didn't like this guy. And she was starting to regret ever giving him that damned gun.. She walked slightly slower now, not really wanting to walk as close to Reid anymore.

For some reason, Reid could feel her walk slower and he had a strange tinge of regret in his chest. Was it regret for snapping at her like that? Why would it be? It was true. He didn't know her, so why would he care about her? Not to mention, his last few run-ins with either humans or animals always turned out against him, so why would she be any different? She was probably planning on stabbing him in the back and taking her gun back once they were clear of the city. She was just using him. Like everyone else. It was probably regret for letting her out of the cell. Yeah, that's gotta be it.

She tensed a little when a beetle scurried along the side of the wall which had been blown in half. That's the life.. No worries or cares.. Aver sighed. Yeah, the war was interesting, but right now she felt like an outcast. Hell, she still felt as if she was locked up in somesort of cell walking around with this guy who had a serious anger management problem. She wanted to say something, but he might just turn and blow her motherfucking brains out.. Keep quiet, Aver. Perhaps when Reva comes out, you won't be such a pussy when it comes to standing up for yourself against a guy who is three goddamn years younger than you..

Reid suddenly stopped and tensed, crouching lower to the ground and pushing himself against a wall. "Shh!" he hissed and used an arm to push her back against the wall as well. "Stay low! Stay quiet!" he whispered and peered around the corner, hearing voices.

Aver was already silent, so who was he to tell her to stay quiet? Asshole.. She thought, her lips thinning like they had before when she had regretfully passed over her father's gun. She listened to the voices carefully, though.

"N' she asked me fer food 'n everythin' Leader! But I said no, 'cause it's my job ain't it?" A gruff voice spoke. It belonged to someone male, and the owner of the voice seemed to be talking to someone. But that someone didn't answer the voice at all.

Reid stayed very silent, his eyes seeming to cloud over as he looked ahead, listening to the voices. He held one hand up, as a signal to Aver to stay still, and the other with the gun in his grip, holding it up and ready. He was ready, cold, hardened. If he had to use it, he would. But he listened... for now.

"So you keep saying." A second voice finally answered the first. This new voice was a female one however, and seemed to belong to a younger character than the male.

There was a short pause as shuffling could be heard. "S- sorry, Leader. Jus' thought that-"

The female voice interrupted him. "You thought wrong, Kasshoku. Dokuja is just as important as he is. She may have.. how do you say it? Dfferent abilities from the others, but she needs to feed sometime."

Aver was very confused by now as she listened quietly. Who was Kasshoku exactly? Was he human? And this Dokuja? Just who was she? Different abilities from the others.. The female voice repeated in Aver's head. Who were the 'others'? The animals maybe?

Reid frowned in confusion. Who were they talking about? Better yet, who were they listening to? He wanted to peer further around the corner, but knew that sticking his neck too far out there could get it cut off. He bit his lip and looked at Aver. They may not be able to go forward. Chances were, this "leader" person might have guards around. And Kasshoku didn't sound so puny either. He didn't want to take a chance if he didn't have an opening to shoot. He waved for her to go back, but VERY quietly.

Aver nodded and obeyed. She began to back down slowly but silently, her ears still listening out for anymore of the conversation between the two mystery people. Aver then paused when there was a crack in the wall. It wasn't too big, but it was large enough for someone to peep through without being spied. Aver swallowed and brought her eye close to the crack and looked through. She gasped loudly and fell back onto the floor on her backside.

"Wha was that?" The voice of Kasshoku said gruffly, as the sound of shuffling could be heard again. If any bets were to be placed that the Kasshoku character had turned to look in Reid and Aver's direction, they would be rolling in the money.

"It seems that someone is watching us." The female voice said cooly yet calmly. It seemed as if she was smiling. "Come, Kasshoku. We must move. There are none left here for us to take." Without another word, both voices began to die out and fade as their owners moved away from their spot.

Reid waited until he was sure the two were gone, then growled down at Aver. "Great going, dumbass! You could have had us killed just then!" he scolded, looking down at her. "This is why I hate people. Because they don't listen!"

"It was a fucking bear, asshole." Aver said coldly. Her voice had changed completely, and so had her body language. Aver's voice was more stern and serious. She glared up at Reid, not moving a muscle. Reva has come out to plaaay.. "I'd like to see you survive in a fight against that son of a bitch. Dickweed."

Reid stood up and back a little, suddenly shocked at her abrupt self defense. His lip twitched as he wondered just what was different about her. "A bear?! What the hell are you talking about?! We're still in human bounds, they can't come in here!" he growled back, gripping the gun tighter. "What are you, stupid?!" For some reason, Reid's comeback didn't come out as strong as he thought it would.

"You're the goddamn stupid one." Aver commented, pulling herself up from the floor and wiping down her skirt free of dust from the rubble. "And for your information. We are not in human bounds anymore. We're the last humans in this area along with fatass Pete." She nodded behind the wall. "They managed to cut a path through. Now if you would be so kind as to get a fucking move on, that would be absolutely great." Aver moved in front herself, not taking a minute longer to stand around.

Reid watched her, glaring at her back. "I don't listen to dumbasses." he said and crossed his arms, watching her. He'd stand his ground, or go a different direction. Either one suited him. Even if she took the gun back, he was well-off with rocks and a hand-made slingshot.

She just raised her right hand and gave him the middle finger as she carried on walking. "Suit yourself." Aver said casually as she randomly shot towards one of the walls and high kicked it. "Still got it." After seeing the wall crumble slightly, she glanced back at Reid for a moment before shrugging and walking again.

Reid watched her, a bit awed at how she so easily made the wall crumble to rubble. He blinked after a few moments and looked at the ground, then at the gun still in his hand. She obviously didn't need it. He got to thinking. She's obviously strong... when she's pissed.. He then looked up and started after her, but slowly. "Maybe you and I can reach some kind of arrangement." he called angrily, obviously not pleased that he would have to end up depending on someone else.

"Whatever, boy." Aver said cooly. She was giving him a taste of his own medicine, now. But this wasn't Aver talking. It was Reva. Aver's other, badass, and rather cool side. She let her fingers move along the rundown buildings as she walked.

"Just listen." Reid snapped. "I got the aim and you obviously got the kick, so why can't we work together here? I never said we had to like it." He picked up a pebble and tossed it lazily, catching it again with ease. "Unless you want me to demonstrate? Your big head would be an easy target."

Reva turned on her heel suddenly and glared straight at him. He fringe had moved out of her eyes now, and they were flashing angrily at Reid. One eye was white and the other was bright blue. "How about we just take care of ourselves? You were too much of a smartass before to care about poor, pathetic Aver." Her lips thinned. "Worthless fuck." She began to walk again.

Reid had been struck absolutely dumbfounded at her eyes. He'd never seen anything like it. He had been so shocked, in fact, that he'd missed catching the pebble he'd tossed. It clattered to the ground next to his feet and he shook his head, waking himself. Why did he suddenly feel as small as he really was? Why did he feel like a child when talking to her? He growled and opened his mouth to say something, but he heard another sound and instantly shut up, tensing and staying still.

She stopped too and turned around to look back at him. Reva had heard the sound too, but she didn't seem frightened. Had she been Aver, she would have been shaking in her boots. Reva just casually leaned against one of the buildings and waited as she looked down at her nails which were of course, painted black.

Reid watched her, glared at her, then went back to listened for the sound again. It was suddenly very quiet now. As if whatever had made the sound, knew that they were listening for it now. They were being followed... watched. His thumb absently moved to the hammer of the gun, pulling it back so it was cocked and ready to go. His eyes clouded over again. He was ready. He slowly stood straight and turned in a slow circle, watching every inch of the surrounding area, at the same time moving back towards Aver.

Reva smirked at him behind his back. "Finished with your little-?" She started, but she was suddenly stopped when a huge German Shepherd came flying out of nowhere towards both Reid and Reva.

"Humans!" The dog barked. It had armour on it's body, around it's legs and it's back. It's almond coloured eyes looked from Reva to Reid in turn, his fangs bared.

"Dog." Reva said in response as she darted forwards and highkicked the animal straight in the head.

The dog yelped in pain as he landed with a thud on the floor, unconcious. His armour clanged together on the floor as he fell.

Reva glared at the dog for a moment before grabbing Reid's arm. "The others will have heard that. We have to move. Now." Her eyes flashed as she pulled him along with her as she began to run.

Reid looked down at the dog and didn't pay attention when Reva began to pull him along. But even as she was pulling him, he lifted the gun and aimed at the unconscious dog. The fact that he was getting further and further away from his target didn't bother him. He squeezed the trigger and the bullet flew, hitting the german sheperd right between the eyes. He couldn't risk the dog telling the others what he and Aver looked like. It was bad enough they'd be able to track their scents. He wretched his arm from Aver's grasp and grabbed her hand, running with her now, instead of leading her or being led.

Reva swallowed slightly as a huge lump in her throat appeared when Reid grabbed her hand. But she didn't let go or losen her grip. She looked behind them and the dog was growing fainter and fainter, becoming the size of an ant as they moved even further ahead.

When Reid felt they were far enough away, and his heart felt ready to burst out of his chest, he stopped running. He leaned against another ruined building and panted, his head back and his eyes closed, the gun still in his hand. He didn't realize he was still holding Aver's hand. "We have to keep running. Get your breath. We're not safe until we're in the woods."

"I think you need to get your breath back." Reva said, a slight smile pasted across her face. It wasn't a sarcastic smile, though. She wasn't panting at all. Mainly because she was the one being dragged, and Reid was a much faster runner than she was. Reva looked up ahead and saw a flock of trees. There was the forest, their main target. "Come on." She pulled him along.

Reid watched her, then looked at their hands. He thought about ripping them apart, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He hated everyone. So why couldn't he do it? He growled a little at himself and allowed himself to be led like a three-year-old. Fuck this. I'm fourteen. he thought angrily, but still didn't move.

Is Reva going all soft on him, now..? She frowned at her own thoughts as she tore her own hand away from Reid's and ran alone, moving to the left of the path.

Reid was just as happy that Reva had taken her hand back. He ran ahead of her easily, sprinting to the lining of trees and looking back at the ruins with a grimace. "Damn, this place has gone to hell." he grumbled and moved on.

"Why are you so bothered about this place?" Reva raised an eyebrow at him. "You seemed to care about nothing but yourself earlier. Now you feel sorry for a few mingy bricks?" She smirked at him.

Reid stopped and turned to her, glaring at her. "For your information... my family died in those mingy bricks. Their graves, their bones are still there. This used to be my home." he growled. "Now, because of dumbass humans like you and Pete and everyone else, and because of the animals, my family is dead and that life is gone. I have no reason to care about anyone or anything else." he explained with a growl and turned, moving on, his grip on the gun tighter.

"Nice speech." Reva smiled again as she moved unnaturally close to him and and squeezed his gun hand. "But just remember, it's my gun. It's my dad's. And he's dead, too." She whispered closely in his ear and she moved away again, keeping her distance from him as usual.

Reid hid a shudder and tried to ignore her. He walked for a minute, then stopped and turned around to face her. He looked at the ground, then at the gun in his hand before offering it back to her. "I don't need it." he grumbled.

"You know you need it." Reva watched him, putting one hand on her hip. "What's up? Scared of using a dead man's gun?" She laughed a little and shook her head. Her laugh was actually quite pleasant, it sounded a little like bells. It was a lot different from how you would expect her laugh to sound from her appearance.

Reid glared at her again, this time his eyes deeper than before. "I. Don't. Need. It." he said sternly and took a step forward, pushing the gun at her. It wasn't that he couldn't use a dead man's gun. He'd done that plenty of times before. It was that this gun may have been the last tie she had to her father, who was dead, and she was letting a stranger waste the ammo freely. It had sentimental value to it and he had literally no right to use it. He didn't know why he felt like that suddenly... but he did. "Take it, or I'll drop it."

Reva's eyes were visible again as she grabbed Reid's shirt and pushed him backfirst into one of the largest trees possible. "You drop the gun, and I'll break your goddamn neck. Got it?" Her face was close to his, which obviously showed that she meant business.

"Then take it back, and we won't have that problem." Reid said back sternly, watching her calmly. He'd been shoved into all kinds of things and pinned there, this was nothing new. His blue eyes looked at hers and it was seen there was a deeper motivation for wanting to give the gun back. Something more compassionate.

Her eyes moved down to his lips for a moment after he spoke, and she kept him pinned for a little longer before letting go of him gently. "Fine." Reva said quietly. "Have no real protection." She took the gun from his hand, her hand skimming his as the gun returned to it's real owner. Reva cocked it back so it was in it's safe stance and she replaced it back in the pocket of her skirt.

Reid watched her after she'd let him go and then turned, walking on. As he walked, he stooped and picked up good-sized rocks as he went, sorting them and picking them. They would suit him for now. Even without a slingshot, he still had a good arm. "By the way, never caught your name." he said without looking back at her. "Mine's Reid. But I'm sure you knew that. Somehow, everyone does."

"I didn't, actually." Reva replied cooly. She turned to look at him as she carried on walking. "I'm Reva now, but I'll be Aver tomorrow." Reva moved some of her fringe out of her eyes so only her blue eye was visible. "Let's just say I'm different. A lot different from other girls." She smiled.

"Split personalities." Reid nodded, looking up and around the woods, then back at the ground for more rocks. He started filling his jean pockets with them. "I knew there was something weird about how you were acting earlier."

Reva smiled again. "Schizo.." She rolled her eyes as she put both of her hands behind her back and began to kick at the forest ground with her black chucks.

"Said the girl with two minds but half a brain." Reid said back, but this time, he looked back over his shoulder at her, with the hints of a smile. It was probably the first time in a long time he'd smiled at anything besides killing someone, and it felt weird. His smile was actually what made him most attractive for his age. He went back to picking up rocks.

You made him smile, Reva. Things are hotting up, hehe! Aver's voice giggled inside her head which caused Reva to frown. She sighed and spotted a branch on the floor. Reva picked it up and twisted it in her hands. She wanted make a conversation, or say at least something.. But if he snapped at her, Aver would come back. And Reva didn't want that to happen just now. Things were getting interesting. Oh yes.. very interesting.. hehe! Reva frowned again as she threw the stick through the trees. She had a good arm, it had to be said.

Reid turned around and looked at her. "Don't do that! You'll cause noise!" he snapped in a hush. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves, right?" he said, frowning. He turned and started on again. "But kudos on the distance."

It was close, Aver amost broke through, but Reva blocked her out just in time. She didn't want her to spoil her fun. Her fists clenched slightly as she paused for a moment and then carried on walking. "Where are we going?" Reva asked quietly. "We're in the forest now, so.."

"I don't know. But we sure as hell aren't going back." Reid grumbled, fingering a pebble. He tossed it up, caught it, then aimed and threw it. It whistled as it whizzed through the air and between the trees until it hit a branch near twenty feet away. He sighed and picked up another pebble. "I guess we just keep going forward and hope we can find another place to be. Away from the war."

Reva chewed at her bottom lip, thinking that it would be best not to comment on how Reid had also thrown something and made somesort of noise. "I don't believe it.." She whispered, slowing to a stop. "We're the last ones left.."

Reid stopped too, the thought hitting him like a kick in the head. "Yeah... well.. out here we are anyway. If you don't want to be the last out here with me, then go back to the other stupid humans." he said, kicking at the dirt.

"I bet you'd like that, too." Reva said quietly, looking down at the forest floor, her eyes hidden once again by her long fringe. "If I left.. You would get some peace and quiet without me, huh?" She spoke even quieter.

Reid stopped again and turned, looking at her. Usually, here he'd say "Yes, so fuck off," but he held back. He watched her a moment. "Yeah... but you're kinda interesting to have around. Plus.. peace and quiet is kinda... boring." he said with a shrug, looking away.

Reva looked up at him. "Well that's a first." She said. "No one has ever called me interesting before." A shrug of the shoulders and she was up again. Reva shivered. It was cold, and she was wearing a skirt. A skirt. In winter.

"C'mon." Reid said, waving for her to follow. "I heard Pete say something about a cabin out here... They use it as an extra compound sometimes. But now it'll be too cold, they won't want to go anywhere far for a while." he explained and moved on. If they were lucky, the cabin would still have working plumming and a supply of food. He was hungry.

She nodded and followed after him. "Yeah, if we can find it that is." Reva was back to her usual self. It was obvious now, simply because she shoved Reid into one of the trees, and a rather cheeky smirk came across her face as she did.

"Hey! What the hell is your problem?!" Reid shouted, rubbing his arm, which had hit the tree wrong. "You ditz!"

His shout caused a flock of crows to caw loudly and retreat from their perch in the same tree which Reva had pushed Reid into.

Reva watched them fly Westwards of the forest, but one crow however hovered above the forest. "Shh." Reva whispered, putting one of her own fingers to Reid's lips as she stared up at the bird. The forest had it's spies. Nature and animals worked as one after all.

Reid's brow furrowed at the idea of her finger on his lips, and a small blushed pinked his nose and cheeks, but he looked up and quickly understood why she'd done it. He stayed not only very quiet, but stone-still as well. Crows were blind until their prey moved.

Reva just stared straight up at the bird, as if using her eyes to draw the crow away from the two. "Why isn't it moving?" She said through gritted teeth, her lips hardly moving. "Ah."

The bird darted from tree to tree, obviously in search of someone or something. A loud caw escaped it's beak as it's wings flapped a few times to stay in one place in the air. After what seemed to be at least ten minutes, the crow finally left the sky, and moved Westwards to where it's fellow comrades had flown to earlier.

Reid let out a breath and glared up at the sky, searching it for any more birds. He pushed Reva away with a grunt. "Nice going." he grumbled sofly. "We would have been in deep shit if that bird found us."

Reva turned to look at him. She almost seemed calm, but it didn't last long. She jumped forwards and pinned Reid down on the hard, cold, muddy forest floor. "You hold your tongue, boy." She said cooly, both of her eyes now visible since she was leaning over and her fringe had somehow parted. "If I hadn't knocked you into that tree, those featherfucks would have heard us talking and told the other animals where we were. But that one didn't see us, did it? No joy for them, but joy for us."

Reid was a little shocked that she had knocked him down and pinned him so easily. He looked up at her angrily. "Don't. Call. Me. Boy." he growled and pushed her up and over him with his legs quickly. He stood and dusted himself off, then looked at her again. "Also, there are more subtle ways to tell me to shut the fuck up."

"There's not much point in being subtle with you." Reva replied, glaring at him yet again as usual. "You're too much of an idiot. It's better to get physical with you so things can get knocked into that goddamn thick skull of yours." If Aver even attempted to try and release herself now, Reva would not be happy.

"Damn straight. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I don't listen to stupid bitches." Reid snapped and turned, stomping on. He had never felt so flustered. First, the closeness of it all before, then the fact that she was so... rude and disrespectful. It didn't occur to him that he was the same way to her. In his mind, he was just protecting himself.

Reva rolled his eyes and mumbled an 'Ugh' as she picked herself up and followed after him in his shadow. Asshole... Ah ah ah, Reva! Don't quit now. You two were kinda getting on okay back there. "Shut up." Reva whispered angrily, a horrible scowl on her face as she walked.

Reid grumbled to himself as he stomped through the woods, his fists clentched tightly and his jeans slightly bagged by the rocks in his pockets. He looked like a regular fourteen-year-old after a temper tantrum, collecting rocks from the forest he didn't need. At least, that's what he would have looked like, had there not been a war going on. He stopped, looked around, studied the area, then turned slightly and moved on.

She had looked directly at the forest floor when Reid had turned around. Reva couldn't be bothered with crap right now. All she wanted was to sleep. She wouldn't have minded someone to hold, either.. All of her family had died, but Reva only really missed her eight year old brother Tommy. She would cuddle up close and sleep with him in his bed until he would fall asleep after she had read him his bedtime story and tucked him in. But that was Aver's side. It was Aver who did all of the good deeds for her cute brother. Reva still liked Tommy, though. But he was gone. Gone forever. Taken. Stolen.

"Found it." Reid suddenly called. "Hurry up." He quickened his pace when he saw the large log cabin. It was obviously only one story, but it was bigger everywhere else. With a wrap-around porch, shadey windows, cracking stairs and moldy doors to a dark cellar near the front, it seemed a perfect hiding place. Quiet. Ancient. He walked up to it and put his ear to the door, listening. Nothing. He took a breath, reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple pebbles, rolling them between his fingers as he gripped the doorknob. He clentched his teeth and gave the door a hard shove in an attempt to open it, but the knob wouldn't even turn. Locked. "Hey! Do you have anything to pick lock this door with?" he called.

Reva didn't answer him. She just reached into her hair and took out a black hairpin and handed it to Reid silently without a word. She was still shivering all over her body. She looked at the floor again once she had given the pin away.

Reid eyed her a moment as he took the pin. "What the hell is your problem now?" he asked, turning back to the door and working the pin into it. He heard a few clicks, cursed, and started again.

"There's no point in telling you." Reva replied. "Since you wouldn't give a damn anyway." She shook her fringe out of her eyes for a moment as she looked up into the night sky. Black clouds were starting to shadow the moon, covering it like a funeral veil. Although she had no watch, Reva guessed that it was around midnight or so.

Reid scoffed and rolled his eyes, then grinned slightly when the lock clicked just the right way. He turned the doorknob and gave the door a good shove to get it loose from the swollen, aged, wood, and nearly fell on his face when it busted open under him. "SHIT!" he said in a whisper, catching himself on the door frame. He sighed and looked at her after a quick look around inside. "C'mon. Home, sweet home." he said sarcastically and moved aside to let her in first.

"No need for formalities." Reva mumbled to him as she stepped over the rotten door and into the cabin. "Niiice.." She commented after a brief gaze. "But it's better than nothing I guess." Reva shrugged and looked at Reid.

Reid nodded and stepped in after her, closing and locking the door from the inside. He looked around again. Over to their left was a hallway that led to the kitchen and laundry room, to their right was the main bathroom and a door that obviously led to the cellar. At the moment, they stood in the middle of the large front living room, on rotting hardwood floors and peeling wallpaper. To their front was a large fireplace. Reid smiled and went to it. There was still soot in the bottom from when it was last used. "I'll check the cellar for firewood. You test the water to see if there's working plumming."

"Alright." Reva answered shortly as she moved down through the hallway and into the kitchen. The smell was vile. But it would only be for tonight. Hopefully. Reva looked inside the kitchen first before touching anything. It didn't seem too dirty in here but the smell still lingered. She moved over to the sink and twisted one of the taps. It stuck for a while because of old age, but gradually, after another three attempts, water came gushing through the tap. And thankfully enough, it was clean and clear. "We got water." Reva called out, but not too loudly. She wasn't that stupid enough to reveal their hiding place.

There was a small banging sound from down in the cellar and Reid's voice saying, "Ow!" Apparently, it'd been much darker down there than he thought it would be and had tripped on the stairs. He recovered though, found the light switch and flipped it. There was a large metal dumpster down there, absolutely full of firewood and a smaller crate next to it of old newspapers to burn. He smiled and moved to it, getting plenty of fair-sized logs under one arm, and a handful of papers in the other hand. He struggled back up the stairs and set everything down next to the fire place. "Check for food now." he called back, putting the wood in the fireplace and crumpling the paper.

Reva wasn't sure if that was really a good idea, but she nodded anyway and went over to the cupboards facing oppositely to the sink. This cabin must have been abandoned for months at least.. Reva pulled open the cupboards, and what was inside it caused her to almost vomit up her own organs. She put a hand to her mouth and covered it, her eyes wide with fear. "R- Reid.. Reid.. Reid!" Reva said his name quietly at first and her call had gradually gotten louder. The smell of rotting flesh filled the air in the kitchen, and it mixed with the smell of must and damp from the cabin itself.

Reid gasped, looking up first, then getting up quickly, grabbing rocks from his pocket as he ran. "What is it?!" he asked, running to her in the kitchen, grabbing her arm with his free hand, the pebbles ready between his fingers in the other.

With a shaking finger, she pointed to the cupobard slowly with her free hand, her other still firmly covering her mouth. Reva could hardly move. What she saw in that cupboard was sickening. It was a souvenir of the war. A victim. A prisoner. A.. a.. This can't be happening.. The voice in Reva's head gasped.

Reid was almost too afraid to look. He turned his head and looked at the cupboard, then recoil, putting his forearm up over his mouth and nose, turning away. "Oh my god!" he coughed, gasping, half because of the smell and half because his stomach was already wretching. He forced himself to look back with a grimace, still covering his face. There were several jars, each holding a different body part, and in the middle of the top shelf was the head, the eyes rolled back into it and rotting, bugs already eating half of it away, every shelf of the cupboard was stained with dried blood. Reid gagged at the sight and quickly shut the cupboard door again, latching it shut. He then grabbed Reva's hand and quickly led her out of the kitchen into the living room. When they were away, he breathed the, somewhat, clean air and stared horrified at the ground.

Reva could still smell it. It was like it had caught her by the neck and was breathing it's fumes into her mouth. Her lip trembled, as she moved slowly towards Reid, taking his arm with her right hand and buried her face in his shoulder. "D- don't.." She could hardly speak. "P- please.. don't make me g- go back in there." Reva gasped. What had hit her the most, and the hardest, was that one of the jars contained the bodyparts of a young child. And of course, Tommy sprung to Reva's mind when she had seen it. She felt sick. Very sick.

Reid breathed heavily, biting his lip as horrible images of how the man who's head was on the shelf had died. He also wondered who all the other body parts belonged to. All those jars... every shelf.. they filled up every shelf in that tiny, walk-in pantry. He swallowed thickly and slowly turned around, grabbing Reva and pulling her into a hug. He didn't know what prompted him to do it, but he did it. He felt like they both needed it.

"Tommy.." Reva gasped into Reid's chest, tears beginning to stream down her pale cheeks as her whole body began to shake. Not because of the cold, but because of fright. Reva was scared out of her wits. She was frozen on the spot with no idea what to do. Reva hardly ever wept, but now here she was, drowning Reid's shirt with her tears.

Reid held her tighter, staring at the ceiling... the wall.. anthing else, trying to clear his head of the aweful image. He could smell Reva clearly, and it was a blissful escape for his nose from the musty smell of death and blood and rotting flesh. The bad part was, they couldn't clean that pantry out. Even if they could stand to touch the jars, throwing the contents out into the woods... The smell would cause animals to come investigating. It was risky enough that he was going to put a fire up where smoke would come from the chimney. Hopefully, the animals wouldn't notice... at least for one night. He rubbed her back and closed his eyes a little, trying to calm himself. "It's okay..." he heard himself whisper.

Reva shook her head lightly as more tears flooded from the corners of her eyes. "No it's n- not.." She whispered. "Tommy.. th- that was Tommy in there." Reva could hardly bear to say it, but she knew it was true.

Reid shook his head with a frown. "No.. it wasn't. The chance that anything in there was..." he swallowed hard again, "..was anyone you knew... is very, very small, Reva." he whispered. Of course, he couldn't say much. At least he knew where his parents bones were. He'd buried them himself. "Reva, listen to me.." he said and pulled back, holding her by the shoulders and looking at her sternly, but still softly. It only just then occured to him that she was a couple inches taller than him. It made sense. She was a year older. "That was not Tommy."

Both of her eyes were visible, and both of them were puffy and red, even her white one. Reva's bottom lip trembled still as she stared at Reid. Her face was no longer cheeky or sarcastic. It was a face of agony, of hurt and sadness. Her eyes closed as she tilted her head downwards. "..I.. I.." She couldn't speak. The tears had drowned her voice for the time being.

Reid sighed softly and pulled her into another hug, holding her tightly. "It's okay. It wasn't Tommy." he whispered again. "It's okay." He looked around for a little while, then pulled her back again and looked at her. "Stay here." he ordered. He moved to the fire place and finished setting it up, cursing when he realized he didn't have anything to light it with. He knew he'd have to go back into the kitchen.. He stood and breathed deeply, clentching his fists, and held his breath as he walked back into the kitchen.

Reva stared blankly after Reid for a moment, but when she realised where he was going, she looked away quickly and focused on the window which was covered with moss. It was darker than ever outside, and it suited her mood just fine. Reva stood frozen for quite a while. "..Reid?" She called out weakly. If he was in the kitchen, perhaps speaking to him would take his mind off the jars. If that was at all possible..

"Y-yeah..?" Reid called, trying not to suck in any of the dank smell after letting the air out. He passed the cupboard of death and moved to one of the smaller ones above the counter, opening it and resisting the urge to sigh of relief when there wasn't any more jars in it. He left it open and moved on, finding nothing of use in it.

She bit her lip, thinking of what to say next. The smell was still lingering as if the jars were in the living room with her. It was still strong. For all she knew, there could be more of them in the bookcase, or a couple stuffed into the settee lining. Reva shivered again as she closed her eyes for a moment and opened them. Looking at the night sky was making her mood even more depressing, so she turned away from the window, and looked to the hallway. "Don't stay in there too long.." Reva called out weakly again. "..I- if you can't find anything.. it doesn't matter." She had her arms wrapped around her middle now. It was cold yes, but quite frankly, Reva didn't think that anyone should ever have to see what was in that cupboard. Hell, even be in the same room as them..

Reid swallowed thickly. All the cupboards had been opened now besides the death one. There was nothing in them. Nothing. They were all empty. He took the risk of sucking in a new breath of air, even though it was thick and made him want to barf. He pressed his lips together in a thin line as he held his breath and started on the drawers. He opened the first, looked inside.. More papers. Very important papers. Files. He resisted the urge to look through them, ignoring his curiousity, and moved on to the next drawer. He let out his breath in relief. Matches. Right there on top of all the other junk. He grabbed them, checked them to make sure there was at least one that would work. They were dry. They could be lit. He clutched them tightly and turned, quickly running out of the kitchen. "I found matches!" he said excitedly as he ran to her.

A sigh of relief escaped from Reva's trembling mouth as she looked down at his hands and saw the matches in them. "Let's get some warmth in here.." Reva whispered. She knew that the heat would cause the smell to become even stronger, but Reva didn't care. She was freezing and needed warmth desperately. She moved over to the fireplace and sat down in front of it, but not too close. She knew well enough not to sit next to it. Worse still, it had no fireguard. Reva hugged her knees to herself as she stared into nothing.

Reid frowned a little at her. He could tell she was still haunted by this Tommy person. He was obviously someone very close to her. Or had been... He sighed softly, not knowing why he suddenly cared so damn much about her. Maybe it was because it meant they finally had something in common? He moved to the fireplace and knelt in front of it, taking the first match from the pack. He ran it along the hardwood floor and in seconds, it was lit. He then lit a corner of the crumpled newspaper and after it was flickering, he tossed the match into the fireplace. Soon, the fire was alive and licking at the open air of the chimney stack. He warmed his hands by it first, then scooted back and sat next to Reva.

Reva's eyes moved to watch the flames. Her white eye was like a mirror since the flames' reflection could be seen in it as it stared transfixed. "Will we get through this..?" She whispered, not taking her eyes off the fire, as if she wanted some warmth in her eyes.

Reid blinked and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Of course we will." he said, trying to seem tougher than he really felt. "This is nothing. I've been running and hiding ever since my parents died. While hiding from animals will be slightly harder than running from stupid humans, we can do it." he said, nodding to himself. He wanted to seem determined... tough. He didn't know why though...

She bit her lip and buried her face in between her naked knees. Reva kicked her shoes off, revealing also, naked, bare feet. She needed warmth all over her body. She became cold too easily. "You'll stay won't you? Stay with me?" Reva whispered. It was hardly a whisper even. It was like she was afraid to speak.

"Like I have a choice? You're the one with the gun." Reid said, but he was looking at her with comforting eyes. He stood after a minute and walked to her, leaning down and hugging her around her neck. "I'll be right back." he whispered. "I'm gonna see if I can find some blankets or something in the cellar."

Reva smiled slightly for the first time since they had both entered the cabin. She nodded and resumed her staring at the fire. "Don't be gone too long." Reva added, not really wanting to be alone in such an eerie place. What if there were jars in the cellar, too? She bit her lip again.

Reid nodded and gave her shoulder a pat, then turned towards the cellar door. He had left the light on from the first time he'd been down there to get the fire wood, but he hadn't seen much else when he was down there. He kept his hands on the walls as he walked down the stairs, looking around a little as he reached the bottom. The cellar was simple. A large room with a basic storage closet under the stairs. The dumpster of fire wood was still there, along with the crate of newspapers. He chewed his lip and looked around the large room. A window in the far back, next to the stairs up to the cellar doors out front.. he walked across the open space. A tool cabinet. He went to it and opened it, but let out a shout and fell backwards, covering his mouth.

"R- Reid?!" Reva called out. She had jumped when he had shouted, and now it was her turn to come running to him. Although she hated cellars, she had to go. Without putting her shoes on, Reva hurried towards the cellar and down the steps. "Wh- what?" When she saw him in a heap on the floor, she ran straight to him, grabbing his hand. She didn't want to look. She had seen dark, disgusting things in horror movies which belonged in cellars. This would be something real, not in a moving picture. "C'mon." She whispered, looking only at him. She wouldn't look.

Reid's eyes were terribly wide and his breath seemed caught permanently in his chest. He gripped Reva's hand tightly, and kicked at the ground, trying to scoot farther away, only small whimpers coming from his throat. He finally pulled his eyes away from what lay--or more, hung--in the cabinet, and clentched them shut. "I'm okay.." he whimpered. "I'm okay!" he finally shouted, pulling his hand from Reva's. He stood, ran to the cabinet and slammed the door shut, locking it.

Reva stepped back against the wall and leaned against it, breathing in and out rather quickly. Her eyes were closed as her head rested against the wall. "We should go back.." She said quietly. "There's no blankets down here.. Just more of those damned things.." There was something wet on her feet. It was damp, anyway. She could feel it. Reva slowly moved her head to look down at her feet. Blood. "No, no no!" She gasped, horrified as she grabbed the nearest piece of cloth and rubbed at her feet frantically.

Reid turned and saw she had blood on her feet, then looked at the floor. The blood had leaked out of the cabinet when he'd opened it and covered the floor. It was on his clothes... on him. "Damn it!" he cursed, looking at himself. "Go upstairs, Reva!" he commanded, grabbing her arm and pulling her up, ushering her towards the stairs. He was going to keep looking for those blankets. He was determined not to let the sight or smell bother him. Someone needed to be tough for the both of them.

There was no need to tell her twice, Reva had already vanished up the stairs and into the living room. She collapsed onto the floor in a heap after tripping up the last step. The girl pulled herself along the carpeted floor, wincing as she did so. She had hurt her knee quite badly when she had knocked it up the steps. Reva grabbed the cloth which she had dropped when she had fallen and began to rub again at the blood on her feet.

Reid growled and turned, going to the storage closet under the stairs next. This time, he was hardened in case of what he found. He wretched the door open, sighed and reached inside. Blankets, pillows... even food. They had definitely kept it all well-hidden. If it had been anyone else in that cabin, they would have run from it, scared sick, without touching anything. He grabbed a couple blankets, pillows, and ran up the stairs, throwing them on the floor in front of Reva. He then turned, going back down. He grabbed as much food as his arms could hold, then ran back up, this time shutting off the light and closing the door when he reached the top steps. He breathed heavily and shook a little, staring down at the supplies. After a while, he looked at Reva.

Reva stopped rubbing and looked to all of the supplies he had brought up. She blinked at them for a moment before looking up at Reid. "They're new." She whispered as she rumaged through the food and picked up a candy bar. Reva eyed it carefully for a moment before smiling. "Very new. This doesn't go off until January." It was the month of September, now. She handed it to him. "You found them." Another smile as her eyes filled with a little more light making them seem unusually pretty for her appearance there and then. "It's yours."

Reid let out a breath and looked away, blinking. He wiped his mouth and sniffled a little, swallowing hard. "I'm not hungry. Eat what you want." he said and turned, heading towards the bathroom to wash the blood off himself.

He brought all of this food up and he's not going to eat it? Hm.. Reva shrugged and replaced the candy bar back onto the pile of food. She looked down at her feet, and when she had decided that they were clear of any red smears, she threw the cloth into the fire. I don't want a souvenir like those in the kitchen.. She thought, biting her lip as she watched the fire lick it's way up to the bloodstained cloth and burn it to ashes. Reva took one of the blankets and pulled it over to her near the fire. She unfolded it properly and threw it over herself and sighed.

Reid left the bathroom door open slightly in case Reva needed him for anything again. He pulled off his shoes first and set them in the sink to be washed, then pulled off his bloody shirt. He was thin, slightly pale, but he was muscular for his age. He only looked scrawney when he had a shirt on. He ran the bath and filled it with an inch of water, then leaned over the tub and began to scrub at his shirt. When all the blood was gone from it, he stood and walked back out into the living room. It would be faster to dry it next to the fire. He saw a couple of logs, stood them up, took off his belt and tied it around the logs tightly to keep them standing. He then draped his shirt over the center part of the belt and stood his new contraption close to--but not in a risk of--the fire. He then turned and went back to start scrubbing his shoes, not giving Reva one look.

Reva's eyes were already shut, her head leaning back on one of the couches. She wasn't sleeping however, just dozing. She wouldn't sleep yet. If she slept, it would mean leaving Reid alone, and if any of the animals came, he would be the only active one out of the two. She opened one eye for a moment and saw Reid's shirt hanging by the fire. Reva smiled a little and pulled her blanket up further over her face so her mouth was covered.

Reid's thoughts kept him occupied as he scrubbed his shoes in the sink, the water running quietly. Once they were clean, he set them on the floor and looked at himself in the dirty, scratched mirror. His black hair was mussy, and his blue eyes seemed haggard, tired.. like he'd seen too much for one lifetime. Maybe he had. He sighed and looked at the water, swirling as it went down the sink's drain. He reached a hand under it. It was freezing cold. He switched the knob, hoping to get something warmer, but it never changed. They had no hot water. He sighed again and nodded. Figures. Dead body parts all over this cabin, and no hot water. What a nightmare. He stood and shut off the water, then grabbed his shoes and walked back out into the living room. He set them next to his shirt, by the fire, then sat on the floor, pulling up his knees to his chest and resting his elbows on them lazily. His pants felt too big without his belt... His socked feet felt cold, but his bare chest and shoulders felt colder. He glanced at the food, saw it was all untouched, then looked at Reva. "You're not going to eat?"

"Hm?" Reva looked at Reid and then her eyes dropped to look at the pile of food. "Oh- no.. not yet. I'm still a bit.. woozy.." She blinked, looking back to the fire again. She had thought of Tommy again. Don't cry. You have spilled enough tears to make a whole forest grow. Her eyes were starting to brim again. But she wouldn't let them fall. Reva rubbed her eyes with her clenched fist.

"Fine." Reid grumbled, looking back down and at the fire. He had braved the cellar, the kitchen... all those disgusting jars, and the smell, to get all that stuff and she wasn't even going to use it. Granted, she was using the blanket, and the fire was going.. but.. He felt angry. Like nothing he ever did made anyone happy. But that's why he stopped caring. Everything he ever cared about was gone. He pulled rocks out of his pocket and let them pile up on the floor next to him, then stared at them.

He had made her feel quite ungrateful when he answered her with one word. Reva didn't know if what she wanted to do was a good thing.. but.. She wouldn't know if she didn't try. "Reid.." Reva whispered as she pulled the blanket off herself and shuffled over to him. "..Thank you." She whispered again as she took one of his hands in hers and squeezed it gently. It seemed that Reva wasn't Reva anymore. Aver had somehow returned when Reva had collapsed onto the floor earlier.

"Leave me alone.." Reid said and pulled his hand out of hers, but slower than he would have liked. He stared at the fire, his jaw set and his eyes empty. He was hardened again, like the pile of rocks on the floor next to him. He didn't care. He refused to care.

Aver put the hand which she held Reid's with into somesort of shape as she looked down at the floor, her eyes teary. As she looked down at the floor, she thought. He has feelings.. Everyone has feelings someway or another. You felt his feelings, too, didn't you Reva? Earlier before? In that embrace he gave you first? ..Reva? She's not here.. Just little old me.. Aver sighed lightly and moved away from him. It was what he wanted after all.

Reid swallowed thickly and bit his lip in thought. "You can sleep.. I'll stay awake." he said softly. Someone needed to keep watch. It was night, so the chance any animals would see the smoke was slim, but smelling it was a different story. Especially for birds. He didn't want to sleep anyway... nightmares would haunt him like flies on... rotting flesh..

She didn't answer him. Whatever Aver said always seemed to be wrong and cause some sort of argument. The girl wrapped in the blanket just shrugged as she stared into the fire. She was Aver now. The side who had been closest to Tommy. Tommy.. She sniffed as quietly as she could, trying the block the sound out by burying her face into the blanket.

Reid turned slightly and looked at her over his shoulder. Is she crying again..? Why? he wondered. He stiffened a little, commanded himself not to care, not to go over there... but he did. He stood and walked to her, then kneeled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey... I... I'm sorry..." he whispered. "I didn't...." he growled. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

Aver had jumped from shock when he had touched her shoulder since she hadn't heard him move over to her. She didn't look up, though. She just shook her head into her blanket. "S- s- sorry won't bring him b- back.." She gasped, shaking her head again. Reva had had her emotional moment about Tommy, and now it was Aver's turn. Hers would be worse. A lot worse.

Reid frowned deeply, his brow furrowing. "You mean that Tommy person again?" he asked softly, getting down on his knees next to her. "I told you it wasn't him." he said. "Don't you listen? It's not him in those jars, Reva." He tried to speak softly, and not sound so agitated. He slid his hand from her shoulder to her hand and gripped it gently.

"Reva has gone.." Aver lifted her head out of the now sodden blanket and stared at Reid, her eyes puffy yet again. "I'm Aver n- now.." She whispered, hiccupping a little as a fresh tear fell down her pale cheek. Aver used her other, unnoccupied hand to rub her nose.

Reid blinked a few times, looking at the floor. "Right.. two minds.." he whispered. He looked back up at her again and swallowed a little. "Listen, Aver..." he whispered, but stopped. What the hell was he supposed to say? He watched her a moment, then reached up and wiped away her tear with his thumb. "Everything is going to be okay." he said softly. It was all he could say. He didn't even know who this Tommy guy was.

"You said that to Reva, too.." Aver whispered back. "You.. you made her feel safe. Which is why she thought it was okay to.. to mess around a little with you.." She sniffed again and wiped at her nose. "She doesn't mean to cause problems.. I'm.. I'm the one who urges her on.. It's my fault you get angry with her.. and Tommy.. Tommy.." Aver burst into a brand new flood of tears again, covering her eyes with her one hand.

Reid glared at her when she said Reva was messing around with him, and how she'd goated Reva on, but he held back any shouts rising in his throat. He clentched his fists and held his breath for a minute. This is why I fucking hate people. he thought angrily. He tried to calm himself down though. She's crying. Don't make it worse, or she'll never shut up. He let out his breath slowly and looked at her, trying to seem gentle. "I know I did. And I meant it. We're not hurt are we?" he asked. "We're okay. And Tommy... I don't know who he is.. but.. I don't have to know that in order to see he was close to you." He looked down at the ground, trying to vent his anger silently.

Aver squeezed his hand as she told him. "Tommy was.. he was my younger brother.." She said quietly as the feeling of woe gripped her heart tightly. "And when.. and when Reva showed me the jars.. it was.. just a boy. There was a boy in one.." She paused as she shuffled up closely to Reid, implying that one hand was not enough to soothe her. "The eyes.." Her lip trembled as she stared into the flames and rested her head on his arm. "..They.. they were Tommy's.." She was shaking all over again as she had done earlier.

"It wasn't Tommy." Reid said softly, but sternly. He lifted his free hand, paused in hesitation at what he was about to do, curled his lip and pressed his hand to Aver's head, gently stroking her hair. "It wasn't him." he said stubbornly, but still somehow soothingly. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her again.

Aver would never believe him, but she allowed herself to be hugged. She welcomed the warmth and the feeling that she was not alone in the war. Someone was here with her, she respected that, and was grateful for the company. Had she been alone, she would have probably ended up dead by the jaws of that dog.. Or the bear.. She did notice something, though. Aver was no longer shivering. Either because she was warm or no longer frightened, she didn't know.

Reid sighed in annoyance, wondering how the hell he got into this predicament. Oh yeah. Because I wanted the fucking gun. he growled in his head. He stroked her hair again, then gently pulled back. "Now, c'mon.. scoot closer to the fire and go to sleep." he said softly. "I'll stay awake and keep watch."

She mumbled an 'okay' and nodded as she shifted over to the couch and leaned her head against it. Aver watched the flames for a few moments before her eyelids began to droop. She was out like a light once her eyelids had fallen for the third time. Aver slept silently, her breathing was slow, calm and extremely quiet. Had someone walked in not knowing she was asleep, they could have very well pointed at her and asked; "Is she dead?"

Reid watched her a moment, making sure she slept, then turned back to the fire, warming himself and checking to see how dry his shirt was. His shoes felt hot, so he moved them to a new spot, and then turned to the pile of food. Among it was popcorn, cereal, candy bars and other junk food, then every so often was a granola bar or a bag of trail mix. He grabbed one of the granola bars and opened it, with the intention of eating it, but the instant he saw the oatmeal and raisins, along with the peanut butter that held it together, he pressed his lips shut tight and re-wrapped it, throwing it back onto the pile of food. He wasn't so hungry anymore. He wiped his nose and grabbed the other blanket and a pillow, sitting on the pillow to keep his butt from going numb so fast on the hardwood surface of the floor, then wrapped the blanket around his bare chest and shoulders. He stared at the fire, trying to stay awake.

Although Aver didn't snore at all, she moved a lot in her sleep. She would twitch now and again, whether it be her foot or her hand, it would move extremely quickly like a dart aiming for the middle of the board. Since she moved so much, the blanket which covered her would gradually slip off each of her bodyparts. But she still remained asleep however.

Reid looked at her from time to time to make sure she was still asleep, but the one time she saw the blanket was almost completely off of her he got up and went to her. He gently grabbed it and pulled it back up over her, knowing how easily she'd gotten cold before. When it was back up on her body, he turned and went back to his spot, wrapping himself up again and staring at the fire. At least she's not talking in her sleep.. He thought about the jars in the cabinet, both down in the cellar and in the kitchen right down the hall.. and felt like wretching. He swallowed thickly, grimaced at the fire and leaned back against another one of the dusty, moth-eaten sofas. Sooner than he thought, his eyes began to feel heavy. Don't fall asleep. he kept telling himself. But he failed miserably, falling asleep in a matter of minutes.

"Mom? Dad? Drake?" Reid called out, stumbling among the chaos and between the scrambling people. One ran into him and knocked him down, but didn't stop to help him up or even to say sorry, just kept running.. and everyone else kept running around and over him. One even stepped on his hand, making him cry out in pain. He crawled to an alleyway and sobbed quietly, holding his hand. A finger was broken.. it was swollen and purple already. He sniffled and looked around outside the alleyway. People were screaming, kids were crying. He could hear gunshots and explosions. "Mom!" he cried out again, even though deep down he knew she wouldn't hear him above everyone else. Suddenly there was a bright light... complete silence... he was blinded. Everything went black. Waking up several hours later, Reid found himself alone. Absolutely alone. Still leaning against the brick wall of the alleyway he'd hidden in. He tried to recall what'd just happened... but all he could remember was the screaming. The people running around and somehow disconnecting him from his mom, dad and Drake, his older brother. He sniffled as new tears began to roll down his cheeks, and he shakily stood, crying out when he accidentally used the hand with the broken finger. He pulled it back quickly, cradled it, cried some more, then stumbled out of the alley way. He shook and whimpered as he looked around. Everything was rubble. Everything was gone. Crumbling. There was no one around... He took a step forward and wobbled a little on the uneasy debris of rock and stone, then looked down. He gasped and stumbled backwards when he realized that the people hadn't left him... they'd been buried alive. The light was a blast... it had caused the entire city to come crashing down on the hoard of people... all but his little alleyway, of course. Thousands of people were buried under the rubble. Dead. All dead. He stared, wide-eyed at the bloody arm of a woman as it stuck out from beneath the bricks, grimey and pale. He shook, swallowed hard, and forced himself to stand. He stepped around her, but couldn't shake the knowledge that he was still stepping on the others. So he kneeled and began to dig. If he could see their faces, he'd know where not to step. He had dug up nearly fifty people when he stopped suddenly, seeing a familiar face. "M-mom..?" he whimpered, tears running down his cheeks like a waterfall. He gently reached out and ran a hand over her pale forehead, her blue eyes staring up at the sky blankly.

"M-mom.." Reid whimpered in his sleep, shifting uncomfortably.

Her black hair fell back over her eyes when Reid pulled his hand back. He suddenly had a burst of anger in his chest, of hatred, of desperation. He began to claw and dig at the rubble around his mother, ignoring the pain in his broken finger, but still crying out. "Mom! Mom, wake up!" he pleaded as he dug her out. He looped his arms under hers and pried her up from under the ground, grunting and growling with the struggle of dragging her away from the spot. Once she was clear of it, her clothes in tatters and one shoe missing, her entire being covered in dust and blood, he kneeled next to her. "S-stay here, mom.. I'm gonna find Dad and Drake.." Reid whimpered, stroking her cheeks. "Everything will be okay.." He sniffled and got up again, stumbling over the new hole he'd just made and continued to dig up more bodies. All of them were familiar faces. People he'd known... even kids he'd gone to school with. But he was only looking for two in specific. It wasn't until nightfall that he found his older brother, crushed under a large piece of brick wall that had failed to break when it hit the ground. His skull was smashed, his face didn't even look normal anymore. But Reid knew it was Drake. He was still wearing their dad's old military dogtags around his neck. The piece of wall was too heavy for Reid to move on his own, so he had no choice but to leave Drake there. He cried angrily, blinded as his salty tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He stumbled more and kept digging. Only when midnight came, and the moon was high in the sky, did he find his father, mawled to death. He dug his father's body out of the dirt, then dragged him, with all his strength, back to where Drake was. He left them there and went to get his mother, dragging her to the same spot. There, he laid them in a row, Drake slightly out of place because he couldn't be moved, and he sat there, crying until he couldn't cry anymore. "Mom... dad... Drake... don't leave me. Everything is gonna be okay.." he whimpered and cried, hugging himself. The next thing he remembered was waking up to the sights and sounds of a police search crew. He had tried to hide from them, wanting to stay with his family, but Pete caught him, grabbing him. "NO! I won't leave them!" Reid cried and struggled against Pete. "NO! NO!"

"NO!" Reid cried out, kicking and screaming in his sleep. "NO! MOM! DAD!"

Aver's eyes snapped open when she heard someone shouting. Where was she again? Oh.. yeah.. she remembered now. The rundown cabin. She blinked a few times, but when Reid had shouted the second time, she turned over to face him. "Reid!" she gasped, scrambling out of the blanket and over to the poor boy who was kicking at nothing. "Reid.." Aver said, shaking him lightly. "Wake up, Reid.. please." She was kneeling next to him now, her right hand on his naked shoulder. Aver shook him a little harder, biting her lip as she did. He was calling for his family, and it upset her. She just wanted him to wake up. "Reid! Snap out of it!" She finally shouted, on the verge of tears.

Reid let out a final scream as he sat up, breathing heavily and crying. He looked around, remembered where he was, who Aver was, how long ago his dream had taken place and soon was calm again. Tears still slid down his face, and he shook a little, his falling to stare blankly at the floor. "I fell asleep.." he mumbled.

She watched him for a moment with her misty eyes before leaning in and wrapping her arms around his neck in a gentle hug. Aver never actually thought that she would ever hug him first but.. He was upset, and he had hugged her when she was crying to try and calm her down. She thought it would be best not to exaggerate the hug and squeeze the air out of him. But it was the least she could do. "You were dreaming of them.. Your family.. Oh Reid.." She whimpered, rubbing his back gently as her own tears began to fall from her eyes.

Reid sniffed and wiped his nose with his forearm, not hugging her at first. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't act cold and hardened after what she'd surely just seen. What kid could? He let his tears keep falling and slowly, hesitantly, hugged her back, still shaking angrily. "I'm okay now... it was a long time ago.." he whispered, glaring at the fire. After a minute of holding her, he pulled back and looked at her with sad, comforting eyes. He lifted a hand, brushed away her tears and pushed her hair back from her eyes. "I'm okay."

Aver blinked at him and stayed silent for a moment. "Promise?" She asked quietly. Would she have to hug him again after all of this? Aver didn't think so. He was already recovering. "It takes a real man to cry.." She added in a whisper. She bit her lip. What if he took that the wrong way?

Reid almost did take it the wrong way. But he realized that he was crying already and it wouldn't make much sense to fuss over it now. He looked down a moment, then nodded. "Promise. I buried them. I buried the old me. I'm okay." he whispered back. "Sorry I woke you. You can go back to sleep now... if you want." he muttered, letting his arms drop from around her and into his lap.

"No.." Aver shook her head. "I'm staying awake, now. For you." She took his hand in hers again, the feeling of hope was high in the sky to her unlike it was previously. "I think we both need the company right now. Especially since we have both been alone too long.."

Reid looked at her again and blinked, not sure how to answer, then looked away again with a shiver. He noddd. "Fine.. but you should eat something." he said, getting up slowly and going to grab his shirt. It was surely dry by now.

Aver nodded. "I think I will." She said softly as she moved over to the pile of food. Rumaging through it for a few minutes resulted in her picking out what seemed to be a cereal bar of somekind. Aver wasn't a huge fan of candy or chocolate after all. She frowned at it for a moment, but when she read 'Filled With Chunks Of Real Strawberries!' on the label, she smiled a little and ripped it open, nibbling at it as she watched Reid.

Reid quietly put his shirt back on when he felt it was dry enough--and warm, for that matter--buttoning it up. The sleeves hung low on his wrists, as they had before, then he undid his contraption made of the two logs and his belt. His belt was a little crimped, but it fixed itself when he looped it back around his waist and fastened his pants with it. He sighed, fixing his shirt, then went back to her and sat down, pulling on his shoes to keep his feet warm. When he finished, he rested one elbow on a pulled up knee, and watched Aver. "S'good?" he asked with a small smile.

"It'll do." Aver nodded. "But I would prefer a Subway or a McDonalds.." She said dreamily as she munched away at her cereal bar. Then she smiled herself. "It's.. nice when you smile, Reid." Aver said softly. "It makes me believe that there is hope in the world. Even if we have lost the closest thing to us."

Reid blinked at her and blushed a little. The last person who ever told him his smile was nice was... his mom. He looked away, hoping the dim lighting of the fire would hide his blush and shrugged. "Yeah well... that's what optimists like yourself want to think." he said softly, but didn't sound so tough anymore. He smiled a little to himself, but it was hidden.

She shrugged. "I've never been called an optimist before." Aver scrunched up her empty cereal bar wrapper and threw it into the fire. She watched it burn for a while before looking at Reid curiously. "You were encouraging me to eat before, but you haven't eaten a thing. Are you feeling okay?" She asked.

"Hm? Oh.. Uh, yeah.. I'm fine. I tried to eat earlier.. but I just.. don't feel very hungry." Reid shrugged. Why am I talking so much? What the hell is wrong with me? He bit his lip and kept his eyes averted, seeming to blush all the more at his own embarrassing motor-mouth.

"Oh, okay." Aver smiled slightly and nodded as she brought her blanket up to her chin and stared at the floor for a while. She hadn't noticed Reid blush at all, sadly enough. "That's it." Aver said firmly as she looked up from the floor and into the fire. "As soon as this war is over, I'm buying a Subway. And you're gonna come with me." You couldn't really tell from her voice whether or not Aver was being serious or funny at that moment.

Reid listened and slowly looked at her, blinking in confusion. "Subway?" he asked sarcastically with a small smirk. "Sounds good.. But I prefer McDonalds." He chuckled a little and got up going to sit next to her, bringing his own blanket and pillow. He grabbed the granola bar from earlier and sat on the pillow, leaning back against the couch as well and pulling the blanket over himself. "Here's your subway." he said, tossing the bar at her.

Aver rolled her eyes and she caught the bar in both hands. "Trust you to pick the most unhealthy restaurant.." She then looked down at the bar and grimaced. "Uhm.. no offence, but I don't think that even the starving children would eat this." Aver twisted the bar around so she could see the name of it. "Granola..? Oh, yeah. I remember these." She nodded. "Old man's food. Thanks a bunch." Aver faked a frown and prodded Reid's shoulder gently. She was a lot happier, now.

"Hey, now, I like granola bars and I'm not an old man." Reid said with a small frown, giving her shoulder a small return push. "My mom always taught me to eat healthy. There's plenty of good stuff in these bars." he said, taking the bar back and peeling back the wrapper. "See? Raisins, peanut butter, oatmeal..." he listed, turning it this way and that so she could see.

She eyed the bar carefully before grimacing again. "Yeah, great for you if your a hamster. Or an old man." Aver giggled. "Which is what you are of course." She brought the blanket further over her face so only her eyes were visible. She looked rather cheeky sitting there on the floor.

Reid raised an eyebrow at her, then shrugged and re-wrapped the bar, throwing it back onto the pile of food. "Your loss." he said. "But ya know foods like that help your brain, which obviously you don't have enough of." he said, smirking at her again.

"I'll go with that.." Aver nodded. "I'm not too bright, anyway. But Reva is. She's really intelligent, and smarter than me by miles." She looked thoughtful for a moment as she looked around the living room. Aver hadn't actually had a real good look at the room since it was Reva who entered first.

"Riiiight.." Reid nodded, remembering what he'd said earlier in the woods. "Two minds, no brains." He looked at the pile of food, felt his stomach growl a little, and thought of tomorrow. He'd need the energy. He sighed in annoyance and leaned forward, grabbing a couple cereal and granola bars (including the one he'd thrown back), and started to eat.

Aver sighed as she rested her head on her knees. She wanted to know what time it was.. But she wore no watch, and she doubted that the cabin still had a working clock after being left abandoned for so long. After letting her eyes gaze around again, she decided that there wasn't even a broken clock in the room. It seemed that ever since the war started, time had stopped dead in it's tracks. Those valuable twenty four hours each day.. sixty minutes per hour.. and sixty seconds per minute.. It all belonged to the animals. They had taken time away from the humans. Aver grimaced yet again into her knees as she closed her eyes and thought about.. anything. Anything other than the war and her family.. (Tommy.. Are you gonna read me a story, Av-Av? I'm waitiiiiing! Hehe! Aver sighed again softly. "I'm sorry Tommy.. I don't know if it even is bedtime, anymore.." She whispered.

"Hm? Whadya say?" Reid asked, raising an eyebrow at her and talking with his mouth full. He had the granola bar in his hands, and he nibbled at it almost greedily. He may not have felt hungry, but his body sure was. And the instant he had taken his first bite, he felt all the more hungrier. It didn't even occur to him anymore that they were still sitting in the cabin of death. "You're not gonna ask for another hug, are you?" he asked, trying to sound annoyed by it, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

She shook her head. "No.." Aver whispered, staring back into the dying flames. A hug sounded like a good remedy for her unhappiness, but Aver thought that she had to rid herself of her worries alone. This was a war.. A war which had been fought for over a year now. So much blood had been spilled.. and more humans were dropping like flies. It wasn't just America who were beginning to die out. The whole of Europe was in battle with the animals. It wouldn't cease. Not yet. If she couldn't look after herself, how would she survive? She wouldn't if she didn't force herself to grow up a little. "I'm alright.." Aver said quietly, but her voice was slightly louder.

Reid's smile quickly disappeared and he nodded, looking away and eating quietly. What the hell is wrong with me?! I'm actually acting like I care? Gotta keep reminding myself that she may just stab me in the back later. Like all the rest of them did... She has the gun, after all. What's stopping her from using it? Whatever. he thought angrily, argueing with himself. He stared at the floor with the blanket around his shoulders and his knees drawn up, suddenly feeling alone again. He was used to being alone, so it was a welcome feeling.

Aver still just stared into the flames blankly, chewing her lip as she did. What to do..? How can I prove to myself that I can stay alive for a few days longer? She then looked away from the fire and turned her head to look in the direction of the kitchen. If.. If I can stay in that room with the cupboard doors open for a while.. Would it make me stronger? I wouldn't be afraid of them anymore.. Aver pursed her lips tightly together as she just sat looking for a moment. Then she finally plucked up the courage to toss the blanket off her, pull herself up from the living room floor, and make her way barefoot towards the kitchen. Her arms were drawn down by her sides, and her hands slowly moved into small, tight, delicate fists.

Reid blinked and watched her, saw where she was going and got up too. "A-Aver, where are you going?! Aver, don't go back in there!" he said, a little startled. "There's nothing in there but those jars!" He scrambled to his feet and ran after her, grabbing her arm. "Aver!"

"I'm doing this for me, Reid.." Aver whispered, moving his hand gently off her arm. Her eyes just stayed transfixed on the hallway as she made her way down it. The smell was coming back. The rotting, bloody, fleshy scent which would send maggots haywire with joy filled her nose as she walked. "Please.. don't follow me."

Reid stopped in his tracks and watched her, then clentched his fists and glared at her back. "Fine. But just so you know... whatever is in there, won't help you." he growled and turned. "I've seen death plenty of times. And it never helped me." With that, he stomped back to the living room and sat back down where he'd been, but didn't touch his food.

Aver closed her eyes slightly as the smell became stronger. Open them, stupid. You have to. Otherwise you'll just fail your little test and die with the rest of them. "I don't need you here with me, Reva." Aver said firmly as her eyes snapped open. Her fists clenched again and she pushed the kitchen door open. She couldn't help it, but one of her hands raised to her mouth and nose to shield the smell. Aver stepped inside and closed the door behind her, keeping her back turned towards the cupboard for a few moments.

Stupid girl. No one ever listens to me. I hate everyone. Reid thought angrily, throwing rocks, one-by-one, into the fireplace and watching the fire react to them when the logs fell or crumbled. He knew he'd have to go back down to the cellar to get more wood if he wanted the fire to live to sunrise, so he got up and walked towards the cellar door.

A sigh left her mouth as Aver let her grip on the kitchen door handle loosen slowly. "Okay.." She whispered, moving her other hand which covered her mouth away. Aver turned around and her eyes moved immediately to look at the cupboard. Don't just stand there, dumbass. Open the doors. She glared at nothing and barged towards the cupboard. She took the latch off the doors and threw them open, causing them to fly off their hinges and fall to the floor. They were too rotten to hold on. The smell gushed out like a strong wind, but Aver just held her breath as she closed her eyes tightly and reached inside. Her hand felt glass. Aver whimpered and grabbed the jar quickly. She ran to the sink and put the jar in it without daring to look at it's contents. She did this a number of times at great speed. I have to do this.. I have to.. She gasped inside her head as she darted from the cupboard to the sink over and over. How many jars..?

Reid grumbled to himself as he went down the cellar stairs, the light back on overhead. He stomped past the tool cabinet where the bloody mess on the floor had come from, side-stepping around the red puddle, to the dumpster of wood and paper. He gathered a few more logs under his arm, thinking it'd last long enough, and a handful of paper to make sure the logs stayed lit. He eyed the tool cabinet once he was at the bottom of the stairs again, and the blood still leaking from the bottom of the doors... the rotten wood.. He felt his throat tighten and turned, going back up the stairs and into the living room. He set the wood and paper aside for when they'd need it, and looked at the kitchen door. He almost called out Aver's name. But the instant his mouth opened, he snapped it shut with a grimace. "Who cares." he growled and got to work on the fire.

Nice work, squirt. You cleared the whole thing. Aver panted slightly as she hunched over on the spot and let her hands rest on her knees. "I've got to get rid of them.. Move them.." Aver whispered to herself in between quick draws of short breaths. She raised slowly and rubbed her eyes. Aver moved over to the sink and grabbed two jars and slipped them under her arms. She swallowed as she did so, and kicked the kitchen door open. Aver walked into the living room, not wanting to look at Reid as she walked past him.

Reid looked at her, saw the jars under her arms and had to swallow really hard to keep from gagging. "W-what the hell are you doing?!" he growled, his eyes wide and his mouth open wider. An eyeball inside one of the jars looked at him and he shuddered, looking away and feeling his stomach wretch.

"Recycling.." Aver whispered before suddenly lunging at the cellar door with her shoulder. It didn't break or fall off it's hinges, it just opened. She paused for a moment and stared down the steps. After Aver took a deep breath, she threw the jars both together hard down into the cellar, groaning as she did. They were heavy, and their weight caused them to smash. "We may be humans, but we are not souvenirs!" She screamed down at the broken pieces of glass. It was like she was aiming her voice at the jars, not the bodyparts. After all, the jars had belonged to the animals, and they had been used to lock up the humans from the world.. Aver stood there shaking from head to toe as her eyes stayed put on the smashed debris.

"Aver!" Reid gasped and got up, running to her. He looked down at the smashed jars and body parts and grimaced, pulling her back and closing the door. "Aver, stop it! That smell will attract the animals, and your screaming doesn't help either!" he said, grabbing her shoulders sternly. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I'm weak, Reid.." Aver whispered, looking down at the toes of her bare feet as her lower lip trembled. "I thought that.. maybe.. maybe if I could face them.. I.." She shook her head quickly, moving out of Reid's grasp. Her hands found their way around her middle as she stared at the floor still shaking. "I can't do it.."

Reid frowned at her. "Aver.. you're not weak." he whispered and moved to her again. "But facing something that... evil and disgusting doesn't make you stronger either." He gently put a hand on her arms and looked up at her. "Aver... You don't have to haunt yourself to make yourself feel strong. Okay? You don't have to do anything."

She moved away from him again, not feeling his touch comforting whatsoever there at that moment. "I was facing us, Reid.. Our own kind.." Aver said quietly. "The jars themselves are the evil ones.." She shook her head again. "I won't make it I know it." Her eyes were misty, but Aver wouldn't let herself cry.

Reid growled. "Fine! I was just trying to help!" he snapped and turned, going back to the fire. He reached into his pocket and gripped his father's old dogtags, the one his older brother had been wearing when he died.. He glared at the fire before pulling it out of his pocket and hooking the silver chain around his neck, the dogtags jingling. "I was saying I'd protect you... but you obviously don't need it." he said softly, more to the dogtags than to Aver. "And neither do I." He kneeled and got back to work at stoking the fire.

"Don't scare her like that, you damn fuck." Aver said, her voice sounding unlike her own. Reva was using her body like a puppet, and she glared straight at Reid, her visible eyes flashing. "She thinks she's going to die, you know. But you wouldn't care if she did get mauled to death by a motherfucking huge grizzly like the one I saw a few hours ago would you?" Reva used Aver to walk over to Reid, her eyes still on him. "She cares about you. I'm sure she'd feel a lot better if you said that you would stay with her right until the end." Her voice was cold.

Reid didn't look at her, glaring and growling at the fire as he brought it back to roaring life. "When did I say I wouldn't?" he asked low. "But then again, how could she care about me? She doesn't even know me. I got her out of that cell so I could use her gun. I found out the gun had more value to it than I was willing to waste, so I gave it back. We got here and saw those jars and suddenly she starts crying about Tommy. I played the comforting game. She woke me up from a sad realization that I have yet to come to terms with. So she took her turn in the comforting game. Now it was my turn to comfort her again, but she DIDN'T FUCKING WANT IT. So you know what? I'm done. No one ever listens to me, everything I ever cared about is gone and I'm not about to risk caring about some stupid girl just so she can get taken away too--which it seems she so desperately wants to believe." he growled, his voice getting louder every here and there to make his point. When he finished stoking the fire, he stood and turned to her, both his eyes and the dogtags gleaming in the firelight. "My conscience is clear. So leave me the fuck alone."

"Reva.." Aver's voice broke through weakly. "I'm okay.. he doesn't need me here, I'll leave the cabin, I-" She was interrupted by Reva, her body taken over again. "Yes he does, Aver. He's scared of being alone." She glared at Reid even harder. Reva moved towards him slowly, flexing her fingers around as she did. "Admit it." She demanded, bringing her hand up in a fist and smacking him hard in the lower stomach.

Reid's eyes went wide as the wind was knocked out of him. He coughed and wrapped his arms around his middle, gagging for air as he stumbled backwards a little. When he regained himself a few minutes later, he struggled to stand up straight and glared at her, letting his arms drop back to his sides. He was tougher than that. "No." he growled. But, being the gentleman he was raised to be, he would refuse to hit a girl also. 

"Why won't you fight back?" Reva questioned him darkly, folding Aver's arms over her chest. "You don't have it in you, do you Reid?" She smirked. "Perhaps she doesn't need you at all. You can't even protect yourself, nevermind Aver." But she unfolded her arms and darted forwards at him again, grabbing a handful of his shirt so he wouldn't move anywhere. "Now you listen to me." She hissed, staring at him. "Inside you are afraid. So is she. I honestly don't blame either of you for being so." Reva's grip tightened on his shirt. "I can't make your life worse than it already is. But just.. stay with her. I'd like to make it out alive knowing that just one little squirt managed to protect two people at the same time. I'm sure Aver would lke that, too."

Reid glared back at her just as furiously. "I'm not afraid. And don't call me squirt." he growled, throwing a rock. It bounced off the wall behind them and hit Reva in the back of the head, hard. He wasn't going to hit her... but that didn't mean his rocks couldn't.

Reva didn't feel the pain, but Aver did. A whimper escaped from her mouth in Aver's tone as Reva rubbed the back of her head and snapped her eyes to look him. "You just did something wrong. Really wrong." Reva straightened herself up and twisted Reid's body at such speed, it happened in a flash. She grabbed his arms and pulled them behind towards his back. "You hurt her. You hurt Aver." Reva hissed into his ear closely, her lips just inches away from his lobe. "You struggle just once, and I'll break your motherfucking finger. Say sorry to her."

Reid growled. "Fuck you." he snapped in a whisper and struggled to pull his arms free, kicking at her at the same time. She was bluffing. She had to be. There's no way she'd really break one of his fingers.

"STOP HURTING HER!" Reva bellowed, kneeing him up the backside and grabbing his third finger on his left hand. She held it for a moment, about to snap it, when Aver spoke again, this time she sounded like she was in complete, dying agony after feeling Reid's sharp kicks. He had caught her in her bad knee a few times, and also on her bare feet when he had landed after each kick. "Re- Reva.. don't.." She gasped. "Violence.. never solved anything.." Reva shook her head, disagreeing with her other half's words. "It does in this kind of situation." She said darkly, not hesitating for another moment as she bent back Reid's finger suddenly, feeling the bone break as she did.

A sickening scream came from Reid as his bone broke easily, his eyes squeezed shut in pain. A flash crossed his eyes from how hard he had them closed, and all he heard were other screams. The people... All the fucking people! MOM! DAD! Drake! The memories whirled in his head as the pain thumped from the very tip of his finger to the base of his knuckle and even into his wrist. The same as before.. the very same. Tears flooded his eyes and rolled down his cheeks freely as he screamed and struggled against Reva. "OKAY! OKAY, I ADMIT IT!" he shouted and cried, slumping under her. "LET ME GO! Please, let me go!"

Reva had already left, rather satisfied when he had screamed out. I hope I helped out, Aver. "No.. you didn't.. you just made things worse.. you.. you.. you bitch.." Aver gasped in reply. No answer. This obviously meant that Reva had been hurt by her other half's words. Aver's hands slid out of grasp of Reid's finger which Reva had broken, and she fell down to the floor in exhaustion. Reva had used a lot of her bodypower to attack him, now she had hardly any energy left to stand. "Reid.." She gaspd, trying to catch her breath. "She's gone.. Reva.. Reva's gone, now.. I'm sorry.. so sorry." As usual, Aver's eyes were misty, and she was letting herself cry, her tears soaking the floor as she lay on her side facing away from Reid.

Reid sobbed like a child, cradling his hand with his back to Aver, rocking back and forth on the floor. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! For everything I've said! Everything! I'm sorry!" he cried and choked. "I didn't mean anything! Reva's right! I'm just scared!" he sobbed, holding his hand. His finger was already purple and it hurt more than the first time it had been broken. "I'm sorry..." He hiccuped and sniffed, biting his lip and shaking. He'd blurted out everything Reva wanted to hear. Maybe now she'd leave him alone. He'd never felt so weak in his life. Not even when his family had died.

"I.." Aver began slowly, breathing rapidly as she tried to catch her words. "I.. should be the one to apologise.." She whispered. "I l- let her out. I should have tried harder to keep her locked in.." Aver had a horrible feeling that her right ankle was badly bruised, or close to breaking. She couldn't feel it anyway. "Y- your finger.. is it..?" Aver began, but she stopped when she drew in another deep breath.

"I-it's broken.." Reid coughed, still crying. He cradled it against his chest and closed his eyes again, sniffling thickly. "I'm sorry.. It's my fault, I'm sorry." he whimpered. He thought about how his mom would have ran up to him and held her in her arms right now, how his dad would have wrapped it carefully while Drake stood and told jokes to help Reid relax by making him laugh. But they weren't there. They never would be, ever again. "They're gone.. and I'm scared.. I'm alone now and I can't stand it.. I thought acting tough would make me tougher in time, but I was always scared.. They're gone.." By this point, Reid was so far into the pain that he was delusional, feeling sick and just talking because he could, saying whatever came to mind.

Aver winced at the pain in her knee as she dragged herself onto her other side. She whimpered when she pulled herself up to him. He was scared after all.. Just like me.. She thought sadly, closing her eyes tightly as she finally collapsed back onto the floor again right behind Reid. "You aren't alone.." Aver whispered, her breathing close to normal. "I'm here if you want me to be.." She wasn't sure whether or not to touch him or leave him be. Reid was serious about his feelings.. and it hurt Aver to see his pain show by his words. Her shaky hand touched his back, and she rested her palm flat against it, her fingertips moving slightly, rubbing his spine a little gently in a comforting manner. Her eyes watched the floor as she spoke. "I'll leave if I'm making you feel worse.. just say the word and I'm gone.."

"N-no... D-don't go... Don't leave me.. Please?" Reid whimpered, shaking under her hand. "I... I d-don't want to be alone a-anymore.." His tears renewed and he gasped for rapid breaths, sniffling and hiccupping. He went back to rocking back and forth, keeping his eyes on his hand; his purple, swollen finger. "I'm sorry... just don't go.." he sniffled. His memories had lessened and started to be pulled back down to the dark corners in the back of his mind, his tears not so rapid anymore. He needed to get his finger splinted and wrapped... a piece of one of the logs for the fire would work.. and one of his shoe laces would suffice as well.. he could do it.. but not alone.

"I'm here, don't worry.. It's just me and you. Reva is locked away for a while. She won't bother us for a few days. She'll bother me, but that doesn't matter." Aver said kindly as she sat herself up and put a gentle hand on his own which were cupped together as he held his finger. "I'll use my ribbon to bandage your finger." She said quietly with a small nod, caressing his thumb with hers for a moment before she moved her hand and reached up into her hair. Her black hair had two small bunches in it tied by ribbons, but they were both red.. When she pulled it out, and looked down at it, she sighed. "I'm sorry.. it's not the best of colours.. but.."

"I-it's fine.." Reid said, shaking his head. He sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve with his good hand. "But we need something hard to keep it straight... s-so it'll heal properly.." he muttered, not looking at her.

Aver bit her lip and looked around the room for a moment, looking for anything which might help him. Then the logs caught her eye. "Don't move, okay?" She said as she tried to pull herself up from the floor. It took quite a few attempts since her ankle groaned in protest as she tried to move it. But she was up after a while, and limping over to the pile of logs. She picked one up and limped back again, this time to the kitchen. Even though the jars were in there, Aver couldn't care less. It was her fault Reid had a broken finger, and she would make matters turn out right again no matter what. She searched through the drawers and found files in one like Reid had earlier, and in another draw was cutlery. She sighed happily and took out a knife. Aver used the knife then to slice a chunk out of the log which would be used as a splint. It was a tough log, but Aver didn't give up that easily. After a few minutes, she held a good sized piece in her hand as she moved back into the living room again and kneeled beside Reid. "Okay, here's your splint.."

Reid sniffed and wiped his eyes, looking at her and the splint in her hands. He was a little hesitant, but he slowly offered his hand to her, the broken finger clearly standing out among the others. "I... can't do it... with one hand." he mumbled, keeping his eyes down. It was strange to feel so dependant on someone else. It also felt weird to cry as much as he had.

She stared at him and then looked down at his bruised finger blankly. Bandaging a broken finger was not one of her specialties, but Aver nodded anyway. She wanted to help him, and she would have to learn how to bandage a finger someday. "Well.. let's see.." She said softly as she took his hand gently, careful not to hurt the broken finger. "This.. might hurt.. I'm sorry.." Aver whimpered a little, she didn't want to see him cry out in pain again. She put the splint against his broken finger as straight as she possibly could and then took the ribbon from across her lap with her free hand and began to wrap it slowly around his finger, her mouth slightly open as she did so. "I hope I'm doing it right.." She muttered, her face turning slightly pink at the idea of her doing it completely wrong and Reid laughing at her, as he perhaps changed back to his usual grumpy self.

Reid whimpered softly as she wrapped his finger, closing his eyes and turning his head away, his lips pressed together in a thin line. He held his breath to keep from crying out again, and his eyes welled up with more tears, but he wouldn't let them loose. In his mind, he thought, Bandaging a finger isn't too hard... just splinter it, and wrap it tightly... that's all. But no one can do it properly with only one hand. He forced himself to look, wincing a little. "Y-you're doing fine.." he muttered under his breath, holding absolutely still.

"Finished." Aver smiled down at her work and squeezed his shoulder. "You okay? I.. didn't hurt you too much, did I?" She asked rather worriedly, biting her lip as she watched him.

"No.. I'm okay.." Reid said softly, taking his hand back and studying her handiwork. He fingered the little bow she'd tied into the ribbon and stayed silent a long time, still keeping his eyes averted from hers. Finally, after a few minutes, he looked up at her. "I'm sorry." he said again. His eyes didn't seem so sad anymore, but they were still a little red from his crying. His memories were gone, so his core was hardened again, but he couldn't take back everything he'd said.. all the crying she'd seen him do.. This was one helluva night.

Aver shook her head. "You have nothing to apologise for, Reid. It was an accident." She removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it in her lap. She had sat herself down halfway through adjusting the bandaging on his finger since her ankle had complained again one too many times. "But I'm truly happy you are alright." She smiled softly at him and looked back down at her hands again.

Reid nodded slowly and looked down again also. He sniffed, his nose still a little wet from all his sobbing, and he wiped his face on the length of his sleeve. "You were limping." he muttered, not looking at her. "When did you get hurt?"

"Well.." Aver began quietly, not really sure if what really happened should be told. But she sighed. He had to know. Reva would only tease him about it. "You.. kicked me. Thinking that you were hurting Reva." She paused. "Reva doesn't feel pain when she doesn't want to. Which is why she used me as a sort of punch bag I guess.." A shrug. "But I'm okay. Really."

"Oh... Sorry..." Reid mumbled and turned away a little. He didn't really understand how split personalities worked, especially not with Aver and Reva, so he didn't ask. His eyes felt dry... tired. But he couldn't sleep. Not with the pain in his hand, the nightmares that would surely haunt him or the idea of animals showing up at any moment. He just stared at the fire instead, wallowing in his shame. I'm such a baby.. cry too much, just because of a stupid broken finger... and why do I keep saying sorry? Oh yeah, because she broke my goddamn finger.

Aver sighed and turned to look at him. "Don't be. Like I said, it's Reva's fault." She frowned. "Everything is pretty much her fault.. she was the one who gave you dad's gun. She always poses at me. It's quite irritating if you ask me.." Her eyes moved to look at his finger. "Does it pain you so, Reid?" Her eyes were soft.

Reid looked at it and shook his head. "No... Not really... It's been broken before, so chances are it broke in the same place..." he whispered, running another finger along the ribbons. He frowned at the floor and sighed softly. "Thanks for wrapping it." He desperately wished his mom was there to hug him and tell him everything would be okay, like she used to.. and his dad would give him a playful punch to the shoulder and call him "champ," or "hero," while Drake made funny faces to mock their father, behind his back. He smiled a little at the memory.. then sighed deeply and drew up his knees, wrapping his arms around them and hiding his face in his elbows.

"It will fix itself right up quicker than you think." Aver said kindly, bringing her hand up to his head and stroking his hair softly. "You'll see. And if it doesn't, you can feed me Granola bars for as long as I live." She giggled lightly, in hope of cheering him up at least a little bit.

Reid didn't answer. But he didn't stop her from touching him either. In fact, he really wanted to be held. By anyone. He just didn't want to seem weak by asking for it. His fairly long, black hair frizzed out and covered his face more than his arms did and he thanked it in his mind, even though his mom had never really liked his hair long. His hand twitched on his arm, moving his broken finger a little and he winced with a small whimper. The pain would be worse in the morning.. he knew it would be.

When he hadn't laughed or answered her, she had stopped stroking his hair. But Aver let her hand linger a bit, just above his neck. However when he had whimpered, Aver's eyes became softer still as she shuffled up as close as she possibly could to him. She let her hovering hand drop around his shoulders, and she rested her head just in the grove between his jaw and his shoulder. "If you want me to move.. just.. shout at me or something." Aver said quietly. "I just thought you needed some sort of comfort.. that's all." She looked down at the floor, almost considering counting the seconds before he would push her off or move away.

A few minutes passed before Reid shifted a little, but not to move away. Instead, he scooted closer, dropped his knees and arms, and rested his head on top of hers, snuggling up to her. "Thanks." he whispered, his hands in his lap as his eyes blankly stared at the fire. Absently, he looped his arm around Aver's waist, keeping his finger straight out to keep it from hurting again, and buried his face in her hair.

A rush of scarlet flooded over Aver's cheeks as Reid had placed his arm around her waist. No boy had ever.. touched her there before. Only her dad, and that was when he would lift her up over his shoulder as a child and tickle her to death until she finally shouted 'mercy'. She would never see him again, though. Yet Aver smiled. She didn't feel unhappy or uncomfortable at all, sitting there in Reid's arms as they both watched the fire. "I've never.. done anything like this before.." She whispered.

"Done what..?" Reid asked, not moving as his eyes tiredly watched the flames lick at the open air of the chimney. He was perfectly comfortable sitting there with her too, holding her and feeling like she was holding him back. It was almost like the date he'd had with that girl he had a crush on back in school.. Only better. When he was on that date, they had watched some boring movie he'd never really liked and both of them had been too nervous to say anything to one another, so it was like a huge, awkward, double-headed spear about to stab them both in the throat. And even at the end of the night, when she left, he was too nervous to kiss her on the cheek, so they both went home disappointed. But this was... better. Much more comfortable. Why?

Aver felt silly. "Nevermind.. I was just speaking my thoughts. It's a habit of mine which has gotten worse recently." She said softly, chewing on her bottom lip as she let her fingers move around his shoulder. She had loved to do it to Tommy. He had always called it 'The Shiver Finger'. Aver smiled. "Nuh uh! No Shiver Finger, Av-Av!" Tommy scurried away as Aver chased after him, smiling happily, her index finger pointing at her little brother. "He's coming, Tommy! Shiver Finger is going to get you and give you the shivers!" Aver laughed. She sighed lightly. Her eyes became misty again, but she didn't cry. She didn't want to ruin the moment.

Reid nodded and closed his eyes a little, smiling. "Mmm.. that feels good.." he mumbled, talking about her fingers on his shoulder. He shifted a little so he was closer, easier for her to reach, and sighed softly. He could picture his mom and dad like this on the couch, in front of the tv while a romantic comedy played. But of course, neither of them were paying attention to it. He had wondered, when he was littler, why they'd do that to each other and ignore a perfectly good movie, but now he was starting to understand a little bit. Maybe it was because it made them feel closer to one another..? he thought and opened his eyes again, looking at the ceiling.

Aver giggled softly as she moved her fingers down to his back. "You aren't the only one who likes the Shiver Finger, then.." She said quietly. "Tommy loved it, too." Aver didn't say this in an unhappy tone, as if to moan on about her brother again. It was like she wanted to share her experiences she had with Tommy with Reid. "At least I've still got someone to land the shivers on." She giggled again, looking into the fire. For some reason, the flames seemed to shine a lot brighter to Aver. Perhaps it was her eyes playing tricks on her. Or maybe the fire was symbolizing her happiness there at that very moment. She didn't know why, but she decided to go with the second theory.

"Well then.." Reid said softly, smiling a little, "Kudos to Tommy." He looked at Aver and smiled, and this time it was compassionate, meaningful. It was the kind of smile that made him look older and more attractive; The one Aver said made her feel like there was still hope even after all was lost. He gave a fake shiver under her fingers, just to make her smile.

Aver blushed again when he had smiled at her. It did make him look more attractive, and seem a lot older than his age. She had already turned fifteen at the beginning of September, and it was the 20th now. Aver still felt like a fourteen year old. It still hadn't kicked in that she was fifteen. Then again, did becoming a year older kick in with anyone until their next birthday? Aver looked down at Reid's finger. He hadn't mentioned it for a while, so it was obviously feeling a lot better. She smiled and moved her arm back up, draping it around Reid's shoulder. "I wouldn't mind staying here like this until the war ends.." Aver whispered. When she realised what she had just said, she grimaced and an 'ugh' sound came from her mouth as she looked away. "Speaking my thoughts again. Sorry."

Reid smiled again and looked back at the fire. "No... you have a point." he whispered. "I, honestly.. wouldn't mind staying like this either." He looked around the cabin slowly. "With a little work... and some MUCH needed cleaning.. this cabin could be a home. Comfortable, even." he said softly. He sighed again though and his eyes fell back to the fire. "But it's in a terrible location." He couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the fact that he would have loved living in this place as a kid. Playing in the woods... hiding in the house.. but the fact of the matter was: it was right on the front lines between the animals and the humans, and more than likely, both sides used it from time to time as a hide-out.. a compound. They wouldn't last a month in that cabin without constant food, water, and ammo to protect themselves with. The humans provided it, the animals exploited it... and it would be gone if they were found out. He leaned his head against hers again, chewing his lip in thought. Subconsciously, his hand moved to tighten around her waist, but the instant it moved, his finger thumped with pain and he gasped with a groan, resurfacing from his deep thoughts. "Ow.."

Aver looked at him, her head slightly tilted as a small frown appeared on her face. "Oh Reid, you are so silly sometimes." She shook her head and smiled, ruffling his hair a little. "Keep it still and don't think about it. I know it's hard.. but it does help. You forget about the pain and it gradually disappears." Aver looked around the cabin herself in wonder. "Hm.. I suppose it would be quite homely.. after a few years or so of scrubbing that kitchen.."

Reid blushed a little at being called silly, and was about to open his mouth in protest until she ruffled his hair. It was something Drake used to do... so he let it slide. He smiled a little, fixed his hair with his good hand and straightened his finger again with a subtle wince. He looked around the cabin again as she spoke and nodded. "Yeah... but chances are, either animals or humans come by here every so often. That's why there's fresh food and running water. We don't have enough ammo in that little pistol of yours to deal with both." he explained with a sigh. "We couldn't stay here... not unless the war was over.. Maybe... Maybe when the war finally does end, we'll come back here?" Now it was his turn to be thinking out loud, and he hadn't even realized it when he'd said "we". 

"'We', Reid?" Aver blinked at him, her hands moving out his hair and back into her lap. "Perhaps.. if we make it.." She said softly. "I don't know about the animals.. but this cabin belongs to us for now." She had been quite shocked when Reid had mentioned both of them coming back together to the cabin after the war. Aver just thought that this was a one off soft side of Reid's which would last just for tonight. Then he would be back to his usual self in the morning.. Perhaps he wouldn't? Aver hoped not, anyway.

Reid blinked and looked at her, blushing a little. Us? We? Together? Maybe.. "Well.. ya know.. I meant-.. I mean.." he stammered, looking away and rubbing the back of his head, blushing. What had he meant? "I doubt either of us will.. ya know... die.. Not if we look out for one another.." he mumbled, his hand loosening around her waist now, out of embarrassment. "And I already told you I wouldn't leave you alone.. And you said it too.." he bit his lip. SHUT UP, DUMBASS! NOW YOU'RE JUST BLUBBERING! he screamed at himself.

Aver suddenly felt safe. Very safe at that. When they had first met, Reid and Aver pretty much hated each other's guts. Now look at us.. She thought to herself, as a twinge of butterflies entered her stomach. She had only gotten the butterflies when she was excited, or when she really.. liked something she wanted. Where am I going with myself? Aver questioned, in her head. She looked at him. "And I meant it, Reid." She said gently. The butterflies were moving around like a pinball in her stomach, but she liked it.

Reid slowly looked at her again, after a moment. His blue eyes flickered with the firelight in front of them, and the silver dogtags around his neck, that hung long enough to touch his chest, shone brilliantly between the folds of his shirt. He breathed in deeply and smiled a little, nodding as a piece of black hair fell in front of his eyes, and his hand tightened around her waist again as he looked away. "This has been... one hellish night.." he whispered. He had tried not to look like it, but in that brief moment he had looked at her, his eyes had admired and remembered every feature of her face as the fire's light had danced across it. Now he could see it as a flash across his eyes every time he blinked.

"Yes, yes it has." Aver nodded in agreement with a small laugh. "But I'm glad I'm going to be sleeping here tonight, and not in a horrible, damp, freezing cell." She shivered, remembering the sleepless nights she had endured for weeks on end. "I never did thank you for letting me out of there, Reid." Aver said quietly. She just stared at him for a moment before hesitantly leaning in slightly, and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. When she moved away, she blushed madly. Why oh why did you do that, Aver? You've never even kissed a boy before! She kept her head turned as her fringe fell over her eyes.

On the outside, Reid didn't seem to react to the kiss much. "D-don't-" he cleared his throat to keep from stammering. "Don't mention it." But inside... Did she just kiss me?! Why the fuck would she do that?! Holy shit, she just kissed me! his voice was practically screaming in his head, his cheeks a flushed pink, and it was his turn to get a stomach full of butterflies. Only to him, it felt more like bowling balls. He looked around, starting to feel a little awkward, looking for something to make conversation about. Damn, it's like that fucking date all over again! He looked at the pile of food again. "A-are you hungry? You'll need the energy for tomorrow..."

"No.. not really." Aver whispered, giving the hand without the broken finger a gentle squeeze. She had been before, however. But now the butterflies had taken over and put her off her appetite completely. "And I'll have plenty of energy inside me when I know that you'll be here in the morning." She smiled. Aver.. seriously, what ARE you rambling on about? Do you have any idea? Honestly, she did. Well. Sort of.

Reid's blush deepened and this time he couldn't bring himself to look at her, afraid she'd laugh at him for being so red all of a sudden. "You know I will be. What am I gonna do? Sneak out while you're sleeping?" he joked with a wry chuckle. But even his laugh sounded nervous by now, so he quickly stopped, shutting his mouth and clearing his throat again. He hadn't pulled his hand from hers, and his other hand still stayed wrapped around her waist. For once, it didn't seem like such a bad idea to focus on the pain in his finger. Maybe it'd help him stop blushing? Just to see, he gave his broken finger a small wiggle and he gasped, hissing inwardly as the pain shot up his entire forearm. "Ow! Damn me!" he whispered harshly, pulling his arm from around her waist and cradling his hand again. It had worked. He wasn't blushing anymore, but was wincing and massaging his hand without touching his broken finger.

Aver rolled her eyes at him. "I did say don't think about it. Worse still, touch it." She shook her head. Boys.. they just never learn, do they? Aver looked back at him. "I'm sorry if my uh.. thank you was a bit over the top by the way.." He hadn't actually mentioned it, he had just changed the subject. Although she had noticed from his stammering that he was.. well.. flushed? Aver smiled inside. "I don't know what came over me."

"N-no, don't worry about it..." Reid said quickly, hissing inwardly again at his hand. He sighed and bit his lip as the pain subsided and he gently replaced it around her waist. He blushed as he did so, though. Why the hell did I just do that? What in hell makes me think she even wants my arm around her waist?! Maybe the fact that SHE KISSED ME! Why am I so flustered about that? It was on the cheek.. Great, now she probably thinks I like her... Why the hell wouldn't she? I just put my arm around her waist without any real reason! I'm so fucked... He swallowed thickly and tried to keep his eyes on the fire, not moving his finger anymore. And this is all because I cried like a little girl!

"You are making me worry." Aver said softly, poking his jaw playfully. "Have I made you feel uncomfortable..?" She asked after watching him for a few moments. "I mean, I'll move back over to my spot if you really want me to." Aver shrugged. He already had a broken finger, she didn't want to break his style as well. Reid wasn't acting like Reid there at that very moment. She began to scramble her legs together, ready to stand up. It would take her a while to get up, both her ankle and her knee still hurt her a fair bit.

Reid blinked and looked at her, a little confused. Why would she want to move now? Did he make her uncomfortable too? He pressed his lips together and gently hit his hand against the couch, making it seem like she did it on accident when she moved. "ACK! Don't move!" he cried, squeezing his eyes shut tight and wincing. "God dammit!"

"Oh, hell.." Aver bit her lip, feeling awfully guilty as she sat back down again beside him, rubbing his back gently. "I'm sorry, Reid. Clumsy old me as usual.. I can never do anything right." She sighed and looked down at his hand, hoping that she hadn't done too much damage.. Enough had been done as it is. By her own fingers, too.

Reid grimaced at his hand as he held it still and sighed, shaking his head. "My fault, don't worry about it. It was all my fault in the first place.." he muttered. He held his breath a moment and straightened his finger again, then sighed and looked at her with a comforting smile. "I'm okay. All I have to do is not think about it, right?" he asked.

Aver nodded. "Right. You'll get it in time, I promise." A smile painted itself on her lips as she moved her fringe out of her eyes. "Ugh.. I wish I could get this damn fringe cut.. Reva won't let me. Said it would cramp her style.." She then sighed.

Reid tilted his head a little with a smile, as if he was examining her, then smiled wider and lifted his good hand, moving it back from her eyes. "You can push it back behind your ears... But I think it looks good. I honestly can't imagine you without it." he shrugged, tucking a bit of it behind her ears. "Hang on." he said and turned. He reached into his shirt and along the bottom hem of his shirt was the bobby pin he'd always used to pick lock himself out of the jail cell. Surprisingly, it had a small, purple butterfly on it. "This was my mom's. Maybe it'll help you like she said it helped her." he chuckled and carefully pinned a bit of her fringe back behind one ear. It was tough, only using one hand, but he eventually got it.

Aver smiled at him happily while touching the pin in her hair. "I'm sure it will.. And I'm sure it looks pretty since purple is my favourite colour after all, funnily enough." Her odd coloured eyes looked into Reid's for a moment, her blue one twinkling with the reflection of the flames within it. Her white one was bright, too, but it didn't stand out much as the other. The butterflies were back again.. Aver could feel them. Fluttering away, their wings tickling her insides as they moved.

"Yeah.. it looks good on you." Reid nodded with a smile, adjusting it a little. He looked back into her eyes, his oceanic blue ones flickering just as much with the fire as with hers. I wonder.... Bah. Time to be bold, ya chicken shit. "Can I ask you something?" Reid suddenly said, his hand on her shoulder now.

She blinked at him. "Yes, of course. You don't need to ask me that." Aver smiled and put her hand on his which was on her shoulder for a moment and then moved it. "Shoot." She watched him, waiting politely.

Reid nodded and looked down for a second, catching his breath. "If I kissed you, you wouldn't turn into Reva and break another finger of mine, would you?" he asked, looking up at her again, moving back a little, as if he was scared.

Aver blinked at him again for the second time. She was speechless. He wants to kiss me.. Me? Kiss me? Boring, little Aver? He's probably fooling.. or isn't he? He looks serious enough.. Her lips thinned slightly. She had no idea what to say. "I.. uhm.. no.. she wouldn't.. no." Aver whispered. "She's locked up.. away.. uhh.." She could hardly speak. Her cheeks were now a bright scarlet. Aver would never have expected anything like this. Especially from Reid after she saw how angry he could get..

Reid let out a breath of relief and nodded. "Okay... jeeze.." he whispered. "Honestly, I thought she'd punch me just for asking that.." He chuckled a little and rubbed the back of his head nevously, keeping his eyes down. He was also blushing, very brightly. He pulled his arm from around her waist and cleared his throat, sitting up a bit straighter, and towards her a little more.

"She won't come out for a few days.." Aver said in a hopeful tone as she finally took the chance to look at him. "I.. mm.." She smiled awkwardly. Poor Aver was still flabbergasted. "I don't know what to say, Reid." She whispered. "I never thought.. well.. me.. heh.." Aver shrugged her shoulders, feeling rather silly indeed.

Reid smiled and nodded with a small shrug too. He had never felt so nervous before... "Well, why not..? I mean... you're pretty.." he mumbled. He didn't know what the hell to do. He was fourteen and never kissed a girl before. Hell, he'd only been on a date once. "Um..."

Aver looked down instantly when he had said she was pretty. Her cheeks grew hotter and hotter, she felt as if she would explode right there on the spot. He thinks.. He thinks I'm pretty.. Me, pretty.. "Y- you're kind of cute, too.." Aver whispered, closing her eyes as she said it. She didn't want to see his reaction if he responded in the way she hoped he wouldn't. 'Cute' sounded quite young after all.. and Reid acted mature for his age.

Reid usually would have turned on her and yelled, but now he was too nervous too. "Erm... thanks...?" he muttered, his face so red now, his ears were pink under his black hair. He absently licked his lips and scooted his hand closer to hers, keeping his finger straight still. "Don't laugh at me... but I've kinda never done this before.." he muttered, slowly looking at her again.

"N- no! I wouldn't laugh at you.." Aver said quickly, shaking her head. "Because I haven't either.." Her voice was quieter still. But she gripped his hand gently and looked up at him, her eyes bright. What if he's just using me as a practice doll..? He might be getting himself geared up so he knows how to do it for his next girlfriend.. Stop it, Aver. Just.. go for it. Aver chewed at her tongue hard as she stared up at him, but she decided that she would make the first move. With her other, free hand, she put it against Reid's right cheek gently, and leaned in, her mouth slightly open. It wasn't a full on kiss, Aver just kissed his lips quickly and let herself linger for a moment. "That was.. nice.." She whispered, her hand still on his cheek as she looked deep into his eyes with her own odd ones.

Reid's own eyes were wide and he was speechless, watching her. After a minute, he cleared his throat again and blinked, breathing in as if he'd been holding his breath for the past minute. "Y-yeah... Great.." he whispered and smiled a little, putting his hand over hers on his cheek. "But I thought the guy was supposed to make the first move?" he asked in a joke, smiling at her.

Aver shrugged as she stared at him. "I guess you were running late.." She smiled, moving in to kiss him again for the second time. I like it.. I actually like it.. And he didn't laugh at me.. Aver thought happily.

Reid chuckled and moved in too, kissing her lips lightly, gently. My first kiss... and it couldn't have come from anyone better. Damn, I'm going soft, aren't I? Yep... No. Maybe? No. Can't go soft. Shit... too late. he argued in his head as he kissed her. He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck to hold her there gently, then lightly broke it, but kept his face close to hers, smiling gently.

She actually almost felt faint after the kiss had been broken. Aver blinked at him and sighed a sigh of relief as she let her forehead rest on his. "Thank you, Reid.." She said softly. "That meant a lot to me.. It's the best thing that has happened since the war started.."

Reid chuckled softly. "Ditto..." he whispered, opening his eyes to look at her. "But... in case we run into any other humans.... can we pretend I never... ya know..." he asked, trying to ask that she'd never tell anyone he'd cried. After all, he had a reputation to protect. He was young, but extremely dangerous.. and cold. Hateful. He couldn't have a crush acting all lovey-dovey on him all the time. He doubted his aim or skill with a projectile would be effected by a girl's affection, but his reputation definitely would be.

"Hm." Aver nodded and leaned in again, giving him a light kiss on the lips before holding him tightly, her face buried deep in his chest. "My lips are sealed, I promise." And she meant it. From the very bottom of her heart. Reid had given her something special. A special something which only happened once in a lifetime. She would treasure it.

Reid closed his eyes again and hugged her tightly, nuzzling her gently. "Thanks.." he whispered. He looked out the window at the night sky and wondered what time it was, how late it was... He looked at the fire next and saw it starting to die again. He sighed and slowly let her go, getting up and going to it, tossing another log onto it and pushing it around with another. "We should try to get some sleep... we'll need it.." he said softly, after the fire was licking again. "The fire should die out by the time the sun comes up... whenever that is.. hopefully it's still a few hours away." he sighed and went back to her, offering her a helping hand up.

"I'll be glad of a sleep.. A warm one, anyway.." Aver said as she took his hand. Her ankle gave way slightly as she pulled herself up, but it was nothing serious. It was already healing and becoming a little stronger. She gave Reid's hand a squeeze and she limped over to her blanket. Aver sighed. "Forgot a pillow.." She said tiredly as she picked one up from next to the pile of food.

Reid watched her quietly, then moved to his own blanket and pillow. Absently, he grabbed her blanket and pulled it next to his, laying his on the ground as an extra cover over the matted carpet. He then put his pillow down and used hers as a cover over himself, sliding in under it. He smiled at her and patted the spot next to him gently. "We'd be warmer." he said simply, as if it would explain everything. "Unless... you want to sleep alone.. I could understand how Reva would want to.." he said, looking away.

Aver stared down at his handywork for a few moments before shaking her head. Although her cheeks did flush a slight pinky colour when he had patted next to him, implying she sleep with there. "No.. Reva is gone for now. I promised you, did't I?" She asked, rubbing her upper arm as she chewed on her tongue again. "She doesn't rule me.. And what I want to do is my choice, and my choice only. Plus.. I get cold easily.." Aver smiled a little and moved over to him, setting herself down on the floor. His little bed was actually quite cosy, even if it just consisted of blankets and pillows. But the main ingredient of course, was Reid.

Reid smiled slightly and nodded, watching her as she sat down. He then helped her under the covers by holding them up for her, then wrapped them around her snuggly before laying down himself. He lied on his back with his arm up, his good hand behind his head on the pillow, and sighed tiredly. At least she'll be here if I have any more nightmares.... he thought softly. He looked up into the darkness of the cabin's ceiling and sighed again before looking at her. "Comfy?"

"Mm." Aver mumbled in response. She was too comfy to speak. She was lying on her side- she could never sleep on her front or back. Her hair was still clipped back by the butterfly pin, and Aver was glad, simply because her fringe would always get in the way when she tried to sleep. "Are you?" She asked, fingering the patterns on the blanket with her index finger.

Reid turned his head to look at her and smiled a little. The hand with his broken finger was poised carefully on his stomach, his finger straight and still to keep it from hurting. He looked down at it, admiring her red ribbon around it, then smiled back at her. "Yeah... shockingly." he chuckled. He looked back up at the ceiling and breathed deeply, closing his eyes so he could try to sleep.

Aver cupped a hand over her mouth as she let out a small yawn. She was even more sleepy than she was before. Aver decided that it was the fire's fault. The heat was making her drowsy. Her hands moved to Reid's chest as she touched the dog tags gently. She had a feeling that they were important, but she didn't really want to ask about them. There was something about them which made Aver think that they didn't belong to Reid at first. She let go of the tags and left her hand on his chest as she shuffled up close, so her face was buried in his shoulder. "You'll.. still sleep won't you? You don't mind me.. well.. you know.. Sleeping this close.." Aver mumbled tiredly. She wanted to hold someone. Lying there, next to Reid reminded her of her brother. When she would lie on his bed with him until he fell asleep. She would wrap her arms around him and hold him close, not letting go until she was sure Tommy's eyelids had finally dropped.

"I'll sleep just fine. Don't worry about it." Reid said softly, smiling to himself a little bit. He looked at her again, admired her face from the angle she was buried in his shoulder at, then closed his eyes again. He shifted, and gently slid his arm under her waist, pulling her closer.

She was going to say something; but her eyelids drooped, stopping her. She thought it would be best to just fall asleep naturally when she did, so she wouldn't have to struggle to rest later on. Aver's body was too relaxed to resist sleep there and then. She moved slightly as her hand touched Reid's bare chest through his shirt. She would have blushed, but Aver was already asleep.

Reid, however, was awake enough to blush as her hand brushed his bare chest. He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling a moment, hearing her breath light and slow, he guessed she was already asleep and it had been an accident. He pulled his good hand out from under his head and sighed softly, reaching up and grabbing his dogtags. Dad..? Why does Drake have your necklace? Oh, Reid... those are daddy's memories on that chain. Drake is keeping them safe for me. Maybe, if you ask Drake nicely, he'll let you keep them safe when he can't anymore. Reid frowned at the memory. He was ten when that happened... and his dad had just come back from another war off the Mexican Gulf. He sighed deeply and his hand moved down from his dogtags and rested on top of Aver's hand, making him blush again slightly. I never asked, you Drake... but I promise, I'll keep dad's memories safe. And yours and mom's too. He closed his eyes as tears sprang free again, but he didn't let them fall. He yawned and shifted again, quickly falling asleep. For once in a long time, he slept quietly, without any nightmares.

*****

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