- Atlacall -

- NLA: Daytime (Xenoblade Chronicles X)

Once everyone passes towering metal gates, they enter a vibrant city filled with various shaped buildings, roads, and even cars which are all each a different color, becoming visible. They see people wearing different colored uniforms with a mixture of plain clothes as well. The uniform colors vary from blue, black, white, red and even yellow. If you were to look hard enough, you'd see the last of the colors worn by working citizens wearing dark orange uniforms while taking part in construction in the distance.

The streets are busy, filled with people walking back and forth, driving, even flying above them. Being the lead in his band of four, Matthias ceases in his tracks near the end of a sidewalk, causing Lux, Klaus, and Jade to subconsciously take a pause behind him. He pivots to look at his new associates, reinforcing his curiosity with his unperturbed aura. "What do you all think? I'd like your opinions."

Lux whistles as he takes it all in. He didn't think he'd be this impressed with anything, especially a city at that. Though he's reluctant to admit just how mistaken his assumption was, his uncontrollable need to say whatever's on his mind spills out, like water gradually pouring out of a cup. "Not bad."

Klaus mimics the unmanaged demand to speak. His eyes are wide, adrenaline and anxiety pumping through his veins due to his unfamiliar surroundings. "Are we on a boat? Or maybe an ark? But that would make us animals. Which would make him...Holy shit!"

"What the hell is all this?" Jade inquiries with an intentful wave of her hand.

"This is Atlacall," Matthias begins, his attentive gaze transferring from the city to Jade. "It used to be an abandoned offshore base owned by the Federation. However, when Jeogen military found out about it, they shut it down. There were many disputes between Jeogen officials and Federation members during the initial application of the Anti-Abnormal Act. I found this place bringing many Abnormals here so we would have a place of stay. We, of course, made sure that all records of this base have been erased," he explained, facing forward as he gazed outward toward his domed domain. A proud smile took over his face as he examined his people and city. He seemed very much pleased with himself.

"Everything you see now is powered by Abnormal abilities. A variety of men, women and children from all over Jeogen has come here seeking refuge, afraid of what they are because humans think we are nothing but violent monsters or worse. I will not let this go on any further. Ah." Matthias shifts his head to look back at his three guests, the sudden spark of emotion now faded away. "But you didn't come here to listen to my speeches. This way. I shall show you to your living quarters." Keeping his smile, Matthias steps forward with his hands behind his back.

"Living quarters?" Jade asks, looking back at Lux for an answer he's unable to provide. He scoffs, taking on her confusion as his own.

"What the hell is he even smilin' about? I'm sure this is all enticing for an Abnormal refugee, but we're here to get something done. Or did his brain just suddenly fall out his head?"

"He did mention wanting us to join."

"So what? 'Ey, Snowflake! I wanna ask you somethin'!" Jade sighs, frustration latching onto her as she watches Lux stomp off. Spotting the aggravated virus, Klaus playfully pokes her nose with his index finger.

"Boop. Sad Jade detected." Feeling Klaus' surprisingly smooth skin, she giggles and she waves his finger away.

"Don't even. I'm fine, baby. Come on."

Both she and Klaus walk forward to catch up with Matthias and Lux. The walk lasts for a few minutes. During the trek, the trio see more of the city and how it functions. It was just as Matthias said it would be. The more their wandering eyes examined their surroundings, the more they observed other Abnormals using their unique, individual abilities to contribute to the city's overall functionality.

The street lights, cars, buildings, even the roads. Eventually, they get to a quiet section of the city where there aren't many roads. Instead there's only a one way dirt road leading to a sizable, grayish-white rectangular house. The rectangular section of the house is horizontal rather than vertical, with many other secondary segments of the same shape surrounding that area.

"What the...?" Lux asks, his eyes widened just enough to express his momentary shock. "This is where we're staying?" Matthias merely nods, his answer is short but direct.

"Yes. I hope it suits your taste. Let's go inside, shall we?"

Everyone walks up the dirt road. When they finally get to the front door, Matthias pulls out a small keycard from his breast pocket, then swipes it downward through the keycard scanner on the left side of the door. It beeps just before the sound of a 'Click' reaches their ears. Matthias nods, grabs the knob to open the door before entering, his guest on his heels.

Once again, they find themselves eyeing this new area as they enter. They walk down a short and narrow hallway with unique paintings on a white popcorn textured wall. When they sprout from the hallway's temporary darkness, the entire house can be seen just from where they're standing.

To their immediate right is a spacious kitchen along with a dining area past that. The kitchen dons beautiful gray marble counters with white painted cabinets finished with blueish gray flooring. In the middle is a small island with a sink. Behind the island, an extensive oven and a microwave directly above that.

Just north of the oven is a marble countertop allowing an unobstructed view while cooking. The dining area boasted a wide ivory table surrounded by multiple chairs to compensate for its size with a sizable fan with three lights illuminating the entire room. To their immediate left is a lounging area of substantial space. This space was adorned by a wide alabaster couch facing an enormous TV finished by soft, cream carpet flooring.

In front of them is a set of spiral stairs leading to the upper level. Past the stairs is a glass sliding door leading out into a balcony area. To the left of the stairs, near the lounging area, is a workout room with multiple pieces of workout equipment, and mats. With an introduction in mind, Matthias turns to look at the trio with an adolescent smile plastered across his face.

"This is Kenvale Estate. You will be living here free of charge. As you can see, it is spacious and accessible, so I hope this will make you all feel more comfortable."

"This is some fancy shit," Lux declares, crossing his arms as he scans the interior.

Klaus forces a gasp from his lips. The sights of the city along with the tour of his new abode is overwhelming his brain, causing him to ask questions on subjects unrelated to the current situation. "Why is it so white everywhere? Does the president live here or something? Is this the mothership?"

"Whatever it is, it's better than those cells at Silver Cloud, I'll tell you that." Jade adds in an undertone. Matthias takes his orchestrated place in the room's absolute center, continuing on with his verbal tour.

"The rooms are upstairs. We have uniforms for each of you if you'd like to wash up. When you're finished, simply throw away your jumpsuits," he finishes. Hearing this new information, Jade decides to raise her voice, quickly exiting her one-way conversation.

"That's all you need to say. No way am I smelling like a sewer all day."

"They say you should always start your afternoon with a good shower." Klaus states his hard facts in a silly manner. Lux only shakes his head, rebuking his friend's words.

"Nobody says that, Klaus."

"Are you telling me Dope Magazine is filled with lies?!"

"Ain't say that. Just said nobody says that shit."

"I say it, Lux. I say it. That's what matters...that I believe!" Lux can only respond to his friend's eccentric attitude with a chuckle.

"Go head up with Jade and wash your ass, man." After Jade and Klaus walk upstairs, Lux slides off his joyful mask, revealing an irritated look on his face while he glares at Matthias.  "All your smiling is pissin' me off, Snowflake. I asked you on the way here what the job is and I didn't get an answer."

"You did get an answer. You will learn of the details tomorrow. I will say this again, in case you have forgotten. You all are to meet me at headquarters tomorrow morning. You won't miss it. It's a fairly large building with our insignia on it. We are working on construction there as well, so it will be easier to hear them or to spot the building itself. Until then, you should clean up and enjoy yourself. You have a lot of work ahead of you. Paid in full, of course."

"I don't fuck around with my work and money."

"You have been heard, Lux. Perhaps you should learn patience while you're here," Matthias advises. Lux steps up to him, carelessly invading his personal space. The two of them lock eyes. While Lux's eyes are filled with anger and annoyance, Matthias' is filled with calmness and serenity.

"You talk too much. You think we're gonna fuck with you all of sudden 'cause you gave us a house? What's to stop me from killin' you and bustin' up your little sims world you've got going on?"

"You wouldn't get paid for one. You did just mention you don't fuck around with your money and work, correct?"

Lux stares down Matthias for a few seconds, until suddenly, he smirks and chuckles. He steps back, then hits the front part of Matthias' shoulder with the back of his hand. "Good to know you ain't a pussy. Wouldn't be fun like that. We're all good, though. You said tomorrow morning, right?"

"That's correct."

"See ya then. Now get the fuck out of my house."

"As you wish. Ah, one more thing before I go." After reaching into his breast pocket, Matthias hands Lux the keycard to the house.

"Your keycard. We only have the one for now, so I suggest you don't lose it."

"Nice. 'Ey, you carrying? Haven't had a smoke in awhile."

"Unfortunately, I have never had such a luxury, as I do not smoke. But there is a small store not far from here where you can purchase miscellaneous items."

"Good to know."

"I will see you tomorrow morning, then."

Matthias turns to walk away after a quick nod of farewell. Before he takes a step in the direction of the door, he pauses when he hears Lux's voice.  "Vern."

"Beg pardon?"

"That's what I'm calling you. Matthias sounds fruity. Or would you rather take Snowflake?" Without looking back, Matthias chuckles and nods in agreement.

"Vern is fine." Matthias, now referred to as Vern walks down the narrow hallway towards the front door, turns the knob lets himself out and makes sure to close it behind him. Lux stretches and yawns as turns to face the stairway.

"Better go wash my ass or I'll keep hearing Jade's mouth." He heads down the narrow hallway, giving the paintings on the wall an odd look before stepping up to the front door. "Almost forgot. I ain't goin' out like this. Should wash my ass first then change."

Going through with his choice, he walks back down the hallway and decides to explore the house. His exploration brings him to the kitchen, where he curiously opens a few top cabinets. "Ain't shit in here. You gonna give a man a house with nothin' to eat?"

After Lux closes the cabinets, he approaches the refrigerator swinging the door open. His expectations completely fall flat, as it's just as empty as the cabinets. "Nothin' here. Big ass refrigerator, though. Gotta lot of space." Closing the refrigerator, he moves on. The lounging area catches his eye. Deciding to explore further, he steps onto the smooth carpet, glancing at the huge TV mounted on the back wall. "Who did they have to kill to get all this shit?"

Quickly becoming disinterested in the lounging area, he decides to leave and walk inside the workout room. It's a large room with a wide, horizontal mirror on the back wall, along with all the workout mats and equipment directly in front of it. "Comin' back here for sure."

Leaving the workout room, it occurs to him to check out the balcony. Approaching the sliding glass doors, his strong hand easily slides one open before walking out. It's an extensive area with a small dining table on the far right. The dining table has a large cover above it to block out sunlight or other weather such as rain.

To the left is a small area with couches of various styles. Making his way up to the glass railing, his eyes peer out into the distance. Almost the entire southern part of Atlacall can be seen, the distance between the estate and main cities makes the people and structures almost look like clay statues.

Past all the tall structures of the city is a building towering in comparison to the rest near the center of Atlacall with a noticeable symbol on its face. The symbol is a diamond with a sort of aura around it, stylishly finished off with large, pearl colored wings on its back. "The view isn't bad, ain't gonna lie."

Having had his fill of scenery, he steps away from the glass railing. Leaving the balcony area, he ascended to the upper level. From the stairs, he walks into a wide hallway with similar white walls as the lower level with a coinciding gray floor. The doors leading to the rooms are all a fair distance away from each other.

Taking a few steps forward, he stops when Klaus suddenly swings open the door to his chosen room on Lux's right, walking out completely naked. You can hear the sound of a running shower coming from his room. He's moving his hands and fingers in front of him like he's playing a guitar, creating sounds to match what he's doing. When he sees Lux, he stops and spreads his arms out.

"Like what you see? Huh?"

"Not when it's like that I don't. Looks like shrimp. What are you doing anyways?"

"Forgot to grab a towel. Apparently there's a closet of 'em outside the rooms. You think I wanna walk out to the hallway just to get a towel. Who designed this house?!"

"Grab your shit and go wash your ass."

"As you wish," Klaus replies, making a playful attempt to mock Vern's voice as he walks up to the closet.

He grabs a white towel he needed after opening the storage closet and walks up to his door. In a comical attempt to open it, he tries to whip the towel around the knob. When the attempt fails, he immediately switches to a poorly made country accent. "God dammit, I'ma catch dem crickets sooner or later!"

Klaus snatches the towel up from the floor then skips into his room, not having much care about leaving the door open. Lux chuckles, then continues to walk down the hallway. He walks past a few doors pausing when hears a shower running from a door to his left. Along with the sound of water hitting the bathroom tile, someone singing fills his ears as well as he presses it against the door.

"She got comfortable fast," he notes. "Can't blame you, J."

Lux continues walking, until he finally gets to the end of the hallway finding another door. He nods, confirming to himself that this is the room he wants, and walks inside after pushing it open.

He only takes two steps forward before he's able to see the room fully. It's a fairly sized space. It has a gray carpeted floor with respective lead walls. The door Lux came through to enter the room is on the far right; In front of him is a small black desk with nothing on its smooth surface.

He looks to his left to see the rest of the room. A king sized bed lies near the back wall. To the right of the bed near the desk is a spacey closet. To the left of the bed is a small night stand and past that is a door leading into the bathroom. Near the bathroom door, a few feet to its left is a decent sized window, one that allows Lux the luscious green of the estate's backyard.

Directly in front of the bed, on the same wall on the door's side, is a fairly sized TV bolted into it, with a wide stand below it to put accessories or other items. Lux whistles as he steps into the room fully, giving its contents impressed glances. Lying quietly on the bed, is a unique white uniform with a similar design to Vern's.

"J was right. This sure ain't Silver Cloud. What the hell is going on here? ...Alright. I'll wash my ass and put this stupid shit on."

Lux steps up to his new bed complete with tan covers and pillows. Dissatisfied with its neatness, a disgusted look quickly forms on his face. To do away with his aggravation, he diverts his attention over to the bathroom door.  "It's neat. I hate that shit. Bathroom ain't too bad, though."

Deciding to take a shower, he steps outside towards the hallway and grabs a towel from a storage closet. When he returns to his room, he enters the bathroom. It's a fairly sized area with gray walls and gray tiled floor. To his immediate left is a white sink with a mirror above it, and to the right of the sink is a small medical cabinet. Beyond the sink is a toilet, and Lux's immediate right is a wide bathtub near the wall with a small window on the wall it's adjacent to. To the far right is a shower with a glass sliding door that he walks up to the shower and looks inside.

There's a small area to sit, a shelf to put your essentials on with a wall shower head and another shower head on the other side and a drain in the center of the floor. Near the shower's footwall in the corner is a small trash can. Lux takes his jumpsuit off, becoming bare naked before tossing it in the trash. After stripping, he steps into the shower and turns on the cold water.

Lux enjoys his cold shower as he washes himself, and when he's finally finished after fifteen to twenty minutes, he dries himself and his hair off, and leaves the bathroom. He walks up to his bed and picks up the uniform and with an annoyed look on his face, he reluctantly puts it on. Annoyed with how it initially feels, he takes the top half of the uniform off and wraps the sleeves around his waist. He looks down at the black shoes and makes a face of both anger and confusion.  "What the fuck are these?"

Snatching them with one hand, he trudges to the window, hurling them out, closing it afterwards. Satisfied with himself, he plops on the bed, folds his hands behind his head, and stretches his legs out comfortably, staring up at the ceiling. After a moment, he turns his gaze towards the same window, now feeling a bit sleepy.

Suddenly, Lux is back in his cell, specifically the one while he was in solitary confinement. There's no bed, and no lights. Only a bucket in the corner and a door with a wide but narrow hole to slide food through. Lux looks down at the floor. The only light he has is the one shining from under the door.

There are multiple marks on the walls tagging how many days he's been in the cell. All the painful memories come rushing back to Lux as his eyes widen. The cell suddenly starts to close in on him, slowly pushing in and crushing his body. While feeling the weight of the violent walls, he begins to hear faint voices.

You'll be here forever.
This cell will be where you die.
You're nothing but scum in a cage.

Lux grits his teeth in anger and frustration, desperately attempting to keep the walls back with the extension of his arms. "Fuck you. Fuck you...!" He yells out in anger.

No food today.
Let him suffer.
You deserve to die alone.
Your kind are a disease.

Lux grips his head, grasping it so tight that his head starts to bleed from his nails digging into it. He starts slamming his head against the wall, desperately hoping the next impact will lead to his death. "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! LET ME OUT!!"

He's trapped himself in a continuous cycle of pain and torment, constantly repeating the same words over and over again. Through the avalanche of unrelenting hatred swallowing Lux, a familiar voice adorned in loving warmth melts a passage to his ears. "Lux! Lux, stop!"

Lux screams as he looks back. Breathing heavily, he sees Jade kneeled down in front of him with Klaus a short distance behind her. He quickly looks around in a panic, slowly realizing that he's still in his room. Gently, she places her hands on his cheeks, bringing it towards her so that he's looking directly into her eyes. "Hey. Look at me, baby. Look at me."

Lux gazes into Jade's irises with his crazed eyes. Feeling the delicate texture of her skin, and the soft tone of her voice, he slowly starts to calm down. "There we go...You're alright."

While the terrorizing thoughts in Lux's head are fading, he pays more attention to his surroundings. He soon realizes that he's sitting in the corner of the room near the closet, a wall behind him dented with multiple holes in it from the impact of his head bangs. Once he gets another look at Jade and Klaus, he notices they're wearing the same white uniform as he is.

Jade took the top half of the uniform off, also wrapping the sleeves around her waist the same as he did. She's wearing a dark green sports bra with her shoes replaced by white sandals. Klaus is also shoeless, also deciding to wear sandals. He rolled up the sleeves and unbuttoned the top half of the uniform, poking multiple small holes into its bottom half. Lux glances to his left, then his right, a sense of relief washing over him. "Jade? Klaus...? Fuck. I-I thought I was... "

"It's alright. We're good, okay?" Jade states in a nonabrasive tone.

"Yeah...Yeah, we're good," Lux shamefully mutters under his breath.

Jade nods, then she and Klaus sit next to Lux's left and right. Jade holds Lux's right arm and Klaus slowly rubs Lux's left arm in an effort to comfort him. Jade speaks up after a moment, allowing the caring side of her to take the forefront of her question. "What did he do to you?"

"It's definitely not shit I want to think about, much less talk about. So don't worry about it, alright?"

"Okay."

The room is filled with silence for the next twenty minutes. With Lux fully calming down, he slowly stands up. Jade and Klaus stand up as well and look at him, wondering what's on his mind. "I need a smoke," Lux states bleakly.

"A walk would probably do you some good too," Jade adds, her gentle tone backed by certain firmness. Klaus nods after Jade's advice, offering both he and her to go with their friend.

"Want us to come with?"

"...Yeah," Lux answers, his eyes focused on the wall across from him.

"C'mon," Jade directs, holding onto his arm as she leads him toward his door with Klaus following behind.

- NLA: Nightime (Xenoblade Chronicles X)

The trio leave the house, and begin walking along the dirt road that would've led them back to the estate. Jade turns her attention to Lux, who easily catches onto the fact that he's not feeling like himself. Still, she speaks to him as if it was a normal day between them in the hopes he'll go along with it. "Do you know where you can get cigs from, baby?"

"Vern said some shit about a store not too far from here. Said I could get some there."

"Find this store, we must," Klaus chimes in with a raspy voice.

The trio walk throughout Atlacall, peacefully interacting with a few Abnormals walking down the sidewalks. Once they pass a certain newspaper stand, a man with a brown cap, a brown shirt, and tan pants with shoes to match sees the young adults and speaks up to get their attention. "Hey there. You young folks new around here?" All three of them glance to their right after stopping when they hear the man's voice and Jade responds in a friendly tone.

"Basically. I'm Jade."

"Theo. You guys look like you're kinda lost."

"We're just taking a walk," Lux immediately answers in an aggressive tone. "You talk everyone's head off like this?" Theo chortles after hearing the anger in this stranger's tone. He can tell Lux isn't usually friendly to new faces.

"Ah, my bad. I get a bit excited when I see new people. Especially when you're one of us."

"Yeah, that's great. You know where we can get some cigarettes?"

"Oh, yeah. You're in luck. The store you're looking for is right down the street. Called Thins. Store owner isn't there, though."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I haven't gotten there yet. You guys seem like a funny bunch. Walk with me. I'll open up." The trio follow Theo to his store. When they get there, they see an unlit sign on the window of a small building that says: THINS. The building is ironically across from a pharmacy store, and on both sides of it are access-ways to an alley. Theo unlocks the entrance door and pushes it open. "Come on in."

The party of three follow Theo inside. When he walks to the back and turns the lights on, most of the shop can be seen. There are rows of books, magazines and comics. On the far left, right, and back wall are gun racks with various weapons and firearms. They walk up to the counter in the back, where Theo stands on the opposite side of. His cap is off, exposing his brown hair cut into a near flat mohawk.

"Don't think I caught you boys' names."

"Lux."

"Flaus Kulger."

"He means Klaus Fulger," Jade retorts, quickly correcting her companion's error. "Klaus is fine, though."

"Lux and Klaus, huh? Pretty out of the box names."

"Yeah, 'cause a stupid ass name like Theo is much better." Lux's remark is more antagonistic than ever. He almost sounds like he'll ransack the place if he doesn't get what he wants. "You got any cigarettes back there or not?" Hearing the aggression in Lux's voice, Theo leans his head back laughing in amusement.

"Lux, right? I like you. You remind me of my brother when he was young. Tell you what. I'll give you a pack on the house."

"That's what I like to hear."

Theo picks up his cap then flips it. He reaches his hand inside and a dim light shines. When he pulls it back out, exposing a cigarette pack atop his palm. Amazed by this mysterious power, Klaus claps his hands feeling entertained. "Encore! Encore!"

"That's a pretty cool power. Hope you don't mind going into detail?" Jade asks, comfortably leaning against the front counter. Theo nods with his cap, answering her inquiry with ease.

"Sure, missy. I can materialize or copy any small object that I've touched before straight to me. Since I'm not too big on fighting, I decided to help with things like getting supplies and weapons for the Ethereals. For you, friend," he says, handing his promised pack of cigarettes to Lux, who, to Theo's surprise, has completely changed in terms of his initial attitude.

"'Preciate it," Lux says in thanks.

"Mhm. Why don't you guys check around the store? Might see something you like. I've got firearms, weapons for close combat and a few other things like magazines laying around."

"Thanks, Theo. We'll take you up on that. Right, baby?" Starting from the top, Jade tenderly runs her hand down Lux's shoulder. Their communication mostly consists of gazes and short lived glances. Their unspoken conversations are comparable to sliding a book into its rightful place on a shelf.

Lux simply grunts as his answer and walks off to go browse through Thins with his friends following behind. While Jade is in one of the rows looking at the short novels, Klaus is talking to Theo at the counter and Lux is at the far left wall inspecting the guns hanging on the racks.

"Why is this place called Thins?" He asks, crosses his arms, his eyes glued on a certain shotgun model. Theo answers with ease once again, this time allowing his scalp to breathe by taking off his cap once more.

"Used to be my nickname back when I was a kid. I was really thin and skinny back then. Grandpa gave me the name, so I kept it."

"He dead?"

"Basterd's still alive and kicking."

"It would've been better if he was dead."

Theo chuckles in response to Lux's comment. While he and Jade continue to browse through Thins, Klaus climbs on top of the counter and rubs the top of Theo's head. "Smoooth."

"Uhhh, your friend okay?"

"Klaus, get down. Please." Taking heed to Jade's command, Klaus hops off the counter and leans against it. He turns his head to look away, creating a raceway of huffs and puffs trailing after his words.

"Hmph...Get down, she says. Well, I don't feel like dancing."

Lux purchases a few weapons and protective gear for him and his squad mates. As he browses through the weapons behind the counter, Theo decides to speak up.  "How old are you kids anyways?"

"Old enough to sleep with sons and daughters our age."

"Babe."

"What? Just sayin'."

Theo chuckles at Lux's stark approach to his responses. He tosses his two cents into his guess of the trio's ages without hints. "Hmm...Let's see. Around eighteen, nineteen maybe?"

"Nice guess. Me and Lux are both nineteen. Klaus is eighteen."

"Age ain't nothing but a number," Klaus exclaims, cutting across any eye contact between Jade and Theo. "And numbers mean absolutely nothing to me. Did you know that to a certain alien species, I'm actually fifty-six? You gotta be careful before they take your body too."

"Uh...okay. I'll do that. Thanks." Theo tries to be as polite as he can be. Truthfully, he has no idea how to exactly feel or act around Klaus' unconventional behavior. Barring that aside, Theo notices that Lux has finished up his browsing. He gives him his full attention, nodding his head toward him to confirm his completion. "You all done here?"

"Yeah," Lux reaffirms. "Good lookin' out with the cigarettes. We got what we came for and some more, so we out."

"Alright. You kids have a goodnight."

"You too." Jade waves to Theo, its affability joined with a smile. After she leaves Thins with Lux and Klaus, the three of them decide to hang out near the entrance door.  "Nice guy," she states, looking to her friends for their opinions. Klaus is the first to speak. Accompanied by his nonsensical attitude, he points his pinky finger at Jade as if she's responsible for a recent riot.

"He ain't that attractive, Jade. Calm yourself, woman!"

"I didn't say anything about sleeping with him."

"I told you I can read minds. That's what you were thinkin'."

"Yeah, no. That's what you were thinking."

"We goin' back or are you two gonna keep yappin' about who's fuckin' who?" Lux asks, not all invested in the conversation. Spotting the look in his eyes, Jade directs Klaus down the sidewalk with a swift motion of her head.

"Yeah, we're going back. C'mon, you big headed bee."

Taking their time, the trio finally return to Kenvale. After stepping inside, they walk to the balcony area, where Lux and Jade take their place on one of the couches and begin smoking as they look out past the balcony. Not in the mood to sit, Klaus decides to lean against the glass railing as he gazes out in the same direction. Lux releases a sigh, crushing whatever momentary silence there may have been. "Hasn't really hit me yet."

"Hm?" Jade turns her head, giving Lux her undivided attention. Every so often, their back and forth conversation is traced by small clouds of smoke escaping their lips.

"Getting out."

"It hasn't even been a day, Lux."

"I know that. I'm not dumb. I can count. That ain't what I meant."

"What do you mean, then?"

"Just...didn't think I was ever gonna get out. Thought I'd be in Silver Cloud for a long time, ya know? I guess all the adrenaline ran out. For a second there...I didn't think this was real."

"Yeah...I get it. Hey."

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"I said I didn't want to talk about it, J."

"I heard what you said."

"Well, fix your ears, 'cause they obviously don't work."

"I'm asking if you're okay."

Lux glances at Jade, hearing the difference of tone in her voice. He didn't notice it, but she was looking at him with a straight face the entire time. Lux has seen this face far too many times before, so he concedes by nodding. After a short moment, He returns his attention toward the sights beyond the balcony. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"Alright, then. We're sleeping with you tonight after we're done out here. I'm not hearing arguments about that."

"Fine."

The trio spent time on the balcony area for the next hour. When they've finished taking in the fresh air, they all go to Lux's room. Jade stretches her arms outward releasing a yawn as she follows behind Lux and Klaus to the bed. "Ahh...Lights out, boys."

"I want the left side," Klaus declares, his voice coming in and out from chewing on imaginary peanuts. Jade doesn't hesitate to decline Klaus' one way offer, proclaiming that she indeed has the spot on the left side of the bed.

"No way. I'm taking the left."

"I'm not sleeping in the middle." Lux says bluntly, already on his way toward his favorite side of his bed. With his companions' spots decided, Klaus concedes, hysterically raising his hands into the air.

"Fine. I'll be the monkey in the middle."

Jade takes her sandals off along with Klaus, then the trio all get into Lux's bed together. Jade lays comfortably on the left side, Klaus lays in the middle, and Lux lays down on the right side. After a moment of silence, Lux speaks up in an irritated tone. "Get your hands off my ass, Klaus."

Klaus says nothing while he slowly moves his hands away. Once a peaceful silence steps into the room, the trio all close their eyes, slowly drift off to sleep until the next day.