Content Warnings: (Vague) Description of obsessive thoughts, violent impulses, brief description of dissociation. I don't imagine this to be a very difficult chapter, but better safe than sorry! Take care of yourself!
Dmitri knew without turning over in the bed or opening their eyes that Caiden had already left. It was the natural order of things, a routine that had started since they had moved in months ago and it. had already proven to be infallible.
Their arm stretched out to their side, still bracing for the contact of another being that wasn’t there anymore, before pushing themself up and Dmitri swung their legs over the edge of the bed.
They could barely remember crawling in next to her. A half-asleep, almost intoxicating stupor had swept in and fogged up their thoughts and vision. They had intermittent flashes of rising from their bed, stumbling across the room, and slipping into hers in near-pitch-blackness. They remembered Caiden immediately shifting so she could put her arm around them, burying her face into their shoulder, and saying something they couldn’t quite understand, but felt the words hum against their skin.
This was a common practice, starting way back when they were fresh students in the Telanth. Caiden had frequently asked Dmitri to lie next to her for stability, comfort, and other things of that sort, consequences be forgotten. It was their thing.
Although much less frequent, Dmitri would invite themself into her presence due to a nightmare, insomnia, or a similar need for stability. (Only a single time Caiden rejected their company, due to the weather being too unbearably hot to support two bodies that close together, and they got the message very clearly after being shoved to the floor with her foot.)
After another moment, Dmitri shook away the immersive memory, lurched forward and lumbered across the room to get their house clothes from the shared closet. They left the room for their shower with their clothes tucked under their arm. Alix, up and energized and, shot past them.
“Caiden is out, but everyone else is awake and accounted for!” reported Alix in passing.
“Ka’gare,” they mumbled.
When Dmitri emerged from the bathroom, they could hear the front door swing shut and lock. Before they went to greet Caiden, they did a quick survey of the Unit through the small apartment was small.
Dmitri glanced into the room down the hall from their own and saw Sig reading a book on the floor of Alix and Bright’s room, while Alix was attempting to sketch something.
They turned into the main room and saw Bright was on the “family laptop”, face tinted blue by the screen and frowning in concentration. An episode of Parks and Recreation was playing in the background.
Dmitri and Caiden met in the kitchen. She had an armful of grocery bags that Dmitri immediately began to put away.
“Did anyone follow you?” They asked habitually.
“‘Course not,” she replied.
“Did you recognize anyone?”
“No.” She nudged them aside and shelved boxes of instant rice in the cupboards.
“Did anyone recognize you?”
Caiden shot them a wry grin, which Dmitri noticed was her resisting the urge to rake her claws through their hair and ruffle it up. “Gods, you’re so paranoid. It’s like we’re on the run or something.”
They glowered. “Saa ekk smeshni.”
“Eh,” she shrugged. “It’s a little funny.”
The same back and forth every time. Every time with every member of the unit.
Rationally, they knew that if anything had happened, the first thing anyone would do is inform the Unit. But until Dmitri heard it directly from their mouths: ‘No, nobody followed. No, nothing went wrong. Yes, I am sure and we are fine’, dark spots of worry would hang low and heavy in their mind, engulfing other thoughts and pressing painfully against their skull. It was all that they could think about.
Dmitri had to beat back the inconvenient thoughts as they stuffed the rest of the reusable bags under the sink. Caiden opened the freezer, stuck their hand in it, and pulled out a frozen waffle.
“Want one, Ditri?”
“No.”
“Suit yourself.”
Spring! Click...
“That toaster’s broken, you know.” Dmitri stood up to their full height and stretched. “Takes forever to cook things.”
Before she could answer, a knock at the door cast a spell of silence throughout the entire apartment, save for the ticktickticktick of the toaster.
Dmitri locked eyes with her and tilted their head towards the door. Were we expecting anyone? Nobody had any guests over before. Nobody wanted any guests before. This was not a part of anyone's plan. It was foolish to hope otherwise.
Caiden shook their head and grimaced. No, this seems like trouble, they seemed to agree.
About three seconds after the initial knock, the Unit members sprung into action. Sig crept towards the front entrance and knelt down out of site. Bright and Alix swiftly marched from room to room, closing any open windows and doors before finally crouching out of sight in the main room. Dmitri felt a trickle of pride at how efficient they were.
They turned to Caiden and gestured to Bright and Alix. Go with them, they tried to convey.
Caiden scrunched up her nose. She was terrified, but of course she was too stubborn to let Dmitri handle it by themself.
They held back their displeasure. They knew she would do this. So they sighed, and together the two of them approached the door. Another round of knocking almost shattered the Unit’s composure.
Dmitri took one more steadying look at Sig before unlocking the door, wrapping their fingers around the cold doorknob, and wrenching the door open.
Standing in the hallway was a middle aged woman. Long hair, pointed ears, milk-white skin, silver eyes. She was carrying a large dish wrapped in tinfoil. She seemed stunned to get a response.
“Oh! Hello there,” she said, trying to recover her footing.
“Hiiiii.” Dmitri plastered on a grin. Beside them, Caiden seemed to wince, then curl in on herself. “I’m sorry, are we being too loud or something?”
They felt a prick of annoyance at Caiden’s discomfort. If she was going to insist on attaching herself to them, then she should be prepared to deal with any persona they put on.
The elf shook her head vigorously. “No, nothing of the sort. In fact, uh, you’ve been the least obtrusive neighbor on this floor, I wasn’t even sure if anybody lived here or not.” She added a forced chuckle to suppress potential awkwardness stemming from that statement.
“Oh well, I was raised to be polite.” They echoed her chuckle. “So, what brings you to our humble apartment?”
She had an ornate wedding ring, not new, but still well-taken care of despite the design being…at least two hundred years old. There weren’t any signs of well-worn exhaustion on her face, so no kids. (Is she sad about that? Maybe she wants someone to care for and the gaggle of disorderly recluses were her best bet?) Her clothing was made out of nice material, bold colors. It was something made more for show, not activity. Her hands were immaculately manicured but not so done-up so they can’t be ruined by typing or cooking or so.
Their analysis was halted by the faintest sensation of Caiden tapping the back of their hand. Two short taps. All good. A sign from Sig, conveying that the elf in front of them harbored no ill intentions.
“I noticed we hadn’t really formally met when you first showed up,” she said. “You mostly keep to yourselves, so, I stopped by to amend that.” The woman then held her tin foil covered dish out to them. “I didn’t know if you kids were getting enough to eat or not so I brought by dinner for later--uh--some lamb chops, and dessert. I hope you like cupcakes.”
This interaction was taking up far too much energy. “Oh, wow!”
Caiden, finally getting past whatever crisis she decided to have, smiled shyly and added, “Thank you so much.” They took the plate and set it on the bench near the entrance.
One aspect from the old days that Dmitri could love guilt-free was how well Caiden and they worked together. They played off of each other with ease, making each other sharper, braver…really everything. The energy shifted as the two got comfortable in their roles, and Dmitri was reinvigorated. If they played it right, the woman would be gone in forty-five seconds or less.
“I’m a little embarrassed to admit I don’t know how many of you there are,” said the woman. “I hope I brought you enough.”
“Oh, I’m sure you did,” Caiden reassured her.
“Some of us are out right now,” Dmitri hurriedly added. “But really, thank you so much, you didn’t have to do this.”
They were almost telepathic, which was a mixture of instinct and the sheer talent that came from working together for so long. Dmitri loved it when they were in sync, because they no longer had to carry things by themself. They were part of a bigger whole, a whole that was a beautiful and perfect summation of the best qualities between the two.
Caiden would be shy and kind, while Dmitri worked to move the conversation along. She’d make sure the woman felt good about herself, while Dmitri prompted the next part of the interaction.
Caiden noticed the dip in Dmitri’s voice, and rushed to complete the greeting. “I’m Li,” they lied.
Dmitri coughed slightly. “And I’m Casey.”
The woman flushed under the mountain of gratitude. “Well I’m Venna. From apartment 403, in case you need help or ever want to stop by.”
They would rather spend the day watching a room full of three year olds.
“Oh? How nice,” Caiden said. She glanced at Dmitri, brows raising near imperceptibly. Your move, hotshot. I’m going to start pulling teeth if I have to stand here any longer.
Dmitri knew how she felt. It was like a colony of fire ants had been released under their skin, wriggling and biting and burning. It was agonizing to be talking this long. Dmitri made a noise of agreement and rearranged the smile on their face so it wouldn’t look manic.
“Well, I’m glad you caught us. We normally just have the mornings to ourselves.”
“Oh, of course. Off to school or to work or whatever you kids come up with these days.” Venna laughed. She got the hint, thankfully. “Well, I’ll leave you two be. Please enjoy, and really, if you need anything, I’m just a couple doors down.”
After a chorus of thank you’s, the door closed and the entire Unit held their breath and listened to her footsteps trail off.
Each Unit member was working through their own personal reactions, fighting hard not to be the first person to crumble. Dmitri was personally resisting the urge not to throttle something. Scream in rage. The fire ants sent a shudder down their spine. Curse profusely. Punch a door until their knuckles were raw. Their fingers twitched anxiously at their sides. The dark spots returned in their brain. The routine was thrown off.
Sig looked ill. Caiden was focused on something nobody else could see.
Dmitri was just about to calm their pounding heart when the toaster finally finished its work with an unexpected Thwunk!
Everybody flinched. Then everybody fractured.
Comments