Wild at Heart (w/ Hisoka Kobayashi)

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Julius made sure that Charlotte's grip was tight enough, and took their first few turns easy just to get her use to the motion. When he heard her voice, he turned his head just a bit to catch it better through the wind and helmets, and almost considered pulling over to see if she had been affected by some sort of telepathic gift. He let the question stew for a moment, took in the sound of her voice and the way her tone shook, and finally decided that she was letting her nerves get the better of her and trying to stay calm.

"Apple pie." He said finally, decisively, and gave as much of a shrug as he could manage while driving. "I haven't indulged in desserts in a long time, so I think I'll have pie for dinner."

He thought it might amuse her, but really, if they were to find themselves at an all American diner and he didn't need better fuel to keep his body going, the answer was honest enough. He rarely let himself have things like that, after having it engrained in him practically since birth that he needed to eat whatever was best for his body and not just what tasted good. Even after leaving the House, he had held on to a lot of habits that kept up his strength, health, and reflexes. One never knew when they would encounter another Hound or agent, after all.

Julius kept them riding for a solid two hours before making the first stop to stretch their legs, and if Charlotte wanted him to he would keep up the idle chatter, answering her questions and giving her little inquiries of his own about simple opinions when she'd been quiet for too long. If he felt she was growing too nervous again he would lower their speed or make sure they were away from other cars on the highway to make their method of travel less intimidating.

When they finally parked, beneath one of the few lampposts in the small lot of a 24 hour convenience store, he made sure the kickstand was in place and reached back to hold onto her forearm as she moved to get off. "Go easy." He said gently, making sure she wouldn't wobble as she got her feet under her again. "Your legs have been tense a while, so don't go too fast." When she was steady, he took off his helmet and gave his head a little shake, ran his fingers back through his hair so it wasn't so pressed to his head. "We can get a snack and take a short break, if you need to. Otherwise, just a short pit stop and we're off again. We'll drive all night if you think you can stay awake."

They were going to have to stop somewhere eventually to spend the night, clean up, rest briefly before moving on, but he would try to take it easy on her until then. He knew he couldn't push her too hard or she would simply wear out.
 
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Upon hearing Julius say that he would probably get apple pie she started trying to picture him actually eating apple pie for dinner. She couldn't help but laugh a bit because the idea was a bit strange to her. She had always been taught that eating dessert for dinner would spoil her dinner but the idea was pretty entertaining. She had never gotten to do that growing up and it was finally starting to sink in that she could eat whatever she wanted because she was free now. None of people who worked for Sekiro could control what she ate or where she went or who she was around. Sure she had to be careful to keep a low profile with them searching for her but she was still free. The realization made her smile.

"I think I'll have some apple pie too!" She yelled excited knowing that no one else was around to hear her.

After riding for two hours she was glad when Julius made a pit stop and she took the opportunity to walk around and make some small talk. It was a nice little break and she enjoyed the small talk before they got back on the road again. Once they were back on the road again Charlotte wondered how long it would be until they stopped for another pit stop. While they road down the road she noticed that Julius had slowed down some and made an effort to distance them from vehicles out there. She thought that was nice of him to be so concerned about her comfort but he didn't know that he had already been helping her without even knowing it. Just laying her head on his back to listen to his heart made her forget all about her anxiety. Her guess was because since birth the sound of a heartbeat reminds a baby of when they're in their mothers womb. The sound is calming because that's when a baby was in a safe place. So the thought of being somewhere safe is what was really helping her to stay calm. It was nice to enjoy the cool night air, how quiet it was and being outside of the city. With her anxiety out of the way she could see why people enjoyed motorcycle riding so much, it wasn't actually as bad as she thought it would be.

By the time they stopped again Julius had parked under a light post at a twenty-four hour convenience store and she waited until he put the kickstand up. As soon as she started to get off of his motorcycle he reached back to grab her arm and she glad that he did because she had almost face planted. She wouldn't tell him that though because it was embarrassing. Instead she started stretching her legs and bent down before standing back up. Then she carefully removed her helmet and hung it from one of the motorcycle handle before carefully fixing her wigs helmet hair. Once she was done she started to walk around and although he had told her to take it easy she suddenly took off slightly jogging toward the store.

"Okay, lady's room break first...then snacks." She said with a bit of urgency.

She went into the store to use the ladies room and after she was done she returned to drag Julius into the store to buy some snacks for her. When they were done she ate her small bag chips and candy bar before they got back on the road again. They road for some more hours taking small pit stops every so often until she started to get sleepy. So they pulled into a hotel to get some sleep for the night. When morning came they got cleaned up, changed clothes and went to the diner next door that was owned by the same people who owned the hotel. They had just sat down when a waitress walked up to them and hanged them both menus then she told them she would be back to take their order. Then the female walked away to take the plates she was holding to the people who had ordered those meals. Charlotte smiled then opened her menu leaving it laying on the table to start looking over it but she happened to look up from it to see the four agents approaching the diner. This time they were in suits so it was obvious that they weren't ordinary men. She quickly looked at Julius used her eyes to point to the men before she held up her menu and slouched in her seat.

Shortly after the agents walk into the diner they one of they states that they're FBI agents who are looking for two people on the run. To make his point he shows a badge and just as the other three men started to walk around the diner to look at people. Someone all of a sudden kicks the diner door open and walks in.

"Man...I slept like a king! Now what's for breakfast? I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" The rowdy and unruly man said in a New Jersey accent.

The male was a loud mouthed blonde who had greasy slicked back hair, was wearing black eyeliner, had grey eyes, dressed like he was in a motorcycle gang. This guy just radiated bad news but the agents just stopped and starred at him as he walked toward them.

"Hey, move your asses before I do! Nobody comes between me and my food." The guy rudely says.

Not giving the agents time to clear his path the male rudely bumped his right shoulder into one of them pretty hard which was clearly intentional.

"Watch it street rat!" The agent he bumped says.

The male looks at him and then looks at the other angers before smirking.

"You watch it...you bunch of shit stains." He mutter's just low enough for the men and anyone near by to hear.

All of a sudden one of the agents Infront of his loses his temper and attempts to punch the guy in the face but the guy side steps to the agents left. The agents eyes widen in shock just before the guy hits him in his ribs with a strong right hook causing the agent to fall the ground grabbing his ribs. While the agent is holding his ribs and coughing the blonde kneed he in the face knocking him out cold. Another agent grabbed the male from behind and the male slammed his head into the guy's face breaking his nose before turning around to uppercut him. With one clean punch a second agent had been knocked out then the next agent tackled him into the counter stools in an attempt to hold the male. Although the male simply laughed and swiftly elbowed the agent in the back so hard he blacked out. The male stepped over him just as the last remaining agent tried to reach his tranq gun so the male quickly swept his feet out from under him. After the agent fell he dropped his tranq gun and it tumbled over to the blonde haired male who smugly stepped on it.

"Oh no you don't. You're gonna fight me like a man." He said smirking.

Then he kicked the tranq gun away causing it to hit the wall by the dinner door which was well out of the agent's reach causing him to get upset. The agent quickly got on his feet only only to be met with a steal toed boot to the face with knocked him knocked him out. The blonde shrugged his shoulders.

"Well...he clearly had no fighting skills but at least he tried." He said nonchalantly.

Then the male turned around to walk over to the diner counter and sat down on one of the stools. He grinned at the female waitress and put his arms on the counter.

"Hey, I'll have a breakfast platter, a glass of oj and your phone number if you don't mind. Thanks beautiful." He says in a flirty tone of voice with his New Jersey accent.

The female giggles then writes down his order and walks away. After ordering his food he looks over at Charlotte and Julius seeing that she had laid her menu down. The male simply nodded his head up to acknowledge them.

"Yo! Nice weather we're havin huh?" He says in a kind and pleasant tone.

The male then smiled like he didn't just beat up four guys at all and acted like they weren't still scattered on the floor like garbage waiting to be cleaned up.

"Ain't nothin like hitting the road on a nice day like this." He says before he turns back around when he sees the waitress walking up with his food.
 
Julius kept hold of Charlotte's arm until she was steady, only standing up when she started to hurry away from him and shaking his head at her hurry. When she came back to tug him along he only smiled, genuinely amused at the way she dragged him along like an eager child, and got her whatever snacks she wanted to keep her going. After no doubt having a highly regulated diet for who knew how long, he was willing enough to let her eat junk for a while, and told himself he would just look out for her and make sure she didn't go overboard and get sick. It was all right for her to have little joys while she still could.

He kept them traveling all the way through the night and would've kept going into the morning if Charlotte hadn't gotten too tired, stopping every couple of hours when they needed to rest or refuel. He knew he was pushing her a little hard but there was nothing for it. They had to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the people chasing her while they still had the advantage. Eventually, Sekiro's network of employed or bribed rats was going to find them, and Julius wanted to stall either of them being recognized for as long as possible. The second news got back to the man that Julius was not only alive but very near, and helping Charlotte, they were going to have at least one Hound on their trail, if not several.

Which was why, as they finally sat down to eat a real meal, he had mixed feelings about the fight.

He had been tense and ready, his back to the agents but with a hand on his helmet, ready to put it on and fight their way out, when the commotion had started, drawing back the man that had almost reached them. Julius turned to see what was happening, and as he watched the blonde knock down agent after agent, took in his face and body, the way he moved - a boiling rage started to build in his gut before he could really stop it. A low growl in his throat, he took his wallet out and removed the card he'd been given, held it up to the window so he could see through it, and bit down on his tongue to keep from swearing.

After a pause for calm, he snapped a picture of the card with his phone, put it and the wallet back in his pockets, stood, and walked over to set the card down next to Ti with a very carefully calculated calm. "Message received." He said, in a low, grating voice that would clearly relay what he wanted to say - namely, a very vehement I hate you.

He'd been an idiot, let Ti's brazen behavior disguise the fact that the man actually knew what he was doing. Julius had been out of the game too long, and he needed to sharpen up. The fact that he had fallen for the very modern tracker told him that, and he was sure it had been meant to.

There was no time for stopping anymore. He took Charlotte and left before the agents could wake.

They traveled quickly and tirelessly like that for five full days, stopping only to sleep and never taking time for relaxing meals except in the privacy of the hotel room, which they left the moment Charlotte was awake enough for it. The last night they slept in a hotel, he warned her it would be a while before they had such easily accessible hot water and she should take advantage. He had gotten a good night's sleep in preperation, and in the morning they left his bike in an out of the way parking structure where it may or may not be waiting for them when they returned, purchased last minute supplies, and started a trek into the wilderness where there were no trails and no lights. Necessarily, they stopped when it was too dark to continue, and Julius set up the small tent he had purchased for Charlotte to sleep in, with the reassurance that he would keep watch outside.

As they walked, he was careful not to let her get too dehydrated, stopped to let her rest when they could, and told her all about the people they were going to see. Mabel was a former Hound, a healer that had kept them alive as they trained, but no less deadly than the rest. If she hadn't left, they would find her living off the grid in the middle of the forest with a man named Harris. Harris, Julius explained, disliked living near people, but had helped them out when they had escaped from the House. They might find him in the shape of a large, toughener hunter, or that of a bear. Julius had never learned what his gift was, but he had agreed to let Mabel stay with him where Sekiro wouldn't look for her.

Explanations over, they had been walking in silence for a while when things went a bit sideways, having been going at a measured pace to keep Charlotte from tiring and not making any attempts to be quiet. Julius heard the quiet thwip just in time to snap his shield up into place and give Charlotte a shove to the side, but when the arrow that flew through the air did nothing but ricochet off the side of his head, and wasn't followed by any more, he only pressed a hand to his face and stumbled back a bit at the impact.

"Christ, Mabel," he said through gritted teeth as he lowered his shield once more, a palm still pressed firmly against his brow. "Right in the eye? Was there no other way to make sure it was me?"

A good hundred feet in front of them, the woman in question dropped from a tree to land smoothly on the ground, a compound hunting bow in one hand with the other making sure no arrows fell from her quiver. She had her hair pulled back away from her face, a large knife sheathed at her hip, and her clothing was in simple earth tones and patterns, clearly a woman used to living in a forest and working hard. After a pause, she cracked a little smile.

"Nothing as concrete." She responded, loosening her grip on the bow to let it be known she wouldn't use it again. "Its been a long time, Shadow. And you scared off my game." When she turned her gaze to Charlotte, it was with a critical, analyzing scan from foot to head and back, quickly done and quickly judged. "Who might you be, for him to bring you here?"
 
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Charlotte had cautiously made sure to keep her face hidden as she quietly watched the whole thing from the moment the male had walked in until now. She couldn't believe what she had seen. One guy had just taken down four agents all by himself and it hadn't taken him any time at all to do it. On top of that he hadn't gotten injured at all and he seemed completely unfazed by the whole incident. What really surprised her was how he had seemed like a total jerk in way he had been acting just moments ago but now he seemed like a totally nice guy. She couldn't help but stare.

'Who is this guy? He seems a bit...familiar.' She calmly thinks to herself.

She had watches the male place his order and when he was done he looked over at her then spoke which caught her off guard so she froze for a moment. Finally she managed to wave to the male and gently nod. All of a sudden she was distracted when she heard a low growl come from Julius causing her to look over at him. She had a confused and concerned look on her face as she wondered what had made him react like that. She was considering asking but decided it would probably be better to ask later, when he was calm because she could clearly tell that he was agitated. Charlotte quietly watched as Julius took out his wallet then removed the card from it and held it up to the window.

'A card with contact info, is that what Ti handed to him back then? Why does he look so upset though.' She curiously thinks.

She could see the card but from where she was sitting she couldn't see any of the info on it or the tracking device revealed by the light inside of it. She just quietly watched Julius take out his phone to take a picture of it before putting his phone and wallet away. Then she saw Julius stand and walk over to the blonde haired male. Part of her wanted to stop him because she wasn't sure what Julius was thinking or how the blonde haired male would react. As she nervously watched she couldn't help but hold her breath for a moment when Julius sat the card down on the counter by the male. The blonde haired male simply looked down at the card and lightly chuckled before picking it up. Then he calmly snapped the card in two breaking the tracking device inside.

"That's great to hear bro. Stay safe and enjoy your trip. I got a concert I'm headin to. I can't wait to rock out in the mosh pit and kick some more ass!" The guy says raising his voice at the last part. Although what he had said clearly meant - Like I care. Just stay sharp so you don't make mistakes like that. I'm doing my part and honestly I'm enjoying it.

Then he gives the rock hand sign while grinning at Julius from ear to ear then he turns back around when he spots the female walking up with his food. He smiles at her then quietly watches Julius and Charlotte leave the diner.

Charlotte was completely confused by what had just happened but she decided to just stay quiet and go along with it for now. She was sure that they would likely find something to eat somewhere else due to the agents showing up at the diner. The interaction between Julius and the male still confused her though. Did they know each other? Either way she would make sure to find that out later. After that they traveled constantly only stopping when it was absolutely necessary which left poor Charlotte tired because she wasn't used to it. When they stopped at the last hotel before they would head into the woods Charlotte made sure to take a long soak in a hot bath. She almost didn't want to come out but she figured if she took any longer that he could decide to come in to drag her out. She knew he clearly wasn't fazed by the human anatomy so if agents showed up he would definitely drag her out and she would die of embarrassment. Sure she had made sure to lock the door but as if something like that would stop him. So she finished up her bath, dried off and got dressed before coming out. After eating dinner she went to bed early to get a good night's sleep. When morning came she was glad that she had because before she knew it she found her trekking through the woods behind Julius.

'This is so tiring. Maybe I'm not cut out for this.' She thought exhausted.

She was glad when Julius had set up camp for the night but she hated how the bugs attacked her without mercy and how sweaty she had gotten. After getting some sleep they started out again the next morning and even though they took breaks when she needed too she was still tired. So when Julius explained things to her all she could manage was an okay once every so often just so he knew she was paying attention. She would drink a little water when she needed to and hide behind the nearest bush or tree when she had to go. It was times like that when she really missed having access to a bathroom. They had been walking for awhile when all of a sudden Julius shoved her back at random catching her off guard and confusing her. Although she tried to keep her balance she clumsily stumbled backwards and fell landing on her butt.

"Ouch! What did you just push me for Julius?!" She said slightly upset.

Then she looked up and saw Julius holding his hand over his eye which confused her even more until she looked down and saw the arrow on the ground. Before she could react she heard Julius speak.

"Are...are you okay?!" She said concerned and clueless because she hadn't been looking when he used his shield.

Then she turned her gaze toward where she had heard the sound of someone landing on the ground. To her surprise she saw a female standing there and her body tensed for a moment as she analyzed the females appearance. She was clearly the one who had fired an arrow toward Julius but it didn't take her long to realize who she was since he had already said her name. She couldn't understand why she would fire a arrow at an ally though and slightly frowned at the thought. It was obvious that Mabel had no intentions of firing anymore arrows and that she was analyzing Charlotte as well. After standing back up and dusting her clothes off she finally spoke.

"Um...hi I'm...I'm Charlotte. I...I guess...I'm kind of a friend by now...or um...maybe an acquaintance. I'm really not sure." She says timidly.

She pauses for a moment and nervously starts to fidget with her fingers. She clears lacked confidence and it definitely showed by the way she talked and acted. Anytime Charlotte was nervous she lack of confidence was even more obvious and it was one of her defining traits. Her timid nature had earned her an nickname that she absolutely hated but seem to escape. She nervously lowered her head a little and looked up at Mabel while still fidgeting with the gloves fingers.

"Julius is helping me to avoid getting captured...by people working for creepy Mr. Sekiro. He wants me back because of my psychic abilities. I managed to escape...by mistake this time...and I really don't want to go back to the compound." She says a little sad but still nervous.
 
For a moment, Mabel only listened, her expression judgmental, her body language tense and closed off. Charlotte was quiet, shy, uncomfortable, and obviously exhausted. It wasn't hard to put some of the pieces together, not after the girl mentioned Sekiro, so Mabel finally gave a little sigh and turned to look at Julius once more, raised an eyebrow at him and got only a shrug in response. A silent understanding from years past.

"Picking up strays?" She said with a quiet scoff, and held her hand out in his direction. "Well. You're here now, and your stray is tired. Your bag."

With a little shake of his head and a roll of his eyes, Julius took his backpack off his shoulders and gave it a heft over to her, watching as she slung it easily onto a shoulder despite its weight, then turned to walk away from them. Julius was sure Harris wouldn't be happy to be intruded on, but it wasn't as if the bruin was above taking in strays himself, given how he had helped them and let Mabel stay afterwards. She had been too important to risk being found in the modern world. If Sekiro ever knew where she was, he would want her back to keep pushing his Hounds past their limits, keep bringing them to the brink of death and back. Julius knew she would rather shoot herself in the head than help him hurt people anymore. She'd had a taste of freedom, and she would die before she ever went back.

"Come on, Charlotte." He waved her a bit closer, moving to kneel in front of her. "She's right. I've pushed you too hard. Get on my back, I'll carry you the rest of the way."

He knew she disliked touch even with all of her skin covered, but she was clearly too tired to keep going and so didn't let her argue. Once she was settled on his back, he got back to his feet and just started walking after Mabel, careful of his footing. It took over an hour at the pace they were going, and even Julius was beginning to tire with both Charlotte and her backpack's weight on his back, but eventually they reached a cabin, hidden from most aircraft by all the tree that grew around it.

At the door, Julius stopped and let Charlotte down, looking to Mabel as she opened it. "Harris isn't home?"

Mabel only shook her head and let them in before her, dropping Julius' bag on the ground after they'd entered and moving to put her weapon away in its place just a few steps away. "Out hunting. I'd meet him at the door and tell him you're here, but I'm sure he'll catch your scent on the way back. Come in, Charlotte. Why don't you sit down and rest, I'll bring you some water."

There was a couch in the corner of the main living space, old and well worn but clean and cared for, that would do well enough for her to rest on while they discussed what happened next. For now, this was only a safe place to regroup and plan where Sekiro couldn't find them. Eventually, they would have to leave again.
 
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Charlotte was surprised by the fact that she had just been referred to as a stray and she couldn't help but feel awkward about it. Sure she was technically homeless but that hadn't fully sunk in until she heard Mabel use the word stray to describe her. She didn't have a home anymore, then again she hadn't had a place that she could actually call home for a few years now. As the realization sunk in she was distracted from her thoughts when Julius all of a sudden spoke again telling her to come on. She was about to ask if they could rest for a bit longer due to her being tired when he all of a sudden kneeled down. At first she took a step closer but she raised an eyebrow in confusion until he instructed her to get on his back. Her eyes widened in shock before she quickly started to blush in embarrassment. At first she wanted to refuse but her legs were begging for rest so she really couldn't argue.

"Um...O...okay. Thanks." She says a bit nervous.

It was really awkward for her but she managed to climb onto his back and carefully put her arms around his neck so he could carry her. Once Julius stood up and started walking Charlotte couldn't help but hate every moment but it was nice not having to walk. It seemed like forever as Julius walked and Charlotte was struggling not to fall asleep. The last thing she wanted to do was end up snoring or worse...drooling. She would definitely die of embarrassment if that happened. By the time they reached their destination Charlotte had dozed of for a few minutes and was slightly snoring. The sound of Julius speaking had caused her to wake up but in all honesty she wanted to go back to sleep. Still a bit drowsy she got off of his back and started looking around for another spot to sleep. Once Mabel opened the door and invited them in Charlotte stepped inside with her eyes immediately landed on the couch in the corner.

"Thank you."She said happy but still drowsy.

She managed to tiredly walk over to the couch then she removed her backpack and gently sat it down on the left side of the couch. With the weight of her backpack finally off of her back she tiredly smiled and let herself fall down onto the couch. Sure it wasn't a bed but she didn't care. All she could think about was sleeping right now so keeping her guard up was on the back burned for now. She hadn't even bothered to remove her shoes although her feet were tired from all of the walking. Although Julius had convinced her to switch out her sneakers for some tan hiking boots she still wasn't used to doing so much walking. She wanted to remove her boots but she was just to tired so she just quietly curled up on the couch. She figured that she would meet this Harris that Julius had told her about while they were walking later on. Right now she was to tired to stay awake any longer so she drifted off to sleep.
 
Julius could see Mabel watching Charlotte out of the corner of her eye even as she got the girl some water to drink, and thought for a moment he might get an earful about pushing her too hard, but it wasn't as if Charlotte had never been pushed by Sekiro's men before. Perhaps they hadn't been training her physical body, only her psychic powers, but still. If she wanted to survive, he reasoned, she would need to learn how to push herself to do what needed to be done. And yet, after Mabel had set the cup of water down on the coffee table nearby, he could see she had retained as much of her nurturing nature as their upbringing had let her, and would coddle the other woman as much as was practical.

"No shoes on the couch," Mabel said gently, kneeling to very carefully help Charlotte in unlacing her boots and pulling them off her feet. She wouldn't heal the girl, but perhaps later if she showed any signs of true injury. "Rest now. It's safe enough here in the woods."

After draping a blanket from the back of the couch over the younger girl, Mabel walked back to the kitchen and raised an eyebrow at Julius even as she got more water for him. "Who is she, for you to push her so hard?" It was clear enough that someone was after her, and someone dangerous if he had brought her here.

"She's a Phoenix." He said simply, taking the cup gratefully and just leaning back against the kitchen counter with his free arm crossed loosely over his stomach to drink. It was explanation enough, for most things. "Came across her by chance near where I was living. Didn't think it was safe to leave her there."

Mabel gave him a judgmental little smirk as she took a drink for herself, then shook her head at him. "You haven't changed."

He shrugged, refused to lose face by turning his eyes away from her as if ashamed or embarassed. "If her gift is as strong as she says it is - and the amount of manpower he's putting into it suggests so - he can't be allowed to have her back." Julius didn't know what he would use Charlotte for, exactly, but if she ever mastered her abilities she would be one of his strongest assets.

Sighing softly, Mabel closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead as if fighting a headache. "Sooner or later, someone will know you're with her. He'll send the others."

"About that." The look he got was disapproving, again, but while Charlotte slept he would fill Mabel in on Ti and the mingled assistance and trouble he brought with him, and what few examples he'd had of Charlotte's powers, and limited control over them. She was right, at least, about one thing. Soon, Sekiro would involve the other Hounds in the search, and they couldn't stay very long or their first confrontation might end up being here. Harris would have his head if that happened.
 
As Charlotte slept she was sure that she had heard Mabel's voice and felt someone removing her boots. Although she was already asleep she woke up enough to speak and be aware of her surroundings.

"Sorry about that. Thank you and okay."She said almost mumbling while half asleep.

Do to being so tried he hadn't opened her eyes at all and after a small yawn she soon drifted back off to sleep again. After thirty minutes had passed Charlotte had started to dream. In her dream she was back at the diner again but this time Julius wasn't there and the diner was completely empty. It was as if the diner had been abandoned and it made her feel a bit uneasy. She couldn't understand why she was back at the diner or where Julius had gone. She looked around the diner hoping that maybe she wrong and at least one person was still there.

"Hello?! Is anybody here?!"She nervously called out as she slowly walked around inside the diner.

She listened for any kind of response but it was completely silent to her dismay. As she continued to look around she noticed an old juke box machine that was covered in dust. So she carefully wiped it off with a table cloth she found on a nearby table and took a closer look at it. From the looks of it she guessed that it might still be operational but she was curious to find out. She quickly reached into her pocket and inserted some change into the old machine.

"I really hope that this thing still works...otherwise I just lost my money. Okay here goes nothing." She said nervously.

She looks over the songs for a moment and then presses her selection. She holds her breath for a moment and watches with anticipation as the machine begins to operate to her surprise. The record she selected is placed on the record player and the needle was placed on the record before it started to spin. Withing a few moments the song began to play and she started to smile as she listened to it. As she stood there listening to the song she hasn't noticed that the diner door had quietly opened and a male had walked into the diner. He silently stood by the door and folded his arms. After listening to the song for a bit Charlotte started to sing along with it and hearing this caused the blonde haired male to smile. By the time the song ended the male started to clap and Charlotte froze unaware that anyone had shown up. She quickly turned around to see who was there and looked confused when she saw the same male from the diner instead of Julius.

"Um...thanks. You're that guy from before right?"She says nervously.

The male folds his arms again while continuing to smile at her.

"You're welcome and correct. It's nice to finally meet you face to face. Well...close enough to it. Your ability took it's good time activating. I also got lucky that in some part of your mind that you wanted to talk to me." The male says with no hints of any accent at all.

Charlotte looks at the male confused by his lack of Jersey accent and also confused by what he had said. This was just a dream so why did the male sound like he was almost real?

"Um...this is weird but I'm just gonna go with it since this is a dream after all. Anyway it's nice to meet you too mystery dream guy."She says with a nervous smile.

The guy laughs a little causing her to blink her eyes at him in confusion. Had she said something funny or was he making fun of her? She really wasn't sure why she was even dreaming about this guy. She only saw him one time at the diner but she had to admit that she had wanted to thank him. He had created the opportunity for Julius and her to escape so that must be why she was dreaming about him.

"Listen Charlotte...this may be a dream but what I'm saying to you isn't a dream. You activated one of your abilities in your sleep. I just happened to decide to take a nap and you used your dream telepathy to reach out to me. It's nice to know that I'm on your mind."He said with a sly smirk.

She became embarrassed and slightly blushed before starting to shake her head in denial.

"No, this is just a dream and I don't have dream telepathy. Everything you're saying is created by my own mind."She says a bit upset.

She couldn't believe what this guy was saying and in her dream at that. She wasn't sure why but she was starting to feel a bit upset at him. Who was he to tell her that she had another ability when she knew all of her abilities. The male sighed and his appearance completely changed to the red haired male that she had seen printing off the lost rabbit fliers. Her eyes widened in shock and in fear. Why was she dreaming about Red now and who was next Julius?

"This isn't an ordinary dream and yes you do have dream telepathy. I'm guessing they kept that information from you but I read about it in your profile. It's not a separate ability, it's just an extension of your telepathy and the hypnocil was blocked you from dreaming."He says calmly.

Charlotte stares at Red in disbelief and she was about to refute what he had just said when he spoke again as if he could tell she still didn't believe him.

"Also to prove that I am actually talking to you, my real name is Damian. My code name is Titanium but I go by Ti for short. I'm the guy from the diner. If you still don't believe me...ask your friend why he gave the card back to me. The answer is it had a tracking chip in it."He said with a confident smile.

All Charlotte could do was stand there in silence because she didn't know why Julius had given the card to the male at the diner. She lowered her eyes in thought. Was there really a tracking device in it? While she was lost in thought Ti walked over to her and when she actually noticed that he had moved she could see his shoes only inches from her. She had let herself get distracted. Before she knew it he reached toward her and slowly raised her head so she would look at him. He was taller than her by a few inches but looking into his eyes so closely was like looking into the eyes of an apex predator. Although strangely Charlotte didn't feel any fear.

"Maybe I was wrong...maybe there is one bunny that I like. Maybe I am a bunny guy but who knows."He says calmly while acting a bit nonchalant.

Then before she can say anything he leans down and kisses her on the left cheek completely surprising her.

"Think of me whenever you're dreaming want to talk again but make sure it's night time. Take care, Angel."He says smiling.

Then he turns and walks out of the diner leaving Charlotte standing there still trying to process what just happened. Meanwhile she started to blush in her sleep and was unaware that anyone could tell she was blushing in her sleep. She had also been humming to the song she had listened to and talking in her sleep the entire time she was talking to Ti. Soon the diner started to fade away and she opened her eyes to find that she was still on the couch. Not only that but she was being stared at which made her want to hide somewhere.

"Um...is something wrong?"She asked awkwardly.
 
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He and Mabel were still talking strategy when Charlotte started to make noise in her sleep. Julius paused, held up a hand to signal for silence, and listened closely for a moment. She didn't sound distressed, not just yet, but he couldn't count on that continuing. With as much as Sekiro had done to her, and as much exhaustion as she was surely going through now, he couldn't rely on the fact that their luck with her gifts staying inactive at night would continue.

"Go outside." He said, stern and quick, and pushed away from the kitchen counter to move a few steps closer to Charlotte. "If anything happens, she has the potential to go a bit haywire in her sleep."

Mabel only rolled her eyes. "Just hold my hand. I'm sure your reflexes haven't gotten that slow."

He gave her a look at the implication that he was getting soft, then just shook his head and took her hand, letting her pull his arm a bit behind his back to stand behind him with his body as a secondary shield. He would snap his real shield over the both of them if anything happened, keep them from taking damage, and she would recover any injuries, should they come about. With the two of them combined, there was very little risk, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

Julius was careful, listening to what she was saying but hardly able to hear. "Charlotte?" He called, gentle at first, and then firmer. "Charlotte."

He was tense, ready, but when she started to open her eyes and appeared calm, he sighed and straightened up, letting go of Mabel's hand to run his fingers back through his hair. "You were mumbling and moving around in your sleep. Did you have a nightmare again?"

Mabel tilted her head at the girl, not quite concerned but trying to figure out the problem anyway. "You're flushed. Do you want me to feel if you've got a fever?"

Julius only shook his head, glancing back at her. "Psychometry."

"Ah." She nodded, stepped back to make it clear she wouldn't touch. "I have a thermometer somewhere, if you'd prefer."
 
Charlotte was still a bit drowsy but she was pretty sure that she had heard Julius calling her name. She was a bit confused as to why though. She didn't have a nightmare unlike the time she had woken up screaming causing Julius to wake up thinking something was wrong. She silently stared at Julius and Mabel then what Julius had said finally sunk in.

"I was talking in my sleep? I'm...I'm sorry. You didn't understand anything I said did you? That's so embarrassing. Also no, it was kind of more of a normal dream. Just a bit odd though."She said a bit awkwardly.

When Mabel spoke Charlotte looked over at her with a slightly confused look on her face. It didn't feel hot to her so she was surprised to learn that her face was flushed. Why was her face flushed? She thought for a moment then the last part of her dream came back to her causing her to blush more.

"Don't worry I'm totally fine. I...uh just um...had a kind of embarrassing dream. I mean most of my dream was nice but part of it was embarrassing. It's nothing important though. Thank you for checking on me Mabel."She said a bit nervously.

Hearing Mabel mention feeling her forehead had made her a bit uncomfortable but she was glad that Julius had spoken up about her psychometry. Still she couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous. Charlotte sat up on the couch and looked down at her hands nervously fidgeting with her hands. She really hoped that they wouldn't ask about her dream because just thinking about it practically had her face on fire. Surely it was just a dream, it had to be because there was no way Red would do something like that she mentally told herself. Her dreaming that could mean one thing, she subconsciously had a crush on a total stranger which didn't make any sense. Charlotte couldn't help but wrestle with the thought that maybe her dream wasn't just a dream. Could she really have dream telepathy and not know it? She thought about asking Julius about the guy at the diner and the card that Julius laid down on the counter next to the guy. She couldn't help but wonder what his answer would be and before she knew it she had nearly mumbled out her question.

"Um...Julius. I know this is kind of a random question, but I've been wondering. Who was the blonde haired guy at the diner?"She asked then curiously looked up at him.

She wanted to ask about the card but maybe bringing that up Infront of Mabel wasn't the best idea. Hopefully Julius would at least be willing to tell her who the guy was so she could confirm if her dream was just a dream or not. If she really did have dream telepathy then she would have to be careful about who she thought about before bed and while sleeping. She could only hope that she hadn't already used dream telepathy with someone else besides Red. She couldn't afford to be telling people things all while believing it was a normal dream. Just thinking about it made her mouth dry so she reached over to pick up the glass of water on the coffee table in front of her. She was about to touch her mouth to it when she remembered what had happened last time and paused. Thankfully she had bought a reusable metal straw during their road trip so she reached into her right pocket and pulled out a small metal box. She sat the glass back down and opened the metal box that had the straw inside neatly folded up. She removed the straw, closed the box and placed it back into her pocket. After unfolding the straw it was ready to use and she put it in the glass before picking the glass up and drinking through the straw.
 
Julius was frowning a little, trying to decide if he should let it go or try to analyze every little thing that had happened, and to think back on what words he'd heard. It hadn't been much, and it probably meant nothing. Eventually, he just sighed and dropped his shoulders. With Charlotte, nothing had ever been easy and he didn't expect that to change now that they were in a relatively safe location.

"It's fine," he said, giving his head a little shake. "It was just sleep mumbling."

Mabel glanced between the two of them, then finally turned a bit to start walking away and give them space. "Harris should be back any second now. I'll go head him off and start explaining so he doesn't shoot you on sight."

Julius nodded and let her walk out, letting Charlotte drink for a moment and eventually went back for his own water. "Don't worry about him," he said, calm and unconcerned. "She's mostly joking. He'll be mad at me for bringing you here, but he's got no reason to hold it against you. You were just along for the ride."

He took a few slow sips, let the silence hang between them for a moment, then finally looked at her again. "You want to tell me what was going on with the talking, or do you think you're fine?" He had no choice but to trust her assessment of her own gifts. It wasn't as if he could tell her what she was feeling.
 
Charlotte carefully watched Julius taking note of his facial expression as she quietly sipped her water. He had definitely frowned a little but what was the reason for his frown? Had she actually said something that was more than just mumbling in her sleep? She knew what she had said in her dream but she wasn't sure of any of that was coherent speech to Julius. She also couldn't help but wonder if Mabel had also understood anything she had said in her sleep. She watched as Julius signed before his shoulders fell and his shook his head. Although he had said that it was fine part of her didn't exactly believe him. She stopped sipping from her straw and nervously smiled.

"Okay, that's good to know. I would hate to say anything embarrassing in my sleep."She said a bit awkwardly.

Charlotte turned her head to look at Mabel and nervously laughed at her words although she was pretty sure that she was joking.

"O...okay."She said nervously and smiled.

After Mabel walked out she turned her attention back to Julius and nodded her head in response to him.

"Alright, I just hope he isn't to mad. After all...I am the one who ran into you and kind of pulled you into a mess."She said with hints of sadness in her voice.

Charlotte sat the glass down on the coffee table and started to stare at it in thought. She had heard the question that Julius had asked and honestly she had expected it. She just wasn't sure how to answer it or if she should actually tell him about the dream. She wasn't even sure if her mind had made up everything or if she was actually talking to Red or not. If she started talking about the dream now Julius would likely want to know all of details and she really didn't want to talk about all of the dream. After softly sighing she finally decided to speak.

"Well...in my dream I was back at the diner but no one was there...at first. I played a song on the dusty jukebox then...Red showed up. I talked to him for a bit and he um...claimed I had another ability. It was probably just a dream though."She said with uncertainty as she keep her eyes on the glass of water.

When she did finally look up at Julius she had a confused and uncertain expression on her face. She still didn't have any proof if that was all just a dream or of she really did communicate with Red for real. She really needed to know if Red was actually the guy at the diner or not. So she decided to directly ask her question again.

"Although, Red claimed that he was the blonde haired guy from the diner, that the card had a tracking chip in it and that his codename was Titanium or Ti for short. Is any of that true Julius?"She said looking at him with concern in her eyes.
 
"Its all right, Charlotte," Julius reassured with a little shrug when she tried to blame herself for not the first time, "I'm the one that decided to bring you here. I knew he wouldn't like it." She'd had very little say in the matter and had hated every moment of the journey, he was sure. Harris wasn't going to blame a small, seemingly weak girl for what was clearly Julius' decision.

As she started to talk about her dream finally, he walked back to her with glass in hand and took a seat on the opposite side of the couch, one ankle crossed over a knee and leaning against the arm of it while he drank his water as if completely unconcerned. The worry and confusion came after she got to the middle of it, and even more so when she got to the information she shouldn't be able to have. He kept it hidden, expression neutral, and waited for her to get it all off her chest, than a moment longer to gather his thoughts.

"Either your hearing is better than you think," he started, rolling the facts 'round and around his head, "or you've been gleaning information without meaning to." But though it was possible she'd heard part of their quiet discussion at the apartment, there was no chance she'd managed to correctly interpret his irritation at the business card and the short, nonspecific exchange he and Ti had at the diner.

"That, or your gifts are developing in strange ways now that you're out on your own." He shrugged, let a little concern show through but not much. It wasn't something he thought they needed to worry about, if she was the one making it happen and not someone on Ti's end, but he could see how it might bother her. "I don't know if it will make you feel better or worse that you're correct. There was a tracking chip in that card, and that was Titanium at the diner." And he had wanted to throttle the man for tracking him, but that was besides the point. "He spoke to you? In this dream?"
 
Charlotte quietly nodded but she was still clearly visibly worried. To some extent it was still her fault because she hadn't tried to use her telekinesis to make herself invisible or in her case at least tried too. Honestly she wasn't sure that she could've used any of her abilities at that time without overexerting herself which would have caused her to pass out.

"Um...okay...but maybe I could've done more to lose those guys but I'm not sure if I could've without passing out from overexertion." She says in an uncertain voice.

Just as Julius walked over Charlotte was thinking about how and when she would tell him about her secrets just before he sat down beside her. At first she quietly watched as Julius got comfortable then she gently shook her head.

"My hearing ability is definitely average and I've had my gloves on so my psychometry couldn't have been activated. I didn't have any premonitions either."She says slightly shrugging. Then she continues, "I didn't know about any of that until after I had that odd dream. Maybe I don't know as much as I thought I knew."She says in a contemplating tone of voice.

Charlotte was still concerned but now she had lowered her gaze and her thoughts seemed to wonder for a moment as she thought of the dream. When Julius spoke again confirming what Ti had said in her dream her eyes quickly shot up and meet Julius' gaze. Her eyes were now filled with shock and her body had even stiffened without her realizing it.

"What? Okay...now I'm starting to feel freaked out about my so called dream. I was hoping that it wasn't anything but a dream."She says uncomfortably before slightly bitting her bottom for a second. "I didn't know about any of that until after I had that odd and somewhat embarrassing dream." She said awkwardly.

Now that Julius had confirmed what Ti had said Charlotte couldn't help but think about the fact that there was things being kept from her. What else was in her profile that she didn't know about and more importantly how much more information was there about her?

"Yeah he did. He told me that it wasn't a normal dream and I was using dream telepathy. He said he read it in my profile and he mentioned something called Hypnocil."She said sounding a bit confused.

She stopped to think about how Ti had left it up to her to contact him whenever she wanted to as long as it was during the night. Maybe she would take him up on his offer because she really wanted to know what else he knew about her. What if he knew about her family, would he go as far as to tell Julius? When she thought about it she would prefer for Julius to find out about certain things directly from her. She had wanted to tell Julius about how she can use her telepathy to appear to be invisible sooner but she figured that she might as well tell him now. Better to come clean about all of the things she had been reluctant to tell him and face the music now. She only hoped that he wouldn't be to upset or feel betrayed or worse...leave her on her own.

"Um...since Ti already read my profile I might as well tell you before he decides to. There's a few things that...that I haven't told you. So I understand if you get upset."She nervously says and looks down at her hands. "I've been trying to figure out how to tell you that...I can use my telekinesis to manipulate photons. So I can also do this."She says with a quieter voice.

Charlotte reaches out her hand toward her glass of water as if she was about to pick it up at first. She stares at it for moment then the glass along with her metal straw fade from view completely. Once the cup appeared completely invisible she picked it then sat it back down just hard enough for the sound of it to be heard. Then she put her hands back in her lap and allowed the glass and straw to reappear before she looks over at Julius to see his reaction. That wasn't even the biggest bombshell that she was about to drop on Julius so she was really worried. Would this information change everything between them as friends? She wasn't sure what the outcome would be but she couldn't keep carrying these heavy secrets on her fragile shoulders. She softly sighed and furrowed her brows as she looked at Julius. Now would be the moment of truth.

"Also...my mother told me not to tell anyone but Ti probably knows already. So I might as well tell you before he does."She says and lowering her gaze with worry in her eyes. "I was actually born in the compound and my mom was a hound. She escaped with me when I was a baby and taught me to hide my abilities."She says somewhat hesitant.

She paused for a moment to give Julius time to process what she had just said because she was sure that it would be a shock to him. Knowing that she had more to say made things more difficult but she knew she had to continue. Charlotte finally looked up at Julius again with uncertainty in her eyes.

"I don't know who my real father is because my mother wouldn't tell me. Also my mother and step father both died trying to protect me, all because I slipped up."She said sadly as her eyes started to fill with tears.

~Meanwhile~

At the compound the atmosphere was filled with tension as employees worked practically day and night to try to find Charlotte to no avail. They were tried and stressed. Most of all they were afraid of losing their jobs which they all needed to support their families. Mr. Sekiro's patience was wearing thin as day after day no new leads where found about Charlotte's whereabouts. He sat alone in his office at his desk holding a picture in his right hand. As he stared at a picture of Charlotte his eyes held a mixture of anger and worry. He was angry that none of his employees had keep a closer eye on her which allowed her to escape. Yet he was worried that like last time years could pass before he ever found her again or worse, he may not ever find her again. Just the thought was enough to stress him out and he loudly sighed.

"Where has my little bunny rabbit disappeared to this time?"He tiredly says.

He looked down at another picture that lay on his desk of three people with furrowed brows. It was a family portrait with both Charlotte and her mother as well as Charlotte's father. In the picture her mother looked happy with the man who still remained a mystery. She was even holding Charlotte who was wearing a pink hooded, baby bunny romper and in her mother's arms.

"It truly is unfortunate that your mother died. She was one of my best hounds so I took a major loss. I refuse to lose you too. I'll only wait awhile longer before I send in the hounds."He says in a stressed tone of voice.

Sekiro dropped Charlotte's picture down onto his desk then he picked up the bottle of Vodka on his desk and poured himself another glass. He was clearly already showing signs of intoxication but he was to upset to care that he would have one hell of a hangover later. All he wanted was to drink his problems away so he sat down the bottle of Vodka and lifted the glass up to his lips before carelessly downing the Vodka. He had already told everyone to leave him alone, unless they found her so it didn't matter if he passed out until morning.
 
There was a lot of pressing information in what Charlotte was telling him, but the most prominent was the way she was still clearly hurting. She had only escaped approximately a week before, and Julius was sure she had been through just as much suffering in the time she'd been captured as the Hounds that had been born to such a life. As much as he could make himself appear callous to the suffering of others, it was difficult to look her in the face as she told him things that made her so upset. His life had just been tough enough to grant him the ability to hide it.

"As useful as that would have been to know before," He sighed softly, shaking his head at the idea of her disappearing act being useful to them as they fled and doing his best to just press on, "It isn't as if I have never hid anything from you, however well meaning the omissions were. The anxiety medication you had with you when you ran into me - it was Hypnocil. They were drugging you, probably to keep you weak, to make it easier to keep you with them, but it did more harm than good. Think about it. You haven't truly lost control of your powers since you left that place. Your body has been adjusting to it more every day."

Whatever they had hoped to accomplish by keeping Charlotte drugged, it had ultimately led to her destroying part of a building in her sleep, thus facilitating her escape. Since she'd been off the medication and her body and mind had been allowed time to adjust to her true strength, she'd been getting stronger and more controlled each day. Perhaps that had been what they were scared of. Charlotte in full control of her abilities, without first being broken in order to keep her bent to their will, could very well have meant the end of Phoenix House's entire operation.

"There's still a lot about yourself you're figuring out," he said, rather than attempting to soothe her pain with empty platitudes. He was only a temporary assistance for her. He wasn't her family, nor would she think of him as a friend, and she was only with him because she had no other choice. A 'there, there' from him, no matter how sincere, would mean little, even though he truly wished it would help. "But you can be sure of one thing. None of the things that happened to you were your own fault."

For a moment he paused, considering, and finally sighed, his expression going soft and sympathetic. "I know it feels impossible. But some day you will be able to look back on the memories you had with them without it feeling as if your heart is being ripped from your chest all over again. I promise you that much."

He was not going to tell her to cherish those memories because there were many others who had never known their family at all. It was clearly a callous statement, and one that might wrongly make her think he was trying to make her feel bad for once having something he hadn't. Truthfully, he had never felt the desire to find the people responsible for birthing him. As ruthlessly as he had been raised, with other Hounds present but always pitted against each other, he would never know what it felt like to her to lose her family - but it wasn't as if he had never felt loss. He had only learned to take the pain that was given him without outward sign or complaint. He knew he couldn't expect the same from someone that knew what it was like to be free. Charlotte would need time to grieve.
 
Charlotte felt ashamed herself as she listened to Julius speak. Sure he made it sound like her keeping things from him was no big deal but she felt bad about it because it was what she had been taught to do. More specifically she had deceived him into believing that she was weaker than what she was. For her own survival she had been taught by her mother to always appear weak and defenseless. She had to appear as if she didn't know what she was doing and as clumsy. Her hope was that she would be deemed useless to Mr. Sekiro and that she could escape. No one would bother to chase after someone useless but unfortunately she lost control of her telekinesis in her sleep. Now there was no way for her to fool Mr. Sekiro into believing she was useless anymore.

"Yeah, I know. I was taught by my mother not to share certain things about myself with anyone. Since Mr. Sekiro knows, I don't really have a choice but to reveal my cards now."She said still fidgeting with her hands.

As she listened to Julius admit to keeping some things from her himself she wasn't exactly surprised but what caught her off guard was what he said. Her eyes widened in shock and a look of confusion took over her facial expression.

"What? I can't believe that they were secretly drugging me the whole time."She said before letting out a disgusted sigh.

She was upset at herself for taking the medication willingly without even stopping to question if it actually was what they claimed it was. She shouldn't have been so trusting especially when she knew how corrupt they were.

"It likely caused my anxiety and is the reason I couldn't have any dreams. I say this because when I stopped taking it my anxiety attacks went away and I had a dream. Well...a nightmare."She said sounding a bit upset.

Charlotte sighed before deciding that it didn't matter anymore. She wasn't going to be taking the medication anymore because she never actually had anxiety. After finishing their conversation she and Julius decided that it would be a good idea to rest for awhile and then her training would start. Two weeks had passed and Julius had called Ti to tell him where to meet them. It had been decided that they would met at a hotel in a safe location to work on training Charlotte at a nearby camping site. Charlotte was sitting on a log and while they waited for Ti to arrive. Suddenly three small metal orbs floated out of the bushes and started to revolve around Charlotte as she watched confused.

"Huh? Oh...hi Ti! You sure took your good time getting here."She said with a smile.

Finally Ti stepped out into the open and the three orbs floated back over to him as he smiled at Charlotte. He grabbed them and put them into his pocket.

"Sorry I kept you waiting. I had to finish a mission. I hope I didn't cause you die of boredom. So what's the plan?"He said jokingly.
 
Training Charlotte was anything but easy. Julius and Mabel both had been taught to master their bodies and many fighting styles, but they had been taught almost since birth and with methods neither would apply to another being. Charlotte couldn't learn the way they had, pushed to the brink and past no matter how much it hurt. She required a softer touch, and just how soft came as a surprise to them both.

Harris was sure to scold them the first time they pushed her a little too hard despite trying not to, and from there they had both reassessed. Julius was far more careful in figuring out which movements and exercises would fit someone of her size and ability, and begrudgingly allowed plenty of breaks. Mabel, in turn, took over when Charlotte grew too tired of sore to continue, coaching her on how to perfect her aim with the use of a training bow - her own compound bow required more strength than the younger woman had, for now.

When it came time to finally contact Ti, Julius was reluctant. To be honest, he kind of hated the guy, for more reasons than just bruised pride, but their allies were limited. He and Mabel didn't have much experience with telekinesis between the two of them, other than knowing what it felt like to be tossed around by similar abilities. How they felt to be the using them was an entirely different story, and Ti was the closest thing they had.

Julius was on guard the moment motion came towards them, then only rolled his eyes and crossed his arms loosely over his chest on noticing what it was. "That was dramatic and unnecessary," he said dryly, more annoyance than actual scolding. "We might be outside but it's not as if no one ever walks by here." There were hiking trails nearby; being away from them and somewhat isolated didn't mean everything was private.

"The plan is to help Charlotte with her control," he said, gesturing idly over at where she sat. "Your gifts aren't the same, but similar enough to help bridge the gap. If she can be precise with her telekinesis, she'll be in much less danger." They were hiding for now, on private, off grid land where Harris lived and no one else came, but coming back out to civilization was a risk and Julius wasn't at all ready to reveal Mabel's existence or location to anyone else, a fact he had made abundantly clear to Charlotte already. They could only hide for so long before they were found.
 
Charlotte smiled and stood up from the log that she had been sitting on clearly happy to see Ti again. The last time she had seen him in person was when they were at the dinner. Although she had been conversing with him in her dreams almost every night. Although now he seemed as if he had became more a little more buffed or maybe it was because he was wearing more form fitting clothes. Ti looks over at Julius and flashes him the same smug smile he gave him at the dinner because he knew had managed to annoy him again.

"Well...how else was I supposed to make an impressive arrival? Motorcycle riding is prohibited in this wooded area. Also in this day and age there's a lot of technology around and I'm pretty tech savvy, so I don't see where the problem is."He says nonchalantly and shrugs.

Ti was more interested in showing off Infront of Charlotte so he wasn't to concerned about Julius getting annoyed by his antics. As far as people possibly seeing his little stunt he could easily claim that he was using a type of flying drone and most would believe him.

"Oh I see. I'm more than glad to help but she's not in as much danger as you think. Not based on what I read about her."He says shrugging his shoulders.

"Although I'm sure that she'll get the hang of her telekinesis in no time. Especially with me as her teacher."He says proudly then looks at Charlotte and winks.

Charlotte had been training as hard as she could but she was still holding back. Her own fear of how dangerous her abilities could really be where her own stumbling block. Although so much time had passed she still couldn't stop thinking about how she was about to destroy her room at the compound so easily. All she could think about was what would happen if she used her telekinesis at full strength but ended up losing control. Could Ti actually help her gain full control? She smiled and blushed a little because she hadn't expected for him to flirt with her infront of Julius. Ti noticed her reaction to his wink and gave her a flirty smile in response. He knew that Julius could see their little interaction but he didn't care what he thought. Charlotte cleared her throat a little and decided to ask a question.

"So...um...was your mission dangerous?"She shyly asks.

Ti looks at Charlotte a little surprised by her question at first. Of course his mission had been really dangerous. He and his team had even had to kill a whole group of people but it wasn't like he was going to tell her that. He couldn't tell her without her being ready to hear it. So instead he had decided to tell her a pleasant lie as he smiled at her. He thought that it was cute that she was actually concerned about his safety enough to ask. He casually strolled over to her and stopped three feet infront of her.

"No, not really. I mean I'm used to it so it wasn't all that dangerous. I've had lots of training. Although...I promise I'll be more careful because I don't want you worrying."He says smiling.

"I also appreciate you showing concern for my safety. It makes me happy to know that you care so much."He says softly then he reaches out his gloved right hand to gently touch Charlotte's left cheek.

Charlotte smiled at Ti's words but her eyes slightly widened in surprise when he reaches out toward her. Would he really show that kind of affectionate behavior in reality and in front of Julius at that? She couldn't help but feel embarrassed about it. Ti on the other hand was curious to see if Charlotte would stop him or if she would allow it like she had in their dream conversations. On the chance that he might get to touch her face he had already put grey latex gloves on so he wouldn't trigger her psychometry. To make things more interesting he also decided to lean toward her as if he was going to kiss her. Although he knew he couldn't actually kiss her without risking her seeing something and he had no way of controlling what she could see.
 
Julius was seconds from slapping his own forehead, and only a lifetime of learning to control himself stopped him from doing so. He was going to develop a twitch. Everything about Ti and the blasé way he meandered through things rubbed Julius the wrong way - and the fact that he was still highly capable made it all even worse. It just meant Julius had to acknowledge that they needed Ti's help as much as he needed theirs, and having to rely on someone else's help never sat well with him.

"Would it kill you to be serious for a few minutes at a time?" He prodded dryly, an eyebrow raised at the boldness Ti displayed while speaking to Charlotte in front of him. He couldn't imagine she was naive enough not to know Ti was flirting, but wouldn't have been surprised to learn she had no idea how to respond. In their time together, Julius had experienced her hesitation to make any sort of confrontation repeatedly.

Rolling his eyes, he stepped up next to them and snapped his fingers a few times an inch or two from Ti's face to warn him away as he leaned closer. "Focus, Cassanova, focus. We're here to teach her how to survive, not cozy up next to a campfire. Keep your hands to yourself."

Shaking his head, he gave Ti a little shooing motion and nudged Charlotte's shoulder. "You too, Judas. You're here to learn. Let's begin."

When he had their attention, he turned and moved away from them. "Ti can coach you on moving objects deliberately rather than just obliterating them in a panic, so let's have a replay of your dramatic entrance, shall we? Charlotte, I want you to try and knock his metal out of the air." Later, they would work on her hesitation about hurting people. That hurdle could come after she'd demonstrated more precision.
 
As soon as Julius approached and started snapping his fingers only inches from Ti's face the male glanced over at him slightly annoyed. He paused then took a few steps back away from Charlotte and folded his arms.

"Relax, there's no harm in having a little fun. Also the first part of training her is teaching her how to regain her composer, after being distracted or caught off guard."He says in a more serious tone of voice.

Charlotte looks over at Julius surprised for a second before lowering her gaze to hide her embarrassment.

"Sorry, it won't happen again."She says awkwardly before raising her gaze to watch Ti.

Ti shrugs his shoulders then turns and walks about twenty feet away before stopping. He turned around to face Charlotte and Julius before smiling. Then he puts both hands into his pockets and pulls out six silver dollar sized orbs. He held three in each hand but he only opened his right hand so three orbs could be seen by Charlotte and Julius. Then he focuses on the orbs to make them float out of his hand and start slowly spinning above his hand in a circle.

"That was me distracting her in a way that I was sure would cause her to lose her composer. Now she needs to learn how to quickly regain it and focus." He calmly says as the orbs start to pick up speed as they spin.

Charlotte was completely confused because she was pretty sure that Ti had actually been flirting with her a few moments ago. Was he actually distracting her the entire time? Just the thought made her feel embarrassed for falling for it so easily. He did have a point she had gotten distracted and she needed to focus. Like Julius had said she was there to learn. Charlotte quietly watched Ti as she wondered what she was supposed to do. Julius had said that Ti would help her move objects deliberately and for her to try to knock his metal out of the air, so was she supposed to start now?

"Like he said, try your best to knock my orbs out of the air. Although...to make things more interesting, I want you to focus on defending yourself at the same time. So do your best to think on your feet okay?"He says and slyly winks at Charlotte.

Charlotte's eyes widened out of surprise and confusion. Had Ti really just told her to defend herself? She had no idea what he was planning but she really hoped that he was just trying to scare her for fun. Charlotte was about to ask what the red haired male meant but he spoke again before she could.

"Let's go!"He says with a sly grin.

Then one of the orbs takes off like a rocket toward Charlotte. The moment she sees it she panics and holds out her hands infront of her. Using her telekinesis she puts up a small barrier infront of her but shuts her eyes out of fear. The orb only slows down and floats around behind Charlotte before lightly tapping her on the back.

"And you're dead. That would've worked on a normal opponent with a gun but not on someone like me. You get a B for effort."He says with a soft sigh.

Charlotte opens her eyes and watches as Ti recalls the orb to his hand and it rejoins the other two orbs. They all start to spin fast again but slow enough to be visible to the human eye.

"Nomatter how scared you are you need to create a complete barrier around yourself. Also don't just protect yourself, deflect the attack and keep your eyes open. Now let's try again."He says seriously.

Charlotte slightly nods and takes a deep breath to prepare herself. Then she pretends that she's facing a real enemy and is in real danger. She watches the orbs spinning above Ti's hand closely knowing that he won't tell her when he's going to launch any of them. This time she's determined to do better. Without a single warning Ti launches one of the orbs at Charlotte again. She quickly puts up a barrier around herself and as soon as it hits the barrier she makes it push it back. She only uses enough force to cause the orb to fly backwards and bounce on the ground a few times before stopping. She smiles and let's her barrier down.

"I did it! I actually did it!"She says excited.

Although her celebration was cut short when Ti launches another orb at her causing her to have to quickly put her barrier back up again to deflect it. This time she barely had time to put her barrier up and was close to getting hit by the orb although she still managed to deflect it. She looked at Ti surprised by his actions.

"The enemy would've taken advantage of you letting your guard down. Mistakes like that can cost you. Keep your guard up and stop holding back."He says calmly.

Charlotte nodded as she remembered that Ti knew that she had a habit of holding back what she could actually do. He was right it was time for her show what she could actually do. She takes a deep breath and slowly let's out then her gaze changed into an entirely different gaze. She was completely serious, focused and unafraid. Ti slightly smirked as he recalled the two orbs to his right hand.

"That's more like it. Finally we can actually train now. Good. Show me what you've got!"He says with more excitement in his eyes.

This time he opened his left hand to reveal the other three orbs. He was going to come at her with more force this time. Charlotte watched with unwavering eyes as Ti launched all six orbs at her all at once and this time they were moving much faster. She put her barrier up without even lifting a hand and before the orbs could make impact with her barrier she expanded her barrier to push them back. She had used more than enough force to launch them back at Ti. While grinning Ti regained control of the orbs by stopping them in mid air. It was as he figured she really had been holding back which only meant that she had received training from none other than her mother.

"Very good! Now let's see how you handle this!"He says excited as he grins.

Once again Ti launched the orbs but this time he had a different target in mind and directed them toward Julius. Charlotte silently watched and again without moving a finger she put up a barrier around Julius. Then the orbs suddenly changed direction and flew toward Charlotte forcing her to use her telekinesis to stop them in mid air. Shortly after she threw them toward Ti who tried to stop them only to find that Charlotte was still controlling them. The control that she had over them was to strong for him to regain control so he had no choice but to leap out of the way. After he did he looked Infront of him to see that the orbs had stopped in mid air then Charlotte dropped them onto the ground. Ti looked at the orbs then looked at Charlotte who was confidently smiling now.

"Nice try but if this was real...you'd be dead."She says triumphantly.

Then Charlotte folds her arms confidently as she gazes at Ti. He couldn't believe what just happened. Not only had she stopped his attack but she completely stopped him from regaining control of the orbs. It had been a long time since he had felt so helpless. She was definitely that man's daughter because even the way she acted reminded Ti of him. He wasn't sure if he should feel proud of her or afraid. She definitely was no bunny rabbit but her files only listed N/A for her animal form, which Ti guessing as to what might be. Ti smiled and stood up dusting off his clothes as he tried to hide his now wounded ego.

"Yeah you totally got me. Now that I know you can do something like that...I'm not really sure what to teach you. My best guess is...she was holding back this entire time. Maybe she just needed help with cutting loose or finding her focus. So...now what?"He says then nervously laughs.
 
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