The Atlantic discussion

Layers and layers of soil cave in the small city of Atlantic.
Atlantic is a large, cold cave where a surviving city sunk into hundreds of years ago, magically of course. It serves as refuge and home for many supernaturals, and rarely, for humans as well. It is very well protected. A series of small tunnels lead to the surface of the earth. Most of these tunnels are chained up and blocked, so the young ones do not run off and get themselves killed.
Outside, over Atlantic, the Seekers roam, looking for victims to take or slaughter right then and there just to see blood spill.
Therefor, it is prohibited for citizens below the age of eighteen to climb up the tunnels and to the land above, which the Atlantics call 'yonder'.

Shops line the small city, homes built into the cave's walls and sides. Buildings where the young ones learn. Hidden areas where the strong train to defend. Grounds where the determined learn how to use their difference as an advantage.

Micah stumbled out of a dark tunnel into the side of the cave, lit dimly with torches. He waited patiently for Cyan, but instead of smiling when seeing her stumble out, he found himself face down on the wet ground, someone falling on him.
He groaned something that sounded like dizzy Gibberish.

(( Lolololo! X) ))

Cyan expected to fall hard on the ground. Instead of falling on the hard ground, she fell on something rather squishy. She couldn't see a thing without her glasses, but she had a bad feeling about what it...or who it might've been. She got up, feeling like she jumped into the Grand Canyon instead of tripping on a root. Despite how much her bones and muscles ached, she managed to stand up and dig her glasses out of the bottomless pit she called a backpack.
When she put them on, she silently cursed under her breath as she realized what she'd fallen on.
"I'm really sorry! I just tripped, I didn't mean to knock you over..." She said, her voice a bit groggy.
She offered Micah her hand knowing that he wouldn't take it. At least he would know that she was concerned...

((Sorry, my sister walked in and started talking to me... >.<''
That's why I took so long...))

(( What did she say...? *creepy smile* ))

"It's fine..." Micah rolled over on his back, seeing stars.
He sat up, but gently swatted her hand away.
He shook his head, using the wall to help him stand.

((Something too explicit to write, lol.... I bet you can guess what it was... XP ))

Cyan gave him an apologetic smile. She wanted to help him stand up. But she knew that wasn't going to happen.

((Got to go, parents are being annoying... >.<'' ))

(( No, no I cannot... ))

Micah stood straight once more.
He blinked a few more times.
He nodded to the exit of the tunnel, which was about fifty feet away.
"Go an ahead. Straight" he hung back to give her the distance.

(( Okay... ))

((Back now... finally))

Cyan started walking. She occasionally looked behind her, to make sure that Micah hadn't gone off in a different direction.

It was probably best if she stayed in front, she thought. She didn't need to fall on him any more. Not only because of the pain, because of the embarrassment. He was not half bad-looking. Being a klutz in front of a cute guy was a recipe for complete and absolute embarrassment.

Micah reached to pull over his hood and hide his face.
But Cyan still had his coat. He smiled.
He didn't mind. So what. He could use some... time out of that hood.
He ran a hand through his bleach blonde hair, taking a deep breath.
Once they reached the exit, Micah moved slowly to the side, away from her.
He nodded towards the far wall of the cave, which was covered in holes, leading to homes and tunnels.
"I'll take you home with me... There's an extra bed. My father wont be home. My sister's at skool right now. She shouldn't mind. Come... I'll cook you some dinner" he gave her his shy smile.
He looked up at the wall. He started walking towards it.

Cyan's eyes widened as a large smile swept across her face.
"Dinner sounds great right now!" She said, trying not to salivate on herself. She followed Micah to his home.

Once along the cave wall's stairs, he walked into his home.
He felt a bit nostalgic at the moment, but he didn't let it show.
He offered Cyan a seat, then turned to the small kitchen.
He didn't know what she would like, so he decided on cooking everything they had, him starving as well.

((Micah's in luck, she practically eats anything. X) ))

Cyan sat down in the chair that Micah offered her. She looked around.
His home was very cozy and comfortable. And very...well, home-y. It was fairly warm inside. She was happy for once in a long time.
She couldn't wait to see what he was cooking.

While she waited, she thought about his family. His little sister. She wondered what Micah's dad would say when he came home and saw some random, starved, smelly girl in his kitchen. She wondered how Micah would explain her presence...
Hey, dad, I found this girl. She's going to live here from now on.
She tried not to think about it.

(( *laughs* Ryou, you are hilarious!
Sei cosi divertente! ))

Micah looked down at his gloved hands.
He hesitated, but he slipped off the black gloves and set them on the stone counter.
His hands were pale, large and strong. Was it because of all the heavy lifting he did, bringing in weird stuff for his cave? Maybe that was why his arms weren't skimpy at all too. He sighed.
He needed his hands to cook, not gloved obviously.

...
When Micah was done, he brought in many plates of almost every kind of food. And by every kind of food, it was mostly American stuff. And yes, fast food apparently still existed.
He set down the plates one by one. Hamburgers, hot dogs, roast beef, french fries (which technically are not French) milkshakes, everything in the menu of some random dinner (which, these days, were extinct, legends).
Micah blushed slightly.
"I... I hope you like greasy stuff..." he mumbled, head down, a small smile on his lips.

(( ^_^ Heavy lifting, ooh-la-la. XD ))

Cyan stared at the greasy American food like it was a bunch giant diamonds. A large grin crept over her face.
"I love greasy stuff..!" She said seconds before she attacked a hamburger. As she tore into it with sadistic bliss, she tried to remember the last time she had a hamburger. She had no such luck.
After she violently devoured the innocent hamburger, she decided to swallow down some fries. After the fries, it would be some roast beef. And after the roast beef, a milkshake. She had it all planned out in her head. She ate like a starving dog, inhaling everything before the other dogs got a chance to take her food away from her.

(( Oh, you!
*shakes fist/ laughs* ))

Micah watched her. He smiled slightly.
He didn't know why, but he liked how she ate.
Any other girl would be placing a napkin on her lap and cutting a hamburger into pieces with a knife and fork.
Guys pictured this like a sin to fast-food.
But Cyan was basically all over the food.
He laughed quietly. He definitely enjoyed cooking for her more than his father (who was never at home), or his sister (who hated him for being so distant).
His hand stretched out tentatively to pick up a hamburger for himself. He was afraid Cyan might attack though.

(( *laughs harder* XD ))

Cyan stopped for a few seconds to breathe. She noticed Micah reaching for a hamburger and pushed the plate full of them closer to him. Then she resumed her violent and rushed eating. Then she stopped to breathe again.
"This stuff is delicious! You're not a bad cook, you know." She said, smiling at him appreciatively. Then she resumed her eating cycle when she realized that she had not yet devoured some sad-looking hot dogs.

(( *pulls out bow and arrow/ drops it a moment later in laughter*
XP ))

Micah looked down at his burger.
He shifted from foot to foot.
"Well... I... thank you" he said bashfully, his cheeks pink.
He took a bite of his hamburger. She was right: it was good. He quickly finished it and took another.
Around the third one, he had to sit down and lean against the table to eat more.
He felt better, feeding himself, feeding his new friend, not killing anything (except that little worm he stepped on early in the morning...), not so afraid anymore.

After eating a few more hamburgers, Cyan realized that the plate that was once full of tasty little morsels was now empty. She whined. But that was before she realized how full she was. It had been a long time since she was as full like this. Cyan leaned back in her chair as her eyes tempted to roll back in her head. She sighed in happiness as sleep started to overcome her slowly. She looked at Micah and smiled sleepily.
"Thank you for the food." She said.
She stared at the ceiling, feeling contempt about her full belly.

"Your welcome" Micah's voice was so quiet and soft, it was hard to hear.
He stood slowly. He walked to a corner, where there were shelves built into the rock wall. He pulled some blankets, since it was only full of these and some random notebooks.
He walked into the smallest, darkest room and set down the blankets carefully.
He poked his head out.
"You can have my room" he said bashfully.
"It's a bit... warmer than the rest of the cave..."

((Kharo! =D ))

Cyan stared into his eyes with a bit of guilt.
"You sure?" She asked with a hint of concern in her voice.
She didn't want to take his bed from him.... If anything, she should sleep in the guest bedroom.
"You did say that you had an extra bed... Maybe I should sleep there?" She carefully suggested as she stood up groggily.

(( Sorry! I had to go!
I'm on now... It's 11:02... I know you're asleep. Sorreh! ))

Micah gave her a melancholy smile.
"The spare room is... was actually my room" he explained, shifting from foot to foot, his head low.
His eyes were fixed on the stone floor, both of his hands behind his back (gloved again).

(( S'okay... ))
Cyan played with her fingers nervously.
"But where are you going to sleep..?" she said, not meeting his eyes as she trudged over to the wall that Micah's bedroom seemed to be behind. She leaned against it.

Micah was quiet for a moment.
"I have... I have a place to stay down below. It's usually where I sleep these days. When... when it's gotten worse..." he didn't explain more than that.
He was just so embarrassed, for no apparent reason.
Was that because of what he was? A plague? A murderer? A disease?

(( I'm feeling kind of brain dead right now... -3- So my posts will probably suck... ))

"Oh..." Cyan said, instantly regretting asking. Micah always seemed so pained to answer when it came to his anomaly. She stared at the ground for a few.

((I didn't know what else to put... :I ))

(( NEVEH! ))

Micah looked out the small cave.
"Well... I best be heading off now" he said, sounding sad and pained.
He turned back to face Cyan, smiling his tiny, shy smile again.
"It was a pleasure meeting you."
Suddenly he took a step forward, and quickly reached for her hand, and shook it (since his hand was gloved again), then stepped away. Since it was quick and sudden, he didn't think it would affect her. He bowed his head.
"Good night" he said kindly.

(( Ryou! It's: I didn't know what else to write! Not put! *grammar Nazi moment* ))

(( See? Brain dead. -3- It's pitiful. [Sorry, I had to walk
le doggies...] ))

Cyan smiled. Then she realized that she had almost forgotten something.
"Wait!" She called out, trying not to sound too obnoxious.
She quickly stepped forward, got on her toes, and planted a quick kiss on Micah's cheek. She then took a quick step back. She felt dizzy, and her lips felt cracked to the core. But she managed not to let it show. What she didn't manage to hide was her rosy cheeks.
"Thank you for everything... For the food, for the bed, for being so kind and for taking me under your wing without thinking twice. You are a really nice boy, and I promise that I will try my absolute best to help you control your powerful ability, starting tomorrow. So, again...thank you." Cyan said gratefully.
"Well, I should probably be getting to bed now..." She said, smiling one last time before she disappeared into Micah's bedroom.

(( *silence* ))

Micah stood, completely still.
Slowly, his hand slid the glove off the other one. He dropped it onto the floor.
His eyes remained on the spot where Cyan had stood just a moment ago. His hand slowly floated up to the spot he had felt Cyan's lips touch on his cheek.
He knew he must be red, holding actual color, because his hand felt warm, for the first time ever.
That was an alien thing for him. No one had ever done this before. No one dared to move close, and the ones who did, Micah pushed them away.
He slowly turned on his heel, after picking up his glove, and disappeared out of the cave that was once his home.

((...What?! O_O It was friendly! *freaks out silently* ))

When Cyan heard Micah's footsteps slowly fade into silence, she let herself fall on the bed. She sighed in happiness at the feel of the soft bed, as it had been months since she felt the soft embrace of a mattress. She kicked her boots off.
"Damn, what a day..." She said to herself as she sat up and began to unravel her gween scarf off of her neck. Her cheeks still felt warm. She stood up to close the door and began taking her jeans off to get ready for bed. She trotted over to the bed and slid into the soft sheets. She smiled to herself at the feel of the soft pillow behind her head. It sure beat sleeping in the dirt by a thousand times.

(( NO! The silence meant: *claps quickly* Ryou! You are so awesome! Yes!
That is what that silence meant! ))

Micah hurried to his tiny, hidden cave. He wasn't wearing his jacket, of course. It was left behind.
He was running, because his medication was kept in there, among his precious possessions. And if he didn't get there in time... he didn't want to think about it.
He stumbled into his cave, his hand cupped over his chest.
He felt his stomach twisting. His vision seemed to blur.
Then he felt his heart was burning and thumping shards of pain through his veins instead of blood. He fell to his knees. He managed to grab the tiny vial in his hand, just as he collapsed.
He drained out the last five drops of it.
Then he passed out, exhausted, in pain, and scared.
His anomaly had nothing to do with this though. Or so Micah thought. He didn't know the cause. He just knew this black substance helped the pain subside, and helped him live another day.
Every month, he would have one of these attacks.
He didn't know when they would start, or why they were there in the first place.
The only thing he knows, is one thing: without that vial containing his medication, he would die.
And that was the last of it. One month to live, maybe...

(( NO COMMENT FROM YOU, OKAY? It's a plot idea! ))

(( Okay then... I'm already starting to feel that Cyan is going to be forever alone. ^_^' And I keep forgetting about his dumb jacket... -3-' And her stuff. Lets just pretend that she threw her junk in the corner of Micah's room, okay..? And... put the coat somewhere... X) *laughs nervously* ))

Cyan closed her eyes in complete bliss. She was happy, well-fed, safe and comfortable. The soft mattress underneath her and the warm covers wrapped around her made her aches almost completely dissipate. She didn't have time to think about her day, as she always did before falling asleep, for the sleep weighing her eyelids down was too much to ignore.

((Wow, Micah just passed out in pain on the floor while Cyan is sleeping like a princess in what's supposed to be Micah's room... Wow, Cyan. Life's hard, isn't it? ))

(( *laughs* Okay then!
Random mace throwing!
XD ))

Micah's forehead was beaded with sweat.
His breathing was slow, almost peaceful.
His heart beat just fine now.
No dreams, no pain.
The only thing seeming unnatural in him at the moment, was his cheeks, which still held that tiny blush in them.
(( Oh, yes. Very hard. *nods* ))

(( *laughs* Can we skip to morning? o3o 'Cause I don't feel like giving her dreams... ))

Although sleeping, Cyan could feel her body rejuvenating itself. She felt at peace. She could feel herself slowly healing. She felt happy and safe, feelings that she hadn't felt for a while.

(( So...brain dead... ))

(( Sure! ))


~ Morning ~

Micah sat bolt upright, breathing fast.
He looked around him, suddenly forgetting where he was, or why... Then he remembered. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked down at his hands, scratched and dirty from the night before's entrance to his little cave.
He wanted to crawl up in a ball and die. But he knew someone must be waiting for him. And that someone had offered something he would never forget the night before. And he wanted to know, how she could help him do this. To control the poison flooding his body.

(( I has nautilus... :3 Wheee ))

Cyan slowly opened her eyes. She looked around. She was still in Micah's bedroom. She smiled sleepily.
At least yesterday wasn't a dream, because it seemed to good to be true... she thought to herself.
Sleep and laziness tried to overtake her, trying to make her fall back asleep. But she reminded herself that she had a promise to fulfill. A promise she would not break. She had to repay Micah for helping her so much without him being obligated to.
She sat up. She wasn't as sore as the previous day, which was good. And she had more energy today, as well. She was going to need it for spells.

((Ew, she didn't take a bath... She's durh-tee... O-o ))

(( Oh, realleh? What's its name? ))

Micah stood, slowly.
He looked down at his boots.
Okay Micah... one foot in front of the other... slowly... he thought.
Every morning after a poison attack, walking was a bit hard and dizzying when just woken up.
He gripped a staff he had found buried behind the Skool, which he used to this sort of thing.
This was one of his most prized possessions.

(( So? Neither did the albino boy. ))

((The nautilus is for you... :3 ))

Cyan sat at the edge of the bed and stood. She was glad that Micah didn't have any mirrors in his room. She didn't need to start the day off badly by seeing the terrorizing reflection of her face staring right back at her. She opened her backpack and dug out some jeans that were slightly less filthy than the ones from yesterday and began to put them on. She then slipped on her boots and pulled a brush out of her backpack to brush through the blue rat's nest on top of her head.

((I know, but I thought of something disturbing... She doesn't have any clean underwear... O_o ))

(( OH! Grazie mille!
:D ))

Micah was standing by the door, head down, holding his staff to keep him steady.
He wasn't really looking. He was just waiting for Cyan to notice him. Oh yes, he could be as quiet as silence when he needed to.
His dark clothes made him blend into the still dark cave very well. The only light in there came from lanterns and candles.
Only his hair was what made him so... obvious.

(( RYOU! Stop it! *wrinkles nose* Nasteh girl... ))

(( You're welcome... :3 ))

Cyan dug out her old witchcraft book out of her backpack and attempted at walking with it. That resulted as a difficult task, with the book being so thick and heavy. Not to mention the smell of old, musty book that filled her lungs. As she took a few steps towards the doorway, she had not noticed Micah standing there and was startled by the sudden realization of his presence, causing our derpy little Cyan to drop the stupid book on her foot. Her eyes bulged, she threw her head down and leaned against the wall for support as the pain emanating from her toes temporarily overtook her.

(( Neither does Micah! I'm sorry, I just had to notice... >.<'
Lul, Cyan, you dipshizz. XP ))

Micah moved quickly. He took the book in one hand, while the other kept him from falling as it held on to the staff.
"Oh goodness... I'm so sorry!" his cheeks turned a light shade of red.
"I... I didn't mean to startle you..." he looked down at the book.
"Here's your... book... thing..." he held it out.

(( Oh boy... ))

(( Lelelelele! dB ))

Cyan did nothing but stare down at the floor and give him a "thumbs up". That's about all she could do for the moment.
"It's okay..." She managed to say, perhaps sounding a bit like Gollum.
Once she was done being dramatic, she took the book from Micah's hand in her arms and managed to stand on both feet. She looked up and smiled at Micah, inhaling sharply as she got used to using her foot again.

((Dude, that book is huge... like, the width of two Harry Potter books... O_O ))

(( Eh? ))

Micah felt so guilty.
"Listen, I have some ice back there in the uh... cooler. I'll... I'll go get you some" he turned around and walked away, back to the kitchen.
His skin being so cold, he had no problem handling cold object. No problem with ice, or ice water, or anything of that sort.

(( So? Micah is Micah, dude. You know, that thing you made fun of last time? *glares* ))

(( No, no I don't know. What did I make fun of, exactly? o_o I don't remember saying anything bad about Micah... ))

Cyan waddled out into the kitchen with the musty book in her arms.
"No, really, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me..." She said, sitting down in front of the table and placing the book on it.
She just then noticed Micah's staff.
"What's with the cane?" She asked, nodding towards it.

(( My point is that he must be strong being able to hold that book in just one hand. I don't understand why you're getting defensive...))
[I'm starting to suck, I think my brain cells have depleted... I'll probably go soon... =( ]

(( Got to go, Kharo... ))

(( You didn't say anything bad, child. Remember the 'heavy lifting' comment?
XD ))

Micah looked down at his staff.
"Oh... uh... it's part of my collection... down in my own cave..." he said quietly.
He felt a tiny bit nervous, for some reason. He always got nervous when people questioned him about random objects, even though they didn't meant anything bad by it.

(( Kharo is not getting defensive girl! I am only joking! What is up with thee? *raises eyebrow* ))

((Oh, that one... XP ))

"Okay...then." Cyan said, running her fingers down the side of her witchcraft book.

((Derp, I'm sucking so hard... I must go now, child. My brain is tired of coming up with these posts... Love you! ))

(( ^-^ ))

Micah looked up at her, dropping the ice.
"I should fix you up with a nice big breakfast, no? What would you like?" he put on that friendly smile of his back.
He gripped his staff a bit tighter.

(( Fine... Goodnight! ))

((Good morning, love. ^_^ ))

A wide grin spread across Cyan's face as she remembered her last meal prepared by him. It had been incredibly delicious.
"Anything that you cook is fine with me!" She said, her mouth already watering.

(( Mornin' sweetheart!
XD ))

Micah grinned slightly at her enthusiasm. He turned to the fridge. He thought for a moment.
He hadn't made waffles for a long time. Homemade were the best, by far.
"Um... if you don't mind my asking... why did you leave home?" he asked her, not trying to be nosy, just curious, while he poured the mix into the waffle iron he had found about a year ago in a sale somewhere in Atlantic.

(( Waffles! XD ))

Cyan's smile faded away. She looked down at her humongous book.
"Well...my parents were killed...or at least, I think so... Because one day, they went up to the surface, I don't know why, and they never came back. I waited for a week and a half. They never showed up. So I decided I would go up and look for them. I never really found them. I couldn't go back home, because I had no one, so my only option was to wander about on the surface, hunting, hiding from seekers, wandering about aimlessly, training... This was about a year ago...
Recently all of the good hunting spots are overflowing with seekers, so I'm forced to camp out where there's no sign of animals to hunt..." she said, her voice hollow as she played with her fingers.

((Sorry, late post... :I My notifications are being weird...))

(( ^-^ ))

Micah was quiet for a long time.
But he spoke, his voice hollow.
"I lost my mother to the seekers... I never really knew her all that much. And... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." he looked down at the table, his eyes closed.
He knew Cyan had it worse than he did. They were both isolated. But... what about now? Micah didn't feel so alone with Cyan there. He felt like there was hope. True hope.

(( Mine are too. They always are. ))

Cyan smiled slightly.
"It's alright." She said, "You would have needed to know sooner or later. Now how about those waffles?"
She was tempted to reach for his hand, but decided against it.

((...Derpy post...))