Time For Rest (JP)

"They won't shoot, they need me alive. I just need them to see you, chase you for a while, and then you can dissappear into a crowd somewhere. If there isn't already a crowd, we'll make one." She said, a little more hope in her tone now - he hadn't declined just yet.

Finlay let her clarification sink in. He ran his hand through his hair while his imagination projected what it might be like. “Umm, but I’ve noticed that while I may change, my clothes don’t. Wouldn’t that just be a dead giveaway? And I feel like we are assuming there is going to be a group of people to hide in. Won’t the group freak out the moment someone changes right in front of them?”

"We can bring along some clothes." Kyra added and shrugged. "Those are details that can easily be dealt with by a bathroom visit or a walk into an alleyway." She shifted her hands to her pockets and pulled out a pack of gum she'd gotten a few days ago. "Besides, those guys are kind of slow with all the gear they wear." A smirk played on her lips as she thought of the little tricks she used to weigh down people with bones.

Kyra’s smirk didn’t make Finlay feel any more assured of the plan. In fact he felt more like a lamb potentially being led to the slaughter with the lack of details. The uncertainties of what could actually happen were making him anxious.

“Is this going to help others, if we do this?” He asked, his heart in the right place even if his head wasn’t.

He stuttered slightly, not sure what he really wanted to say. “I mean, is there no other way?”

Lydia pondered her response for a few seconds."Look, EAST knows that we're harboring a shape shifter now, but they don't expect me to bring you anywhere. They know you're young and inexperienced. Kyra's right, if you ran into an alley way for a quick change, or even a public bathroom, it'd catch them off guard. I'm sure there are other ways, but all the other ways seem to lead to a violent end - we're trying to avoid that. In doing this, we take the attention off of our Safe Haven long enough to give Johnathan, Khunara, and Thia time to move everyone somewhere else. Somewhere safer." She said, placing a comforting on Finlays arm. "I know this is new, and scary, but we won't let anything happen to you."

"Like I said, I'll keep them from getting you." Kyra reiterated, noticing how hesitant this kid was. Recalling what Lydia had told her earlier reminded her that this boy had grown up basically soft. He wasn't aware of the dangers that mutants were constantly in now. Or regular people, honestly. She felt some sympathy, sure, but not enough to reassure him in a friendly way that Lydia did. To her, this was another member of the Underground that needed to learn from pure experience. "Everyone here helps out, kid. If you don't want to do this, once you're all better, you can help out down here, but we're asking you for help with this because of your unique abilities. As Lydia put it, we know it's scary, but we all work together and we won't let you get hurt."

The moment Lydia’s hand touched his arm he had this funny feeling like he could charge hell with a water pistol. It was accompanied with a bashful afterglow. The sensation caught him be surprise and despite how tired he currently felt, there was a sudden surge of energy.

His focus was broken by Kyra’s more assertive and matter of fact statements.

“Ok, I’ll help.” He affirmed, though it seemed to lack the confidence these two had.

Lydia smiled and stood up. "Good. Thank you." She said, keeping eye contact. "Get some rest for the night, and we'll come get you in the morning." She walked towards Kyra, shooting her a glance that said fuck yes

Kyra followed Lydia out the door, giving Finlay a quick finger wave. Closing the door behind them as she went, she glanced at her friend and waited until they were out of earshot to speak again. "You think he'll be able to handle this? Kid looks like he might faint in a fight." She admitted.

Lydia chuckled a bit at the image of that. "He'll do alright. We'll desensitize him on the way or something, try and spook him a few times." She said, picturing it in her head. (edited)

Kyra chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Don't give him a heart attack." She hip bumped Lydia playfully and kept walking. "I'm gonna go check on Demitri and go get some rest. Don't stay up all night, brat!" She called back.

Getting back to sleep was easy for Finlay. Less than ten minutes after they left he was out; however, what time he was still awake was filled with mixed emotions about tomorrow.

Lydia flipped her friend off with both hands raised in the air as she smiled sarcastically. She turned and walked away, still smiling to herself. It'd been a while since she was able to reconnect with Kyra - and friendship wasn't her strong suit. She headed towards her room. Upon opening the plain wooden door, she sighed a breath of relief - probably the last bit of relief she'd feel for a while. Her room was dark, with only a candle on the nightstand for lighting. The bed had plain sheets and there was a small dresser in the corner - the whole room was basic, boring even, which was comforting for the teen.