The Trio [Adaryn Monroe Eloise]

[Lux]

What Eloise said made sense, because apparently not all empaths could manipulate emotions like she could. If there were more 'breeds' of dreamwalker, Adaryn would believe her. Maybe that was what Cain was too, and he was just a more powerful type of dreamwalker. But he always seemed so full of confidence and energy every time he came to her. Monroe was always exhausted, getting no real sleep, and he was in her dream every night for the past week. How did he do it?

"Well, there are different types of empaths. Not everybody can do this--" She focused on both Monroe and Eloise and chanted in her head, attempting to calm them. As she felt the confusion and fear slipping away, she opened them. " But you should be..." Adaryn gulped, not sure if she wanted to say it "Dead. But you aren't and there isn't even a scar. You would have at least gotten a scar."

" You did something out of the ordinary, Monroe. That is all I can come up with."

[emilybuj]

Eloise felt slightly calmer as Adaryn demonstrated her power. "Most mind readers have to focus quite hard to read the minds of their subjects," Ella explained. "And I'm the opposite. I have to focus hard to NOT hear all the thoughts of everything around me." She considered this, and considered Monroe's condition too. They were very similar in that respect. Monroe fell into almost every dream if he was not awake. Ella heard every thought if she was not asleep. "I can't explain it but we're all different." she continued. "You should talk to my dad sometime," Ella said. "He could tell you more than I could."

She rubbed her arms a little bit, slightly cold. She was still reeling over Monroe's voice in her head, and the mark on his shoulder. She wasn't sure if she should bring it up. It was probably just a dumb birthmark and I'm overreacting... she told herself, brushing the thought aside.

[Admin Sydnee]

"Out of the ordinary is right," Monroe said, thinking to himself as the girls chatted. What if he had manipulated the dream? Did he have the ability all along? Is that why Cain had tried so hard to tear him down, so he wouldn't even think he was capable of that? "The problem is...if I did manipulate the dream...I have no idea how I did or how to do it again. Apparently I just really didn't want to die." He shrugged, looking over at Eloise who was rubbing her arms.

"You okay, El?" Maybe they should just call it a night. Clean up his blood, take showers and go to sleep...well...okay so Monroe wouldn't be sleeping and honestly he had no idea if either of them would be able to now. He sighed, rubbing his temples before realizing he was probably smearing blood on his forehead. God, if anybody came into the library right now...

[Lux]

Adaryn was shaking from the cold, sore all around, and was having trouble breathing. Her breaths were ragged now, each breath even more painful. But was she going to say anything? No. Monroe just got stabbed and there was blood everywhere and Eloise was, even after Adaryn demonstrated her power, still felt a bit uneasy. There was something going on in this girl's head, and even though she never would wish Ella's power on herself, she wished Ella would at least let them know what was going on.

When she looked at Monroe, it seemed he wasn't even affected by what she had done, and she sighed softly. It didn't take a mind reader to know what was going on in his head at this point. "Monroe," She spoke softly, trying to get his attention. What she was about to do was a bit risky for her, considering what the consequences might be, but she didn't care. Plus, Cain never seemed to come twice, especially if she woke up before he killed her. "Monroe, look at me." Once he did, she put out her hand and placed it a few inches away from his face. "If you want me to, I can take more of the exhaustion away. I mean... Cain never comes twice if I wake up before he kills me, so I'll be okay. I know that you probably don't want to sleep tonight so I can take it for you." Adaryn left her hand inches away, waiting for him to actually answer her with an okay, or a no. "You are my friend and it is the least I can do considering what you just did for me." Wow, didn't she say earlier that she barely knew him? And now she was saying they were friends. It was nice though, saying she had a friend.

Adaryn looked at Eloise and Monroe and gave a small smile. No, not just a friend. She had friends. She had the greatest friends that she could ever ask for. They made the perfect trio, she thought. They were there for her, and Adaryn was sure as hell going to be there for them.

[emilybuj]

Eloise half smiled at Adaryn. She wanted to know what she was thinking, but honestly she wasn't entirely sure. She didn't know how to process all that had happened. But there was something even more strange about Monroe now than she had originally thought. "I'm fine," she promised Monroe.

She thought Adaryn was really selfless for helping Monroe out. "And if we're going to do that let's get you back to our room so you can pass out in your own bed." Maybe after Adaryn was asleep she'd ask Monroe about the mark on his back. Because honestly worrying about it probably wasn't important in the grand scheme of things right now. Monroe had almost died and Adaryn was visibly shaken, yet still willing to take his exhaustion. And Ella needed to shower in the worst possibly way. The smell of iron from the blood was beginning to become too much.

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe nodded at Eloise. "As long as you're alright. I didn't mean to drag you into all of this, but...it's nice to have someone to look out for us." He managed a small smile at her, grateful for her presence and how she had roused them both from their sleep before things got too bad.

He turned to look at Adaryn as she said his name and saw her hand reaching for his face. Without much thought, he grabbed her hand and moved it down, still holding onto it in his own. "I can't have you do that, Ad." He was used to living with the exhaustion and while Adaryn's offer was one of the nicest things anybody had ever wanted to do for him. But she called him her friend. Finally she was allowing it. He smiled warmly, looking up from their hands to her face. "What did I do for you though? I...I almost got killed. I don't think that's very noble." It was the truth wasn't it? But yet he couldn't deny that it would be nice for some of the exhaustion to seep away. I wonder what it's like to not feel tire d all the time, he thought. He barely remembered.

He nodded at Eloise though and dropped Adaryn's hand. "We should probably head back. I think we all need a shower and to relax. I'll...I'll go shower and meet you guys back at your dorm?" He knew that he wasn't allowed in the female dormitories this late at night, but considering what just happened, he wasn't about to let that stop him.

[Lux]

Before she even looked at Monroe, she noticed Eloise giving her some sort of smile, and she raised a brow curiously. Oh wait, she was just thinking about how she wished Eloise would tell her something. Adaryn gave a small smile in return, and faced Monroe to ask if he wanted her help.

When Monroe finally heard her call his name, she watched as he turned around and grabbed her hand as if it were the easiest decision in the world. Then something stranger happened, he continued to hold onto it. "I can't have you do that, Ad." Adaryn's breath caught in her throat. Monroe was being awfully nice to her right now, and she wasn't used to it. It made her cheeks burn.

It had to be at least the fifth time Monroe made her blush, and she was starting to get annoyed at how easily flustered a boy could make her. When he looked up from their hands to her face, but still held her hands, she was amazed. "What did I do for you though? I...I almost got killed. I don't think that's very noble." How could he not think what he did wasn't noble? Was he serious?

"Monroe you pushed me behind you when Cain appeared. You tried to calm me when I was panicking out of my mind. You took that knife so I didn't have to. You stood up to him, Monroe. You stood up to the one man who was trying to kill me for weeks. You stood up to him for a silly fourteen year old freshman who has the social skills of a tiger." Adaryn bit her lip for two reasons. One, being compared to a tiger could be a good thing, and two, his smile. He was still smiling at her. Why was he still smiling at her? She didn't almost die, and she did nothing to try and save him. "Tigers hate being around their own kind, by the way." She added.

When he dropped her hand and turned back to Eloise, she was both relieved and saddened. She shook her head. It made no sense! He was just her friend, nothing more. Why was her heart pounding when she barely even knew this guy? Oh wait, maybe it was from the dream, it had to be.

Monroe said he wanted to go back and shower, and Adaryn felt the same. She needed one, and by the looks of it, so did Eloise. She nodded in silent approval and stood up slowly, wincing when she took in another breath. Adaryn couldn't wait for the hot water to run down her body. It could probably help with the stabbing pains in her ribs. "So should we go?"

[Admin Sydnee]

"I'm just trying to figure Cain out. He thinks he's one step ahead of us. He would have killed me regardless of what I said or did, so I figured that I might as well try to get some information out of him or try and press my luck. He can be stopped, Ad. We just have to figure out how. He has to be...feeding off of these dreams or something, the fear that his victims feel, I don't know." Monroe realized he was rambling, but he felt as if he was on the verge of figuring out something vital. "He tries to tear down his victims so it makes it that much easier to destroy them and then maybe in real life they'll start to feel as if they are horrible people. You can't let him do that to you, Ad. And I firmly believe everything I said back there. He's being a hypocrite. He has a power and he doesn't deserve to die? That's just messed up." He shook his head and then nodded at both her and Eloise.

"Yeah, let's go."

[emilybuj]

Eloise didn't have to be told twice. She stood, and was the first one out of the library, desperate for a shower and to lay down and just relax. She wasn't sure what she had expected that night, but what had happened was far beyond anything she ever thought was possible. And if it wasn't already past midnight, she would be calling her dad in a frantic rambling trying to regain some stability and get some answers. She would probably do so the next day.

When she got to her room, she grabbed clean clothes, and went to the showers. It was the nicest, warmest, most inviting shower she had ever taken despite the crimson in the water that dripped to the floor. She had put her mental block back up. Not sure if she could handle the thoughts of her friends right now. She was still reeling without their influence.

After the shower, Eloise went and sprawled herself out on her bed, not caring that her long blonde hair was soaking her pillow. The mattress was extremely comfortable tonight, and she didn't want to move.

[Lux]

She listened carefully as Monroe made his assumptions about Cain. Of course any bad guy could be stopped, but by fourteen and fifteen year olds? Even though Cain looked to be only 30, there was something about him that made him seem so much older. They weren’t dealing with an idiot. They were dealing with someone with years of experience. “You never know, Monroe. He is incredibly resourceful and knows what he is doing. I’m even pretty sure he knows when we will be coming. It is as if he can see every move we make.” It was a terrifying thought, but it was possible that he had others in the schools to watch.

When Monroe stood up and told them his plan, she agreed quickly. As much as she knew there would be a problem with him coming to the girl’s dorm this late, she still didn’t want him to leave just yet. Why, she couldn’t put her finger on, but she still felt it. When they left, it took Adaryn a bit longer to shower than El because she was trying to warm and soothe her aching muscles, especially her ribs. When she had watched the last of the blood wash down the drain, she quickly dried off her hair and braided it, and then slipped into her pj’s. She headed back up to her dorm.

When she reached the dorm, she found Ella sprawled out across her bed, hair still soaking wet. Adaryn gave her a weak smile. “Looks like you are comfortable.” She looked around her and noticed Monroe still wasn’t there. She sighed, sitting down on her own bed. “You think he will be able to make it?” She asked, trying to make some small talk. They both had a very long day and saw things that they didn’t necessarily want.

[Admin Sydnee]

"Well then, maybe we need to strengthen our forces," Monroe pointed out. "We may be freshmen, but I bet we're not the only ones he's going after." The idea of Cain knowing every move they made was terrifying. Did he really have eyes looking out for him? The thought made Monroe paranoid, as if somebody would come around the corner and stab him with a dagger. He couldn't manipulate real life.

When they all parted their ways, he tiptoed quietly into his dorm where his roommates slept. They were used to him not being there and Monroe's bed was practically untouched. Still, he gathered his things from his dresser and took off to the showers. It was probably the best shower he ever had, and the worst.

It felt good to wash away everything that reminded him of being in that dream, of the dagger piercing through his stomach yet at the same time it was a reminder of what had happened and Monroe couldn't stop thinking about it. His head was spinning as he looked down at the crimson mixing with the water as it washed down the drain. He steadied himself against the shower wall and took a few ragged breaths, squeezing his eyes shut. He stayed there for the longest time after he'd washed all of the blood off of him, until the water was starting to get cold.

Then he quickly dressed in a charcoal henley and black plaid lounge pants before sneaking to the girls' dormitories, trying to make his combat boots not sound so heavy on the floor which proved to be difficult. He knocked softly on the door.

[emilybuj]

Eloise chuckled at the comment. 'Comfortable', she thought. It was comfortable, but the situation they were in wasn't. She would at least soak in the relative comfort of being in her bed while she could. "I'm sure he'll get here just fine,"Ella said. Even though teachers patrolled the halls at night, most barely payed attention and were half asleep. And quick lies like forgetting homework in a classroom or library was enough of an explanation to get past any of them. "Then again with those combat boots he's not exactly Mr. Inconspicuous."

Though as if to prove Ella wrong a soft knock came to the door. Ella decided her hair had been soaking her sheets long enough, and she stood to answer the door. "Hey," she said softly with little to no emotion, letting Monroe in. She took a moment to put her hair into a messy bun atop her head, and grab a towel to soak up some of the water off her pillow. She probably wouldn't appreciate laying in that later. "Glad to see you made it here."

[Lux]

Adaryn sit on her bed cross legged, her hands in between her legs, twiddling with her thumbs. She was waiting anxiously for Monroe to arrive, hoping he wouldn't get caught by teachers. Adaryn never really did anything truly against the rules. It was nerve wracking. She jerked her head to face the door when she heard the soft knocking, and knew from the fact that it was soft and not followed by a teacher's voice screaming to turn off the lights, it had to be Monroe.

Adaryn was going to get the door, but Ella was already on her feet and grabbing the knob. With a shrug, she went back to playing with her hands, her braid falling across her shoulder. She tried acting as if she wasn't that eager too see him. But the only problem was that she was very eager to see him. While in the shower, she thought of how she liked the way he held her hand and smiled at her. Oh god, what was going on with her?!

"Glad you could actually make it, Monroe." She greeted.

[Admin Sydnee]

"Yeah, well it's not so easy with combat boots," Monroe told them both as he walked into the room and Ella shut the door behind him. "The halls are deserted, that's all I know." But he was grateful that he was able to get here. The shower had practically lulled him into a delusional sleep. He felt all sorts of exhausted, but knew that sleeping wasn't an option. He was in an argument with himself in his mind. He wouldn't let Adaryn take his exhaustion but part of him would enjoy the relief.

"Hope you guys don't mind me being here, but it was either here, or the library with my iPod. I'm not sleeping tonight."

[emilybuj]

Eloise nodded, "I don't care." And she knew Adaryn wanted him there more than anything else at that point. Her thoughts surrounding Monroe were becoming more and more that of a childhood crush with a sick twisted side where he took a knife for her. Eloise tried to ignore it. "We have an extra bed anyway," she continued with a shrug, grabbing her laptop and sitting on her bed, knowing she wasn't going to manage much sleep tonight.

She opened up the laptop and started searching birthmarks. She had done so before. Many times - trying to determine why the strange discoloration on the back of her shoulder was shaped like the sun, and was darker in the day time. But this time she chose to look up birthmarks and special abilities. Wondering if there was a connection. Because Monroe had one too. Maybe it meant something.