Starring: Charlotte, Cam, and Micah
Date: October 14, 2009
Summary:
Charlotte relocates Cam to German, where she's already relocated Micah. The two are reunited, and much joy ensues. But Micah still has a request of Charlotte.
"Reunited"
Germany—Orphanage for Those with Abilities
The night before, Charlotte moved Sander Hawkins from the orphange in New York. She moved him far, far away, even if it only took a few seconds to do so. The boy was greeted by a few elders, and a group of children. Multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-lingual, and multi-abilities. They seem, of course, like most children do - they play pranks, games, pick boogers (some of the youngers anyway). But always with that twist. Who threw that ball at my head? Why it was no one - or was it six year old Helga and her telekinesis? Who is to say?
Micah was shown to a small room with two lofted beds, a long, low chest of drawers and two desks and chairs, almost like a small college room, save for the fact that it wasn't designed that way. It looks like it may have been an extremely large closet, years and years ago. But now it works fine as a room. Micah's room.
And later the next day, Charlotte returns, a small boy in tow. Cam. Not small comparative to 18 months ago, but still shorter than Charlotte - though in a few years he'll have breached that gap. It is cool in Germany today, and overcast, but it is not rainy. The pair find themselves in front of a country brick estate, with Charlotte carrying some of CAm's things.
"Here, this is it. What do you think?"
Cam blinks as they arrive, and says, "I still think that is really cool." Obviously referring to her power. He takes a few moments looking around, taking in the area. "This is…um… cool." He wears no coat, even in the cool air none's needed for him.
Micah has been sitting at a window for most of the day working away at his laptop, trying to make sense of everything going on. When the woman and boy appear in front of the large home, decidedly, Micah pushes the laptop aside, leaps to his feet and treads outside wearing only his orange long-sleeved t-shirt and blue jeans—not coat. But unlike his friend he feels the cold, or will once the excitement wears off. "Cam! Cam!" he sprints towards the pair and then stops a good twelve feet away. Pangs of guilt gnaw at Micah's conscience. He should've written. He should've called. He forces a smile through his guilt, and merely offers, "Hey." The word has some apprehension behind it.
Charlotte stands back to let the boys reunite. "See? Better already." She pats Cam's shoulder once and takes a few steps, taking some of Cam's belongings with her. They'll need some privacy, to be sure. Slowly she steps inside, calling over her shoulder. "Don't stay outside too long, you don't want to get sick!" But she doubts they even heard her, having much more important friendship things to be doing. Besides, by this point Charlotte is already inside, handing off the bags to one of the 'teachers' there. "Hallo. Who ist frauline?" Charlotte's German is horrible, and she doesn't get that throat-hauking sound needed to make some of the letters. It's broken, and takes her a few moments to remember that simple phrase. But she gets it out.
Cam looks back towards the shout of his name, grinning immediately, "Micah! You're ok!" Normally, he'd probably be too embarassed to hug in public, but he's so relieved to see Micah that he runs to remaining distance and practically pounces his best friend/former foster brother. "Where were you? I thought maybe they got you."
"Yeah. I'm okay," Micah nods. He reflects on the last few months and everything that's happened before answering, "I… I made myself someone else for a few months and lived in a group home under the radar." His gaze turns downward before he tries to make eye contact with Cam, "It's bad. They're bad. I needed to watch them. Easiest to do that when hiding in the system they made," he smirks. And then he adds, as if to lighten the mood, "But I'm okay. AND you're here!"
Cam steps back a little again and then nods seriously, listening to his tale of what happened. He grins a bit and says, "Cool. I spent the whole first month running, trying to get to New York to find Kory and Peter." Then he nods quickly to the last, grinning again, "Yep. What's this place like?" He glances up to the building again.
"I'm happy you came!" Micah exclaims as he reaches out to give his friend a one-armed hug. "Seriously, this place is awesome. It's not like, home," a small moment of sadness flashes across Micah's eyes before he adds, "but it's good. Lots of kids with awesome abilities. And the teacher-types aren't bad." He shivers slightly as he folds his arms over his chest to get warm.
Cam blinks as Micah starts to shiver, but then grins again, "C'mon, let's go inside, wanna meet everybody then." On the way into the building, he asks, sounding hopeful, "There's no need to hide here? What we can do, I mean?" He steps ahead to get the door for Micah, so his friend can get inside quicker.
With a smile, Micah nods slightly, letting Cam lead the way to the door, "Apparently not, everyone seems to have an ability. Although I haven't really talked about mine. Easy enough to hide when not operating many machines." He grins as he steps through the door. He motions for Cam to come in after him.
As the boys step through the threshold, they'll almost run an old woman down! And indeed, old she is. Very wrinkly, white hair cut short, and a cane. "You there," she says, pointing her cane at Cam. She doesn't appear to need it too much - she stands tall, proud, regal. The cane is regal in an of itself, and from the way she holds herself, it's almost as though she has it just for status than anything else. "Who are you and who let you in here?" the old woman demands, her tone curt and her english rather perfect, laced with just enough of an accent to make her German. She wears a crisp, white blouse, khaki pants and strong, sturdy shoes. She's really rather….beautiful, and not just for an old lady. If somewhat intimidating.
Cam follows Micah in, a grin on his face, but then pulls up short at the woman that's there to meet them, blinking at her questions. He takes just a moment to answer, "I'm Cam. Charlotte just brought me. This is Micah, who was already here," he adds.
"Ye…ah. This my friend, Cam," Micah nods to emphasize Cam is telling the truth. "Is Charlotte still here? I had a request for her." He furrows his eyebrows. And then in usual teenage fashion, wonders aloud, "Can Cam stay in my room? There's two beds. And we already get along…"
"Micah…" the woman drawls, then turns her eyes back to Cam. Micah, it seems, s in the clear. Cam is not. "Cam, you say? Is that short for something, Cam? I've never heard that name before." The woman bends down, looking over Cam, peering to his left and right as if checking him for spots or ticks or something. "Seems clean enough. Healthy, American. Tell me about your genetics, Cam. What brings you here?" She stands up again, tapping her cane on the ground. Apparently she is the keeper here or something, and now she requires her toll to let them pass. "Charlotte is…moving furniture or something. Honestly how anyone can keep track of that woman is beyond me. She'll never get married if she doesn't stay in one place for longer than ten minutes."
Cam blinks, "Genetics? You… oh!" He glances to Micah a moment, and then looks back to the woman. He considers a moment, and then holds out his hand. A small ball of ice forms on it, not near the effort such took when Micah first met him. Then he makes the ball float into the air above his hand, which does seem to take a little effort.
"I just need her to get another friend. They already took her once …" Micah begins before redirecting his thoughts to Cam. "He's my brother." No one would believe this considering how different they look. "I mean, kind of my brother. We were part of the same family." He squints as he tries to explain. And then Cam shows his ability and Micah just smiles.
Poke. Poke poke poke. Yes, the old woman is poking the ball of ice with her cane. "Fascinating," she murmers, as if the boys are no longer there. "Well then," she sets the cane down again with an authoratitaive thump. "Looking for Charlotte, you say? Best roam around the house screaching, that's the way everyone else below my shoulders seems to find her." The woman turns, starting to go. "And don't let me catch you both without jackets outside or there'll be extra chores!" Yes, that's another thing the boys may not have learned yet. There are chores. Some of them are farm-like chores. Hehe. Hehe.
Cam grins at the woman's reaction, and lets the ball drop back into his palm. "I don't feel the cold, either. Well, not until it's really, really, really cold out. Way below freezing. I don't need a jacket." Then he looks back to Micah, stepping to toss the ball of ice out the door before he steps back in, asking Micah, "Who do you want her to bring?"
A very small frown edges the sides of Micah's mouth for a second at the notion of chores, but it vanishes quickly at Cam's rendition of him not needing a coat. "That's right! Cam's not prone to cold-borne illness." He chuckles before his expression turns serious, "Molly. She was taken once already. And if we stay together we'll all be safer. Besides, Matt doesn't…" he stops. Saying too much could lead to trouble, "I'll tell you more later."
"Wear a jacket!" The old woman calls out before she moves into the next room. Quite the character, that one.
As for Charlotte? She's upstairs already in the roomthat was once Micah's, and is now Cam and Micah's. She arranged it that way for a reason, for both boys' sake. And she's unpacking Cam's things into the large, shared chest of drawers. She seems a bit more relaxed now that both boys are together, and safe. Things are looking up.
Cam frowns again at the call of wearing a jacket, then blinks again as he looks back to Micah, stopping in his tracks, "Molly's got a power?" He's only met her a couple times, and that's definitely not come up. But, he starts to move along then, and asks, "Where're we staying?"
"Charlotte!" Micah calls as the old woman disappears. Turning back to Cam he nods, "Yeah. They took her. And returned(?) her. But she's still on the list." He frowns. "I don't know why they let her go—" His frown deepens as he leads the way upstairs towards their closet, er, room. "Charlotte!" this time he's not calling her, he sees her. "Charlotte, you need to get Molly. But tell Matt. Like don't just take her or he'll think they took her again." He nods seriously.
Charlotte stands from tucking some of Cam's things into a drawer, looking back over her shoulder. She flinches, for the first itme in from of the boys, and places a hand over her abdomen as if she suddenly got a stomach ache. But she covers it, and turns to face them. "Molly who, Micah? And why do I need to get her? And who is Matt?"
Cam steps in after Micah. He hardly knows Molly, so he lets him answer the questions, and instead asks Charlotte, "Are you ok?" He glances to Micah and back to the adult, while stepping over to sit on the edge of one of the beds.
"Molly Walker," Micah answers hopefully. "She's a good friend." Even if they haven't talked for awhile. "Her guardian is Matt Parkman. He needs her safe." Micah needs her safe. "And, it's very important for everything." He stares at Charlotte hopefully. "I think I know someone who might convince him it's a good idea. It is a good idea, isn't it? They took her once already. They could do it again!"
Charlotte nods. "It is a good idea. I'll find this Matt Parkman and speak with him as soon as I can. Can you tell me a bit more about Molly? In fact, perhaps you shouldcome with me when I go - I don't want to scare her into going off with a complete stranger. You are friends, after all."
Cam looks between the other two. For a moment, it looks like he might argue… but then what Charlotte's saying sinks in and he nods a little, "Yeah, you better go. If she knows they might be coming after her, she probably won't trust Charlotte at all. If a stranger came up to me, I wouldn't."
"Molly is… Molly," Micah's cheeks redden ever so slightly. He hasn't spoken to her in ages. "Yeah, I can come. It'll be more reassuring," he agrees. "I just don't want her to get taken again. It wouldn't be good. For any of us." Or for Molly.
Charlotte nods, understandingly. "I have to meet a few more people today. Maybe in a few hours or tomorrow, we can head over to her, would that be alright?" She looks between the boys, offeringthem a smile. "I heard you talking to Frauline Beeches earlier. She's the owner of this place - we owe a great deal to her. She's an amazing woman, I'm sure you'll all come to learn. But she tries so very hard, too."
Cam looks to Micah again and back up to Charlotte, letting them discuss when to go. He does speak up again, though, "Can you stop by Kory's, let her know I'm ok too, please? I didn't even get a chance to tell her when you came and got me."
"That sounds good to me. We just need to make sure everyone's safe," Micah nods as he sits on his bed. "She seems like a pleasant person. Even if she plans to make us do chores." And then he nods at Cam, "Please Charlotte. You said you'd take me where I needed to go—"
"And I will," Charlotte says with a smile. "Kory and Molly Walker. Both orders will be filled, I promise. Here, give me a few hours to get something to eat and visit one other person, and we'll head over, alright? I promise." Slowly, Charlotte is learning that even she can't do everything in the now. She cuts down on travel time, but time still goes by.
Cam smiles again at that, "Thanks." He stands and says, "Hope we don't have to stay here too long, but this place seems cool. Thanks again for bringing me, Charlotte." Then he pauses and looks to Micah, and asks, "There a store around here with english comics?"
"Okay, go sleep or something," Micah says to Charlotte. You know, I haven't checked yet," Micah answers Cam. "But there has to be. Maybe we can go exploring." His brown eyes light up brightly. He smiles.
Charlotte points down the road, out the window they have. "There's a little town…village, I'm not sure what they call it here. Just remember that people don't know there are a lot of people living in this house. But have fun. Do you need some money?"
Cam steps to the window to look in the direction that Charlotte points, and then nods quickly, "Ok, won't make a big deal about it. And, yes, please! I have a bit of money, but it's all American." He's not going to admit to Charlotte that he knows ways to get more.
"Yeah, we'll just act like tourists or something," Micah agrees as he nods at Charlotte. "A bit of money would be nice." Of course, like Cam he knows ways to get cash. He offers Charlotte a smile and then cranes his neck in hopes that she'll see that he's wearing the necklace she got for his mom. It's hemp—that's manly, right?
Charlotte does see, and while she says nothing and goes to dig in her purse, there's a little smile on her face and a sigh of happiness that he liked the gift. It…well, they aren't supposed to talk about it and she wo't even think of it. But she's very pleased. She hands over some bills to each boy. "Be back when the street lights come on, okay?" She says. That's how her father used to do it, after all!
Cam takes the bills she offers with a smile, "Thanks." He examines the money a moment, having never seen money that wasn't American before, and says, "Thanks." He blinks at the time she requests they be back, but nods quickly, "Ok, we will." He glances to Micah with another grin, and then says, "Let's go."
"Thanks Charlotte!" Micah chimes as he begins walking towards the door. He gives her a quick wave and then leads the way down the stairs, "This is going to be awesome!" Like a new family. All under one roof.