Hiraeth: The feeling of being homesick for a home that never existed.
----------------------------
It's been a few hours since their talk and the house folk seemed to be awake by the voices that came from the living room.
"You're an asshole, you know that?"
"Takes one to know one."
"Keep this up and even Ezra won't be able to save you from me." The voices belonged to Kai and JJ. Their arguments got cut off by Avery's voice calling them from the kitchen.
"Keep it down, will you? Luna is sleeping." And Cassidy added.
"Why don't you two come here and help us prepare the breakfast, hm?"
Afraid of making Cassidy repeat herself the boys quickly came to the kitchen leaving Ezra behind. Avery noticed this and made her way there, leaning on the doorframe when she arrived. She exchanged looks with Ezra and spoke. "You too, Ez." He sighed in response.
"They were the ones fighting not me." But he got up regardless.
"The more the merrier, come on. Extra help wouldn't hurt anyone."
"How are you feeling?" The sudden question caught Avery off guard but she answered quickly.
"I'm good." Ezra didn't look convinced with her short answer which Avery sighed in return and continued. "I'm fine, really. I talked with Cassie so I'm feeling good." Now seeming more satisfied Ezra smiled and patted her head.
"Glad you do." Then he made his way to the kitchen. Avery stood there still for a second then smiled at his gesture. She then turned her head towards the stairs when she heard footsteps. It was Raven, and the poor girl was looking worse than Luna. Avery couldn't help but smile at her sleepy expression.
"Hey Rae." Raven didn't say anything for a moment walking towards her then resting her head on Avery's shoulder when she got to her. "...Hi." Her voice came out as a whisper. Avery patted her back guiding her to the kitchen.
"Did they wake you up?" She asked, by them she meant Kai and JJ. Raven didn't say anything at first then replied with "Don't hold me back when i catch those two..." Avery chuckled at her sleepy threat.
"Of course, but maybe catch them after we have breakfast?"
"Fine." Raven said half heartedly and they stepped into the kitchen.
Cassidy was making JJ and Kai do all the job while Ezra was setting up the table. When he saw Avery coming in with Raven, who was clinging Avery for support, he smiled.
"Good morning."
"Morning." After that short greeting Raven took a seat and watched the others work as they handled the rest. Avery looked around observing everyone, noticing that the only people missing were Luna and Sora. She then turned to Cassidy.
"Should we wake Luna up?" Cassidy looked at the watch and then back to her.
"Not yet, there's still some time for breakfast." Avery nodded in understanding.
"Anything i can help with?" Cassidy shook her head smiling.
"No, these two are helping me a ton already, thank you." That statement made JJ and Kai groan but they knew better than complaining to Cassidy so they continued helping her prepare the breakfast.
Avery then shifted her gaze toward the balcony and looked outside. When she saw a familiar figure in the backyard she went to the balcony and called out to them.
"Thought you were still sleeping, what're you doing out here?" It was Sora.
"Just wanted to get some fresh air. By the sounds of it most of them are awake." He said pointing inside with his eyes.
"Yeah, except for Luna. She is sleeping, well as much as she can while those two are awake but yeah." Sora smirked.
"Those two..."
"I know right?" She leaned on the railings while he continued to sit down on the grass with his legs crossed. They both watched the backyard for a few minutes until they heard JJ's voice calling out for Avery. She sighed looking at Sora.
"Breakfast should be ready soon, keep an ear out." He nodded.
After what felt like an eternity the breakfast was finally ready. Everyone sat around the table while Cassidy signed Avery to go and wake Luna up. She nodded and made her way upstairs. After reaching her room, she knocked softly but when there was no response so she opened the door slowly. She found Luna still asleep peacefully on her bed so she closed the door gently after getting inside and sat on the edge of her bed. Avery almost felt guilty to be having to wake her up from her peaceful slumber so she gave her a few more minutes. She then started to run her fingers through Luna's hair talking with a soft tone.
"...Luna... Come on, it's time for breakfast." Luna mumbled for a moment before shifting in her bed turning to Avery and rubbing her eyes.
"...hi..." Luna said with a half asleep voice which made Avery smile softly. "Hey." Luna didn't wanna get up yet since she was enjoying Avery's touch on her hair. Avery seemed to notice it but didnt mention it.
"Were you able to sleep?"
Luna nodded softly. "Yeah... I even had a dream where Jay, Kai and Rae were arguing"
Avery smiled at that. "That's probably because they actually were arguing and you were probably half awake."
Luna chuckled "That makes sense."
Avery then got up from Luna's bed and held out her hand. "Let's go downstairs, breakfast is ready."
"Okay" With Avery's help she got up and washed her face before heading down for breakfast. Everyone smiled when they saw Luna enter.
"Morning sleeping beauty." She giggled at Raven's compliment and sat next to her. Now with everyone on the table they started to enjoy their breakfast.
Birds chirping in the background with everyone's voice brought a feeling of warmth inside Avery. She smiled watching everyone talk about random things while eating. JJ and Kai seemed the most upbeat since they were the ones who helped prepare most of the breakfast and were enjoying themselves to the fullest which made Cassidy giggle in return. Ezra was talking to Sora about a book he read not long ago while Raven was complaining about the boys to Luna. Everything was normal... Peaceful...
Avery really liked moments like these where everyone seemed to enjoy themselves without a care in the world. It really felt like... A family... Well as normal as it could be since it was them but a family nonetheless. She also enjoyed the mixed conversations that were happening on the table. Times like these helped her mind to ease, her heart to rest and her soul to...heal. It was like a fresh breath of air.
While they were still eating a ringing could be heard from the living room. "I got it." Sora said and not long after the phone that was ringing came to him up in the air, he reached for the phone taking it in his hands and answering the call. "Hello, this is Sora." He stood silent listening to the other side then nodded his head saying "Okay" And putting the phone on speaker. The person on the other end started talking.
"You probably know why I called but i still wanted to remind you all. The team that will pick you up for the meeting will be there in an hour. Make sure you guys are ready." Everyone responded with a collective "Yessir."
It was Dan, well Daniel actually but they liked to call him Dan which he didn't mind. He was the one that took them into his organization and looked after them ever since. He was also the one who taught them how to defend and fight while also helping them to control their abilities.
Daniel sounded satisfied with the collective answer and added.
"Not to give any hope, but I have a good feeling about this mission. It seems promising for some leads. We'll talk more when you guys get here. Take care." Then he ended the call.
For a moment everyone turned to Avery with hopeful smiles then returned back to their food. Ezra brushed her shoulder. "Let's hope for the best, yeah?" Avery nodded. "Yeah." A spark of hope ignited inside her. A hope to find some leads that will get them to her sister and she wasn't gonna let it slip away from her fingers.
-----------------------------------
The building was as busy as ever, while they were on their way to the meeting room they greeted a few familiar faces smiling. When they finally made it there two guards were standing in front of it. The guards moved aside opening the doors and also informing them about Daniel's absence so they might have to wait a bit inside. They thanked them and got in, doors closing behind them. The room was not completely dark which helped them notice the figure on the otherside of the room.
"Evie!" Raven was the first to notice the said person and started running to them excited. The woman and Raven hugged eachother laughing which soon Luna joined in as well. The woman looked at them smirking. "You guys missed me that much?" Luna answered to her question.
"You have no idea." Raven also joined her. "It was so boring just having Dan around y'know." Woman laughed at Raven's complaint.
"I can imagine."
That woman was also another one of the people who looked after them ever since they joined the organization. Her name was Eveline but of course they decided to call her Evie and, like Dan, she didn't mind it either. If anything it made her happy because it showed her how close they were with eachother. To someone outside they would probably be seen as a family of ten with Daniel being "the dad" And Eveline being "the mom". Even though that wasn't the case it didn't bother Eveline to think of them as her children since in a way she did raise them. She had been away for some time because of a mission but now that she was back she felt content seeing them all again.
The boys seemed eager to hug her as well so they all joined in a group hug. After that they started talking about what they did during her absence including the games that they played with eachother. Raven told that one time she won against JJ in a video game which Eveline laughed.
"Wow, I did not now JJ could be defeated. Good job Rae" They high fived while JJ sighed. "Yeah yeah, whatever. She knows she was just lucky."
Raven smirked. "Whatever helps you sleep at night bro." They laughed. Eveline then turned to Avery. "What about you Avy? What were you up to?"
Avery gave a playful sigh while pointing toward JJ and Kai. "Babysitting. Mostly the twins." Eveline giggled while the two groaned. Kai was the first to speak up. "Excuse you."
His reaction made Avery smile. " Am I wrong though?"
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not"
"Yes you are."
"How old are you suppose to be again, 15?"
He answered her question with a dramatic hand on his chest looking offended. "I'm 21 thank you very much. Also don't talk like you're any older, we're the same age."
"Are we? I'm sure my mental age is definitely older than yours." The playful exchange made them all laugh again.
Eveline smiled brightly after this little fun interaction made her reminiscent of the old days. "God, i missed you all so much." She took them in a group hug once more. While they were embracing each other, doors of the meeting room opened and the person that came in just chuckled at the sight in front of them.
"Seems like you guys catched up with eachother pretty fast." It was Daniel.
They separated from her then turning their gaze to him. He continued. "None of you ever greeted me like that. Should i be jealous?" Sora responded
"To be fair we see you everyday Dan." "Yeah" Raven agreed. Daniel tried to seem hurt by their words. "Ouch."
Eveline just giggled looking at him daringly. "It's not my fault I'm the favorite." It was clear that she was enjoying this and so did Daniel.
"How cute." He then turned back to them with a serious expression "But let's not forget about our actual reason to be here. Are you all ready to start?" They all sighed in response taking their seats across the white screen as the lights dimmed. The atmosphere just became heavier and Daniel started explaining.
"I'm not gonna waste any time with minor details. We got reports of multiple disappearances from a town called Wolfden. By the looks of it, everyone that went missing is/was an ability user. That can indicate multiple things but what i believe is that its the Facility. After destroying their own base at Rachdale, it seems they created a new one at Wolfden. Im getting to this conclusion by thinking the people who got missing are being used as experiments. Of course these are just my own speculations on the matter. But it is reasonable to assume that during the past 8 years they've been silent, they were actually trying to find a new base and also recruiting some of the workers from the old base. While raising your sister as well since she was their only hope for a brand new start." He said the last sentence looking at Avery. She didnt give a response and let him continue.
Daniel reflected the case file on the white screen. Five faces popped up with names underneath them. "These are the victims that went missing in the last two weeks. All of them got caught on the camera before going missing in the forest. But what's making this interesting is that... They decide to head into the forest after "seeing" things that are dear for them, like family or friends or pets but it never shows up in the cameras. It's like as if their minds are being manipulated to see things. Which is the reason that makes me believe that it's connected to her. Considering your brother had the ability control minds, its not impossible to assume your sister having a similar ability." Avery raised her hand indicating to give her a second to gather her thoughts.
She wasn't expecting anything like this. She felt guilty for wanting to be happy since they may have found a case connected to her little sister but her helping the facility to gather new experiments?.. That was too much to take in. Last time Avery saw her, she was just a 4 year old kid. She remembered her talk with Cassidy. "...It's been 8 years Avery, she might be changed after all these years and you may not be ready to face it." Now that Avery thought about it, would it be really suprising that her sister ended up helping the Facility since she had to grow up under their care?.. Avery didn't like the answer to that question. She didn't wanna believe that her little sister would doom other people's lives just because she was told to do so. But could she really refuse them?.. Maybe she did refuse and they did something to her as a punishment so that she ended up being scared to disobey?.. Avery could accept every answer except for her to be working for the Facility with her own free will. There had to be more to this.
She sighed acknowledging Daniel's point. "You think she is behind the disappearances..." The room filled with silence which didn't help Avery's mind to ease. Daniel continued with pointing at the pictures in order.
"Richard Logan was calling to his girlfriend. Lena Gouldenburne and Jack Morrow were calling to their respective pets. Kate Bower was calling to her sister. Olivia Wilson was calling to her boyfriend. But every person and pet thats mentioned here were in their respective homes at the time of the disappearances. Which means whoever lured them into the forest had the ability to mess with their realities. Like I said, its some type of mind manipulation similar to your brothers. The difference is he was able to control people's actions, but she seems to be controlling their minds to take action. I wouldn't be suprised if she was classified as an S class."
Avery rolled her eyes. "Don't sound so proud."
"I'm not."
"Even though i see where you're coming from i still dont think theres enough evidence to suggest that its really her. It could be someone with an illusion ability as well."
"Which is why you will be going there to investigate this while preventing more disappearances from happening. I'm sure that if we can find a way to figure out their next target we can track them down and see for ourselves." After the little back and forth between him and Avery, the lights opened up again, making everyone squeeze their eyes to adjust. Daniel continued after handing them copies of the case file.
"You will be going there undercover. Since its springbreak no one will question your reason to be there. The place you will stay in belongs to someone that will be helping you in your mission. She is a resident there so she will be the best person to guide you around town."
Avery looked skeptical. "And who is she exactly?" She didn't really like the idea of them staying with someone else.
"Her name is Vivienne, and her family owns a café. You will have plenty of time to get to know eachother when you get there, don't worry. Now go and get ready."
When they finally get back to their home, all of them just collapsed on the couches in the living room.
"I'm sure they already took care of the clothing situation otherwise they would've told us beforehand."
"So by getting ready, what he meant was..."
Ezra brought a box and put it on the table saying. "These." The box was filled with their smartwatches. JJ groaned. "I hate being watched."
Avery responded with a bored expression while taking hers. "Didn't know you had a choice." JJ just rolled his eyes to her sarcasm. They all wore their watches. After they were done they just tried to kill sometime doing random things or nothing at all. Waiting to be taken for this so called Wolfden.
-------------------------------
The town was...greener... than they expected. It was in the middle of a forest so it was only fair. The houses were being surrounded by flowers of so many colours and some of them were even being covered in ivy. The buildings seemed modern but still blending with the vibes of the town. Luna was happily clinging to Ezra's arm pointing at the houses.
"It's giving me cottagecore vibes with a sprinkle of fantasy."
Kai chuckled. "Listen." Not just birds but dogs and cats could be also heard around town as well, which when combined with the rustling of the leaves due to the sweet breeze made everything feel ten times more magical. It was hard to believe anything bad would be going on in a town like this.
After taking in the view while walking around aimlessly they turned to Raven desperately. The only thing Daniel said to them was to find a café and didn't even bother to give the name of the place since there was only one café. He was having way too much fun when he was sending them to new places, that was for sure. Raven didn't waste a second to use her ability to look around and after a few seconds she turned back to them "I found it, follow me." Everyone did as their told and started to follow Raven, while making notes of every place they cross in their minds so they could find their way back.
They walked past the little town square and a few little shops including a bookstore and a dining place. Everything seemed chill, people were minding their own businesses going on with their usual day. After walking a couple streets and taking some turns they reached the café. Looking at it closely they saw the little coffee mark on its sign and confirmed that it was indeed the right place. The sign was cute with little star motifs surrounding the name "Midnight Brews Espresso Bar" The windows also seemed to have stickers on them shaped like books, stars, coffee cups and a crescent moon. Without wasting more time they went inside with the sounds of the door chimes welcoming them.
As soon as they got in, the smell of roasted coffee beans filled up their noses also giving them a warm and friendly hug. It made one feel comforted in a way. When they took a look around they saw a corner filled up with books and puff seats which only made Luna smile even more. Same thing could be said for Ezra too but he tried to put up a cool front. What got the twins attention was the baked goods that were placed in the glass cabinets. There were all kinds of cakes and cookies. Vintage photographs complimented the wooden interior perfectly as well as the little fireplace that was sitting right across the reading area. Also the tables and seats being positioned along the windows and not across the middle of the café made the place feel bigger. Everything about here was welcoming to say the least.
On one of the tables a student could be seen struggling with his homework while on another one a family of four chatting happily. Children seem to be drinking milkshakes while the parents stuck with the more caffeinated options. The soft guitar playing from the speakers that were placed around the corners of the ceiling also blended with the vibes perfectly.
When they were finally finished observing the place Avery saw a woman behind the counter with her back turned to them. The woman didnt seem to hear the door chimes since she was busy with cleaning a few glasses while humming along to the song that was playing in the background. Avery made her way to the counter to ask about the Vivienne girl that they were suppose to meet. "Excuse me"
The woman soon left the glasses and turned to them. "Welcome to Midnight Brews, what can I- Oh.." She seemed to be the same age as them now that they could see her face. She looked at the 8 people infront of her, immediately realising who they were suppose to be and took out her phone to text someone then turning back to them. Her and Avery stared at eachother for a few seconds until Avery noticed her name badge and raised an eyebrow.
"So you are the infamous Vivienne that they were talking about." She noticed the playful tone in Avery's voice and replied in the same way.
"The one and only."