Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Don't eat yellow snow."

Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me
  • Create Account
  • IJ Login
  • OpenID Login
Search by : 
  • View
    • Create Account
    • IJ Login
    • OpenID Login
  • Journal
    • Post
    • Edit Entries
    • Customize Journal
    • Comment Settings
    • Recent Comments
    • Manage Tags
  • Account
    • Manage Account
    • Viewing Options
    • Manage Profile
    • Manage Notifications
    • Manage Pictures
    • Manage Schools
    • Account Status
  • Friends
    • Edit Friends
    • Edit Custom Groups
    • Friends Filter
    • Nudge Friends
    • Invite
    • Create RSS Feed
  • Asylums
    • Post
    • Asylum Invitations
    • Manage Asylums
    • Create Asylum
  • Site
    • Support
    • Upgrade Account
    • FAQs
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Interest
    • Search Randomly

unsureidentity ([info]unsureidentity) wrote in [info]colligo_threads,
@ 2009-05-05 03:04:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!closed, claire winchester, gabriel 'sylar' gray

WHO: Gabriel "Sylar" Gray [Nathan Petrelli] & Claire Bennet
WHAT: Father/daughter bonding...sorta.
WHERE: The streets of Colligo. Good thing there were umbrellas in the room.
WHEN: After this
RATING: PG
STATUS: In Progress

It probably wasn't exactly the best idea, to go exploring in a raging storm, but with the way that this thing didn't seem to be letting up, they needed to have at least some idea where higher ground might be. Or emergency supplies. Or anything that would give them an edge in a potential flood. Nathan had found two umbrella stuffed under all of the random things that filled the closet in his room, prying them out and tucking them under an arm as he headed out of his room, opening up one of the umbrellas and heading out into the rain and over to Building A, as it was listed. There was no point in Claire having to get soaked in order to meet him. He hadn't even thought of that when he'd told her that he'd meet her. But he certainly wasn't going to just wait at his Building for her to run over with nothing to keep from getting wet.

He would have been a rather horrible father if he did that. And he wasn't exactly brilliant to begin with. He hadn't talked to his boys in months, and he wasn't even about to try and go over all of the mistakes that he had made with Claire, either from the beginning or since finding out that she was still alive.

Slipping into the lobby of Building A, Nathan shook out the soaked umbrella just a bit, to keep the worst of it from getting on the carpeting, before leaning back against the wall to wait, a slight smile on his face. It was nice. Even if it was in this sort of situation, it was nice to finally just get the chance to spend some time with her. At least, where he wasn't going to end up drunk out of his mind. If he never saw a glass of tequila again, it would be too soon.


(Post a new comment)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-05 02:43 am UTC (link)
While Claire could, at times, be an intelligent and resourceful young woman, there were also other times when the stereotype of a blonde, airhead cheerleader more than applied. This, she realized as she made her way to the lobby of the building where she was staying, was definitely one of those times. Here it was pouring down rain outside, torrents of water, lightning, the entire nine yards, and she'd taken off without so much as a thought of looking for an umbrella.

"Real smart, Claire," she berated herself softly as she walked through the corridor that led to the lobby. "Next you'll be forgetting to put on shoes, or bring your money with you." Fortunately she had managed both of those, but had a sinking feeling she was going to end up positively soaked before she managed to find a place selling umbrellas. Although she was glad to know she wouldn't be the only one. At least Nathan would be just as soaked as she was, since she doubted he'd managed to think of bringing an umbrella either.

Imagine her surprise, then, when she finally stepped into the lobby and spotted him waiting for her - complete with not only one but two umbrellas. Her shock quickly gave way to a large smile at his thoughtfulness, some small part of her truly touched at the gesture. She wasn't used to such things, not really, when they came from him.

Of course, just because she was touched didn't mean she couldn't tease him a bit. So as she crossed the lobby to him, she couldn't help but say in a joking tone, "I'm sure your ancient mother will be glad to know that her decrepit son can at least remember an umbrella in a downpour." A brief pause before she added lightly, "Especially since her completely amazing granddaughter didn't."

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-05 03:04 am UTC (link)
"Guess it's a good thing I was a boy scout," Nathan said with a grin and a wink as he chuckled, leaning the wet umbrella against the wall as he stepped forward and settled his hands lightly on her shoulders before pulling her into a brief hug of greeting. Sure, maybe it was a little forward, but there was part of him that was just so thankful that she was here, that he wasn't alone. It wasn't like he could have ever been alone, though. There were just so many people that he had to rely on who relied on him, but there was something in him...something that he couldn't quite identify that was just so grateful that they were all there, together.

"Besides, you're young. You start remembering essential things like umbrellas when you get older," Nathan said as he stepped back, offering her the dry umbrella that was still clenched in his hand. "You've still got five years or so before they get to be something that your mind registers as a necessity."

Stepping back over and picking up his own umbrella, Nathan glanced out at the weather with a heavy frown, "This isn't natural. This isn't how weather works. There should at least be the occasional bit of patchiness in the sky after this long."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-05 03:20 am UTC (link)
The hug was unexpected but not unwelcome, and was returned in kind along with a smile. While Claire wasn't necessarily quite as grateful that they were all there together, she was glad that those of them who had showed up thus far had put the majority of their personal issues behind them before even winding up in this place. It would have been a lot more difficult of a situation if she were still as livid with him as she had been when she'd first learned what he was helping the government do.

Forcing such thoughts away for the time being, Claire laughed lightly at his commentary. "I always just planned to live someplace where it never rained," she joked, taking the umbrella and adding a heartfelt, "Thanks."

Her gaze followed his and she found she had to agree. There was something decidedly off about the sudden storms that had yet to even lighten a bit since they'd begun. "The wind has stayed steady, too, and you can just about time the lightning to once every forty-five seconds or so," she pointed out. And okay, so maybe Claire had spent a bit more time than was probably healthy studying the storm when it had showed up, but without a television to bide her time and with the message boards filled with entries she'd already sorted through, she hadn't been left with much choice.

"And I never knew you knew so much about weather patterns," she commented idly, more curios than surprised. There were a great number of things she didn't know about her father, truth be told, so there was very little that she thought could actually surprise her.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-05 03:32 am UTC (link)
Nathan had paused, staring at the front door with a slightly vague and distant look in his eyes, before he registered that Claire had said something and ran back over it in his mind, a very slightly smile gracing his face, "Neither did I," He said before turning back to her. It was odd, the feeling that he got when he looked outside and just knew something was off. Looking a little harder, a little longer, had told him just how and why, and it was... Well, it wasn't normal, a lot more not normal than flying, and it certainly wasn't something that he was going to mention.

"Ready to brave the great unknown?" Nathan asked with a slight grin as he put his umbrella up and pushed the door open, holding it for Claire whenever she was ready to go. "See what there is to discover?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-05 03:50 am UTC (link)
It was an odd reply, him admitting to not knowing he knew such things about the weather, but Claire wasn't going to push it. This camaraderie, or whatever it was, that they had developed as of late was far too fragile and much too important to her for her to risk it by asking questions that were just best left unasked. Besides which, after everything they'd been through, it was to be expected that they weren't going to quite be themselves. You couldn't go through those kinds of things and come out the other side completely unchanged.

So she brushed it off and flashed him a grin. "As ready as I'll ever be," she replied as she stepped outside and under her now-opened umbrella. Immediately the wind tried to lift it clear out of her hands but she compensated easily enough, stepping to the side so Nathan could get out the door without having to squeeze past her.

Peering out from underneath the umbrella, Claire turned to Nathan once they were both outside and prompted, "So, which way do we want to try today?" Any direction was fine with her. Oddly enough, she really was simply enjoying spending time with him where they weren't fighting, on the run, or digging up dead bodies. Normal interactions between them were simply too few and far between.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-05 04:13 am UTC (link)
Closing the door behind him, Nathan stepped in close enough to her that their umbrellas overlapped slightly, allowing them to get more decent cover as he put her arm around her waist, just enjoying the ability to have a moment with his daughter without there being a bunch of weirdness going on around them. Well, at least, without there being weirdness they were used to going on around them. They had far more catching up to do than he was willing to truly admit to himself, a dull ache in his chest surfacing at the quiet realization of just how much of Claire's life he had missed, how much he didn't know, and how ill effective he'd been at correcting these problems since learning she was still alive.

"How about we go wherever the wind takes us?" Nathan suggested with a chuckle. At least, then, they wouldn't be fighting against the gusts to get somewhere. And the less work, the better. They'd have a hard enough time fighting against it to get back.

"It isn't as though there's too much...difference between the areas of this place."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-05 04:26 am UTC (link)
The arm around her waste was a comforting one, and served as a way of keeping her from feeling as though the storm was separating the two of them by miles. She really was enjoying her time with him, and was almost finding herself wondering if their interaction would continue on like it was when and if they found their way back home. Idly, she wondered just how selfish it was of her to wish they didn't make it back, if that were going to be the case. Probably not too selfish, she decided. After all, if she could just get things back on a good track with her other father, and if Peter, and her mother and brother, would show up, things would be about as close to perfect as Claire could imagine them being.

For the time being, however, she was focused on Nathan and trying to build some sort of a relationship from the destruction they'd both partaken in since they'd first met. And that meant staying focused on the conversation at hand rather than getting lost in her own thoughts.

"That works," she agreed lightly. It was definitely easy to tell which direction the wind was blowing and to turn so they were moving with it. Her hair blew about slightly but the umbrellas managed to keep the gusts from attacking them fully. As they began to walk, Claire started to take notice of things around her.

Already the signs of too much water were starting to show. With a light frown born from concern, she glanced back to Nathan. "If this rain doesn't stop we're going to have to figure out some way to get away from it, before much longer," she commented. Her gaze slid past him, to one of the local vendors as they passed by his shop, and her frown became a bit more puzzled. "And is it just me or are these people acting like the sky isn't falling in around them?"

She couldn't help it. The locals in this place really freaked her out.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-05 09:51 pm UTC (link)
"Maybe they're used to this sort of thing," Nathan said with a soft frown over at the vendors. They really weren't reacting at all, as though this sort of thing happened here everyday. And as far as any of them knew, it did. Maybe there were weeks worth of rain at a time between months of sun and heat? It was so hard to say because there was so much that they still had to learn. "But you're right. We're going to have to figure out if there even is anything resembling higher ground around here, or we're going to be knee deep in it in no time," He said as his feet splashed into the puddles that had started to form. Even with the umbrellas, they were going to be soaked by the time that they got back.

"At least it looks like there are plenty of places here to get things that we'd need," Nathan said as he eyed the storefronts that they passed. "Even if the place is...mostly deserted."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-05 10:09 pm UTC (link)
"I don't know if them being used to this makes me feel better or worse," Claire replied honestly and with a shake of her head. People being brought to strange cities that no one had ever heard of wasn't something you should be getting used to, nor was rain that was like this. In fact, she noted as she glanced around even more, most of them didn't even have umbrellas or raincoats. It was almost as though they simply didn't realize it was even raining.

"True," she agreed. After a second's pause she asked, "What sort of stuff do you think we should look into getting? Besides a raft and some life jackets, I mean?" Yeah, not the best joke she could manage, but the fact that it might become a real distinct possibility bothered her more than she wanted to admit.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-05 10:30 pm UTC (link)
"It's hard to say. The kitchen in my room seemed to be full stocked, and the closets and dressers were full of various odds and ends," Nathan said, frowning heavily as he tried to come up with things that they might need. But he was drawing a blank. Other than clothes, it was hard to really think of anything that they could possibly run out of here. "We might need changes of clothes, but other than that... Honestly, Peter's the only thing that I would be more than welcome to see right now," He said with a soft sigh.

He was worried about his brother. He, Ma, and Peter were all each of them had left anymore, and with him and Ma here, that meant that Peter was all alone back home. And Peter, as much as he tried to act like he was, was never well off when he was on his own. Pete was the type of person that needed people. He needed the people that he cared about around.

And dammit, Nathan needed his brother. Pete was his moral compass, after all.

"Even if I would hate to sentence him to...whatever this is."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-05 11:32 pm UTC (link)
"I think he'd rather be stuck here with all of us than on his own," Claire pointed out. She'd actually done a bit of thinking about that when she'd first arrived, having also felt some guilt at wishing Peter were there with them. The best way she could reason it was that Peter really should be here, with his family, and not by himself somewhere with no idea where any of them had even gone.

Reaching out almost impulsively, Claire grasped Nathan's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "He'll show up soon enough," she said with a smile and light tone she might not necessarily feel but was damn good at faking. "You know Peter. He can't stay out of trouble for very long."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-10 09:06 am UTC (link)
Nathan's worry melted away into a good natured smile as he squeezed Claire's hand back, "You're right. He needs all of us to make sure that he doesn't get himself in too much trouble. Especially now that he doesn't have the indestructibility to fall back on," He said, his smiling turning a bit more worried. That had been the thing, hadn't it? Peter wasn't indestructible anymore, and even when he had been, Nathan had had a hard time thinking about him like that.

He was his baby brother, and Nathan would always think it was his job to protect him.

"You know, when he was little, he used to sneak into my room at night whenever he had nightmares."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-10 09:24 am UTC (link)
Claire bit back a reply that pointed out just how little being indestructible mattered in their family. They still worried, they still insisted on helping, and they still tried to keep you from doing anything that would get a 'normal' person hurt. It sucked, but it was true. She was living proof of that.

"Really?" she replied instead, a sweet smile curving her lips. "That's so sweet!" It was also hard to imagine, considering the animosity she'd seen between her biological father and her uncle, but she supposed they didn't always have the issues that plagued them now. Just as her issues with Nathan hadn't sprung up overnight. Nor would they go away in the same fashion, although she was trying.

It was odd, too, but since arriving here her attempts at letting their past issues be just that - in the past - had become much easier. She wasn't sure if it was the change in scenery or if something had changed in either herself or in Nathan, but she was finding him much easier to get along with than she ever had before.

"Well, would you look at that," she murmured suddenly, an abrupt change in the conversation as well as her entire demeanor. Her gaze had, at some point, slid upward toward the skies and lo and behold she'd managed to spot a clear spot in the clouds that were pouring rain down upon them. Releasing her hold on Nathan's hand she pointed toward it, just off in the distance - almost a perfect circle made of blue with dark clouds outlining it.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-10 09:31 am UTC (link)
"We weren't always plagued with bitterness thinking that the other was the favorite," Nathan said with a slight smile. "Pete and I were pretty much best friends until I had to go off to college. Of course, he was still in the little kid, big brother idol worship stage until then," Nathan said before following where she was looking, blinking several times at the clear area in the sky.

"That's...not right. It's too uniform. It's too...perfect. Like it was made like that," Nathan said before a quiet realization hit him. What if it had been made like that? "Whatever is there... That's where we need to go to figure out what the hell is going on."

Of course, it was pretty far off in the distance, and god only knew what was between where they were and where that spot was coming from.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-12 04:24 pm UTC (link)
Although Claire did have a younger brother, she and Lyle had never really struggled with worrying over who the favorite happened to be. Some teeny, tiny part of her knew that she had a special place in her dad's heart, but Noah certainly didn't openly show favorites, and their mother couldn't be anymore equal with her love and support if she tried. So the animosity that had been such an issue between the Petrelli brothers had managed to skip a generation, in Claire's case.

Forgetting all about the brotherly issues between Nathan and Peter, Claire nodded her head in agreement at his next statement. "Well," she finally spoke up, turning her gaze to him with a small smirk, "what are we waiting for? Let's go."

If there was nervousness at what they might face ahead, she certainly didn't show it. Truth be told she didn't feel all that nervous. Maybe it was everything she'd faced before, or maybe it was the fact that she was finally starting to feel as though Nathan really did love her like a daughter, but whatever it was, Claire just knew the two of them would be fine.

"Who knows? Maybe we can figure this out and get back home before Peter even realizes we're missing." Granted that was probably a stretch, but it was always a possibility.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-12 04:32 pm UTC (link)
"Fingers crossed," Nathan said with a soft chuckle as he turned his gaze towards their destination and started to walk. As much as he knew that this was possibly a bad idea, that they could very well be walking into a trap or just a situation that they wouldn't be able to extract themselves from, he knew that if they passed up the opportunity, they would never forgive themselves. And if it proved to be a solution to all of their questions, all the better.

"Your father and my mother have each other if we don't make it back," Nathan said before making a slight face to himself as just how wrong that sounded. "Not like that," He said quickly afterwards to clarify.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-12 05:36 pm UTC (link)
"Um, ew," Claire replied. Her nose scrunched up a bit as a mental image she did not want flickered through her mind. "Ew! Can we pretend you never said that?" She gave a slight shiver - only part of it mocking - before casting a curious gaze up at the sky then back to Nathan.

"So... why aren't we just, y'know, flying up there?" she questioned curiously. Up to this point she hadn't asked because, well, it hadn't seemed all that necessary. They had started out this trip with the intention of taking a walk around to see what they could see. But now that they had a specific destination in mind? Flying seemed like a much, much, much easier alternative than having to flatfoot it all the way across who knew what to go in search of something they didn't know the first thing about - or how far it happened to be.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-12 05:41 pm UTC (link)
Nathan looked over at Claire with a soft worried expression. He didn't want to admit what he'd been worried about since he'd shown Alice his ability. He seemed to be able to keep himself from dropping to the ground, but it when it came to propelling himself into the air, he was... He just couldn't seem to manage it anymore. He didn't know what could have made that true, or why he was having such difficulty with it, but...

Nathan shook his head slightly with a sigh as he dropped his gaze from Claire's before closing his eyes and concentrating, pushing himself about a foot off the ground before dropping down. "That's all I can manage," He said with a quiet regret. "I don't know why, but all I try, I can't... It's not working right."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-12 05:53 pm UTC (link)
Claire's brow was furrowed in confusion as she watched Nathan only manage to hover a short bit off the ground before having to come back down to earth again. That... that wasn't right. That was about as far from right as you could get, in fact.

"Hmm," she murmured thoughtfully. Her attention flickered to a nearby shop as they were passing by, the sight of the small display of knives out front giving her an idea. Taking the handful of steps in that direction, she held out the umbrella for Nathan to take then picked up one of the pocketknives off the display counter.

"I wonder..." she murmured, flipping it open and slicing the sharp blade across her forearm. She didn't wince - why should she when she didn't even feel it anymore? - but for the first time in a long time she felt the slightest bit of shock when the wound immediately healed itself. Sighing softly, she put the knife down and looked back to her biological father.

"I guess it's not all of us," she stated, the slight frown returning to mar her brow. "Somehow, that makes it even weirder than if it was."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-12 05:57 pm UTC (link)
"I guess it's just me," Nathan said softly before looking back at Claire. "Though, it's not like I don't deserve it," He said gently, a very heavy layer of regret in his voice. After everything that he had done to all of them, the ways that he had made them suffer because of some sort of perceived danger that he hadn't applied to himself because, really, flight, how could that be dangerous? It made sense that he was be punished like this, however it came to be.

He deserved it and everything that might be leveled on him because of what he'd done. There was no way that he could possibly make up for all of it without a little suffering.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-12 07:46 pm UTC (link)
Claire wanted to object and say that no, he didn't deserve it, but the truth was he sorta did. Granted she didn't think he deserved to have his ability stripped to the point that it was nearly nonexistent, but he did deserve some sort of... karmic retribution. And Claire hated that some small part of her felt that way.

"Maybe it's just this place," she offered with a hopeful smile that she wasn't quite sure she felt. Didn't mean she couldn't fake it for his sake, though. "This place is pretty strange. Maybe something is keeping you stuck here."

Of course, the only way to test that theory would be to have someone else show up who had an ability they could use to leave. As Claire could count on one hand the number of people she trusted who had something along those lines, she wasn't sure just how much she hoped that was the answer.

"Well, since flying is out, I guess we better get going," she stated after a second. "That little perfect circle of blue sky isn't going to come to us."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-12 08:01 pm UTC (link)
"I'm sorry, Claire," Nathan said, appreciating the attempt at reassurance even if he was sure that she was putting it on. Still, it was his own fault that they would have to walk now. He hated being useless, and right now, he felt more like he was than he had in a very long time. "I wish there was a way to get us there faster," He said before frowning softly as they continued to walk.

But it seemed like they were in for a long hike. That was, unless he could figure out how his ability was supposed to work again. God, he really shouldn't have to do that.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-12 08:22 pm UTC (link)
"It's not your fault, Nathan," she replied almost instantly, realizing that was probably too fast of a response and would come across as much more fake than she intended. Taking a second, she glanced at him before adding, "Besides, a little exercise never hurt anyone, right?"

Not that she was out of shape - far from it - but it would feel nice to be able to walk without feeling like they were having to also hide who they were. Mentally, she kicked herself for not having pointed that part out as well. Instead of dwelling on it, though, she instead glanced at a few of the shops as they passed before deciding to broach another subject. It might not be an easy one either, necessarily, but it was definitely better than staying silent while Nathan berated himself over something that really wasn't his fault.

"So did you get the little message in your PDA about your bank account here?" She was using that term very loosely, too, at least where she was concerned. Granted Claire had never had what were necessarily unending funds, but a mere $100 was not going to last for very long, she didn't think. She almost cringed at how the adults in her family - both biological and adoptive - were going to handle not having the cash flow they were used to having.

Although, she supposed, there was always a chance they had been given more than she had. Still.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-12 08:36 pm UTC (link)
"Bank account?" Nathan asked, glancing over at her with a slight bit of confusion. If he had gotten something, he hadn't found it yet, not that he had been paying a lot of attention to the messages that had came through on that thing if they hadn't been from family. "No, I can't say that I found anything like that. Not that I've really been looking. Hell, the way that the people around here act, you could probably walk right into one of the shops and steal something, and they wouldn't do anything about it at all."

Not that he was really willing to test that theory right now. Nope, there was more important things to be worried about right now than whether or not they can knick something or not.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-12 08:52 pm UTC (link)
"Yep, bank account," Claire replied. "Apparently I've been given one hundred dollars. After that, I'm supposed to get a job." Which, okay, she definitely wasn't complaining at that prospect. In fact, it was one of the first normal things she'd wanted to do for a very long time, and at least this way she'd be able to do it and for more than just as a cover to help people escape the government.

Although... Her gaze slid to one of the shopkeepers as they passed and she had to admit that Nathan was right. While Claire couldn't, and would never, condone stealing, it probably was possible to do it here without much worry about getting caught.

With a shake of her head, she looked back to him. "I don't know. It seems to me if we're dealing with something that can make possibly make the weather do this, plus who even knows what else, trying to steal from them might not be the smartest plan we could have."

He was right though, even if he hadn't said it and she wasn't aware he'd thought it. They definitely had more important things to worry about right now. Money, while a possible future worry, wasn't that big of a deal.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-12 09:32 pm UTC (link)
"A job where?" Nathan asked as he looked around the area with a heavy frown. The shops here were all staffed by the robotic residents. There would be no point in hiring the thinking and possibly disobedient prior arrivals. But he didn't know exactly how this whole system was supposed to work anyways. As far as he knew, the second they were needing to be employed, the residents would vanish in the same way that they had appeared.

"Smartest move or not, if we've got to do it," Nathan said, trailing off as frowned to himself. If it was something they'd have to do, they're have to do it.

"Of course, if this works out, we might end up with better idea of what we're dealing with."

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-12 09:47 pm UTC (link)
Claire thought for a second before replying, "Well, this place has given us money and a place to stay. Maybe it'll give us jobs when we need them too?" Taking another look around, she had to admit that the comic book store back in Costa Verde looks leaps and bounds better than whatever she might find here. Granted the boys tended to oggle her, but at least they were capable of higher thinking. For the most part, that is.

Opting not to comment on the mention of having to steal, Claire stayed silent and let him continue to speak. She didn't like the thought of taking things illegally, not in this place. Something told her it would be a bad idea. Very, very bad. So instead she focused on the last thing he'd said and smiled slightly for the first time in a few minutes.

"True. Although unless the answer is 'this is all a mass delusion because of a gas leak', I just hope we can deal with it, whatever it is," she replied. As another crack of lightning, followed by a loud boom of thunder, sounded nearby, she inched closer to Nathan without even really realizing she was doing it. She couldn't help it, though. It was downright creepy being in a strange place, in the middle of a terrible thunderstorm, with no clue how any of it was even happening.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-12 10:16 pm UTC (link)
Nathan noticed the movement, slipping his arm back around her waist and giving her a reassuring half hug as they walked. This wasn't the type of situation that was comfortable for either of them, but he wasn't about to let anything hurt her. Whatever they ran across, he was sure that he'd be able to fight it off. Or if anything, he'd at least try and give her the chance to get away. Not that there was any sign of anything threatening yet except for the weather... But there was always the chance.

And he wasn't about to let that chance frighten him off.

"We'll be fine, Claire," Nathan said with a reassuring smile. "Pete might be the one better equipped to defend himself, but we're not exactly helpless."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-12 10:33 pm UTC (link)
The half hug helped, definitely, and Claire relaxed a bit. "Nope, definitely not helpless," she agreed. Granted they weren't exactly armed, but she couldn't be killed. That meant if something did happen, she at least stood a chance of keeping whatever it might be at bay long enough for Nathan to get away. And that's what she always wanted, wasn't it? The chance to help people the same way so many had helped her before? Aside from a normal life - which clearly was not going to happen anytime soon - that was the one thing she wanted to do. Maybe this would be her chance.

Although most of her hoped that the worst thing they came across on this little adventure were some rainclouds, brain-dead townsfolk, and possible some sort of weather-creating generator like you'd find on a movie set. Anything more than that and she had a feeling she'd be wishing they'd 'borrowed' a few knives from that display a few stores back.

Then again, it wasn't too late to turn back to get some. Claire, however, wasn't going to make that suggestion. She was rather enjoying simply walking alongside Nathan and letting his proximity ease her discomfort at the situation. Besides, considering they'd yet to take so much as a left or right since picking a direction, it wouldn't be hard to find their way back to the store if the need arose.

Which reminded her...

"Have you noticed how flat it is?" she questioned almost seemingly out of the blue. Looking around, she frowned slightly. "Really, really flat. There's nothing except roads, and more roads. No real hills, no mountains in the distance, nothing." She peered up at Nathan. "I may not remember much from geography but I do remember that there are very few places in the world that don't have some sort of elevation to them."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-12 10:51 pm UTC (link)
"This place is too clean," Nathan said after a moment with a sigh. It was something that had been bothering him almost since they had gotten here. It was too manufactured, too artificial. And there was something about that that just struck him as being wrong. Places weren't supposed to look like this. It was almost as though it had been made from them, just so that they would have some place to be put when they showed up.

"It's like a gilded cage. Sure, it looks nice enough, and it's got everything that you could ever asked for. But there's no way out, and there's none of the oddities that one would expect a regular place to have."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-13 09:38 am UTC (link)
A gilded cage. The longer Claire thought about, the more she realized Nathan was right. That's exactly what this place felt like. It just wasn't normal, wasn't natural. Not even the skewed versions that they were used to dealing with.

"If there was a way in, there has to be a way out," Claire stated, although she didn't feel quite as certain about that as she might have sounded. Not that she necessarily sounded very sure either, but it sounded good at least. Nice and logical... even if logic had absolutely no place in this situation.

"You know," she at long last murmured, casting a smile up at Nathan. "If we'd come here by choice instead of being brought here against our will, it might not be a bad vacation spot. There's no traffic, no pollution, and I haven't seen a single criminal since we showed up. The weather may not be the best, but people still visit Niagara Falls, right?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-13 11:46 pm UTC (link)
"It wouldn't be... But it's that little issue of choice that becomes the rub," Nathan said as he smiled over at her. "But hopefully, it won't be an issue too much longer," He said, tightening his grip on her waist just a bit as the wind started to pick up, forcing his umbrella forward to try and protect them from the shift in the rain.

"Of course, how much longer is still up in the air," Nathan said with a weak laugh. God, if there was only some way that he wasn't so useless. He was good to all of them in one way, and that was his influence. Without that influence here, he was worthless. And when he couldn't even fly...

"Maybe we'd be better off going back and getting Noah..." Nathan said, his voice trailing off quietly. Noah was better at this sort of thing than him, after all.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-13 11:56 pm UTC (link)
Claire stepped a little closer, using her umbrella in a similar fashion to his. Granted the wind guaranteed they were still getting wet no matter which way they tried to protect themselves but, well, all things considered Claire simply couldn't find it within herself to be that annoyed with the weather. Out of everything that had happened as of late, it seemed almost... inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

Just about ready to comment on that fact in the hopes of cheering Nathan up a bit, she snapped her mouth shut at his next suggestion. Her brow furrowed as she turned her head to look at him, some of her blond hair managing to smack her cheek as the wind lifted the locks almost violently. Her gaze searched his face, lips turned slightly downward.

"Why?" she finally asked plainly. "We're walking in the rain. He's not going to be anymore suited for this than we are. Besides, I'm... kinda enjoying this, in a really weird 'at least we aren't fighting or fleeing for our lives' kind of way." Okay, so she sounded a bit hesitant when admitting as much, but could he really blame her? Most of their heart to hearts since she first met him hadn't exactly ended well. She had thought that was changing, since they'd arrived here, but now Claire wasn't so sure.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-14 03:39 am UTC (link)
"Maybe right now we're fine," Nathan said, frowning over at Claire. "But what about when we get there? I'm not exactly in the best position to defend you, Claire. I can't even fly anymore. If we come up against something that we can't handle... There's no way for us to get away fast enough," He said, biting his lower lip. "Noah might actually be able to get himself out of a difficult situation."

It was horrible to admit that he wasn't as capable as Bennet especially since that had been the one thing that he had wanted to prove to Claire since he'd found out about her existence. He was just as good as the father that raised her. He was.

If only he could truly believe that, then maybe he might not be doing such a horrible job of displaying it.

"I just don't want you to get hurts."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-14 08:31 am UTC (link)
Claire sighed softly. Not this again. When was her family going to realize she didn't need protecting? She honestly couldn't understand why neither of her fathers seemed capable of grasping that relatively easy to understand concept. Yes, she might make stupid mistakes from time to time, but her ability made it so she simply could not be harmed in a permanent capacity.

Well, there was one way, but she wasn't going to think about that.

With a mild shake of her head, she glanced first to the spot in the sky that they were following then back to Nathan. "We'll be fine," she stated firstly. "So we can't fly away? We can still run and I don't know about you, but I can move pretty fast when I have to."

Nudging him a bit and smiling ever so slightly, she continued in a somewhat more serious tone. "Don't worry about me. Really. Even if I get hurt, it's not like I won't just bounce right back."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-14 10:35 pm UTC (link)
Even if she got hurt. Nathan managed a smile in return as they pressed forward, but there was still a worry settled over him. She shouldn't get hurt. She shouldn't have to deal with things like that when he was around. He should make sure that she didn't get put into that position. But if she wasn't going to be concerned about that, Nathan was going to do his best to try not to worry about it himself. Maybe.

"I'm still going to worry," Nathan said with a very slight smile. "It's not something that you can just turn off, unfortunately," He said, chuckling as he reached out and gave her hair an affectionate tussle. "Even if you will bounce back, I'd rather you not have to."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-14 10:55 pm UTC (link)
A small part of Claire felt a bit of pleasure at his statement. Granted she didn't want people worrying about her, especially about her getting hurt of all things, but it felt nice to know that he felt the way he did. There for a while she'd honestly wondered just what Nathan thought of her.

"We'll just have to try really hard to not get in over our heads then, won't we?" she replied lightly before snorting and giving a shake of her head. "Who am I kidding? There's no way we can avoid trouble. We can be standing still and trouble just finds us."

Which as much as she was partially joking, it was true. Maybe it had something to do with their DNA? Claire wasn't sure, but she knew that everyone in the Petrelli family seemed to attract trouble like a beacon.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]unsureidentity
2009-05-14 11:10 pm UTC (link)
"I guess we'd better keep moving then," Nathan said with a laugh as they reached the outskirts of the city, running into a thick undergrowth of forest rather suddenly. The lines between what was built up and what wasn't seemed to happen so abruptly that it was clearly very unnatural. Stepping under the cover of the trees with Claire, Nathan noticed that the cover of the canopy was keeping most of the rain from falling through. Lowering his umbrella and closing it up, he paused and frowned, looking up at the cover of trees that they had stepped into before stating simply.

"There isn't a forest this thick anywhere anymore."

Especially not in America. They had all been logged out during the turn of the century, clear cut to the ground. If they did regrow, they wouldn't have had a chance to get this thick again. This was like first growth, if anything, and seemed to go on for forever.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]x_clairebear_x
2009-05-14 11:21 pm UTC (link)
"Whoa."

That was the first thought that flickered through Claire's mind and the first thing to pass her lips. Given how quickly the forest had appeared, she wasn't sure what else to say.

Almost absently she mimicked Nathan's movements - lowering her umbrella and closing it up - before turning her gaze to him. "It just keeps getting weirder and weirder," she said. Her gaze went back to the trees overhead and she frowned a bit.

"Look at the leaves," she commented, pointing upward with her spare hand. "It was so windy I could barely stand up straight a second ago, but they aren't even moving."

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Home | Site Map | Manage Account | TOS | Privacy | Support | FAQs