Who: Laura & Caspian What: A discovery and plotting When: August 6th (backdated) Where: The Marketplace; the Finn residence Rating: Mid - mentions of murder/violence Status: Complete
Caspian had gone out to gather intelligence. This island was not impressive, he found it droll when something wasn’t transpiring. That day, however, he got more than he bargained for. It was earlier in the morning than he was usually out but for some reason he’d felt a compulsion to venture out of their home. He couldn’t explain it - the reason why - only that he’d picked up on something that was enough to lure him out at such an hour. Not expecting what he had come upon he studied the scene unfolding at the Marketplace for a moment or two before heading back home.
The door would close behind him softly so as not to stir or rouse any who might be sleeping. Being around death was common in his life, he hadn’t found the image of the guard disturbing. Perhaps that was an odd thing to feel, numbness to such an extreme event in such a manner, but the sensation brewing within him was brought about by the word on the sign.
Was this a call to arms? That was laughable if he was being honest with himself considering there were no arms to bear. They all had abilities - most of them weren’t nearly as dangerous. Would that count as far as revolution? Would he fight if that did come about? He doubted it unless his family was truly in harm's way.
Steady hands would work their way through the motions of preparing coffee for the pot. He put the grounds into the filter, set the filter into the dome and then began the percolation process with the touch of a button.
Laura was awake, wide awake. Since Caspian was taken, her nightmares returned. So when she awoke gasping for air to find the bed empty, she wasn’t going to even try going back to sleep. She’d sat in a chair at the window, watching and waiting for his return.
He hadn’t noticed her when he came in, obviously distracted by something. She followed quietly into the kitchen but lingered in the doorway watching him. After he’d started the coffee, she spoke up quietly. “Where did you go?”
He could feel here there long before the familiar footfalls would reach the threshold of the kitchen door. A small smile at the way her concern felt. Nobody before her had cared so deeply about him and none would after. There would never be another person for him in the entirety of the world.
“The Marketplace was where I ended up,” he explained softly. Turning, he beheld her. A hand would lift, beckoning her toward him silently. “Would you care for some coffee, my love?” As if whatever has drawn him out was not anything for consideration. But he knew he couldn’t keep secrets from her, nor would he try.
“I felt drawn out,” Caspian explained. “Something in the minds of a few wandering past the house, guards and residents alike. It was strange.”
She moved closer as beckoned but shook her head no to the offer of coffee. She was wired enough as it was. She was exhausted but sleep would not come peacefully. “Did you find out the cause?”
An arm would wind around Laura and Cas would lean casually upon the edge of the counter. The aroma of coffee brewing was calming, he found it one of those scents which had always helped him focus. Her decline for the beverage was accepted with a nod and a smile.
“Unfortunately,” he replied. “There was a guard lying sprawled on the doorstep of the Marketplace.” He wouldn’t forget the image, or the thoughts of those gathered around - the guards, the residents - which ultimately would be worse.
His hand came to rest on the curve of her hip casually. “His throat was torn out by something. Perhaps an animal. The speculation of those gathered pointed to something like an animal, some thought that the island had monsters.”
Laura leaned against Caspian lightly, comforted by his touch. She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and listened as he spoke. A brow arched, but there was little reaction beyond that. She couldn’t help but smirk at the last bit. “Aren’t we all monsters?”
Amused at her comment, Caspian smiled and shrugged. “Monsters aren’t as awful as people tend to make them out to be. I like to think of them more as valiant, misunderstood protectors in a sense.” Her kiss was warm, his skin tingled where her lips had been.
Those bystanders had been shocked and horrified. “There was one thing that stood out to me which didn’t make any sense,” he explained.
The coffee had ceased its percolating by now and the machine beeped to let them know it was finished brewing. Caspian didn’t move or pull away from Laura. “The guard had this sign around his neck. It said Revolution,” he explained softly. Revolution was a strong word in such a time to go throwing around.
Hearing the explanation, her jaw tensed but her response was quick. “Real revolutionaries don’t make signs. They don’t hide behind murders. It sounds like a hoax.”
Moving away from him slowly, Laura went about preparing Caspian’s coffee the way he preferred. “This will be another witch hunt.”
He agreed with Laura wholeheartedly. It seemed like something put together by a child, a person who had never hurt another person before. “Whatever it is will have an impact on the residents. Tensions are already high. Whoever is behind this...well, they’re going to be hiding in plain sight. It’s not as if they’ve anywhere to go.” He doubted the crime was a resident, but then he didn’t know what everyone was capable of.
Letting her go, he waited for Laura to prepare the coffee. “Whatever happens we need to be on our guards. Us, Dorian, April, Caitlyn.” She knew this already.
Handing over the coffee once it was prepared, Laura leaned back against the counter with a sigh. She just nodded and stared at the floor. “Of course. I’ll protect them, but hopefully we can avoid trouble this go around.”
The mug of coffee was accepted. He took it gently and carefully, blue eyes fixed upon his wife. As her gaze turned to the floor Caspian glanced down into the coffee. “They wouldn’t dare come here again.” He could assure her of that. The first time had been a fluke that they’d been able to get close to him, the second time he’d leave no survivors.
“We just have to be careful. Be more observant of our surroundings, love. We shall be fine.” A sip from the coffee was taken and he savored the flavor. The rest of the house would be awake soon - he suspected Dorian could already smell the coffee as he knew the other man was stirring about somewhere.
“What’s on your mind?” He inquired softly, eyes lifting to Laura again with interest.
She nodded again with a little frown. She was always observant, always watching out for danger. But was that enough here?” Taking a deep breath, she looked back up to him with a little shake of her head. “Just worry, as always. Nothing new.”
Pushing herself off from leaning against the counter wearily, she rubbed the back of her neck and moved toward the refrigerator. “Would you like me to make some breakfast?”
He knew better than to pry, only nodding at her as she told him the answer he’d sought. Caspian never wanted Laura to worry. She’d been doing that all of her life and he wanted to take all of that burden from her. From Caitlyn. But they’d need to get off of the island first and back into the real world where all of their money and power waited for them like a sleeping dragon.
“That would be lovely, thank you.” While he didn’t feel hungry he knew he needed to eat. Another sip from the coffee and he waited to see if there was anything he could do to help.
Since it was early in the month, they had a nice enough selection and availability of food for Laura to be able to prepare a proper breakfast for the whole family. She was glad to be able to do at least something minutely useful, even if it was just to feed the mouths in the home. She went to work, glad for the distraction and something to keep her hands busy. But the exhaustion was written on her face and she couldn’t hide it no matter how hard she tried.
“What else have you been doing with your time? Collecting more misfits?” She said it playfully, she didn’t mind that Caspian always seemed to find new people to bring into the brood. He’d always wanted a family, she knew that, and he was going to build it one way or another. Still, sometimes she missed having him to herself. But she would never dare complain.
At the quip he couldn’t help the grin that split his face, amused. “Here and there,” he explained. Everything he did had a purpose, or served some goal he had whether it was short term or long term. “Mostly just trying to gather information. The more eyes and ears I have the better.” It’d been the same on his drug trade - those who worked for him kept the flow of information at his beckoning and he kept them safe. The work family which took the place of the broken family he’d tried to bury.
Now he was learning to balance between the real, true family he had and those few lost souls desperate for guidance. “They are looking for answers to their problems, all I offer to do is help. No more or less than that.”
Setting the cup aside he moved over toward Laura. “How can I help you, darling? You seem tired.” Not in a bad way, just that she may need a bit more rest.
Normally, she would have shrugged off any concerns and insisted that she was fine. But this time was different. “I am tired, all the time. It feels like I just can’t seem to get enough rest, and when I feel like I have, it only lasts a few hours and then it’s gone again. Hopefully it will go away soon. Maybe I just haven’t kept busy enough.”
She began to gather ingredients to make pancakes, she was sure Dorian and April and Caitlyn would like them. It was a shame they didn’t have anything extra to make them special like chocolate chips or blueberries.
His hands would find hers and make her stop. Worry would crease his brow, settling into his eyes. “Darling, keeping yourself busy only makes you more tired. You know I wouldn’t hold it against you if you rested as you pleased. You deserve to lay around as much as you want to. You’ve worked yourself to the bone all of your life.”
Words were soft. He didn’t want to think anything might be awry with her but for now he would remain positive. “I love you. It’d be my honor to take care of you for as long as I’m breathing.”
“Keeping busy makes it a little easier to be here.” The murder of the guard did not surprise her. If anything it was a reminder of how bad things could get if the government chose to let all hell break loose. She’d been in that situation before and she didn’t wish it on her worst enemy. Having to relive it all again was torture. She stopped and looked up to him with a faint smile. “I love you too.”
If she wanted to keep going he wouldn’t stop her but he didn’t like her working against exhaustion. “Of course, my love.” Letting go of her hands he would step backward and let her keep working.
His coffee cup was taken up and sipped from, face averted for a moment as he listened.
She watched him for a moment, knowing that look well enough. She stayed quiet as he listened, her attention on mixing the batter for the pancakes.
There was no caution in his mind - those who had passed chattered but nothing to worry about. He knew he had to be careful using his dangerous ability - for the latter part of thirty years he’d been taking a toll on his brain. But he would be fine just then.
“Nothing to worry about.” It was a promise he could keep.
She watched him a moment but just nodded in response. When it seemed like he was no longer distracted, she spoke up again. “Are you happy? With us? With me? We didn’t really have a chance to adjust to married life before all of this.”
His brow would furrow and his cup would be set aside. Caspian approached Laura, drawing her into his arms. “Of course I am, darling. Do I not seem happy with you?” He hoped not. She was his world. Caitlyn was his world. “I’m happy with you and Caitlyn. Both of you are my reason for living. I couldn’t be here without either of you.”
They’d not had a chance to adjust as she said. But when they got off of the island he was going to take his family somewhere tropical and private where they could live for a while in paradise.
Gladly moving into his arms, her eyes searched his face as he spoke. When he finished, she nodded. She believed him, but she just needed to hear him say it. That helped calm the fear more than anything else could. “I just want to make you happy, always in all ways.”
“You always do. You always have.” He always blamed himself for the last few years that they’d struggled through. If he’d been less focused on his own empire and more on his family they could’ve been together long before now. Even Laura had admitted that he’d been the cause of it. But the regret was less because they’d been able to get past everything.
“I wouldn’t have married you, had a child with you if you didn’t.” He Jew she was the one from the moment he had seen her working in that bar. He never regretted that day and was better for it.
Her lips found his and delivered a tender kiss. After pulling away, she watched him a moment longer and then went back to the food. “Is there anything I can do? To help with all of this… information you’re gathering?” When he was away, she’d developed a plan with Dorian. But since Caspian’s return she’d only focus on him.
“We need to find a way to infiltrate the leadership here somehow,” he explained, though he knew it would be challenging. They needed a source inside to really get to the bottom of what was going on.
Her kiss was returned and he added one of his own. He didn’t know about their plan but he was always happy to entertain plans that promoted future gain.
She paused a moment to enjoy the kiss before responding. “Is there actually any real leadership around here? Government or otherwise? It seems like there’s a lot of people posing as leaders, but not much actual leadership going on anywhere.”
Once the batter was completed, she moved to head the pan, and was preparing to make eggs and bacon to accompany the rest. For some reason she was famished, and hoped everyone else would be too.
Caspian shook his head at her, “From what I understand there’s not. But there could be. What if you and I took over? I doubt it’d be much of a challenge to overthrow a government.” It was all said casually.
Moving to help, he got the things she needed to complete breakfast.
Arching a brow, she stopped what she was doing to watch him. But she could see that he was serious. Shaking her head a little, she tried to focus on the pancakes so not to burn them. “Not much of a challenge? Okay… I’ll bite. How do you propose we just throw over a government, just you and I?”
A small smile. He didn’t have a plan per say but it couldn’t be as hard as it looked. “Little by little,” he explained. “The same way you infiltrate a gang and end up on the top. You keep your eyes and ears open, look for opportunities, and strike when they least expect it.” Every word was uttered in a calm and casual sense. He’d done this before but with Laura it would go more smooth.
He knew Dorian would help if the goal was to leave the island and they could draw in a few friends more to persuade to assist them.
She was not surprised at how easy he made it sound. Then again, he made everything seem easy, even if it was a monumental challenge for others. “And what gang are we infiltrating? Granted, I don’t get out much, but it seems like it’s every man for himself here.”
“The example was purely that, love,” Caspian explained. “They don’t necessarily have gangs here. But perhaps there is a group or a gathering of some who oppose in silence.” He had heard murmuring here and there. “What if we validate that this is more than just a rumor, this idea of a group, and we start there if it is?”
Reading minds was easy, often, and interesting. But it could be hard to decipher truth from speculation now and then without further examination.
Listening, she kept her focus on the pancakes, stacking them on a pan and putting them in the oven to stay warm while she moved on to the other parts of the meal. She started to say something but stopped herself to follow his train of thought instead. “Alright. What can I do?”
He continued to watch her, wondering what was on her mind. “What do you think of all of this?” Her opinion was valuable. If she didn’t think it would work they could re-evaluate the plan or think of something together.
Her question was valuable but he would come back to it in a moment.”
Moving on to the next steps, she glanced to him briefly before looking back to the work at hand. “You ask that a lot, what I am thinking. It’s a little ironic. But you don’t often ask how I feel about things.” It was just an observation, but it was what was on her mind at the moment.
Starting the bacon, she went back to the topic of conversation. “Why do you need to find a group, when you are very capable of just starting your own group, doing your own takeover? If there is some group, what have they done? Why waste your time on them when they were not here when we needed them? You can build your own army.”
Often when he found out what was on her mind he would ask more questions, but the observation was taken in stride and Caspian nodded. “My apologies. I’m used to considering myself, I have for so many years. It’s no excuse. I’ll ask more often how you feel rather than what you are thinking, but I’ll not pry into your mind without your permission.” He was adamant about that.
Her words and observations were considered and he nodded. “Those are fair questions. A group already established has more heritage - what I mean by that is they have roots, knowledge, influence already that we could utilize. We could start our own group, begin from scratch, but it might take a while longer to gather momentum.”
She stopped cooking to turn and look at him, tilting her head to the side curiously. Moving closer, she kissed him softly. “You don’t have to apologize. And you do consider me, more than most ever have.” She stole another kiss before going back to the food. She trusted him, she knew he wouldn’t pry, but even if he did, she wouldn’t be upset for him about it.
Nodding in understanding, she shrugged. “You know more about this sort of thing than I do. But I know more about what the government wants from us, and wants to do with us.”
He wanted to be perfect. Be what she needed considering all of the years they’d been at each other’s throats. He had a lot to make up for even still and any request to adjust would not be taken lightly. He wanted to be the man she needed and deserved.
Grateful for the kisses Caspian returned them but let her pull back when she did. “So we should formulate a plan together, then. Something that feels right to the both of us.”
The bacon fried up quickly and she moved on to the eggs. She knew the scent of food was sure to wake everyone else soon. Once everything was cooked perfectly, she went to set the table.
“I agree. So where should we start? I’m sure you’ve already got some leads in mind of how to track down this group. What should I do to help?”
Breakfast filled every corner of the house in aroma. He knew that soon the others would come drawn and the conversation would have to dwindle and be set aside for later. Caspian did what he could to help Laura prepare for breakfast and the crowd which would come. Her food always seems to draw others.
“How would you feel about doing a bit of charity work?” Hosting a small event to promote a bit of goodwill and network. “We could go door to door to try to meet the residents face to face, get them comfortable with us. Perhaps bring something to give - cookies or something of that sort. Your cooking is unparalleled. We are bound to have some impact. Whatever we see we keep to ourselves. People love to talk about the things in their lives, the good and the bad, and how else to make them more comfortable than offering food and lending an ear?”
That all sounded very social, and as such, very uncomfortable for Laura. But it was much less uncomfortable than things she’d experienced in the past. And if putting on a good face and socializing with the residents gave them some leverage on how to eventually get off this island, it would be worth it. Sighing, she nodded. “Alright. When do we start?”
“After breakfast,” Caspian replied with a smile. “Important things first. Perhaps later, after the day has gone by and everyone gets settled, you and I can start formulating a plan that will work. Start small and go from there. How do you feel about that?” If she was too exhausted by the day’s end to strategize then it could wait. He didn’t want to overexert Laura in any circumstance. Her well-being was more important to him than world domination.
He knew he was asking a lot of her. As the day ahead progressed maybe an alternative idea would arise and they could plan differently. But for now he wanted to keep the idea simple.
Once the table was set and they could hear the others stirred, Laura went to set the food out on the table. She nodded to the question. “That sounds like a good idea. I may need your help learning to be a bit more… friendly, but I will do anything you need me to do.” She meant her words, she would do anything for Caspian, and Caitlyn, and now Dorian and April. That was how it should be with family.
Those activating minds were noticed long before the sound of feet or the opening and closing of doors began. Caspian smiled at his wife and nodded, “I shall do my best, darling. Though if people don’t like you naturally I would attest to the fact that they might be off their rockers.” You couldn’t convince some people but Cas knew, too, that Laura wasn’t a person anyone with sense evaded on purpose. She might have been a bit cautious but she was friendly when she wanted to be. He doubted she would need much instruction.
A kiss would be placed on her mouth before a giggle found them. Caspian drew back and glanced over at Caitlyn who has paused in the door. She giggled again, “What’s so funny?” Caspian inquired of the girl in a playful manner. “Gross, Da! Not before breakfast!”
“Hm, you’re too forgiving of my social awkwardness.” She’d returned the kiss before they were interrupted. Looking to Caitlyn with a smile, she arched a brow and shook her head a little. She moved to her daughter to kiss the top of her head, “I hope you’re hungry.”
“I believe in you,” he replied with a grin. How could he not? She was a rare gem he got to hoard to himself and few knew how gracious and graceful Laura really was.
Letting Laura go he watched her go to their daughter. Caitlyn smiled and threw her arms around her mother. “It smells wonderful, mummy! I’m so hungry!”
Caspian went to the table and pulled Caitlyn’s chair out. “Then breakfast you shall have!”