InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "The Crowening"

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

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.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

(Read comments) -