Who: Caspian and Ezra “Levi” What: Wanting to Remember When: August 30, 2019, Mid-afternoon [backdated] Where: Marketplace Rating: Mild Status: Complete
Ezra needed fresh air and to be around others. He made another trip to the Marketplace then his government assigned apartment for a nap and was back at one of the cafe tables in the Marketplace with a cup of espresso. He had used some of his beginning allowance to buy another notebook and some pens. The veteran had found it calming to write down his feelings and thoughts into a journal. He had put down his dreams, nightmares, newly recalled memories in the first one he used during his recovery in Tacoma. He wanted to remember everything, but there were still so many pieces missing.
He wore dark blue jeans and a black polo shirt, his government ID hung from his neck - “Levi Murdock: Weather Manipulation, Lightning Manipulation”. He would keep the guise of the name and life the government gave him. It was best to keep Kyrie safe.
It wasn’t rare that new faces arrived on the island; Caspian was weary of being the welcome wagon and yet he seemed to find himself drawn to those in need. For as tough and cold as he could be there was still some heart left in him, or at least enough to take a few stragglers beneath a wing. He had begun to amass a small following of his own not including his family. It was good to have those you could rely on though there was always potential for more. He needed information and having more eyes and ears open worked in his favor.
Blue eyes would spot the tall, toned man bent over the journal. Confident as always Caspian approached and moved to sit down nearby. “Watching the people?” He inquired, accented lilt fluttering like a butterfly toward the other man. “Best way to get a feel for things, in my opinion.” Just then whatever power this one had didn’t matter to him, they would get to that point.
Ezra had barely lifted his head as he registered someone approaching him. His writing stopped as he listened to the other dark-haired man. British? The blue eyes were striking. He wondered how long this man had been on the island. Did this man read minds like dark-haired woman he had followed from that bloody stain a few weeks ago?
“A little. Observing is a good thing, yes.” Ezra spoke, his French accent evident but nearly as heavy as it had been when he first stepped foot off the plane in America.
While he wasn’t up on accents picking out a French one wasn’t much of a challenge. He didn’t know much of the language, himself, but there was always ample time to learn. “Indeed. You can learn a lot by watching others from afar,” Caspian mused. “Did I interrupt you? My apologies.” Eyes would fall to the notebook and then glance away so as not to seem intrusive.
“Mmm.” Ezra hummed as he continued to watch the other man between his words. “No, no problem there. I think I am done for now” The open page were of fragmented memories and then thoughts reflecting his desire to remember more - during his deployment and a little while before. His feelings for Fitz and the closeness to his sister were not a bright or as well in focus as he wished - of those memories he still had.
Turning back to look at the stranger, Caspian nodded and relaxed. “Probably an odd question, but are you alright? I don’t mean to pry, but you look down.” That was a constant state for many in their situation. He could sympathize though he knew it had it better than a lot of others.
His gaze never fell to the page, it didn’t need to, though it was out of politeness. He wanted to earn the trust and prying was not the way to do that.
“It’s nothing. I still am getting used to this place. And other things from before I came here,” Ezra shook his head. He waved Caspian off from the thought him prying. There were some people that were just friendly, right?
The young man laid his pen down and sighed.
Nodding, Caspian turned a bit more to better see the taller man. “I can empathize with you, love. We came here not of our own will,” he confessed. It was not a good time, either, with Laura now bearing their second child. “Stressful, unpredictable. This place can take its toll on you quickly.”
“Indeed,” he nodded. The abilities he had could be unpredictable and intense when his emotions ran high. He hadn’t quite yet learned how to control all of it. “Yes, yes. I have felt it. But thankfully, it’s a small world. I found that a cousin I had lost contact with is here.” Ezra smiled. He would keep up the front of the name and that his sister was his cousin.
Caspian nodded and offered a smile, “Ah, then we both are of fortune. We have family here to support us.” A cousin wasn’t a wife or a child, but in a circumstance like this, it was better than nothing and no one. “Forgive my manners. I am Caspian. Pleasure to meet you.”
Another glance around, always watching or at least offering the perception that he was, and then those blue eyes would turn back to the stranger.
“Yes, we do,” he smiled. It was bittersweet to have found Kyrie here. Fitz as well. Ezra was still agonizing over everything he missed, memories missing, and the chance and promise was lost. “Levi. Likewise.”
He stilled as he watched Caspian glance around, glancing around himself for a moment before meeting the other man’s eyes. “Are things that precarious?”
“Levi, then. Nice name,” he complimented. And then he would shrug. “You never know when you shall befall a circumstance beyond your control.” He could attest to that mostly because he’d been apprehended without a reason. “They’re likely to throw you into jail for stepping the wrong way.” He wouldn’t lie to Levi, they were both adults.
“Thank you. Likewise,” Ezra nodded. “Yes, I’ve had experience with that - but not yet here on this island.” He hushed his voice a little. He hoped his sister and best friend stayed safe here until the time they could leave. “Wow. Mmm, I’ve been told of the strictness of curfew and location.” He wanted to explore more of the island, but the hesitance to step onto any unpaved or uneven surface was still strong.
It would happen in due time. He hated to be the bearer of bad news but to be taken by surprise in such a manner was life changing. It made you more aware of who you could trust, who would be there when the chips were down.
“I would travel in pairs or in a group. It’s easy for them to target you if you’re alone. Unless you can detect them or whatever.” A hand would wave dismissively.
“Okay. Mmm, if only I could detect them. I wasn’t that lucky.” Ezra replied, having met a telepath before that didn’t hesitate to read and find out about Kyrie and Fitz’s important to him.
He still had shaky ground both physically and emotionally, missing pieces and the bridges to those pieces were not there. Would it be best to remember? Ezra thought so and he was anxious for it to happen.
“Oh, but luck has a way of finding you when you least expect it,” he assured the other man. “What would you say if I told you that nobody even knows you’re sitting here right now? Hm? That you could do, say anything and no one would remember it?”
Ezra grew still at Caspian’s words. He knew the abilities of the residents on the island were vast and could range from benign to cosmic. “I’d say. Mmm. Wow. Are you joking?”
“Not at all,” he replied, shaking his head. “None of the residents who pass by this bench will remember that you and I were here sitting on it. Neither will any of the guards. To them, you’re invisible in a sense. They’ve forgotten you exist.”
Caspian was always so calm, collected. He was also honest and when he was after something you would never know any difference.
He looked over at a resident who passed by and then a guard. It seemed to look right past him. Then that last sentence Caspian spoke struck a nerve - both for Fitz’s current situation on the island despite his finding love and his own situation of being declared dead to his friend and loved ones. Many times since Ezra arrived on the island and reunited with Kyrie and Fitz, he felt invisible, like he didn’t exist. “That is profound.” Then Ezra blinked. Forgotten...what if one remembered?
Caspian watched Ezra’s reaction, gauging how he would take the testimony delivered. It wasn’t above him to flaunt what powers he had, it was all in good fun. “Is it?” He inquired, gaze observing the guard who seemed not even to notice them at all.
“I think it keeps me out of danger, to say the least. What, with all of the random accusations and apprehensions as of late.”
“It is.” Ezra replied as he followed Caspian’s eyes to the guard and then back to him. Another mind reader of a sort?
“I’ve heard about the accusations and apprehensions. Corrupt things there. I wonder if your ability,” Ezra spoke giving Caspian a nod as if bowing, “could work the other way.”
His gaze lingered on the guard for a moment before he turned to behold Levi again. “I suppose, then.”
When the conversation began to turn Caspian felt intrigued. “What do you mean, work the other way?” Interested, he leaned toward Levi a bit as he waited to see what was on the mind of the other man.
Ezra remained still as Caspian leaned towards him, the secrecy and intrigue of the conversation was dangerous even with what the other man said he could do to keep them safe.
“The other way - if you can make someone forget, can you make someone remember something they can’t remember?” He spoke in a hushed tone, afraid of any ears around them.
A moment would be taken to consider the question. “Yes, I suppose that I could. Who is trying to remember something?” His voice was kept low. “If you allow and prefer, I am also a telepath. I can hear you if you don’t speak aloud - though I haven’t been reading your mind, rest assured.”
“No, no…” Ezra shook his head. “I would rather not at the moment.” He replied, referring to Caspian’s offer of hearing his thoughts instead of speaking aloud. Shifting a little as he sat, the pressure of his prosthesis on what remained of his right leg giving him some pain. “I am trying to remember something, some things.”
A nod would come of understanding. “That is fine, we can continue like this. It’s not as if anyone is paying attention to us, anyway.” He wasn’t going to let anyone recall anything he didn’t want them to, he never had.
“May I ask as to what you are seeking to recall?” He supposed it was personal, private.
Ezra nodded. “Good.” He spoke. It was a sensitive subject, but if Caspian could and would help him with this- he had to take the chance.
Then he breathed in deeply and let the breath out slowly. “Everything before six years ago. I was in Afghanistan and encountered an I.E.D. It scarred, made me an amputee, and robbed me of most of who I was before.” He explained in a gentle voice, his French accent deepening at parts.
Listening, Caspian assessed the situation. A nod would come. “It would have to be done somewhere a bit more private. I can stave off the onlookers but I work better when I can concentrate fully on what I’m attempting.” Mental multitasking was something he’d grown articulate at over the years.
“We could meet up, I could take a look and see what is available to me. I cannot make you any promises, though.”
“Okay,” Ezra nodded, leaning in a little this time. “I understand.” He was anxious, desperate to recover the memories he had lost. There were other things he had lost - opportunities.
“Yes, s'il vous plaît...I mean, please.” If there was a possibility, he would take it.
“All I would ask in return would be any information you could give on the goings on around here, and your loyalty that you won’t speak of anything that I’ve assisted you with to anyone. Would you be able to do that for me?” He didn’t want that sort of attention. It was dangerous.
“When you’re ready let me know. Do you have a mobile device? I’ll give you my phone number.”
Dropping the pant leg, Ezra gathered his hands together and Ezra listened carefully as he waited til Caspian finished before nodded. “I can do that. I promise.”
Then he went and pulled his cell phone from his left pocket. He unlocked it and offered it to Caspian. Ezra felt like a ghost but perhaps the other man could truly help.
The device was taken. Numbers were input and he saved the information to the phone. A text was sent to himself so that he would have the other chain of numerals and then the phone was offered back. “Please call anytime. Even if you’re in danger. Those I help in any capacity are mine to protect. I hope that you don’t mind. I never had a real family for a long time, I suppose I have a penchant for collecting people.”
Ezra took his phone back and slipped it back into his pocket. “Thank you. It’s okay. I have a family member here and a friend. I know how it feels to not have family for a while. Let me know when you have time. I don’t have any obligations at present.”
Nodding, Caspian moved to stand up. “I should let you get back to what you were doing. I’m glad that I met you today, Levi. It’s been quite a pleasure. Please don’t be a stranger.”
Once the farewell was done he began to move away in the direction that he had come.
Ezra moved to stand as well, tucking his journal and pen under his left arm. “It’s okay. I am glad to meet you too, Caspian. Yes, yes. I hope to talk to you again soon.”
He kept still as he watched the other man leave. After a few moments, Ezra turned and headed for the apartment the government had set aside for him. He had to keep up appearances and honestly the apartment felt like a safe place to be.”