Sunburns and Washcloths

[Mitzi Vallis]

Wringing out cold water into a bucket from a washcloth, Mitzi placed it on the man's forehead. Wiping the excess water dripping down his face with her sleeve, she sat back in her chair. Elbows on her knees, and chin in the palms of her hands, she learned forward to observe. Hally and Mitzi managed to help him to a bed of a spare room- at least they hoped it was a spare room. Hally was off to find Reast, Mitzi wasn't looking forward to the reunion.

The man's skin was cooked, anything exposed shone a vulgar red. Most of his skin was peeling, though Mitzi avoided it's stare. Her leg began to twitch with unknown anticipation as she waited. She stood up to pace the room. She felt obligated to help in some form before Hally returned with Reast.

After search of the room she found men's pajamas, which she carefully folded on top of the bed-side table. She refilled her bottle, and placed it beside the clothing, fidgeting to make it all fit well and look organized. She sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from the man. She placed her bag on crossed legs and looked for something to pass the time. She pulled out a thick book and began reading to the man. "Aardvark, noun. A nocturnal burrowing mammal with tubular snout, and a long extensible tongue. Abalone, noun. An edible mollusk. Absolve, verb set or declare someone free from blame, guilt, or responsibility..." she continued on, only stopping at the C's to catch her breath.

[Cloud]

With my eyes closed, I pretend to sleep. I feel the presence of this woman watching me.
The warm damp washcloth feels good on my forehead. My skin is sensitive so I can almost feel her breathing against what is exposed of me. I hear the fidgeting and movement throughout the room. I listen to the soft sound of folding fabric and the sound of pouring water. Out of curiosity I barely lift my eyelids to take a look, and to my surprise I find the same woman.
Her again...
She seemed anxious before so I'm surprised she's even sticking around. She's facing away from me now, so I can better assess the current situation. I carefully look around the interior design of the room. I see no curtains, no computers, and there's no IV in my arm either. So this isn't a hospital, but it doesn't look like much of a house either. I don't hear anyone else but the woman in the room with me. Quiet place.
This woman is young, I can hear the youthfulness in her voice. I sit up in my bed, and glance over the woman's shoulder to find her reading aloud out of a book. Is she reading to me?
    I glance over at the filled bottle of water, and without hesitation, or regard for how much pain it may cost me, I reach for it. My stomach feels the worst. Due to how empty it is, it feels like a shriveled up raisin in my stomach. It aches and stings like little needles in my belly. I grimace and quickly remove the cap to the bottle and chug down the water.
After several large gulp, I gasp for air and wipe any water off my cheeks. I lay back with my back leaned against the wall. With my legs crossed sitting on the bed, I hold the bottle between my legs and rub my hands against my eyes. They feel dry and crusty and sting with each wrinkle of skin.
   I listen closely to what she is reading and chuckle under my breath. Some food would be really nice. Though they'll probably only feed me soup. I doubt my stomach could handle anything else at this point.
       "Do you have any food?" I ask, resting my hand against my stomach.
  I drank too much water at once and feel as though I may vomit. Yes, soup would definitely be nice right about now. It may ease the nausea if I eat something light. I apply pressure to my stomach, the low grumbling of my empty stomach loud enough for both of us to hear.
         
"And uh," I scoot closer towards the edge of the bed, and place the pajamas on my lap.  I raise my brows and glance up at her. "Where is the bathroom?" I place my feet on the floor and feel the sores under my feet. I bite my inner lip feeling the sting of my swollen heels. I get too excited to roam around, that I accidentally drop the bottle of water. I lean down to grab it, but in the process expose myself to this woman. I didn't realize they striped me of my clothes. Or what was left of them at least. "Shit," Embarrassed I attempt to cover myself by snatching the comforter and dragging it across the floor and pulling it up. I see what looks to be the bathroom out of the corner of my eye. "I'm just gonna go change, thanks." I nervously say with a painful smile.

We're off to a great start. I just exposed myself to this woman.

[Mitzi Vallis]

Startled by the man's voice, Mitzi shot up and closed her book. Whipping around to face him she heard his question, but struggled to reply. She didn't know where the kitchen was, though, she knew she would find it for him. She felt responsible for the man, and wanted to assure his recovery.
Before Mitzi could answer the first, another question. The bathroom. She opened her mouth to reply as the man dropped her bottle. Water splashed onto her feet and ankles, and soaked into her nylons. Glancing down she crouched to grab it- though he had the same idea. Before Mitzi had time to tell him his clothes were in the process of being washed, it was too late.

Mitzi's hand gathered on her mouth, hiding a growing grin. Her cheeks turned bright red, which was clearly visible contradicting her pale skin. She followed his eyes to the bathroom. He had nice eyes for a rugged man, though that wasn't what was on her mind at the moment.
"I'm going to find you something to eat," she choked through a hidden laughter. Her lips twisted trying to desperately hide her grin.
Making her way towards the door. she glanced back at the man. Distracted she collided with the door's frame. Awkwardly shuffling around it, she scurried to find the kitchen.

[Hally O`Hanson]

Hally had managed to wander throughout most of the underground facility the Immortals called home on this small island. It wasn't that small, compared to the place Hally called home before, though. Amityville Asylum wasn't a large place, especially for a young girl who was brought in for murdering her therapist. Hally was frowning to herself as she scurried around the corner of the bedroom hallway, and managed to spot the Mitzi character as she was walking toward the kitchen, probably to find food for the man from the beach. Her aura was oddly colored at the moment, and Hally wondered what had happened while she was gone. Her frown began to turn to a grin, as if she knew a secret no one else knew. And she did, for now.

Hally hadn't been able to find Reast anywhere. She was probably doing damage control after that strange eclipse turned everyone's special magic off.. It had been strange for Hally not to be able to tell how someone was feeling.. She didn't like it at all, actually, and he'd mainly hidden away in her room until the eclipse had ended.

Approaching the door, Hally pushed on it gently, peeking her head in first to see what the stranger was doing now, but didn't spot him in the room. Hally entered cautiously, detecting movement from the bathroom, and made her way over to the desk in the corner, hoisting herself up to sit on it while she waited on the stranger to come out.

[Cloud]

With a sigh I lock bathroom door behind me. I squint my eyes and stare into the mirror. I slowly approach the mirror in front of me, stricken with disbelief.
Is this me? I lean my hands on the bathroom counter, staring closer into the mirror. Who am I? I trace my fingers along the skin on my face, the length of my straight nose, the density and height of my cheekbones, the cleft chin, and the slight fullness of my lips. Blue eyes.. I have blue eyes. I stare into these smokey blue eyes, and the eyes stare straight back into me. I back away from the mirror, rubbing my hand through my brown wavy hair. I gently pull at the strands of my hair, then release them to watch them bounce back into place.

I don't understand..
   I keep my head down, and let the water run along the back of my head and down my neck and back. Water pours from my head down to my jaw, then drips onto my feet.
   I can't remember anything from before those girls rescued me on the beach. I don't even know who I am.  Why can't I remember anything?
What do I tell that girl..Mitzi was her name right? And then the other one was Haley? No, it was Hally.
I drop down and sit in the shower. I'm still pretty weak. The warm water feels good on my face when I raise it. I take a deep breath, and exhale.
     "It'll come to you eventually, Cloud." A woman's voice says with slight amusement. I jump up and reach for the railing to pull myself up. I nearly slip in the process.
   I squint my eyes and peer at a woman's silhouette behind the shower curtain. I pull back the curtain slightly, only enough to poke my head out. The bathroom is empty, no woman in sight. Could that voice have come from outside the bathroom? But it sounded so clear a second ago. As if they were right there. "Hello?" I say loud enough for someone to hear outside the bathroom.
Right as I'm about to close the curtain, a black tail catches my eye. My eyes follow down the black furry tail and there, sitting on the ground is a black cat. When did that get in here?
I close the curtain, and continue showering.


When I exit the bathroom, a cloud of steam exits behind me along with the cat following closely. The pajamas, that Mitzi gave me, luckily fit me quite well. Although I've already dried myself, I bring the towel with me to clean up the mess I had accidentally made before. I kneel down on the ground and wipe up the puddle of water. The black cat rubs itself against my leg and meows circling around me.
I think about Mitzi, and wonder when she'll be back with that food.
Upon returning the towel back to the bathroom my eyes meet that little girl Hally. She is sitting on a desk in the corner of the room. I must have missed her when I walked out of the bathroom.
    "Yea that's my fault." I say with a grin, nodding my head towards the floor. The black cat goes towards Hally, and elegantly hops onto the desk next to her.

[Mitzi Vallis]

Opening cupboards and ripping out drawers, Mitzi found some chicken stock. She adventured the rest of the kitchen for something solid to put in, hoping the man could stomach at least that.
Waiting for the broth to boil, she leaned her back onto the counter. Today had been eventful, in the early hours of the morning she was brought here by boat- which she still needed to grab her luggage from. She had met Reast, which wasn't the most pleasant experience. She lost her abilities, though back now. The morning seemed so far now, so worrisome though none found trace in her mind. Her mind was filled with the afternoon. The strange man washing up, and the little girl. The broth boiled.

She made buttered toast to go with the soup, though she didn't expect him to eat it, she just wanted to do more than the minimum for this man. Placing the bowl and toast on a larger plate, she carried it to the chambers the man was staying in.
She knocked before entering, and slowly opened the door to peak in. The little girl, Hally, was sitting next to... a cat? Mitzi liked cats, but she preferred her lizards. She wondered where they were off to now.
The man was standing, his skin was flushed from a warm shower- he looked different clean. She liked the difference, smiling at the events before the kitchen. She brought the plate next to the girl, setting it down on the counter.
"Soup," she stated. "You should try to eat the toast, too," she tried her best to sound caring as she stared at the curious man.

[Hally O`Hanson]

Hally swung her legs from the place on the desk while the man was cleaning himself up. She heard him call out, though didn't suspect any problems and played with the hem of her dress while she waited for Mitzi to come back, or for him to come out.

She frowned as he finally emerged, eyeing the cat who she never noticed before. "You have a kitty?" Her frown quickly turned into a smile as the black feline weaved around him, and eventually climbed up onto the desk with her. "At least you cleaned it up," she shrugged, referring to the mess he'd made. Hally gave the stranger a long look, deciding he was looking better already. "Sooo, what's your name?" She questioned, then turned her head slightly to look down at the cat, curious as to why the animal had a purple aura like the other special people. It was very strange to her, but Hally decided to keep this information to herself for now. She put her hand out for the cat to sniff before scratching it's cheeks a bit, looking up again when Mitzi entered with some food.

[Cloud]

"Oh, no that cat's not mine," Walking back into the bathroom to hang the towel back up, I look at the cat for a brief moment as I pass by. The cold wide stare of the cat makes me uncomfortable, so I look away. "It was already in the bathroom when I got in there." Maybe it belongs to Mitzi. Does she even live here?
   
  Hally remarks how I cleaned up after myself, and I respond with some humor in my tone. "Yea well I think I scared that french girl off when I spilled it." Walking back towards the bed, I pause for a moment before sitting down. She asks what my name is, and I don't really know. I don't know who I am. What am I supposed to say? What do I tell her? If I tell her I don't know, then she may think I'm either lying or that I'm crazy. Did I bump my head? What even happened to me? All the confusion and gaps in memory make me feel frustrated and leave me somewhat flustered.
I don't know.. Turning around to face Hally, and with a small sigh I try to answer her with some honesty. "Well actually-" before I can tell her the truth, in walks Mitzi holding a plate with a bowl of soup and a slice of toast on the side. I take a long breath in, allowing the smell of the food to linger for some time before I reach for the plate.
     "Thank you, you have no idea how hungry I am." I blow on a spoonful of soup, try a small taste, it's hot but too hot to stop me from eating it at a faster pace. I burn my tongue after the first couple spoonfuls, but I don't let it bother me. I want to thank them for saving my life and bringing me here. I feel somewhat awkward, and leading a conversation in that direction would probably lead to the next question. Who am I, and how did I get here?
   
   After taking a bite out of the toast, I further inspect the corners and walls of the room from the bed.
  "By the way," I begin to ask with a mouthful of food, crumbs spread out around my cheeks. "Where are we exactly?" looking around the room, and after further inspection I see no windows, and the walls don't appear to be the typical drywall you'd find in an ordinary house. The floor doesn't look like hardwood floors either, which is also a bit strange. The mysterious black cat silently rests itself on the bed next to me. The relaxed cat lays on its back, looks up at me and vocals a friendly meow. Purposely ignoring it I turn my attention back to the two ladies in the room listening to their response.

[Mitzi Vallis]

Returning to her chair, Mitzi tucked her skirt under her legs before sitting down and crossing them. She folded her hands on her knees and corrected her posture a little more than usual. She smiled at the man's thanks, studying his eating ettiquette. He ate the toast and soup much differently than she would have.

Catching herself staring for too long, Mitzi changed her glance from his lips to his eyes. "I just arrived here a few hours before you did...I know the basics, they call themselves The Immortals. A group of misfits with..." she didn't know how much to tell the man. Besides him cheatin death he seemed ordinary. "With abilities." She continued, glancing at Hally for comfirmation. "Trying to better themselves and others. I assume Hally is more qualified to answer this."

After all, Mitzi wasn't even a part of The Immortals. Yet? She still heavily debated on it. Reast and Rion didn't exactly bring out the welcome carpet for her. Heart was kind, and she could surely find friendship with her and Hally. But was friendship enough to drop a life in France? The thought of leaving back to France didn't seem terrible, until she looked up at the man. She must at least assure his recovery before leaving.
Maybe France wasn't really much of a life to go back to.

[Hally O`Hanson]

Hally shrugged when Mitzi called on her to answer more questions, and pushed herself to stand atop the desk. She brushed off the poofy skirt of her dress, thinking for a moment how to explain what she did know. "Well, Stitch brought me to the Promise Island from Amityville, then he and all his family.. disappeared?" She frowned, looking between Mitzi and the man who conveniently avoided telling Hally his name.

"But, this is the Immortals Island. It's mostly underground, and all the special purple colored people come to live here, like all of us," She smiled a bit, continuing. "Reast and Rion help us all live together here, and magic from everyone keeps it together. We're a big family! Though, Rion disappeared, I think some special mission." She sat herself back down on the edge of the desk, then scooted off and onto the floor. "We do missions, too! We get to make teams and go off and find people, or things.. It's super fun sounding!" She gave a full smile now, deciding to pause and let the pair soak in the information she'd shared. Truthfully, Hally didn't know very much either, but she was pretty smart and could figure things out. Especially since she could read the colors of the Immortals members. "Are you both going to stay here, too?" She asked curiously.

[Cloud]

The Immortals..
Are they subspecies of humans perhaps? I wonder if all of them are actually human. They have joined together, forming this group of people with special gifts. They have given themselves a name, and a place to call home. To what end..
The familiarity of this confuses me. I finish my meal, move the plate aside and relax myself leaning back on the bed. Wiping the excess crumbs off my chin, I look at the ground for a moment thinking. Am I staying here? Why do I feel like I already know my answer? Why would she ask me that? The way Hally is looking at me, and the natural tone in her voice. Does she know something about me that I don't? I doubt I would fit in here considering the fact that I don't..
No, I do. I do have a special ability. I know that I do, yet I don't know how. Without a doubt I have some power in me.  Gazing at my hands, I stretch them out testing the amount of strength in my hands.
Walking past them towards the bathroom, I talk to them over my shoulder, "I think I'll stick around. I'd like to talk to whoever is in charge here though. "ashing my face, and wiping it off I gaze at the two of them behind me through the mirror. "I doubt they want some stranger just sticking around without permission." I say with a slight smirk.
       Folding the hand towel back, I turn around and lean on the sink folding my arms. "By the way," I add, I guess now is as good as a time as ever to thank them, "Thanks for saving my neck back there. If you guys hadn't shown up when you did, I probably would have been a rotting corpse by now."
I glance at Mitzi and smile. "The soup was great too." I try to refrain myself from staring at her too long. Watching Mitzi's mannerisms and her proper posture it is obvious that she's comfortable with herself, and her accent proves that she's clearly a foreigner. Perhaps she's just used to being in a strange place.
As for Hally, do they really allow this young girl to just wander around the grounds of this place without any supervision? Then again she isn't exactly normal.
Walking away from the bathroom, I head straight for the bedroom door. My legs still somewhat weak, I attempt to put up a front. If I'm meant to stick around here, then I shouldn't be holding these people back. The black cat must be pretty fond of me, considering how much it's remained at my side.

[Mitzi Vallis]

Hearing out Hally's response, it appeared the girl didn't know a lot more than Mitzi herself did. She blinked in thought at her question. Staying? It would be a commitment. She'd have to move a lot more than a few suitcases. It would be costly to send her furniture here- though cost was no matter for Mitzi.
Mtizi faced the child. "I'll need to talk to Reast again." Deciding on staying for now, however long that meant. She'd need a room.

Mitzi cocked her head to the side as the man spoke, he had thanked them for the rescue. His praise of the soup made her smile. Mitzi watched him walk, his struggle was starting to lesson as he regained some strength, this made her feel relieved; though meant her presence was no longer needed and probably inappropriate.
She almost wanted him to stop recovering at the pace he was, though that made her feel ashamed and terribly selfish. She stood up to start grabbing her belongings from the room.

[Hally O`Hanson]

Hally skipped out of the room after Mitzi and the stranger, going off opposite them. Perhaps they would meet up again later, Hally thought. "Let me know when you figure out your name!" She called behind her, giggling to herself as she thought of how those two's colors matched each other's perfectly.

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