She hesitated before replying to Emerson quietly in another language. He shot back something else, sounding as if he were condemning her. They went back and forth for a while until Aisling jerked her head to look at him and spoke a rapid-fire, scathing response. Emerson fell silent, glaring at her coldly, but she raised an eyebrow, as if challenging him. He responded slowly and sharply before heading towards the back of the group. Aisling turned to Dion. "My apologies. Thank you. Let's go."
She followed them, her brow furrowed as the crowd moved, seeming to trust Aisling as the head of the pack.
He led them along the backstreets, eventually nearing central city, where he slipped into the hidden entrance of a building; a crevice behind old crates and ragged sheets. It was well hidden. They proceeded into the building, nothing unusual on the first and second floor. Around the third floor there was a few seats and bookshelves. The next floor up was where everyone was. Eating food and relaxing. They looked up when they entered, about eleven or twelve people, before an older woman came out of the kitchen, her hair graying and back hunched from work. When she spoke her voice was hushed and obviously quite angry. "Who.. are they?"
Aisling's gaze moved slowly over the crowd, her brows furrowed. Her gun was at her side and she frowned, seeming concerned. She bit her lip, looking over at Dion uncertainly, pulling her long brown hair over her shoulder. Emerson, for his part, looked extremely uncomfortable and irritated, standing on the side with his arms crossed. He was silent, his blond hair extremely ruffled and soot smeared across his face, his sharp cold eyes bloodshot and tired. Lucy hushed the stirring toddler in her arms with a small kiss to their hair, her bright blue eyes never leaving the group in front of them. She had a cut across her face, and a harsh burn across her neck, but her brows were furrowed and she didn't complain, holding the baby close for comfort, her goggles perched on her forehead. Ellis was also holding a child in his arms, and he was whispering a story into the ears of the boy, who was no more than five. The boy's head rested on Ellis' shoulder, and Ellis spoke quietly, explaining that the hero in his story also had to escape a past of fire and terror, and he became more brave and chivalrous for it. Despite the lightheartedness of his comforting, he didn't stop watching the crowd, his posture tense and alert.
Dion stepped forward, muttering into Garcia's ear something that didn't seem English. The cold and distrusting look never left her face before she gave a nod. "Give me your guns and we will tend to you."
Aisling's head jerked over to Emerson, a warning forming on her lips, but Emerson replied before she could say anything, his brows furrowed. "We will not surrender our guns. You can have our word that we will not use them." "Emerson..." Aisling said, sounding frustrated and reluctant. "We will not," Emerson snapped, cutting her off, glowering at her. "We can leave if they so desire, but we will not surrender our guns." Lucy felt something bubble up in her and she spoke suddenly. Heads in her clan turned to her in surprise as her voice spoke up. "Please," she said quietly, holding the child to her chest. She addressed Garcia, her brows furrowed in desperation. "We... we can leave, but please take our children. Some of them are injured." Exclamations of disbelief arose from their crowd, but she shook her head, looking down at the girl in her arms as she responded to her clan. "Please. Elsie has been coughing all night. She can't breathe." She looked back up, addressing Garcia once more. "Just take our children. The rest of us can leave."
Her eyes narrowed at Emerson before she looked over at Lucy with a sigh. "Fine. I will allow you to stay. All of you." She waved her hand before leaving the room. "Tend to them." People suddenly went to help without question, starting with the children.
Lucy sagged in relief, rubbing the back of the baby in her arms slowly. Ellis looked down at her with a frown, his brows furrowed. "Is she going to be okay?" "I don't know," she replied honestly. "She was in a lot of smoke." Emerson watched suspiciously, his eyes darting among the crowd with a calculated look of distrust in his eyes. Aisling looked over at Dion. "Hey. Thank you."
Rory approached Lucy, her head tilted as she held out her arms for the little girl hopefully, going to help her. Dion looked over at Aisling with a frown. "You're welcome," he said simply, before leaving. Blaise tilted her head, going to prepare extra beds.
Lucy looked nervous at the idea of departing from the child, but not suspicious. She regarded Rory with some degree of relief, passing the girl off to her, revealing a large burn that crossed her neck and chest. "You''ll... you'll take care of her?" she asked plaintively.
She nodded, noting the burns before going over to Jaz and whispering in his ear, going to the infirmary area. Jaz approached her, looking down at her. "I can help your burn," he said, not pointing out that they had met.
He looked back momentarily. "It is. Come with me." Blaise returned the room, her eyes sharp. "Anyone who isn't hurt can come with me. Anyone who is, go to the infirmary, which is that room over there."
Ellis frowned, studying Blaise thoughtfully. He remembered her instantly, of course, but didn't speak on the matter. Instead, he approached her, along with Emerson and Aisling. Lucy looked reluctant, but followed, her brows furrowing. "I'm... I'm really okay," she said weakly to Jaz. "I don't need to go to the infirmary."
He frowned at the pointing to her burns. "It'll only take a second. Then you can rest." Blaise led them upstairs, where there were plenty of beds set up for them. She held the door open. "You'll be staying here."
She still seemed nervous, her gaze darting around. "Uh... o...okay. Where are the children going?" * * * Aisling looked around thoughtfully before turning to Blaise, having assumed the ambassador role of the group. "Thank you," she said quietly. "We won't ever be able to repay your clan." Ellis considered Blaise with a raised eyebrow, his head tilted thoughtfully.
"They'll go to the infirmary if they're hurt. Then they'll stay in the same room as you," he said, leading her to get bandaged. *** "You're welcome. It's hard to stand by and watch.." Blaise said, looking worried. She hadn't noticed Ellis yet.
She frowned, watching him thoughtfully. "What's your name?" she asked after a moment, tilting her head. "If you don't mind me asking." * * * Aisling nodded slowly, her brows furrowed. "Yes, well... it happened so quickly. We could have never expected that it would have happened." She looked over at Ellis, frowning. "They entered through the kitchens, right?" Ellis nodded slowly, frowning nervously. "I believe so. I was patrolling near the nursery when it happened."
"My name is Jaz," he said, moving to help her burn. *** She noticed Ellis, tilting her head before looking between them. "They? Were you attacked."
