Another Day [CLOSED]

An uneasy smile rested on her face, and softly, she whispered, "O-of c-c-course... u-uhm..." There was a lump of her throat that prevented any words from escaping, suddenly dry and Lamia only shook her head, a small blush rising on her that she failed to answer completely. Well... was she supposed to address him as Magic right now or Mason? That was the problem with two names, and you told them both to one person - when would it be appropriate to use one over the other? Would it be better to just go with the one you were used to? Or did he secretly have a preference and didn't want to tell her because she wasn't good enough to know? Lamia wanted to use the excuse that it was because life was complicated, but most people really didn't have two names. Was that even still valid? Not like I should really talk, though. As long as anyone didn't bother trying to dig into her past or anything that had to do with it, she was fine with whatever she was stuck with. Besides, she was so uninteresting and practically invisible that people hardly noticed that she was around.

Taking a glance at the book clenched in her hands, Lamia's smile brightened a bit. A childhood classic that she and Kearn used to mimic and re-enact before they found out they had real "magic", which their parents helped them with... somewhat. Harry Potter. She didn't recall packing it, though, but it wouldn't hurt anyone if she read it for awhile. But it would only drop her mood and she didn't want Magic asking her if something was wrong again. With a defeated sigh, she tucked the storybook back into her bags, her hands searching and grabbing the closest novel inside. Another childhood story... Who the hell packed these? Her feet touched the ground softly and kneeling down, she allowed her eyes to glance and Lamia grabbed another book. Eh, it'll do.

Plopping back onto the bed, she opened it and immersed herself into the adventures of someone far more fortunate than her. Battle Royale... She had certainly chosen the wrong book at the wrong time.

Magic glanced back over his shoulder as he heard Lamia shuffling around. He was kind of curious as to what she was doing, but he just so her debating on what book to read. He looked back to the t.v. and continued watching the movie.

After finishing the movie, the young boy went and got ready in some proper clothes, and by proper clothes I mean his usual out fit. He wore jeans today, with an old band t-shirt, and to make himself feel slightly comfortable he had an unbuttoned, button up shirt over the t-shirt. It really was his typical outfit. After Lamia was ready the two headed out from the hotel, and back over to the ghetto. It wasn't to crowded at the moment, for some reason. Maybe it was because they were afraid it would rain today.

It didn't take them to long to reach the area again. The apartment building where Magic's mother resided loomed in the distance. But they wouldn't be going near that place again today. Well they may pass buy it but that wouldn't really be much of an issue. Magic told Laine to meet them at checkpoint Delta today. So that way Laine could catch him up on somethings, and take them to the new Headquarters since the last one was kind of ambushed one time.

Magic finally saw the older boy in the distance. Exactly where they decided to met. Laine waved at the two once they where close enough. "Hey you two. How was your evening after the fight?" The leader asked.

Magic decided to respond. "I got hit on by waitress last night. It wasn't really too fun at all. But hanging out at the park before that was pretty fun." Magic explained though he didn't answer for Lamia this time.

"Let me guess... you scared the waitress or threatened her in some way shape or form? Then you had to leave or you got kicked out?" Laine asked with a slight smirk on his face like he already knew the answer. Laine shifted his standing position, which ended up showing his left arm. On his left forearm was the same tattoo that Magic had on the back of his shoulder. Only Laine's was more noticeable. Also you could slightly see a pack of cigarettes sticking out of the older man's front pocket. His blonde hair was tied up into a small pony tail, and any pieces of hair that was too short hung in front of his ears.

A small smile appeared on Magic's face. "Lamia dragged me out of there, but I did a bit of both. Probably did scare her, but I know I threatened her." The winter student answered Laine's question.

Laine hadn't forgotten about Lamia, but he knew she wouldn't say much. So he decided to stick with simple questions for her. He looked at here, a friendly look on his face. "What about you? Did you have fun last night? And are you enjoying the city?" The older teen hoped that it was something that would be kind of simple to answer. They were mostly yes or no questions. So yeah he should get at least a simple answer out of her. If he got that he would be happy.

In the middle of the story, she had shut it closed, slamming it forcibly and tucked it away. While the most she had received was an odd look from the other Winter, Lamia was positive he had suspected something but had shrugged it off once she just smiled. Shaking her head, as though it would get rid of those rather gruesome images from her mind, she couldn't help but be internally relieved once Magic had finished the movie and told her to get ready. She really didn't want to re-imagine those horrible, twisted deaths... Ugh, even the mention of the book made her want to gag. Who the hell packed these books?

Her hands reached for the closest outfit inside her bag, each one already organized and folded tenderly together; to be honest, she didn't really care about what she wore because she'd look bad and unattractive anyway. Most of all, her mom bought most of her clothes, and as sick as she was, she loved fashion, so Lamia got stuck with more organized clothing that she probably wouldn't have given a second thought towards. Slipping on a pale, cream long shirt with a turtle neck and a sleeveless red dress on top - hollow yellow hearts lining the trim -, loose strands dangling onto it that was easily meant to be tied into a bow, Lamia took some time to brush her hair, allowing the comb to fly through without much difficulty. Stretching the red scrunchie in her hand, and positioning her hand, she deftly tied it on, allowing the same side ponytail she wore to form. Soon enough, she tied the ribbon in its place, tossing a beige cardigan over the outfit.

Pulling her boots over, she followed after Magic with a tiny smile on her face, fingers awkwardly playing with the ribbon tied on her chest, and there were a number of times where she had untied it only to retie it again. He had told her that she was supposed to meet everyone in his gang. Normally, she would've avoided this and told herself to leave as soon as physically possible. But... since he had asked, she might as well go with it. In the distance, her golden eyes spotted Laine, but Magic had probably heard him before she saw anything. There was a lump in her throat, and Lamia forced herself to swallow it and any anxiety that she might have with it.

It's just some people, her mind scoffed at her, and she listened to the conversation with a soft look on her face. That was, until Magic felt the need to add her into the conversation. Taken off-guard, Lamia couldn't mentally prepare herself and once Laine started talking to her, she ducked awkwardly, a small blush rising on her cheeks. "A-ah..." she started, her voice soft as silk. She couldn't help it - she was practically try to shove the ball of her right foot into the concrete floor, but it wouldn't go in and trap her there. It was one person. If she acted like this now, who knows how overwhelmed she would be once she was flooded by many others? The one thing she didn't like though, was the fact that he was treating her as though she were a child. It wasn't like she couldn't speak and was incapable of answering more complicated questions. But, oh well. Whatever he wanted to think.

A small, breathy giggle escaped, and Lamia answered quietly with an almost imperceptible nod, "I-I-It was f-fun... I-I'm e-enjoying it s-s-so f-far." Okay, maybe she was incapable of answering more complex stuff.

It's not that Laine didn't think she could answer more complex stuff, he knew that the two of them didn't exactly know each other two well, and that she wouldn't exactly be comfortable with holding a conversation with him at this point in time. He believed that Magic still had a little bit of a hard time having a full conversation with her, but he didn't know if it was true or not. He smile in response to her answer. "That's good, Sometimes this city can be a pain to people." He remarked. He wasn't really looking for a reply to that statement though. The boy pulled out a cigarette, and a lighter. He stuck the deadly thing in his mouth and lit it, being careful to not push the smoke in Lamia's or Magic's direction. He removed the cigarette from his mouth for a moment, "Are we ready to head to the nest?" Laine asked Magic.

Magic nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I know a lot of people will be either surprised to see me, or happy to see me. Or some might just try to fight me right away. If there are any new members, let them think I'm some weakling or something so that way if they challenge me trying to earn easy points they will learn a quick lesson." Magic said with a slight smirk on his face. Before he went to the school, a lot of big muscular people showed up asking for the leader to challenge him, and would laugh when it was Magic. They soon learned to never take anything for granted.

Laine replicated Magic's smirk basically. "Of course. There is at least seven who don't know you so.. yeah the most likely will challenge you, thinking you are new or something. Anyway let's go. It shouldn't take to long to get there." Laine put his cigarette back in his mouth, and started to walk away from the two.

Magic looked at Lamia, "Come on, let's go." He said with a normal tone. He gave her a reassuring smile before following after Laine.

Lamia wasn't going to question Laine's remark to her - she sort of saw for herself how bad the city could be. Smoking, drinking, terrible parents, waitresses flirting in the middle of work, fights, etc... Yeah, it was kind of messed up here, no offense to Magic. But she wasn't going to respond to it, her smile unwavering. It wouldn't be right to tell him that she was so uncomfortable with these sort of things. Especially the alcohol and cigarettes. Once Laine had pulled it out, she couldn't help but look away, silently glad that the older boy wasn't going to point the smoke right at them. She wanted to tell him that he'd probably mess up his life if he continued; she couldn't say anything though since she took a sip every now and then... and he seemed to be enjoying it. Who was she to ruin someone's fun?

She was relieved once the two changed the subject, and absentmindedly, her eyes looked around the area, trying to point out any changes and the like. That was, of course, until a rather... peculiar topic jumped into the conversation. Challenging? Fighting? Wasn't that... They fought for ranking and for sport? Lamia couldn't stand it - how could anyone enjoy beating someone else up for fun? That was really awful and cruel. It was wrong of her to envy them for having some kind of passion in something, even if it was something as harmful as hurting someone else. Idiot...

Somewhat caught in her thoughts, she blinked and barely processed that the two were leaving. Awkwardly, she followed behind them a little ways off, giving them any space if they wanted to start a conversation again. They'd probably forget she was here, like most people would. It was sort of a given.

Magic stayed a bit of a ways behind Laine. He never liked it when the boy smoked, but it was something he couldn't really do much about. And yes they did fight to determine rank, but it was never really anything to serious. They did it on a point system, and with lightish contact. It still hurt slightly but nothing to seriously damaging. The most Magic would do would be startling them with a take down or something. He wouldn't actually fight them.

The three of them arrived at what looked like a heavy metal door to a warehouse. Inside the warehouse was an underground area. "We discovered an old underground bunker in this warehouse, and decided it would be a good place to make the base." Laine opened the heavy door, and inside people moved about as well as you could see people appearing from a downstairs area. There were people of all kinds inside the building. Ranging from young children to older adults, and then the teens, and young adults. It was a safe place, for some of them anyway. If you paid attention you would notice the same flame tattoo's that Laine, and Magic had on some of them. Those were the fighters.

Laine pointed to a couple people standing off to the side. "Those are some of the new guys." He said to Magic before speaking to both of them. "How do you like the base so far?" The giant building was littered with a bunch of couches and other types of seating. There were tvs scattered about as well, and different entertainment areas. There was a small makeshift kitchen area tucked away in the corner. Next to the counter was where the underground area of the base started. But that was kind of for the fighters only. "This is also a good area as well because it provides shelter for people who don't have homes at the moment."

Magic liked it. It was a good idea and pretty functional. He didn't really pay any mind to the new guys. He would only do something if they challenged him. But thats how things pretty much went. The less new guys always challenged the new guys to try and earn points in some way. They hadn't even noticed him yet. "This is pretty amazing. Nice choice Laine. I didn't even know about this place." Off to the side the children from yesterday were playing around, as some adults watched to make sure they didn't get into trouble.

The entire way, Lamia stayed quiet, save for humming the same song from back in the kitchen. Her eyes wandered around, observing the mundane scenery around them, ranging from people flooding the streets and going shopping, cars blaring their horns down the roads as though they were the most relevant objects present, and stores littering the place, giving the otherwise monochrome city, bright and vibrant colors of all sorts of shades and hues. It was like looking at a bouquet of flowers standing in a glass vase in a completely dark room with only lights filtering through to see the rich texture while everything around was only lingered of depression and bad habits... the house her father was currently in. Alone because she left without a word. Was it the right choice to escape? She wasn't very sure, but she didn't deny that it was wrong of her to do so.

Each step she took only brought her to a rather unwanted gathering, filled with strangers whose faces and names she probably would try to remember, but would be unable to. What a sad thought... to meet someone only for them to forget you. Would that ever happen with her and Magic? She was bland, plain, and not exactly attractive or appealing in anyway. She was difficult to talk to and stuttered constantly, and most people didn't really mind her. If Lamia had to think, then, yes. He would eventually forget about her; in fact, he might be getting sick of her already and wondering how he managed to stick by her thus far. Then, he'd get bored and move on to find someone who was clearly better than her, only recalling with a blur of a girl with gold eyes before dispelling it as unimportant. That's probably what would happen... what the inevitable. Why did she even try to be friends with other people? The most she could do was try and offer her help in any way she could, but they were all so small and insignificant - it wasn't ever much.

Forcing the poisonous thoughts out of her mind, Lamia focused on looking around the moment the heavy metal doors opened. There were so many more people than she had been expecting. Stupidstupidstupid... Suddenly, her heart was racing and she felt a very strong urge to just sprint out and not look back. She wouldn't get very far, though... Wiping her sweaty palms on her thighs, Lamia took a deep breath, mentally counting to ten. You can do this... probably. Hopefully - she didn't want Magic to suddenly start focusing on her just because she had a stupid anxiety attack. That would be really pathetic. Fuck, she was really hoping that wouldn't happen.

She had a soft, fond smile stretching her lips ever so slightly, and she had only mumbled incoherent greetings to some of the people they had passed, mostly out of consideration and because it would be rude. That didn't mean she necessarily had to look at them. Maybe she should force herself to look them straight in the eye, to help with the act that she was completely alright with doing this. Actually, probably not. Magic would notice immediately - maybe - if she was acting off and more awkward than usual; Lamia personally didn't want to take the risk.

One thing she could tell immediately was the clear, obvious family-like atmosphere here. Everyone seemed to get along, for the most part, and it certainly had a commodious feel to the place, from the various entertainment to the people of various ages interacting with each other to just the basic necessities. It was practical, simple, but felt comfortable and inviting. Magic was right - this place was amazing. She was reminded of her home, before everything happened. Goddammit, stop looking back at that now. This was really no time to feel depressed.

And even after that long trip, Lamia still hadn't spoken a legitimate word. Was she supposed to say something? That'd be weird though, like she was barging in uninvited. So she kept her mouth shut, humming the same song on repeat in an endless cycle. The music, self-created or not, helped keep her calm... and her focus not on the impending doom of socializing with others.

Magic could hear all of them. Every single person in the room talking about something. Some of them were just talking about everyday things, others where talking about some gang matters, or going to a strip club later. Yeah.. that was kind of typical. Some where even talking about how Magic was back for a short time. When Laine pointed out the new members, Magic made sure to pay attention to their conversation.

It was kind of a boring conversation. They were just wondering what the old leader looked like, and who he was. Then they finally noticed Magic and started talking about him for a second. Mason couldn't help but smirk a little bit. They were trying to debate about challenging him or not. Then one of them finally decided to do it. Magic wiped the smirk of his face as the small and slightly timid group of newbies walked over to the group. Magic put on an act that he was nervous about this whole thing, and a little bit shy.

Laine notice the shift in Magic's posture, and his sort of over all attitude. He soon caught on that the new guys where going to challenge Magic. That when the group stopped a little bit away from the three of them, and the challenger approached Laine to ask him about the challenge. "Can I challenge the new guy?" Laine's smile grew, but didn't give away anything. He nodded in response but decided to announce the small spar that was taking place. "Ladies, and gentlemen! May I have your attention please!" People started gathering around in response to Laine's voice. "Mike here, is challenge the new recruit!" Laine said to the surrounding people. Some people cheered, and clapped, others stayed silent waiting for the spar to happen. Laine looked like he was explaining some things to Magic to make it believable but really it was just nonsense.

Magic and Mike stepped into the large circle of people. Mason kept up his nervous demeanor, just to fool the new guys. While everyone else generally knew what was going on. But instead of giving it away they just let it happen. The winter student heard "Start the fight!" come from Laine. Which only made his fake personality appear more nervous. But in truth this was going to be easy, and it wouldn't last to long.

Mike noticed how 'nervous' Magic got, and smirked slightly. He probably though this was going to be an easy win for him. Mike shot out a punch with his left arm but before he could follow it up with a right cross Magic's hand flashed out, and pushed the guys hand out of the way. Then Mason's other hand replaced the first one, and grabbed the man's wrist. Magic shoved his first hand on the guy's face turned him a little bit then folded Mike's arm over it's self, and soon Mike was on the floor completely startled as to what happened. All he saw was the former nervous teen smirking about him. For every one else the whole thing happened in a second. Magic offered a hand to the downed adult. "Don't you know to never challenge the former leader?" He asked after the guy stood up.

The guy looked a bit dumbfounded at what Magic just said. Like he couldn't make the connection that this teen was the leader who organized this group. Laine approached the two. "Give it up for Mike for lasting a split second longer than the last guy!" Laine shouted, and people cheered in response. Soon everything returned to normal once again. With Mike be a little embarrassed, and some people trying to make him feel better.

Magic walked back over to Lamia with a happy look on his face. "That is sort of how our fights go. Except they usually last longer, and have a bit more fighting, but no one is ever seriously harmed." He said to his friend. Hopefully she wasn't to concerned with how things were going to go.

Of the many people that she did greet, most of them seemed to only just realize she was there or never really noticed. Maybe her presence was just terribly weak... Should she speak up more? Lamia didn't think that was possible, unless maybe Magic tried to amplify her voice a bit, but that only meant that she had to be more careful about what she said and the chances of screwing up were pretty high. No, her messing up was guaranteed if people could actually hear her, properly. She should be more grateful for being able to talk so softly, yet she had to always be jealous of everyone else around her who could speak clearly and could actually be heard. Why the hell was she always contradicting herself? Because you're stupid.

Standing a little to the side of the two, she had awkwardly been sweeping her feet across the floor. Nobody really glanced her way, and Lamia only had to assume it was because her gift might as well had been invisibility instead of time theft. The power to not be seen sounded tempting to have. At least then, nobody would have to realize she actually existed and she could just sort of hide in the corner alone, doing her own little thing. Having to socialize with others was so difficult... How does anyone know when it was alright to say something blunt and when it was fine to sugarcoat? What decision was best when talking to another person and they gave you three choices to follow? Life was so complex and confusing that she had just stopped caring about how much she was worth to others; everyone else was always above her in every single way possible.

She had been leaning back onto the metal wall, one hand holding her phone as she blankly stared at the screen, looking at the picture from yesterday evening. God, her smile was so lopsided and she felt so out of place... It would've been better if she wasn't there. Why didn't she just ask him if she could take a picture of only him? Actually, that might've been weird and he probably would've told her to be in the photo as well. But Lamia only felt more self-conscious the more she kept thinking about it. With an imperceptible sigh, her finger pressed the power button.

That was when she heard another voice join the conversation.

Cocking her head to the side in curiosity, Lamia forced herself to look up, only to see one of the people that Laine had pointed out from before come up and ask to challenge Magic. Wait, hold on? They were going to fight, right now? Didn't they know that it'd be dangerous? Her gaze wandered over to Magic, only to see that he had shifted to a different personality - nervous, timid, shy. What was this? A plan to mock her? Okay, she didn't really need it being rubbed in her face that she was completely anxious and practically panicking all the time. Magic wouldn't do that... he's not that kind of person. Well, that was what she wanted to convince herself of. For all she knew, she was deluding herself and this was an obvious prank.

Once everyone started cheering and clapping about this, she turned away. If anything, she wasn't going to watch. A fight was a fight - someone was obviously going to get hurt in some way, no matter what. Wasn't that even the literal definition? This wasn't a good idea at all... Magic knew he would beat his opponent really quickly. Did they do this all the time?

Oh. It was just a simple lock.

Stupidstupidstupid… She knew enough self-defense to realize that there were locks and pins. How did she forget that there was an easy technique to disengage a fight without having to hurt anybody? Magic had come over soon after it started, as though it had only lasted for a moment, and all she could offer was a queasy smile. Lamia laughed a bit, replying softly, ”I-I s-s-see… th-that’s kind of m-mean, though… T-t-to trick someone l-like that.” Wait, what? Her lips thinned, and hastily, she stammered out, "I-I m-mean, u-uhm... I-I-I g-guess it's a-alright... a-and... e-err... I-I d-d-don't want to... u-uhm... I-It's just th-that... I-I.. uh... I'm s-s-sorry!"

Magic's smile faded a little bit at Lamia's remark. But he wasn't upset with what she had said. "I get what you mean, but we aren't just doing this for fun. It teaches the new guys to never judge an opponent so easily. You never know what they are capable of. They weren't sure of challenging me until they saw I was being that fake timid, and shy kind of person. Then they though it would be easy. I did that a lot with the new guys, because they always thought I was a lower ranking member instead of the leader. Fastest way to teach that lesson." He said to his friend. There was always a method to his madness most of the time.

He glanced over to the downstairs area, kind of curious to what was down there but he had an idea. There was probably some bedrooms and stuff down there for some.. 'activities'.. He was never interested in those.. But there was also probably some planning rooms or something. He looked over to Laine. "Laine. What's downstairs?" He asked the leader.

"Oh you know.. Planning room, and some other things.." He said. His answer confirmed Magic's suspicions. "Wanna go down there?" Laine asked the pair.

Magic became slightly flustered at the offer, but it wasn't really noticeable. "J-just to see the planning room." He said with a slight stutter. Lamia probably already knew what was down there aside from the planning room. But he would rather avoid going into one of the other rooms if he could help it.

"I-I d-d-didn't realize... I-I'm sorry..." Lamia couldn't help but repeat her apology. That was stupid - how couldn't she just figure that out? It was an obvious answer and an easy lesson everyone was taught at a young age. Don't judge a book by its cover. She even lived that phrase on a daily basis, hiding behind a personality she had no control over so not a single person could figure out how she felt. Her eyes returned to the floor and mindlessly, she shuffled her feet, playing with her hands. It would've been better if she hadn't said anything in the first place, like she normally did. Forcing herself to smile, she edged back onto the wall, casting a glance towards the stairway. Now that she thought about...

... Did he care that she hadn't bothered to leave his side once this entire vacation? There were a few times were she would be standing a little off to the side, but she had followed him everywhere. Albeit, a little awkwardly. Maybe she should try and go off on her own for once. Would he start worrying about her, though? Maybe it would be better if she just stuck by him so she wouldn't get lost. There was just this peculiar feeling that she was being annoying and hard to manage, boring and uninteresting to be around. Her point still stood from before: Magic would've been better off choosing someone else to take on this trip. Little to no worth in bringing her with him.

Oh, fuck my life.

It was complicated to do anything in this world. To verbalize your emotions, to make a choice, to try and fit in, to do practically every single little thing. People judged you based on how you looked, how you spoke, how well you studied. Everything you did caused people to think of you in a specific way and you had to try and satisfy them. Her? She couldn't do anything very well, so the most she could manage was to help others succeed and being a stepping stone. To motivate them to do their best and make them smile. Besides, her life meaning was probably to allow everyone in this world to flow and flourish. As long as everyone else was happy... she was fine being left behind.

There were many things she did understand, but honestly? She had no idea what "other things" Laine and Magic were talking about. It couldn't be that bad, could it? The warehouse so far seemed really welcoming and held a warm atmosphere... Dammit, she was judging by the cover again. Lamia turned her eyes up again, sheepishly, before numbly letting herself slid off the wall. "I-I d-d-don't mind going."

Laine smiled slightly. "Alright then, Let's go." He guided the two over to the stair case. They passed a dude that seemed like he was guarding the stairs. Laine opened his mouth to answer the question Magic was just about to ask. "Downstairs is only meant for the fighters. So he is there to keep others out." Laine said as the three headed down the stairs.

The stairs revealed another heavy metal door. Laine opened up the door, and behind it was a long hallway. Tiles covered the floor, and the walls were a soft brown color there was numerous doors that spanned the hallway. At the end of the hallway there was another door. The door was mark with planning room, but it was hard to see from this distance. The other doors that were in the hallway all had a sign hanging on them, and lights above them. The signs had open or closed on them The doors that were marked open at the moment where slightly cracked open. Only one door was marked closed at the moment. Though Magic heard nothing coming from inside, must have been a person using it to sleep.

The three of them passed the numerous rooms, Magic couldn't help but be a little tense as they did so. He hoped Lamia wouldn't get curious and look inside one of them, but he didn't bother to look back and check on the winter occasionally. Finally they reached the planning room. Inside was a giant room meant to hold a good many people. On one of the walls was the map of the ghetto area. Magic's gang territory was marked in red on the map, and on the map was various check points. Overall it was a nice looking room.

Oh.

That was the first thing to creep up onto her mind once she heard Laine explain it. What was she, stupid? Of course they would have an entire floor to let their fighters train and work out. How obvious. God, she was so fucking oblivious and stupid sometimes. Without speaking another word, Lamia followed them down, being cautious with her steps. She paused every now and then to keep her balance, her eyes wandering around and taking a glance. While she would've been curious and tried to catch a few more peeks, the idea of running into someone else to talk to kept her absentmindedly trailing behind the two.

Once they reached their destination, she couldn't help but mentally sigh in relief. The chances of people coming and interacting with her were much lower now, and she was glad. That trip was longer than she had hoped, and unfortunately for this, they hadn't really stopped to take a break once, and Lamia had to catch her breath, slouching onto the wall as her legs felt like lead. Fuck her stupid, frail body. But it was repentance for what she had wound up doing, a consequence that she accepted. She was practically hunched over, and almost to the point of hyperventilating.

Maybe she'd get lucky and Magic didn't hear it. It was like something was suffocating her, squeezing her chest so she couldn't breath, lessening her heart's strength with every pump. Pressing her back onto the wall for support, a hand over her chest, she slowly began to control her breathing. It was a normal one, two, three. Hopefully he didn't check on her or anything... because she'd gone this far without him suspecting a thing. Lamia really didn't want him to worry about her for nothing.

She probably should've slept more last night... dammit.

There was some workout rooms too but that was down another hallway. Magic was glad he didn't hear Lamia's footsteps trail of to somewhere else or stop, but he did hear her having a hard time breathing. He turned around and looked at her for a moment. "Are you alright?" Mason asked his friend, concerned laced in his voice. Laine even looked a bit worried too.

Well, she completely failed that. She had one job, just one, and she couldn't even do it. Her luck was so poor - why did she even think that Magic wouldn't notice? He could hear everything, from the softest of whispers to a person's footsteps far off to even a dog barking in the town close by. And here she was, practically next to him, and she had hoped he was focusing on something else. They were both looking at her, expecting an answer or anything. Lamia just smiled, "I-I'm fine. N-n-nothing to w-worry about." Pushing off the wall, she stood up straight, as if to prove her point.

Desperate to change the subject, her eyes found false interest on the map plastered onto the steel wall. Might as well take her chances. "I-Is th-th-that.... uhm... wh-what helps you k-k-keep track of how much.. uhm.. t-territory you have?" She almost wanted to say own, but nobody necessarily had complete control over an area. That wasn't possible... unless they ran a tyranny.