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Corbin was rather surprised when Simon came barreling out of the house and tripped over him. He'd just finished fixing up his fingers and was ready to sneak off when it had happened. Instead he raised his eyebrows at the boy's statement. "I'm not going anywhere with Athos... Why the hell would you want me to come? I'm stationed here..." But he trailed off. If Athos had ordered him to come, then he sure as hell better go, because the alternative wasn't exactly a nice oceanic vacation.

Finally responding to the boy's tugging, he got to his feet and ran a hand through his hair, sighing. Okay, so, the boy was gathering things, and he should too. Fine. He took a quick peek through the window at the dark haired man within, frowning at the fact he'd turned around and was speaking to Nolah. What the hell, man. Corbin had thought that Athos was a cold-hearted b*****d with an agenda. It was weird seeing him hold what looked to be a normal conversation with someone... Especially one of the people that had been partially responsible for certain plans falling through.

What Corbin didn't know was that Fynn was, in a sense, Athos and Nolah's child. Of course he knew she'd been created with a DNA cocktail, but he hadn't been told the details - and he wasn't about to go prying to find out. So, he cleared his throat, watched Simon run off, then made his way over to his own place, which was above the shop he ran, much like Nolah's home was set up. He gathered a few things (he really didn't need much) and locked up, putting up a sign that said the store would be closed until further notice. He hardly cared what happened to the building though. He had a feeling he wouldn't be back for a while.

Slinging the messenger bag of things he had over his shoulder, he took his leisurely time to make it back towards Nolah's bookstore, apprehensive, at the very least, as to what the hell was going on.



Athos, of course, had nothing to gather, as he'd just arrived, and instead of running off, he followed Nolah up the stairs. "I'll get my own," He said curtly, stepping into her apartment and into the kitchen before Nolah could protest. It didn't take him more than a moment to find what was needed to make some tea. Of course, before he even started making it, there was a close inspection of the mug and teapot. Satisfied that they passed his standards, Athos filled the pot and while it was in his hand, brought the water to a boil, then quickly prepared himself a cup of tea.

There was about an hour before Simon and Corbin would be back (and hell to pay if they were late), so Athos had some time to kill. Apparently, he was willing to spend it with Nolah, perhaps because he wanted to, or perhaps it was an alternative to spending said time somewhere else in Dark Haven. Obviously, he'd opted to stay.

He could hear Fynn and Taryn in the other room, discussing clothing and other such things. The man continued to stand in the kitchen area, but focused on Nolah. "She shouldn't be able to teleport." A simple statement, but the weight of it was tremendous. It was more than just a little worry about where Fynn would end up - it was more that she was able to do it at all. It would have been Theonidas' blood that would have granted her that power, but he hadn't been used to create her. Amadeus had - and while he'd been a clone, he had never shown any ability to teleport. Even now, back on the base, nothing had changed. His life had been spared by the Reaper's scythe, and he'd gone on into his own little world. He took care of himself, and Athos let him be.

"And it's obvious you've been holding up decently here." She had a house, a steady source of income, and was able, as far as Athos was able to tell from the reports Corbin had sent in, to raise Fynn well and survive just fine. However, his man had been observing from afar, and had no idea how the woman was doing on an emotional and mental level. Nolah had gone through quite an ordeal - perhaps on a deeper scale than any of the others - and it would be difficult to imagine she'd simply brush it off and walk away from it.

Of course, Athos voiced none of these thoughts and simply sipped at his tea, eyes trailing around the room, hands itching to right things that were out of place.

"You know, we have this really bad habit of running into each other. It's gonna get one of us hurt... And I somehow don't think it'll be me," Corbin lilted, thinking about offering a hand to help the boy, but Simon was almost immediately on his feet, dusting off a book and a little toy.

When fixed with that gaze, Corbin raised an eyebrow, giving a bit of a pout while he let his thoughts wander as to why Simon was carrying a toy. Either the boy had a soft spot so buried that it was nigh impossible to reach, or it was Taryn's. Corbin could pretty much guess it belonged to the girl, but he sort of half hoped it was Simon's. It'd be funnier if it was Simon's.

Though, what Simon started saying surprised him a little bit. For one, he was pretty much right - he WAS scared of what Athos had planned... Perhaps not because he had decided to spirit Simon away that day, but because he KNEW there'd be repercussions of him listening in on the conversation. Athos didn't just... let things go. Especially when said 'thing' was spying on something that wasn't any of Corbin's business... And it was when Athos had lost his temper - he didn't like people seeing him lose his cool. That usually meant death to the offending party.

Thankfully, if it meant death, Corbin would already be in that state, so he knew he'd be keeping his life. Whew.

"I have an idea as to what Athos has planned, Simon, and no, I don't like it very much, but I've also been trained for such a thing for years..." He trailed off. It seemed that Simon HAD a reason, but he didn't want to say it. Silly things, kids were. At least sometimes. He threw Simon a bone and didn't ask as to his real reason. "Hey, I'll come willingly. It'll be more interesting than hiding out in this little hole of a town, spying on people. As much fun as that was... It wasn't."

Then again, having to deal with Faolan and his blasted boylover Roka wasn't going to be a picnic either. Hmm. Boring town, spying... Interesting world that surrounded the Base and dealing with Faolan and Roka... The choice was a difficult one.

Athos moved from behind the counter to the small table in the room, setting his teacup atop the wood before settling down in one of the chairs, looking somewhat miffed at it creaking slightly. None of the chairs in the base made any unnecessary noise. He'd made sure. And people wondered why he never left. Pffft.

He watched as Nolah made her own tea and raised his eyebrows. "It only makes sense for her to come. If Simon is indeed the reincarnation of Theonidas, then it's plausible that the Reaper lies somewhere deep within as well. He needs a check, and Fynn's it. That girl he's been traveling with is an interesting one as well. She's coming along to keep the boy quiet, among other things..."

He trailed off, searching Nolah's gaze. "Of course, I expect you'd want to come as well?" Nolah probably wouldn't want to be separated from her daughter... And, well, Athos didn't want her to be simply left behind. Perhaps it was because he felt some sort of attachment to her... Though it was probably because if Fynn was separated from Nolah, she might be difficult to handle. Athos had no practice in raising children in a good, solid, decent way. After all, he'd been locked up in a room for most of his childhood, being asked to explode blocks and cutting himself to practice healing. Not exactly a normal childhood.

Fynn wasn't exactly a normal child though. However, he didn't wish to stick her in a room and experiment on her. If nothing else, Nolah wouldn't have any of that, and after what they'd all been through, he was quite willing to respect such a wish.

He took a sip of tea, eyes following Fynn as she ran in and then back out, baggies in hand. "And it was decided when Simon decided he was going to go. About thirteen minutes ago, if you're so intent on knowing."

Taryn shrugged. "I don't know why we would suddenly not be friends. I'm still a little new to this 'friends' thing, I guess. I'm sorry." She fiddled with her hands for a moment before hopping down from the bed and scuttling over to her bag, which is picked up and slung around her shoulders. It looked a little strange, as she was so small. The backpack was almost as big as she was. She pulled on the straps to make it fit more tightly against her back and then turned to Fynn. "Are you ready to go?"

Reaching up, she turned the knob on the door and stepped out into the hall, waiting for the angel-girl to join her. When she did, Taryn bounced down the corridor and into the living room, carefully avoiding Athos's gaze. The guy was a little scary, and she wasn't quite sure how to act. Everytime she looked at him, she got the feeling he was trying to pick her apart. She stood there awkwardly, hands curled around the straps of the backpack.

A moment later, Simon had answered Corbin by running up the stairs to see where everyone was. Excited? Sure, this was something new! Simon liked things that were new. Dark Haven was very boring, really, and he couldn't wait to get the hell out and go somewhere different. So yeah, it was exciting. Who knew what was waiting for him outside the borders of this annoying little town? What would he see? Who would he meet?

He entered, and Taryn looked up. Her face lit up and she made her way over to him, smiling. Simon looked at her for a moment, suspicion darkening his small, intense face.

"What do you have in that pack?" He said.

Taryn frowned. "It's just some stuff that Fynn gave me. That's okay right?"

Simon looked a little disturbed for a moment before straightening up and nodding. He held the stuffed toy out, and Taryn eagerly took it. "You found Paddington! I wouldn't have wanted to leave without him." She squeezed the teddy bear to her chest, kissing it lightly on the head. Simon watched her through his cold gaze, and then nodded again.

"I know," he said. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I guess so?"

Simon's eyes turned toward Fynn, expression unreadable. "What about you?"

"....Or you can run upstairs and around like a little kid..." Corbin switched his gaze to track heat signatures and watched from the floor below as the little angel zoomed around with the other two children, while Athos (it was strange to see him so... HOT, with as cold as he was) stood where he was, unmoving.

"I'll just wait down here then... You have fun," He said to no one in particular. To pass the rest of the time, he started browsing books again.


Athos was about as equally pleased to see the children running around as Corbin was. But unlike the cyborg, he was in the same room. And he most definitely had a shorter temper. Of course, Nolah had waited to pack until the children all had. Athos sighed and finished his tea.

What came from Fynn though, had been unexpected. She'd been having dreams - visions. Nolah had made that clear. But to recognize him? The man frowned. "You'll tell me about those when we get to where we're going." He was suddenly under the impression that he should have kept a better eye on her. Damn it.

"Nolah," He called out, "We're leaving in five minutes, with or without you." That said, he ventured down the stairs, perhaps to get away from the kids, perhaps to see Corbin.

Corbin, of course, put on a stern, soldier-like face the moment he realized Athos was moving to the lower floor of the house and nodded stiffly to him when he did appear. "Hello, sir."

Athos stared at him for a while, then smirked. "How's the hand?" He didn't even feign concern.

"It hurts."

"Good."

Corbin's face fell into a frown. Sometimes he reeeeally hated that guy.

Simon watched Nolah retreat to go pack, and decided that the conversation between Athos and Fynn was really none of his business before reaching out to grab Taryn's hand before running down the stairs. Once in the store, he stuffed the book he'd brought into his pocket and disappeared between two shelves of books. Taryn looked at Corbin, then skittered after her friend as Athos came down the stairs. The two of them browsed the book selection.

"Where do you think we're going," Taryn said suddenly, placing a paperback into its slot on the shelf.

Simon looked up from whatever he'd been reading to look at her. "I don't know exactly," he confessed, "but I know that where it is, there are answers there for us. We don't know where we came from or why we're here. And we definitely don't know exactly why those guys from Crossed Swords have been watching us. We'll find out there. You aren't having second thoughts about leaving Dark Haven, are you?"

Taryn shook her head. "No. I don't mind leaving. I want to find out what's going on as much as you do. But you know, I have a feeling we're all going to be together for a while, so you could stand to be a little nicer to Fynn. She thinks that you don't like her."

The angel sighed and stuffed the book back into its proper place. "It's not that I don't like her. I don't even know her. There's just something about her that I can't really explain. Corbin told me that if I am this Theonidas guy, that Fynn was the one that killed me. I don't know if I can get over that. Things follow you from life to life."

"It's not her fault."

"I know."

The conversation was abruptly cut short when Nolah came down the stairs with her daughter in tow. Simon lead Taryn out from the stacks and exchanged glances with everyone, pointedly ignoring Fynn before heading to the door and pulling it open. "I guess it's time to go now, right?" He exited, followed by his friend, and stood outside waiting for everyone else. He didn't know which way to go, so he was reliant on Athos and Corbin. Glancing down, he stared at the tattoo on his palm for a long moment before peering back into the store.

"Are you guys coming?"