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Daycycle 115 [ November 6 - November 12 ]

daycycle 115

[Nov 6 - Nov 12]

[OOC Plotting for this Daycycle can be found here.]
[The latest from the Alpha Interwebs can be found here.]

Early, Early Morning [0500 - 0800]
Rooms 1101, 1103 and 1202 will be woken up at 0500 when two squadrons of Internal Security Gray Ops come to arrest Oliver Queen, Peggy Carter, Parker and Julianne Holtzmann for treason. All but Parker will be led away at gun point and their roommates, Bucky Barnes, Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch, Felicity Smoak, Isabelle Lightwood, Zatanna Zatara and Jack Harkness will be immediately taken into IntSec for questioning. They will be questioned separately about the activities of their former roommates, suspicious activity concerning their remaining roommates and their own loyalties. (The intensity of the questioning is up to the player.) They will not be released until the Early Morning briefing. A complex wide manhunt for Parker will be initiated.

Early Morning [0800 - 0900] — All Troubleshooters Report for Duty

Special Troubleshooters, Emma Swan and Jack Harkness have been selected for the following mission.

Survey Citizens using simple word-association interviews. Flag anyone that uses the following words, "terrorist, secret, anarchy, moist..."

Morning & Afternoon [0900 - 1600] — Service Firm Positions
All Troubleshooters not assigned a mission should report to their Service Firm for their daily duties, unless specifically assigned a different shift.

All Troubleshooters not assigned a mission should report to their Service Firm for their daily duties, unless specifically assigned a different shift.

Evening [1600 - 2200] — Citizen Improvement
All Alpha citizens are encouraged to better themselves through Alpha’s wide variety of educational, entertainment and cultural opportunities offered each evening. Attending these sanctioned events are not mandatory, but is highly encouraged by The Computer. Citizens choosing not to take advantage of these opportunities, have a growing number of other options available to them in how to spend their hard earned credits and free time.

Tonight’s event will be at 1900 in the Commissary and will be hosted by The Teela O'Malley Fan Club. Join us as we gather to celebrate Alpha Complex's #1 cebrity!

Alpha Curfew Restrictions
All Alpha citizens should be in their quarters within the Wagon Wheel by 2200, unless they’ve been given permission from a GREEN or higher clearance level citizen. Sleeping Aid gas is dispelled each night in the Wagon Wheel at 2200 to assist citizens in getting a productive sleeping period.

Confession Booths
There are hundreds of confession booths available around Alpha Complex if a citizen would like to communicate directly with the computer. Please use these confession booths to report mission statuses, report treason or terrorist acts, unregistered mutants, confess your trespasses against Alpha Complex, request propaganda or speak with Your Friend, The Computer, at any time.

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Even though Derek gestures for her to enter, Katniss still feels reluctant at first. She should have thought this through better. Saying something and actually meaning it are two different things. Derek may have only been trying to placate her, to get her to calm down. He may not actually want her stopping by at strange hours of the night because she can't keep her emotions in check. It isn't his fault that she suffers from nightmares.

"Thanks," she mutters as she slips into the room. If she were a better person, Katniss might offer a smile. But she isn't and she's still too caught up in the nightmare to think of anything like manners. Katniss keeps her arms wrapped around her body as she looks around the empty room. His roommates aren't here again. Does he even have roommates?

Rather than remain standing in the middle of the room, she takes a seat on the bed he had ushered her to last time. Though his lack of a shirt still leaves her feeling flustered, Katniss keeps her attention on him. What she wants is for Derek to join her on the bed and hold her again but saying that is too difficult. So she nods in response to his question and admits, "Nightmares."

Once she finally lets herself into the room, Derek shuts the door and watches her body language — closed off and uncomfortable — as she makes her way to the bed he's since taken over. Derek isn't really sure what time it is or whether Buffy and Alcide will be back soon, but he's sort of hoping that they won't, because that's probably about the last thing Katniss wants to deal with right now, is more strangers.

Nightmares, just as he suspected, she says and Derek frowns sympathetically, moving to sit on the bed beside her. He scrubs his face again to wake up a little bit more and looks over at her. The thing he hadn't considered when he'd offered to be there for her is that he has no idea how to be there for someone who has nightmares...because no one was ever there for him. He doesn't know if talking about it will retain it and make it worse or get it out of her subconscious. He doesn't know if she would feel patronized by a hug or if he takes her hand.

So, initially, he does nothing. And then he realizes that she didn't come here for him to just sit there like an idiot and say and do nothing at all. "Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it or not so much...?"

To be air, with the exception of being heavily drugged, closed off and uncomfortable does tend to be Katniss' normal state of being. She doesn't trust anyone here, nor does she want to trust anyone. Trusting others means letting them in and now that she knows her glitches might actually be real, it seems like too big a risk to take. It's a mistake that she's making regardless and not just with Derek. With Derek though, it seems to be a mistake she's especially making.

A hint of relief shows on her face when he sits down next to her. It's a hint of weakness, and a hint of attachment, that she shouldn't allow to show. But Derek has already seen her cry. How can she appear weaker than that? She could break down entirely like she had on her first couple of days in Alpha. Now that Prim's here, that's something she's trying to avoid all together.

Initially, Derek doesn't do much more than sit there and watch her. It isn't nothing, not to Katniss. She's not alone. There's someone beside her that seems to care. Someone who isn't Prim, her dear sister that she's already burdened so much. Katniss had to grow up fast after their father had died but she had done everything she could to make sure Prim didn't have to do the same. There's a part of her that's still trying to do that.

Katniss scowls when he asks her to talk. That's what Dr. Aurelius would suggest. That's something he had suggested the last time they were here. Katniss doesn't want to talk. She should. But right now, she just wants to feel settled again. She looks him over, taking in his bare chest and feeling herself flush again. Every time Peeta had held her, even in the arena, he had always been fully dressed. They had been right, that day in the Training Center elevator. Why it had been so easy for other Victors to tease her. She doesn't do nudity well. But the memory of her sister's death still replays itself every time she closes her eyes. So taking a deep breath, she reaches for his hand and, if he lets her, tugs him down on the bed beside her.

Even in his sleepy state, that scowl is not lost on Derek. No talking, okay. He isn't sure he would've wanted to talk about his nightmares with anyone, either, if he's honest. His concern for his friend and colleague, though, runs deep enough that he doesn't actually notice the fact that her perceived discomfort could have anything to do with his state of undress.

Katniss doesn't say anything. She takes his hand and draws him down onto the bed. For a few initial seconds, he's not really sure this is a good idea, but it occurs to him that she's probably still tired. She probably wants to sleep. Maybe she's just hoping that not sleeping alone will help her feel safer from the horror in her subconscious.

Derek sits back up so that he can shift the sheets and blanket, pulling them up over her and slipping underneath beside her. There's no point in saying anything, because she doesn't want to talk. Derek remembers feeling her relax when he'd brought her back here to cry in private before, and that had come from his holding her and letting her just get it out. Maybe there's something about him, for whatever reason, that makes her feel safe and that's something that Derek can identify with, because his older sister did that for him once upon a time.

So he doesn't speak. Derek lays down on his back and slips one arm beneath the pillow so that he can draw her closer if she moves to curl against his side and so that, even if she doesn't, at least his arm isn't between them creating an unintentional barrier that closes himself off to her.

It's not as if Katniss goes around advertising her general discomfort with nudity. She's been teased for it before. For being uncomfortable with nudity, with kissing, with any part of sexuality in general. She's prudish and there's a part of her that thinks she shouldn't be sitting on a bed with a half-naked man, let alone pull him down to lie beside her. It's the lose kind of behavior that a few years ago, she could never imagine doing. Just like she could never imagine kissing Peeta the way she had on the beach of the Quarter Quell arena, or even kissing Derek a couple of days ago. Or how much her body liked it.

But life is change. Life is full of change and that's something Katniss has learned again and again. It's something that's forced her to grow up too fast. Rarely these changes have been in her best interest. The more that she thinks about it, the more she doubts that Alpha Complex is in her good interest either. But Prim's here. Prim's here and alive and maybe, maybe, she isn't alone.

He's right in his way of thinking. That there's safety in not sleeping alone. There's a lot of safety in that, no matter how improper it may be. But Effie isn't here to criticize her. Derek's already seen her cry. She needs this much more than she cares to admit. That he continues to appease her makes a big difference. Not everyone would do this. Not everyone understands.

Her eyes stay open as he lies down next to her and Katniss rests her head on his bare chest. She can feel the heat radiate from him, from his bare skin, and it's different from the nights that Peeta had joined her in bed. It's very different. Are her cheeks still flushed from embarrassment? Probably. Katniss really can't help that. But despite her awkwardness, she curls up flushed against his side and hopes that he'll get the hint to wrap his arms around her. There's safety in being held and she needs that so, so badly.

Because even if she closes her eyes for a second, she sees it. She sees the bombs explode and she sees Prim aflame and the tears threaten to fall. Right about now, there's little Katniss wouldn't do to make the images go away. Even the HappiTime pills seem like a better alternative.

A part of Derek isn't really surprised at all when she curls up against his side, resting her head on his chest and he tries to ignore the part of himself that likes that sort of closeness with another person because this is not about him. It's been a while since he's had someone this close and while the point of this is to help Katniss feel safer and fall asleep, there's a certain amount of trust and intimacy that goes into this on both sides. She has to trust him and he has to trust her. Sleep is a vulnerable state, especially in the position Derek is laying, in his opinion, with his torso up and exposed to attack. It isn't that he thinks Katniss will take advantage of that weakness to hurt him, it's that he knows that she could and he has to trust that she won't.

That's something that only a number of people Derek can count on less than one hand can say he's afforded them.

He sighs softly and the arm under the pillow shifts to rub her back gently in the hopes of creating a monotonous, repetitive motion that becomes soothing enough to help her drop back off. Derek's other arm reaches for her hand, moving it to the center of his chest where he can reach to rest his hand over it, thumb swiping back and forth over hers.

"You should try to get back to sleep," he whispers before a yawn takes him over momentarily. "I'm right here. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you."

Derek might not be surprised but Katniss is. She's surprised by her own audacity to share a bed with with a boy that she's only known a few days. A boy whose skin is soft and warm under her. There's a trust and intimacy that stems from sleeping alongside another and she's never been more aware of that than at this moment. She doesn't know how many other girls he's held at night and she doesn't want to know. But this is still something extremely new to Katniss. This close, she can't help but be aware of everything from the feel of his skin against her own to the sound of his breathing to the unfamiliar scent of him.

Maybe it would have been smarter to find Prim's room but she doesn't want to share any kind of trouble that she might face for sneaking out with her sister. It isn't fair to share it with Derek either, especially given that he's only ever been kind to her. The difference is that Derek strikes her as strong and resilient. He's a survivor, much like she is.

She sighs when he starts to rub her back, squirming a little closer to him. It feels good to be touched and comforted and she doesn't object when he moves her hand. She lays half on him, one arm spread out over his torso as the other helps to pillow her head against him. It's all extremely intimate and yet not so uncomfortable. The opposite really. And when he suggests she goes back to sleep, Katniss almost wants to believe him. Think that he will keep her safe.

But she closes her eyes and the memories come again. Her breath catches in her chest and she opens her eyes wide in the dark. "I- I can't." Admitting defeat is hard but Katniss isn't certain what else to do right now. "Every time I do, I see it. I see her burning."

The warmth of her body as Katniss scoots closer is a comfort that Derek hasn't earned and so he tries not to acknowledge it; tries not to pay it the amount of attention he has the urge to give it. He might not have his werewolf senses to hear the uptick in her heartbeat, but he can still feel her stiffen and her breath hitch. She's trying, at least. He knows how hard it can be to try.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see Laura's bottom half. Just the bottom, because the top was torn off and discarded several yards away. I know it's hard, Katniss," he says in a soft, low voice as he shifts the two of them, gently guiding her onto her side so that he can hold her from behind, knowing that in that position, his arms — his body, really, in general — can more fully surround her than he can right now. Knowing that there's a seed of security planted, but that he can try to sow it if he can make her feel that his sentiment is real.

When he's finished moving them, Katniss is on her side facing the door and Derek has drawn her back against himself, both of his arms around her now, and he's tucked her head beneath his chin, closing his eyes. "But you have to force yourself to see past it. In the forefront, your sister burns and mine is in pieces, but there is one thing that that pain can never, ever, ever take away from us and that's the fact that we still have memories of when things were good. Close your eyes," he whispers, tilting his head down a little to press his lips to the back of her head, letting them linger there thoughtfully. "Close your eyes and look past the burning girl to the one you knew before it. She's still there. I promise, Katniss, if you look past the burning girl, your sister is still there waiting to be seen and embraced and to comfort you. She's there. Keep looking."

As if she's done anything to earn the comfort that Derek's currently providing her. And yet she's taking it anyway. She's taking everything that he has to offer without even considering how he might feel about her actions. It isn't right and it's further confirmation that she isn't a good person. But she doesn't want to wind up on drugs again. She doesn't want to fall apart when she has Prim now to watch over. So he shouldn't feel bad about taking what he wants in return; she owes him anyway.

If she hadn't believed that she owed him before, she definitely realizes that when he begins to talk. Katniss doesn't have to ask who Laura is because she remembers him mentioning that he had lost his sister too. He had caused a lot of the horrible things that had happened to his family, much like she has done towards hers. It makes sense that Laura is that sister in context. There's little like the pain of using a sister.

The trust she continues to extend when he starts to move around on the bed is strange but real. He's a lot bigger than her, and probably a lot stronger, and she's probably the more vulnerable of the two of them. But he doesn't try anything. He only moves her around so that she's pressed against the entire length of him. His arms stay wrapped around her, keeping her secure against him. That's okay. Right now, there are very few places she'd rather be than being held so snugly against Derek as he tries to make her look past the nightmares.

In the end, it's not the words that help as much as the feel of lips pressed against the crown of her head. It's not like the kiss they shared at work but there's something tender about it anyway. There's something that makes her heart skip a beat. Katniss isn't a good person. She isn't likable. But with Derek, it almost feels like someone can care about her regardless.

"Yours too," she murmurs, trying to close her eyes again and this time succeeding in keeping them closed. "And if Prim's here now, maybe Laura will appear someday too."

Something clicks, Derek thinks. He doesn't know if it's the way he's moved to hold her, or the things that he's saying, but something clicks and he can almost feel Katniss relaxing a little like she's willing to try again to relinquish herself to sleep. If he can do for her what Laura had done for him for several years before her own death, then Derek feels like he owes it to his sister to pay that forward. He couldn't be there for Cora, having not known she'd survived, but Katniss is right here. He can do it for her.

Her words give way to a weak smile and Derek nods a little, finally moving his face away from her head to tuck her back beneath his chin again. His hand makes its way to hers, not necessarily threading their fingers together so much as touching her, letting her know he's still right there if she needs him, in case being held isn't enough.

"Maybe," he agrees quietly. "Get some sleep, Katniss. I'll see you in the morning."

Derek's own eyes, already closed, open briefly at the sound of footsteps outside the door to the room, but they pass and his eyes close again. When he says he'll keep her safe, he means it. For now, that means keeping her close and helping her find a way past the nightmarish images that terrorize her subconscious to help her fall asleep. "Good night," he says with another yawn and Derek lets his body relax again with the hope that feeling him as a constant while also feeling him relax and drift off will encourage Katniss to do the same. And with that thought in mind, Derek lets out a soft sigh born of a deep breath and wills sleep to take him again.

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Daycycle 115 [ November 6 - November 12 ]

daycycle 115

[Nov 6 - Nov 12]

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