Antonio Pavlatos: "Tried to bbb.. be honest... he www... wanted to know... I thought..." He closes his eyes then, face pressed into the pillow, "Don't... matter no more... he don't ccc... come around me no more."

Antonio Pavlatos: From the tired tone it would be hard for Jez to tell if he sounds depressed or relieved at that statement, the tone is too flat.

Antonio Pavlatos: He mumbles, "I had... www.. wanted to be sss... strong 'n useful... likken you... remember...?" His tone is still oddly flat. Obviously he doesn't think that way anymore. He could be talking about a third person, not himself.

Jez [Aerin's house]: "He probably won't stay away forever. I need to get home, hon, I have to work tomorrow." ((will switch back to Mercury))

Jez [Aerin's house]: "I want you to be strong, too." A gentle brushing of his hair before he stands up.

Antonio Pavlatos: He flinches a little at the touch, but then settles down to it, again seeming more startled at being touched than alarmed.

Jez [Aerin's house]: "You'll always be my friend." He pushes open the ajar door.

Jez [Aerin's house]: ((Or can keep Jez in. *S* Either way.))

Jez [Aerin's house]: He glances back at Tony.

Antonio Pavlatos: (Depends on what Ravyn wants to do, I don't know yet. Hang on for just a few. I need to get a drink anyway, and let my barking dogs in.)

Jez [Aerin's house]: d10: per/alert: 8,9,6,7,9,3,6,

Jez [Aerin's house]: ((Ok...but one thing while Jez is still in the room.)) "Tony?" Seeing the lion pillow and the wolf stuffie...but not something that was... "Haven't you unpacked your Statue of Liberty?"

Antonio Pavlatos: (bk) He looks up at Jez, dark anquished eyes meeting his for a moment, "I... was ggg... gonna tell ya to ttt... take with ya, where she be safe, but... Alex thinks sss... she safe here. Anythin' happens though, you'll... ttt... take carea her 'n him, right? Ya promised?"

Antonio Pavlatos: He blinks at the switch in subject, and it seems his mind has to slowly adjust to it. His eyes go around the room, then blinks, "Ain't sure... don't matter... all lies anyhow."

Jez [Aerin's house]: "Your kitten? I'll take care of anything you ask me to. Yes."

Jez [Aerin's house]: He draws in his breath deeply and exhales slowly. "You mean the part about life and liberty, the land of the free?"

Antonio Pavlatos: He nods slowly, "All the stuff I was toldt... by you, by Alex... 'bout rights... 'bout friendships..." Again his words trail off, almost like he has lost his train of thought, or simply sees no need to continue talking.

Jez [Aerin's house]: He nods equally slowly, watching Tony.

Jez [Aerin's house]: "I'll see you again soon." He walks out for now. ((switching))

Mercury: Mercury is out in the kitchen, of course, but has finished whatever he's eating. He heads back to the room.

Antonio Pavlatos: He nods to Jez, but doesn't respond further, although he watches him leave, biting at his bottom lip. For a moment, and Jez's back is turned so he won't see it, he looks like he would like to walk out with him. But, he turns his head back down to the pillow, giving another little shiver as he looks around the room.

Mercury: He knocks to let Tony know he's there before he comes in, carrying a glass of milk for him. "Drink this," he says gently, handing it to him before sitting down.

Antonio Pavlatos: He makes the effort to raise up enough to get the glass, but his hand is shaking as he takes it. He obeys easily enough, drinking it. (With the meds or without?)

Mercury: ((with)) He smiles encouragingly at him. "Thank you. So that was Jez, huh? He's cute."

Antonio Pavlatos: He'll drink all of the milk, since they are the meds, otherwise he'de just sip on it occassionally, unless reminded to keep on until it is finished. He blinks at Merc, "He's... a friend... he's sss... smart... real useful to folks... Alex... likes him too..." He closes his eyes for a moment, then licks his lips. "They makin' him 'n his bbb.. boyfriend split up, but... they lettin' em..." Uses Jez's word. "Ease out of things... ain't nobody watchin' him... but then... he's different, he ain't lll... like me.... I'm..." He just shakes his head, putting the glass on the floor and curling back up, grimacing a little as the meds and milk hit his stomach.

Mercury: He came prepared this time, with two chalky-sweet tabs of Tums. "Here, these will make your stomach feel better. They're called Tums. To make the 'tum' feel better."

Antonio Pavlatos: He dutifully takes the tablets, moving to drop them in the glass.

Mercury: He almost says something, but then doesn't. Probably won't make the milk TASTE good, but it can't hurt.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: The sounds of Aerin's Kawasaki Ninja come down the street, pulling up to the front of the building.

Antonio Pavlatos: He drops them into the last few sips of milk and swallows it, almost choking as he tries to swallow the two tablets meant for chewing.

Mercury: "That sounds like Aerin. I think he ran an errand or something."

Mercury: "Um...yeah, careful there."

Antonio Pavlatos: d10: Perc/Alert: 9,8,2,8,10,5,8,

Antonio Pavlatos: d10: : 8,

Antonio Pavlatos: And his paranoid self is still on the ultra alert. He nods in affirmative to Mercury, recognizing the sound of the bike (and the frog croaking down the street).

Mercury: ((There's a frog in Manhattan? *G* That's one lost frog.)) He rests back against the wall.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: He slips off the bike, popping his neck to either side, and looks up to the door of the apartment, lips pursing. He's dressed simply, in a tank top and jeans. No trench coat, no nothing like that. The staff is taken off the holder he had put on the bike, gripped firmly...perhaps for comfort, before he makes his way to the door. He looks...very tired. Very, very tired. But calm enough, as he unlocks the door and slips inside. "Hello?"

Antonio Pavlatos: (He gets great rolls for stuff like that, or for things for him to hear what he really shouldn't, but wait... anything that counts, you watch, it'll mess up)

Mercury: "Yo, Aerin," he calls out to him. "We're back here. There's still ice cream."

Antonio Pavlatos: He curls back up too, watching as the kitten curls up at the back of her carrier, having padded off quickly to there when Merc came in.

Mercury: He stands up, gesturing to Tony. "C'mon, let's get your glass rinsed out."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "Hey." He nods toward the voice and heads along, toward the room. The staff is set aside, resting comfortable against the wall, before he looks into the room. "May I come in?" Yes, let's try this again. The question, for the record, is directed to Tony.

Mercury: He says nothing then, glancing to Tony.

Antonio Pavlatos: He looks up at Mercury, surprised obviously by his statement. He dutifully starts to stand though, picking up the glass, although he is shaky, legs acting abit like jello.

Mercury: He takes note of the shaky legs but doesn't move to help him, not yet. Unless he's going to fall.

Antonio Pavlatos: He freezes on hearing Aerin, dropping his head, but nods some.

Antonio Pavlatos: (He isn't that feeble. Just shaky from lack of rest and inactiveness)

Antonio Pavlatos: (Inactivity, not sure other is a word :P)

Mercury: He smiles once Tony 'says' it's okay and nods to Aerin. "How ya doin'? Jez was by a little earlier, sorry you missed him. He said he wanted to talk to you sometime though when you have some free time." Grins at the mention of free time.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: He smiles faintly, nodding. "Thanks." The reaction from Tony brings a pressing of his lips together, but he smiles to him nonetheless.

Mercury: ((And that's pretty much the limit of the Mercury/Jez meeting and exchange :p))

Antonio Pavlatos: He leans against the wall, steading himself more, the glass now going around and aroung in his hand.

Mercury: He sits back down so he's not hovering all over everyone.

Antonio Pavlatos: He peeks up at Aerin through his hair, eyes anxious, pain there but hard to tell for himself or Aerin, but something is there in them. He murmurs something, but in truth it is damned near inaudible, could be something 'n Sir, or something and 'sorry'.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "Me too," he says quietly, nodding and moving in to take a lean against the wall. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, blinking a couple times. Nervous. "It's...not your fault, Tony. I have a difficult past, and what's difficult has nothing to do with you. I didn't...expect to react like that."

Mercury: Busies himself by watching the curled up kitten in the carrier, not watching the two.

Antonio Pavlatos: His leaning on the wall becomes more pronounced, as if he needed to now to steady himself. His tone is very, very low, words slow, halting, uncertain, "I... ddd... didn't mean to... mmm... make ya mad... I realy ddd.. didn't." Last words have a choked sound, as if he is trying very hard to not cry.

Antonio Pavlatos: The kitten seems to be having a dream, so at least Merc has something to watch. Maybe she is chasing something. Her tail flips and occassionaly he hears those little sounds that cats (and occassionally dogs) get when they are dreaming.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "I know you didn't." He pauses a moment and then, carefully, walks over toward Tony. He reaches out to touch the other's shoulder lightly. "You're not...him. And I know that, okay? But that doesn't mean I...don't care about you. Just...not in the same way I did him." He's moving and talking with a sense of tentativeness...this whole thing being uncomfortable for him, but sincere nonetheless. He takes a deep breath and sighs. "Nor do I want what I had with him...with you."

Mercury: He bites his lip. *Really* focused on the kitten now, who is likely none to happy with the predator staring at her so intently.

Mercury: He actually watches her with fascination. Maybe, if she's in a deep enough sleep, she doesn't notice his staring.

Antonio Pavlatos: He tenses when touched, but like with others it seems more being startled at being touched than an actual aversion to Aerin. He slowly, very slowly looks up at Aerin through his hair as he listens, "E...Ethan toldt me 'bout him... 'n others too... I don't wanna hurt ya... 'n I didn't mean it the www... way ya thought... ya ain't ever done nothin' outta... outta line with me, sss... Sir. I don't know.... www... why I said that..."

Antonio Pavlatos: Having been around him now for almost a week, she doesn't seem to come out of the dream simply because he is watching her. Although if she was awake and he comes too close, she'll hiss at him. After all, Alex has been trying to work with her a bit as well.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "No...it's all right. I just..." He takes a deep breath. "I'm going to be completely honest with you, Tony, because you deserve that. Micah was someone who I cared for very much...I really loved him. He had...he was a wonderful person. Like you, in that respect, at least. He had a...a darkness, though. One I tried to help him through." He has to stop here, and clear his throat, blinking away tears that have yet to fall, but threaten to. "I...I feel, a lot of the time, like I failed him. Which has nothing to do with you...it's entirely about me. You didn't know...and it's not your fault, what...what happened."

Mercury: A lowering of his head hearing that name, a moment of sorrow as he misses the strange young man.

Mercury: ((Well, more than a *moment* of sorrow...))

Mercury: ((And my time online is at an end. *HUGS both* I need to get to bed. I'm sorry. Merc will stay silent.))

Antonio Pavlatos: A soft whisper, "I... heard..." No subterfuge actually being tried. It is obvious he is speaking true, now and before, but there is more to it perhaps than he is letting on perhaps. His next words are almost... almost like the Tony from before this last week. "Tweren't your fault... they caused it... black fur..." his firmer tone only lasts for a few minutes though, as if the confusion and exhaustion make him confused, "...need the good wolves ttt... ta get unfrozen..."

Antonio Pavlatos: Yep, Sunday. *Thwaps* Although Merc should have at least paved the way. Gonna murder one day for not remembering stuff, I swear it.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: ((*hugs the Raven* Thanks for scenage!))

Antonio Pavlatos: (AH! *Runs in and grabs dropped PM*)

Antonio Pavlatos: (*Hugs* Thanks muchly Raven. Talk to ya when I can!)

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: He looks at Tony, brow furrowing a little. "I...yeah." He nods a bit. "I guess so. I tried, I guess. It just hurts still. And you don't make it hurt...you really don't. You're not him, and I know that. Okay?"

Antonio Pavlatos: He bites at his bottom lip, but nods slowly. Then, as if he can't seem to help it, his eyes go around the room again, and the biting increases to almost bringing blood, but not yet.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: d10: Persuasion: 2,9,3,3,10,3,2,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: He looks around a moment, and then back to Tony, smiling faintly. "You don't have to worry, Tony. The spirits have been taken care of...you're not being watched anymore."

Antonio Pavlatos: He blinks at Aerin, half doubtful, half hopeful, and tries to study his words.

Antonio Pavlatos: d10: P/E (WP) PLEASE: 8,4,6,3,1,7,8,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: d10: Manip+Subterfuge(WP): 4,8,7,4,3,2,9,

Antonio Pavlatos: He blinks, feeling a ring of truth in the words, and his eyes tear up, the faintest of little smiles trying to show itself. "Ya.. rrr.. really did it....? It's just us?" His breathing is faster, but it seems in some type of relief, not stress. For a moment, before he slides down the wall to simply relax on the floor, head down, he looks at Aerin in such a grateful manner that he seems to see him as an Angel that fell down to earth and did the impossible.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: He nods a little bit, smiling. "It's just us. The only spirits that would ever, ever be here anymore are ones I wanted to be here. And I would only let spirits who would be good to you here, ever." That last part is truly, truly sincere. He watches Tony, judging his reactions to the Gaian's words.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: d10: Per+Emp: 4,4,5,10,8,7,5,

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: d10: Specialty: 4,

Antonio Pavlatos -> Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: His current emotions are... hard to describe. Relief beyond anything that I can put into words. A tiny, tiny hope, especially after a week and nothing has happened except for Merc mainly, and Alex some, as well as Bliss reading to him, helping him and no one coming after him that maybe what else Aerin said before was true. And the only real pain, the real fear of the eyes - rather from Yolanda, or something else darker that Aerin might get the slightest hint of, are gone. He isn't fixed, far from it, but a yoke has been taken off him, and a mental strain that had been extremely close to the breaking point seems to have calmed. Right now - it is pure relief, and the tinest of hopes that maybe, just maybe this might all work out. It's hard for him to hope, even now, but this was a HUGE step - to not be watched anymore.

Antonio Pavlatos -> Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: Oh, and yeah, he believes Aerin's words. Rather they are true or not, he believes them. I have no idea what might happen later if he finds out it isn't entirely true, but for now he has the boy believing him, which is the thing that mattered the most.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3] -> Antonio Pavlatos: ((Any chance Aerin can get a reaction to the "I'd only let spirits who would be good to you" bit? Like, is that something that he even believes possible?))

Antonio Pavlatos -> Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: (AH! I missed that post... give me a sec to respond)

Antonio Pavlatos -> Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: (I missed that PART of it I mean, I was typing too much... *Hides self*)

Aerin Thomas [PB 3] -> Antonio Pavlatos: ((No problem. :) ))

Antonio Pavlatos: His condition doesn't allow for the most precise concentration, so he simply eyes Aerin through his hair, his head on his drawn up legs. "Ggg... good spirits? Not like the others? They lll... liked to tattle, liked to let them kkk... know when I didn't please sss.. someone." oddly enough, again, he seems still a little out of it (sleep deprivation) "...were they frozen too?"

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "No, not like the others at all." He pauses, considering a moment. "You know my scar, right?" He raises a hand to pull lightly down on the top of his tank top, revealing the wierd, rose-shaped scar on his chest.

Antonio Pavlatos: He nods a bit, murmurs, "Seen it..." He looks through his hair at the scar, but obviously doesn't understand the significance. "Fff...felt somethin'... once... heat... but... ain't sure right now." He's talking a bit more than he has to most in days.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "Yeah." He nods, smiling a bit. "This...was given to me by a very dear friend. It connects me to a spirit. Her name is Rose...and she is a spirit of Love. She's nothing at all like the spirits that used to spy on you."

Antonio Pavlatos: He blinks rapidly, then despite everything he raises his head enough that his hair slides back (after all the middle is braided down his back), and he looks closer at Aerin. "Don't it... hurt? Hhh...how...?" He seems slightly nervous, maybe scared but obviously intrigued by the thought of a spirit, a good one, one he has never encountered before, being connected to a living being.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "Actually...yes, it does. Sometimes, it does." He nods a little bit, running a hand through his hair as he watches the other. "But so does love. Like a Rose, she's the beauty and joy of the bloom...and at times, the pain of the thorns. But the beauty is always worth the pain."

Antonio Pavlatos: He blinks for a moment, then closes his eyes. "I... I understand Love... 'n it does hurt. Www... why's that be a good thing, www.. when it hurts? When ya www... wanna be with someone so bad it hurts inside.. but ya can't... 'n gotta act likken it don't bother ya?"

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "I didn't say the pain was good, Tony. It just..." He shrugs a little bit. "It just is. It's a fact that it'll be there, sometimes. And in the end...would you have rather never had the love, even if it meant the pain wasn't there?"

Antonio Pavlatos: He thinks for the longest before answering, and at least for once he doesn't look around the room as if nervous to answer, "I... I'm glad I kkk...knew it, never felt nothin' like it before... but... not havin' it, hurts... a lot... I want things to go back like they were... back to where I was doin' thing's 'n.. learnin' stuff... 'n Alex loved me 'n me him, 'n we had friends 'n a life..." His words trail off then as he tries to swallow hard. "But... don't understand how that feelin' could be a spirit... much less inside a scar. Sss... sorry iffen I'm sss.. stupid, sss.... Sir."

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "You're not stupid, Tony." He smiles and shakes his head, taking a step toward him. "You just haven't experienced this before. It's...sort of hard to explain. The scar, I mean. The spirit, though...there's all sorts of spirits. Good ones and bad. Spirits that embody ideas, like love, or hope, or peace. Ones that are other things. My tribe has a spirit. The Children of Gaia...our spirit is the Unicorn. A spirit of Peace. Not all spirits are good, but there are many that are."

Antonio Pavlatos: "Tribe likken the wolves, or likken the Cherokee?" He stares at the scar openly. "Www... what does it mean?" And he doesn't ask about the bad kind, he actually saw a few manifest, and it was hardly pleasant.

Antonio Pavlatos: And no, he doesn't move away from Aerin if he steps closer.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "Like the wolves." He smiles a bit. "As to the scar itself...it's just a part of me. It provides the connection. It helps...hold her to me, and she's helped me, often and through some very hard times."

Antonio Pavlatos: He blinks rapidly, licking his lips, "Help ya... hhh... how? Ya still... hurt over stuff... 'n things ain't just like E... Ethan said they was..." He shuts up then, seeming to act as if he had said too much.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: "Yes, I hurt." He nods a little bit. "I hurt deeply. I'd be far worse then hurt without her, though." His brow furrows curiously. "Can I ask what you mean by that? What what Ethan said they were?" It's said in a way that's a request, and in no way a demand.

Antonio Pavlatos: He seems nervous, but he looks up at Aerin, pulling the lion pillow up against his chest as he speaks softly, "About... hhh... him... about how he thought stuff... 'bout me... in what he thought... 'n... that it was just you 'n him in that game...." He pauses for a second, rephrasing, "...your... re-lationship... nobody else.... nobody else at all..." He trails off, his eyes moving from Aerin to another area of the room, licking his lips again.

Antonio Pavlatos: (that makes no sense, hang on... "About... him... MMM.. Mic... and...)

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: He nods a little bit, smiling faintly. "I know. I...I love Ethan, very, very much. Ethan and I have been through a lot together. Some things, maybe, I'll tell you about some day." He reaches out to brush a hand over the kin's hair. "For now, though...I think you could use some sleep. And so could I."

Antonio Pavlatos: (On pause for now :)

Antonio Pavlatos: (or not... whatever ya want, it's late)

Antonio Pavlatos: He barely tenses, just maybe surprised again at the contact, and he nods. "Hhhe... he loves ya, 'n fer him, ain't nobody else..." He does sound very, very tired, and as his eyes look around the room, this time there isn't fear in them. "I... I am sorta sleepy..." Sorta my ass, he is dead on his feet, or his ass, since he is sitting.

Aerin Thomas [PB 3]: He nods and smiles. "I know he does. Get some sleep, Tony. I'll talk to you later." He smiles once more to the man and then turns, heading out of the room and shutting the door. Off the couch and his own sleep, such as it is.

Antonio Pavlatos: Very softly, "Night... sss... Sir." The first time he has responded to anyone actually leaving in days. He tries to think, but his mind is so tired, so mixed up. He lets his body ease out on the sleeping bag, still hugging the lion pillow to his chest, and for the first time in almost a week slips off into a deeper, more restful, restoring peaceful sleep.