On the sunrise {Hannah Quiggley Flores and Myka Vanderbeau}

Hannah's eyelids fluttered open. By how dark it was in her room, she could tell it was still far to early in the morning for her to rise, and yet she felt as though she couldn't sleep a moment more. She sighed. It was as if she could never sleep at quite the right hours, always awake to early and asleep to late or vice-versa. Infuriating, really. She went through life in a constant state of tired.
She closed her eyes for a moment, collecting herself. What on earth was she to do for her people? Bah, forget it. That was never a good line of thought to be caught in, especially so early. She felt Myka shift in his sleep next to her. How she envied him, his ability to sleep whenever he liked... he was so lucky to have that. She rolled over to face him and traced the lines of his far-from-perfect face with her eyes. He was everything she could never be.

Myka was a light sleeper, being able to fall asleep anywhere he pleased. He loved this fact about himself, but knew of Hannah's ever cumbersome midnight wakes. He didn't mind though. Myka had turned to face Hannah as he lay asleep. If only Hannah could gaze into his blue eyes and see the wonderful dream Myka was experiencing. He's my best friend, best of all best friends, do you have a best friend too?.... In Myka's dream he was dancing with Hannah as they danced to a very very old song. Soon to join in the dancing was Santa Claus, Hitler, and a big fluffy bunny he dubbed furball. Myka had experienced even more pleasures in the dream, that is, until he awoke to Hannah just gazing at him. He smiled at her, it was a warm welcoming smile. "awe, cant sleep?" he whispered as he caressed her perfect face.

She shook her head.
"No, as usual. You are so lucky, you know? Things must be so easy for you. You're able to sleep easily and say whatever you like and do the same. You never have to worry that you're not perfect enough or that you might have accidentally invaded someone else's mental personal space..." she trailed off. Things were difficult, and they always would be. It was almost like nothing she did was good enough and she was so jealous of Myka's seemingly carefree ways. She frowned slightly and closed her eyes, her perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed.

Myka eyes widened due to the disbelief coming from his loves mouth. He sat up and put his legs Indian style on the bed.
he reached over and grabbed Hannah's hands, rubbing his fingers along hers. "Baby I worry about things. I just don't let them control who i am" he began.
"You are the strongest female I know. Not just because of who your mother is, but you, yourself have strengths that sometimes even i feel like you don't see in yourself."

Hannah pulled herself up to a sitting position as well and immediately wished she hadn't. The air outside of her plush blankets was freezing, cool drafts pressing against her newly exposed skin. She shivered and leaned against him, seeking warmth, hugging her arms against herself. She gazed up at him, barely able to see through her dense, dark eyelashes. She inhaled his scent. He reeked of the weight rooms and xanderphin. She hated that smell. She drew away from him slightly.
"Myka, why do you..."she paused and composed herself. "You think so highly of me. It's very flattering."

Myka felt her less than traditional embrace. He looked down to her and saw that she had the chills so he laid her back down and rolled the covers over her. He was feeling guilty, for he knew she could smell the xanderphin. He heard what she said as he tuck her in. "Hannah, I think highly of you, because you are everything to me. Your my girlfriend, my lover, my friend. I just wish you'd see that with me, anything can be accomplished" He realized how hypocritical that last statement was, seeing as Hannah probably wants him to realize that with her, he could beat this Xanderphin addiction. He kissed her, baby soft, forehead.

Hannah sighed. "It's always the same thing over and over again! You take care of me, like everyone else does. Its almost as though I'm made of porcelain and I am growing tired of this lifestyle." She wanted to use her forcibly perfected mental skills, she wanted to join the Dactin Army and do some real good. "But I know I can't. Mother would never let me."
Pushing the blankets off her, she slid out of bed and headed to her closet. She sifted through her numerous dresses and groaned. Nothing suited for any real event. She sidled over to Myka's side of the closet and pulled down a black t-shirt. Pairing that with a dark pair of pants and a pair of Myka's old work boots, she clothed herself. Then, as a finishing touch, she did something that, while not expressly forbidden, was frowned upon. She pulled her voluminous hair back into a ponytail and fastened it with a ribbon. Without even uttering a word to him, she left the room and headed down the corridor, headed straight for the exit to Evalin City.

Myka was bedaffled by her sudden exit. He didn't know what to think. However, he knew how badly Hannah yearned to get out and "experience the world for herself". Ever since their joining, Alexandria has sheltered Hannah, grooming her, for perfection. But it seemed to him that she didn't care for perfection anymore, she wanted normal. Myka had no clue where she was going. She didn't say where in the city she was going so he could just teleport there. He was about to let her just venture out on her own, but realized not only would that be cruel to Hannah, Alexandria would kill him if anything happened to her.

He teleported to the top of the roof, he noticed her walking as she exited the caslte. He appeared infront of her. "where the hell do you think your going?" he asked sternly. He didn't want to upset her, or make it seem he was sounding like her mother, but he wanted to know, so he could...join her.

She was taken aback by his sudden appearance in front of her. She hated it when he did that, just teleporting all willy-nilly. She glared at him, offended by his tone. "I'll have you know, Mr. Vanderbeau, that where I go is my own business." She walked past him and further down the drive towards the gates into E-city. She knew, however, that no guard who appreciated his life would let her out, so instead of going straight to the gate, she veered left towards the shrubbery that lined the wall. Using her perfected telekinetic ability, she lifted herself off of the earth and over the gate, coming down gently and quietly on the other side. She gleamed with self-pride. She had made it past the gate and had no injury of which to speak, as she might have if she'd attempted to scale the 6 foot barrier.
She stretched and inhaled. It had been ages since she'd been outside of the gates. It was a tad bit chilly, and she wished she'd brought a jacket. Oh well, cool air is good for the complexion. If anything, Mother might be pleased with me. She giggled and continued walking.

"baby come on! why are you doing this?" he questioned. She didn't respond by talking, she responded by walking around Myka and levitating on the wall.
"Gosh I love that girl" he sighed as he watched her leave.
He saw her take the easy way out by levitating. He had enough clearance to just walk out.
He could hear the guards murmuring to themselves as he approached not really caring what they were talking about. What he did care about was snaging one of the guards jacket because he didn't have one, and he knew Hannah must be getting cold for it was a cold night.
"Gentlemen" he spoke waving, but the guards blocked his exit.
One of the guards shoved Myka. "Where do you think your going?"

Myka didn't take to kindly to the shove, he wasn't doing anything wrong. And as far as he was concerned he wasn't the type of person to be shoving.

"do you want to be written up for insubordination? I am your superior." Myka was thinking about getting in his face, but it wasn't even 24 hours ago he told Alexandria he would stop being so rash and do things by the books. Myka dusted his shirt off where the guard put his grimmey hands.
"now, two things are going to happen here, One, you sir, are going to be reported, and two, I'm taking your jacket"
"fuck you My..." The second guard stopped the first guard from finishing that statement.

"he's right. He is our superior. Give him your jacket and let him through" spoke the second guard.
The first guard was hot headed just like Myka, but he did as he was told, not getting into trouble
"Here you go sir, sorry for the trouble."
The two guards stepped aside and let Myka through.
With Jacket in hand and Hannah in sight, Myka ran up to her.

"Hey, you must be cold, take this jacket. Its not much but it will do." he stuck arm out, jacket in hand, waiting for Hannah to take it.

She shivered a bit and swallowed her pride, taking the jacket from Myka's hands. She decided not to bother asking how he had gotten a Guard's uniform coat and without slowing, she shrugged the jacket on, marveling at how a fabric so thin could be so warm.
"Come with me if you wish, but do keep up," she muttered, glancing sideways at him. She knew he would object to this, as he was almost always 'protecting' her. Protecting me? More like oppressing, stalking perhaps, she thought, her feathers ruffling ever so slightly. She knew, however, that he did it for love of her, and not for a wish to rise in ranks. Or, at least, she hoped it was out of love. Not that there weren't ways for her to find out, or anything. She respected and trusted him too much to just invade his mental space in such a way.
She observed her surroundings, and noted that they were still in the Admis district. It would be a long journey to where she was headed, in the outlying settlements of the impure ones. She was heading to a meeting. One that she had happened to "overhear" mention of.

"keep up?" he asked sarcastically. "baby I invented 'keeping up'. He wanted to make sure she was safe, so he felt his presence there wasn't to 'oversee her' or 'protect her'. He was with her to make sure she experienced what life was like out here. So he asked no questions, just did his best to let her lead the way. However it didn't take a brainiac to know that they were headed in the Impurete district. what was her purpose in that district? he pondered. He began to pass her just a tad bit. He always had to make things a competition, it was just in his spirit. he glared back to Hannah, "come on babe, is this as fast as you can run?" he asked, with a hint of an asinine tone in his voice. "ya know I could just teleport us to the Impurete region, that is, if you wish?"

She stopped in her tracks and stared ahead at him. What could have possibly made him think that running through the city with the Overlord's daughter might be a good idea? How conspicuous did he want to make them?
"I am not about to race you, Vanderbeau."
She continued walking, at her original pace. Running, or even teleporting, about the city would draw attention to them, even more than her bright red hair and flawless complexion might. She stopped again. She realized that she was extremely noticeable, and any of her mother's spies might spot her and report them, practically immediately. She backtracked to an alley they had passed a few moments ago and backed into it's shadows, crouching against a wall.
She did a mental scan of the area, using her telepathy to discern who was awake and who wasn't and whether those who were awake had seen them, or were spies. A minute passed, and still she sensed no one. She deepened her scan, pressing deeper into the minds of those unfortunate enough to be around her, Myka included (although he was not her target, she could not just scan around him, bypass him), and she found three spies, all of whom with extensive mental training. She narrowed her focus to just them, drilling into their defenses, pounding away. More time passed and she eventually did break though. She erased their memories of having seen the pair. It's time to sleep, gentlemen, she intoned, her voice echoing through their minds.
They'll be asleep for a few hours, she thought to herself, rising from her crouching position. She strode up to catch up to Myka, wordlessly resuming her pace. They had many miles to cover and she knew that soon she would have to stop again for yet another scan. It was tedious, but needed to be done if they were to remain unnoticed.

He slowed his pace down for her, continued his walking pace and began talking to Hannah. This went on for about a minute, until he realized she wasn't behind him anymore. "da fuck?' he questioned, as he looked back and saw her nowhere. He saw her nowhere, but sensed her in his mind. He figured she was scanning the area making sure there wasn't any spies or anyone who could turn him and her in to Alexandria. He saw her walking out of the alley. His happy demeanor turned sour due to the fact she was probing his mind. He knew she couldn't just skip whoever she pleased, but still, he would like to be warned when he is being 'hacked into'. "baby you should warn me when you do this, I know it has nothing to do with you not trusting me, but still." Myka continued his walking with Hannah as they ventured further out towards the Impurete regrion. He could see there was none to be scared of, so as long as they stay perfectly quiet and swift, then they can make it to Impurete no problem. He knew Hannah's scanning ability lasted a good 5 miles, so he had no reason or doubts to activate his awareness ability. If there was one thing he could put his trust in Hannah it was telepathy.

"My apologies. I should have warned you. If it makes you feel better, I ignored you." She smiled apologetically at him. She hated using her ability near people who knew of her powers or recognized her presence. There was almost never time to warn any one or anything of that nature and it was a huge bother because people always got upset. She almost wished she could use her telepathy as selectively as people expected, or that her mother had engineered that aspect more carefully.
She continued walking, matching pace with Myka and tugged the jacket more tightly around her. It was a good few sizes too large for her and provided little warmth as it flapped open in the breeze. She pulled it even more tightly around her and watched her breath form a cloud in front of her. She glanced at him, taking note of the fact that he strode tall, seemingly unaffected by the low temperatures.
"How is it that you're not freezing, like I am?"

He couldn't help but to chuckle at her question. He noticed her agitation to the cold a few minutes ago, but didn't want to say anything until he saw her skin. It was clustered with goosebumps, and her lips were a blue color. So he did what he thought would help her best. He stopped, stopping her in the process. He pulled off his shirt revealing his chiseled, yet slender chest. Goosebumps were viable on him too, but it still didn't phase him any. "when I was in the Dactin Army, me and my team did endurance training. This training allowed us to withstand ice cold temperatures, by slowing down our breathing and focusing on our heart beats. We channeled the warmth from our hands to our torso. If that makes any since, babe." He took Hannah's jacket off and placed his shirt on her perfect body, ignoring the fact that she would freeze her tush off for a few seconds. He then continued by placing the jacket back on her and this time, zipping it. "zipping it might help too goofball" he giggled. He knew there was still long was to go, but with each step they were getting closer. He didn't want her just walking, still getting cold. He had hopes with his two shirts and the guards, now zipped, jacket would prove suffice. "ya know what?" he questioned rhetorically. He embraced Hannah and cradled her in his arms and lifted her up. "rest your arms around my stomach" once cradled he kissed her forehead."Just so you know, Im not carring you the whole way, babe. Im just carring you long enough to where your warm enough to walk on your own. Plus it is nice having you cradled in my arms like this."

Hannah pressed herself into his confusingly warm chest. Being as he was well toned, it wasn't exactly the most comfortable place to be leaning into and to top it off, still he had ever present stench of xanderphin. She sighed. While she was grateful for the extra warmth, she still felt as though she was being babied, as usual. She gazed up at him, her innocent, doe-like eyes watching his face as if it were the most interesting thing ever to have existed. She inhaled him, trying to get past the stench of z-fin and the general smell of E-city. She couldn't and it made her genuinely sad. She sighed.
"Myka, I'm warm enough. Please let me down."

He looked down at her and then placed her down. "do you feel like your being babied in this life?" he questioned. He pretty much knew what the answer was, but he wanted Hannah to "entertain" him. As they walked, so she could stay warm, Myka wrapped his arm around her waist keeping her close. "Ya know, day to day, I see how sad you are sometimes, I can see it in your eyes and body language." He proclaimed. He continued his walking. They finally were reaching the outskirts of the Admis region. Myka's only surviving family member lived in this region, his uncle. "I know I smell like Xanderphin. You should try and help me kick it, I know how much you dislike it baby." he told her has he continued on his walk with her. He couldn't help but see sunrise off in the distance. Were they really gone that long now? I guess its true what they say, time flies when your with the one you love, but still, they aren't "out of the woods" just yet. They still had to get out of Admis region and into Moyen region. By this time, Myka really wanted to know where she was going, but at the same time, really didn't care, as long as he was with her, thats all that mattered to him.

She glanced up again, frowning slightly.
"I'm just tired of having to be absolutely perfect, all the ... fucking time." Hannah liked the way that word slid off her tongue. She practically never cursed and by practically, she meant never. She never cursed. "I will never ask you or help you to give up xanderphin, by the way. We both know the withdrawal would kill you. I don't particularly like the idea of a dead you."
She noticed the sky getting brighter, ever so slightly. The sun was rising and they were about five miles away from where she last scanned. She grabbed Myka's hand and walked ahead, into the doorway of a nearby shop. She pulled his head down closed to hers and kissed him, her consciousness brushing against his. I'm going to scan again. This is my warning to you. She thought to him and grinned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and brushing his lip with her tongue, ever so sightly. If you concentrate on something, anything, i won't be able to hear your true thoughts, okay? So, concentrate. With that said, she expander her mind, touching those around her. Just like last time, she felt no one at first, just disturbing patches of nothingness. She delved deeper, breaking through their barriers just as she had for the group before them and neutralized them. She withdrew herself back into her own mind and released Myka, stepping away from him.

Myka chuckled at the thought. "Yea a dead me wouldn't be beneficial to anyone" Anyone, but Alexandria, that is. Myka was taken aback by her saying the eff word, he, again, didn't care. He was happy he was helping Hannah..let loose. He was happy she was letting all this out. Without notice Myka was taken into a shop, he thought to browse, but to his surprise a sweet kiss was placed upon him. Myka placed his hands in the apropos areas as the kiss continued. He felt warm inside as tongues moved up and down, his lips playing follow the leader with Hannah's succulent lips. He loved it when she kissed him, best kisser alive as far as he was concerned, and he's kissed a few girls in his day. He could feel her thoughts, and did as instructed, to not let her into his mind, more than she already was that is. By the time it was over, as they pulled away from each other, Myka asked softly. His eyes glimmering with light..."Are we safe, love?"

"For the next five miles." She grasped Myka's hand, entwining her fingers with his. She squeezed his hand ever so slightly and stepped out of the doorway onto the street, pulling him along with her. She neither glanced back, nor did she speak. Using her mental abilities, coupled with little sleep and the mass amount of distance they had covered, was exhausting her. Still, she pressed on. They had many miles left to cover before the sunset. She allowed her head to droop, her eyelids doing the same. She shook herself ever so slightly and straightened up. She had to continue, had to keep moving. She quickened her pace.

Myka continued on, hand in hand with his love. He knew that they had been walking all morning. Hannah's head was dropping, his eyes were growing tired. He didn't even want to think about the guards and Alexandria finding out that they "fled the coop". A loud and slightly obnoxious yawn could be heard echoing as they successfully came up to the Admis borderline. He halted Hannah. "uh oh baby, more guards" He figured she would just use her powers but Myka wanted her to preserve her energy. He awaited to see what she was going to do, use his teleportation, or use her powers to float over. He assumed she would be okay with him using his teleportation power due to the fact the guards would clearly see levitating people.

She blinked her eyes blearily. "We can't have gone that far already, could we?" She sighed. He was right, she saw them. It must have been a change in shifts. Sighing, she pulled Myka with her into the shadows.
"Concentrate on something, love. I don't care what."
She began, touching, penetrating and destroying. Why were there so many of them? There had to be atleast twenty, she couldn't handle this, she-
The world went dark and time sped up. She hit the ground in a matter of seconds.

Myka couldn't blink, before he saw Hannah fall to the ground. She felt her in his mind, again, but it was for a nano-second. He has seen Hannah pass out before, but he didn't realize she had overused her powers so early. A grave misjudgement on his part. He let her go off and take the lead herself, and then this happened. He assumed, seeing as she was in his mind, and she warned him, the guards were under her spell. So he picked Hannah up and placed her over his shoulder, making sure she wasn't hurting. "dang girl, why didn't you just let me teleport?" he questioned to the sleeping beauty. Due to the spell the guards where under, Myka just causally strolled through the borderline. However; before leaving, he nut-checked one of the guards, effectively making him fall into the fetal position as he cried. Myka laughed for a few seconds, realizing he wouldn't know what hit the poor sap before the spell wore off. Myka was feeling tired, but he had enough energy to teleport a good bit before they completely crashed. He teleported a good 40 miles. Looked around at his surroundings, saw nothing, then, against his better judgement teleported another 40 miles, straight ahead. To the two's luck Myka appeared next to an Inn, in the Moyen district. thank god he thought. Myka was about to go in, but realize he needed to "ruff up" Hannah to blend in, her perfection was a standout. He grabbed some puddle of mud on the ground and smeared it on her face. With the mud smeared face and the jacket, she should be fine. He picked her back up and walked into the inn.

"Good morning, how can i help you" asked a female at the front desk.

"i need a room please, Im military, This girl and I need healing" spoke the now sleepy Myka.

Ah yes it looks like the church did a number on you and her. Her, for rebels, the first stay is free spoke the female.

Myka had no clue what she was talking about, until it hit him, she thinks He and Hannah are part of the Rebellion. He giggled inside. He went along with it, he wouldn't pass up a free room, so he lied.

"yea it was ruff, but thank you, I appreciate this a bundle" Myka was handed a room key and he hauled Hannah to the room and laid her on a bed. He then took a wash cloth and proceeded to clean her face, spotless. He felt grimy so he jumped in the shower to clean up as well.

Hannah inhaled sharply and her eyes shot open. Several hours had passed before she finally awoke and she was ashamed of herself. How could she allow herself to be so very weak? She was so mortified that Myka had been around for that, that she had overexerted herself so easily.
She allowed herself to take in her surroundings, sitting up slowly. She had been laying on a cheap mattress, probably stuffed with straw and covered in the world's most hideously patterned bedding. Beneath her feet laid shoddy wood paneling and the walls were completely bare. The sole window in the room was coated in grime and let in very little light, despite the fact that there were no window coverings.
"Myka?" she called out, hoping he had not just left her there.