He was crying. In between his sobs, murmurs of sorry could just be made out. Scales huffed out a breath, scratching absently at the scales on his neck. Candy bit her lip in worry, glancing between the area the fight was taking place in and the now crying boy. Death was the only one who stepped forward, crouching next to Havoc.
"It's not your fault Havoc... Archer and Hexx just... have to test each other." Candy felt a smile pull at her lips despite her worry over Archer's safety and the sadness Havoc felt. He had been paying attention.
Max raised a hand to rub her temples. This whole thing was giving her a headache and she really needed more sleep before her brain even began functioning at normal speed.
"Could someone please explain what's going on?"
Archer bit back a cry of pain, feeling bark dig into his still healing scars. Was the girl trying to kill him? Growling, he grabbed the branch and tugged, pulling Hexx closer to him. His knee connected with her stomach and she doubled over, winded. Archer yanked on her hair, using it to spin her around so he could deliver a kick to her back.
Hexx stumbled to the floor, coughing to recover her breath. Fuck, her emotions were getting the better of her. But she couldn't help it. Havoc was like her baby brother. Never mind the fact that he was most likely older than her, he was part of her family and so she felt she had every right to beat Archer up. Even if Archer was part of her family as well.
Grunting as she spun away from another kick aimed for her stomach, Hexx forced the knuckles on her left hand open. She swiped at Archer and he sucked in his stomach to avoid the metal, his top getting sliced regardless.
"Bitch!" He might have actually liked that top.
"You wish!" Oh, so it was that game now, was it?
"You mention my fucking genes one more time, and I swear to whichever Deity cares that I'll throw you off a cliff." He watched as Hexx merely snarled at him, circling her warily. Words spilled from her lips, but he wouldn't listen to them. He couldn't.
And then one word broke through the blur.
Havoc.
And Archer snapped.
Max wanted to go back to sleep. Really badly. Maybe then this whole thing would blow over, and she could go back to the relatively headache free life of before Hexx.
"Tha's so freaking cool! How d'ya keep lookin' a' me like tha'?" Candy hadn't stopped talking since Havoc had recovered, and she was running a commentary on every little thing. Nudge had found a kindred spirit in it and was happily explaining everything Candy questioned about.
Scales had just spent the last few minutes explaining exactly what they were there for as simply as he possibly he could to her and really, Max had just accepted it with a sigh. She leant against a tree, at a distance from the others and brooded, wondering why Hexx had kept them a secret. She obviously wasn't ashamed of them if her previous actions were to be listened to. So why?
Scales fidgeted where he stood, eyes casting around the area repeatedly. Damn, what was Archer doing to that girl? They needed her back so she could stop Havoc creating these goddamn waves of empathy. Tch.
"Death, calm him down." The dark haired boy flashed him a glare from over the scarf he wore. What did the damn snake think he was trying to do?
"That's a bit hard to do with Havoc passed out and all." Scales was about to retort when-
"Play nice boys. And pull your sleeves down Death." Hearts weren't meant to stop that fast. Damn, it had been awhile since he had heard that leader voice.
"Hexx!" Candy spun on her heel at Scales' shout, and beamed, running over mid sentence. Nudge pouted; Candy was fun to talk to and their conversation had been interesting. Iggy almost collapsed with relief, causing Gazzy to laugh. Candy got excited over everything.
Hexx caught Candy as the blonde jumped at her and had to shut her eyes as her skin began glowing once more. Candy forced the glow down, though her smile was bright enough.
"Were you two trying to kill each other?" Max asked, surprise written all over her face at Hexx's condition. Hexx seemed confused, and then glanced down at herself. A forced smile formed on her face.
"Why's your lip split?" Candy asked before Hexx could answer, almost causing her smile to slip.
"Oh, me and Archer were just sparing." The level of fake cheer in her voice was slightly worrying and Scales glanced over Hexx's shoulder.
"If that's so, where's Archer at?"
"Holding his balls."
Hexx found herself slammed against a tree, wings protesting against her back. Archer's hands held onto her shoulders, forcing her to stay still. The blue eyed girl glared up at him, a snarl beginning to escape her.
"What the hell Archer?"
"Is Havoc all you think about? Him and Candy and Death and Scales? Are they? All you ever talk about is your fucking babies! What about me? Where do I fit into this? Do you ever even think about me?" Hexx wanted to reply, really she did. But how could she reply that the only reason she kept talking about them was to stop thinking about him? Her chance at a reply was cut off though with Archer's next action.
His lips slammed against hers with a bruising force, and for a moment, Hexx forgot how to breathe. It was rough and raw and so hugely Archer, that for the briefest of seconds, Hexx found herself giving in. And then she felt teeth on her bottom lip, biting down, breaking the moment.
Sense coming back to her, Hexx did the only thing she could think of. Her knee hit home and Archer pulled back, frozen in pain.
Scales was the first to speak up after Hexx's rather flavoured account of the aftermath of her and Archer's fight.
"I'm sure that constitutes as rape."
Candy spluttered incoherently at this statement, and there was a surge of noise from everyone. Hexx let Candy drop to the floor and shook her head.
"Look, it's nothing serious. Just let-"
"Nothing serious?" came Nudge's indignant yell, "He sexually assaulted you! How can that not be serious?" Hexx forced herself not to flinch, instead casting a glance at Scales. The dark-skinned teen nodded, clapping his hands to draw attention to himself.
"It's not serious, because quite frankly, it was a kiss. We've been through worse alright?" Maxx felt a pang of something stir in her chest. They couldn't mean-? But with the way Candy's eyes flitted away, and with how Death (why the hell was that even his name?) seemed to curl in on himself, she couldn't think of another answer. A glance at her flock saw realization dawn in their faces, and she spoke up before it got anymore out of hand.
"Alright. But for now, why don't we settle for some more shut-eye and talk about all of-this," she paused, waving a hand towards the newcomers, "in the morning. We're running on about two hours of sleep as it is." The grateful look Hexx sent her caused her to smile slightly, and she silenced any protests from the Flock with a look. She had a headache, and was going to end up yelling at someone if she didn't get rid of it soon.
"Keep quiet for god's sake Scales!"
"Well, sorry! Havoc does weigh something y'know!"
"Fuck! Don't step over there!"
"Just keep quiet!"
"I still don' see why we 'ave to sneak-,"
"We're not sneaking!"
"We're merely leaving before Archer get's attacked by Nudge for 'sexual assault'."
"Fuck off."
As soon as Nudge opened her eyes, she knew something was wrong. It was quiet. Well not quiet per se. There was light snoring coming from Gazzy and shifting from Angel, but there should have been something else. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes. And then rubbed them again.
They were gone.
They; as in Hexx and her friends. And gone; as in spirited away type gone. Vanished without a trace. Okay that wasn't exactly true, because she could see the crushed grass where they had been laying down. But still, there wasn't any sign of them having been there for the past hour or more.
Nudge frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. Not fair. So totally not fair. They had snuck away during the night. She turned to wake Max, but something caught her eye. A piece of paper lay on the ground where Hexx had been resting and Nudge felt compelled to go pick it up.
Look, we had to go.
Archer's our leader, not Max. Leaving in the middle of the night just saves us the trouble of goodbyes. Besides, we'll probably see each other some other time.
Hexx
Nudge felt her anger drain away. They'd see each other again. So it was okay. They were still friends. She wasn't crying.
Halfway across another state, Hexx sneezed. Havoc laughed, causing Scales to slap the back of his head. Candy frowned and began to tell the scaled boy off, resulting in said boy sticking his tongue out. Candy gaped before almost leaping across the table they were sat around to attack him. Hexx rolled her eyes, turning so she could listen to Death better.
Havoc spun around where he sat, ignoring the game of tag that had been started by Candy and Scales. Archer had just disappeared again. Havoc knew that the guy was a loner by choice and all, but still. He could at least say something when he left.
"What're looking for?"
Havoc jumped, head turning so fast there was a risk of whiplash. Archer was sitting next to him, scowl lingering in his expression. Laughing, Havoc shrugged.
"Nothing much~!" Archer snorted, but chose not to argue, turning so he could see Hexx instead. Havoc stood, grinning at Archer once more before making his way to join in the game of tag.
"Oi, wicked witch of the west, get them leaving in half an hour." Hexx glared at him, a snarl on her lips at the nickname he had oh so graciously gifted her with.
"Fine, Mutt." Death stifled a laugh as the two continued to glare at each other. The two never even realized how entertaining they were. Somewhere down the line, they'd stopped fighting over power, and fought for the sake of it. Like an old married couple.
Death blinked, taken aback by his own thoughts. Oh. Oh. Why hadn't he noticed it before? He adjusted his scarf, hiding the smile that had begun to spread across his lips.
"You two should get married." Scales announced, skidding to a stop by the bench.
"And you should go fuck yourself." Archer's retort wasn't a surprise. Neither was the punch he threw at Scales, quickly followed by another when the dark skinned boy avoided the first. What was a surprise was Hexx's response.
She slumped forward onto the table, using her hair to cover her face. Death frowned slightly, confused, and reached a hand out to shake her shoulder.
"I hate him so much I don't even know anymore." Death paused, not sure who she was talking about. He allowed his hand to drop onto her shoulder though, sensing she needed the comfort, and made an inquisitive noise in the back of his throat. Hexx chuckled lightly, turning her head to one side so she could view him through her hair. Death was so damn cute sometimes, with all his social awkwardness.
"Get Candy and Havoc for me will ya?" Nodding Death slid off the bench to collect the two. Hexx let out a sigh, hiding her face once more. All this thinking was going to give her a headache.
"I wasn't being strictly serious y'know." Hexx sat up as Scales sat on the edge of the table, looking towards the gates of the park. She was about to respond when he continued speaking. "You two just work… without working if you get my meaning." Hexx shook her head, smiling even as she disagreed with his words.
"Well if that's what you think I won't stop you Scales. Just choose better times to voice your thoughts, alright?" Scales flushed lightly, raising a hand to his already bruising cheek.
"Alright. Where's Archer got us going anyhow?" Hexx snorted at the question, stretching as she stood.
"Hell if I know. Probably wants to get away from the Flock or something." Scales hummed in agreement, trailing the dark haired teen as she moved towards the gates. The other three were already waiting there for them, Candy and Havoc talking to Death rather animatedly about something or other. Probably explaining Tag.
As they saw Hexx and Scales approaching, their conversation stopped; replaced instead with the careful curiosity they always held when Archer wasn't around. Hexx smiled slightly, shaking her head when Candy yelled at them to hurry up.
All was well in her world again.
…
So why did she feel like something was going to go horribly wrong?
Oh lord I kept writing ANGLE-MATHS WHY MUST YOU STALK ME SO?
And fffffffff- this is a shitty thing to write.
I-I don't even think sorry covers how much I apologize to all of you out there. I've had this thing sitting around for ages but I couldn't write it. So sorry if it sucks.
But hey! Possibly sequel!
I swear I'll update it more frequently.
