A "Healthy" Routine {Open}

[Rex]

The gym today was surprisingly silent today. Rex had been in Ashford for quite some time now, and everyday he came here you could hear someone doing something somewhere, weather it be blowing up the power room, or the squeak of the punching back sliding back the rail, or even footsteps along the track. But with a whole gym practically to himself, how could Rex complain? So he got to work right away. Walking over to one of the lined up punching bags, he tested it out with a few jabs, adding no power into them, and watching as they moved back slowly. Good they worked. He removed his leather jacket, leaving him in just his white v neck, he then placed the jacket on the floor, before dropping his rings, and bangle into the heep on the ground.  He bounced back and forth, and deiced to start on his simple routine, the same he'd been doing all week so far, and the same he pictured himself doing for quite some time...It was better then sitting in his room right?

He slowed down the speed of his bouncing, and posted his arms up. 'one two, two two, one two, two three' he remembered in his mind, reciting the order over and over again, and threw his jabs in that order. Right, left, left left, right left, left, and ending with a devastating haymaker. After his combo, he bounced on the soles of his feet a couple more times, moving his head back and forth, and going in for the combo again. "One! Two! Two! Two! One! Two! Two! Th-!?" However, on his final punch, an image flashed quickly across his head, and planted itself over the punching bag, breaking his concentration. The image...None other then that damn government rat Jason.

He hit both his gloves against the mat, and put his forehead against them, closing his eyes, and breathing somewhat heavily, as the memory replayed for the hundredth time in his mind. Like a favorite film he recalled every part, from the small gang war right before the incident, to salute Jason gave his higher ups before he was taken away. He scanned this memory over and over again, and every time..No matter how many times he wanted to believe otherwise...There was no sign of sadness, or regret on Jason face that day. In fact, the male that stood in front of that officer, his 'friend' looked like a completely different person. 

He opened his eyes once more, pushing off the bag now, and placing his hands on his hips, swaying his head back and forth, as the memory played on in his brain. Each time his mind haunted by that image. He kept shaking his head, sweat dripping down to the floor in almost a sick rhythm. Lights, drip, screams and shots, drip, threats and demands, drip drip He shook his head more, the memory starting to annoy him as it replayed in his brain like a drive in theater, constantly playing reruns. So, he shot his eyes up quickly, and moved over to do his combo again, this time yelling each jab as it came out. "ONE! TWO! TWO! TWO! ONE! TWO! TWO!..." There it was, that face...That salute....And. "THREE!" He flew his fist out, struck the bag full force, and watched it sore off into the distance, before lodging itself into the back wall.

For awhile there was a numb pain in his fist, as he just blankly looked at the bag for awhile, letting his breath come out ragged, and heavy for awhile. After finally regaining himself, he noticed the full force of what he had done, and, with an audible sigh, moved to fix his problem. With a towel around his neck, and draped over his shoulders he worked on the punching bag. It wasn't until the room was silent again, that he noticed he wasn't the only one in the gym anymore, as he heard footsteps in the distance. He didn't turn react to the noise, but did secretly hope it wasn't a prefect, I mean, after all, hitting a punching bag into a wall, isn't exactly an easy situation to explain.

[Veronica Knox]

Trailing her fingers along the surface of the walls and lockers Veroncia’s jumped from person to person. Each time a person passed her she could feel her muscle tense, anticipating a fight. A constricted feeling wound around her chest as she moved from hallway to hallway. She was alone in a new area and completely out of place in these white prison walls. This place was filled with the unknown, threats could be anywhere. It was safe to say she was beyond hating her first forty-eight hours in this so called academy. The first day being confined to a bed while the nurses made sure she was fine, the second wandering the halls and avoiding contact. Who needs classes, right?

Passing by the gym she heard a familiar shout. Pausing next to the door, she tilted her head a bit trying to listen better. There was no way that he could be here. She was alone again, it was as plain and simple as that. The people who took her away could not be the same that escorted him out of the house. It was ridiculous to give herself hope, she should just keep walking and continue to scope out the place and yet… V couldn’t bring herself to move as she held her breath as she waited. Then suddenly, there was it. ‘Three’ Followed by a large crash that more than confirmed her previous thoughts.

Slowly opening the gym door she slipped in, being careful to shut it without making much noise. Standing in the entrance, V looked around until her eyes fell on a familiar tall, red headed figure. “There’s no way…” She murmured breathlessly as she watched her friend stand near a spot which should have held a punching bag. Following his gaze she saw the bag firmly lodged into the wall. Shaking her head a smile graced her features as she put together what happened. ’Someone went a tad overboard with the workout.’ Veronica thought before beginning to move closer as he went to pull the bag from the wall.

Veroncia came to a stop a good five feet behind him. Biting her lip she watched him for a moment, unsure of how to begin things. “Hey.” She called in a cautious voice, almost as if testing the waters she was about to dive into. Slipping her hands into her pockets, as she refused to wear the school uniform today, instead replacing it with a light blue tank top and jean, she continued speaking, “What’d that poor punching bag ever do to you?” V settled for a simple, light and teasing question instead of the billion other things that came to her mind or running up and hugging him like she really wanted to do.

[Rex]

The steps echoed closer, showing that Rex's though of 'not being alone' was indeed correct. Of course he wasn't going to say anything first, he'd take responsibility for his actions if it was so needed though. However, while he was dead set on keeping silent...The other seemed to be the same, refusing to speak and leaving a crippling awkwardness around the two. Despite this however, Rex kept his eyes locked on the bag, continuing his paused actions of freeing the bag from the wall. With a little oomph, and a small grunt from Rex the bag flopped onto the ground, reviling to Rex the damage he did to the wall. "..Great..Just...Just great." Rex said in a irritated sigh, as he began to start his second job of fetching all the larger pieces of wall that scattered over the gym floor. While beginning his little fetch quest, he found himself unable to keep the silence going any longer. Opening his mouth to speak, he found it quickly shut off with her introduction. 'Hey'  A simple greeting, but one that caused Rex to drop the wall hes collected, with mouth ajar, and eyes wide with shock. 

Slowly, very slowly did Rex turn around to match the voice of his childhood friend to an image...A hopefully real image this time. With a quick scan over the young female, eyeing both up and down, Rex found himself stunned. While the immediate reaction would have been shock to see her, maybe followed up with a hug, or a form of speech or something...Rex's was...Different. A continuous flow of thoughts filled into his mind. Simple thoughts, extravagant thoughts, thoughts that wouldn't make sense in this situation, if any. 'How could it be possible?' 'Why was she here?' 'Should I care? It's V! 'What about the clan?' 'Did Jason kill everyone, and send her here with bad news?'...'Should I just run up and hug her..?' Questions of this caliber, along with many others filled the young leaders head...And it seemed it was his turn now to return the awkward silence...And his could have given hers a run for it's money...

"Yo."

Of course, in normal Rex fashion, he broke the silence with his response. His mind had caused him to remain silent, and idle for so long, that her joke seemed to zoom right over his head. Or at least that's what it seemed before he looked down at his fist, bringing a hand to embarrassingly rub the backside of his neck. "...Ah...Well..." He didn't exactly have an answer, and telling her the truth would seem stupider then any lie he could think of...So he just left it at silence. Like there wasn't enough of that. After another moment or two. With all the silence, and all the motionless staring around..It finally caused Rex to snap. In one quick moment he moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her head, and back and pulling her towards him. Going to bury the shorter girls head into his chest...He couldn't help himself after all this time...He didn't care how weak he looked.

Though he feared they might come, tears didn't threaten his eyes at there embrace. Unlike last time he didn't remain silent for long, he was thinking  there was a bit to much of that in this supposed to be happy reunion. So instead he smiled softly, and pulled back away from his somewhat sporadic hug, and looked softly down at her, showing more emotion to her, then anyone else in the time hes been here. "My my...Look how you've grown in only ten short months...." His normally emotionless mug, twisted into a caring smile, as he saw his best friend...No...To him his sister once again. Seeing her growth with his own eyes was something he wasn't expecting to see for a long time...So of course emotions were high. "Heh..It's not fair y'know...You know how long it took me to grow this tall, you can't be reaching up here already." He said, reaching forward to messy up her hair with a balled up fist, knowing how much it used to bug the hell out of her, and with good reason to.

[Veronica Knox]

Hey was such a simple word, such a general greeting. Anyone could use it and get the same response, yet this one was a little different. This one held emotion behind it. Nervousness and worry mixing with excitement and anticipation. It had been months since the teen had seen her best friend, hell half of the time she thought he must have been dead by now. Then, to find out that she had been wrong and that he was perfectly fine (while the punching bag might not have been) standing in front of her… It was almost too much to comprehend.

It appeared that Veronica wasn’t the only one having issues comprehending what was going on. She watched, playing with her gloves nervously, as he just looked at her. She could see the thoughts working their way through his mind, the same expression she had seen many times before. After a length of silence filled with his stare and her mindless fidgets he replied with his own simple greeting. Honestly, if anyone where to have walked in on them it would have appeared that the two were distant cousins that had only met once before instead of spending years together. Just gotta love traumatic partings in the past.

However, she replied, trying to keep the conversation going with a light joke. Only for it to end up being an utter failure. Normally she would have seen a slim smile cross his lips, maybe enter his eyes if it was good enough. This time… this time she only got an awkward movement on his part. ‘Well… this is going perfectly.’ She thought, debating if she should just take her leave. Her current thoughts leading more towards that he had been content here and that her appearance would only screw things up. That old childhood doubt beginning to work its way into her thoughts, making her double guess her actions and worry that he didn’t want to see her.

Then it all changed in an instant. V watched as he came closer to her, a smile breaking out onto her face. As his arms went around her, she wrapped her own around his waist. Happiness exploded in her bringing a stinging sensation to creep behind her eyes. Hiding her face in his chest she breathed in his scent, something she never thought she’d get to do again. How many times did she curl up next to him when she was upset? Or asked for a piggyback ride when they were young? She missed him, being next to him and teasing him all the same. Thinking your best friend was dead was a terrible thing, V was beyond happy now that she didn’t have to think about it.

As he pulled back she grinned at him, watching his own smile. There was warmth in his face that had been absent from her life for months and that was something she wasn’t accustomed to, nor was it something she liked. The mushy reunion didn’t last long as he began teasing her, just like old times. Rolling her eyes, she batted at his hands in attempt to slap them away from her hair. “Oh bull!” She replied, trying not to laugh, “You grew like five inches in two weeks, I swear. It took me ten months to grow three inches. I’m not even that tall.” She was only five-three, that was nothing compared to his height but she was glad a bit of normalness eased into their conversation.

[Rex]

'How weak must I look right now?' He found himself asking that question over, and over, and over in his head, however each time he came back to the same response. 'I am, still human.' After his drawn-out return with V, he couldn't stop himself from beaming, even if he wanted to. He was worried that with the change in appearance, there would also stem a change in attitude, but nope, not in the slightest. His old childish friend V, the one he argued with a million times over was still there, and in perfect shape to boot! "Well that's only natural after all, I'm the leader after all! We have to tower all our pawns! Hahaha!!" He said, putting his hands on his hips, boasting out his chest, and giving a fake bellowing laugh, before rubbing a finger under his nose, chuckling a bit, happy that his joking game hadn't gotten rusty either. 

While Rex was actually enjoying the fun and games, he couldn't help but have a nagging feeling in the back of his mind...Something he needed to know for sure, and wouldn't allow the question to  be avoided, and unanswered for any longer. In an almost instant shift of mood, Rex moved over to where the bag was dropped, and brought it over to the chain. While he had his back to her, and seemed to be progressing silently, he didn't let himself not seem open, just seemingly lost in thought on how to address the next topic...And for good reason. How does one ask someone else if all there friends and family were dead? How does someone ask if they failed at protecting people. It wasn't like V had an anger issue, or would get angry at the question, it was quite the opposite, she was normally very composed, even towards hurting or harsh question like this, normally showing a silent reaction towards them...But that's what scared Rex the most.

He took a glance at the chains that had snapped off of the bag. They didn't break the whole link luckily enough, he hit it with enough force to remove it completely within the middle of the link. While he worked on fixing the broken chains, by pulling off the broken pieces, and prying open the next pieces in the chain so he could clamp them together, he finally deiced on a way to word his question. "...Hey V, the damage report...For the past couple of months...what is it..." He didn't use any key words like death, or body count. He kept certain enemy's names out of the question as well, and asked for an overall statement...Even though it seemed like a cop out...He couldn't bring himself to ask it flat out.

In the meantime, while he waited for her to answer, he finally finished fixing the bag, by prying two of the chains open, one from each broken link, and forcing them back closed around each other. Course this was without welding, so a couple of hits to this somewhat unstable chain wouldn't let it last long...But hey he did the best with the power he had. After standing up, and dusting off his pants, and hands, he gave the bag a few pushes, before hitting it a few times. He could feel the lack of tension in the chain, and gave a small click of his tongue. "Oh boy....Hope no one else gets over zealous on this thing..."

[Veronica Knox]

Looking up at Rex she shouldn’t help but laugh at him. It was so rare that he was so open like this. Of course he would laugh and tease the other members but never quite like this. It looked like Veronica wasn’t the only one who was overjoyed with the fact that their paths intersected again. “I didn’t realize being tall was a mandatory quality to be leader,” She teased, relaxing in her stance. V crossed her arms lightly against her chest as she rolled her eyes at him. There was a slight feeling of relief that everything felt so normal again, that nothing had really changed in this aspect.

She was caught off guard a bit as he moved away. Her deep red eyes watched as he moved over to the broken chains and set to work on fixing them. She could tell he was just thinking, not closed off, but still… It was almost as if the atmosphere around them physically shifted into a more serious tone. She cringed inwardly, some part of her pleading not to let this happen. All she wanted was to kid around with her friend. To spend some time with him just like they used to. Just like how things were before all hell broke loose in their so called family.

Of course she was kidding herself. Things were anything but the same, more like world of difference in reality. She had changed and she was sure that there was some damage to Rex after all that had happen. Not to mention everything that had happened with the gang. How some had issues adapting to life without Rex as leader and V taking his place. And for others, the issue with Jason broke them in ways no one thought it would. Her world was different now, which in a way meant his was too. But the simple change in the atmosphere and his actions didn’t prepare her for his question.

Shock splintered across her face once he voiced what he was thinking. ‘Damage report,’ two words she had heard a thousand times yet never was she so fearful of them. Immediately she began to compose and compress her emotions, refusing to allow herself to sink into guilt and sorrow in front of him. However, she did find it particularly hard to voice the thoughts rolling around in her head. It wasn’t until he spoke about the bag again that she swallowed the lump in her throat, “Well, it’ll be their problem then.” She responded, her voice sounding a bit more lifeless and more businesslike.

“Two,” Veronica finally answered his question. Her eyes slid away from Rex and instead focused on the tension in the chain. “Julie and Stephan.” Pain flashed in her eyes as she spoke their names, already knowing Rex would ask for them. Julie had was one of the youngest members of the gang. She was one that almost everyone had taken on as a younger sister. Stephan, on the other hand had been one of the quieter ones that apparently was breaking under the surface… and no one saw it in time. Each death had hit V particularly hard since she blamed herself for them and each had stripped her of her confidence for weeks. It was definitely a time that she had missed Rex the most.

[Rex]

"Two..?" He asked, his joking atmosphere he was trying to build back up, shattered in an instant. Two? How should he feel about this number...Should he be grateful it was only two, and not more...No, he couldn't fool himself like that. It could have been one, or even less, and he'd still feel the unease he was feeling. Two of his family members were dead, two faces he'd never see or hear from again. There's nothing about that he could be thankful for..Nothing at all. He thought the number would hold the most pain..But of course he was wrong. Putting names to a number like that...No matter who they were it would hurt...But hearing the names, remembering there actions, quirks, speaking patterns....Thinking how he'd never see Stephen hiding behind someone when he walked in...Or feel Julie tug on his pant leg to lift her up...And take her around the city...The things he thought of were...Little...But it still hurt him, more then any betrayal, or gun shot would.

The room filled with silence...An unease silence. He...Didn't show any signs of emotion, though he also didn't move from his spot. Frozen in place, a hand placed firmly against the bag. After a moment he pushed the bag lightly, sending it rocking back and forth, before he took a seat on a bench near the bags, linking his fingers together, and pressing his head against his knuckles. "...I see. Thank you..." His voice...Shaky. But shaking from what...He honestly didn't know...Was it anger at himself...At Jason? Was it sadness at the loss? Was it regret...He didn't know. "Did...You set up a proper funereal?" That line...Was the only thing his mind could come up with at this point in time...He literately was speechless otherwise, nothing else allowed itself to form in his head. He breathed out shaky, unsteady breaths, and looked up to her. The coldness on his face...Would send shivers down the spines of the strongest gang members. It was clear the silliness from before was long gone.

He moved from his seated position, and reached for his hoodie, flipping it over his shoulder, he walked towards the exit, passing V, before speaking a small very sharp command at her. "Come..." Then he passed her by, heading for the exit, and off towards the woods, not saying a thing about what he was thinking or what his plan was, to any normal person he would seem to be going off pure emotion, seeming to act without thinking..But anyone who knew him knew this wasn't the case. Whatever Rex was planning to do in the forest, there was a reason behind it. The only thing he left in the gym, was the bag which swung slowly to a stop, leaving the space relatively empty and eerily quite in his absence. 

[Veronica Knox]

Feeling the change in the mood around the two was absolutely horrible. Not only did V just want to go back to the joking and sharing in the same teasing atmosphere that she had missed for so long but the mood had changed to made it all ten times worse. The wound of losing people, especially two sweethearts, never really closes. Nor, does the guilt of being the one responsible for it. Feeling her chest tighten, V dropped her gaze and allowed her white hair to fall in front of her face. She didn’t want to face him, to see any sign of heart break or disappointment or anger. V wasn’t sure she could handle that at the moment.

“I’m sorry,” She whispered just under her breath. She wasn’t necessarily talking to just Rex, more so him as well as the two souls she lost. Silently she replayed the deaths, the tactics involved and what she could have done differently. Her mind raced for a different outcome, the flaw that had caused this sadness beginning to weight down her shoulders. As her thoughts continued to swirl and descend into a darker depths she felt a familiar numbness seeping into her bones. Those same thoughts of guilt, of unworthiness, of being an absolute failure beginning to edge out all other thoughts in her mind.

The previous warmth of seeing her old friend, the same warmth that had heated her from her toes up, slipped away as if it had never really been there. Her eyes slipped shut as she raged an internal battle to pull her thoughts out of those dark depths that they had fallen too so often before. It took a moment but she slowly began filing away the emotions that were inside her. Each one only taking a moment before being replaced with an empty numbness. Taking a small breath she lifted her head and opened her eyes. Even her eyes, the windows to the soul, held no sign of her struggle as her red gaze settled on Rex.

The girl showed no sign of having realized he was so shaken by the news. Internally, it only added more work to her mind as she processed the extra guilt and filed it away yet again. Sometimes, it was just better to be numb. When he finally looked up her expression wavered for a second, no more and no less, before her mask was back in place. Once it was, she nodded curtly, “Of course. If we get back I’ll take you to them,” She offered, taking on a business like ton. Her eyes watched him as he rose and began walking away, brushing past her as if she wasn’t even there.

At the sharp command she repressed a flinch. She had always hated it when he turned like this. So cold and calculating. For some reason she always felt like it was an extra punishment, even if at other times it wasn’t directed at her. The fear of losing her friend to this cold version had always played on the back burners and when it did come out it made everything all the worse. However, in this case she felt it was more than justified and she more than understood why. Biting back a sigh she followed after him, quickly falling into place behind him, her eyes locked on his back.

[Rex]

On his path to the forest to plan out his idea for a funeral, as best as he could anyway, he realized how sickened he was that he had this pathway memorized, that the whole island was now like a map in his head...Had it been that long? Why did the days feel so short when he was here, he didn't have worry yes, but did that really fly by the days, how many days had he continued this routine while his friends were getting injured, scared, and even...Dying? Rex...Wasn't scared of death, he had no reason to be. If he died, he'd at least left a home, and a chance for the kids he left behind, making himself actually useful to others, instead of just some washed up orphan who was left to rot in the slums...But not everyone was like him. Those two, when they saw there deaths coming, when they figured they had only a few minutes of life left...What did they think? He knew they couldn't have accepted it, they couldn't have gone down willingly so...What did...They think? He...Quickly dropped that topic for now...Maybe when he was alone, and able to think and breathe clearly he'd come back to it.

It wasn't long before the two came to the forest, normally Rex would stop, pretend to be tired, or that he worked up a sweat and joke around with V...That was his plan before the news anyway, it was funny how far ahead he planned even small jokes, and events like this...But...This wasn't going to be that way, not at all, he didn't even wait to answer any questions, or check on V. He continued on into the forest, disappearing behind the trees to anyone watching.

The forest would eat Rex, and V up pretty soon after entering, and it wasn't long before any set path that common visitors would have made vanished. Rex, going passed tree after tree continued on until his gaze set upon a small clearing in the middle of the forest. By it was a decently large sized tree, maybe an oak of some kind, whatever it was it shadowed the other trees in girth, and it's size peaked just above the others around it. "Here..." He spoke, his command still as sharp, as he got down onto his knees. He slowly cupped up his hands, and with them, gathered up dirt into a small mound like pile. He did this once more, right next to the first, before picking up two fresh leaves on the ground nearby, and placing them on top. After doing this he slowly stood up, his pant legs, and hands were dark with dirt...But he paid that no mind. He slowly bowed his head, using the two mounds as graves for his friends...In the end, he wanted to at least wish them away himself...Give them his permission and his blessing to leave the gang...That was...The rule after all.

"....." Looking over his shoulder at V, he slowly turned, holding out his hands, and going to wrap her up against his chest. He...Normally wasn't clingy...But this was something V might be used to. Rex was a strong man, both emotionally and not, he showed no mercy in fighting...He showed no mercy in passing judgment on others...But, two kids, two friends...Two family members died without him being able to do a thing about it...Even to him, this was...Two much. He kept her hugged tightly...While tears started to stream down his face. She...Wasn't allowed to see him cry...He kept her close...Hoping to keep this small truth true.

[Veronica Knox]

Keeping her red eyes trained on his back, V found it harder and harder to keep her thoughts from drifting to a very dark place. Multiple times that voice inside her head seemed to grow louder, screaming at her that it was all her fault. That she never should have become leader, she wasn’t ready and never would be. And in truth, no matter what others thought, she always found herself giving into those thoughts. The thoughts that she was worthless and would be the death of everyone she held dear. And all of this had started by a simple question, ‘...the damage report… what is it?’

A simple question that had a simple, yet powerful answer had plunged not only herself but her closest friend into a black hole of disappear. Even without words V could tell that Rex was questioning everything. It was his nature to look at all the possibilities. She also had the thought that it was possible that he was blaming himself for not being there. However, despite these thoughts she gave no sign of her emotions. She stared blankly at his back, letting him lead the way since he clearly knew where he wanted to go and she still didn’t have the layout of the school memorized.

It wasn’t until they reached the woods that she paused in her step, looking up at the tall wall of trees. Until this point, she hadn’t questioned where they were going. Now, Veronica was beginning to think she had an idea. Somewhere quiet where the ground wouldn’t be disturbed often. Some place for a make shift grave. Looking back to Rex, he was already disappearing behind the tall trees. Giving her head a quick shake she stepped up her pace to regain her spot directly behind him. Getting lost in the woods was not something she wanted to do today.

She heard the quick command and stopped on a dime. Her arms crossing over her chest as she took in the sight of him kneeling down. It would appear that she had been correct in her assumption. Glancing down, she felt her eyes glaze over. The first burial had been a lot to handle, a second… it was almost too much for the white haired teen. It wasn’t until she heard the shifting of his body that she looked up, catching his eyes as he turned to look at her. Her eyes dropped to his arms, confliction openly appearing on her face. Did she want to give in? Or did she want to shut off her emotions?

In her mind, it was clear that she deserved to be shut down, to avoid all comfort involving the situation. However, a second thought popped into her mind, Rex’s emotions. While he was almost like steel majority of the time, Veronica knew this would be a heavy hit on him. After a moment of standing still she closed the distance between the two and buried her face in his chest. She could feel the shaking in his chest but she gave no insight that she was aware that he was crying. She’d let him have his pride. However, she herself refused to break down. She simply held her friend close, remaining numb for the time being.