William
Ten o'clock in the morning, Annabelle Davidson is barely woken up, towel wrapped around her head from her shower, a 'Eagles' tee-shirt two sizes too big barely hanging on her, a baggy pair of black sweatpants thrown on to cover the rest. Her feet dug into the carpet a bit as she walked through the hall towards the kitchen.

She eyed the photo sat on the counter, and her thoughts of Sophia couldn't be quelled. That familiar pang of anger, longing, and melancholy, striking her as clear as the light from the sun that poured in from the kitchen window above the sink. 

Annabelle had yet to tell Kurt that she'd hired someone in the mean time to try and find her, and the more time that passed, the less results showed themselves, the harder it became to tell him. She was afraid of what he'd think of her rashly throwing money at a problem she'd been chasing solutions for since she started using her powers. She might as well have run into the wilderness like he had- though when he'd done it then, it had still made some kind of sense.

Her head hung as she come to rest her elbows over the sink. '_Damn it_' She thought to herself. '_I just want to know she's still alive, right now._'
Elliott
*Annabelle can hear the sound of sneakers behind her on the linoleum of the kitchen. Kurt was well awake by ten in the morning (as Annabelle would now know from him living with her for so long, the crotchedy Cape was not much of a sleeper), and dressed in a ratty t-shirt and shorts. He squeezes past Annabelle to throw open a window, letting fresh air and the breeze waft inside.* 

"Early birds get worms, *Solnyshko*. We are getting some food, and you will enjoy it." 

*He grumbles in his usual, gravelly voice, and he gently shakes Annabelle's shoulders.* "Come, come: moping is a bad use for this morning. This should be a good day, not one where you lounge around in sweatpants and become stuck in doubt."
William
She couldn't help but gasp a little at the shake, then fell into a giggle as it continued, turning up to face him with a half hearted smile. Solnyshko. The nickname had grown on her quiet well, more so after she learned what it meant. For a man who couldn't come up with something better than 'Creepy-Crawly', he'd picked something apt for her. Living with Kurt had done well for her in other ways as well. A few months ago, she might have blown off the same gesture, shrugged him off and mired in the dark of her room's black out curtains.

Now, however, when the rush of fresh air (or as fresh as it could get here in the slums) hit her, the smile came easier to her. She pulled the towel free from her head, letting her half dried hair fall around her face, and tossed it at him. "Not moping, just thinking" She lied, both to him and herself.

Still, Annabelle took his advice, turning around and past him to go get dressed into something street-proper. When she emerged again from the room, she still wore that shirt, now with a bra underneath, and a pair of faded black denim jeans and her usual boots to pair with it. Her lips filled out with a dark purple color and black, smoky eyeshadow and dark liner finished her look. Goth casual.

"Where did _you_ have in mind, Kurt?" She said with equal parts Snide and Curiosity.
Elliott
*Kurt stands in the doorway, crossing his arms. He's not frowning or scowling, but his face doesn't tend to be graced with smiles, even in happier moments like this one.* 

"A burger joint a few blocks over. You can get some food, something sweet, and help take your mind off your troubles."
William
Anna's breath fell as she walked towards the door, pulling the keys from her pocket. " I suppose... I wouldn't mind a break." She waiting for Kurt to follow behind, opening the door and turning the handle lock with the keys. "Lead the way friend, I'm hungrier than I look."

She examined him in much the same way he tended to with her. It was a change she noticed in him, same as she had- he may not smile, but in the way his resting face seemed less... Molded by annoyance and anger, it spoke to how relaxed he could be now around her.
Elliott
*Kurt walks with Annabelle over to a building designed to intentionally look like a mid-century American diner, complete with red-and-white tiling on the outside and a small neon sign saying 'Open! Come on in!' hanging in the window.* 

*Once inside, Kurt gets the two a booth, easing into his and reclining in the booth. He exhales as he closes his eyes, remembering the diners from his old world as he takes in the smells and sounds.* 

"Buy what you like. Its on me today, *Solnyshko*."
William
Annabelle couldn't stop the way her face lit up with the warmth from her heart when she heard his gruff voice slip that sweet nickname. It sort of reminded her of.. Him. Nostalgic memories of her father calling her his _Little Star_. She used the laminated menu on the table of the booth to hide her face as she made her selections. As the waiter come by to take their orders, she thought about how it was a funny coincidence that the two endearments were so similar. Like she was destined to be this.. Celestial figure, almost.

Even more coincidental was how much it certainly seemed like A higher-middle aged slavic man was taking his goth hispanic daughter to lunch. Sweet? Eerie? She wasn't sure how to feel about it, so she instead let the worries drift away and scoot a little closer to kurt for the comfort of having a figure like that in her life again. Perhaps that's why she could be pulled so easily away from the same depression she often found herself mired in these mornings. Kurt was stabilizing, not like her father had been, it was different, he was certainly more bossy, but in the way your parent tells you not to eat a plastic toy because they don't want to see you start to choke.

Outside of Cape work, Annabelle has isolated her self for a long while, and now this Russian man was her only confidant. One she needed, she recognized. One she liked having.

When the food arrived, Annabelle was surprisingly ravenous, picking her burger up first and taking a sizeable chunk out of it, bits of lettuce and tomato falling to the plate below and the juices soaking a bit into her fries. She didn't care how she looked chowing down.
Elliott
*Kurt isn't picky about how Annabelle eats, picking at the fries he ordered and dunking them in fry sauce. He watches Annabelle scootch next to him a little closer, and while an eyebrow does go up at the gesture, he doesn't stop her from getting closer. He sighs, putting his arms up on the top of the booth, relaxing.* 

"I didn't realize until I came to America how much greasy food can do for the soul. Now, I'm basically a burger evangelist. Most problems in life—" *He says, holding up a fry* "—can be solved with a little bit of grease and salt." *He pops the fry into his mouth, chuckling.*
William
Annabelle choked down her bite before speaking "_itsofriggin'good_" Another bite followed, smaller this time, she finished it quick to speak. "Mm, rare to see you like this. I guess good food brings out the best in anyone."

One more bite. And another. Before she realized it the burger was gone, and her fries were next. " Fhan youh" She managed to mutter out, nudging him with her shoulder as she ate. Something bugged her while she ate though, and she paused long enough to swallow what she had and swivel her self to face him directly

" Wait.. You were in America? Like, before Scion attacked I mean." She let her eyes rest on him, squinting and tilting her head at an angle as she continued "Maybe I had missed it when you mentioned it before, but for some reason I thought you were in Russia when scion attacked... I know you mentioned behemoth before in regards to your home town."
Elliott
*Kurt nods, munching on a fry while Annabelle tears into her own fries.*

"It's like I said: grease and salt solve all—"

*He frowns at the invocation of Scion, but it's more that he was off guard by the mention of his name than annoyance at Annabelle.*

"I was born in Russia, but I spent most of my life in Denver. I was in New York when Gold Morning hit my world. I know, the accent makes it seem like I stuck around longer, but I've never been able to shake it."
William
"Aah.. I see. It's feels strange now to think about those times, almost eleven years ago, when the golden god became our golden dipshit." She slowly took the next few bites of her fries, almost as if she had personally took a rocket launcher to her hungry. That or, the burger finally hit her stomach. One of the two.

"I... Used to have favorites, growing up. I had an Alexandria poster on my wall, a mock Alexandria helmet, a figurine even if you could believe it. Then it came out she was heading the PRT in her secret identity.. Well, more really when she _died_. I Fell out of really caring about cape stuff as an.. Interest. My dad became my hero after that.

I was in that same attack that hit the eastern seaboard, in canada. My dad was home... Surprisingly fast, and wrapped me up in his arms before the beam eviscerated us."
Elliott
*Kurt listens intently, not touching his fries and sliding her the rest.* 

"You know my opinion on Capes, but... Your father was a Cape? What—which one was he?"
William
Annabelle happily took the fires, his gesture of kindness reigniting that small beast inside her that carved the heart disease sticks. 

"Oh my father wasn't a cape" She said, not quite without thinking. " He was just my... My." Her mind race once she had to clarify what her father was to her, and she thought back to all the little things... How many of them soon seemed impossible to her now. Without. Without some kind of speed, beyond what he should have been capable of.

"....Holy shit. My dad was a cape." The realization hit her when she went to go put another handful of fries in her mouth. Her purple stained fingers fell back down to the fry basket and she held her head with her other hand as she tried not to lose her mind at the revelation.

"All these years, he was a cape and I didn't know... He.. He had to be local yeah.. What.. What cape would he.." Anna trailed off, that intense look of thought on her face the same as when she was trying to puzzle out strategies and and tactics for capeside work. That same critical thinking part of her brain she overworked more often than not. Harder still, now that the ones she was contemplating were dead, and all she had at the moment without research, were the memories she had locked up in her head.
Elliott
*Kurt's brow furrows at her sudden realization, and he places a hand on Annabelle's shoulders.*

"*Solnyshko*?" *He says, quietly.* "We both walk with ghosts besides us in our lives. Let this morning be one where we just walk with each other, OK? The past will have it's chance... But let us enjoy our time in the present."

*He offers up Annabelle another fry, nodding.* "Try it with the sauce. It makes it taste better."
William
The fry is. A little stale, by this point, but the sauce redeems it with it's own burst of flavor, likely equally not as good for the body, but just well enough for the soul. 

The meal is good. Better is the company. All together, it creates an experience that doesn't sit in the shadows of another, but makes its own impressions. Anna ate the last of fries before her and started to wash everything down with the sweet tea she ordered... Never as sweet as she wanted, in these new London restaurants, but it will do.

"I think it's good with the sauce" She started, taking a finger and dipping it in for one more taste "Mmm... _Mi Carnal_, I'm good with leaving the past behind today, but you could still do with some more personal affects if you're going to live at my place. We should stop by your place and grab what evers left, pick up old mail too, yeah?"

She took a sip at her drink, not quite smiling but the hint of a smirk on her face as she waited for his response. "Plus, I could use the walk. It is a nice morning."
Elliott
*Kurt nods, standing up and paying the bill before requesting a small carry size container of the fry sauce. Once he stashes it in a plastic bag, he goes back over to Annabelle, smiling ever so slightly.* "What does that mean? 'Mi... Mi car—carnal'? Am I saying that right?" *He chuckles, shaking his head.* "Three languages, and I'm rotten at picking up a fourth."

*He nods, looking outside.* "A nice morning, indeed. Old London wasn't known for its good weather, but this one has its moments of livability." *He looks back at her, a little curious look on his face.* 

"You were a child when you came to this world. How much did you know of your old world? Not to get into painful memories... But I was old enough to remember what the world looked like, at least in mine."
William
"It means you're my bro" She shrugged with a smile, taking her drink with her as she left the booth and headed for the door. "Seemed fitting. As for life before the end?.. I can indulge you on the way. Whatever you want to know."

She walked through, pushing the glass door to the restaurant open, and letting the soft summer breeze blow past them on their way out.

= To be continued =