Another hour went by.<br/><br/>Slowly but surely Lucian could feel his remaining energy was draining and he wondered if he should reschedule his little outing with Elias once he got back. As much as he wanted everything to go back to normal, to ease his friendâ€™s worrying, he was completely drained right now. He barely had the energy to keep himself awake. Heading home and going to sleep was probably the ideal thing to do once he landed. Though he was use to staying awake for long periods of time, running on whatever the hell had been keeping him awake at this point was not something he enjoyed. Trying to keep a conversation going was partially to keep him awake, give him two things at once to focus on, even if there were long pauses between the times where each of them spoke. The pauses were not really helping, but knowing he had someone to talk to, to keep him from falling asleep, was enough to suffice in the end.<br/><br/>Lucianâ€™s brow furrowed when Shizu asked what jet lag was. The question had not surprised him since she had evidently never travelled the world before, and looking back at the conversation they had about planes on their way from Japan the other day he assumed she had never flew anywhere. He had also gotten a strange feeling. During their conversation she had also mentioned that had been her first time in Japan, when Azrai had rescued her and a few questioned popped in his mind. They were the same ones that have plagued him since he had picked them up from Japan. Just how sheltered was her life? Who was she, why was she so important? There was something different about Shizu but he couldnâ€™t place his finger on it or even decide if he wanted to know or not. It was probably for the best that he was left in the dark. However, if she would be staying in Toronto he felt he should know.<br/><br/>Such things would not be brought up for now, despite how much those questions were nagging at him to get out. He was far too tired and was surprised that he has not snapped at Shizu yet from how grouchy he was beginning to feel from fatigue.<br/><br/>â€œWell the world is round, you know, weâ€™re heading into a different time zone. Israel is several hours ahead of Canada, and Japan is several hours behind Canada and a few hours ahead of Israel,â€ he said with a yawn. He hoped that was a good enough explanation, he really was not in the mood to do too much thinking as he wanted to save his energy for the rest of the flight. â€œYour internal clock will probably be fucked up until you become adjustedâ€¦ You seem like a pretty strong person, so Iâ€™m confident that wonâ€™t take long.â€ He probably should not have sworn in front of a woman but he was too tired to give a shit by this point. It probably made him seem less of a gentleman, and had he not been so out of it he probably would have kicked himself mentally. Not that he ever really was a true gentleman to begin with aside from a few small things he had to mentally beat into his mind to do. Again he really was not smooth with the ladies.<br/><br/>Perhaps it was a natural thing. Elias has been the only person he has ever gotten close to and at one point he had even centered his life around him. The manâ€™s worrying could be a bit of annoyance, which was one of the reasons why he had, it drove him mad sometimes. He was always like that. If everything did not go his way or something in a mission was slightly off, dangerous, he would be a mess until everything got smoothed out again. Remembering all the times he had to deal with that sort of behavior whenever Azrai or someone got into a pickle made him smirk a little. To this day he still wonders why he had been so hell bent on getting Elias out of the house back then, but he truly enjoyed his company when they werenâ€™t fighting. He knew his dear friend was not very social, hell he doubted the hacker would even be able to function properly around other people without him.<br/><br/>Maybe some of that awkwardness had inadvertently rubbed off on him somewhere down the line.<br/><br/>Silence fell upon he and Shizu once he took notice of her change in mood. Shizu has been through a lot the past few days he felt it was better to just leave her alone. She was probably still having some conflicting emotions about leaving Israel so soon. Lucian was not always a social creature himself, even if he wanted to pass the time, which he was mostly doing for her, he was wondering if he was doing more harm than good by keeping the conversation rolling. He sank further back against his seat and yawned again. Yawning was becoming more frequent and his eyelids were really feeling heavy now. Being this tired was extremely dangerous. He was probably too tired to keep a decent conversation going even if he wanted to. So he decided he would just remain silent during the rest of the trip.<br/><br/>It wouldnâ€™t be too long before they reached Toronto; an estimated hour, maybe an hour and a half, and then they would get her all settled into her new place.<br/><br/>------------------<br/><br/>It really didnâ€™t come as much of a surprise that Ivan was conflicting over whether or not he was upset about everything. That really had not helped things, but having no lecture, at least not right at this moment, came as somewhat of a relief. What Ivan had said about Azrai pissing him off since the day they met was indeed true. It was part of their odd friendship, and why he wonders how the hell they were able to put up with each other some days. He knew that later on they would probably throw a few punches and either Maverick or Zachariah would have to step in and separate them before they landed each other back in the hospital. That was how things have always been between them, he knew his friend was just making him wait a little longer, there may or may not be calm when they finally spoke about what went down. Perhaps it was strange but he wouldnâ€™t want to change that for the world. He was fine with it.<br/><br/>Ivan was the closest thing he had to a brother and he knew if somehow their friendship fell apart he probably would get himself killed. There were times he has been reckless and only Ivan had been the one to talk him out of doing something that had been border-line suicidal. That man was his voice of reason sometimes. Despite how stubborn he was towards a lot of things in the end if it werenâ€™t for Ivan he would have been killed by one of his enemies by now. Hell, he probably would have done something even more reckless than he had back in Japan if he had not followed him. Of course he would never mention such a thing to him, perhaps that subtle ungratefulness was what pissed his dear friend off sometimes but that was just how he was. Too stubborn and sometimes too prideful for his own good he would rather deal with things himself and not have anyone help him.<br/><br/>â€œI seeâ€¦â€ He said softly in reply, unable to find a better response even though so many things were at the tip of his tongue just waiting to come out. When the refilled glass was handed back to him he grinned a little in thanks. He took a swig of his refilled drink, enjoying the way the liquid slid down his throat. Having alcohol really did better his mood. After years of drinking, not much really burned the whole way down any more and he doubted that, in his current condition, Ivan would allow him to have any of the good stuff even if he had found it. He was well aware that he didnâ€™t really like how much he drank even if he had been his drinking buddy for so many years. Designated driver sometimes, too, though that had been mostly during the times where he had drank himself so numb he couldnâ€™t even walk, which were rare even for him these days.<br/><br/>Over the years he has gotten worse with his drinking. He had tried to stop once, and even came pretty close to knocking the habit off completely after being sober for almost a year, but had been unable to do it. He broke down after a particularly tough mission, which had been followed by Cassandraâ€™s death. He would have stopped for herâ€¦ some part of him was still ashamed of himself for being unable to keep that promise. It seems he has a habit of making promises he cannot keep.<br/><br/>With an inward chuckle, he leaned back against the wall deep in thought once again. Perhaps it had been a little silly to ask Ivan if he had been upset with him, and that had been why he was unable to come up with a better response without going into the subject of Shizu. He really wasnâ€™t sure why he asked that aside from what happened with Shizu, honestly. At the end of the day he had completed his mission and Shizu was on her way to somewhere safe. That was all he had wanted, was it not? He really was not someone who spoke about his emotions unless he was giving the minimum; he was a little guarded in that sense. He had quite a few trust issued evident by how long it usually takes for him to warm up to someone. Shizu had been that exception. Perhaps somewhere in his subconscious he was bothered by the fact that he had become attached to Shizu.<br/><br/>Instead of voicing that he just continued to drink while listening to Ivan. He was glad the subject had been changed, too. Hearing that Zachariah was in no rush certainly helped ease some of his restlessness, their leader was never one to be in a hurry to get things done. This had been a rough day and flying under the radar while they rebuild was definitely ideal. Azrai knew that his enemies were probably strengthening their forces, if they were to attack the organization they might not have another chance to rebuild. The battle with Sanctus Unum had taken a lot out of everyone and he was sure that Zachariah wanted to have everyone recover before he let everyone know what was going on and what changes might be made. After a battle like that, which was almost a repeat of five years ago, it seemed right to make changes or else the enemy would think them to be too predictable.<br/><br/>â€œI was beginning to wonder when you would suggest that we head outdoors.â€ He grinned and seemed a little livelier when Ivan mentioned getting some fresh air. It did fade a bit and he groaned when it was mentioned he needed some more of the antidote. As much as he was enjoying their small talk he really wanted to get the hell out of here. He was still feeling a little shaky even after a few drinks, the last thing anyone needed was for him to actually have a breakdown. He felt like he really was going to lose his mind if he sat here any longer. This place was far too stuffy and he wasnâ€™t really accomplishing anything by sitting here in the dark. If it were up to him, he would just go home and sleep the rest of the day; he was feeling like shit though that was probably the poison still in his system.<br/><br/>Ivan was right to assume Azrai did not want any help changing, when he brought him some clothes. As soon as Ivan left the room he tore off the hospital gown and slipped into the clothes out of what was brought to him that suited him the best. The process took longer than he had liked but he was more than capable of doing it himself. Next came the task of standing.  He had walked all the way to this room, and that had not been easy by any means, so it should be easy to stand, right? Wrong. He grabbed onto a nearby shelf and slowly got to his feet, having to take a break here and there when the pain became too much for him. He was glad Ivan had left the bottle with him, the alcohol was a sort of encouragement and it was already established it was enough to help him relax. When he finally accomplished standing he was glad, but soon regretted it.<br/><br/>His hand gripped the edge of the shelf tighter as he felt something unsettling sit in his stomach. The whole room felt like it was spinning which only caused him to hold onto that shelf for dear life. Feeling nauseous, his mouth salivating as if he was about to throw up, he used his free hand and clasped it over his mouth. A chill went up his spine and he cringed, fighting the urge to vomit as best he could. Was this a side-effect from the poison or was it something else? Since he has woken up, he has felt slightly off and he could not put his finger on why. He kept telling himself that it was the poison and the fact that he was extremely uncomfortable being around anything that even remotely resembled a hospital. But he couldnâ€™t help but feel that something was justâ€¦ off with him. Should he voice his concerns to Ivan? He had actually contemplated that, but decided not to in the end.<br/><br/>It took a moment for him to pull himself together, and he grabbed the bottle and drank some more if down before he left the room. He kept his posture as straight as he could to the best of his ability when he went to face Ivan.<br/><br/>â€œLet us head outside then, shall we?â€ He said with a slight smirk, he was happy to finally be heading outside. Despite how he was feeling it was written all over his face that he was glad to be going outside. He really needed some fresh air, the more he thought about it the more he felt like he was going crazy being cooped up. Too stubborn to ask for any support, he used the wall a little as he moved through the hall then realized that he had no idea where he was going. His impatience was getting the best of him. When he was brought here he had been barely conscious so he didnâ€™t know the layout of this place at all. Of course any â€˜normalâ€™ person would admit they were lost, but not Azrai. He was far too prideful to tell Ivan he didnâ€™t know how to get to the surface and simply stuck by him until they made their way to the stairs.<br/><br/>The stairs were even worse than moving through the halls but at least he had a railing to hold onto whenever the pain became too much for him. Once they were outside he really did feel a lot more relaxed and his mood seemed to improve significantly. He leaned against a wall located in the shade, relaxing his posture and letting out a sot exhale, taking in the scenery as well as the fresh air with open arms. Though the atmosphere of war subtly lingered in the air it was pretty peaceful compared to the chaos earlier. People were still cleaning up and trying to hide the fact that the battle had even happened, which looked to be going along smoothly. There really was a lot that needed to get done and could see why Zachariah did not want to rush things. Everybody seemed to be just as relaxed as he was, taking their leaderâ€™s advice, so he should do the same.<br/><br/>Then it happened.<br/><br/>There were several people talking nearby, all from the organization, within earshot. Azrai probably would have paid them no mind, but as soon as he heard Shizu mentioned his mood took a turn for the worst. They were talking about what they had seen on the battlefield, calling her a monster because of what she was and that was not sitting well with him at all. He could feel his anger beginning to rise as he eyed them with a sharp gaze, he found his temper to be extremely short right now and somehow he felt it was not just because of all he had been though the past few days. Part of him was hoping they would notice him and shut up, or, better yet, for Ivan to tell him to calm down or go and deal with those people himself. But things were never that easy and right then and there his anger had gotten the best of him. It was almost uncharacteristic of him to get this worked up since he was usually so calm even when angry.<br/><br/>Shizu was still a very touchy subject and to hear such things spoken of her, well, it had set him off needless to say.<br/><br/>Without warning he went for the closest person, completely ignoring the pain in his body, mind set on doing harm to someone or something, and slammed them against the wall, hands firmly grasped around the manâ€™s neck. The man had an utterly terrified look in his eyes while Azrai spoke, â€œA monster you say? Shizu is no monster, I assure you. Are you not aware that she was part of the reason that we have won the battle with Sanctus Unum?â€ There was a bit of a growl in his voice. The other people that had been around had either backed off or were actually trying to pry Azrai away from the man.<br/><br/>------------------<br/><br/>Maverick decided not to catch up with Zachariah again once he finished taking care of a few more things around the base. Exhaustion had finally caught up to him. He was ready for a nap, and decided that was what he was going to do. Several room had been set up to be used as sleeping areas, much cleaner than the room Zachariah had taken a nap in earlier, he wasted no time slipping into one and flopping onto the nearest bed. He wrapped his arms around a pillow and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to relax further. A few people were also in the room, but paid him no mind as he shifted a bit to get more comfortable. Even when he was extremely tired, Maverick was someone who was picky about how he slept even if location didnâ€™t always matter. If he didnâ€™t have things a certain way then he would not be able to sleep.<br/><br/>â€œMaverick?â€ He heard the familiar voice of Zachariah call out.<br/><br/>â€œWhat?â€ Maverick groaned.<br/><br/>â€œI know youâ€™re tired but need you again for a few minutes.â€<br/><br/>â€œAlrightâ€¦â€ With a heavy sigh he forced himself to get up and followed his leader into the room they had cleared out for a conference room. There were a few other people in the room, he gestured towards them. â€œMind telling me what weâ€™re doing? Who are they?â€ He couldnâ€™t help but sound a little impatient, he didnâ€™t try to, he would never show any disrespect towards their leader. It just sort of came out that way. He could tell that Zachariah had not wanted to disturb him but Ivan was already dealing with Azrai so he was the only other person available for whatever the man had in mind. This was starting to irritate him. The moment he wanted to get some rest, something else comes up. Here he had thought Zachariah didnâ€™t want to rush things. No, he knew that wasnâ€™t entirely it, he knew that there was a lot to get done and that their leader was trying his best to keep things stable until the time came for anything major to happen.<br/><br/>â€œAt ease, Maverick, these people are some friends of mine who have agreed to help us rebuild. I just want you to show them around a bit. Is that alright with you? I have some other matters to attend to at this time.â€ Zachariah explained. They were going to need all the help they could get. Since he was feeling a lot better thanks to the nap he decided to use that to his advantage and set up a few things with people he knew. Ivan had taken care of most of their problems and Maverick was helping in keeping organized. Now, it was up to him, as their leader, to make sure that they were safe while they were here, so they would not have to move. If they worked hard enough perhaps this could be their permanent base. He would have to see how the others felt about it, of course, but that was his plan in the end. Otherwise they might have to have another base actually built for them which would be such a hassle during recovery.<br/><br/>Though he was reluctant, Maverick gave a nod and introduced himself to the men before leading them around the place. Here and there, they asked a few questions but were mostly silent. He wasnâ€™t sure if he liked them but if Zachariah said they were trustworthy then he would trust his leader.