Spring time [Cale]

The last thing he remembered was trying to stop the storm that he had started on Los Angeles, the exertion he needed to perform to stop it and just overall the headache. However, darkness was the only thing that greeted him after that, a sort of falling sensation flowing over Ryan as he fell into dreams.  The darkness persisted for a few minutes, before it faded away and took the form of another scene entirely. One that had happened not so long ago, the red energy piercing through flesh and the blood flowing freely. He wanted to scream, but when Ryan opened his mouth there was nothing that came out, stretching out the silence for a long while. On and on the blood seemed to flow, rising higher and higher until became like a flow that smothered Ryan. This went on for what felt like forever before everything gave way to light.

Then dull hazel eyes snapped open, Ryan taking a deep breath through his mouth as he took note of his surroundings. Something about it was different than the usual, it wasn't his room at Prodigy. The first sensation he felt was a dull stabbing at the back of his head, as if someone were scraping the back of his skull. This went on for a few seconds before it faded away, Ryan absently running a few fingertips down the side of his face. His knees had been drawn to his chest, one arm still wrapped around them in a form of fetal position. His breathing was calmer than a minute ago, the nightmare itself having already been forgotten. The feel of leather was against his cheek, not cold considering his powers nature but more than anything just sort of there, slightly warm compared to his cold body. Exhaling, he noted that his breath was visible within a small cloud.

Someone had taken him somewhere, but it didn't look like he was being held there. Atleast he wasn't bound, because that would have been...annoying. Unfurling the arm from around his leg, Ryan would let the limbs stretch out while his joints would loudly pop and he yawned with arms stretching out as well. Likely anyone looking over him would then notice that he had woken up. Pushing himself up somewhat, Ryan looked down to the surface he had been laying on. The room felt strange, and it had a certain familiarity to it. Pushing himself up, he rested against the back of the couch and looked groggily rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands. The room itself wasn't too well decorated, with a table in the corner and a small television with a few notes strewn about the room.

From where he sat, none of them made sense, but then again Ryan was not known for his ability to understand complex notes. ”Why does my head hurt so much?” Ryan muttered rubbing the back of his head, leather jacket wrinkling up from the motion slightly around the shoulders.

"Because you over-exerted yourself." A calm and soothing voice said as Nostro came around the corner, his eyes fixated on Ryan with his ususal friendly and personable smile. Nostro's hair was still in it's little spike, though there was no glisten of gel, nor the feeling of palminade. He walked towards the couch but a few feet before stopping, being sure to give Ryan a good distance between them to keep from alarming him anymore thn he might be. Or Perhaps he wasn't alarmed at all, regardless, Nostro kept some good distance. "Lucifer and Gadreel were both very happy to hear you're awake. They'll be here shortly. I'm just here to make sure you didn't freeze anything in your sleep or fall ill to any unforseen effects of your heroics." Nostro said, his smille still there before it faded a little and he walked over to a chair, the one sitting across the room, and he sat in it for a moment, figuring that by sitting down he may make Ryan feel slightly more at ease. True enough he wouldn't even notice it, but it was a smiple action to try and break the ice as cleanly as possible.

  "My name is Nos-" Nostro said before hesitating a moment and clearing his throat a little. "My name is Nostril-i-el" He said a moment, speech slightly drawn out a bit as he tried to save it. Unforunately he wasn't aware of how awkward it sounded. Even mre unfortunately, Ryan likely wasn't smart enough to call him out on it. "Gadreel is my...best friend." Nostro said, almost as if confused and unsure of what their relationship was. Unfortunately he was in all actuality confused on what to say he was to Cale. Saying that Cale was his creator didn't make much sense, as it would attract the exact attention Cale wished to avoid

  "Uhm...well I suppose we could wait here for them to return...could I entertain you somehow while we wait? Are there any questions you need, or are you hungry or something like that?" Nostro asked as he hunched over a little and folded his hands in anticipation.

The sound of a soothing voice roused Ryan from his thoughts, eyes darting around for the source of the words. The voice itself didn't sound familiar at all, and that made him wonder for a second if he had been kidnapped, or if he was still dreaming. It was a possibility, because dreams were always weird like that. Appearing around the corner was an unknown male, Ryan pressing himself back against the couch while eying them curiously. They seemed to keep their distance, so that was enough to keep Ryan from doing more than sitting down. It was likely he wasn't anywhere dangerous, because as far as Ryan new he could trust Gadreel or Silus not to abandon him. So maybe this was one of their super secret safe houses or maybe he just suffered some kind of brain damage. All was likely but then again he should have been listening to the nice sounding guy.

They had mentioned Lucifer and Gadreel, which meant they indeed did know his two friends to some extent. Maybe this guy was part of the group with the weird code names, because that could have been a thing though this was just speculation. Either way, Ryan perked up upon the mention of the two names and leaned forwards lightly. A moment of silence had passed before they talked again, though he had already gotten himself into a more comfortable sitting position. They didn't seem to be showing any sort of discomfort, so it might have just been him that was breathing frost or whatever. If this person was being friendly to him, he might as well try to do the same back to them, or atleast not be absolutely silent. Instantly he got somewhat of an answer when the guy spoke his name that much like any other Seraphim member had some kind of iel at the end of it.

”Ummm...can I just call you Nos? That name sounds really hard to remember.” Ryan would ask, not even mentioning the fact that Nostro had sounded really awkward while trying to say the name. Sure, it was his tried and true method for nicknames, but then again it always worked. Just take the first two or three letters from a name, and then you have the nickname, though he had a feeling the guy probably had a real name too. All good guys had real names, but they didn't use them for one reason or another, one that escaped Ryan at the moment. As for as waiting for them to return, well he could do just that. Not as if there was anything else for Ryan to do, aside from sit around and awkwardly stare at the person across from him.

”I'm...actually really hungry.” Ryan said realizing that his stomach was empty, and growling angrily at him for food. There was that and the whole feeling of cold that was flowing through him, though the sensation was faint at best. True enough he wasn't blue tinted anymore, but he was still worryingly pale, enough so that one could assume him to be sick. "Is there anything to eat around here?"

"If you're going to call me Nos, I would rather you use my real name, if you don't mind." Nostro said with a small smile his tone all but admitting that if he were called Nos it would be confusing to him. "My name is Nicco. Sorry...calling me Nos will just confuse me." He said, slightly bashful as to having to admit his forgetfulness. Well actually he'd call it forgetfulness or inattentive to detail, however it was simply because after so much time around Cale the only "Nos" he knew of was the man he was named after. The apothecary, and self appointed prophet; Nostradamus. Of course he hoped that Ryan would agree to simply call him Nicco, his programming very well might not react to the auditory reception of the term "Nos" as well as Nicco, his personally chosen and adopted name.

 Ryan made a remark about food, and Nostro looked over to the kitchen before standing up. The kitchen itself wasn't very big, however it served for the only organism in the house that actually NEEDED to be in it. Of course that organism was Cale, thought the annoying fat ass cat that occasionally dropped in for food. That aside, Nostro had actually taken the option to learn how to cook, mostly because when Cale was working he would often times starve himself, for days even before realizing he hadn't eaten. Nostro had actually wondered how Cale managed to be so "husky" with the number of times he had forgotten to eat, though he eventually rationalized that Cale himself must have just had a terrible metabolism that stored more than most human's  "casing" would. Nostro attempted to oblige Ryan, trying to figure out what Ryan might like to eat. Since he was friends with Cale he must have liked the same nutritional intakes as Cale, right?

  Nostro immediately began to rummage through the fridge, then the lower "Chiller" attachment that pulled out at the bottom. Then he turned the oven up and withdrew a pizza pan. He then withdrew a bottle of vodka and a sauce pan before turning everything where it needed to be. Unfortunately Nostro knew how to cook what Cale knew to cook...and 90% of Cale's food involved alcohol. Twenty-one Plus Pizza was on it's way to being done when Nostro withdrew a glass from the cabinet and filled it with root beer. He walked out and set it at Cale's spot at the table before bringing out a decently sized pizza. It would take 20 minutes at max, however it wasn't immediate. All good things

 "I made Pizza, if that's okay?" Nostro asked, seemingly hoping for affirmation in some way. "So Cale said you have Ice powers? Is it too much to believe you can make ice sculptures?" Nostro asked trying to quite literally break the ice of the silence.

Alright, so calling him Nos would have not worked for one reason or another which Ryan could respect. Not like he would want someone calling him things he didn't like being called. So he would nod in agreement with calling the male by his birthname, rather than either Nos or that really strange name that he got when working with Seraphim. ”I can call do that.” He said with a nod, tapping his fingers against his lap in a slow steady rhythm as he just sort of sat there. Hunger rippled through his stomach in an annoying fashion, causing his lips to turn into a small frown as he thought about what he could be eating. Luckily it seemed that the male knew what he was doing as far as cooking was concerned, because Ryan had no idea about anything when it came to cooking.

That lead to him eating mostly just processed foods or just stuff he could stick in a microwave considering that it wasn't as if he could just cook up a healthy meal. That would have likely lead to him burning something down in the end. His eyes would follow Nostro as they stood up and walked into a kitchen area, leaving Ryan to think over what had happened and more than anything he hated being alone. That meant thinking and that was something that he did not quite like doing. Always the whole memories thing came into the equation and he ended up more melancholy than anything else. Luckily they didn't take too long to start up the cooking process, which Ryan had forgotten actually took some time to finish. Still, he could smell something so that made him more than willing to wait a little while for the product.

Still that meant waiting and unfortunately it seemed hunger was not quite something to wait. ”Pizza sounds good.” Ryan said with a nod, already imagining the pizza and salivating. The mental image alone was enough to make him want it, granted having the pizza there would have been a lot better than just a mental image. However much like a hyperactive puppy on cocaine his attention would jump around a lot, latching onto the question that had been posed. The guy wanted to know if he could make ice sculptures, and if anything that was his specialty. ”Yeah I can and i'm pretty good at it too.” He then added proudly, nodding a couple of times before pressing his hands together as the air misted around them. A crackling sound began to fill the air as the drew moisture from it, and within a few seconds he would part his palms to reveal a detailed sculpture of Nostro down to the chair he was sitting on.

If one looked closely, they would find it was an almost flawless reproduction of the person in question in ice. ”What do ya think? Pretty cool right?” He would ask without any intention of making a pun of any kind.

He watched, utterly entranced by the ice sculpture's process. It wasn't anything at all like He had originally believed ice sculptures were made. Ryan's process was probably much more effective than an old chisel and hammer, and of course Nicco wanted to know more about it. He watched, trying to understand how this happened, or how it worked to say the least. He would have loved to have a "power" that allowed him such a unique ability. That, alas, was not in the cards for him. He was nothing more than a friend with medical affinity, and that was how it should be. The pizza was still cooking while he watched as a perfectly detailed ice sculpture was formed, down to the detail of the chair.

"That is...very cold." Nicco said, slightly surprised by what he felt with the ice construct as he poked it. He looked up at Ryan and then realized that Ryan wasn't talking about the temperature. "I mean, yes. It is very cool, both literally and metaphorically. Thank you for showing me." He said before the oven timer went off. Nicco smiled at Ryan before excusing himself to get the food. When he returned he had a nice pizza of golden crust, alcoholic sauce and cheese. After his family was brutally murdered, Cale had taken to alcohol, something his mother had done in the past, as did his father. He had no one, so alcoholic food was a solace for him...and alcoholic drink. In fact other than root beer, actual beer was the only drink that could be found.

Nostro placed the pizza down at the table and motioned Ryan over to the table, slicing the 16' pan pizza into slices for him. Once Ryan had his pieces he would continue the conversation...in a sense. "Things haven't been the same around the base. Cale was happy to see you survived the blizzard of L.A. I am too, I don't know how much more he could stand to lose... Are you sure you are feeling well?" Nostro asked, still worried in a sense.

Ryan watched the finger poke the ice construct, likely feeling the cold radiating from the ice. Well, they had said something about it being cold though Ryan found that just to be strange or maybe a quirk about them. They corrected themselves in the end, saying it was cool rather than cold and all Ryan did with nod with a small smirk. However the sound of the oven going off could be heard, meaning that likely the pizza the guy was cooking was done. The smell wafted through the air and reminded Ryan that he was really hungry. Just thinking about it made him salivate, enough so that it was annoying almost.

When they returned, the pizza in hand was rather nice looking. The crust was golden and everything looked perfect. Once the pizza was set down, it would be sliced into pieces and he would take a couple of them before sitting down. Biting into the pizza, Ryan noted an interesting taste to the pizza but sort of ignored it. It tasted good enough and so he went with it, taking large bites out of the food and just sating his hunger. However this Nico guy said something about the blizzard and Cale loosing something, which made him question exactly what they meant.

”Yeah...i'm alright, just a little cold.” Ryan noted shuddering slightly when he realized that this wasn't a familiar sensation, if only because being cold was not something Ryan dealt with. Before he even knew what was going on, Ryan had finished off the first slice of pizza, licking his lips before starting on the second one. "That's not supposed to happen.” Ryan then muttered, chewing on his lower lip before looking at Nostro with a surprised look.. "Am I dying?"

"Oh you seem..a little cold? Shivering?" Nostro asked, unsure at first of the temperature of the room. The temperature itself was fine for Nostro, however he had to admit he liked things colder than Cale did. Ryan himself had the pizza, but that was the point of it. He was fascinated when he heard Ryan state that he never felt cold before. He was enthralled by Ryan, he was quite sure he understood why Cale liked Ryan almost as much as he liked Austyn now. It was strange however, he needed to actually think of how to approach this. Nostro reached out and used his index and middle fingers to slide across Ryan's cheek. " Yes, you're cold. I assume that is a side effect of your power? Or is it cold in here for you? If you've never felt it before... No. Please, just relax. You are not going to die. I promise. I'm a healer after all."

"Nicco, I'm back. How's-Holy shit he's up." Cale said with a smirk as he crossed his arms, Silus wasn't exactly trailing along behind him as Nostro expected, though a look form Cale answered everything. Nostro smiled and nodded before stepping back from the pizza to give Cale and Ryan a straight line of contact. "Hey, ya worried me, Dumbass." Cale snipped with a small smile, maybe he was just joking? It didn't matter, because Cale took note of the pizza and looked to Nostro before shaking his head. Nostro cocked his head to the side before looking back in confusion, unsure if Cale was angry or not.

"So how ya holdin' up?" Cale asked, sounding a little worried.

Ryan was taken slightly aback by Nostro sliding his hand across his cheek, wondering for a moment what they were trying to do. Hearing he wouldn't die, well that was a thing that helped him calm down somewhat. His breathing which had accelerated slightly slowed down some, allowing him to take another bite out of the pizza without possibly choking on it. ”I dunno, it might be cold but I don't really know.” Ryan responded to Nostro, shuddering ever so slightly It was weird possibly being cold and that was something Ryan did not like feeling, even if it was one of those new things he was going through. Well he would have continued to wonder, but a familiar voice sounded off and caused his heart to skip a beat or two. It shouldn't have, because this seemed like somewhere Cale lived but then again it did.

Silently prodding the ice sculpture that sat upon the table. For whatever reason Ryan found himself surprised that Cale was there, but then again the surprise did not last too long as he blinked a coupe of times perhaps still visibly pale before returning to eating the pizza in question. Strange as it tasted, it still filled him up well enough and that was all that mattered. Ryan let his eyes fall to the table as Cale said something about worrying him, which had not quite been the intention but it happened anyway. ”I'm...sorry.” Ryan muttered sheepishly, likely loud enough for Cale to hear while scratching the back at his head still. The apologizing would have happened anyway, but making someone worry about him was a terrible thing.

So he moved on to the question about how he was holding up, already finishing off his second slice. ”I'm doin okay, my head kinda hurts but that happens sometimes.”

"Yeah, well no shit your head hurts." Cale said with a scoff and rolling his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you made a massive storm with powers you can't even control. Then ya turned around and made it disappear. That's gonna take a toll on ya." Cale said before he sighed and seemed to linger in silence for a moment. The sad part is he had this whole thing rehearsed in his mind as he came up the stairs, but don't you know that he had gone and forgotten it all. He was furious when he was walking up, but he got in the room and somehow everything seemed okay. It's not like he killed anyone, right? Well that was what he had been told.

 "Are you hungry?" Nostro asked, Cale just shook his head while muttering a "no thanks" and leaning his back against the wall. He was going to have to chew Ryan out at some point over this. Just not right now... everything was beginning to get calm. Of course they'd need to keep Ryan away from Abbadon, as she threatened to "melt the little snowman" if she ever saw him again. But that initial anger would soon pass as well. for now Ryan could be left to enjoy his pizza...well soon, anyway. Cale had one particular question he had to ask. For several reasons.

 "Okay, so tell me why ya did it." Cale asked as he pulled a chair back from the table, spinning it around so that when he st and leaned forward his chest would be on the back of the seat. "You're not bright, but you're not dumb enough to start a storm for no reason. What were you doin', what were you tryin' to accomplish?" He asked, Nostro himself remained silent as he looked down at his toes and wiggled them, seemingly amused or happy at the fact he had toes. He didn't linger on them but he did glance down before looking back to Cale and then back to Ryan.

Powers he couldn't control...that's right, he couldn't really control them. All Ryan really remembered was wanting to get away from everything, and before he knew it the ice sort of began doing things on it's own in a sense, and suddenly there was the palace with people walking around it and everything. As far as the storm, well he didn't even know it had reached as far as it did nor was he really aware of the creatures. ”Oh...yeah.” Ryan noted weakly, cringing slightly from the scoff. Ryan had expected Cale to be furious, to yell at him and so many other things that would likely make him cower like some manner of whipped dog. So far it wasn't going that way but Ryan was waiting for the moment that it happen, and then he could to the whimpering.

Nostro would ask if he was hungry but Cale brushed it off. Did he already eat or was he too mad to eat? Ryan found himself wondering that while looking to Cale, raising a single brow curiously. However the question came, even if it wasn't in an angry manner he still found himself somewhat timid. It just caused him to think of the why, the blood and the masked man with his final words in that mocking tone that haunted him when he did manage to sleep. As meaningless as her life or as meaningless as the man killing her, but in the end they were as dead. Without even thinking about it, frost had begun to spread over the last bit of pizza crust he held in his hand, held in fingers clenching and biting into it. Ryan only really noticed it a few seconds after the fact and let it drop against the table. His expression seemed to darken if only a little.

He may have not noticed it himself, but the temperature in the room had dropped considerably in the room. If anything, it was likely Cale would feel the chill, though it wasn't at a point to prove dangerous to him. ”N..nothing..I wasn't trying to accomplish anything.” Ryan managed, looking down. ”I wanted to be alone but my powers….they went out of control, before I know it….this happened. I just....” His voice broke slightly as he stopped the sentence there. It was true, but then again he wondered if Cale would believe him.

"Well yeah. Okay but why did you want to be alone? Was there something that made you sad or were you...upset about something?" He asked. One might have thought he was a mind reader, however he knew nothing for certain, all he knew was how he taught his little brother to control his cryokinesis. All elements played to emotions, and whenever an emotion spiked the corresponding element became...hysterical, or irrational. Water was serenity, balance, tranquility. Fire was rage, electricity was overall energy and enthusiasm but ice...ice was almost always sorrow or death. So it was this assumption which he decided to ask Ryan, assuming that all cryokinetics were like his brother...or how his brother used to be, that is.

"You gotta relax man." Cale said as his hair stood on end and he got goose bumps from the sudden chill. He reached out and put a hand on Ryan's shoulder, shaking him a little to steady him and alert him a little to what he was saying. If he was frosting over pizza then there was a good chance he was losing control again. Cale...couldn't let that happen. No matter what the cost...Ryan couldn't be allowed to do what he did again. "Chill...and not literally, because I don't wanna freeze to death." Cale said with a slight off sense of humor. He sat up straight a moment before looking to the remaining pizza, well it was going to get cold soon at this rate.

"Nicco, could you give us some time to talk? Go see if there's anything on TV or something." Cale said, Nostro smiled and nodded before walking into the living room area, turning on the television and crossing his legs on the cough as he proceeded to poke and play with his toes. Cale rolled his eyes and returned his attentions to Ryan.

Cale had asked the million dollar question, why he had wanted to be alone in a time like this. It didn't seem like something that Ryan would want to do but then again that was more for those that did not know too much about him to begin with. He wondered how he would exactly say something like , especially to Cale. It wasn't a question of fear or mistrust really, just something more along the lines of guilt perhaps. Still, he didn't realize what he was doing until the hand shook him slightly, taking note of the howling wind that could be heard even here and the freezing pizza. Ryan sucked in breath through his teeth, letting the crust fall to the table with a near silent clatter.

He would have likely not noticed he was making it cold unless Cale mentioned freezing to death, which more than anything caused his heart to drop into his stomach. Was he killing Cale too? More and more he felt like these powers did nothing but kill people, especially the people he cared about, and sometimes people that just didn't deserve it. Yet when he needed them, they were no more help, even with all of this power he could do nothing. Vaguely he was aware of Nicco standing up and walking away, his eyes following them as they did so. ”There...was something.” he admitted once he was sure there was only the two of them, trying to think of the words to say and coming up with something only after a few minutes. Saying things as they were would help more than just dancing around the issue.

The room hung in silence for a small while, around three minutes maybe at the most. ”He...killed her...I couldn't do anything...it just happened and there was so much blood.” He managed in a shaky voice, looking perhaps even worse than before he had managed to say it, crossing his arms over his chest and gripped his arms tightly. ”You're not really going to freeze to death...are you?” This was perhaps just Ryan worrying too much now but then again he was in a fragiler state, like thin ice.

"N-no bud. I'm not really gonna die. But-" Cale started with a sigh before trying to figure out just who "she" was. He closed his eyes and let out a little sigh as he put his head in his hands and tried to think for a moment. It was the season for murder wasn't it? How many sick psychotic sons of bitches are out there were killing people? It was maddening, were the heroes of the world doing any good? Any good at all? This was getting ridiculous. First Cale lost his family and now... "Jesus fucking Christ." Cale said as he rubbed his hands across his eyes and reached over, grabbing a slice of the pizza. He wasn't drunk enough to deal with his feelings.

"Ryan I need you to tell me who. Who killed her? Who is her?" he asked, Nostro was on the couch still as he brushed a finger on his foot and giggled a little, his sensory system having recently been upgraded to enjoy the sense of touch, or sensations like that of pain.

Ryan calmed down slightly upon hearing he wouldn't freeze, minorly relieved to know that his friend wouldn't die because of him. Still, even Ryan could tell something was bothering Cale but then again it might have just been the way they sighed or maybe he was thinking too much into it. A new thing likely for Ryan, but then again he was not known for thinking too much about things. Still, thinking of the name of the person that killed her was hard, all he knew was it was Red...something. ”I don't really remember their name...they were called Red...something. They had this weird red stuff they threw around, it burned and they tried to kill me before I think.” the burns themselves didn't have the time to fully heal, though they did heal enough to stop itching and hurting. They were more in the later stages of things than anything else.

”He kept saying stuff about metahumans and then...he killed my mom.” He finally said with a shudder, sniffling softly as a small amount of moisture gathered at the corner of his right eye. Likely what he said also answered who she was, though likely more than he knew about the thing that happened. ”I did nothing to them but…..I...I don't understand.” It all made no sense to him, why they did that. It made no sense in the end. ”My mom did nothing wrong but he killed her anyway.” He began to mutter almost, before realizing that his powers were beginning to go out of control, reigning them in enough before the table started to freeze over anymore than where his hand was touching it.