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[x-shinobi.livejournal.com]

Coming out of the mansion in a sweatshirt and jeans, Sarah walks a little slower than normal. She's exhausted, and yet, she still doesn't feel any better. Her mutation is on overdrive right now, and a multitude of tiny white scars cover her arms, but are only really visible if her sweatshirt shifts to uncover her wrists. They'll be gone in the morning, and no one will be the wiser. "Fancy meeting you here," she says dryly, curling up inside the sweatshirt she's wearing.

One can never say Shinobi's not the sort to learn from past experiences. While he's wearing a coat, it isn't the same one he'd had on the last time he and Sarah met on the stoop - that one's in his lap, unoccupied, and as she announces her presence, he looks over his shoulder to offer her a grin that does a passable job at hiding his concern. "We do seem to bump into each other out here a lot, don't we?" he muses, scooping the coat up from his lap and rising to his feet, offering it to her. "Here. You may as well be warm while you're in distress."

She takes the coat, and if she wasn't so distracted she'd probably be amused to realize that he's brought another one for himself. But right now, it barely registers. "I'm not in distress," she says insistently, "I'm fucking pissed off. There's a difference." She takes her spot on the railing again, grabbing Shinobi's cigarettes and lighter from the snow beside him on her way.

"May as well be warm while you're fucking pissed off, then," Shinobi amends with a slight bow of his head, offering no complaints as the cigarettes and lighter are snatched up. That's what they're there for, after all. He tucks his hands into his pockets, locating a clear spot of railing to lean against, making sure to offer Sarah as much personal space as he can.

Sarah is silent for as long as she can manage it. She keeps herself busy with the cigarette, but close observation would note that her hands aren't steady, and she may as well be trying to curl herself into a ball on top of the railing. "I just don't fucking understand... how. You know? I thought they were all dead."

Shinobi can be patient when he feels it important, and this, apparently, is one of those occasions. He lets the silence reign for as long as it needs to, and by the time Sarah speaks, he's unpocketed a hand so that his own cigarette can be casually flicked out into the snow, with a vague noise of understanding. "I would be lying if I said I understood *exactly* how it feels.. it isn't as if I've had anyone come back. I can imagine it's quite the shock, though. Doubtless an understatement."

"This is twice," she says quietly, hand gripping the railing beside her for balance. "It's like getting a little piece of home back, but not really. Because it's always the kids, and they don't remember." Her head hangs a little, and she breathes out, sending smoke into the cold night air. "I wonder how many more there are."

Absently, Shinobi rests his elbows against the railing and leans back against them, allowing himself to slouch comfortably as he listens. "Blessing and a curse to get them back, huh?" he hazards quietly, looking up to offer her as gentle a grin as he can manage. "Spend so long wishing to get someone back so you'd have someone who understands, and fate still manages to cheat you?"

"Something like that." Her tone has changed-- she isn't quite so pissed off anymore. Regret maybe? "And I hear what happened to them, and wonder why they left. Why they didn't wait for me to come back. I could've helped them. Leech wouldn't have gotten carted off to some freak show if he'd have just stayed in the tunnels. Anybody who'd tried to lay a finger on him would have regretted it." She rubs her hands together, pulling one back with a curse when she rubs over a bone encrusted knucle. Several more have the beginnings of bone sticking out.

Shinobi cuts his response short at the curse, blinking a bit and casting a concerned look down towards Sarah's hands. Still, he knows there's likely very little he can do in regards to that, so.. "I.. don't know any details, really, but if I had been in the tunnels when.. when whatever happened, happened.. I don't think I'd have wanted to stick around. They were probably scared. Ran." His tone changes, though it's hard to place exactly how, a frown briefly creasing his face. "Just kids.. kids run when they're scared."

"I was a kid--" she starts, and then falls silent again. After a few deep breaths, and a long drag from the cigarette in her hand, she starts again. "When I was twelve, somebody decided to go in and kill all the Morlocks. I went to the upland for two days, and when I came back everybody was dead. I didn't run."

"I never said you did," he observes gently, with a very slight wince. That was undoubtedly not a fun thing to come home to. Especially not at twelve. Shinobi remains leant back against the railing, but he loosely curls his arms around himself, casting a look down to the ground in thought.

Flicking ashes on to the ground, Sarah sighs. "I could've helped them." She avoids looking in Shinobi's direction, staring ahead.

Silently, Shinobi runs through a few responses in his head. 'Or you could have been killed' likely wouldn't sit very well.. he gets the feeling she'd have preferred to go down fighting than to have wound up like this. 'You can help Leech now' probably wouldn't work, either. It takes him a moment, but finally, he looks up and offers a weak smile. "Possibly," he agrees. "But as much as you or I think we could have done something in the past.. there's nothing we can do about it now. 'less you know any time travelers, anyway. All we can do now is help Leech settle in when he gets here, and make damn sure nothing happens to him or anyone else we care about again."

"I've got a nice sharp bone for anybody who puts a finger on him while I'm around. Wish I'd been around for when Artie was getting messed with. Those kids would have been picking pieces off of the fucking floor." The bone on her knuckles continues to spread. "I've got a whole list of people who're going to get what they deserve." It doesn't sound like she's really talking to Shinobi now, more like she's talking to herself and he just happens to be close enough to hear.

That in and of itself is worrisome - to most people. But Shinobi's been there, and he seems to be willing to let Sarah get it all off her chest. However, a little sideways glance towards her clues him in to the spreading of the bone, and he allows himself a very faint frown. "Any help you need, I'll give," he says after a moment, unfolding his arms and slowly straightening up, lightly bouncing on his toes once in an effort to warm up. Hesitating briefly, he quietly hazards, "Sarah? Your hands."

Sarah is still staring off elsewhere. "It happens. Sometimes I'm able to pull it back, but right now it isn't worth it." She shrugs, and drops the finished cigarette to the ground. "Let's go inside. I'm cold." She hops down off of the railing and looks at Shinobi with a neutral expression. "Thanks for the cigarette."

With a nod, Shinobi offers Sarah a grin, though this one is not nearly as good at hiding his concern. "Anytime. The least I can do for a friend is offer a fag or two." He takes a moment to make sure he's not leaving his cigarette case and lighter outside, and then, he's turning to start back up the stairs, making sure she's following along behind him. "I guess asking if you'll be alright would be a stupid question?"

"I'm tough. I'll make it." She follows closely behind him, adding, "I always do."

"If you ever need a hand.." With a slight shrug, he lets the offer hang in the air, one hand reaching out to tug the door open. Again, Shinobi steps back so that he can hold it open for Sarah.

"I know, you're here. Thanks." The words sound more apathetic than she means them to, and she frowns, looking at him as she walks inside. "Really."

"I know you mean it," Shinobi replies with a faint grin, bowing his head slightly before moving to follow her inside, drawing the door closed behind himself.