-it's-been-so-long- [geebs !]

[sbeeg]

Drowned in the memories of his past, Cassius did not realize Lane had emerged from the room until he was half way to the bathroom. The door closed behind his friend before a single word of congratulations could leave his lips. Had he got the job? Clayburn did not actually know. Sighing, Cassius leaned a shoulder against the wall by the door to the bathroom, waiting for his friend to emerge. It was no surprise really. Who would want to hire an ex-Peacekeeper, ex-con who was now an avox? Not many. What was Lane doing in there? Crying? What had that man said to him to make Lane Raylks hide himself in a bathroom to cry alone and a failure?

What as Cassius supposed to say to him? "Sorry bud, better luck next time"? There was no next time. This was it! Putting a hand to his forehead, Clayburn's fingers kneaded the skin at the top of his nose between his eyebrows. Disappointment after disappointment. Cassius had to admit, as much as he cared for Lane, his old friend sure had a shitty life. When you compared their lives Lane, for sure, got the shorter straw.

Hearing the click of the door opening, Cassius looked up, his face already contorted into the "I'm so sorry" face. However that mask did not hold for very long because it was soon replaced with a look of surprise which then took to pride. Lane Raylks, the ex-peacekeeper, ex-con, and current avox that no one would hire was standing in front of him in the clean white uniform, the cold, metal gun strapped to his waist.

"Raylks, you look good in white," Cassius said, smirking and pushing off from the wall to clasp his friend's hand in a firm shake. "So, what are you going to do first, Officer?"


Clayburn could not contain his grin as he took in the site of his friend back in Peacekeeper white. The uniform did suit him, fitting his form better than Cassius' did his. The Head Peacekeeper noted that even in his tailored suit with his own weapon strapped to his belt, he would never ever look as much like a Peacekeeper as Lane did at that moment. He would try, oh Cassius would try, but he was not made for the role like Lane and no fancy titles or expensive uniforms could change that.

[∂αмєη]

[905D2C] [E65C00] [A89070]

Officer. That word was one I never thought I'd hear again. I mean, being a criminal kind of made it hard for you to start over. Once you got the thirst for blood inside of you, there'd probably never be a time when you could get rid of it. And yet, here I was, proving that wrong. Proving that there was a way to move on from a past life and to become somebody who was better. It was hard and it would definitely take even more work than I had already put into it but at least it was a good start. Maybe I'd be able to actually build my life up and live a life that was normal. It sounded so weird and so impossible but, hey, I was doing well so far right. All of the stuff I had done up until now had seemed so impossible. There was nothing I couldn't do.

And what would I do first? That was a good question. Now that I had a bit of power, what would I do? Maybe I could go out on the streets and I could stop a drug deal. With a quick call, I could have somebody drop drugs near the Square and then I could jump in and save the day. No. That was the old me. Lane Ralyks was dead. He died in that Detention Center. I was Officer Ralyks now. Perhaps I'd even change my name and move on to a completely different life. Was that even possible? Would the people in the Justice Building let me do that? Probably not. They needed to keep us all under control and registered or something. Now I was a good guy though. Maybe my name could be removed from the list that had all the names of known criminals. That would be nice.

Nothing was really reaching my brain clearly at this point. The only things that were registering were things that my sensory memory would pick up on. The smile on Cassius's face, the smell of the lobby room and the sounds of a keyboard. Once I noticed them, they were gone and they didn't connect with my brain. The joy I felt was preventing all of it. What do you want to do now, Lane? And then I knew it. It was really the only thought that I had for quite a long time so it was kind of hard to miss. Lifting my hands up in front of me, I began to sign. Hopefully he'd understand the simple signs. I moved my index and middle finger about to make it seem like somebody walking and then pointed outside. I wanted to go outside and to see how Cassius worked each and every day. Essentially, I wanted to be trained again.

Just in case he didn't understand, I pulled out the paper and pen again. "Show my what you do, Cassius. All of it." I wanted nothing more than to learn how it worked nowadays. Things would obviously change over the years and well, I was used to the old days. Learning exactly how to do it now would be great. And of course, I wanted to learn exactly how Cassius did it. So, I circled the word all and then showed him once again. Whatever Cassius was doing was working. Being a Peacekeeper could end up boring. Still, he seemed to be doing just fine and enjoying himself too. I wanted to be Cassius' apprentice in every way. Sure, the suit fit me nicely and in my opinion, it looked better on me. But Cassius was the veteran here. He knew what he was doing. And I wanted to know too.

[sbeeg]

Clayburn, Cassius

Having never really taken to the crud sign language avoxs use, Cassius did not quite compute what Lane was getting at. However, quick to please his old friend he tried rather hard to understand. There was something inside Cassius' mind that told him he needed to make Lane's second run as a Peacekeeper work since his own had failed so much. He should at least be able to lead someone else into the light if he himself was so drowned in darkness. It seemed cliche but it felt like it was his duty. A sort of exchange for all the terrible shit he had done in his lifetime. Of course it did not mean he would put a stop to his night time activity- that was something beyond his control, an addiction of sorts. Those deep thoughts would be saved for another day. Right now, it was about Lane and nothing else.

His friends worn fingers moved into something that almost resembled walking. Walk? He wants to go for a walk? Cassius was already moving to grant the wish when Lane pointed to the door leading to the outside. Walk around the District? Why would anyone want to do that? However, it was no place for Cassius to deny his friend's wishes- no matter how impossible they seemed. The Head Peacekeeper was grateful when Officer Ralyks pulled out his notepad and wrote down what he really wanted. Eh, Cassius had been close.

"Show my what you do, Cassius. All of it."

Cassius couldn't help but grin a little at the sloppy handwriting and misspelling in the request. Add "never finished school" to the list of Lane's accomplishments. How could someone who, by society's standards, was a complete failure be more worthy than someone who has been able to hide every bad thing they have ever done? Someday, Cassius would have to ask Lane how he does it- how he's so broken yet so perfect. All Clayburn has are fancy titles and shame... and guilt... and a whole slew of things he needs to hide to keep from being avoxed himself- or worse.

Clayburn nodded at his friend, unable to actually speak to the high and mighty when they stand right in front of him, gleaming in a clean white suit. He took a step towards the door so Lane would follow. It did not feel like Cassius was leading him, though. It felt more like an armed escort, prepared to keep any scum from touching his charge.

God, how could one silly uniform change Cassius outlook on himself and everyone else so much? A few minutes ago he was the mighty Peacekeeper, defender of the streets and now he felt like a rookie who cheated his way in. Oh wait... he was.