Aya Brea

Who: Aya, Mog, hospital staff, boys?
When: Four months into her work as a beat cop in New York.
What: Well, hospitals are always fun.

( How did we miss this hospital? )

Who: Nevada, Braig, Elsy, Yinsi
When: Around the time Braig turns thirteen.
What: Nevada...lays out some plans. Prequal to this.

( And danger recognizes danger. )

It started...oddly. It started with a phone call at two am, and of course she answered, who would call when it wasn't an emergency after all? "H'lo?" Granted, she didn't exactly manage articulate for said early morning emergencies but hey, she managed two syllables!

"Is this Aya?"

It was odd that she didn't recognize the voice. It was female, a little breathy. Excited maybe? Older than teenaged though. A hospital worker would have used her last name since they'd have the boy's contact sheets. "May I ask who's calling?" her polite chill kicked in belatedly, assuming it was some kind of telemarketer with really bad timing.

"My name is Mina, can I call you Aya?"

Mina? Mina Mina...no, that wasn't ringing any bells. "You can call me Ms. Brea. You have about three seconds to tell me why you called at this hour before I block your number."

"Hey, sorry! Sorry! The boys are such night owls I just assumed their family was! Were you sleeping?"

...hadn't that been implied? "Yes." And then, like a good little highschooler, she hung up, rolled over, and went back to sleep. She wouldn't even have remembered it if she didn't get a call a few days later. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this a better time?"

"...pardon?"

"Oh, right, sorry, hi this is Mina! Is this a good time to talk? I wanted to apologize for waking you up the other night!"

Aya pulled the phone away from her ear and peered at the screen, 'Private Number' was REALLY USEFUL. "Okaaaay, Mina. How did you get this number?" Because she certainly hadn't given it to the girl.

"Braig!"

"Really?"

"Well, he was going to call you and introduce us on the phone but he fell asleep when his hair was getting brushed...and then there was the breakthrough over in metaphysics and you know how it goes!"

Sadly, she did know how it went with the boys calling her, but she'd never had one of the girls take it into their heads to call her unless she already knew them. This was...kinda creepy admittedly. "So why did you need to call?"

"Oh! I'm going to be traveling near where the boys say they live and they wanted me to get a chance to have a decent lunch before the performance so I was suppose to get an introduction! I'm in the string section of the orchestra that's doing a charity event there next week?"

She did know about the charity event next week, she'd be attending with Elcy and Yinsi, the rest though? Um. Huh. A part of her was sorely tempted to dial Braig into a three way conversation, the rest of her was curious though. Curious or bored, the two were a lot alike some days. "I'd suggest you and your group eat at Midna's. It's a small cafe but good food that'll certainly last you through a performance."

"Actually...I was hoping you might have time to meet up? I've heard so much about you!"

Yeah, she'd seen that one coming honestly, chalk one up to instinct. "I'll actually be getting ready to attend the charity event," she admitted lightly, "so any meal would have to be a late brunch at best." Her afternoon was booked, honest, with hanging out at home with Elcy and Yinsi!

"Brunch sounds lovely! Better than sitting through yet another tuning session!" Mina laughed lightly. "Still at this Midna's? What do you call late? I can make reservations to meet you there!"

Aya was...back to staring at the phone, yes. Weirder and weirder. "Let's say eleven, then, day of the concert." This was going to get...interesting. The big question was whether to tell the boys or not?

Hmmm.

Not until after she met the girl.

Oddly it felt kind of like getting ready for a hunt as she got ready for brunch. There was no time for the full regalia she'd be wearing to the fundraiser with the elders, but there was certainly time to fish out the rather high end sun dress and designer heels. Not what she preferred, no, but it was a form of armor as Elcy had taught her. "Where are you headed all dressed up?" Yinsi asked from the porch.

"Someone's down from the city with the orchestra," she admitted brightly, "knows the boys so I thought I'd say hello!"

"I know that smile," the older man chuckled, "no biting."

"I wouldn't get blood on this dress!" Aya laughed in turn. "Back by one, I promise."

Midna's wasn't a four star restaurant, no, but it was full of polished beach wood furniture, every bit hand done and none of it mass produced junk, sea glass chandeliers and a great menu. It was good for vacationers and locals alike, though being dressed up meant indoor seating; surfers got the patio.

She was early. It meant she could get a seat at the 'reserved' table, the only one with a little hand written card saying 'reserved!' in fact, and get her back to a wall that let her watch the door. Her first impression of Mina was...height. The girl was half Asian, that was obvious, but no Asian woman Aya knew of stood at six two, most of it leg. The hair was traditional black, braided, and falling near to her ankles (and wasn't that fun to untangle from the boys?) but the eyes were a shade of olia gold closer to honey and the face was a touch too triangular. An islander, maybe? Asian and Maori somehow? It'd be rude to ask, and it didn't matter in the long run since it all added up to 'knockout'.

Granted, the boys tended toward the exceptional. "Aya?"

"Who else?" she answered, holding a hand across the table to shake.

"You...don't look like either of them, still, I thought I was just missing something in the photos, I'm red-blue color blind."

"Adopted," Aya admitted. "It confused the Clans at first too, when I visited. Mainly because I burn so easily." Still, menu time? Menus were polite to offer!

"I see!" Mina grinned and cooed over the pasteboard as she read off possibilities. "The boys never mentioned this place! I wonder why?"

Well that was interesting wasn't it? "They get busy," Aya waved the waitress off and watched her dining companion, bemused. "Normally they'd ask for a to go bag. Must be a bad labs week."

"Oh, should I bring them something back? What travels well?"

"They'd love to split one of the berry custards," where by split she meant Braig did stupid things for the custard and Dilan loved berries? But a girlfriend would know that. Better is a cream and egg custard, no sugar, so Dilan didn't get the ick face if he got a bit on the fruit!

"I'll order two then!" Mina grinned and wow, what a grin. It was kind of too wide somehow?

Ick. "So...you've called me several times and I still don't know who you are Mina."

"Oh! I'm sorry! Mina Chou! I met Braig at an event and Dilan came and well..." hard to resist, right?

"Aya Brea, we were introduced by a hamster," Aya deadpanned.

"...okay? That's nice. I didn't think a hamster would put up with Dilan."

"When he was younger it was a little easier on the pets," Aya chuckled, leaning back as soup arrived. "But that's not what you want to talk about."

"...oh I want to know everything!" Mina grinned. "Likes, dislikes, they are well worth knowing and you've got something of an inside scoop!"

"The girlfriends are usually a better bet for the kinds of details you want, Mina. I can't tell you anything useful for dating."

"But you can tell me what they like and don't like, when they started loving things they love..." she sighed dreamily. "And the girls are jealous, they just want to have them all to themselves."

Oooookay then. "Hmmmm, no the girls are sweethearts and there's a lot here that have moved on and are always happy to chat."

"Not the ones they have now," Mina huffed. "They won't last."

Considering at least one she knew of had been with the boys a year that was kinda weird to hear but sure, she could roll with it. "I don't get to meet all of them," she admitted, "hard to schedule visits! I'm sure whatever happened though they didn't mean it, the boys don't pick mean spirited people."

"They do when they're tired and the girls are good at hiding," Mina sniffed. "You should really call and fuss at them about that."

"Maybe, I fuss at them a lot when they are stressed," Aya dithered.

"I know, you sound like someone they love very much when they talk about you," Mina admitted, "that's why I knew I had to meet you. To let you know I'll take care of them properly!"

Uh huh. Yeah, that was exactly what this sounded like. Sure. "I appreciate the effort."

"Maybe we can hang out after the concert? Oh, or I know! We should get a picture to show the boys!" And just like that she was moving around the table to throw an arm over her shoulders, phone held up to snap a photo. EEeeeeeuuuuugh.

She could predict the rest of the meals 'subtle' attempts to get promises to call the boys about the girlfriends and questioning about what the boys liked. Loved. Preferred. Creepy creepy creepy.

"Don't forget your custards," Aya reminded as the clock ticked closer to her deadline to get home."

"Oh, you have to go?"

"A lot to do before the concert, Mina, it was nice to meet you," she allowed, holding her hand across the table to shake once more. "Tonight then."

"Tonight sis! Really, you make such a great little sister how does anyone use your name?!"

Eep. Yes, she was dialing the boys the MINUTE she was outside, as she was heading for the car. Voice mail was fine, yes, "Dump Mina, now, if you're actually dating her. Consider a restraining order." Meeble.

Heeeyyyy maybe she could feed her to Elcy and Yinsi? Problem solved? She'd see what the night offered by way of opportunities!

She peered into the room, nose at the edge of the door as she looked the bed over. Dilan had been sick all week and now, now he wasn't moving. Everyone had told her he'd do this, that he got really sick in the winter and that meant he went into a coma for a few days.

Like it was normal somehow, comas.

She knew what a coma was. It was that time when the people you loved fell asleep, and while they were asleep the machines stopped beeping and the doctor came to touch her gently and tell her that the rest of her family didn't make it. To tell her she was lucky because that meant that she could have a transplant from her sister and her eye socket would be okay. She wouldn't be blind in one eye.

Comas meant that doctors could cut you up and you never left the hospital.

But Dilan wasn't in the hospital and she wasn't exactly sure how to take that. He had an IV hooked up, but no beepy machines and he was still breathing. She could see that from here. He was breathing and that was a good thing. It meant he wasn't dead.

She didn't want Dilan to die.

Weirdly enough that made the boys room a very scary place and that was why she was standing at the threshold, watching. When her sister had slipped into a coma they'd put up a curtain between their beds; at least she could see him. She had no idea how long she stood there just waiting for each breath before Yinsi touched her shoulder. He probably expected her to jump, and she did, but the scream? Yeah, she hadn't expected that at all.

It didn't wake Dilan up. It did wake up Braig though, making the boy sit up from his slump beside the bed and peer balefully toward the door. Not that she saw it, she was too busy running, the surge of adrenaline pushing her in a screaming dash down the hall to her own room.

It was Yinsi that pulled her out from under the bed and held her as she babbled something, she couldn't remember, later, what she said but he listened and that was a good thing because it let her wear herself out and he was probably the one who tucked her in. and she knew he was the one who sat by her bed when she managed to wiggle herself off the edge, because when she woke up he'd caught her and was trying to get the blanket untangled.

She'd been too weak, in the hospital, to roll out of bed. That was different at least. And when he set her down she was peeling off down the hall to peer through the boys door again. Dilan was still breathing.

Good.

It was weird. She could see Braig sitting the chair by the bed, reading a book, but she couldn't really look at him, her eyes stayed on Dilan. And this time, this time she managed to step into the room. A few steps before her feet froze to the floor. What if going all the way in meant something went wrong?

And...yeah, she was running again. Stupid feet.

She didn't have a good answer, and she was afraid and it was stupid.

Elcy fed her a sandwich this time around, and made her go out into the garden to weed a bit.

And then she had to stop weeding when Elcy noticed she pulled up everything under the windows.

She didn't like being afraid.

It made her angry, because Dilan was in a coma and she couldn't fix it. So what was she suppose to do?!

Braig had a good idea, he was in there, reading, and keeping watch. She could do something like that, right? Maybe.

If her feet let her.

Stupid feet.

How, exactly, did someone fix their feet?

Yinsi found her again, standing in the hall and staring at her toes. She...didn't really have any ideas. Screwdrivers weren't for feet after all, and she didn't think tape would help at all. This time when Yinsi touched her shoulder she didn't jump, she just blinked. "My feet are broken."

"They look like feet to me dear," Yinsi pointed out, kneeling down so he could poke one of her bare, grubby little toes.

"Hey!" she twitched her foot away from the poking, then dug her big toe into the carpet behind her. "They won't listen to me. I need something to fix that."

"Like what?"

Yeah, that was the problem wasn't it? "I don't know. Something...maybe glitter? Would that help?" Sparkles were distracting right? Maybe they wouldn't notice she was walking into the boys room if they were sparkly?

"And glue?" Yinsi chuckled softly. "I think we have that. Anything else you'll need?"

"My Moogle. And some books. A lot of books."

"Alright, stay right here," Yinsi ruffled her hair gently and headed down the hall.

And...she could do staying. She started leaning at some point, trying to peer through the doorway again even though it was waaaaaay down the hall, but her feet didn't budge an inch. Not until Yinsi got back with a bowl and glitter.

Glue felt really weird on her feet but not in a bad way, but in a cold muddy kind of way! "Am I gonna get stuck to the bowl?" she asked, peering down at her toes as she wiggled them in the Elmer's puddle she was now standing in.

"Now, I'll hold you until your feet dry and then you'll be fine!"

Glitter, unlike glue, didn't feel like mud at all. It felt kind of like snow, and sounded a bit like emptying the pencil sharpeners at school. And then her feet were covered in sparkly rainbows part way up her shins. Apparently Yinsi had found ALL the glitter in the house. That was kind of awesome. "Think this will work?"

In answer Yinsi scooped her up and dangled her upside down, letting glitter rain over the hall as she kicked her feet to air them. "Do you?"

"My feet feel weird!" she laughed. Hopefully weird enough right? Maybe. She could feel her head turning red from dangling upside down!

"Should I dip your hair in the bowl too?" Yinsi laughed, poking her nose. "You'll match then, top and bottom!"

She honestly thought about it for a minute but, well, "No! That's silly! I only need to fix my feet!"

"You sure?"

"I'm sure! I'm sure! Put me dowwwwwwwwn!"

Yinsi poked her foot, checking to see if it was dry, then draped her over his shoulder instead, "Nope, not yet. Let's go get your moogle and stick some books in a bag okay? Then your feet should be dry alright?"

"Okay!"

The next time she stood in the boys doorway she was prepared. She had a backpack on and her moogle in her arms, and her feet were all kinds of distracted!

And Dilan wasn't dead.

Glitter got her to the edge of the bed, but then she froze again, shivering as Yinsi followed behind her quietly. She had to touch Dilan just...to make sure. Once she poked his hand Braig gave up and reached out to grab her arm. "C'mon, monkey, sit here."

Hopefully neither of the boys minded that she was going to end up reading half her books out loud...and her feet were all used up for now. Yeah, they were done. She wasn't leaving the room again for nothing. Not for a while.

That was alright though. She was in, that was what mattered!

She nudged a wrapper with her foot and watched it crinkle on the side. Huh. This wasn't good. Had the boys actually spent the night here? She couldn't picture it really. It would drive Dilan nuts...

....

"Hey, are you a swear? I don't remember you...." the girl on the stairs looked like she'd prefer to be laying down. That wasn't a good sign. Hung over probably.

She shifted her guess to 'likely' when the girl winced away from a sunbeam that entered the door behind her. "Nope! I'm trespassing. Looking for two students, Braig and Dilan? Came to a party?"

"If you're not a sister go away," the girl waved a hand and started back up the stairs.

Right.

She held her breath until the girl was gone then went back to wandering through the common room. Ugh, wow, when they had a party here they really trashed the place huh? And there was...clothing everywhere. She counted something like a dozen shirts and three times that many shoes. Fewer pairs of shorts but she almost assumed the sheets had been togas.

College life. Charming.

Right. She checked her watch then started folding clothing and setting the room to rights. Why not? They'd left a note in case she got in early enough to attend, and since this was...far from early enough, well, best to make the morning a bit better?

She'd make breakfast.

If she found the kitchen.

Who: Aya, Braig, and Dilan!
When: Aya's second grade year
What: Sometimes it isn't easy following in the boys footsteps...even when she isn't!

( Oh so they could really hope! )

Aya cracked an eye open and peered blearily up at the ceiling. Still daylight, still boiling outside...and she was still awake. Damn. The bungalow was catching a nice breeze, the roof gave her shade, but today had dawned hot and gotten hotter. She was seriously considering switching over to nocturnal for a day or two...

...wouldn't be too hard she hadn't really been sleeping at night anyway. "Hey," she murmured against Dilan's chest. He was a great pillow and she was touched that he'd stayed sprawled with her when Braig felt like catching a few waves. Truly touched. That sunlight out there was a big temptation for her kitten! "We have to find Braig a ring."

Aya was sprawled across the bed, head hanging off the end as she watched the boys. She wasn't sure what was going on with them this week but they weren't holding still at all. She was half tempted to snag one of their phones to speak to one of the girlfriends instead but...that involved moving. It was the weekend after exams. She didn't want to move.

"So..." she started again, a word she'd kinda uttered every few minutes before getting dizzy watching them move around their apartment "...I was thinking of getting a tattoo."

The elastic strap was suppose to go around her ankle. Of course, the board she'd gotten hadn't exactly come with instructions (that she saw anyway), so she had it kinda tucked in the shoulder strap of her swimsuit. She couldn't find her flip-flops, but she did remember sunblock! That as the important part right?

The boys had promised to teach her how to surf! Or wake surf...or wade, or something. She could swim a little, and she didn't think they'd be going very deep, but this was her first time to the beach that wasn't poking at tide pools. She felt kinda...grown up.

Yep, very grown up with a board almost as big as she was.

Aya smiled up at the bouncer and held out the family photo. Yep, he'd seen the boys, she had the right bar. He seemed a little bemused when she didn't even try to get into the club, she just sat down against the nearest wall with good light and started her homework. She hadn't told the boys she was coming over this weekend, though given their college routines by now they should have expected it.

To be fair, she hadn't expected to be there. Pierce had been taking her to a convention nearby and then got a call from one of his security clients. That left her with a free weekend...

...and no boys at their flat.

Well, it was fun to surprise them. She'd planned to hit the local bars within walking distance, and if they weren't there go back to their place and declare it hers...luckily for her feet, it was the second bar she'd hit.

And the bouncer was old enough not to get idiotic over a young blond doing homework.