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spongetasticPeter felt groggy when he cracked open his eyes. All he could see was pure darkness, and when he tried to sit up his forehead bumped up against something wooden. Dazed, he ran his fingers over the cool surface. He needed to get out. Peter pushed against the wood with his hands and knees; the wood began to crack under his strain. Finally it gave way and dirt began to pour in. Peter could sense he was close and started clawing his way up.
He burst out of the ground, coughing out bits of dirt. The cool night air breathed softly against his cheek. Peter rubbed the dirt out of his eyes to make out the moon and the glow of the city. Once his eyes adjusted he could see a small group standing nearby. Panic tingled through him. These people just saw him claw out of the ground. They would know him as something unnatural and start to panic. But unexpectedly, one moved forward to help the empath on his feet and dust the dirt off Peter’s clothes.
“Good evening,” a voice greeted him pleasantly. Peter recognized it as belonging to the handsome blonde man who offered him the strength and speed he wanted to be a hero. The voice, already pleasant, seemed to pull Peter irresistibly.
“Raul,” Peter croaked out. His mouth was dry and when he tried to lick his lips he tasted more dirt.
“Hello, Peter.” Raul’s lips pulled into a slow smile. “It’s a tradition for the entire family to be here when you wake.” He gestured to the group standing behind him. Peter counted ten in all. Three of their numbers looked like teenagers, two others were so physically similar they had to have been actual siblings, but none of the others could believably be related.
“Big family,” Peter noted.
“Yes, it is,” the man who helped Peter up agreed. He had a quiet voice, his dark hair cropped short. “My name is Caleb,” he added, stormy gray eyes drifting over Peter’s features thoughtfully.
“Um. Nice to meet you,” Peter said awkwardly.
“Ooh, Raul, he’s gorgeous.” A young woman with red hair butted in, throwing her arms around Peter. “I can’t wait to take you home.” Something about her behavior reminded Peter strongly of Elle.
Raul introduced Peter to the others, much like a proud father would introduce his favorite son to relatives. The three teenagers had opted to discard their human names and insisted on being called Hellboy, Dante and Gargoyle. The two siblings were named Roxie and Felix. The other two were an older southern belle named Colette and a dark Cajun man named Bo. Possibly the strangest family Peter ever saw, and he was now a part of it.
“Come on,” Raul urged. “We’ll take you home.”
Home. It was strange to think of any place other than his family mansion as home, but then he had a new family now, didn’t he? There was more than one type of blood tie…
He burst out of the ground, coughing out bits of dirt. The cool night air breathed softly against his cheek. Peter rubbed the dirt out of his eyes to make out the moon and the glow of the city. Once his eyes adjusted he could see a small group standing nearby. Panic tingled through him. These people just saw him claw out of the ground. They would know him as something unnatural and start to panic. But unexpectedly, one moved forward to help the empath on his feet and dust the dirt off Peter’s clothes.
“Good evening,” a voice greeted him pleasantly. Peter recognized it as belonging to the handsome blonde man who offered him the strength and speed he wanted to be a hero. The voice, already pleasant, seemed to pull Peter irresistibly.
“Raul,” Peter croaked out. His mouth was dry and when he tried to lick his lips he tasted more dirt.
“Hello, Peter.” Raul’s lips pulled into a slow smile. “It’s a tradition for the entire family to be here when you wake.” He gestured to the group standing behind him. Peter counted ten in all. Three of their numbers looked like teenagers, two others were so physically similar they had to have been actual siblings, but none of the others could believably be related.
“Big family,” Peter noted.
“Yes, it is,” the man who helped Peter up agreed. He had a quiet voice, his dark hair cropped short. “My name is Caleb,” he added, stormy gray eyes drifting over Peter’s features thoughtfully.
“Um. Nice to meet you,” Peter said awkwardly.
“Ooh, Raul, he’s gorgeous.” A young woman with red hair butted in, throwing her arms around Peter. “I can’t wait to take you home.” Something about her behavior reminded Peter strongly of Elle.
Raul introduced Peter to the others, much like a proud father would introduce his favorite son to relatives. The three teenagers had opted to discard their human names and insisted on being called Hellboy, Dante and Gargoyle. The two siblings were named Roxie and Felix. The other two were an older southern belle named Colette and a dark Cajun man named Bo. Possibly the strangest family Peter ever saw, and he was now a part of it.
“Come on,” Raul urged. “We’ll take you home.”
Home. It was strange to think of any place other than his family mansion as home, but then he had a new family now, didn’t he? There was more than one type of blood tie…