I have two parties today and an empty social battery T-T, please hope for my survival. Just know I love ya, and hope you have a great day! Vote and comment, it really does help, and here we go.

Playlist:

Clocks by Coldplay

Bullet Proof by The Goo Goo Dolls

Ain't No Rest For The Wicked by Cage The Elephant 

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By the time we reach the house, I'm dressed and attempting to dry my hair with the towel.

Everyone in the neighborhood needs to be here, even those who weren't here before. Close to 30 people could be packed in the living room and kitchen. A hand touches my shoulder, and I turn to see the oldest person, their face beaming with joy. "How'd you like the pool?"

"This is Dr. Giannis Nikolaidis." Nya leans into my ear.

He waves his hand. "No need to be so formal here. Nik is fine. You must be Thea; I've heard good things about you."

I can't resist grinning at this man. He isn't like some others who don't even try to hide the dirty looks they give me. "Nice to meet you, and thank you for letting us use your pool. It was a little on the cold side."

"My dear girl! I'm so sorry about that, I forgot to turn on that pesky heater. I don't use it when I swim, studies show that there are significant benefits to swimming in cold water; boost in your immune system, burn more calories, boost your libido." He nudged me with an if-you-know-what-I-mean tone, his eyes shot to Milo. Nya burst into a new fit of laughter, this time very audible.

"Excuse me." I murmur, pushing myself deeper into the crowd towards Milo, but before I can reach him, Levi comes up, and the room falls into an eerie silence.

"Thank you all for coming over in the daytime. I am aware that it is not perfect, but I numerous of tasks to complete, and I would prefer to address questions and conversations beforehand." It seems like all but Milo, who stands protectively behind him. "I reached out to those I could from some communities, and I did manage to find some individuals who are willing to come."

A happy murmur fills the room, and it seems to get brighter. "How many?" Someone to my left calls out.

"Five."

This provokes an uproar. "Five!" someone else screams out. "What do you mean, five?"

"Please," Levi lifts his hands. "Please, settle down and listen."

People keep talking over each other, vying for Levi's direct answer. Milo steps up. "Hey!" His voice roars through the room, abruptly cutting everyone off. "Listen to him, he's willing to answer every question here, let the man talk."

Milo, surprisingly, looks younger than most people here. Everyone, other than Nya, looks to be more physically mature, but that doesn't stop the respect they give him.

"Thank you, son," Levi expresses his gratitude towards him, and he shifts his focus back to the crowd. "Five is a lot more than you are giving credit to, and besides this, only a few communities I can get in contact with from my home. I concluded that it is essential for me to go out and have conversations with those who are still present."

"What?" A woman next to me calls out. "Leave us alone?"

"My presence has been absent from most of these communities for centuries, and I will leave you in Milo's capable hands during my absence. He has run a few communities on his own, he knows how I work." Levi scans the crowd again. "I know we are scared after what happened the other morning, but we are strong. All the workers will be patrolling, and all the nonworkers need to go back to training." He throws a glance back at Milo.

"What about the human?" Someone closer to the front asked, I shrank back towards Nya.

"What about her?" His gaze fixed on the man, then shifted to the group.

"We give her up, stop this before it's a war." The crowd turns into a hushed whisper of agreement. "We need to think of us, not her. We lack the ability, the individuals, we lack the resilience to combat, many of us have never had to engage in battle before and this was clear in the initial conflict, and now, now we are not only going to fight once more, but we are going to have to confront a challenge brought by Jude. How is this fair to our people?"

Milo looks as if he will talk, and for a second, I feel he may agree with this man, but Levi is quicker. "I would like all of you to treat Thea as one of us, acknowledging the depth of her involvement and showing her the respect she deserves. I won't be addressing any further inquiries about that. Remember to include her home in your patrolling efforts." Our eyes lock for a moment, then he scans the room again. "In case there are any further queries, please don't hesitate to ask me directly, as I will be leaving tonight."

Everyone swarms around him instantly. I find myself in the back of the room with Nya. "This isn't good if he's actually leaving, he's never left here since I've been here."

"How far does he have to go?" How is it I'm so significant when I feel this small?

"He has communities everywhere." Milo comes up to us. "Here in the states, across Europe, Asia, Russia, Africa, most places there's at least one community."

"If you two make googly eyes at each other, I'm leaving." Nya laughs out.

"I'm going to give you the worst patrol." Milo says, with no hesitation.

"Oh, come on, it was a joke."

"How is he going to travel across the sea?"

"He probably won't, but normally on a boat. Planes are too hard to predict with the timing." Milo sighs. "But that would take too long, he'll probably stay in the states and Canada. It'll take him a while though, even with the speed he has."

"Do you think he'll talk to Quincy?" Nya says shyly.

Milo rolls his eyes. "Probably."

"Is that the guy?" I ask her, grinning.

"Quincy Keaton is an old nature worker, too old for Nya."

"He is not too old for me. What are you talking about? I'm 50 something."

"Not in how you appear, and not in how you act."

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"You are well aware what that means."

"Milo! I have seen you hook up with women as soon as they turn, and you're just about a million years old."

Milo's lips part, his eyes flicking up to me before glareing down at Nya. "Keep my name out of this."

But she had caught his glance, she looks back to me, my cheeks red from being dragged into to this. "Don't even get me started on..."

"Nya, shut your mouth. You have no idea what you're talking about, my business is mine alone."

"By you can run your mouth about me?" She scoffs.

"It doesn't matter, ignore him." I cut in, throwing Milo a warning glare as our eye meet, then I grin at Nya. "Is he cute?"

Milo throws up his hands, shaking his head, but Nya melts. "Oh, yes, he is cute. And witty, and oh my god, you should see him work, it's amazing."

"He's a dirty hippie that lives in the woods, like all the other nature workers." Milo mumbles.

"Milo." Nya shakes her head. "Stop, just because he's a worker and you're not..."

"Do not pretend that I possess anything to be jealous about with workers. I do not need to be a worker to know that nature workers are dirty and selfish, body workers are idiots and selfish, and mind workers are ignorant and selfish."

She laughs at that. "And nonworkers are just selfish."

"My point is that workers will stick to their own kind and ignore those who need the help. He does not allow any other kind of kite in his community other than nature workers, I doubt they will come to help us. You're better off not getting your hopes up for him."

I even catch the look she gives, and I cover my mouth. "Oh my god, really?"

"What?" Milo looks between the two of us.

"Yes." She blushes.

"What happened?" I lean in yearning for the dirty details.

"What are you two talking about?" Milo takes a step up to us.

"It was just one kiss." She lowers her voice, but Milo still reacts with a loud what. "He came to visit Levi maybe two years ago, and we had met before, so we weren't strangers. I don't know, we spent a lot of time together, and right before he left he gave me a kiss."

"Nya." Milo sighes.

"Will you shut up?" She snips.

"That was years ago."

"Milo." I snap my fingers, his head turns in my direction. "I am being realistic."

"He told me you two are friends."

"Not friends, we did travel together for a while before he settled in his flower dome."

Nya decides ignores him; with a wide love-stricken expression, she sighs. "He's so dreamy, and every powerful. You should see what he can do."

I open my mouth to ask for more, but I'm cut off by Milo's low grumbles. "Don't fill the human's head with his work."

"If it's so exclusive." She puts her hands on her hips, turning back to him. "Why did Quincy also tell me about Cassandra's daughters he's homing?"

"Okay Nya, I'll drop it." Milo hisses.

"Uh, okay, who's Cassandra's daughter?" I look between them.

"No, it's Cassandra's daughters, and they are a cult of soul workers, all in love with Apollo over here." Nya laughs.

"Nya, stop." Milo stands up straight, but she laughs harder.

"You said you knew a lot of soul workers, is that who you meant?" I join in the laughter.

"Notice how he mentioned how selfish nature, mind, and body are, but never soul."

"I'm begging you to lower your voice." He watches three people come out of the crowd around Levi.

"We would like to take the first patrol." The man in the middle says.

Milo nods. "Very well. Shelia takes the woods, Knox takes the neighborhood, Thomas takes the human's house. Nya takes the outskirts of town."

"What? No way!" She yells at him.

"Shouldn't have made jokes. Excuse me, I am responsible for assisting people." He steps away from us.

"I'm going to tell Levi." She calls after him, but he waves a hand without a glance back. "I hate him sometimes."

"You'll have to tell me more about this cult." I nudge her as we step away from the wall.

She grins at me. "Of course, maybe if I survive through tonight, I will."

Looking out the window, I say. "I need to leave before it gets dark, I'll catch up with you later, alright?" People surround Levi as I glance towards him. "Tell him I'll miss him, and I'll behave while he's gone."

"I'll try, but I can't promise he will believe even me." We both laugh, and she walks me to the door, standing so she'll be behind it when it opens.

I chance one glance back, Milo is directing everyone, taking the leadership role to its full extent. A smile slip, as his eyes met mine, and for one second, I think he let a smile slip, too. I leave the house hoping for the best for the community and for my family.