¹ Roar || The Gifted: John Proudstar

09|eXit strategy

Taylor was flopped down onto the floor, her head resting on her paws. Taylor had just kept on waking up from bits of rough sleep as she was pacing the tiny office that she had left herself in, as her long strides were currently making it impossible for her to go more than three steps in any direction. "You can't sleep either?" John asked as she looked up at him with a rumble, a sort of hello as she was flopping back down onto her side with a massive shake of her head. "Sleep isn't coming for me either." He said and he sat down on the couch.

With a creak, the lion leapt up and nearly broke the couch as John laughed. "You should get off the couch before you break it." He noted and she was grumbling and she grabbed her clothes in her teeth, before she was changing back and throwing them on. "Well, now you have a lot less chance of breaking it." John pointed out and Taylor was shaking her head.

"I could have killed Sonya, if you hadn't jumped in the middle of that earlier." Taylor spoke up quietly and John stared at her. "How's the arm?" She asked and John showed her his arm, that was already healing up. "Well, at least I injured somebody with a healing factor I guess." She mumbled and he was shaking his head, before he moved his arm around her.

"If you apologize again, I swear that I will lock you in the cage." John said with an amused look on his face and Taylor sighed, nodding her head in agreement. "So... When Sonya erased your memory, do you remember what she did before that?" He asked cautiously and she glanced over at him.

"She gave Clarice a memory of you and her together, didn't she?" Taylor guessed and he stared at her, wondering how she knew. "It was the look on your face. Plus, your vocal tone that gave it away." Taylor said as he was nodding.

"You know me too well." John replied and Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "Sonya, she didn't put anything else into your head, did she?" John asked and Taylor tilted her head as she closed her eyes, trying to think as she was reaching back into her mind silently.

"No, I don't think so." Taylor murmured as she was shaking her head. "I hope not, but... I would know by now, wouldn't I?" Her voice, she didn't sound completely confident because she didn't feel completely confident about it.

"We could play "real or not real," and then, just find out that way." John said and she was looking at him with a faint smile that was crossing her face.

"You have just read the Hunger Games books recently, didn't you?" Taylor asked and John laughed.

"I really did not think, that you would get the reference so fast, Tay." He said and she lifted her eyebrows. "But, yeah, I read them recently." John said as he sighed. "Julianna and Gus's kids sure got big, huh?" He asked and she chuckled.

"The oldest two are twelve years old, the middle one is ten and the youngest is almost three." Taylor said and she was shaking her head at the words. "Fucking hell Johnny, when did we get old?" She asked and he was laughing in agreement.

Taylor silently snuggled up closer and he glanced at her, before she was resting her head on his shoulder.

"We're going up against the freaking Sentinel Services John, we could all be dead by this time tomorrow." She murmured and he was moving one of his arms around her shoulders. "I'm scared, John." Taylor admitted quietly and he glanced over at her again, before he just saw that her hands were both trembling. "And I mean it this time, I'm scared of losing this fight." She whispered and he was lowering his head before he nodded, leaning forward and silently resting his forehead against hers.

"I'll be right there with you, Taylor." John murmured and she was closing her eyes as she felt a tear running down her cheek and more of them, they soon followed. "What's wrong?" John asked quietly.