[Action + Accidental Dictation]

[hardenedimmortal]

[Adam had reached for his journal in order to check up on certain people. He'd disappeared before making sure that they were okay physically. He'd needed to take care of his own mental needs. His fragile psyche had been on the verge of shattering around him and, when that happened, people typically got hurt.

He'd fled to the forest where he'd let off some steam and just generally let himself unwind. Days later, he was still there. In that time, he'd acquired a new friend. A surprisingly fluffy kitten with reddish black fur and brilliant yellow green eyes. He'd tried to ignore the little creature at first, but it had been persistent. Finally, he'd allowed it to stay and even fed it and gave it attention.

But now? Now, he was wishing that he'd never met that fur ball. He hadn't even opened the journal when the kitten somehow managed to get onto his head and sink her claws into his scalp. The journal had fallen out of his hands and hit the ground, opening. The entire castle was treated to cursing in various languages including English, French, Italian, and Japanese]

I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE AND STICK YOU IN A STEW!

[There was a faint sound of a cat meowing]

I don't give a damn if you are a kitten or that I can't feel pain. THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO SCALP ME!

[More cursing, then some yowling and meowing]

Bloody cat.

Comments

[hardenedimmortal]

[He pats Peter on the shoulder, then glances down to see if their furry stalker was still around. Yup, and doing a good job with keeping up with them]

I hope no one's allergic to cats.

[spongetastic]

Phoebe used to have a cat. [and then, because the thinking goes in that direction] I should go back to her.

[hardenedimmortal]

Tell her you're going to Caritas. With the all the up and down emotions, I don't think being in the castle is good for you at the moment.

[spongetastic]

It's better in our room. All of our things... When I touch them, I can just focus on those memories.

[yeah did he forget to mention he had that power?]

[hardenedimmortal]

[He raises an eyebrow at that]

You can get memories from touching objects?

[spongetastic]

I don't know who he got it from, but Sylar had that power last time he was here. We were sort of... sharing. He gave me back my empathy and I gave him telepathy.

[hardenedimmortal]

Telepathy?

[Slightly alarmed look now. Despite working with Maury, he wasn't a fan of that particular power]

[spongetastic]

Don't look so worried. I have it turned off.

[hardenedimmortal]

Good.

[A moment of silence then]

What other abilities do you have?

[spongetastic]

Let's see. Telepathy, telekinesis, healing, clairsentience, Elle's electrical power, and I have super-strength and stamina. Fewer powers than when we first met, but I think that's better for me.

[hardenedimmortal]

[He's just going to keep that comment about the electricity being kinky to himself]

Speaking of Elle, how was the sadistic little vixen doing last you heard?

[spongetastic]

[it's good he's got telepathy off so he doesn't hear that. But damn, Adam just asked a question Peter doesn't want to answer]

She's dead.

[hardenedimmortal]

[His mood sobers a bit at that. While he hadn't been particularly fond of Elle at times, she had provided him with good company and had slipped him things that he might not have gotten otherwise]

Oh.

[He suddenly remembers something that Peter had said earlier, something that didn't quite match up with what he'd heard]

Peter, you said something about your father having a bullet hole in him. Didn't Arthur die of a heart attack?

[spongetastic]

[that gets a humorless smile. He hasn't spoken about this at length with anyone, but with Adam... He always found it easy to talk around Adam]

That's the story Mom told us. But when I jumped off that roof, she changed it and told us he was depressed and killed himself. And that the two others before that were both suicide attempts. But it turns out she tried to poison him. Makes me wonder if those two previous heart attacks were her trying to kill him, too.

[he pushes his hair off his forehead] I had a gun and I tried to kill him, you know. My dad. But I couldn't... Sylar did it for me. He said I wasn't a killer.

[hardenedimmortal]

[He almost said good on Angela for attempting to kill Arthur. Even in the 70's, he could tell that Arthur was someone who would have needed someone to keep an eye on him. Then again, that could have just been Adam being nervous because of Arthur's ability. However, he had the feeling that this was something that Peter doesn't really want to hear]

Sylar was right, Peter. You're not a killer, not at your heart.

[spongetastic]

[it was true. The times he did kill or attempted to kill were when he was overpowered by something else: Sylar's ability, the insanity of the Event Horizon, the rage of the Wrath virus. Even all the times he faced Sylar, Peter never killed him]

I wonder what that says.... I can't entirely forgive either of you, but you and Sylar both went out of your way to help me more than once.

[hardenedimmortal]

Seeing as I feel no remorse for what I attempted to do with the virus, I can't ask for your forgiveness.

[As for using Peter, he did feel guilty about that. He had grown quite attached to the younger man over the few months that they'd spent in Hartsdale and then over their road trip. Something suddenly occurs to him and he pauses, looking over at him]

What happened to me after I started that bar fight and left...the Carp...

[He finds it hard to say Hiro's name, even now]

And his friend to fend for themselves?

[spongetastic]

[see now this reminds him of his many talks with Sylar while they were trapped together. Sylar apologized, knowing he couldn't be forgiven. But Peter did forgive him enough to see that he changed, that he wasn't that killer anymore. And he wants to see that in Adam, too. Unfortunately, Adam just asked yet another question Peter wishes he didn't have to answer.

Because Peter already told him: "he crumbled to dust", and he's sure Adam didn't miss it]

My father took your power, and it killed you. Hiro's dying, too, last I saw him. It's no wonder Sylar's afraid of ending up alone... I'm afraid of that, too.

[hardenedimmortal]

[His jaw tightens and he feels anger and fear at the thought of his power being taken away. And of dying. He had fought too long and too hard to die]

The Carp's dying?

[He's almost glad to hear that. Almost. A part of him, the last little remnant of Kensei, felt pain at the loss of the man that he had once considered a brother]

[spongetastic]

[Peter can feel those emotions, but he tries not to show it]

Brain tumor, so healing blood won't help him. Apparently all that stopping time and transporting through space took a toll on him. We all have problems. Sylar went crazy, Claire can't feel pain, and me... It's hard. If I didn't have Phoebe here, I think I would've turned into that man I met in the future.

[hardenedimmortal]

[He looks over at Peter when he said that Claire couldn't feel pain. He had thought that the whole not being able to feel pain thing was just him. But the infamous Claire as well? That didn't bode well, especially in the long run. And the man that Peter met in the future? What did he mean by that?]

What do you mean, Peter?

[spongetastic]

Sorry, I'm still trying to piece my thoughts together.

My future self came back in time. He was... different. Hardened, harsh, more closed up and jaded. There was a scar... In two different futures, I get the same scar. I don't know what it means.

[hardenedimmortal]

It means that you either lost your ability to heal or your mental anguish kept you from healing. Or you chose not to heal completely.

[spongetastic]

The exact same scar in the exact same place? [yeah Peter was his explosion self for a while, so he knows that it turned out the same way two different times]

[hardenedimmortal]

I don't really know what to say, Peter. Perhaps you were somehow fated to get that scar?