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“Why do I have to stay here?” Scooter grumbled, glaring daggers at Sylus’ back. She wasn’t a baby who needed to be babysat for days. She could handle herself for a few days while he and Emcee went on a dangerous mission. She could’ve stayed at Mo Art Studios with Rafayel, but he was helping Talia with one of her events. Caleb was in the Deepspace Tunnel, and Xavier was busy with the Backtrackers. So, that left Zayne for Scooter to be with.
“Because, I don’t want you alone,” Sylus told her. “And don’t ask about the twins because they’ll be busy keeping things in order while I’m gone.” He gave her a stern look. “Don’t cause our dear doctor too much stress.” He patted her head. “We won’t be gone long and then you can go back to being a free range menace.”
“Fine,” Scooter muttered. She liked staying with Zayne, but she hated the fact she was unofficially put in time out. Sylus left her in Zayne’s pristine apartment and Scooter was bored out of her mind waiting for Zayne to get home. Linkon wasn’t nearly as dangerous as the N109 zone but everything was too pristine and…lawful. Scooter couldn’t have any fun.
Zayne got back from the hospital early because Sylus had asked him to. He could rarely say no to his partners. “I see you haven’t broken anything,” he observed, as Scooter laid on his couch with a blank expression. “Are you feeling unwell?” he asked, tilting his head.
“I’m fine,” Scooter mumbled. “Just bored.” She finally peered over at Zayne.
“I figured, so I’ve arranged sometime off. We can go out later and have some fun,” Zayne told her, hanging up his jacket. “There’s some new places that just opened up that I think you’d enjoy.” He couldn’t help but smile softly as Scooter perked up. He knew she hated being stuck in one place for too long. “So long as you promise not to run off.”
“I won’t run off,” Scooter rolled her eyes.
“Good,” Zayne smiled. “Now get up. Sylus told me you’ve expressed interest in cooking. Help me prepare dinner.” Before he could finish his sentence, Scooter was already in the kitchen, grinning like an idiot and buzzing excitedly. Zayne hadn’t seen her this energetic unless it was for something illegal. He was happy she was finding hobbies that didn’t run the risk of her getting put in jail.
Scooter had fun helping Zayne cook dinner and dessert. They ate in relative silence, Scooter practically devouring the food. Meanwhile, Zayne was struggling to stay awake, exhausted from his long shift and multiple surgeries. After dinner, Scooter did the dishes, and they had a quiet night. Turns out Scooter only had energy at night when she was in the N109 zone with Sylus and the twins.
The next day, Scooter got up excited. They got breakfast at Zayne’s favorite cafe before he let her dictate where to go. Scooter went to the arcade first, playing a few retro games and convincing Zayne to do the claw machine. Emcee had rubbed off on Scooter who was starting to grow her own plushie obsession. Zayne managed to get Scooter the Astro Penguin, with the alleged help of his evol.
“Anywhere else?” Zayne asked, handing her the penguin.
“Dad gave him his card,” Scooter grinned, flashing the black card. “I, um,” she hesitated, “wanted to go shopping. Maybe get something for everyone.” She hugged the plush tightly, avoiding eye contact, “but if not, that’s okay too. I’m happy with just the plushie and being here.”
Zayne frowned at her immediate back pedal. “No, I think it’s sweet. Where do you want to go first?” He didn’t know much about Scooter before she joined Onychinus. Only Sylus and Rafayel knew about her life before that, and they were pretty tight lipped about it. Zayne never pushed because Scooter was a menace, but a menace with a heart of gold. He didn’t need to know about her past if she didn’t willingly tell him.
Scooter brightened up. “Really?”
“Mhm,” Zayne nodded. “Let’s go.”
Scooter grinned and went to a few different stores, looking for the perfect gifts. While she didn’t want to hold back, she also didn’t want to go overboard. That was Sylus’ job with gift giving. Shopping for Rafayel was easy. Scooter got him a new set of brushes and paints. For Xavier, she got him a lavender tea. She hadn’t spent enough time with him to know what he’d officially like. So, she played it safe. For Caleb she bought an apple shaped charm for his dog tags, and for Zayne she’d gotten an arctic snow globe.
While looking at jewelry for Emcee, Scooter bumped into a lady. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t—” she froze, tensing up. The woman stared at Scooter with a cold stare. Scooter wanted to curl in on herself.
“Scooter? Is something wrong?” Zayne noticed the woman and her husband.
“Scooter?” the woman barked a mocking laugh. “That’s what you call yourself now, Kaia? I shouldn’t be surprised. You always were the difficult child.” She looked Scooter up and down. “What are you even doing here?”
Scooter avoided eye contact, looking at the floor. Zayne saw nothing of the confident wild child he knew. Right now, all he saw a scared little girl. “Who are you?” Zayne said firmly, standing in front of Scooter. “I don’t appreciate your tone.”
The woman raised an eyebrow. “I’m that brat’s mother, Cordelia Valens.” Scooter flinched, curling in on herself.
“Her mother?” Zayne repeated.
“Although, she’s not our daughter anymore,” the woman bitterly scoffed. “Kaia knows what she did, and we have no use for a useless child like her.” Scooter blinked back tears. Her mother spoke her name like it was a bug beneath her shoe.
Zayne clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to break his Hippocratic oath. “No child deserves to be berated and looked down on by their parent. As long as I’ve known her, she’s been kind and, yes, she can be a bit wild, she’s still a good kid.” He’d, unfortunately, seen too many parents hurt their children whether it be through words or physical abuse.
Cordelia scoffed, rolling her eyes. “She’s a murderer, and I’ve heard she’s joined that monster in the N109 zone. I’ve already lost a child to her. If you want to watch or take care of her, be my guest. Don’t I didn’t warn you about what she is.” Her mother sneered at her and walked out of the store.
Scooter looked down at the floor, attempting to make herself smaller. “Can…can we go home?” she whispered, avoiding eye contact with Zayne. “I’ll…come back later to get Emcee something.” She wanted to teleport away, to hide from the emotions and the unwanted memories.
Zayne’s heart broke. Seeing Scooter like this felt wrong. “Of course, little one,” he murmured. Scooter was quiet on the ride home, and Zayne didn’t know whether to ask about what happened or not. He wanted to help her feel better, but he didn’t know how.
“I had a sister,” Scooter mumbled quietly half way through the ride back to Zayne’s home. “When we were young, I wanted to go exploring near this new underwater cave we’d found. She didn’t want to go, but I pressured her into going. But, something happened.” Scooter swallowed thickly, tears sliding down her cheeks as she turned her head away from Zayne. “There were people in the cave, and my sister was taken. I…I don’t know what happened to her or if she’s still alive.”
Zayne listened intently.
“Our…my parents blamed and disowned me,” Scooter swallowed thickly. “I’m the problem child, you know.” Her voice cracked. “Always have been. It’s my fault my sister is gone. I shouldn’t have begged her to go with me.”
Zayne’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “It’s not your fault. You were a child, Scooter. What happened was a tragic accident.” He changed directions, turning down a road leading away from his apartment.
“Where are we going?” Scooter whispered.
“Rafayel’s,” Zayne said calmly. “Talia’s event ended earlier today, and I think you’d feel more comfortable at the beach.” He knew Lemurians had a strong connection to the sea. He hoped that connection would calm her down.
“…thank you,” Scooter murmured, hugging the penguin plush as she looked out the car window.
Mo Art Studio was still busy, as Talia had hosted her event at her nephew’s beach estate, but Zayne knew Rafayel wouldn’t refuse them. Especially with the state Scooter was in. “I’ll go find Rafayel, why don’t you go find a place to relax, okay?”
Scooter nodded quietly, bringing the plush with her as she walked down to the sand while Zayne walked into the studio. He never liked high end events, liking peace and quiet and structure over entertaining rich people for donations. He’d much rather save people’s lives than spend a day kissing up to rich donors.
“Zayne?” Zayne turned to see Rafayel. “What are you doing here? You hate these kinds of things.” So did Rafayel, but he knew how to hide it better.
“I ran into someone with Scooter today,” Zayne explained. “She’s not doing well, so I brought her here. Can we talk privately?”
Rafayel brought Zayne to his bedroom to talk away from everyone while having a view of the beach where Scooter was. “What happened?” his voice was cold.
“A woman named Cordelia Valens,” Zayne sighed heavily. “We ran into her at a jewelry store and she said horrible things about Scooter. Claimed to be her mother.”
Rafayel’s eyes darkened. “I know who you’re talking about. The Valens family has ties to ancient Lemuria, one of the last bloodlines that can be traced back. Cordelia had two children, both girls.”
“Yes, she said Scooter killed one of them,” Zayne said. “What happened? Scooter told me it was her fault.”
Rafayel took a deep breathe. “Poor girl doesn’t remember the incident that well. Let me guess, she said she begged her sister to explore that cave.” Zayne nodded. “That’s not what happened, but her parents needed someone to blame. Scooter’s heard that version of the story for so long it’s truth to her.”
Zayne grit his teeth, the temperature in the room dropping.
“Her sister had been the one wanting to explore. Scooter was a lot more like you when she was younger, careful, structured, and organized,” Rafayel smiled softly. “Scooter went anyways, still trying to stop her sister. But then in the cave they were attacked, and Scooter was the only one who came out. Her parents didn’t want to hear that their favorite golden child would go into the caves.”
Zayne sighed. “But why are they so dismissive of their remaining daughter? Why blame her for an accident?”
Rafayel hesitated. “Scooter was an accident. She wasn’t planned for, but to Lemurians, children are blessings from the sea. They couldn’t get rid of her without bringing bad luck and the sea’s wrath upon them.” He smiled sadly. “Losing their eldest daughter was the push they needed to disown her and cast her aside. In their eyes, she took away their gift from the sea.”
Zayne took a deep breath. “I see.”
“Scooter spiraled when she was disowned. A part of her broke,” Rafayel closed his eyes. “Kaia went into the N109 zone and Scooter came out. Her parents wanted a wild problem child and Scooter gives them that. Don’t get me wrong, she loves being a menace and a little chaos gremlin, but some times, Kaia will poke her head out.”
Zayne looked out the window at Scooter sitting in the sand, looking at the waves. “Scooter is Scooter. I don’t care about what her parents say. Since they disowned her, they don’t have the right to be called her parents. As far as I’m concerned, you and Sylus are her parents. The rest of us do our part for her, and she has a better family now.”
Rafayel smiled softly. “Yeah, she does.”