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Aiden lay back on the grassy, overgrown rooftop, the days infrequent periods of sun almost uncomfortably hot before the clouds rolled through again allowing his focus to move from all the places the sun licked fiercely at his exposed arms and legs. In the absence of that welcome sting, Aiden's attention extended outwards, downwards towards the cool, weedy soil below him, and further, beyond his physical senses leaning into that uncanny ability to perceive the presence of others, be they human or infected alike. He lay there and let his mind "perceive" as he thought of it, the humans below him. Aiden could feel that there were three small lives within at the moment. Two clustered together a little further away and one directly below him, a solitary occupant in Maya's room.
Aiden's habit, when he has time in between running errands for Sophie and her asshole brother or other assorted, seemingly endless, streams of requests for people from the bazaar, finds the young man resting quietly on 'Maya's rooftop.' She'd asserted her ownership of the building and her little clan of orphans and runaways alike. He and Hakon swung by and checked in with Maya every once in a while, ostensibly on business to ask about any work or information the imposing little girl might have for them. They would conveniently bring any extra supplies they might have to barter with Maya in payment for the services of her little crew of strays.
Aiden knew, now, not to push it too far and risk overstepping Maya's gracious allowance of Aiden's tender-hearted interest in her gang. The moment he overplayed his hand and became too over-generous in any particular trading attempt she would prickle and Hakon's honeyed words had been required to graciously ensure Maya felt that the independence of her small family remained fiercely guarded. She was right really, Aiden did understand her perspective: anyone could disappear in a heartbeat, becoming just another feral set of teeth to be avoided. Best to rely on no one. Or at worst only those you had to. The orphans had solidarity in that. They would typically come and go in teams of three, watching one another's backs as they monopolized the places in Old Villedor that adults couldn't squeeze into or where they couldn't go unnoticed.
So Aiden swung by as regularly he could for unannounced visits just to check up on them like this and make sure that all was well enough within. And if he was quiet about his presence then, hey, perhaps he was just passing through and decided to take a break on the roof. It was a free city. He'd practiced this argument on Hakon in defense as to what he'd say if Maya caught wind of him up there. Hakon's dark eyes had taken on a soft look and the man had caught Aiden's hands mid-gesticulation and tenderly kissed his fingertips. Aiden wasn't sure that Maya would be so easily convinced but he was good at sneaking, and truly, the respite of his little visits, sitting in solitude was often something that he craved. He felt he owed the orphans whatever thin sliver of childhood they could manage to grasp. And every once in a while Aiden would hear the simple refrain from the music box he had retrieved for Maya. Those days he didn't need to alter his senses to hear or see, the music carried itself up to him effortlessly.
