Another Day, Another Place [Lukas]

[Samuel Knight]

Samuel kept his attention fixed on the window and beyond. He had since he'd slumped into the car at the pick-up, buckled, and then tried to seem as small and unnoticeable as possible against the seat. He had his backpack at his feet, he'd insisted on keeping it with him rather than putting it in the trunk, and he kept it firmly straddled between his feet. His somewhat baggy hoodie made it seem almost as if his tightly crossed arms were invisible.

The man driving, Lukas, his new foster "dad", didn't seem like the most outgoing person. He hadn't seemed so at the interview either. That was fine with Samuel-- the less outgoing a person was, the less likely they were to interfere with him. At least, that was how he considered it. Though, he was pretty sure something had been said at some point about archery. He wasn't really sure, though. Honestly, he hadn't been paying a whole lot of attention.

Just as he wasn't paying a whole lot of attention now. Mostly he was just listening to the intonation of anything Lukas said, to judge whether what he was saying was a question or a statement, and then Samuel opted for some form of grunt or shrug in "reply".

His old foster family, his real foster family, the one that had moved away and left him, had told him not to be like this with other families. Not to block them out, that was. They'd told him to behave like he'd done for them. But they had been different, they'd been his real family, though minus his brother James.

He gave a faint sigh. They'd asked too much, asking him to behave for other families like he'd behaved for them. Sure, Lukas and Alyssa didn't seem too bad, fairly nice, even, but it wasn't the same. He shifted slightly, realizing that the last words Lukas had spoken had had that rising intonation that a question held. Having no idea what the question had been, he cast Lukas a brief glance before giving a half-hearted shrug.

[Lukas Miles]

Lukas couldn't help but glance over at the sullen boy sitting in the passenger seat. Ever since the tracker had picked up Samuel, the small boy hadn't even said one word. Instead he just slumped into the car seat like he wanted to disappear into the fabric. Lukas shook his head before focusing on the road ahead. Would it kill them to get a boy who actually was excited to come home with them? Knowing Alyssa, it just might...

The Miles family was known for their ability to take in the "challenged" foster children. Especially those who were considered flight risks, like the boy currently sitting beside him. There was nothing better to keep an eye on flight risks than a tracker... Except maybe a telepath. But even then it would only do you good if the child was someone nearby, while Lukas could find them even if they already reached the airport.

Eventually the silence in the car killed Lukas' nerves and he glanced over at Samuel. Maybe he should try talking. But about what? It wasn't as if the boy would actually pay attention, probably. He hummed softly before starting to tell Samuel the rules, planning on having to repeat them later anyway. When that failed to entice any sort of response from Samuel, Lukas moved on to talking about his other sons living in the house. Better to try and inform him now, just on the off chance Samuel might be paying attention.

Really, Alyssa should be here. Kids always seemed to like her. She always knew what to say. "Do you want your own room or do you want to share with one of the other boys for now?" His words were gentle, hoping a question would get some sort of response. But all he got was a shrug. Lukas shook his head again and smiled gently as he pulled up to the gates at the end of their driveway. Reaching up to press a button so the doors swung open, he continued down their long driveway until the large house was in sight. "If you're hungry, we can find something to eat or we can get you settled into your room first. Then I can give you a tour. Alyssa and Miles and Thomas all had things to do this morning but Spencer will be around so you can meet him. The rest'll be home in an hour or so."

[Samuel Knight]

Samuel studied the house as they pulled up to the gates. There were gates. And a button to open them. He shifted in his seat, sitting up a bit to stare at the house. He knew that the Miles family was a big one, so obviously they would have a bigger house than he was used to, but he had underestimated the house. He took a deep breath and settled back against the seat. Yeah, he was going to feel just a bit out of place.

"I'm not really hungry," he said quietly, in almost timid tone. Yeah, he'd much rather get settled into a room and maybe get to feeling a little more like he could possibly belong here and not be too lost.

He nodded absently. Alyssa, Miles, Thomas, Spencer, Lukas. He was going to have three foster brothers. The most he'd had was two, and that was years ago. And something he didn't really want to repeat. One sibling was enough for him... But he'd just have to get used to it, wouldn't he? He'd do his best, since the parents seemed nice enough. But it would be a lot harder if he had to share a room... speaking of which... He fidgeted and glanced at Lukas. "Mr. Miles, will I be sharing a room?"

[Lukas Miles]

Lukas had been living in his house so long he often forgot that by normal standards it was beyond the scope of "big". If he'd grown up in a less wealthy family, his standard of living might be lower but as he'd grown up never knowing what it meant to be crowded Lukas was fairly ignorant when it came to situations their fosters might be coming from. However that being said, Lukas wasn't oblivious to the fact many of their foster's often were overwhelmed by the size of their house. Especially considering the outside of it was rather cold and unwelcoming.

"Then we'll get you set up right away. Would you like some time to get settled or go ahead and get the tour out of the way?" he responded in his gentle tone. Which still came out fairly distant but only because he didn't know the small foster so well. Granted they had meetings, but it didn't tell him for sure what type of tone might offend Samuel and what tone would get responses.

He pulled in slowly to the long driveway, coming to a stop in a rather empty circle. Glancing over at the fidgeting boy a smile pulled at his lips. At least he was right in his assumption Samuel hadn't been listening. The use of "Mr." pulled another smile from him as well. "No need to be so formal, Samuel. Call me Lukas." He paused some, turning off the car. "We have plenty of rooms so you don't have to share if you don't want to. But you'll be in the hall with the other boys for now, alright?"

[Samuel Knight]

Samuel hesitated at the question. Getting a tour right away would be good, because it would mean he would have to ask less questions of "where is such-and-so" later, but at the moment he really just wanted to shut himself in a room for a little while. However, the former won out. "I wouldn't mind being shown around," he said, trying and not quite succeeding to avoid mumbling. However, realizing his nearly incoherent mumble, he swallowed and repeated himself, more clearly this time, "I would like to get the tour out of the way."

He shifted, fidgeting again as Lukas stopped the car. However, he was relieved to hear he wouldn't be sharing a room. He nodded to Lukas' "alright?". "Yes, sir," he murmured absently, his usage of "sir" purely habitual. Though he caught himself a moment later, he didn't try to correct it, fairly certain that Lukas wouldn't be as offended by it as some people might have been. However, he did make a mental note, reminding himself of the "no need to be so formal". Hooray for learning the ropes in a new family. Again.

After another moment of eying the house, he opened his car door and slid out, tugging his backpack out along with him. He pulled the bag onto his back and grasped the straps tightly with his gloved hands as he pushed the car door shut. Habit took over again as his mind began working through how easy the place would be to spring out of. What level would his room be on? Were there many fences around? He pushed his glasses up and glanced at Lukas, not wanting to look suspicious with his inspection of the area. He wasn't even sure he was going to try and run, after all. And he was certain Lukas had been informed about his history of running, anyway.

[Lukas Miles]

He nodded briefly as the small boy agreed to get the tour out of the way. Really it was the best option for getting used to a new house. It'd let Samuel figure out where everything was. Though Lukas could admit he often got lost in his own house by that was more a side effect of his power than anything. The experienced teacher didn't even notice that Samuel was mumbling, having become so used to listening to words uttered under breaths that it was second nature to do so.

Another small smile pulled at his lips at Samuel's sir. "If it makes you more comfortable to call me sir, feel free to. Alyssa just prefers you call her Alyssa, or any variation of her name, or even Mom. I think being called Ma'am makes her feel old." He explained this casually, with much warmth as he could muster considering he didn't know Samuel. Which meant it wasn't a whole lot, but more than his coworkers had ever seen from him.

Climbing out of the car slowly, Lukas locked it before walking up to the front door of the house. He barely glanced at Samuel before he let out a sigh. While he was aware of Samuel's urge to run away he'd been hoping that the sight of the large gates would be enough to deter the boy from running. "Samuel... You aren't going to leaving without permission, alright? I understand you wanted to see your brother but there are rules you have to follow." He said this gently as he pushed open the door to the house. "I'm a tracker. Meaning even if you do get out... I'll be able to find you to bring you back." Which was just the truth of the matter.

"Listen... We can't promise anything... But we'll see what we can do so you won't lose contact with your brother."

[Samuel Knight]

Samuel nodded in acknowledgement of Lukas' words. Well, it'd make him more comfortable to call his new foster parent "sir" at first, anyway, so he was somewhat relieved to hear it. However, he made mental note to try and not call Alyssa "ma'am". Girls didn't like to feel old, after all. "Mom" was way out of the question. The only people he'd used that for was his biological mom, when she'd been around, and the mom of his "real" family.

He gripped his backpack straps more tightly at the comment about not leaving without permission. Had he tipped Lukas off by accident? He hadn't thought he'd given any tells... Then again, perhaps he'd been going to say that anyway, and it had nothing to do with his current thoughts. All the same, he glanced up at Lukas to meet his gaze carefully when he stated, "I understand". He wasn't completely sure what Lukas meant by being a "tracker", if it meant something meta-ish, or if he just meant he could track things as a skill, like a hunter or something, but by how it was said, he had a feeling he should take it seriously.

Samuel looked away again at the mention of James. He really hated how in the foster system, privacy meant nothing. At least when it came to personal background. Foster families were filled in on all the juicy facts about family situations and "troubled" areas in kids' lives. Sure, he could see how it was sort've necessary, but he didn't like someone he barely knew knowing about James, and who knew what else about Samuel himself and his family. "Thanks," he said all the same, though resorting once more to his habitual mumbling.

Trying to push the matter from his mind, he ducked his head and followed Lukas as the door was pushed open.

[Lukas Miles]

Lukas didn't want to deny any child calling him something that would make them more comfortable. This didn't include allowing a child to call him anything illegal, inflammatory, or just plain crude though. But he was fairly lenient. As was Alyssa, even as much as she disliked being a Ma'am. None of this would be mentioned though. Okay it would only be slightly mentioned.

Glancing at Samuel slyly out of the corner of his eye, Lukas couldn't help but notice the way the small male tightened his grip on the backpack. It was enough to prompt the teacher to turn and face Samuel fully, his hand braced on the door frame. "You don't know what a tracker is, right? You're knew to being a meta so you might not know all the terms. A tracker, like myself, is someone with the ability to pinpoint another's location. We need a full name and detailed idea of what the person looks like, usually we happen to know the person we are looking for but a picture will work just the same. This means I am able to tell you with absolute certainty that right now Spencer is in the library reading Wicked Lovely and Alyssa is at Newman's Fish Market. Which means more than likely we'll be having stir-fry for dinner... Will that be alright with you?" His voice took on a tone usually reserved for when he was lecturing but he remembered to turn of the "authority" voice in time to ask his question.

The tracker could understand why Samuel would be uncomfortable when he mentioned the boy's brother. After all he wouldn't like it if someone knew as much about his person life as he knew about Samuel's. Still it wasn't something that could be avoided, especially with Samuel's track record of running away. Usually he might have asked to get to know the kid on his own terms, but there was a necessity in him knowing why Samuel continually ran away so he knew what to look for.

As the boy followed him into the house, Lukas turned his head briefly before offering a tiny smile. "See, not so bad inside is it?" He gestured widely to the rather homey looking entryway. There were rugs and coats and shoes pilled haphazardly to one side (enough so that it could be established that the boys kept their shoes here and not in their rooms). He took a few steps further into the entryway before heading to a door to the right, opening it slowly to begin the tour.

((I'm thinkin' we should skip the tour or it'll take FOREVER))

[Samuel Knight]

Samuel stopped to regard Lukas seriously when he turned, giving an explanation about what a tracker was, and no doubt a warning off of trying any runaway schemes. He'd been right about it being a possibly meta thing, and really he wasn't sure what to make of the fact his foster father had a skill such as that. Had he been chosen specifically to take him then, for that reason?Samuel gave a mental shrug. Honestly, he was feeling the intention to run less and less. If he did, it would likely be out of impulse, for some reason that didn't come to mind immediately.

He nodded in answer to Lukas' question, noting the shifts in his tone. "I understand. And... stir-fry sounds fine, sir." He briefly wondered if dinner plans would have been changed should he protest the current ones, but decided that was a test for another time, if at all.

So instead, he simply followed Lukas into the house. His foster dad was right-- it wasn't as bad on the inside as the out. That alone was a relief. So long as the rest of the house was as homey, he felt as if he might actually manage to fit in all right, or at least enough that he didn't feel lost.

As he was given the tour, he paid careful attention and took note of as much as possible. He still felt as if the place was overly large, of course, but at least it also seemed homelike as well.

[Skipping tour sounds fine ^^]

[Lukas Miles]

Lukas wasn't explaining his power as a warning to deter Samuel from leaving, but he wouldn't lie and say he was unhappy that it accomplished that. It would make his life easier, and hopefully is would keep the child inside the house so he had more of an opportunity to get used to the family. Which could only be a good thing, in his opinion. But maybe that was also a bad thing. Especially if the boy thought they were trying to lock him up and throw away the key.

He nodded briefly as the boy said the stir-fry would be fine. He hadn't really thought of what they would do if the boy didn't like the food. Would they make something else? Lucas frowned some as he tried to think it over. Yes, they probably would have changed dinner plans so the boy was comfortable on his first night at their house.

However Lukas returned his attention to giving the boy the tour, stopping at every room to explain what it was. Eventually they reached the library where Spencer was in fact reading Wicked Lovely, but the older boy only smiled at Samuel before returning to his book. Eventually the pair made their way up to the second floor and Lukas opened doors to show the boy each of the already claimed bedrooms before he reached three doors not yet claimed.

"So this is the bathroom, but those two over there are the empty rooms in this area. The other two bedrooms are in the apartment above the garage. Go ahead and explore them to figure out which one you want to claim."

((Short. Sorry))

[Samuel Knight]

Though Samuel had taken the explanation as a warning, he hadn't taken it as a threat to keep him locked up. He knew good and well that running away wasn't the answer to things, but habits were difficult to break once formed. Sometimes he didn't even think about running before he did it now. In the back of his mind, he knew "it's a habit" was no excuse, but that didn't mean he tried to remedy it either.

He was pretty relieved when, upon meeting Spencer, the foster brother didn't try to be sociable and talkative. Sure, it might be fun to get to know him later, but not right now. Not until after he'd had time to settle in and find his feet...

At the prompt to explore the open bedrooms, Samuel nodded and walked through each of the rooms, not betraying any interest as he did. Bedrooms were bedrooms, but there were certain things that made them better: windows and closets. Windows that were easy to climb out of-- that trait was something he unconsciously looked for in rooms now. More consciously he looked for roomy closets, and beds that had plenty of space under them. If either of the rooms had these traits, he would definitely choose it over the other.

When he'd made up his mind, he shrugged off his backpack and plopped it on the bed, glancing at Lukas as he did. "I'll get unpacked," he ventured, hoping this would buy him some alone time, both to recharge as well as be able to stow his special things away somewhere hidden.

[ S'all good! ]

[Lukas Miles]

Lukas could understand that habits were hard to break. He had his own “unbreakable” habits; namely his seemingly inability to tell his wife no. Or the fact he would spend hours on end in the company of his family and forget to speak. Of course he had no idea that the problem with Samuel was he was merely running away as a habit now. Lukas was under the impression that the boy ran away because he was unhappy or missed his family, which was completely understandable, all things considered.

He leaned against the doorway with a small smile, small enough that it could be easily overlooked. Not that it really mattered with the boy. Lukas would learn to warm up soon enough. Until then he kept himself occupied by watching Samuel explore the rooms to find his favorite features. Or at least that is what Lukas assumed he was doing, since the tracker couldn't think of any other rational reason that Samuel seemed to be looking under the bed. Unless, of course, the boy was afraid of some kind of monster living under there but since Samuel was fourteen Lukas had to doubt that was the case.

The words from Samuel prompted a sharp nod from Lukas, followed by a slightly stiff smile. "I will be back in twenty minutes or so. I'll bring some fresh linen so the bed smells nice." He offered this with another nod and already took a step out of the room. "If you'd like, once you are done, I can show you the field for archery before dinner."

((Short. Sorry))

[Samuel Knight]

Samuel nodded. Twenty minutes would be enough time to get unpacked, definitely. He hesitated at the mention of being shown the field for archery. He didn't particularly want to be around people anymore that night, not until dinner anyway. Then again... getting all the being shown around out of the way right off could very much be a plus. And anyway, archery did sound interesting. That in mind, he nodded again. "Sure, I'd like that," he said.

When Lukas left, Samuel got to work. He unzipped his backpack and dumped the contents on his bed before dropping the bag on the floor and kicking it under the bed. A leather covered box was the first thing he plucked up and opened. The contents was random and jumbled, and the largest item was a NintendoDS, which he took out before stowing the box and other contents under the bed. He stuffed his DS in his jacket pocket, then got to work hanging his clothes. He didn't have a whole lot, just a few jeans and T-shirts. He didn't really want a whole lot either. He'd never understand girls and their closets full of clothes.

That finished, he simply set the tube bag containing his toothbrush in the closet, kicked off his shoes into the closet, then pulled himself up onto the bed to sit and wait for Lukas to return. He could get used to Lukas, he was fairly certain. He could get used to his room, too. Now he just had to meet the rest of the family, and then he could gauge even better how well he would fit in. He just hoped they were all as laid back as Lukas. Sure, Lukas seemed the more distant type from first impression, but Samuel could deal with that. He had in the past, anyway. And really, he'd decided it was probably better that way.

He swung his legs a bit, socked feet bumping against the side of the bed.

[Lukas Miles]

Lukas nodded at the boy's words and without any further prompting turned on his heel and left the room. He left the door open just in case Samuel needed to call for him for whatever reason. Plus it just seemed like common sense to make sure they could easily find the smaller boy, or notice if he wanted privacy. His footsteps faded away as he walked downstairs to go question Spencer about his car.

Well, about Spencer's car. After the last time the young boy had accidentally ruined Lukas' seats, Lukas no longer let Spencer fix any car but his own. Well and his bike. Lukas spent his time nodding his head and speaking in a low voice to his son, not feeling the need to speak louder and not wanting to disturb the quite house. He regularly checked the watch around his wrist. Even though it was rude to do in the middle of a conversation.

So when 20 minutes rolled around, Lukas was already climbing up the stairs and entered Samuel's room exactly 21 minutes later. He was a little surprised to see the boy had completely finished unpacking. His eyes roamed the room quickly and he vowed to take Samuel out shopping later on so he could decorate his space. Perhaps the boy would enjoy going book shopping, or maybe getting some clothes. They'd just have to remember not to stop at any secondhand places so that Samuel didn't have any unwanted flareups of his power.

"Ready to go then, Samuel?"

[Samuel Knight]

Samuel spent the five or so minutes waiting for Lukas after his unpacking to fidget with his hoodie and fixing his gloves so they were more comfortable. He'd never been the biggest fan of gloves-- they made it hard to feel things. Which was sort of the point, but all the same. He exhaled through his nose, mildly exasperated. Just couldn't win.

He didn't have long to dwell on it though, because Lukas returned in not too long. He nodded in answer to the question and slipped off the bed. "Ready," he stated. Archery field. This should be interesting. Sort of, anyway. He supposed a field was a field, but still. The outdoors weren't bad. And eventually he would be able to shoot a bow there. That was pretty cool.

He followed Lukas downstairs and through the house to the outdoors, still silently taking in the areas and hoping he would keep everywhere straight in his head. He was pretty sure he'd be able to, but of course it would be just like him to do something embarrassing like get lost in a new house.

Oh well. It wouldn't be the most embarrassing thing that had happened. Plenty of bullies had seen to that. Now that he was at a new school, maybe he would be able to avoid bullying... That'd definitely be nice.

He glanced up as they stepped outside, a question suddenly surfacing. "Does everyone in your family do archery?"