Bronze: Liberty X's Assault
ooc: …Trying to figure out how to do this with as little hassle as possible…o.O
The day had ended and the group waited patiently for the battle to begin. Each few hours was tended by two watchers from the group who stayed awake for a shift while the others tried to get some sleep. During Connor’s ‘rest time’ he merely stared silently up at the sky, the velvet oblivion of eternities darkness spotted endlessly with dazzling diamonds. Iridescent blue eyes focused aimlessly on the heavens, sometimes confused and consumed with thoughts, other times an empty silence which fogged his mind.
When one of the others on guard went to wake him up he sat up while they moved towards him, he didn’t want them to touch him, he knew it would happen, whoever was going to try and gain his attention would reach out and touch him. For some reason the thought irked him, not that Connor has ever been someone who has enjoyed his hugs and cuddles – in fact with his family it was quite an awkward thing to do.
The first hour summed up Connor’s entire feel towards these missions – an utter bore. If his father had been leading the team they’d be off tracking down their prey. The thought caught the young feral by surprise, he’d not wished for his father’s company so openly in his thoughts for a long time. It was shrugged off though, a disgruntled stare was forced to focus on the tree line in the distance so that he wouldn’t have to waste thoughts on the man who obviously felt the same lack of effort was deserved for his own son. A flicker of shadows caught the feral’s attention, who’s cause could be of a thousand different reasons.
"Hey," A quiet pause was given after Connor softly addressed his watch partner, "I’ll be back in a moment." Without any more clarification to that, Connor stood and with near silent steps carried himself away from the group. For all they knew he could be going for a bathroom break and since Connor was getting restless just sitting there he’d rather lead them on and let them offer him some private time – after all, if he mentions he noticed something they’d probably follow him or wake up the others.
Unsure if Betsy would somehow be alert to his sneaking actions, Connor instinctively tapped into her own powers and used them to his advantage by shielding his mind from others who would attempt to pry, be it purposefully or by accident. Connor wanted to come here, in truth there was no other option in his mind, there was no chance Beast may have kept him. The mimicking mutant couldn’t even have assumed Beast would dare try and insist he remain back while the others went. Connor was already hungry again, he was hungry, restless and thirsty. Maybe he could fix the third complaint, there was the water source nearby he had earlier mentioned. Then again he didn’t feel like wandering off to get a drink… he wasn’t sure what he felt like, his legs just seemed to be walking and his mind was trailing in the distance.
TBC: Liberty X - Where the lost are found
It was easy to arrive unseen when they had the advantage of a teleporter in their midst, the shroud of night wasn’t even needed, but did add that extra bit of caution. Oraya saw little concern as to why their arrival was so desperately being kept a secret, in her mind – none could beat them. It wasn’t until they arrived at the island that she realized only her and the ‘child’ were accompanying Amlarie. What was the point of owning an omnipotent being such as Jade was marveled at being if they would not use her on their missions!? X-23 seemed to be tagging along for the sole fact Amlarie felt this was some sentimental issue which the fourteen year old deserved on being part of.
Woodlands. The genetic experiment – the younger one of the two that is – had never yet encountered the wilderness before. X-23’s feral instincts frenzied with eagerness in the environment, the female clone wanted to run free and just… just run. It was hardly fair these mutants got to do things such as this, go to places like this, Hydra never allowed X-23 in these sort of situations. Her emerald eyes peered up at Oraya, then over at Amlarie. The clones features were unreadable for the simple fact she wore a uniform with a mask over it, the black lenses making her eyes useable to those who try to look at the emerald gaze behind the black lenses. Being the youngest – and by so many years – made her time in Liberty X’s safety so hard. That is why she followed the beckon that was placed in Madison, followed it all the way to the school.
The young girl was still angry, still full of fury that any disgruntled child could bare – all she wanted was that which had been stolen from her. Was an innocent youth so far from her reach now? All the blood that stained her hands, could it ever be washed off? The claws had set her apart, the claws had made her a greater weapon then before… but that other girl, who wasn’t too much older then X-23, she had claws as well.
Amlarie announced they were going to try and help someone else while making their way here, she could sense that the boy, Connor, he was calling for her, he sought her, so why should she deny him what he desires? But his emotions, his mind, it whispers the stress, the impossibility of vanishing from the people around him. She would help him, she’d pluck him from his life, she’d try and so hard for the poor soul who seemed so displaced and unfortunate, how could anyone not pity him? Amlarie focused on keeping a portal open for the team, the rift in space an invisible bubble they stood within unseen.
Oraya and X-23 moved away from Amlarie’s side, leaving the safety of the invisibility field that kept Amlarie hidden, a scan of the area and a sniff of the land followed as they glanced around. It really was amazing the coincidental fluke of destiny’s hand that had thrown the two creations together – both genetic experiments based of one of the X-men, both troubled youths and both lost and looking for their connection in this world.
TBC: Connor! I may have Oraya and X-23 wander off and be spotted by other teams… most likely when the brotherhood attacks.
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"I’m unclear on what ‘Smores’ are". That declaration alone made Jacob think that their little party wasn't about to be telling ghost stories or doing anything that remotely resembled fun on a camping trip, not that he had actually expected anything of the sort to occur. Jacob had an annoying tendancy to try and wind people up and he sometimes made requests and comments even when a part of him knew it wasn't appropriete. Perhaps his parents had been too lenient, accepting him for who he was since beyond his hyperactive behaviour there was nothing worrying about their eldest child. He wasn't about to run out and cover himself in tattoos, he sometimes went to church and he didn't smoke or do drugs of anysort. Jake knew his grades were semi-decent as well although he would never be top of his class. After living with someone for seventeen years you got used to them as he had his sister and his various cousins who rivalled him with their strange quirks and tendancies. In time, if not now, his team would end up accepting him and even expecting his half-joking comments however irreverent they were.
"But unless you plan on hunting wild marshmallows, I suggest we stick to what’s logically around, fish would probably be the more abundant, if not most obvious food source." Jacob didn't know Connor well enough to recognise the irritation in his voice although Julian more effortlessly picked up on it. Julian himself hadn't gotten to know Connor previously and the brief span of the mission so far where they had been together had been of no help to him however Julian was used to hiding his own emotions and to the very small movements and changes in tone that characterized his irritation or another such emotion deep under the surface. Since the mutant accurately named Shout was irritating him as well with his comments Julian sympathised with Connor as he tried to force his own building frustration down. A tantrum wouldn't help the situation and it would be best if he didn't let the younger mutant get to him. Surely he wasn't doing it on purpose to drive them all crazy so where was the good in getting upset Julian reasoned with himself.
"I could gather food for us all." Talk about a change in personalities. Julian didn't know Arlen very well but he seemed very different from the solumn Connor and the class clown Jacob. "We wouldn’t be able to eat raw fish," Connor was saying but he had a solution to this dilemna. "With Arlen’s hydro kinesis we could form a bubble on the sea floor, he could vent the smoke and smell out further away from the island to avoid others seeing or smelling the fire and aroma. And of course to supply the cooks with air. The smell might be too much for me however, someone else would have to help cook if we do that, I could meanwhile go find fresh water, I saw a small river running not too far from here." Now they were getting somewhere and Julian breathed a sigh of relief, realising how hungry he really was as he did so.
Jacob was a bottomless pit and, for once, in silence he nodded enthusiastically, happy for any suggestion that would lead him closer to a meal since he could feel his stomach begin to rumble as they sat there. Who knew that hydrokinesis was such a handy ability to have? Far more useful than his vocal projection powers at the moment.
"I could cook something if need be." Julian glanced over at Kylora, recognising her voice as she began to speak. "My mum was a hydrokinetic, so I believe I'm familiar with the methodology of the plan suggested. Besides, it'd be good to have something to do instead of just waiting on the food to be cooked." He agreed with her and would have volunteered himself had no one else done so. Of course Julian hadn't really had much experience with barbeques or cookouts since his father was a wealthy academic sort who saw no good in the idea of cooking food outside or of eating things such as hamburgers or other grilled meet. Still he was a quick study and surely if he hadn't asked too many questions and had done all that was asked of him he would have been able to help.
As they sat there in the wilds Julian found himself talking with Heath and Kylora. He hadn't really gotten to know many people in his time at the school thus far and while the conversation was at times clipped and on Julian's end not very person it was still pleasant and the dark-haired mutant found himself enjoying their discussions. Jacob seemed to have settled down as he sometimes did and he spent his time staring into space, offering only the odd non-sequitor to the conversation. He thought later that it must have seemed strange to his companions who he had been irritating however unwittingly all day but anyone who knew Jacob well knew that this behaviour wasn't out of the oridinary. Often he bounced off the walls but he was able to be completely serious and even quietly artistic at times, particularly when it concerned music or language. Most wouldn't have guessed it but the pierced mutant had a way of expressing himself with metaphors and language that created a picture when he wished to. It wasn't usually in his actual speech but contained in his lyrics to songs that he had written or in journal entries which put his feelings into wordy riddles that were somehow compelling to read, not that he really let many people view them. It was at the present moment that words were filling his mind and Jacob let them come, quietly trying to remember them for the next song he would write. Jacob might have wondered at and commented on the extra rations his teammate was recieving but so distracted by the melodies and lyrics only he could see and hear he seemed oblivious. Alert in a strange dreamy way but oblivious to the details of their conversations and to the extra food.
Julian was one of the first two selected for watch after Betsy and he found himself strangely pleased that his time would be shared with Kylora. The curly haired mutant was finding he liked the company of Kylora and she seemed easy to get along with compared to Connor who he couldn't seem to relate to although the son of Wolverine didn't seem so bad and Jacob.
"Well this isn't so bad," he said with a slight smile. It wasn't compared to what he had been expecting and Julian felt the need to express this and he had needed somesort of icebreaker anyway. The older mutant had never been camping before and to be honest he was far from an outdoorsy type so somehow he had been expecting more problems than the few they had encountered. They had even managed to eat a decent meal and they hadn't faced any big threats from other teams thus far so Jules was beginning to think they were home free. Unfortunently in this case his optimism was misplaced.
"I've never really been camping or done anything like this before, I guess I'm anti-outdoorsy," he confessed with a hint of a laugh in his whisper. What are you supposed to say in a situation like this when you're keeping watch on a mission? Julian wondered to himself and wished he weren't so painfully shy with a problem around people. He was saved from further attempts at conversation, although it might not have been so bad considering he liked Kylora and hoped they might be able to talk more once back at the school and perhaps even become friends.
"Did you hear something?" Julian asked Kylora, sitting upright. His hearing wasn't so good as some people's, especially those with mutant powers relating to enhanced hearing but Julian had spent years in a large mansion where everything around him was silent, he was trained to a certain extent in picking up odd sounds. Afterall in his youth he had certainly been more than a little paranoid as many youths would be in an old house which was the subject of many a spooky story. Besides that he hadn't entirely relaxed in his enviroment, this new and unknown territory and hadn't entirely relaxed the whole time, even if a part of him did believe there was little danger here another more cautious part wasn't so sure.
The darkness made it difficult to see though so Julian tried to conjure up a small light in the form of a minor tantrum. He figured he could hold onto a small light without a huge danger of the light being spotted and yet it would make it easier to see the ground ahead of them as well so they didn't walk into another team or a trap of somesort blindly. Smaller tantrums didn't require much emotion and were far less destructive so the jade-eyed boy got to his feet hoping Kylora would follow. Hopefully she had heard something as well or had seen something since he didn't want to go through this only to find it was pure paranoia and had no real basis. Now that would be embaressing.
Focus Julian, you can do this. It won't harm anyone we're thinking small here. Just a light not a huge energy blast. He realised he was mentally talking to himself and knew that he was beginning to feel a little worry and fear. In the palm of his hand a small crimson ball appeared about the size of an orange. It crackled and fizzled but was not of a great intensity despite the sicky peridot centre comprised of his current worry and nervous emotions. The tantrum, held snugly in the palm of his hand, provided just enough light for them to see where he was going as Julian walked towards where he thought he had heard the sound come from.
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