Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU?!
(OOC: Since two players don’t really have anything to say and we’re apparently all a bit tired of how slow things are going, I’m leaping ahead here… in a quite crappy way as I freely admit -_-“ Anyways, for that, I assumed quite a lot and heavily NPC’d Gypsy as well as Jess.. feel free to disagree – especially Loza but also Chelsea! You two, if I went OOC, please tell me and I’ll fix it!! Also, feel free to add stuff that you want to have happened in those hours of the night…)
Aurora didn’t have the faintest clue how they had done it and the longer the fire-elemental thought about it, the more she realised that she didn’t really want to know about it. It was probably a merciful act of her subconscious blocking out any precise memories of how they had skinned and degutted the two rabbits and only kicking back in when it came to the point where they hadn’t really looked like animals anymore. Of course nobody other than the new-born teacher’s pet had volunteered, the others either unable to help for ideological reasons or just as another sign of rebellion.
Or so Garnet had thought before – just as a rather clueless Max reluctantly attempted to make the first cut – Gypsy had released a frustrated groan. Giving him a slightly condescending look, the semi-demon had snatched the knife out of his hands and, without any apparent disgust and at least more proficiency than the infamous school bully, had started to prepare the first rabbit up to the stage where hardly anyone would have been able to do something wrong. An almost patronising smile had hovered on her lips when she had handed back the knife, having seen her part as done. Sure, she wasn’t overly eager to support this stupid team thing by helping their so-called leader, but what point is there in revolting if you are starving and depend on someone to make a fire and drive away night’s chill? Especially thinking of the second part wasn’t likely to improve her mood though since it provided yet another chance for the Barbie to show off her fancy powers again.
As Rachael had secretly predicted, only the worst hunger was driven away in the end, the lack of salt or any other herbs and spices making the meal a rather unsavoury experience. Still, Aurora for her part didn’t complain in the attempt of not insulting the Feral though knowing that her expression lacked enthusiasm for the food. Paige, as she noticed, didn't eat anything of it at all, a fact she pondered to comment on for a moment but then decided against. Since they'd return the following day, it wouldn't have any effects on the girl's health and Aurora didn't want to treat her like a child by urging her to eat something.
On the upside, the fire she had summoned, however, was keeping them relatively warm though. *It could be worse…,* she thought, yet her inner voice wasn’t really optimistic. Shuddering at the thought of almost two days without body care, the tired leader of Exiles gathered what little motivation the past hours had left in her to group the team into pairs to guard the others’ sleep.
It wasn’t exactly easy to decide on groups since she had to consider more than the liking-factor. Casey and Paige would certainly get along with one another, yet they seemed to be rather awkward too and would –strangely enough - maybe feel more comfortable with one of the more self-confident members around. Pairing herself up with Max – now that may have proven almost pleasant considering his newfound ambition to not be a pain but it was exactly this what let her decide against it in the end. Aurora knew the others weren’t stupid. As she had realised he was most-probably just being nicer to impress her, so would they and she really knew better than to give them another reason to disrespect her.
In the end, it was Paige she chose as her partner for the first shift. Pairing the healing mutant up with Rachael may have had the potential to get the two a bit closer together, yet it could also have had the exact opposite as an effect and as much as Garnet leapt at chances to make the team more of what they were supposed to be, she just didn’t want to put more trouble on the poor girl’s ever-growing pile. After their two hours, it was Max’ and Casey’s turn, the fire mutant hoping that the youngest Chadstone would refrain from tormenting the boy as his – not exactly selfless – change in attitude suggested. Gypsy and Jess formed group three for the sole reason that Aurora reckoned Morticia to be the only one able to convince Jess to not just continue sleeping. Of course she couldn’t be sure that the sin-enhancing girl wouldn’t just do exactly what Aurora feared Jess would be doing but it was a risk around which she couldn’t see any way.
It was around five in the morning when Aurora was – rather unlovingly – woken up to have her second shift, this time with Racheal whom she had wanted to have an uninterrupted rest as soon as possible. The fire mutant still didn’t know what it was with the other, yet she had definitely been tired the most – for understandable reasons – and deserved a break. Secretly, Circe suspected Jess to only have stayed awake during the time of his shift to have a good excuse for harassing her with his wake-up call, but a short flash of annoyance was the only reward of the kind he may have expected in this case Negetive got. Then her consciousness kicked in and – voice croaky and dark shadows under her eyes from too little rest – she merely thanked him. Waking up Racheal bore some surprises, the Feral having crawled as far away from the campfire as she possibly could, her body partially morphed - a rather peculiar sight.
To say time passed quickly would have meant to lie. The campfire that had turned out to be a luxury she couldn’t deny the team nor herself had not gone out although it had been small to not produce too much light or smoke which surprised the girl for a moment before she realised that – to keep themselves warm – apparently even the worst rebels had decided to keep it alive.
"About time..." As the time to get up and continue their way drew closer, Aurora broke the silence they had mostly kept up, listening for any suspicious sounds, keeping their eyes open. Occasionally, the fire mutant would lift herself into the air, over the trees – slowly floating only with the help of hot air instead of her usual blazing flame for stealth’s sake – but nothing was to be seen or heard… as time would reveal, that didn’t mean very much though.
Although Circe was feeling dirtier than ever before – according to her quite biased momentary opinion anyway – the prospect of bathing wasn’t as tempting as was the supply with drinking water a river would mean and so remembering what the animal morpher had told them about a rather small one close by, snaking through the woods, was exactly what she needed to get at least a little motivation into what felt like a grandmother's bones. Since it was almost seven, Aurora woke up the other girls of the group sending them off with Rachael whom she asked to return first so she could replace her at the guard of the sleeping others while Aurora got rid of their journey’s dirt. The water was icy and although Exiles’ leader could have heated it up around her effortlessly, she denied herself such comfort hoping the numbing pain would drive the sleepiness away. Strangely enough, it did. Waves of heat dried whoever had chosen to follow her example and so they returned to wake the guys of the team who – naturally – didn’t see much sense in using the water for anything else than drinking and a refreshing splash on face and possibly chest.
”I am afraid we will have to go without breakfast… but that is – if nothing else – at least adding the reality factor the raft-making part was missing. Come on! We got through more than half of the ordeal, we cannot give up now.” Trying an encouraging smile, Aurora motioned them to start walking again. It felt weird to give another pep talk, yet for the time being, she actually had the feeling that there was the trace of a chance that they could make it. They were still far away from helping each other on a friendly basis as a team but at least they were cooperating. And that was some improvement…
Although it was March, the morning was rather mild – at least for this season – yet the lack of sunlight announced rain to come. Sure enough, they had just set a few steps into their goal’s direction when the first drops fell, the roof of leaves above them fortunately keeping a good part of it away from them. What was left, an invisible shield of heat held away… Aurora was in a relatively good mood for someone stuck in the middle of nowhere far away from Prade boutiques and beauty salons which was maybe the reason why the fire-elemental failed to have a closer look at her team's state. On top of that, there were so many things bouncing in her mind, each equally much demanding attention - it was close to impossible to concentrate on everything at once. Yet there were two team members in particular who could have used a little more attention just then...
"I will not jinx things by speaking it out loud..." *looks hopeful*
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
OOC: Nice long post for you all ^^ Anyway, if anything here seems off, or needs adjusting etc etc just yell at me and I'll edit away.
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Eyes of despair had watched in silence as her two kills were, in her mind, mutilated. Oh, she knew that they would need to be skinned and gutted, but so much had been wasted, at least, stuff that she would have prepared, if the energy hadn’t been rather lacking. The Feral mutant had, though, let it be, leaning against her tree in silence. She wouldn’t get upset by this. If they went hungry, well, they had to learn didn’t they? And the best way to learn was to make mistakes. Racheal was used to a lack of food, and even now, hunger hadn’t really taken it’s hold, though she knew the meat would keep at bay any possible hunger pains.
A thought passed other the partially wild mutant’s mind. These guys actually seemed to need the luxuries she expected they all took for granted. To her, even the small sliver of rabbit had satisfied her natural urge for meat. But she could guess by the looks on the faces of her ‘team-mates’ that they didn’t feel the same. Part of her actually felt sorry for them. Since nearly six years of age, the survival instincts of the cat had seen her through her tough life. What instincts did these people have for this wild way of living? What skills could they use to survive? Not that the morpher was condescending in her thoughts, rather she was concerned for them. She was quite serious about the idea of leaving now, but if she did… The dark haired mutant shook her head slowly, they will have to learn to cope, she thought quietly.
The idea of the coping brought a thought to mind, and as they ate, she quickly pointed out their need for water, and the fact that there was a seemingly clear running river. In reality, she thought as she spoke, it was bordering on stream. But she simple kept it as river for now. The water it’s self had seemed fine enough, not that she was going to explore the entire length of the river to try and discover if there was any contamination. But she had paused briefly to lap at the cool fluid, and other than her exhaustion and aches, she was well enough. So, she figured, it would be safe for them to drink, and bathe if necessary. Again she wondered how they would cope if she left, how long would it be before the trekking group became dehydrated?
That concern was quickly forgotten when it came to camping down for the night. Every muscle tensed as Garnet attempted to encourage the team, more to the point Racheal, to sleep near the camp fire for warmth. Although it appeared that the others were at least satisfied, possibly even grateful for the heat it provided, the idea of sleeping near the flames set every nerve on edge. Not that the morpher would admit this, Feral was too stuck in her ways to show the fear that flooded her senses. Instead, she choose a spot near enough to the fire to satisfy their fiery leader, but also far enough away to at least allow her to reach sleep.
Oh, how deceptive exhaustion could be! The dark world of sleep took the morpher quickly, and even as she felt it overwhelm her, she silently hoped that the darkness would remain. But all too quickly the dreams came, as ever. A burst of orange and red as flames surrounded her, haunting her, more than she had grown used to whilst at the institute. Outwardly, the feral mutant fidgeted in her sleep. Even at her distance, she could feel the flickering heat of the flames, and slowly, almost unnoticeably she started to inch towards the cooler woodlands. But in her dreams, her crawling was towards freedom. Memories of so long ago twisted by a child’s eye, trapped in a cage of fire, escape only feet away. And yet with each inch she crawled, the door seemed to inch away from her. A shiver ran down her spine. Simon… she could sense him lying next to her. Suddenly, she was a child again, little more than a toddler seeking protection in the still form of her older brother. But despite her child like actions within the dream, she was no child. And in an effort to fight the consuming flames, within her dream she morphed her Siberian tiger, the soft yellow and black coat appearing as a weird hue to the real world, the soft fur coating her still human form.
Within the dream, she once more sought her shelter, the tiger form she had taken feeling strangely weak as it moved so lethargically. Outwardly, the half-morphed Feral was still other than the occasional twitch, but inwardly it felt like she should be moving so swiftly in her new form. But everything fought her. And then, for a moment, the flames stopped their dance, hanging in mid-air, as if frozen by time it’s self. And a single figure blocked her path now. The young man, not even that, one she knew so well. Jake… No, how could he be here? He was…
A faint hiss-growl escaped her throat as she was pulled from the dream. Confusion swept over her, the darkness of the forest which greeted her eyes, the dark shadows briefly taking the form, in her mind, of the flames which had haunted her. Where was she.. where was Jake? The memory of her twin mixed with the image in her dream disturbed Racheal. It was a dream she had had quite often since arriving at the institute, but that fire…
It only took a moment for the now mentally shattered Racheal to regain enough sense to look up at the figure who had woken her. Garnet. That was right, the watch. Was it really that late? Had she been asleep for that long? Every nerve cried in protest, as she slowly sat up with a stretch, once more trying to ignore the shooting pain in her hip, aggravated in her sleep by her crawl. ‘Just a bruise..’ She reassured herself. Sure, it was deep. But it couldn’t be anything else, and the best thing to do was to deal with it for now at least. Glancing at her fur covered skin, she shifted her form back to it's human state, silently cursing the dream which had caused her odd appearance.
The watch itself was fair uneventful, as Racheal once more sat, eyes half closed as she tried to focus on her hearing instead, though the faint glow of the fire and the light which filtered through to them from the moon was enough for her to see clearly thanks to her feline sight, she was aware that she would hear someone before seeing them. One eyebrow had risen as the morphing mutant had watched Aurora ‘float’ skywards the first time, guessing the intention, but surprise still lurking in the feral’s gaze. But on the few occasions after that first time, she forced herself to remain alert to the woodlands, though the sound of the nightlife was to her possibly a little too calming, only the remembrance of her nightmare stopping her from falling to sleep.
Time was, as ever, irrelative to the morpher. She didn’t really care for much outside of her needs, and having failed dismally to get herself integrated into the school system, she had little need for actually knowing time lengths or the time itself. But even for her, the stretch of time she spent on watch had been extreme for her, at times the feral mutant was fighting herself to remain awake. But dawn had broken now as she watched Garnet rise to wake the other two girls on the team. Lead them to the river, a simple enough task. Though, saying that, finding anywhere as a human was difficult when the place had been discovered as a jaguar. Oh well, she thought to herself, can’t be that hard.
Heading off in the direction of the river, Racheal kept only a step or two a head of the other two, and kept the pace to a fairly slow, steady walk, unwilling to rush forwards. However, despite their slow and steady pace, she couldn’t help but notice how the younger healing mutant seemed to follow unsteadily, the silence they held occasionally broken by her coughs. Although unwilling to directly ask Paige about it, considering the feelings the healer seemed to have towards her, she made a mental note to tell Circe about it when she returned to the group, before they set out. Racheal would have been happier if she had been able to keep an eye on the younger mutant, but she figured that Paige wouldn’t be too happy about it, plus it meant dropping back from the lead, and therefore never actually reaching the river. So, instead, she focused her slightly enhanced hearing on Paige, realising for the first time that her lack of restful sleep and pain had actually dulled them to a degree.
Reaching the river, she knelt down beside it, cupping her hands to drink, and then give herself the briefest of washes, more than used to the feeling of uncleanliness which accompanied life away from the luxuries of a bathroom. And so, it was only a few minutes before she turned to Gypsy and Paige.
”I’m heading back to the camp.. Garnet will be here shortly..” *I hope* She added to herself, hoping that the fire mutant wouldn’t manage to get lost on route. As she walked back towards the camp, picking the pace up to a swift walk, ignoring for now the wave of pain caused by each step on her left leg, the urge to morph was overwhelming, but for now she held back, keeping to the walk as she approached the camp, nodding to Garnet as an indicator to head for the river. She’d keep watch for now. Although the feral mutant considered telling Circe about Paige’s condition, she figured that she would leave it up to their leader for now. Perhaps, she thought would later think, she should have brought it up earlier, maybe that would have been better. But for now, she just wanted to grab a few more minutes rest, even if she couldn’t sleep.
How tempting was it to drift into sleep right there and then? She sighed quietly at herself as she watched the three sleeping forms of the guys.. oh well..
… ”I am afraid we will have to go without breakfast… but that is – if nothing else – at least adding the reality factor the raft-making part was missing. Come on! We got through more than half of the ordeal, we cannot give up now.” More walking? Oh well, that was to be expected she supposed. The rest had been, for her, fairly uneventful and quiet. The girls had returned from the river, and the boys had been woken and sent off in the hope that they might actually have a wash. So it wasn't like the break hadn't occured. But part of her had hoped for a longer chance of a break despite her rational self telling the Feral that this was, in essence, a race. So she moved reluctantly from her favoured resting spot to follow their leader, when a thought hit her. Had the fire mutant actually noticed Paige’s condition? Racheal was now torn between quietly having a word with Garnet about the healer, and just keeping to the natural silence she so often hid behind. The silent wall which hid from the world her nightmares and her dreams. Even so, this would affect more than her. So, the Feral quietly decided to let it be for now, compromising to the idea that maybe Paige had just caught a mild cold. She would keep an eye on her though, and possibly bring it up with Garnet if no one else did later.
Before her thoughts could carry any further, her eyes turned skywards, instinctively sensing the new rainfall. But a mix of the forest canopy and their leader’s fiery wall preventing the rain falling on the small group, and a crinkling of the nose was all the weather gained in response from the feline morpher. Brilliant. Rain. Why was she not surprised? Of all the things to happen right now. Being very heavily reliant on her feline instincts, the necessity to finish this task one way or another increased in her mind. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck out in the middle of a storm!
"Would you risk your all for those who need you? No matter who?"
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
The pairing with Casey had been not only a stunned shock, but earned the younger boy with a rather displeased glare which warned easily enough that should the other mutant cause Max any hassle there was definitely going to be trouble. A night up with Garnet may have offered a chance to something interesting happening, at least in Max’s mind, once he was persistent it wasn’t all that impossible to get what he desired from a female companion. The arrogance couldn’t entirely be blamed since it was the truth in many cases, and over the years it’s become somewhat expected for him to have his wishes met and when they weren’t it felt wrong in someway.
During the first shift Max had clonked out after a rather unsatisfying meal, recovering from the previous nights drinking and lack of sleep. Oddly enough he had some weird dream every one of his mobile phones ringing relentlessly but every time he picked one up it the person would had already hanged up, and Max knew it was his parents and every time he missed them they’d get more and more angrier with him. On the surface however Max’s sleep looked restful and undisturbed, cuddled close by the fire and curled in an effort to store more heat to keep himself warm. The first shift ended however and Max was woken by Garnet, earning the fiery mutant a rather charming – and extremely sleepy – smile. Slight disappointment settled, not obvious enough to be noticed but he couldn’t help but feel down that she was only waking him for his turn to stand watch. Oh well… how painful could two hours with the geek honestly be?
A few glasses of anything with an alcoholic taint would have done him well at that point. A rather dangerous habit the young man had, often drinking until everything become numb and the stresses of his world faded away in a clumsy darkness where only there and then mattered. All his friends drank a lot, so it didn’t seem out of the norm to consume so much, but most of his group that went out at every chance were borderline alcoholics, two of which were into the newest drugs hitting the streets and constantly urging for all the others in the group to try their newest favourites.
While Max was anything but perfect, he did feel awkward around drugs, his father’s threatening behaviour towards the thought of the young Chadstone getting hooked on anything of the sort probably the greatest deviant inclination towards avoiding them. Not that he hasn’t tried some in his life… and most likely he would try a few more things in the future. Mostly it depended on his state at the time, when he was at his worst he was really horrific with his health and dived into a state of bad habits, though when things seemed a little more upbeat he did try and improve for his own sake and no one else’s.
The troubled mutant activated his stone skin in an realization that the cold wasn’t so bad for the young man when his skin was turned partially to stone. Wearing only a t-shirt it was more then likely that he would suffer at least a mild cold by the end of the trip. An empty gaze stared ahead of him, ignoring Casey at all times as the minutes dragged by agonizingly slow, the rich young man focused on any thought that dawdled into his exhausted mind. If he couldn’t sneak off with Garnet tonight in the cover of darkness he hardly assumed they’d do anything in the following day, perhaps he could wake Paige and sneak off with her… she was probably tired… but it’s not like she put a whole lot of effort into the act, then again maybe he could show her some new tricks, even if she didn’t seem overly enthused to do things on her own unless he was helping her in every action she preformed. But sex was sex and he couldn’t really blame her, she wasn’t used to it but still most girls enjoyed learning how to improve in the act. Maybe she just needed more experience, well of course the healer did, but maybe she needed more times in order to grow more comfortable with it before she starts exploring. Thoughts lingered on the subject for a long while as he tossed and turned the thoughts over and fought the desire to sneak over there and stir her away so they could sneak off into the forest. Max was sure if he just asked her in the right way Paige would go with him…
It was surely amazing that Chadstone hadn’t drifted off, his eyes however would make it more then likely for people to assume he was sleeping with them open since he was fretting over returning home and what groundings awaited him. The dead stare only helped by the still stone-grey form he was sitting in. At the end of their two hours… or two a little bit, Max had no idea, Casey seemed to move and that merely signalled to Max that it was time to go and get the others. Although Max would have done better to go to Gypsy, the trouble making mutant felt drawn to mischief as he went to Jess and – not exactly in the gentlest of ways – offered the negative mutant a kick in the soul of the foot with the tip of Max’s shoes. Giving one more additional ‘wake up call’ for good measure.
(ooc: Laaaady… if Jess would say something, reply in someway, add it and I’ll edit/add to my post since I don’t feel Jess would react agreeably to the loveable affections Max offers, but with you being away I can’t talk with ya on MSN!)
Once settled back down to rest… suspiciously closer to Garnet then the others and yet still not close enough to be considered as invading her space or trying to get cuddling with the beauty… though most knew him enough to figure out that’s something he’d favourably attempt to do if given the opportunity. Another wake up call woke him sooner then he wished and yet he found himself more upset that they were being split into male and female groups when being sent off to bath. Honestly, do they plan to ruin ALL the fun this trip had to offer?
When the guys did go down to have their ‘bath’ the water was really cold and Max already was starting to suffer from a mild chill from the night. Since he had gotten used to the packed male shower rooms he wasn’t overly fussed with undressing and hiding his attire when attention was not in his direction. Max learned to be careful with his belongings, if it wasn’t little thieves it was disgruntled victims trying to take his things as payback. …Not that Max had been utterly crushed at walking through the halls with only his hands covering his lower front from the view of others. After all, more then a few girls had gotten giddy and later that day ended up being quite a few eventful encounters to keep him entertained due to his earlier display. Something that more then displeased the geeks responsible after he started bragging about it and the girls gossip for a while revolved around a naked Max waltzing the halls.
Besides, Max was praised enough for his well defined form that he wasn’t at all shy or ashamed of himself, then again that was also a negative thing since he was exposed to so many critiques that one of his fears was losing his shape and everyone going on about how ugly he would become. After all, in his world, appearance was everything, and if it was anything less then perfect then it was shameful. Something his father constantly berated his son for.
The short swim and hurried scrub was refreshing but still uncomfortable for the spoiled young man who retreated quickly once he was done to get dressed, making his way back without caring to see if the others were following or not. As he walked he got dressed, hopping a few feet while wiggling his legs into his jeans and then pausing a moment to place the socks and shoes back upon his feet. Since he lacked a towel he had been rubbing his shirt reluctantly to soak the water from his cold skin. He may not like ruining his clothes, at least the ones he liked, but that didn’t mean he’d tolerate suffering just to keep them in top condition, besides he could ask Garnet to help dry it later.
The shirt was hugged against his chest, the muscles in his body tense from the chill and his flesh riddled in Goosebumps as he reunited with the main group. Although his hair was scruffy from having rubbed it with the shirt, it wasn’t exactly that great a change from his hairstyle he arrived on the island with. Sometimes he would style it with gel on day and then leave it so the next day it would be wilder then he intended it to be – but he hardly cared since it did honestly suit him well either way he did his hair.
"Ferelle!" It was more out of habit that Max addressed other ‘powerful’ families by their last name, more since his parents trained it into him and also tended to call associates by their last name, though Max dropped the Mr, Mrs, Miss and other such formal lines unless speaking with someone elder then him. But the distance and his lack of bother raising his voice to anything suitable enough to really reach her ears meant that Garnet hadn’t caught his call and – on top of it all – by the time he arrived his shirt was dry enough for him to grudgingly tug it over his head and feel mildly content with the fact it was only damp.
"Oh for Christ sake," He groaned with frustration but only under his breath as the first drops of rain spat on his still not completely dry clothes. Luckily however Garnet shielded them with a warmth that also helped chase the chill and start to dry his slightly wrinkled top. A light sniffle was heard from him and probably helped push poor Paige’s condition towards the possibility of being a cold in other peoples minds. Folding his arms still in order to help increase the warmth, Max trailed somewhere in the middle of the group, wishing that he had something more entertaining to distract his thoughts. It was nice walking where he was, because Garnet took the lead and people didn’t walk directly behind her, so he had a clear view of her back and for a little while was merely watching the natural sway of her hips and well defined curves that made each movement so seducing even without effort on her part. An inward sigh whispered through his thoughts as he wondered how long it would be when he could explore those curves more thoroughly, there was no thought of if – only when.
The desire to move ahead to talk with Garnet grow increasingly stronger and yet he knew if he become too obsessive with impressing her he may end up just pushing her away. Besides, he was so eager for some entertainment he might mess it all up and try to rush things. Talking with Racheal was just not even on his mind, and Gypsy was a good choice but she wasn’t someone he could really charm, so that left the only other female on the team to keep him distracted – Paige. Things were a little awkward with them but sex was often a driving force for the youngest Chadstone if it warming up to her today meant that tonight chanced him with the opportunity of having her in his room then it was something he’d be willing to attempt. Even if he was weary of her getting narky with him again the following day, he’d probably talk with her a little to see what he did that bothered her – not thinking about her hurt feelings at seeing him kissing some other person the day after sleeping with her.
"Hey, sleep well Paigey?" Filled with boredom the attractive bully slowed to walk beside Paige, uncaring for the fact Casey had been beside her and Max’s pause in walking meant the other boy had to avoid Max or walk directly into the larger male. It wasn’t that Max didn’t notice… but he wasn’t used to being overly considerate towards people who had little to nothing to offer him and so Casey received not even an ounce of thought from the easily amused mutant. Max played with her name a little instead of calling her bookworm, it was still a nickname he’d relate with her but it was rather universal and right now the other geek was around so he made up something more unique right there on the spot… not that it was entirely original.
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
There was a cold settling within her that even moving closer to the fire didn't seem able to dislodge, her muscles felt stiff and her senses sluggish. She rubbed her hands together in an effort to bring some extra blood pumping into her cold, white palms. Pulling the sleves of her thin jumper down over her hands she crossed her arms and stood shivering in the weak morning sunlight.
The idea of washing was rather appealing to the young mutant, her hands were grubby and she felt dirty so when Racheal led them off towards the river she followed rather eagerly. She didn't seem able to shrugg the shluggishness off as they walked, stopping often as a niggling dry cough tickled the back of her throat. She felt tired and drained, beginning to wish she'd stayed asleep infront of the fire rather than accompanying the others off to the river.
When they reached the fast flowing water she crouched down by the shallow banks, suddenly aware of how thirsty she was. Cupping her hands together she reached down and let the cold water flow into her palms, lifting her hands to her lips she drank eagerly. The icy water hit her stomach like a fist, chilling her even more than she had been. She pulled herself away from the river, sitting on the bank, feeling her body starting to shiver and her teeth chatter slightly. She really didn't feel too well.
She was grateful when they headed back to the camp again, taking advantage of the boys going off to wash by sitting down on the floor near the fire, trying to get some warmth back into her limbs again.
Even the sight of Max returning topless from the river didn't catch her eye like it would of at any other time. She had enough medical sense to know that she was running a temperature. As they all got ready to start out again on the next stage of their exercises she decided that she should say something to Garnet.
It soon became apparant to the young mutant that she couldn't keep up with the others very well, Casey seemed happy enough to walk next to her and keep her company even though neither of them talked to the other. She was well aware of how serious things could get if she got ill, it was part of the reason her mother had home schooled her, to keep her away from the bugs and viruses that the other school children might carry.
"Hey, sleep well Paigey?" She looked up, watching as Max displaced Casey from next to her. A sudden hot flush ran through her along with a violent shiver that she didn't think had anything to do with Max. It felt like her head was on fire.
'I .. I do...' There was a sudden rushing sound in her ears, her legs crumpling from under her as she blacked out for a instant. The impact of hitting the soft and damp loam of the forest floor jolted her back to conciouness, her head was swimming slightly, the jar of hitting the floor had sent a throbbing pain from her shoulder down into her hand. She struggled to use the hand that didn't hurt to pick herself up again, feeling hot tears pick at her eyes. She didn't want to be here anymore, she wanted to go back to the school.
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
Sure Max has had woman falling at his feet before, a clumsy stumble or a playful tease to get his attention, but he hadn’t been involved with enough of the school stress of X-men life that enabled him to see many situations of something falling in a sickly or injured manner.. unless you include the times he was the cause of their injuries.
"Jesus, Paige?" Although he didn’t shout it out there was a raised alarm still in his voice. Strong hands reaching down to help lift her as the unsteady healer attempted to push herself back to her feet. Paige didn’t look well at all, "Hey?" A slightly more assuring, though still concerned, voice tickled the single word he uttered in slight confusion, his hands holding onto her shoulders before shifting to school the younger girl up into his arms. "Come on Paige, let’s get you to Garnet." Having fallen behind far enough to be out of direct ear shot to Garnet it meant that she wouldn’t exactly come and take over the situation. Max wasn’t exactly a protective care taker though, so he felt rather awkward having picked her up, but the girl was falling all over the place…
"Garnet!" A call for attention was thrown out as his legs carried both himself and his companion towards the head of the group, trying not to exactly rush and keeping the movements as smooth as possible with Paige held in his arms. Poor Paige, she was just a bookworm, what did they expect of her? The powers she has wasn’t even able to protect her, she was defenceless and weak and even worse was the fact she was clueless on how to fight – even Max could see that. How could they put her on a team like this? Of course she was going to get sick and be miserable.
Then again, Max had little faith in most woman’s fighting abilities, mainly because unless their mutant power wasn’t exceptional then they’d not physically be as strong as a male and then usually not handle themselves in a fight with one. That’s one of the reason’s he was taken with Garnet, she was strong, sure of herself, she was powerful in both powers and presence, he loved that. Now however wasn’t the time for that sort of thinking, instead his sapphire eyes falling to study Paige for a moment and then lifting again to see Garnet approaching – a reliving sight for someone not used to having to deal with victims before, usually he turned his back and walked off since it was he himself who had caused their pain. Felt oddly wrong to be on the positive side for once, actually helping someone, not that he was exactly going out of his way…
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
An unpleasant day had been worsened dramatically in Casey's perspective when he was paired with Max Chadstone for a night watch shift. In a way he could understand the reasoning behind this action but on a more personal level free of logic Casey was upset. He would have been alright with Paige and maybe even Jess so long as he left Casey alone and stuck to reading his book but with Max it was different. The only alternatives that Casey could see were that he was completely and utterly ignored or that he was beaten verbally if not physically. One thing a person who was always in the shadows and never amid the spotline became good at however was watching people, and observing Max and Aurora told the mindwarping mutant that Max wouldn't seriously harass him since it meant bringing his chances with the team leader down most likely. That meant they were in for a long and awkward evening of silence and Casey hadn't even brought much with him in the way of entertainment. On the brighter side it couldn't be so bad as the rabbit which he had picked at but ate little of.
Sure enough the shift was agonizing in the extreme. At all times he was completely ignored by Max and because he didn't trust the stone mutant to actually do as told and keep watch Casey had to jolt himself awake several times, determined to stay on the look out. All in all he held out fairly well, more because he had pulled all nighters before on homework assignments and was used to it although the lack of caffine was certainly new. He was wishing for coffee right about then or something with taste that would alleviate him from this. Lost in his thoughts as he stared into the fiery glow Casey thought that this would be his Hell. A place where there was nothing to do, only boredom and no one he particularly cared about to talk to. Forget about the legendary punishments of the Greeks or the flaming punishments of Christian lore his personal Hell was having his creativity and intellectual prowess slip away as he sat helpless in one place. Of the more minor problems in the world, those other than death and disease, was there anything worse than boredom? When his shift ended Casey was more than relieved and rose with a signal to Max. He couldn't help but notice the sharp kick Max delivered to Jess' shoe and quickly slipped off to what was passing for bed. He doubted anything would come of it but even still he didn't want to be near Jess when provoked and when Max was right there.
Jess found himself rudely awakened by a kick to the sole of his foot that was far from gentle. Adding to that offence was the fact that Jess, who was not a vain pretty boy sort yet who cared about his hair, was without gel and since he usually spent a great amount of time with it gelled up the shaggy hairstyle he had to resort to was irritating. 'What the Hell?' he thought to himself wondering who would kick him awake before the answer came to him, an answer so obvious he wondered why it had even required a question in the first place to be addressed.
"Gee thanks," Jess said rising from his sleeping place with a darker expression on his features. Sarcasm had been dripping from his voice with the thanks to the point where it almost abused sarcasm itself. "Get up on the wrong side of the ground did we?" There was mock concern here which of course didn't come anywhere close to his actual feelings. It wasn't the best of quips but hey he'd been awakened by a kick to the foot he couldn't be expected to be at his best. The New Yorker's eyes were narrowed now though as he made his way to the watch area, not missing his chance to shoot a nasty glare in Max's direction. Now wasn't the time to start anything though. Just because they were on this mission and had to play nice didn't mean he still didn't want to punch the guy though and maybe at the institute he'd have some sort of chance to get even, even if it was only through a few harsh criticisms. He wasn't like Casey and he couldn't be picked on like that. He wouldn't just stand by and take it.
His shift wasn't so bad as some though since Jess actually got on well enough with Gypsy. At least Barbie had the good sense to put him with the one person would wouldn't bore him or put the team at risk of being discovered when a fight broke out. Despite their shift being quiet it was not awkward with each mutant understanding the other enough to talk only seldomly and to allow peace and quiet that hadn't occured since they got off the plane. Jess wasn't positive but he thought that with anyone else he would have either fallen asleep long before, thus leaving one of the do gooders to play watchdog or would have read his book without anything resembling awareness of the campsite or forest aroudn him. This way he payed a certain amount of attention and got in some good readng, happy to be free of the whining and insults that had plagued their team so far. He liked taking part in the jibes as much as anyone else but their pointless raft building and other stupid activities had left him little time to read and Jess wasn't happy about that. So Jess read and occationally cast an eye around and he took a certain amount of pleasure in getting to wake up their leader but it hadn't been just for that he stayed awake. It was just the cherry on a rather delicious cake.
He and Casey both got something that resembled sleep before being awakened by the girls of the group to bathe. Casey was already shivering and spent little time in the water. He seemed unwilling to strip down as Max did without much thought and perhaps that was understandable. He was, afterall, the one always picked on in high school gym class who was far from athletic. He passed on the bath and merely splashed the water carefully onto his face and head while also dangling his feet in the water in hopes of waking them from their pins and needles state. Even with that little exposure he was shivering as he finished in the water and the extra sweater he had packed but not worn was immediately thrown on over his attire.
Jess had nothing to hide and although he carefully stayed as far away from Max as was humanly possible in the pool of water they had he was throughly washed and dripping before he had tried himself with one of his shirts. His hair was now a mess of dark strands that made him look rather scruffy but Jess wasn't a bad looking guy and even though the hair was unflattering he still had appeal, if someone didn't know of his attitude anyway. The rain was unwelcome if one wanted to understate it and Jess swore under his breath. That certainly made for a great omen and with the promising start it had had he was quite certain the day to come would be less than fufilling.
No breakfast was the next event in the poorly unfolding day and while Casey seemed just to look worried and bore it Jess rolled his eyes making his displeasure known. Yah going without breakfast was realistic. Only if you were a regular watcher of that crappy reality TV that had been so popular years back where everyone had to eat bugs and stuff. So they were at the half-way point. That wasn't encouraging and Jess reminded himself to comment on their leader's lack of a decent pep talk or motivating speech next time he was near her.
The warmth of Aurora's shield did not go unnoticed by Casey and between that and his sweater he was now feeling somewhat less chilled than he had been as he fell into step with Paige, still the only one on the team he felt comfortable around. While Jess walked near Gypsy but not beside her since he seemed far more content to darkly criticize anything he seemed neccessary than to actually make conversation. Even still there were a few exchanges of words and Jess found that he rather liked talking with Gypsy. She was the only one here who could actually understand him, who didn't live in some snobby stuck up world or one where one wrong grade would be the end of the world and there was Rachael who fit into her own strange category alltogether.
"Hey, sleep well Paigey?" The comment burst through Casey's thoughts and he saw that Max had stepped in near Paige, meaning he had to pause specifically so that he could avoid the blonde boy. It wasn't as though Casey wasn't used to it but even still it stung a little, even though neither one of them had been talking. It was a more comforting silence than Casey knew he'd fall into with anyone else on the team though and there was strength in numbers or something like that so he felt better around her. Casey had noticed that Paige was having trouble keeping up and he did feel concern but surely she would speak up if she needed help and if it became serious wouldn't she? And besides Aurora would certainly notice, it was her responsibility to. There was a certain amount of cynicism in Casey that few ever saw since it mostly lurked in his private thoughts rather than on his tongue yet for all that he was still so naive and full of trust. He wasn't about to say anything to Max except for a bitter low toned, "I'm sorry I was breathing there" that he thought no one would hear, certainly not Max who had developed quite the talent for ignoring him.
"I .. I do..." Everything happened so fast for Casey. Her legs crumbling under her as she hit the forest floor but she wasn't unconscious, her hand was struggling to try and get her to her feet again and that was some small favour. At first it was a shock and he just stood there as Max's alarmed voice said "Jesus, Paige?" Then his stronger hands were lifting her up and relief was filling Casey as she unsteadily rose to her feet.
"Hey?" There was more concern here and Max was beginning to get her towards Garnet. Although they had fallen far enough behind to be out of her ear shot Jess had still heard the alarm and craned his head over his shoulder. Proving himself to not be entirely heartless his face showed deep concern for despite his ignoring of Paige he hadn't meant anything personal by it, it was just his nature.
Casey wanted to say something and to go with her but his feet seemed to have been dunked in concrete all of a sudden and his mouth stappled shut for nothing came out as Max took her towards Garnet. 'God I hope she's okay,' he thought to himself and his unnaturally blue eyes were still wide with alarm and concern. It made sense that Max had helped. He was stronger and he had known Paige before all this started it seemed but still Casey wished he had been able to do something because the feeling of helplessness was one of the worst there was. He felt his feet rising though and one was placed in front of the other carefully but with increasing speed as he walked faster to get to Garnet and see if Paige would be alright.
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU”Garnet!” It was less her name but rather the tone of Max’s voice that alarmed the fiery mutant, ebony mane flying as she whirled around. An attack? It seemed likely considering they hadn’t encountered anyone so far, yet time for considerations was low; ember gaze finding its target with ease. Everyone’s eyes seemed to focus on those two, Paige as a victim of war, Max the surviving patriot. The image was far off reality but for some reason, truth and fiction shortly overlapped with frightening intensity. It was this exact moment in time that Aurora realised she would never be able to forgive herself should one of her team members fall. This game was nothing but preparation for what was to come… she just prayed against reason that there would never be losses to mourn on their side.
The picture faded quickly enough, stupefying for only the split of a second before she rushed towards them. There was a waxy hue to the healing mutant’s complexion; her forehead was burning with fever as Circe noticed automatically checking the other’s temperature as Paige’s appearance demanded. ”What happened?” Her worried voice didn’t reveal the burst of frustration rising inside of her. It was obvious Aventurine hadn’t switched from fine to sick without any transition. Why hadn’t she noticed anything? Sidetracked thoughts, a mistake she shouldn’t have made – as obvious as that was the certainty that Paige would never be able to complete the mission in this state.
Not giving anyone enough time to reply rendering her question a rhetoric one, the fire-elemental contacted the mansion by establishing a connection outside the normal team communication network and shortly explained their situation. Asking for a porter to come and pick Paige up, Aurora certainly was the one most surprised about the tactical value of that request. A helicopter would have attracted too much attention and cost them more time – she could only hope that she would manage to keep up this state of mind till the end of the mission instead of making another of those dangerous mistakes. ”You will be fine, dear,” she assured the healing mutant with a sympathetic smile, still wondering what exactly the other had contracted.
(OOC: Jenn, I wasn’t sure whether or not you wanted to post once more… so I’ll leave it at this horrible shortness for now… feel free to NPC any random teleportation-powered mutant who isn’t controlled by a player… or not… gimme a holler if you want me to do that ^^)
"I knew it could not go on without trouble, I so knew it!"
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
Only because I'm so fantastic and have people crawling towards me asking for me to save Paige, I'll do this, but ONLY because other people came to me!
...*Discreetly brushes dust off knees after having crawled towards Jenn in a pleading manner*
After receiving the call for someone to come and get Paige, Calvin insisted he tag along with his sister, who was opening the portal and bringing the two of them directly to the island. The fact his twin was with active powers that could be used in this dimension had not been something Calvin took to very easily, but at the same time, he did have the ability to dimension hop… Now even he had to admit that was pretty cool. The pinkish hue of the portal opened nearby to the group of ‘exiles’ and the two Ferguson’s appeared, hand in hand as was the girls habit when travelling through portals with her brother.
As usual, Calvin’s pinkish hue was hidden by his over used image inducer. The small device remained clasped about his wrist almost permanently, but Xavier was letting the boy keep using it… after all, if he did, Calvin had proven he could remain in his room either at the school or at the Tristin’s for weeks on end. The blonde haired, and somewhat attractive even, young boy glanced about the scene – it wasn’t hard to see who the one they were picking up was, but Calvin had wanted so badly to be put on a team and yet again, he managed to miss out on it.
" ‘porter’s here." Calvin addressed rather casually despite the situation. It also hinted to how he got his name, whenever he and his sister teleported anywhere for a ‘pick up’ assignment he’d announce the arrival rather with the said phrase, unintentionally dubbing himself ‘Porter’ by a few students figuring he was announcing himself as Porter instead of the shortened term for teleporter. A rather dubious look was directed towards Max before Calvin made his way towards the school bully, like with so many others Calvin had more then his fair share of unlucky run ins with the randomly aggressive bully.
"…Yeah yeah.." Calvin was pretty sure Garnet was saying something towards him but the younger boy was already heading towards Max, paying the leader little attention and once again proving why he was not yet ready for a team assignment. Being in the ‘tall’ side of things, Calvin had a promising physical build much like his father’s, while his sister had the slender frame of their mother, but Calvin was only recently pushing himself to train so his body was still in the developing stages.
Carefully Max handed the ailed girl over to the boy, who’s lack of pink skin was common nowadays, the twins shared a room together and so they had their private shower but Max wondered if Porter even took his inducer off in there. Although it was amusing to poke fun at, Max also found it annoying, someone shouldn’t be ashamed of their mutancy, Calvin shouldn’t be hiding it in Max’s opinion and he shamed all mutants by doing so. Taking hold of Paige’s frail form, Calvin turned back towards his sister and her still open portal, making his way there while flashing Gypsy a glance. He didn’t really know her well, save for a class here and there, but reaching the years he was starting to find girls interesting that meant it took little for Calvin’s interest to be caught. His sister has already gotten to realize that her twin seemed to travel down the ‘lesser travelled’ paths when it came to his interests, but he still didn’t have a typical theme. Going from the shy and quiet to loud and obnoxious within a day.
"You get her back safely Pinky!" The call slipped out after a strenuous attempt of reframing himself, but Max had to do something.. anything.. And he offered a triumphant wicked grin as Calvin began to half turn only to be nudged through the portal by his sister who threw a sharp look back towards the arrogant Chadstone before disappearing herself.
TBC: Medical Bay…*points* I’ll talk with Ann first!
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
The oaken haired morpher had kept up with Garnet, keen to keep beneath the shield, despite her strong hatred of fire, she figured that it would do little harm and she was in no mood to get soaked. Even so, although her senses were dulled, both by her exhaustion and the feline depression which her equally exhausted morphs felt at the storm, she still managed to here the thudding sound of something hitting the ground. She paused before turning, blinking as her tired mind tried to absorb the scene.
Racheal could feel her reactions were slower this morning, and that quietly upset her as it was. But as she realised Paige’s predicament, she berated herself further. She should have mentioned something to Garnet earlier. But the feral mutant had naturally assumed that their leader would notice if something was unduly wrong. Not that the morpher blamed Circe for not noticing sooner. Racheal knew full well how she should trust her instincts, how she was finer tuned than some for picking up various things, like sickness, than most people. So why hadn’t she spoken up, like last night? Not that that would help now.
"Garnet!" The stone mutant’s cry reached her ears just a second before Racheal had been about to call a head, and she quickly quietened herself. She stepped to the side as their fiery leader rushed past to check Paige over. She listened quietly as Garnet checked the healing mutant’s temperature, and then called back to the institute for help. Considering the seeming silence that surrounded the group, she couldn’t help but feel that any possible thoughts of team spirit had gone. Strange, though, perhaps this was the first time that the teams thoughts had been on the same thing, and in agreement of some description, a worry to some degree for the healer. At least, that’s what the animal morpher thought quietly, part of her frozen in her thoughts, helpless to assist. This wasn’t her place.
… " ‘porter’s here." Racheal’s head turned her gaze to the two newcomers, feline eyes absorbing as ever as she watched the dimensional-teleporter walk towards the suffering Paige, her mind easily ignoring the fact that a different interpretation of Calvin’s move could be taken, the look he had given Max hadn’t been missed by the observant girl, but a mix of her guilt, exhaustion and worry for Paige easily threw aside any registration of it.
"…Yeah yeah.." An eyebrow rose briefly at the rather dismissive tone, glancing at Garnet briefly. Given another situation, and more sleep, the girl would have had the energy to at least consider the boy a little arrogant. Even he was above Circe at all, which she doubted, surely it couldn’t be considered right to just ignore the leader of the team like that. She sighed inwardly though, the thought only crossing her mind for a moment.
"You get her back safely Pinky!" Feral’s eyes had been following Porter as he took the ill healing mutant towards the portal. But the sound of the stone mutant’s voice caused her head to turn wit some confusion, not only at the term Pinky, but also at the continuing concern the school bully had for Paige. So maybe he wasn’t completely heartless after all, fair enough. She let that go, understanding the worry for others, maybe the boy scored a couple of good points for that one. But the term Pinky still confused her, and she turned back towards the twin teleporters, just in time to see the girl’s disapproving and harsh look before she too vanished, taking Paige back to the safety of the institute.
Racheal let a soft sigh escape, barely audible. Well, what now? The morpher assumed that they would be expected to carry one, though she couldn’t help but feel rather down from this development. Despite her now decision to leave the institute, there was a part of her that thought it would have been actually nice to complete this mission as an entire team. But that couldn’t be helped now.
Although a loner by nature, and happy to make her own decisions, her eyes automatically drifted back to Garnet, part of her hoping that the fire mutant would agree with her private thoughts, but partially expecting something else, though what she wasn’t really sure.
"I was wrong, to think that I might belong. But I will never forget what I was... Who I am.. What I did, just to learn that"
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
She was helpless to resist as Max gathered her up into his arms, her frail body remaining still. She trusted Max, and she didn't really feel well enough to attempt to walk by herself.. maybe all she needed was a moment to regain her composure. Paige knew through her thoughts that there was something seriously wrong with her, the best thing she could do was get back to the med bay and let Beast work out what was wrong with her and how to deal with the issue.
The feeling that she was nestled up agaist Max's chest was a nice one, his arms felt so nice and secure around her, making her feel a little better. Her whole form was shivering slightly even though she felt as through she were warm. She didn't reply to Max as he talked to her as he quikly made his way towards their leader.
Paige couldn't help but be impressed by the way Garnet delt with the situation, the elder woman laying the palm of her hand over Paige's forehead feeling the clammy hotness of the young girls brow. Talking into the communicator Paige was glad to hear that the fire mutant was making arrangments for Paige to be teleported back to the school again. She'd never been teleported before but she hardly cared, all she wanted was to get back to the school so she could lie down.
" ‘porter’s here." It only took the brother and sister a few minutes to open a pink coloured portal infront of the team. Paige would usually be interested at the thought of getting to go through a portal but at the moment she felt too ill to feel anything other than reliefe that she was going to get away from the island and her team.
She felt Max pass her over towards the boy who'd come through the portal, Paige recognised him and his sister by face only. Her eyes flicked over towards Max as he called out but he'd already turned away and didn't see the healing mutant's eyes fixed on him before the portal swallowed him.
ooc: Angie did you want to post first in the med bay?
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU”Yeah, yeah” Lips parting to fill the porters in were shut firmly, a thin ruby line as Garnet fought hard to keep her temper down. They had come quickly, they’d help Paige… that didn’t give the male one the right to act all superior but, realistically spoken, what options other than swallowing her pride for once did she have? ”Thanks,” she uttered instead, not as much through gritted teeth as she had feared it would sound. What was it with everyone and their urge to give her a hard time? Didn’t they have any other, more productive hobbies? Only a second was wasted on self-pity, a silent sigh escaping the fiery mutant’s mouth as she – almost visibly – pulled herself up.
”Despite this… unfortunate incident I fear we have to continue” Oh she could almost hear their thoughts. Why she hadn’t noticed something was wrong with Paige, why she was still carrying on although this mission was such an obviously lost case… what did they expect of her? There was little they did to support her and in the end, it was her who had to plan their next step, watch out for possible ambushes and somehow try to keep this chimera named “team spirit” up. If only she hadn’t been too stubborn to give up, if only…
”If anybody else if not feeling well, I would like you to tell me, please.” ‘Cos there’s only so much I can do and notice.’ The words weren’t said but lingered in the subtext of her request. Her mood which had improved after what little sleep she had had, it had apparently just committed suicide by jumping down a cliff and although Circe would never have admitted or even hinted at it, there was a frustrated voice in her sneering at the healing mutant’s inability to cope with the situation. Falling sick after one day outside, now wasn’t that pathetic? Shocked by those thoughts, Aurora shut them out, making sure to cultivate sympathy and wishes for the other’s quick recovery. Yet a shadow remained, a disgraceful taint only she knew about.
A short moment of wait passed before Garnet wordlessly turned around to continue on the path she had chosen. Never give up, keep your head high… don’t let them see… Hadn’t that been her principle for most of her life? A façade of perfection covering uncertainty and doubts, the fear of being rejected… an inferiority complex even? Expecting a lot from others meant Aurora asked even more from herself, a flawless ideal she – or anyone else – could ever possibly reach. Still she had to carry on, had to practise, had to prove herself until one day she would rise above all this imperfection… yes, one day she would shine. Not yet though, not now. As this thought about Paige had shown her all too clearly, there was still a lot she had to get rid of, remnants of a past everybody thought she had left behind long ago.
The rain wasn’t overly strong but constant, a misty cover slightly clouding their sight. The warm cover Circe provided sure was helpful, yet once stuck on pessimistic thoughts Aurora couldn’t help but wonder why she was making an effort anyway. They’d still hold it against her, one way or the other, or find something totally unrelated to blame her for. For a moment, the fire-elemental wondered when she had become that negative and tried to distract herself watching their surrounding more intently. It wasn’t fair either… some actually had made an effort, hadn’t they? First of all, there was Racheal of course, then Casey who had volunteered to get some sticks, same for Max (though Aurora was pretty sure this hadn’t been done without intentions of a totally different kind) and even Gypsy and Jess had actually done something. Focusing on the upsides was difficult yet, slowly, seemed to work as they wandered on. Still Exiles’ leader couldn’t wait for this mission to be over – a fact she, too, was feeling a bit guilty about.
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
Ooc: Sorry, with Lady away I don’t want to put any pressure on her to post (as she’ll have a few charries here once BH and Exiles mingle) so I thought I’d do something…to distract us XD Matt, tell me if this is alright, I was really vague because I wasn’t sure how to handle it… Figured with Max so close beside Garnet she wouldn’t explode into flames … >>…I could be wrong there!
“Despite this… unfortunate incident I fear we have to continue” Of course they would continue!! Paige was the sick one, not them, they still had arms and legs, they still had to prove they are superior to the rest of the friggin’ high and mighty lot. Max’s thoughts had been building up an angered need to win while a moments pause in the teams hike gave him the opportunity to think negatively. But he couldn’t… he couldn’t think in a negative way, he had to struggle on, he had to fight because he was a Chadstone. And there’s nothing more frightening then a defeated Chadstone.
“If anybody else if not feeling well, I would like you to tell me, please.” Right, like he’d mention about an oncoming cold, she looked ready to barbeque them! A moment’s thought decided he’d probably mention it a little later when she calmed down. It was only a cold after all…
As the group began their walk again, Max glanced at the others rather unsurely, moving ahead a little quicker so that he could walk up beside Garnet, not risking to start anything since she looked – quite frankly – seriously pßssed. At least she could see he was trying to help keep a look out, even if he had no idea what he was looking out for. Wearing a shirt wasn’t really what gave him the cold, it was going from the nice and warm fire and into the icy cold water and then back in the warmth of Garnet’s cover. It was amazing he was the only one with a cold!
Furrowing his brow, Max concentrated for a moment and his flesh hardened, the stone at least making his sensitivity towards the temperature lessened. What were they even looking for? The others were probably half the way up that mountain by now. While straining to stare through the fog as if it wasn’t there (quite impossible but if a Chadstone wants something badly enough they usually manage to get it…so it’s always worth a try, right?), Max, still frowning faintly, looked down at the ground they were treading over before looking over at Garnet. At least she didn’t seem infuriated…
As he thought that the heel of Garnet’s shoe managed to hit a perfectly set up and hidden trigger which soundlessly set off a hasty chain of events. First a strong cable swiftly lashed forward from where it was craftily hidden within the ground just behind them. A fluid motion which appeared to catch Garnet and Max both off guard, the cable striking their angles from behind and continuing to rush forwards as the ground simultaneously moved ahead, revealing a meter and a half depth pit which thankfully had nothing unpleasant lurking within it.
Hidden within the canopy were hurriedly crafted nets with a collection of carefully gathered rocks and stones inside them. As the cable loosened, so were the nets, which lost their hold of the stones and permitted the various sizes to stumble down through the awning, raining through the branches and falling in abundance towards the victims below. With both Max and Garnet having been tripped back.. and then fallen further into the pit, the rocks took a little longer to reach them. Only by a split second but enough for Max’s eyes to grudgingly open, hearing Garnet’s movement beside him he caused a more reckless thought to guide him. Not thinking for a moment that Garnet could probably disintegrate the falling stones (though three or more looked frightfully as large as a head almost, while others were at least the size of a first), the stone armoured mutant responded quickly but flipping his own armoured form over that of the softly fleshed mutant. Not considering if he was hindering or helping, Max wasn’t actually thinking of much, one moment he was playing hero, the next a thudding of stones was striking his back and he was holding himself over Garnet’s body. It might be correct to mention that first he noted he was over Garnet’s body… then he noticed he was feeling a slight discomfort striking his back repeatedly at random intervals. Good thing it showered only the ‘smaller’ versions of stone over the pit, his armour easily handled it.
…(I’d say there’s about fifty stones of different sizes falling… maybe 60, I’d say it’s mostly aimed around the two meter in radius pit and from there it thins out or something, there’s small stones and pebbles to larger ones but obviously by keeping your distance you can have the charrie avoid all harm! Or have them just get some pebbles rain down on them. Additionally, I lost my post, so this is a repeat, thus I’m not at all happy with it, I seemed to have rushed and left things out…but I thought we could have some drama before the BH.. all the work in setting traps and no one’s come across any!)
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOUlol - so true! I'll get a Garnet reply in ASAP.
TO EVERYONE: I may have worded it a bit unclear... as ...usual.. >> ... << ... but Garnet wouldn't openly appear angry. A bit frustrated maybe but rather something to be picked up by a sensitive person rather than anyone... Max's interpretation may count as some misconception of sorts though, Angie, so no need to edit
Angie: ...*flicks hair* Good ol' Max and his misconceptions..XD *coughs slightly*
Edited by: Forgotten Love at: 2/22/05 3:02 pm
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU(OOC: *listens to Billy Idol album* Alright, it’s not overly breath-taking so far but still it strangely increases my urge to play Spike at SD! XD Ladyyyy… I wanna play Buffy charries again, we GOTTA get SD back up quickly *looks demanding* … aaaaand Angie, one assumption further down, tell me if you’re not ok with it. just felt like that’d..well… feel nicer XD)
A leader can never be alone. Not during missions anyway. This thought rather incoherently, without any apparent connection entered her mind and refused to leave, mocking this desire that had appeared just the split of a second earlier, that to just sit down somewhere on her own and rest her head in her hands, unseen, unwatched. None to judge her, none she would have to prove anything to… wouldn’t that have been wonderful? Being free of yourself – a feeling many tend to crave from time to time.
Yet it was impossible, not there and then, not as who she was. Ironic, wasn’t it? Anybody else on the team, everybody… they could easily take their time off and if only mentally. Shut out the rest of the world, just follow the herd and let the leader do the rest. Or you could take a vacation from yourself, follow orders or let it be, act snappish or be compassionate… while she had little choice but to fulfil her role as a team leader. Aurora just hoped that people would at least tolerate a few outbursts since otherwise she’d go insane. Even quicker so.
It was strangely comforting to have Max walking so close to her though, strangely comforting in a way that brought familiar thoughts of confusion back to her mind. Why was she trying so hard to ignore this obvious mutual attraction again? After all, even if there was a rule for leaders not to date team members… some rules really did need changing anyway. And they had been altered constantly, throughout history and… Just as her chain of points was growing a bit repetitive but quite convincing at the same time, a strange, somewhat… determining sound entered her consciousness. It was difficult to describe – was it a clicking or rather a rustling? – either way it triggered the picture of something decisive having been set into motion, but before she could investigate it further… the answer came in a way that was a bit hard to ignore.
Not even for a surprised cry there was time, everything happening so fast that just a sharp intake of breath was heard from the fiery mutant before she hit solid ground. The impact abruptly slammed the air out of her lungs, eyes wide open, arms slightly raised as an instinctive though pointless reaction. ”Wh-…” the confused question remained unfinished, hands touching ground in disbelief and slow realisation that – once again – was interrupted as suddenly an alarming sound was heard from above them and a massive form blocked out what little light the day had to offer.
The cascade of thudding sounds – stone on stone – was not even mildly scaring her, the full awareness of how her powers would be able to protect her if this strange barrier disappeared present at all times. It took a bit for Aurora to realise what this “object” actually was. The lack of light made it difficult for her to see more than vague forms, still she could ultimately not fail to notice the moving of what turned out to be Max’s chest and – on a more subtle level – the scent of his body, strong yet not unpleasant… enticing even.
A smile sneaked onto those ruby lips, a traitor – yes – but one Aurora had no intention of fighting. Nobody could see her down here anyway, could they? And she was so tired of being responsible and careful, so sensible and mature. She couldn’t always be perfect, could she? Considering there had just been a trap set into action – something she had figured out sometime between the collision with the ground and the staccato of stone on Max’s back – the others were probably distracted anyway and if not… oh well, it wasn’t like there would have been a lot respect she could have lost.
Raising the upper part of her body with one flowing motion, silken skin met semi-stone, the transformation he had triggered only completed in areas where necessary. It was flesh but rough like one day without shaving; a sensation Garnet found surprisingly exciting. Lips on lips seemed to open a door, cracked it at least to allow Max a peek into what was behind. Drowning and burning, so much passion; she expressed it in this one kiss that flooded those high expectations she had of herself away. Him it may have made breathless… for her it meant long-craved liberation.
”Thanks.” Another smile, enigmatic, ambiguous. What she was expressing her gratitude for, Aurora may have not been certain about herself but it didn’t matter anyway. A touch of irony joined the smile, the raven-haired girl’s curvy form rising a little further, closer to the other’s body, as she attempted to get up. ”It has stopped, hasn’t it?” Coal-eyes sparkling with amusement, Aurora waited for the stone-shifting mutant to move aside so she could get up. It was bound to be interpreted the wrong way… or maybe not. Everything is a matter of perspective.
The moment ended much too fast, neglected responsibility having to be taken back again... but with an unwilling sigh - silent, potentially unheard. "Is anybody hurt?" she shouted, unable to get herself to push Max aside so she could have a look herself. Not yet... not like that. Aurora had hinted at their need to get out and for the time being, she was quite content with waiting for him to get that. If there were any more danger, they'd hear it.
"Why do I have the feeling you would not mind... to burn?"
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOUOkay, here is the actual post lol. I've assumed bits and pieces, so yell at me if I'm wrong (actually, please don't yell, I'm not sure I can cope with that at the moment ) Anyway, I hope this seems okay anyway
Continue onwards, Garnet’s words echoed her thoughts as their fiery leader re-directed the groups attention. Racheal still wasn’t really sure what else she had expected to hear. To turn back? Surely not, but what others choices were there? The animal morpher managed to tangle her thoughts as she considered this, mildly confusing herself before deciding that she really did need a decent night’s sleep.
”If anybody else if not feeling well, I would like you to tell me, please.” Well, apart from a lack of decent sleep and a sore leg, she was fine, the feral mutant thought to herself. Putting it another way, she wasn’t ill at least. Besides, these were the sort of conditions she had thrived in before, and she wasn’t about to give in because of a minor niggling injury. Feral couldn’t help but feel a mild sympathy for Circe though, deciding that it would have indeed been better to have spoken up about the healer’s condition earlier. Inwardly Racheal sighed. Yet another thing to apologise for at some point…
Racheal fought her mind to keep it from shutting down as she fell in step about a meter behind Garnet and Max, eyes having only turned briefly to the members of the team in order to try and register their own reactions. At that moment in time, where everyone was in relation to her wasn’t overly important. Instead, she tried to focus her mind of other things. Even that proved difficult however, her mind oddly blank.
Racheal’s eyes lifted from the dirt on the floor just ahead of her as she walked to gaze into the mist. Sure, right now hardly being able to see was probably not a good thing, but there was still something about the mist that lifted the feral’s spirits. The once homeless mutant had always despised the rain and snow, they were, as a rule, cold and wet... and increased the danger of getting ill. But there was a natural beauty in mist that she couldn’t ignore, and although it had a habit of soaking a person through within minutes, though in this case they were kept dry by the heated barrier, there was just such a mystery about it that Feral couldn’t help but admire.
There was little that the morpher had found in life to admire. Her family... well, other than her twin she had lost them all at such a young age that she her memories were more like snatches of a dream. And Jake had gone now too.. Love, not something she had ever found, and friendship? She had thought that the idea was nice enough, but her only ‘friend’ had betrayed her, and now she could hardly remember the true meaning behind it. So many things humans did to each other which was filled with pain and agony. So what had they provided that she could admire? No, it was nature that provided her true joy. Or the imagination and facts people managed to put down on paper. Okay, so there was some good things about people… but she still knew she would always prefer animals over humans. After all, it was in her blood.
Not that the feral didn’t feel concern for others. Possibly because of the fact she felt she had somehow betrayed her family, or how that so called friend had betrayed her, she now refused to let anyone doubt their trust in her. It had been a thought that had crossed her mind on her first day when she was shown around the secret base of the X-men by Connor, and the thought has remained with her ever since. She might not trust them, but the reverse would not necessarily be true. Besides, she still held a respect for some of them. And this want to install their trust in her made her appear quite protective at times. As these thoughts crossed her mind, Racheal was reminded of the condition of Paige. How long would it take for any of the others to grow sick in these conditions? If she had not hunted the night before, would they have had anything to eat, or if she had not seen the river, anything to drink? She sighed inwardly once more. That is why she could not leave them yet. Despite a silent wish for freedom, freedom from everything, she knew she couldn’t abandon them, not yet.
A flash of movement caught her eye briefly, making her pause, but even as their leader and Max were tripped into the pit, Racheal was looking skywards. Why, she wasn’t really sure. It hadn’t been a noise or anything to attract her tired senses, more a feeling. One which was confirmed as a small pebble bounced off her forehead, causing her o give an involuntary growl of pain and annoyance as her head lowered quickly, a hand shooting to her forehead to rub the mildly sore patch before turning her gaze to her three team mates who were still at ground level.
”Look..” The feral’s warning was cut short as the pebble was shortly followed by a downfall of rocks around them. Instinct took over as she curled slightly in an attempt to offer herself shelter, her arms clutching her head as she tried to step out of the rock cascade. However, as could well be expected, confusion reigned, and Racheal soon found herself simply standing still. Luckily, she had managed to make it to the more outer reaches of the trap. But although the rocks were smaller, that only made them less threatening, and not necessarily much less painful.
Even as she felt the instinct take over she regretted it. Okay, so the skin was tougher, the animal more adapt to dealing to heavy blows. But as black hair sprouted from her arms, she wished she had the strength to hold it back. Instead, the feral within her took over too quickly, forcing her to complete the black bear morph she had used briefly the morning before. The one thing Racheal was grateful for in this morph was that she did not change greatly in height or posture. The bear actually stood at the same height as her, though it’s fore legs were less versatile and so it mean that her head was no longer covered. But then, by the time the morph was completed, the last few rocks were falling from the trap laid above them.
Dropping down onto all fours, she grunted in annoyance as one of the last rocks bounced off between her shoulders. That was going to bruise like anything. But fortunately, that was all it would be. Tanned muzzle lifted to the sky, eyes examining the trap which had so effectively caught the wandering group by surprise. That was one thing she loved about this morph. Although it lacked the fighting instincts of many of her morphs, the black bear is not even likely to attack if someone threatens her cubs, giving false charges instead, it had excellent senses. The eye sight was a little better than a human’s, it’ sense of smell amazing, and it’s hearing finely tuned. She grunted again before turning her muzzle towards the three mutants who remained outside of the pit.
"Is anybody hurt?" Once more, Garnet seemed to echo her own thoughts. The bear tilted it’s head for a moment, as it looked over the others, muzzle wrinkling for a moment as Feral took the scent of the air.
”A few bruises I believe, but that’s about it” Her head turned towards the pit as she thought-spoke, allowing each member of the team to hear her words this time, hoping that she had correctly analysed the situation, but giving them the chance to agree or disagree. As she did, she’d completely forgotten that, up to this point, Garnet was the only member of the team to have heard her mind speech capabilities, otherwise she may have been more concerned.
”I suppose we ought to help get them out of there…” This time, the mind speech was directed only to Gypsy, Casey and Jess, a slight hint to the tone that she wasn’t completely convinced about just leaving them be. After all, Max’s flirting had been pretty clear before, perhaps he would enjoy the thought of being trapped down there. She quickly wiped the thought from her mind. Even if she stilled viewed this as a game of sorts with very little to worry about, she still wanted to finish. And to turn up with their leader and one team member unaccounted for may lead to questions. Plus, the trap was not as deep as to keep the trapped for long. She was pretty sure that they could manage to get out if they were to leave them… though it would take longer.
The pause which followed wasn’t deliberate, but could have been taken for consideration on her own statement, before her eyes moved to try and spot something which may prove to be of use. It was also long enough that the others could freely make their own remarks on the subject, but this too was not deliberate. ”I suggest we find some vines.. or perhaps the cords which were used in the trap and then pull them out like that. Or tie it round a tree and throw the rope down to them… The pit isn’t that deep fortunately, but I expect they could do with a helping hand” She left the suggestion open as she continued to talk to the three other team members, hoping either for another idea or agreement. Either would do right then. Although she was aware that she could probably quite easily do the task alone, she wasn’t confident as for how long she could hold the morph for, nor was she sure that when she did de-morph that she would be able to really be much good. Sure, they were just bruises, but the changes she would be forced to make to her body would be painful because of them.
”We’ll help get you out of there in a minute…” For obvious reasons, this time the Feral opened her mind-speech to the two trapped mutants, as well as keeping it open to the other three. Part of Racheal wanted to ensure that she was including the whole team in this, not wanting to seem like she was just going to take over. That was Garnet’s job after all, and not one that the morpher envied!
"I was wrong, to think that I might belong. But I will never forget what I was... Who I am.. What I did, just to learn that"
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
It was like those times where you wake from a dream and yet you can’t actually be sure if you’ve woken or if you just dreamt that you had woken up, while still really being asleep. To hell with the current situation, all but this instant pushed from Max’s mind. How the young Chadstone could just sink down atop Garnet’s form, his own eager nature taken by surprise as warm soft lips touched up against his own, her body closer then ever before and her scent stronger and more enticing then he could ever remember when holding her close in his dreams.
"Thanks." A feeling of reluctance and loss etched itself into his body as her lips pulled away. If that was the reward he got for playing a hero, then hell, he ought to play it more often. "It has stopped, hasn’t it?" Well it depended what she meant by that, Max rather figured things had just begun, hardly concerned for the moment about the fact of falling stones and wayward enemies. Bright eyes watched the attractive features beneath him, trying to assess the meaning of the kiss, trying to figure the potential it held, trying to establish the magnitude it promised.
"Is anybody hurt?" A shout from the fire wielder beneath Max snapped him out of his paradise easily enough. Why was it always the good moments that seemed never to last long enough, and yet the terrible ones ended up feeling as if each of them individually lasted an entire lifetime? Taking a small breath, Max let out a slight sigh, more notable then Garnet’s earlier one as he listened to the mental words Racheal was speaking into their minds. What exactly was he getting rescued from anyway? A chance of exploring the curves and secrets of someone as dangerous, exciting and attractive as their leader? Someone needed to talk with that fur ball one of these days about the finer qualities of certain moments…
Helping Garnet up with a dazed, somewhat crooked, smile, Max took a final glance at those lips of hers before looking away… anywhere, just away from her… ending up staring at one of the walls of the pit with a distant focus. He’d hate to make a fool of himself by getting all excited by Garnet’s closeness to him before. All he had to do was not think of it for now… not think of the taste of her lips still lingering on his, the feel of her form being near him, the scent of their presence consuming his senses.
Max was a highly compulsive individual when it came to bodily pleasures and he could find nearly any place suitable, it just depended on who else was around. For example, a nightclub was packed, but it had its dark corners and private areas. Inside classrooms however he has always behaved in those regards… well, while a teacher was present anyway, after all, where’s the harm in playing around once the classroom is empty?
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
His hesitation was none the ebony-haired girl failed to notice… and in a strange way, the fact that he did give her some space was even more assuring than his attention. When Max actually pulled away, it caused a pandemonium of feelings to arise that, however, didn’t confuse Aurora as much as she would have expected just a few minutes ago. There were of course relief since it made the mission’s continuation easier and this affirmation of… yes, what? His respect, of her as a leader or a person or both? Yet strangely enough, it was the exact opposite that dominated. Plain disappointment. It would have been so easy to make him hold her, give her the affection she was missing so badly… make her feel special, if only for a moment.
Where did those thoughts come from? What had happened to the over-confident girl she had once been? It wasn’t the first time Circe suspected those self-doubts to be the price she had to pay for past mistakes and this new life. A new life that was starting to get old too seeing as there had already a few years passed since she had first come to Xavier’s. But life was never easy, was it? Everything had at least two, more often than not even more sides many of which only emerged with time and patience. Not for the first time reminding herself of the fact that this was not definitely not the time for contemplations of the complicated and time-consuming kind.
Racheal’s thoughts infiltrating her mind were most welcome, a source distraction also offering the cue to leave this trap and face its maker whom Garnet was certain they’d encounter soon after. ”No necessity for that…,” she shouted in reply realising that there wasn’t much use in only the Feral picking up on her mental voice… if at all. The fire-elemental still wasn’t entirely sure what type of psychic abilities the animal morpher possessed. The last time they had seen one another and she had been caught too much by surprise to really wonder about it but chances were that the other would not be able to hear a reply thought by someone she could not see. Telepathy as a secondary mutation was rare enough, the stronger variants of it even more so.
”Hold onto me.” Max’s proximity made everything louder than a whisper unnecessary; a slender arm being placed around his waist before Circe carefully tapped into her powers. Flying with others was more difficult than being on her own, her invulnerability against the fire she created knowing no boundaries while others could easily be turned into dust (or not even that) if she used her full potential. And so no flames could be seen as she heated the air below them using plain physics to elevate their forms. The tricky part actually was to keep a layer of cooler air between the heated area and Max’s body but – contrary to what some people thought, calling her thoroughness obsession – those countless training sessions did pay off.
Alert gaze took in the situation, coal eyes switching from one of her team’s members to another. There didn’t appear to be any injuries that had been inflicted… good. The sight of Racheal having morphed was surprising yet understandable considering how a stone avalanche appealed directly to the most primal instincts… if you didn’t notice it too late and found yourself being shielded by a particularly handsome and well-toned… Harshly, Aurora cut through her chain of thoughts. This had been a trap… and so chances were that whoever had installed it was somewhere close by. Something was wrong though… there was a detail, just a small yet significant piece that the fire-elemental felt she was missing. Like a typo, it seemed so obviously wrong, yet between noticing that something wasn’t as it was supposed to be and knowing what it actually was that wasn’t right there were worlds.
”We had better continue on our way. Whoever built this will probably check back every now and then and we should not be here if they do. So this would be the best moment to tell me if anybody has been hurt.” After having visually examined everyone quickly, thoughtful eyes returned to wandering the scene. If only she knew what… it was no use. ”Keep your eyes wide open, people, seems one of the other teams have a specialist among th…em…” The last word trailed off, becoming quieter, being spoken with some reluctance as if a thought had occurred to her. But no, that couldn’t be, could it?
”We’d better leave…” Determined to keep what she thought to be paranoia to herself, Aurora nodded at the group and turned, carefully continuing on their way with eyes examining the path under her feet and the canopy of leaves above them. It was difficult to stay focused, however, while a worrying question kept spinning in her mind. Wasn’t such a potentially dangerous snare against the rules?
"Why do I have the feeling you would not mind... to burn?"
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU ”No necessity for that…,” The black bear grunted softly to it’s self as it pondered this. They were stuck down a pit so how… She paused, and as Garnet lifted herself and Max from the pit, the morpher realised her own error. If she thought about it, she would have blamed her forgetfulness of on exhaustion, or on that pebble which had, when in human form, left a lovely bluey-purple mark between her eyes. As it was, she couldn’t help but feel a mixture of stupidity and mild annoyance. The four who had not, fortunately, fallen into the pit, had been given a chance to team together out of their own choice. But then it had been taken away from them... the spoil sport. Racheal surprised herself with her own negative thoughts then. If they could get out themselves, did it make any difference? She would have probably done the same, most of her morphs being capable of escaping the trap in one way or another. So what made her so different?
”We had better continue on our way. Whoever built this will probably check back every now and then and we should not be here if they do. So this would be the best moment to tell me if anybody has been hurt.” The thought of the builders coming back had not directly crossed her mind. And part of her was annoyed with herself even more now for morphing. Sure, the black bear seemed to be a dangerous animal, and most people assumed it was. But in reality it was pretty harmless, it’s sharpened claws more of a gimmick when it came to true fighting.
”Keep your eyes wide open, people, seems one of the other teams have a specialist among th…em…” The bear gave an almost human like grumble as it rose up on it’s hind legs. Feral noticed the hesitation in Circe’s voice, and she couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking. Surely some people here knew how to build traps and survive in the outdoors. Couldn’t it just be one of those? How it didn’t pass her mind then, Racheal would never be sure, but she didn’t consider that the trap could have easily been deadly, had one of those rocks fallen upon anyone less capable of defending themselves in someway.
”We’d better leave…” The morpher nodded it’s agreement as the fur slowly grew shorter. The bear was the only one of Racheal’s morphs which was capable of standing upright, and when it came to morphing and demorphing, this was a blessing. It wasn’t uncommon for Racheal to end up face down in the mud when morphing, as her body shifted, especially is she wasn’t concentrating. Or when demorphing, to find that everything became out of proportion. But the bear was little taller than her, and although the stance was different, standing upright made for a naturally smoother morph.
”Like I mentioned I think it’s…”…just a ton of bruises between us” The transition between thought-speech and spoken words was actually quite smooth, and Racheal felt a mild pride swell inside her for it. She hadn’t had much of a chance to test the change recently, so having something about her powers go right without tiring her felt good. She glanced again at the other three as she finished off, hoping that they would confirm this. When her voice changed wasn’t too obvious, as she was still primarily bear, though much slighter of body and her more feline eyes had returned. It wasn’t anything outwardly that affected her speech, but the larynx. As long as that was morphed, she could use her thought-speech. But that was it’s limit.
The tanned muzzle slowly shrunk into her face as she once more followed on, still partially bear as her eyes moved to the trees again. Weird, how things just didn’t seem to be going right for them today. And yesterday, despite the disagreements, her exhaustion and a few other minor things, the day had gone really well for the team. But now they had lost one of their team members, and had gotten caught in a trap. The morpher couldn’t help but ask herself what was next. After all, trouble always came in threes.
Her hands moved to her bared arms as she finished her morph. Like the rest of the team, she hadn’t really been aware of what she was letting herself in for, and so had been caught out wearing her old jeans, t-shirt and trainers, the same tatty set she had arrived in three months previously. But unlike them, she was used to the cold, and it wasn’t the temperature which made her caress her arms so. Instead, blue and red marks could already been seen from where the rocks had hit her arms both before and after she morphed. As her morph was completed, her teeth were gritted in some pain. But they were just bruises, and part of her welcomed them. The fresh pain made her ignore the older pain in her hip. A single finger rose to her forehead, making her cringe as she lightly rubbed the spot where the first pebble had fallen. Racheal could feel the bruise between her shoulders take form, and inwardly groaned. Darn these people. She agrees to play their little ‘game’ and she comes out of it more battered than a fallen apple.
But this little game was about to get much more deadly.
"I was wrong, to think that I might belong. But I will never forget what I was... Who I am.. What I did, just to learn that"
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
I REALLY apologise for the short post but writing is still icky for me at the moment and I've been stumped in a few places and so I just settled for doing a small postie at least...
“No necessity for that…,” Was Garnet’s reply back to the animal-shifter who was offering to pull them out. “Hold onto me.” Now there was an order Max could live and die by. While her hand went about his waist his own hands wrapped all too comfortably about hers. The stone skin nervously hardened further without Max thinking, the fear of burning alive and the previous stress pushing the current limits of the power while Max’s own mind was oh so pleasantly distracted with other things.
“We had better continue on our way. Whoever built this will probably check back every now and then and we should not be here if they do. So this would be the best moment to tell me if anybody has been hurt.” Flashing the others a triumphant and blissfully charming smile, Max glanced over the rest of the team, admittedly being slightly startled by Racheal’s form until he instantly recalled the animal shapeshifter and then ignored her just as quickly. “Keep your eyes wide open, people, seems one of the other teams have a specialist among th…em…” That was something Max was going to sulk about though, what sort of insane people would build a trap like THAT when this was all just a game? Imagine what could happen if one of those monstrous boulders fell on their heads!!
”We’d better leave…” Quite happily Max trailed a few steps behind Garnet, bubbling with a numerous amount of sensations and yet also disappointed now that he hadn’t had more of a chance to go further with her. Well they’ll be going home tonight so he still had a chance for some fun today… unless Garnet wouldn’t go so far with him. The youngest Chadstone found himself torn between these promising thoughts while following their leader, impeccably silent and looking so lost in thoughts there was little chance of someone not noticing his distraction.
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOU
Casey wasn't like Jess, he couldn't shrug everything off with a defensive exterior and while he didn't outwardly show in public too much annoyance when being bullied his other emotions did tend to show in his eyes if not openly on his face. In this case his blue eyes reflected sympathy and pure worry as Paige was brought to Garnet and the team leader called for a teleporting mutant to take her away. That brought, in equal parts, horror and relief to the mind warping mutant as he realised this meant it was just him against the others on their team like Jess and Max. On the otherhand Casey also thought that it was a good thing Paige would be able to recover properly from her affliction instead of having to tough it out here.
The teleporter came in the form of a blonde haired boy who seemed to introduce himself, from Casey's perspective, as 'porter'. He watched as if on the otherside of a glass window as Max handed over Paige to the care of the teleporting mutant whose name Casey didn't know. Casey liked to think he knew by sight anyway several of the mutants here even if they didn't really know him but Calvin was unknown to him.
"You get her back safely Pinky!" That was a comment from Max which passed completely over the heads of both Casey and Jess, who was watching albeit with a neutral expression on his dark features. There seemed to be a certain amount of animosity there and Jess wondered nastily to himself if anyone liked Chadstone other than barbie who seemed to show a mild interest although she attempted to conceal it. It didn't really occur to him, and wouldn't have bothered him if it had, that few people really liked him either. The dismissal of Garnet's comments hadn't been lost on him either and even though Jess certainly wasn't heartless and he did care about Paige whether he showed it or not he did take a moment to smirk at the disrespect shown there. Maybe this teleporter wasn't half bad. The two teleporters disappeared through the portal taking Paige with them and immediately barbie began talking.
"Despite this… unfortunate incident I fear we have to continue”. Unfortunate incident? That made it sound like one of them had fallen in a mud pool or like barbie had broken a nail not like one of their team had actually been taken off the island, Jess thought to himself. Sure it had been a little overdramatic with Paige's affliction and all and over the top but there was some substance there. Thinking about their misfortune and lack of teamwork the dark haired mutant thought that Garnet should have been considering defeat now not moving the troops onward. She had determination he'd give her that but maybe it was more like pig headedness and a refusal to ahknowledge when they were beaten.
"If anybody else if not feeling well, I would like you to tell me, please.” None of us are feeling well, Jess thought bitterly but kept the remark to himself. None of them wanted to be here and by now all of them were depressed or just plain bored so Aurora had better not be expecting chipper, not that most of them could be described as chipper even on their best days. Without anything further she started walking and even the black humoured Jess found her manner a little cold. She had seemed detrmined at first to not let them beat her and her spirits and it seemed she had given up on that, deciding to just keep on moving like a machine without a stupid pep talk or any sort of compassionate comment.
Everything next happened so sudden that Casey was caught off guard. He managed to reason out that Garnet and Max must have hit some sort of trap and have gotten caught but it was so quick that Casey was beginning to wonder if the gods were making bets on how much the team would take before they submitted to the inevitable defeat. He'd keep going as long as garnet did and he was able of course because he was him and Casey always did what a teacher said, a tragedy and a good thing all at once. Strangely in the middle of all of this Casey's scientific mind managed to admire the trap and the crafted nets which had obviously been cleverly designed. Casey had been close enough that a few pebbles hit him before he had the good sense to step back out of harm's way but even still they stun slightly and he was sure at least a few would provide him with purplish bruises in the morning. It was nothing he couldn't handle though, afterall he had had a black eye or a bruise several times before thanks to high school bullies.
Jess was also caught ever so slightly but the damage was less to him. Where Casey had flinched and ducked at the hits he had taken Jess cursed and stepped back with fury glinting in those dark eyes which almost seemed to challenge any who gazed into them to try him and to tame him. Jess was a survivor and he had learned over the years of being alone in the big city that a person had to watch out for themselves, everyone else was secondary or insignificant. So he checked over his bruises, figuratively licking his wounds before even seeing if anyone else was alright. It was insensitive to be sure but Jess didn't see it that way and no one save those who had been in his position could have understood the particular type of survival instinct he had.
"Is anybody hurt?" The call came from Aurora, still obviously in her leadership poistion. "Not yet but considering our track record so far it's only a matter of time," Jess replied darkly, his comment more serious than it was in jest. He had a few shallow scrapes but nothing significant. Glancing over at the blue-eyed mutant he saw that the damage there was slightly worse but that Casey was seemingly okay. That's right suck it up, Jess thought, not wanting to hear anything more about sickness or injuries for the remaining duration of their trip. He had noticed, it was hard not to, Rachel morphing into a bear and heard the speech in his head but it seemed so strange to have someone he barely knew's voice inside his mind.
"I suppose we ought to help get them out of there…” she spoke once more through thought and Jess's first reaction was 'do we have to?' It was only an automatic first reaction to helping someone though and he grudgingly nodded. Casey was, naturally, much more eager to help out. Quite possible this was because it would take his mind off of his own bruises.
Jess had to hide his half smirk as he thought, 'Someone would make a good survivor', his mental comment referring to the reality show he had heard commonly referred to in classic television shows. "No necessity for that…,” came a shout from the pit and both mutant boys decided Rachel must have said something to the team leader mentally that she hadn't addressed to them. It came as a relief to Jess who, although he would have helped out, would have done so very grudgingly. In a moment the leader and Max had risen from the pit and Aurora was again issuing commands.
Another team nearby made sense and Jess was almost itching for a fight, fully willing to let loose for once or even just to refuse someone and watch their confusion. He had to wonder though and quirked an eyebrow as Aurora trailed off as if she had thought of something not of the good. 'The plot thickens' Jess thought wondering about the reason for her worry. The comment that they had better leave didn't do much for his fully depleted optimism about the situation. Well he was eager to move on anyway. It wasn't like this place would be holding alot of wonderful memories or anything.
”Like I mentioned I think it’s… ”…just a ton of bruises between us” Rachel commented, her words in thought then orally coming across to the group in an odd but somehow fluid transition. Jess nodded his agreement, feeling even now one on his upper arm that would probably smart for awhile. Casey nodded too, a little more hesitantly but then with growing assurance. His injuries weren't great but he had endured worse and at least this was a more natural sort of injury if nothing else. By now Rachel had morphed back to her human form and despite his handy and formidable enough powers Casey wished for a brief moment in time that he had her abilities and that he could protect himself as Rachel obviously was able to care for herself. He shot a gaze over in Jess' tradition thinking that even a bit of Jess' independant strength and ability to hold his own would be helpful although judging from the defensive mutant's view on people he'd been through alot to get to that point in time.
Aurora seemed eager to get them going again, worried about a possible threat she wouldn't reveal to them and Jess unquestionningly followed. He might not have had undying respect for Aurora or a desire to help the team and the greater good but saving his ass at the moment meant tagging along and playing nice so thatwas what he did. Casey walked before him as usual, meaning that Jess was behind in the rear and left to his own thoughts. Problem was that at the moment all the native New Yorker could think about right now was whatever it was Aurora had been concerned about and if she was just being paranoid or if there was really some substance to her concern.
Re: Exiles: Through the Woods and Beyond - Wait, who are YOUMaressa & Garnet:
Half a smile had been cracked in reply to D.K.’s comment about them having had the time to set up yet another trap. Admittedly, it may have had proven more entertaining than having to play obedient subordinate again, but easily bored as she was, the prospect of moving ahead sounded just a bit more tempting. Yet their game wasn’t over yet, only had just reached another level that Mareesa didn’t yet know the rules of. Even if their little dance wouldn’t lead to anything (which, quite frankly, she highly doubted), the showgirl found herself quite thankful for the black male’s presence. It made things less boring, less of a “We are so evil and today we’ll prove it!” fieldtrip that rather seemed like the ridiculous attempt of gaining some sort of recognition rather than being motivated by the endeavoured outcome.
And seriously, how much of a demonstration of power was it to take out “training” children? Not that Mareesa held actual sympathy for their future victims or was suffering from bad conscience, it was rather the seemingly cowardly plan of fighting against fledglings that bothered her and even that wasn’t for superior reasons like a code of honour or pride – every means was just if it got you closer to your goal – but simply the fact that if they lost here, their reputation was more than just ruined. And despite her attitude of seeing the X-trainees as immature brats, the Drama Queen was too much of a realist to ignore the fact that bestowed with power, those could actually prove to be the more dangerous opponents. One tended to underestimate their strength and their way of thinking tended to differ from that of more the experienced ones because they hadn’t yet had the time to form a routine, plan out template tactics.
Yet those things nobody would consider, even less so if they lost. They would only see the fact that they had lost against children and although Mareesa was pretty certain that due to those people’s ludicrous idea of justice her life wasn’t really endangered if she wasn’t acting as stupid as those supercilious other women on their “team” were likely to do, the thought of being humiliated was quite an unbearable one.
Silently, she wondered why this would be the case. Hadn’t she always prided herself on the fact that she didn’t care about other people’s opinions? Pride based on honour and dignity was laughable, a waste of time letting you lose focus on what really mattered. All means were just if they got you closer to your goal… and if it meant to grovel and kiss your enemy’s feet, so be it. Sooner or later there would always be a way to get even, pay back the debts… with interest. So why this gnawing feeling of not wanting to fail? Not wanting to… disappoint…? No, no that couldn’t be, she had to be wrong. Maybe those pride-bound fools had started to rub off on her. Yes, that had to be it.
Forcing herself simply not to think about it, the private dancer was glad when they were finally moving. Impatiently, she pushed her light blond mane with the black streaks back over her shoulder following their intrepid leaders with self-confident pace, keeping rather close to Alfonse as the only one she felt quite comfortable around. ”Exiles…,” she scoffed derogatorily, throwing him a glance. ”What kind of group calls one of their teams like that? Thought they were all comfy-cuddly!?” She couldn’t know that it had in fact been the team itself that had chosen the name. Before D.K. had a chance to reply though, a quiet but clearly noticeable beep sounded from her chest.
A confused look appeared on her features as she stared at her breasts in a slightly bewildered fashion. Fortunately, it took only a second or two until she remembered the useful little gadget… before she could make any stupid remark along the lines of “Wow, they can talk.” A smirk appeared on her features before she quickly caught up with Shauna and Mystique’s daughter. ”Showtime.”
Once more, Aurora Garnet Ferelle found herself lost in thoughts, yet this time without making the mistake to stop paying attention to her finally rainless surroundings. Yet even though she was carefully scanning the path before her, every step seemed likely to activate another trap to her overly tense mind. The questions repeating over and over again helped as much as the fact that she just didn’t seem to be able to find an answer to them: not at all. Had one of the Hunter teams split up into groups with one, lacking the leader’s supervision, going a good dozen steps too far in building such a dangerous trap? Except for the unlikely possibility that she was simply misjudging the potential thread of those falling rocks, this really seemed to be only answer, didn’t it?
Well, on the upside of things, this at least meant that she wasn’t the only leader having a not perfectly functioning team to work with. The euphemistic thought brought the trace of a bitter smile on her face. “Not perfectly functioning” … how much nicer than “hopeless case” this sounded. With Paige, it seemed what little motivation and “team spirit” they had managed to build had disappeared. Teleported away, just like that – a strange thought considering that the healing mutant had been anything but a productive team member. Not that Aurora would have blamed her for that. After all, who wanted to contribute to a group of people who usually teased and mocked about you?
Eventually, their path led to a clearing and although chances weren’t extraordinarily high that this spot, that wasn’t overly different from dozens of similar ones scattered across the woods, was being used for an ambush, Aurora decided to walk along its edge. Why attract more attention than necessary? It was when they were halfway through that… something strange happened. Everything, the wind, the trees… ”Look at me, pay attention to me!” …even her own thoughts seemed to urge her to look at a certain spot, made her jerk her head around almost instantly and seemingly without having any say in it. And there she was.
A broad fake smile plastered on her strangely pretty features, the Drama Queen stood illuminated by a spotlight, like the head of a circus. Her long, black skirt with the long slit at the side stood in interesting, yet not unstylish contrast with the woman’s version of a tuxedo’s upper part, complete with bow tie and top hat, all of which could be marvelled at as she made a wide, welcoming gesture with both arms. Suddenly, the day seemed even less bright than before, increasing the effect of an evening in a circus tent. ”Welcome,” she shouted out dramatically, as if speaking to a big audience, ”welcome to the end of your story.” Despite the threatening quality of her words, the blond woman’s voice remained friendly, in the dramatically mysterious way of someone announcing some kind of spectacle.
While one arm sank to her side, the other was flung in a half circle like a conjurer throwing explosives or sparkling confetti. Indeed, it gave a loud bang and accompanied by thick smoke, three forms appeared out of nowhere in front of the strange, yet still fully convincing woman. Snarls and hisses could be heard as the air became clear again to reveal what seemed like oversized lizards… of the homicidal kind. Easily towering over the tallest human, they stood on two, muscular legs that seemed to be made for sprints. Their arms were incomparably smaller, yet armed with claws whose sharpness was only surpassed by that of their teeth, filling a long, protruding snout. Yellow slit eyes focused on the Exiles, long, flexible tails meant to help them keep their balance whipping the air behind them as they seemed to only be waiting for a single word to throw themselves at their pitiable victims. Those creatures were predators from a time when prey had towered higher than houses… humans were snacks.
Tenderly patting the long neck of the creature closest to her, the Drama Queen broadened her smile in anticipation of the things to come, as it seemed, and finished her speech after an effective pause during which the Velociraptors slowly left their positions to spread out and attack the young mutants. Taking off her top hat, she bowed and repeated her wide, embracing gesture. ”Welcome, my dears, to Jurassic Park!”
"Will you be the one to lead me out of my shell? And show me ... show me myself?"
) Anyway, I hope this seems okay anyway
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