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Post by Del on Oct 4, 2009 23:18:50 GMT -8
Parisa :: Underground observatory
“Please,” he asked, voice just shy of a whisper, “may I take you to the bed? It is far more comfortable than stone.”
It was the first time she had heard him speak. It was also the first time someone had spoken to her in a long time. It startled Parisa and scared her. Her body went ridged, her eyes opened wide, and her head slowly creaked in the direction of his voice. All Parisa did for a few good minutes was stare. In that time, many thoughts raced through her head: She was unsure who, or what, this man was, and yet he seemed harmless enough. Still, there was something about the man's mystery that frightened her. The fact that he was a lonely didn't help either. She did not want his help, and she did not want to make the decision to accept or deny his help.
And yet she had to. Would she lay here on the cold and hard ground? Or let this man... touch her and take her to his bed? How long had it been since she had been touched by another? The memory was so distant that she could barely remember. This internal battle raged frantically in her mind, and while it seemed to take an eternity, it only took a few minutes in reality. Slowly, and without proper realization, Parisa moved her head in a cautious nod.
Her eyes were wide open, as much in terror as they were in awe, the entire time she was being carried.
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Post by Gabby on Oct 5, 2009 11:48:32 GMT -8
[ Kallias – Underground Observatory ]
Grinning invisibly, grimly, Kallias was gentle as he slipped his arms around her back and beneath her knees. Her body felt nearly weightless, her bones seemingly hollow, as if her brief flight hours before had exposed her true avian nature. When Kallias pressed her securely to his chest, he stood and trekked to the bed. It was difficult to ignore her wide, terrified eyes staring up at him, unable to see past his mask to the human beneath. At that moment, he knew that they shouldn’t get comfortable. He would usually leave for Baris in a little over a week’s time, but a change of plans was in order. She needed real help from those who would give it to her. Even though he initially ‘rescued’ her, Kallias realized he only really prolonged her suffering until she could truly be helped. For now, he would do his best to help her regain her strength. Then they would leave.
Rassus zigzagged between Kallias’ legs as he walked, almost but not exactly trying to trip him. But he remained innocent enough for Kallias not to expect a thing. Standing on his hind legs at the foot of the mass of sheets and pillows, the scrunt watched as the Twin methodically set the Lonely down, arranging her arms so that they lay at her sides. He let a blanket fall and settle upon her body. Stepping back, he examined his work, wishing only the utmost of comforts on the girl. She most likely deserved such rest.
After a short pause, Kallias dipped out of the room so that she might close her eyes rather than gawk at him. Rassus, glancing back and forth between his brother and the Lonely girl, amazingly decided to follow Kallias, knowing that he wouldn’t get anywhere with Kallias watching over her as such. So instead he followed him back into the main area of the cavern. There was barely enough light – even from the few lanterns – to see, but that was perfect. With the sun completely absent from the atmosphere, Kallias stepped up to the telescope, adjusted the gears and cranks, and marveled at the heavens. He swore he found the Cradle once, but there was no way he could be sure.
He didn’t remain long at the telescope, however. Venturing into his collection room – a space where various instruments, parts, toys, and whatever else he had found in his excavations – hung from the walls, protruded from the walls, sat on shelves, piled on the floor. Turning up a flame in one of the lanterns, Kallias sat down at a long, rectangular desk against the cave’s wall, his belt of tools already sprawled out, tiny gears and screws and springs littering the tabletop. For the next two hours or so, Kallias busied himself with taking things apart and trying to put them back together. Though not always successful, Kallias plodded on with the utmost resilience and concentration, in the end always adding to his already expansive knowledge of apparatik and any other mechanical device. It was not an exaggeration when he might say he learned something new every day, because he did. One thing at a time made itself clear to him. It was almost as if the object wanted him to take it apart and reassemble it. It wasn’t uncommon for the Twin to mentally ‘thank’ the objects for their ‘cooperation.’
He fell asleep at his work station, goggles set aside but mask still planted firmly over his nose and mouth.
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Post by CO on Oct 10, 2009 7:43:38 GMT -8
~Elveda Outskirts~
The thrill of an Orphanage Liberation was like no other, especially when you got to see the appreciative look in the eyes of the Lonely.
Dante was informed that the plan was to take the Lonely up to Baris. The only downside was that the caravan for the Lonely was going to take awhile to get to them. Seizing the opportunity, Dante made his way back through the desert to where he left his bike, which had since toppled over in the sand.
He groaned as he pulled his invention out of the sand, hoping that it wasn't broken. He placed his right hand on a spot on the engine and it roared to life, hovering over the sand and creating a mini sand storm.
Dante raised his goggles over his eyes and put the scarf around his nose and mouth and pulled back on the right handle. The bike boosted forward in a great rush of speed, but something didn't seem right. The bikes speed kept cutting out and it stalled atleast twice on the way back to meeting up with Leander and Ellie.
When he made it back to their makeshift desert camp he explained to Leander and Ellie that he needed to take his bike to a friend to take a look at it and that he would be back before the caravan got there.
With that, Dante took off into the desert once more, heading to a rather secret location to meet up with an old friend who he was sure could fix his bike up no problem.
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Post by Gabby on Oct 10, 2009 8:29:10 GMT -8
[ Kallias – Underground Observatory ]
The Twin’s eyes cracked open to the rumbling, humming sound of a very familiar machine on the surface. Its approach dislodged more sand from the ceiling, making Kallias’ various trinkets and artifacts clank and jingle with the vibrations. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and processed the information. He set his goggles back on top of his head as he swiveled over and up to his feet. The amber glass hanging from the ceiling chimed. Quickly peeking into the room where the girl reposed, Kallias determined she still slept; so he made his way towards the entrance, stopping to get a quick drink of water.
Upon his departure, Rassus opened a single eye, waiting until he had gone completely before stretching. His jaws opened wide in a yawn, still not completely enthralled that he was awake that that hour. But he’d more or less grown used to it. Not necessarily planning to remain awake – no, he had other plans – Rassus scampered back to the bedroom, standing on his hind legs, watching the Lonely girl sleep. Brow lowering in determination, he figured the commotion above would probably spur her from her slumber. And when that time came, he’d be waiting.
Squinting against the bright sun, Kallias positioned his goggles over his eyes, staring up to the edge of the overhang. The pained workings of the nearing machine were clearly audible until it was finally silenced. Kallias shook his head and grinned. He pulled the mask from his face only for a second.
“For Mor’s sake, put that thing out of its misery!” he yelled to the sky, laughter mixed into his voice.
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Post by CO on Oct 10, 2009 9:27:48 GMT -8
~Kallias' Underground Observatory~
Dante stopped outfront of the familiar opening to Kallias' underground abode and cut the engine to his injured bike. A few seconds after he heard the familiar voice of his old friend.
“For Mor’s sake, put that thing out of its misery!” he heard from down below the rocks, a hint of laughter in the voice.
"You know I'm not about to do that," Dante called back after lowering the scarf from his mouth. He then removed the goggles from his eyes and looked down the opening. "Oi oi, how you doing old friend?"
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Post by Del on Oct 10, 2009 10:42:40 GMT -8
Parisa :: Underground Observatory
It was the vibrations to that woke Parisa, but it was Rassus who brought her senses to full clarity. The scrunt lunged for her face violently, greedy paws open wide in search of her eyes. Startled, Parisa was unable to move in time. Heavily, Rassus landed on her face and began attempting to slip his small fingers into her eye sockets. Why did this creature desire to remove her eyes so badly? Was it jealously? Regardless of the scrunt's motives, Parisa grabbed Rassus by the scruff of his neck and hurled him as far as she could. Immediately following, Parisa stood up to see where Rassus would land, but she could not find him...
At least she was rid of him... for now.
Noticing the sand periodically falling from the ceiling, Parisa imagined a large vehicle must be driving overhead. Sharply, the vehicle stopped, and Parisa heard the faint and muffled sound of voices above ground. Who was above her? Had the Orphanage found her once again? She wouldn't go back there. She had to escape before they found her.
Suddenly, Rassus appeared, and as if reading her mind, pointed towards an area of the cavern that lead up to the surface. It opposed the main exit on the other side of the cavern, which was most likely where the guards would enter from, and one had to jump across a series of stones which sat in a good sized pool that stretched the expanse of the cavern. Signaling her to follow him, Rassus took off in the direction of the water, and Parisa followed him with desperation. Since it took her so long, Rassus would periodically stop and look back to make sure she was still following him. Eventually, the two reached the water's edge. Looking up at her, Rassus began chattering and pointing to the stones in the water, then himself, and then her. Thinking the scrunt was telling her to walk across on the stones, Parisa took a large step on the first one only to have it rapidly sink into the water. Parisa fell, half on land and half in the water and began slipping into the pond at a fairly quick pace; it seemed that some of these rocks were not as stable as others.
Grabbing her hair in an attempt to pull her from the water, Rassus tugged and pulled to get her back onto land. Slowly, Parisa made her way out of the small, underground lake, and pulled herself onto land (of which Rassus had no real hand in). While she lay panting on the ground, Rassus sat there angrily chatting into her ear. Once she stood up, Rassus, though now impatiently, started the process over again. He pointed to the rocks, to himself, and then to her... It seemed the scrunt was telling her that he would jump onto the rock first, showing her that it was either stable or not and then she would follow him. She would be able to safely make her way across the water through the help of Rassus; this little guy wasn't so bad after all. Slowly, the two made their way across the lake's surface, Rassus jumping from rock to rock with Parisa following, and it wasn't till about half way that anything happened.
Because Parisa had gotten into the rhythm of jumping from rock to rock, it was too late before she realized that the stone she was about to step on was an unstable one. It seemed Rassus had mislead her... most likely on purpose. Swiftly, Parisa fell into the water, yet she didn't submerge all the way. The rocks in this area of the lake made a pocket of sorts, and the height of this stone pocket just so happened to be just slightly taller than she: it was not enough to drown her right away, yet it was just enough to keep her from rescuing herself.
Appearing on one of the stones above her, Rassus menacingly looked down as he rubbed his tiny hands together and smiled a scrunty smile; it seemed the little demon had planned this all along, and, most likely, would remove her eyes after she was dead.
If she managed to survive this, Parisa would never trust the creature again.
Choking on water and gasping for air, the woman tried her best to keep her head in the air, yet it wasn't long before she got tired. After a while, her body's struggle became weaker and weaker until she was barely moving at all. She could no longer keep her head above the surface, and it wouldn't be long before Parisa would black out.
Damn Scrunt...
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Post by Gabby on Oct 10, 2009 12:05:41 GMT -8
((Hope you don't mind I took minor control, CO. Just wanted to get things moving with decent-sized posts.))
[ Kallias – Underground Observatory ]
"You know I'm not about to do that. Oi oi, how you doing old friend?"
“Better than that bike of yours sounds,” Kallias joked before coughing once or twice. “Come on down. The doctor’s already seeing patients. There’s hope yet.” Immediately regretting his corny analogy, Kallias gestured for his friend to join him, shaking his head. Holding the mask to his face for a few breaths of good air, the wanderer watched as Dante made his way down to his level. They shared a friendly handshake.
“I wish I had your luck with timing, Dante,” Kallias admitted as they ventured down the dim tunnel towards the observatory. Dante sent him a curious look. “You’ll see in a minute.” He took another deep breath from his mask before speaking again. “How’s life treating you?” They soon made it to the doorway.
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Post by CO on Oct 10, 2009 12:49:41 GMT -8
~Kallias' Undergound Observatory~
“How’s life treating you?” Kallias asked as the two of them walked through the dark cavern.
"Not too badly. Just had a hand in a liberation on Orphanage VII. When I came back to get my bike I found it knocked over and when I started it up it wasn't running smoothly and making some pretty unhealthy noises. Figured I'd come see you and get this problem diagnosed.
"But how have you and Rassus been?"
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Post by Gabby on Oct 10, 2009 15:42:32 GMT -8
[ Kallias – Underground Observatory ]
“Orphanage VII?” Kallias repeated, brow creasing in thought. It was nearby. “Huh. Well, that might explain it.” He snapped out of his contemplative muttering. “And, well, I can’t speak for Rassus. You’ll have to ask him yourself. As for your bike… it didn’t sound too serious from down here. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Stepping through the doorway into the archaic, spacious dwelling, Kallias motioned to Dante to be quiet with a quick finger to his lips. When he checked on Rassus, he was hardly surprised that he wasn’t there. The commotion probably roused and irritated him. Though, the scrunt was fairly familiar with Dante and all that applied. Undeterred, he turned to Dante again, goggles down, voice low.
“I think I may have found an escapee of VII,” he said, taking gradual steps towards the room where the girl slept. “Rassus found her collapsed in the desert, cooking to death. I need to get her to Baris to—”
His words cut short upon looking into the room. While the blankets and pillows made various lumps and folds, none of them were a result of a resting human form. Kallias’ goggles made their way back to their perch on the top of his head as his scarlet eyes scoured the small area. He stepped backwards. That was not a good sign. “Girl?” he called, puzzlement coloring his tone. Dante must’ve thought him mad the way he called to no one there. “Rassus?” Turning to his ally, Kallias rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not making this up, I swear. There was a girl and… Rassus!” he started again, worry pooling in his stomach. He coughed with his hand to his mouth.
Brushing lightly past Dante, Kallias quickly scouted the area before determining they were both gone. There was only one other way out besides the way from which he’d come, so instantly his head whipped in that direction. “Grab that lantern there,” Kallias ordered Dante, pointing to the one on his desk. “Follow me.” Hardly waiting, Kallias darted off into an alternate tunnel branching off from the farthest corner of the observatory. The Twin had explored the area before, and the only thing awaiting anyone who traversed it was a deep, cold subterranean spring.
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Post by CO on Oct 10, 2009 18:54:38 GMT -8
~Kallias' Underground Observatory~
“Orphanage VII? Huh. Well, that might explain it.” Kallias said. Dante was confused a bit, but his questions were quickly flung from his mind when Kallias began talking again.
“And, well, I can’t speak for Rassus. You’ll have to ask him yourself. As for your bike… it didn’t sound too serious from down here. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
"Great, I knew I could count on you Kal," Dante said with a laugh. Though in the back of his mind he was wondering how the conversation with Rassus would go. "Hey Rassus, how've you been?" "..." "Really? That's lovely. I too have heard good things about that." "..." "Oh you don't say?" "..." "Well that seems like a rushed assumption." "..." "Yes I understand that, but you probably shouldn't have bitten him."
Dante's insane little conversation with the scrunt in his mind suddenly and abruptly ended when Kallias' voice reached him.
“I think I may have found an escapee of VII,” he said, taking steps toward a room in the back. “Rassus found her collapsed in the desert, cooking to death. I need to get her to Baris to—”
Before Dante could see anything or hear the rest of what Kallias had said, Kallias' goggles were back on his brow and he was looking frantically around the cave,
"Girl?" he called. “Rassus? I’m not making this up, I swear. There was a girl and… Rassus!” he stopped abruptly with a cough.
“Grab that lantern there and follow me.” Kallias said before rushing off into the darkness. Not wanting to get lost, Dante quickly grabbed the indicated lanturn and headed off after the slowly fading light.
"Where do you think she is?" Dante asked as he ran to catch up. He hated to think that if it were actually a newly liberated Orphanage prisoner that they escaped, just to die in a cave somewhere in the desert...
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Post by Del on Oct 10, 2009 19:13:25 GMT -8
Finvarra Delafonte :: Lonely Slums
"Niccoli? NIKKOLAI!? I do not think I have heard him of. It is me, not knowing. Soheila might though. Don't ask me, ask Soheila. Soheila, do you know Nee-koo-la-iiiiii!? Good man? Bad bad man?" Finvarra asked in a somewhat sporadic tone and manner as he bounded around the two of them, "Whatever kind he be, I hope he is fun kind."
[This is a "get moving whores" post, just so you know]
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Post by turkoizdog on Oct 10, 2009 19:40:10 GMT -8
It wasn't until Sam didn't reply to her brownie question that Lana realized he was unconscious. She sighed. What to do with him? He needed some help. Somewhere to lay. Somewhere that wasn't a sandy patch in the hot sun, of course. The problem was, she was running out of strength, and fast. She knew it was only a matter of time before she got really sick. She'd have to get him back to her place before something bad happened.
At this point, Lana wasn't strong enough to carry him by herself, so she just had one arm around his torso, leaving his arm around her shoulder as he slouched down over her. He wasn't too heavy considering his height, which was good. But it would still take her a while to carry him by herself. She started walking towards where her house was, step by step, Sam's feet dragging in the sand behind him.
"A little help here?" she asked, eyes darting over to where Sidri stood. The guards weren't going to bother them anymore, so that was one less thing to worry about. He didn't seem to be too into helping Sam, but right now, he was unfortunately her only option.
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Post by Gabby on Oct 10, 2009 19:56:24 GMT -8
[ Kallias – Underground Observatory ]
Holding the mask to his face as he ran – which was more of a necessity than anything – Kallias did his best to answer Dante’s inquiry. Almost as if he had lived in these tunnels for all of his life, Kallias navigated flawlessly. “These caves… formed by an underground… river… See… rivulets on walls?” He took another deep breath. “Still water… up ahead… but… but that’s it…”
It wasn’t long before the sounds of their footsteps merged with the noises of splashing and struggling. Kallias cursed, his assumption undeniably correct. Taking only a few seconds to catch his breath again, he ordered Dante to stay at the edge of the underground lake with the lantern. However, just before he could go to the rescue, Rassus bounded from the darkness, from rock to rock. Kallias did a double-take, wanting to approach Rassus on the matter; but knowing that time was short, he went as swiftly as he could upon the stepping stones, once or twice almost slipping into the water.
Being at such a distance from Dante’s lantern, Kallias reached brusquely into the foam and spray, hoping to snag some sort of limb or article of clothing. He managed to catch a moist wrist, and the girl’s hand automatically clamped to his. Already exhausted, the girl could hardly help him get her out; so Kallias struggled to get her up and out. Her gasps ricocheted from the cold, dark walls of the cavern, coughing and sputtering following suit. As he dragged her up, his knees bent down and his spine arched back in order to situate her in his lap – for balance reasons solely. Before she could realize what she was doing, the girl clung to him desperately, arms wrapping around his neck, legs around his waist, locking to the point where Kallias froze both out of shock and the inability to move. In a very awkward and uncomfortable position, Kallias attempted to calm her. He’d left his mask on shore for practical reasons, so he spoke.
“Please… let go.”
Three simple words had more of an impact than he desired. Nearly convulsing in terror, the Lonely girl jumped involuntarily from his lap and back into the water. Kallias did what he could to keep back some slightly exasperated chuckles. He found her hands in the tangle of her limbs, taking a step back onto the stepping stone before him and pulling her up to her feet. They now both stood – face-to-face – on a separate stone, the girl’s knees shaking and legs almost failing her. When her panting was nearly inaudible, he spoke up once more.
“Listen. Calm.” When there was little response, he found it suitable to go ahead. “I take a step back. You take a step forward. We go together. We keep each other’s balance. Got it?” Her grip tightening around his own, Kallias took that as a yes. Setting his left foot back, it located the stone behind him. In correspondence with that movement, the girl put her right foot forward, placing it where his left used to be. The process repeated itself until they made it to the shore. Dante awaited them there, the lantern shadowing Kallias’ face from behind.
Comically, Kallias held fast to one of the girl’s hands and bowed as she set foot upon the ground. “Mavi is merciful this day!” Backing up, he allowed the girl to lower onto the shore, head resting on her knees, folded into herself, dripping and shivering. Before reattaching his mask, Kallias gestured to Dante. “See? I haven’t gone crazy yet!” He laughed jovially.
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Post by danime91 on Oct 10, 2009 20:21:16 GMT -8
<[Sidri Kalidsri- Elveda: Outside Orphanage VII]>
It seemed that the guards had all run toward the site of the explosion once they had regained their feet, or they were knocked out cold. No need to worry about them for a while. Sidri glanced back toward where the crazy Lonely had landed. The water-user had helped him up in that time and was apparently trying to carry him. "A little help here?"
He studied her through his goggles, trying to gauge how serious she was about helping. He then shrugged impassively. Might as well do something. It made no difference to him one way or another. He strode over to the unconscious body, bent down, and hoisted him over his shoulder like a sack of grain. He straightened without complaint or difficulty, then looked back at the girl. "So, what do you want to do with this, woman?"
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Post by turkoizdog on Oct 10, 2009 20:41:53 GMT -8
Lana sighed as Sam was, quite literally, lifted off of her shoulders. She pushed her shoulders back, making them crack faintly, and stood up straight. When Sidri spoke, she looked up. He had just thrown Sam over his shoulder as it he was nothing at all. She sighed mentally before answering his question.
"Well I figured I'd just take him back to my place, let him rest. He looks like he needs it, will all of the commotion that's been going on today." she said. She bit her lip. "Er, this way." she said, gesturing towards her home and leading the way there. As they walked, she could already feel herself become less tired. Sure it was a bit of a walk to get there, but nothing too far. They were near the outskirts, near the orphanage, and Lana lived closer to the center of Elveda.
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