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walker-journal · 4 years

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Lion and Wolf

timing: At the start of the full moon parties: @letsbenditlikebennett, @laylacooke, @walker-journal summary: Adam meets Layla on the eve of full moon and has to decide if its stabbing time, Celeste saves the day.

Adam was in Took’s General Store purchasing the essentials for “Big Moon” days. Previous trips to The Armory and Excalibur had taken care of most munitions and blade requirements. However there was always miscellaneous stuff. Materials for molotov cocktails, chloroform, poisons, and other essentials were all readily available within Took’s cheery confines.

Plus soap, gonna need ...lots...of soap.

To Adam’s surprise there was a small hesitation inside of him, a passing flicker of hope that none of the wolves he’d encounter were Winn or Lucas inside, or Lucas’ brother whom he’d never met. It was an unusual train of thought for Adam and he shoved it away. All threats needed to be eliminated no matter who they were. This kind of thinking wasn’t what he needed during this critical part of the lunar cycle. Focus.

However the athlete’s mental coaching actually made him lose track of where he was, leading him to almost run over someone in the aisle.

“Hey look where you’re…”

It was about this time that Adam’s eyes took in that the human roadblock also happened to be a bombshell. Brown eyes traced curves before finally arriving to her face with an appreciative smile.

“Sorry about that,” he said in a markedly more diplomatic tone. “My bad.”

----------------

Layla had only been in Took’s a few times. When she had managed to find some money here or there and could afford a small snack or something to drink. But being able to freely go in and just look was something she was able to do now. And since finding a home with Ari, Ulf, and Celeste, her mission was to explore the town and familiarize herself with everything without as much worry as she once previously held. Of course, tonight’s only issue was the full moon, which was rather big, and she knew she’d have to head back home soon.

Perusing the aisles, Layla wasn’t looking for anything in particular, however, she also hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going, so when she ran into someone she quickly started apologizing, “I’m sorry, I got caught up in looking, and I didn’t...see you.” The guy staring back at her had caught her attention with his smile.

It had been a long time since anyone had looked at her like that, and while she was flattered, she was also reminded about the serious relationship she had been in for a few years now, “It’s cool. I should have been paying attention to where I was going.”

---------------- “No problem,” Adam said with a lavisciously distracted grin.

Yet with the young woman’s (was she legal...oh god, hopefully?) presence came a feeling of cold that prickled long his skin in ripples of goosebumps and washed down his spin like he’d stepped under a waterfall. Something about this chick’d set off his Hunter senses. She was likely an inhuman, but of what kind he had no idea.

“Adam Walker,” he said, reaching a thewy arm across the card to offer his hand, trying not to let the heeby jeebies change his expression. “You from around here?”

----------------

Was this guy flirting with her? He had to have been. That smile that seemed to be permanently etched on his face was alerting her to the fact. She had seen it so many times in high school and when she would go out with Frankie and their friends, but the biggest difference now was that Frankie wasn’t here.

“It’s nice to meet you Adam Walker.” She stuck out her own hand to meet his and shook it gently. “Layla Cooke. And no. I’m actually from the South, but I decided to give White Crest a shot. What about you?”

----------------

“Going to college here,” Adam replied, keeping his expression neutral as the touch of her hand brought a rush of inhuman wrongness into his nervous system. The conditioned response of adrenaline entered his veins, years of training and violence filling Adam’s brain with visions of throwing Layla against the mental counters and slamming her skull against the tile floor over and over..

Focus. This is a public place. He knew nothing about her.

“Part of Delta Iota Epsilon,” Adam continued, and shoved a thumb towards the sleeveless t-shirt with the acronym of DIE he was wearing. “Parties all night on Friday and Saturday,” Layla received another appraising look that was devoid of shyness or shame. “You should come check it out...you’d be a great fit,” he assured with a slow nod.

----------------

“Yeah, I’m hoping I can go there one day, when I’m able to get my life in order.” She slowly pulled her hand back and let it drop to her side. She couldn’t tell anything different about Adam, just that he seemed to be a huge flirt. It was weird talking to a college guy, considering they were probably about the same age. But after the bite, life just didn’t seem real anymore.

Seeing him motion to his shirt, she smiled, but something about the letters he was pointing to began to make her uneasy. His smile never seemed to falter though, “You know, I wasn’t as big into the party scene as one might think. My parents weren’t too keen on the idea of their only child going out and getting drunk on the weekend.” No, instead they had her training how to hunt and kill werewolves and other creatures of the night. “But I guess one party sometimes couldn’t hurt.”

Looking past Adam, Layla had noticed it was starting to get dark outside, and that meant that the moon would be coming up sooner than she would have liked, “Well, this has been fun, but I think it’s about time I head home, you know, with it getting dark and all.” Layla started to feel faint and sweat slowly began to build on her brow.

----------------

Adam’s sinewy shoulders shrugged. “Sounds like a drag...but guess its better than them now caring?” The footballer seemed a little uncertain on that last point. “But hey definately welcome anytime.”

She excuses herself and Adam had far more preparations to complete before the moon was high. “Yeah no prob see you arou….um, Lyra” (it was an L name right?) “you ok?”

----------------

“Uh, yeah, I guess.” She was starting to get worried for multiple reasons. “I’ll look you up.”

Layla began moving forward, but stumbled slightly. And there it was. The feeling she dreaded with a passion of a million fiery suns, “Layla. It’s Layla.” Forcing back the lump in her throat, she looked to him with an uneasy smile, “Yeah. Totally. Just need some water.” She began looking around for a cooler with drinks in them. She had to get away from him. Had to get out of the store. Get home.

----------------

Adam frowned in concern as L-chick stumbled. Her weak smile only deepened his downturned expression. Adam went down one of the aisles to the coolers in the back. He placed a water bottle by ?Laura? And went up to the cash register to pay.

“Any better,” he inquired upon returning.

----------------

Layla felt like she was going to leave a lung on the floor of the store. Seeing the water, she grabbed the bottle and opened it, chugging it down. She had never changed in front of anyone before. She had always managed to find privacy, but tonight might have been the night, and Adam was the last person she wanted to know or see what she was.

Finishing the water in one long drink, she let the empty bottle fall to the floor, “Thank you. A little, but I really...I’ll see you around, yeah?” Heading for the door, she forced the door open allowing the cool night air to hit her in the face causing some relief to her pale, clammy skin.

---------------

After a courteous goodbye Adam gave Layla a minute or so headsteart. He was strapped for time but his instincts were picking up weird vibes here. All kids of weird shit went down around the Full Moon, furry and otherwise. If this chick were a supernatural and acting weird, then that's something he needed to follow up on for security’s sake, at least until he was sure it wasn’t going to be a public incident or Pet Shop of Horrors in some back alley.

Adam’s eyesight wasn’t human, thus he could give Layla a very wide berth while trailing her, keeping it casual and hoping to blend in with the crowd.

---------------

With each passing moment, Layla could feel her human side getting weaker and the beast growing stronger. She just wanted to shed her skin and feel better. To have this continual growing ache to disappear, so the animal inside her could be free, but at the same time, she wanted it under control. So far, with every shift, she hadn’t been able to remember what had happened the night before, and it scared her. Hurting someone or something was the last thing she wanted to do, but everytime it happened, Layla seemed to wake up covered in some kind of blood.

Clutching at her side, she could already feel things starting to happen, and the pain had been worse from her little scuff with Francesca and Orion a few days prior. Unable to control it, Layla let out a yowl of pain. With people staring at her, she began running back towards the place that had been discussed with Celeste as a good place to be locked up for this very occasion.

---------------

Adam darted into the back allies, mentally visualizing the direction Layla was probably heading. Unimpeded by the crowd, the Hunter place the purchased gear in his backpack and broke into a full sprint, vauling over obstacles, and scale fences in a few alacitious motions. Adam let his mutant physiology take control, hurtling forward over, around, and through the gaps in obstacles as he tried to gain on Layla.

He swung over a chainlink fence and out into the street again. He advanced after Layla with cold purpose, feet pounding on the broken sidewalk. “Heya Layla…,” he piped up, warm amiable tone not matching the hard agates of his eyes. “You ok?...Do you need me to call emergency services?”

---------------

Her mind was focused on getting to safety. She just wanted to be left alone, aside from someone to keep watch to make sure she stayed locked up. Layla definitely didn’t want to die, but if she had gotten out, she knew it was a real possibility and one she could support, despite her every effort to convince her parents not to hunt or kill wolves, but to subdue them by safer means.

However, her ears had picked up on something as she was scrambling to get home. The sound of feet hitting the ground at a rapid pace, and it wasn’t long until she knew exactly whose feet it was chasing after her. “Adam?” Her eyes were filled with shock, but also worry, “I don’t know how you got here. Or why.” By now she had a pretty good idea why, “But it’s not safe okay? That’s all I’m saying. So you need to leave.” She hated being blunt, but she couldn’t handle the possibility of attacking him or lashing out unintentionally.

---------------

Adam advanced in firmly purposeful steps, his expression steadily losing its warmth until it had cooled into an iron neutrality. Eyes that once regarded her with playful lewdness were now sizing her up with a calculation that held a surgical edge, something to be assessed and possibly disposed of rather than a woman to court.

“Why is it not safe Layla,” he asked with level calm.

---------------

Layla’s strength was diminishing. She was going to have to change sooner rather than later, and along with her strength, her patience was growing thin. It was the animal inside that made her want to lash out and rip his head off, but she resisted the urge, knowing deep down inside, she couldn’t live with herself if she ever did hurt someone, “Because, Adam, I’m not feeling too good, and I wouldn’t want you to get sick…” She looked over to him, the softness of her own expression gone and easily turning into something harder.

---------------

Adam looked around at the courtyard we were in. Cracked cement and empty storefronts long closed where dotted around them. Small plants and mosses eaked out starved existences in the small fissures spidering through cement and tarmac. The dusk cast waning crepular light over the patch of urban decay that Layla and Adam found themselves. The street’s activity was muted in the distance. “Thanks, that's very considerate of you,” Adam said, still advancing. He lifted a necklace from under his thin shirt. A six-pointed star caught the wan light, pure silver contrasting with the young man’s skin, still ruddy red from the sprint over here.

“You should really let me help walk you home though,” Adam said, winding the sliver symbol through his fingers as he drew closer. “This town can be pretty dangerous at night.”

---------------

Layla hadn’t yet been in contact with silver, since the night she received the bite that changed her. Seeing the glint in the rising moon, the girl’s demeanor completely changed and a low guttural growl escaped her lips, “What do you want with me?” Her body ached and the animal raged inside of her begging to escape, but the moon still hung too low in the night sky. Her breathing was rapid, and she could feel the sickness in her growing, “Are you gonna kill me? Is that why you won’t just leave me alone?” Tears formed in her eyes. Was tonight the night Layla was going to die at the hands of a hunter not much older than she?

She continued to move forward. Her only goal at this point was trying to make it back to Celeste, unless a fight were to ensue, which there was a very good chance she wouldn’t survive.

---------------

Perhaps seeing that subterfuge held no further purpose, Adam reached his free hand behind his back and under his shirt and withdrew one of the two blades he kept there. A cruelly serrated and silvered tactical knife danced easily in the Hunter’s fingers as he readied it.

“Depends,” Adam said coldly, keeping a steady pace but not yet rushing forward. “Where’re you going this Full Moon? If you're going to be out and about then yeah,” the athlete affirmed with a shrug of his shoulders. “You’d be too much of a danger to let live.”

---------------

Layla’s entire body was starting to ache, but she knew she was getting closer to where she needed to be. However, it didn’t deter Adam from continuing to follow along or threaten her. Finally at her wits end and her breathing growing shallow, she stopped and confronted him, “I’m trying to get to the place I was told to go so I can lock myself up, you nosey piece of human garbage.” Sweat was pouring down her pale face, and it was taking everything within her not to just give up and let the monster take control of her body.

---------------

Adam stopped when Layla did, posture slightly slanted as he kept his weight ready on his back foot. The insult didn’t seem to phase him however her claim provoked a moment of contemplation, brawny arms folded in front of him. However the way the silver tactical knife was nevertheless held in the outermost arm in readiness hinted at the deception within this face of casualness. The muscles within the Hunters arms and shoulders were still taut and knotted in this state of stillness, as if he genuinely expected Layla to drop this obvious charade and lunge at him any second.

“Really now.” Dubiety dripped from the worlds as tawny eyebrows raised in an expression that asked Layla if she ...really...wanted to play this way. There came another shrug. “Cool, let’s go and make sure you’re chained up nice and safe.”

---------------

Layla knew hunters. She knew the tricks they played. She was taught how to play games by her parents. And if she had really wanted to snack on his flesh, she would have done it already, but the idea of meat grossed her out, and that idea still lingered behind all the rage and thirst bottled up inside her, “Geeze, yes. Really. Quit acting like a smug, fuckboi hunter and just help me get to the place I’m going. Unless you’re really just looking for a fight, because, yes, you’d probably win. I’m a baby wolf that doesn’t know shit, except animal instinct, which you’re going to experience, if you don’t quit slowing me down. Embrace this moment, you ass. Cherish it, because I’m sure it’s not often you get a willing participant to play your little cat and mouse game that actually just wants to go lock herself up.” She growled at him, before resuming the walk at a quicker pace. She was dispelling more energy, but if it got her away from him and in chains faster then so be it.

---------------

Adam let out an exhalation that evinced that confusion was stronger then frustration. “Yup, it definitely is different,” he admitted while keeping pace. “This isn’t cat and mouse so much as if you're lying, I size you down to fit in those dumpsters,” Adam replied with tactless frankness, nodding towards some waste receptacles they passed.

“Kay, so should I hold you up, carry you..” Adam asked in a more amenable tone, not about to throw an angry she-wolf over his shoulder without permission.

---------------

Layla rolled her eyes at his comment about the dumpsters, “Let me make it easier on you, Adam. You don’t have to size me to fit into anything. I know I fit in dumpsters for a fact. No shame here, because it’s where I used to get my food. So if you want to murder me, then go ahead.” She had almost regretted saying that. Almost.

The teenager closed her eyes in defeat, before reopening them and training them on the hunter in front of her, “If you think you can get me there faster, then be my guest.” She held out her arms waiting for him to pick her up.

---------------

There Hunter shook his head at his quarry and companions second slip into submitting before the knife. “Not that I don’t appreciate an easy kill to move the night along and all,” he began. “But you give up too easy Layla. It doesn’t matter if you’re small or young. Hit the right tendon it doesn’t matter. Fuckin dead is dead.”

On that cheery note, the Hunter put away the silver chain and sheathed his blade. He took the girl into his arms and hefted her weight without visible effort. This done, the athlete took off in a brisk run that steadily accelerated as the mutant fell into a stride that’d have had most fully-human soldiers panting before long.

“So, where is this place?”

---------------

He was right. She did give up too easily. Somehow she had made it this long on her own, but why? Why had she still been spared? Layla couldn’t figure it out. The one thing she did know was that she was angry at the world. Her parents. The wolf who had bit her. The people who had turned her away when she was at her lowest…

The only semblance of hope that had started to return was the day Ariana had offered her a hot meal and a bed to sleep in.

Feeling him lift her up, without resisting, she tried to hold herself up so as to not put all of her weight on him, but it didn’t seem to be much of an issue, “It’s deep in the woods, just past the drive-in theater. Adam, why are you helping me? Why not just kill me when you had the chance?”

---------------

“Because it's not the killing that’s important,” Adam huffed as he continued in a boot camp pace up various hills, across cul de sacs, vaulting over property fences using his free hand, and ignoring the residents cry of outrage as he just took the next fence at a run without responding to their questions.

“It’s about removing threats to mankind,” he continued between breaths while running off the paved streets onto the more rugged roads that signaled one was drawing nearer to the drive-in-theatre and woods. “If you stay out during the full moon then you’ll lose control and be a threat to everyone.”

Dusk deepend and shadowed lengthened, even with the Hunter’s superhuman stamina nightfall proved an implacable pursuer.

“But if you're inside and chained up then you’re not a threat and I don’t have to kill you,” the Hunter finished with the brutally linear logic that the Code demanded. “Me helping you means less people die.”

---------------

Layla latched onto Adam. He was so much stronger than he looked, and she was impressed. And as she watched the town fly by as he ran, she listened to him explain the answer to her question. The fact that he didn’t outright want to kill her, she could respect, and it reminded her of the many arguments she had with her mother and father about that very issue; killing. However, where they differed was that she didn’t want to kill at all. She had just wanted to subdue the beast, despite knowing that there were wolves and other creatures that would kill regardless. And it’s part of the reason she was in the situation she was currently in.

“Well, I can respect that, and I greatly appreciate you giving me a chance. Not all of us want to be killing machines. Some of us just want to be normal human teenagers that go to college and spend time with their girlfriends and paint our nails.” She sighed. “And not have to be locked up every time there’s a full moon.”

She rested her forehead into his shoulder in defeat getting a whiff of his body spray, “Huh, you actually smell really good.” Looking up, she noticed the small structure just up ahead. “There. Celeste should be waiting.”

---------------

“You’re welcome,” grunted Adam as he leapt over the makeshift barricade at the far end of the drive-in theatre. Cicadas whined as the Hunter bounded through the open field towards the woods. Tall grasses and thorns tore at his fatigues, staining the light beige with slashes of green and yell as his breakneck pace barreled through dandelions and knots of knee-height weeds. The air was filled with the smell of fields yielding to the seedy pungence of the woods.

“Heh well I can’t really pretend to know what normal is like,” admitted the mutant who as a child needed to be carefully taught how to interact with non-Hunters so he didn’t accidently break his classmates. “Glad your’re more ...Ya-Ya sisterhood stuff then... murder though,” he huffed as they cleared the treeline, branches snapped with like firecrakers under his pounding feet. “And I guess that’s just life ...when you got’ crazy moon virus,” he said with characteristic tactlessness on the matter of being locked up. “It isn’t fair...but that shits the breaks. “Heh, you mention your girlfriend ...then tease me with the smelling good and getting up close in my grill like that,” Adam noted with a hoarse laugh as they entered the home stretch up towards the woodland house, blinking as sweat stung at his eyes. “You're cruel,” he joked. While the relative intimacy of her so up close against him might’ve been more..distracting...under different circumstances, Adam was actually more concerned about Layla shifting in his arms and taking a big ‘ol bite out of his neck.

“Kay here we are, not much time”

---------------

Layla continued to stay latched on, but she could feel her body starting to make miniscule changes. Things got a little brighter in the night. Smells were more apparent and distinct. And she started to feel sick again. She had done a good job of suppressing it as Adam raced her towards the safety of a makeshift cage, but it was getting harder now. And she could start to hear the blood pumping through his veins, which left her mouth watering. But, of course, she kept her sudden needs on the DL.

“Crazy moon virus. Best name for it yet.” She felt her arms go around him a little tighter in both a manner of trying to hold on, but for deeper innate reasons. She was praying they would make it there soon, and despite him being kind of an ass, she didn’t want to hurt him. There was something about him that she valued, especially considering he was willing to risk his life to get her to where she desperately needed to be.

“What can I say? I must just be a heartbreaker.” She laughed weakly as they inched closer, and when they had finally made it, she slid off his back, nearly collapsing to the ground. Her eyes searched for Celeste as she tried to make her way to her feet, “Celeste! Please tell me you’re here...Please be here…”

---------------

As it got darker, Celeste found her nerves were dancing under her skin. Layla should have been here by now. She’d headed over to their spot early to ensure the chains were set up and ready to go for Layla. After many tests to make sure they’d be safe, she’d waited patiently, her fingers idly drumming over the tranquilizer gun on her hip. Except as the sky got darker, her patience soon wore thin. She was practically pacing a hole into the ground beneath her feet.

When she heard people approaching, she briefly felt relieved until she heard another voice with Layla’s. Her brow furrowed, she wasn’t keen on anyone else knowing about this spot. “Layla,” she called out, running toward Layla and the man carrying her. She looked over him carefully, waiting for him to set her down. “You’re late,” she said simply before asking, “And who is this?” With Ariana not too far off, Celeste felt on edge having someone else here.

---------------

If Layla consented, Adam set her down. He leaned back and placed both sinewy arms behind his head. The run here carrying another person had been taxing even by Hunter standards, and the footballer’s shoulders rose and fell in a steady rhythm as he tried to get some breath back.

“Adam,” he said with a flushed grin despite his brown eyes scanning the area, looking for if this lock-up was legit or if his sweaty gullible ass was about to be ambushed at this murder-cabin. “It’s ok, I’m used to hot gingers climbing me like a tree.”

He looked to the sky and then cautiously between both women. “So...where’s this safety room?”

---------------

“I know. I got held up.” She shot Adam a look. But as the moon was nearly high in the sky, the young wolf started to feel a more severe shift, and without being able to control it, cried out in pain. It was starting, and if Layla didn’t get chained up soon, then bad things were bound to happen.

Stumbling towards Celeste, Layla’s eyes held agony, “Do it. Whatever you’ve gotta do, do it.” She had done this many times alone, but there was no one around her that she feared she would consume. Of course, that wasn’t to say she hadn’t eaten people before, she just couldn’t remember it, and that always scared her.

Looking between Celeste and Adam, she had hoped they would both be safe and leave when need be. She had also wondered about Ariana, and if she was being locked up as well, but she didn’t want to say anything with fear of Adam trying something.

---------------

The idea of bringing a stranger into the space she’d set up was not something Celeste was keen on doing. Gently grabbing on Layla’s arm, she looked at Adam with narrow eyes. “I’m Celeste. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t really have time to give you a tour.” There wasn’t much time for a debate either, so she led Layla over to the abandoned underground room she’d found. It’d taken a little work to get the chains adequately reinforced and Ulfric didn’t love the idea, but it was what Layla wanted. If this Adam followed then he followed. Once Layla was restrained, she could pay more attention to him and determine if he was a threat.

Layla’s pain was apparent as her bones were shifting. She rushed down the stairs of the abandoned building and kept Layla close to her, placing the cuffs of the chains around her wrists as quickly as she possibly could before looking back to see if he had followed.

--------------- Adam would like to say that he was the kind of person that could’ve just accepted that this Celeste chick, though she felt human to his Hunter senses, was some nice wonderful person who definitely wouldn’t just let the almost shifted out to run free and gnaw off citizen’s gnads. Celeste’s concern looked genuine.

But Adam’s life hasn't been the kind that really left much room for faith in anyone. Faith was too dangerous.

Thus, he followed the two women with a feigned expression of mere idle curiosity.

---------------

Following Celeste as she grabbed onto Layla’s arm, the young wolf could already feel the crack and tearing of bone and muscle begin. But it wasn’t long before she was on the ground being chained up. It was the first time the girl had ever had chains around her body, and it scared her. But her mind couldn’t process words to speak from the pain that was taking over her form.

Curling up into a fetal position, she wailed out in pain as the horrific transformation continued to take place. It seemed like an eternity, before all was said and done, but when she had fully shifted, she lay on the floor panting, regaining her strength, before she managed to climb onto her two hind legs. She was smaller than most of the wolves, but she stood at least another foot taller than she previously had. Her fur was a warm, reddish-orange, and her eyes glowed brightly.

Sniffing the air, she looked around until she had laid eyes on Celeste and Adam. Food. Lunging came naturally, but she was quickly jerked back and hit the floor moaning slightly, before crawling forward trying to reach out swatting at both the hunters, but restrained from the large, heavy chains.

---------------

Celeste watched closely as Layla transformed, making sure the chains held. When she lunged and got jerked back immediately, she allowed herself to relax a little and look back over to the man who’d brought Layla here. “Adam,” she said slowly, “I suppose a thank you is in order. I appreciate you getting her back here safely.”

She scanned him carefully, he was young and looked strong. It seemed likely they had a shared background, but he’d brought her here instead of killing her. “So, I can assure I have things under control here. I went through rigorous testing with the chains and have a little help handy if I need it.” She patted the tranquilizer gun on her hip, “Do you normally pick up shifting werewolves on the full moon?”

--------------- “No problem Ma’am,” Adam said in a distant distracted voice as he looked on the russet monstrosity that Layla had become. The air of inhumanity Layla brought to his Hunter sense came off the Werewolf in choking waves now that she’d shed her human shape. The silver knife tucked secured in the back of his pants under the sweat-soaked shirt seemed to dig painfully into his spine. There was a moment of regret where Adam’s heart faltered in the conviction that was the right choice.

Look at that thing. Why save Layla when it just meant that an innocent would likely pay the price for Adam’s weakness on a future full moon?

Adam pressed the thought from his mind, knowing first hand where that line of reasoning often led.

“Thank you for making sure the creature’s secure,” the Hunter said with an unconscious lapse into depersonalization. “Not usually how I roll,” he admitted, brown eyes drawn again to the luminous gaze of the straining lycanthrope. “But this seems a regular thing for you...Celeste, right?”

---------------

The young, wild animal paced back and forth knowing she was limited in her range on the chains, but she was hungry. Saliva dripped from her long fangs as she continued to snarl and growl at the two humans in her presence. And when innate hunger became too overpowering again, she took a harder lunge, only to be yanked back once again; her efforts proving fruitless.

Any indication of Layla was gone. She was just an animal looking to fill her stomach with anything, and they had been her targets. She was young and dumb, still new in her ways as a werewolf. She had many lessons to learn, but right now she was running simply on endorphins and the animal instinct that had come with the curse.

---------------

She wasn’t sure why it was so hard for her to believe that maybe another hunter had a more reasonable code than her parents had, but Celeste would be grateful for it. She’d have to find a new spot for the next month though. She didn’t want anyone outside of them knowing where they were. Too much of a risk. “I see,” she said, calmly and slowly, blinking a few times before she finally added, “I think I can figure out the rest, thank you.”

With a more serious face, she assured, “It is, yes. I’ll make sure she’s on time next time. She cut it entirely too close for my liking.” She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Just another layer to this whole fucked up puzzle of keeping both the kids and others safe. She figured she’d refrain from mentioning the bit about being what her parents would call a deserter. Most didn’t take kindly to that. ---------------

Although this particular encounter had ended happily, Adam’s night had really only begun. By this point those wolves that were still out had already changed, and Adam’s duty shifted from containment to elimination. “Thank you ma’am appreciate it,” the Hunter said, wishing he still had enough faith left to take Celeste’s assurance at face value.

Making a polite excuse to leave, Adam began the long trek back to town to retrieve his supplies and take up the night’s patrol

Plus soap, gonna need ...lots...of soap.

However the athlete’s mental coaching actually made him lose track of where he was, leading him to almost run over someone in the aisle.

“Hey look where you’re…”

It was about this time that Adam’s eyes took in that the human roadblock also happened to be a bombshell. Brown eyes traced curves before finally arriving to her face with an appreciative smile.

“Sorry about that,” he said in a markedly more diplomatic tone. “My bad.”

----------------

“No problem,” Adam said with a lavisciously distracted grin.

“Adam Walker,” he said, reaching a thewy arm across the card to offer his hand, trying not to let the heeby jeebies change his expression. “You from around here?”

----------------

Focus. This is a public place. He knew nothing about her.

----------------

She excuses herself and Adam had far more preparations to complete before the moon was high. “Yeah no prob see you arou….um, Lyra” (it was an L name right?) “you ok?”

----------------

“Uh, yeah, I guess.” She was starting to get worried for multiple reasons. “I’ll look you up.”

----------------

“Any better,” he inquired upon returning.

----------------

---------------

Adam’s eyesight wasn’t human, thus he could give Layla a very wide berth while trailing her, keeping it casual and hoping to blend in with the crowd.

---------------

“Why is it not safe Layla,” he asked with level calm.

---------------

“Thanks, that's very considerate of you,” Adam said, still advancing. He lifted a necklace from under his thin shirt. A six-pointed star caught the wan light, pure silver contrasting with the young man’s skin, still ruddy red from the sprint over here.

“You should really let me help walk you home though,” Adam said, winding the sliver symbol through his fingers as he drew closer. “This town can be pretty dangerous at night.”

---------------

She continued to move forward. Her only goal at this point was trying to make it back to Celeste, unless a fight were to ensue, which there was a very good chance she wouldn’t survive.

---------------

“Kay, so should I hold you up, carry you..” Adam asked in a more amenable tone, not about to throw an angry she-wolf over his shoulder without permission.

---------------

“So, where is this place?”

---------------

The only semblance of hope that had started to return was the day Ariana had offered her a hot meal and a bed to sleep in.

---------------

Dusk deepend and shadowed lengthened, even with the Hunter’s superhuman stamina nightfall proved an implacable pursuer.

---------------

“Heh, you mention your girlfriend ...then tease me with the smelling good and getting up close in my grill like that,” Adam noted with a hoarse laugh as they entered the home stretch up towards the woodland house, blinking as sweat stung at his eyes. “You're cruel,” he joked. While the relative intimacy of her so up close against him might’ve been more..distracting...under different circumstances, Adam was actually more concerned about Layla shifting in his arms and taking a big ‘ol bite out of his neck.

“Kay here we are, not much time”

---------------

He looked to the sky and then cautiously between both women. “So...where’s this safety room?”

---------------

Adam would like to say that he was the kind of person that could’ve just accepted that this Celeste chick, though she felt human to his Hunter senses, was some nice wonderful person who definitely wouldn’t just let the almost shifted out to run free and gnaw off citizen’s gnads. Celeste’s concern looked genuine.

But Adam’s life hasn't been the kind that really left much room for faith in anyone. Faith was too dangerous.

Thus, he followed the two women with a feigned expression of mere idle curiosity.

---------------

“No problem Ma’am,” Adam said in a distant distracted voice as he looked on the russet monstrosity that Layla had become. The air of inhumanity Layla brought to his Hunter sense came off the Werewolf in choking waves now that she’d shed her human shape. The silver knife tucked secured in the back of his pants under the sweat-soaked shirt seemed to dig painfully into his spine. There was a moment of regret where Adam’s heart faltered in the conviction that was the right choice.

Look at that thing. Why save Layla when it just meant that an innocent would likely pay the price for Adam’s weakness on a future full moon?

Adam pressed the thought from his mind, knowing first hand where that line of reasoning often led.

---------------

Making a polite excuse to leave, Adam began the long trek back to town to retrieve his supplies and take up the night’s patrol

#letsbenditlikebennett #laylacooke #chatyz

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jate-kara · 6 years

Text

A drabble for @lurkany that kind of turned into a small fic.

Summary: Cortana's met no small number of people, AI or human, in her life.

But this one -- this one is different.

Warnings: mentions of canon-typical language and violence.

Word count: 1060

----

This one is different.

She doesn't have any way to prove it, not now, not when John's nerves are sparking short, snapping signals around her, bright enough to drown out the data she intercepted a mere second ago. He's not anxious, not quite, but he is on edge. Maybe it's the crowd around him, colorful and clamoring for a closer look. Maybe it's the resemblance their armor bears to his own; though it's not MJOLNIR, not even close, it's clear someone took inspiration from the ODSTs and Spartans alike when they designed it. Prototyping for the Helljumpers or Marines, then -- or else someone really, really wanted them to look like the UNSC's heroes.

She smiles at that, a soft surge that slides into the slipstream and soothes some of the jagged adrenaline. I'm not sure who or what they might be, John, but they're not threats.

There's a rolling wave of mild disdain she interprets as a soft snort. I know he says without a word. The tall blue one -- did they call him Caboose? -- is trying to drag John into a bear hug to which he is vehemently opposed. John's hand is pressed against the visor, a knockoff of the old Mark V design, but to his credit Caboose is not dissuaded. Not successful -- but not dissuaded.

She can appreciate stubbornness.

The spark catches her eye again, a flash of activity, a flare of information. Different. I'm going to find us a ride she tells him and then waits for his acknowledgement before she flashes out of his head and into the line.

The canyon's set up like a training facility for capture the flag but whoever put this one together had an entirely immersive experience in mind. The whole place is blue: blue lighting, blue walls, blue flag. "Well," she says to no one in particular, "I love what you've done with the place."

"Thanks. We just painted."

Not so alone after all. Cortana's avatar flickers to life, cool violet shrouded in the overhanging shadows. She's face-to-face with a blue carbon copy of the armor the others wear -- but it's translucent. Another AI. No. Not quite. Not fully.

"If you can keep yourself from poking around, that'd be great."

Halsey called her curious to a fault. She doesn't have to wonder where she got that trait from. She withdraws the reach she'd wired into the base, snaking tendrils that slide back with ease. There's not that much security -- not really any at all. It'd be easy to overrun him, brush him away or break him down like he's just a barrier in her path but brute force isn't really her style and for an AI his signature is...odd.

Yes, this one is different.

"Hey? Excuse me? I asked you what in the hell you're doing here."

"We crashed," she says wryly, stretching out, careful, cautious, and pressing at the edges of his digital outline. He cringes away and she snaps the seeker back. AI are complex creatures, carved of code and cloned human compassion alike, but he exudes only echoes of the same. Pieces.

Fragments.

"Yeah. I saw the wrecked cruiser outside. Sarge is already taking it apart." He appears immediately in front of her. "Hey. Get out of our base."

Cortana tilts her head to the side and studies his stance. He has to know she could steamroll him at any second but he's still here, still standing.

She can appreciate stubbornness -- but she also wonders at its source.

"What happened to you?" It's an impulsive question, invasive even, it has absolutely nothing to do with getting a ship and getting back to the fight, but for all of the brokenness that defines his presence there's still a seething spark of defiance. It takes something monumental to shatter an AI; they go out with their crew or at the end of a seven year crucible. There's no in-between.

Except for him.

"What happened to me?" he repeats shrilly. "What happened to me is none of your damned business. Get the hell out of my base before I bring it down on your head!"

She folds her arms, silencing her seekers so she's completely withdrawn, self-contained: still an unwanted visitor but less of an invader. "All right," she says, "that was a little forward. Let's start again."

"Sure," he growls, but he's apparently satisfied that she's not going to start tearing his system apart from its core so he lacks a little vitriol. "You crashed and now you need a way out."

"Immediately."

"If I get you a ship will you promise to never come back?"

If he gets them a ship, they'll never have a reason to come back. "What's your comms range?"

"There's a beacon, if that's what you're asking." He fritzes slightly. "I can get a signal out but I'm running into an authorization wall. Got a transponder code?"

She does -- for emergencies. "I can take it from here." She could have done it alone to begin with. Should have done it alone to begin with. But this one is different. This one is impossible.

This one is a fragment and fragments do not exist.

He's all but vibrating his impatience. "Are you done yet?"

Several seconds ago. A lifetime. "The UNSC is on its way to recover us," Cortana answers briskly. He scoffs and she bites down the urge to stretch out again, to reach, to pry. They have to get back. John has to get back.

Curious to a fault.

"Good," he grits out. "The sooner you're outta here, the better."

He's half a second from flitting away. She holds up a hand to stop him, purely symbolic, though there's power behind it. "What's your name?" she asks, a final question, a parting query.

He scoffs again but pauses, pauses. "Epsilon," he says at last, and for an instant there're roiling red ravines around him, run through with anguished agony and goring grief. For an instant, he's shattered and screaming, clawing at his eyes, at his neck, sobbing and pleading and driven mad with fear. For an instant, he's divided. For an instant, he's David.

His slip strikes him like a bomb. "The sooner the better," he repeats viciously, wrapping himself in whatever frayed tendrils of sanity he holds dear. Then he's gone.

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ofcloudsandstars · 6 years

Text

I had a really colourful (but long) dream last night! I haven't had such a vibrant adventurous dream like this in a while. It was very vivid and somewhat thrilling. I used to get them more as I was younger but now the pop up every once in a while.

It is a bit long so I'm going to make a read more

It was sometime in the near/far future and I'd guess I was somewhere warm (yet not tropical??) in south east Asia. I was on a beach with a rich pink sunset, brown sands and castle ruins with this extremely attractive dark skin Indian guy. We were apparently investigating the castle ruins together, flirting, checking out the wildlife and showing off some talents. I had certain magic powers in this world like I could fly gracefully and control things with my will and he was impressing me with his skill of chemistry and showing me local nature I was deeply interested in. The space was beautiful it felt like another planet. The grass was tall and bronze and would glimmer in the setting sun, and the trees I don't know how to describe it but were slightly different with large brown circular leaves.

We were hunting for mutations which I was reading as natural unbalances. Like I vaguely remember it was us looking for strange animals we've never seen before cause nature survived some environmental crash and new species emerged to correct it but humans survived and were still living their old ways but the new creatures, society named mutants and put them of course in a bad light cause they often are the cause of why we can't continue living the same way now that there are 'monsters' lurking out there. Of course the big ones get battled off and killed (though even those are difficult cause some evolved to resist destruction) but the more troubling ones would be like small worms similar to electric eels that have an appetite for electrical wires that destroys cities power systems, or bugs that evolved to thrive in algae polluted waters that make new toxic ecosystems that humans and livestock can't be around.

I was trying to understand these new 'monsters' and was checking out this vibrant blue and neon striped scorpion/lobster crustacean on the beach (apparently locally referred to as tiger scorpion in case you want to know the local names of monster creatures in my dream world), that was threatening to puncture a highly toxic venom in us if we didn't keep away. We clung to the side of the castle as it menaced us but as I made sure we were both calm and sent it calming/friendly vibes it calmed down too and left us alone. I held the extremely hot guy and floated us down gently to the sand and I was trying to explain that maybe these creatures weren't bad it's just evolution. He was very VERY open minded I could tell cause apparently this belief was highly controversial for the future society we were living in but he somewhat agreed. He took me around the castle and off the beach towards some bronze grassy fields where cows were grazing. There was a pond with dark brown water and a few dead cows around it. Some had large holes in their heads. It was from one of the bugs that live in the toxic water. For some reason animals can be attracted to the water like flies to a pitcher plant and the bugs get to them. I had to agree that the site was very ugly and gruesome but we still shouldn't villanize these 'monsters' but see this as some grave imbalance. I kept asking 'how did this happen?' As if I knew deep down it was more than just humans being irresponsible with the environment but also governments not controlling something they've been keeping a secret and now it's karmic consequences humanity is facing.

Suddenly a very elegantly and luxuriously dressed woman emerges from a black car. She's upset yet too polished and elegant to show it outwardly. I could just feel her anger and disapproval. She had a long taffeta type iridescent wine gown that shone bright red, lots of onyx jewelry, a tight upbun with more black jewels in it and beautiful red shoes. She's clearly the guy's mother and is asking him what he's doing so far from the estate in some dangerous area (we were awfully too close to the pond and it was weirdly tempting to at least dip a foot in though your logical brain was screaming don't do it). She couldn't fathom why someone normal would want to be out in the wilderness, especially a space with wild beasts and monsters JUST to appreciate nature? Who even appreciated nature?¿? That was her expression. She looked me up and down and dismissed me as someone wayward and obviously lower class since I was dressed not in the most expensive gowns capitalism could buy. I don't remember my clothes, they were comfy and average as much as I could remember.

Anyway I thought it was the end. I hugged him goodbye and was going to be off but he asked his mom if I could come. She said of course and I was surprised? But excited! I got into the car, they took us to a train station where we saw more beautiful views of the landscape (and towering metallic iridescent neon city spires far away on the horizon), and then finally to an estate where the manor was like several huge black cubes stuck together in a mowed bronze grassy lawn that was expansive until the foresty horizons.

There were servants but they were mutated. Like it reminded me of brave new world where there were an epsilon class of humans. These guys were like mutated monkeys that could talk and were just aware of themselves and their surroundings so they can serve. They looked cartoony with huge watery blue eyes, white fur (she got the white fur breeds for the fashionable aesthetic) and dressed in colourful red vintage clothing like the uniform of an elevator man. It was really sad and unnatural but the wealthy class was happy they could buy something to work for free for them. I asked why she couldn't get AI since they have android servers (in this world apparently) and she listed all the reasons of them being faulty and breaking down and having to invest in new models every other year while these creatures live for at least 8-10. And I'm like: I remember reading they inject them with diseases on purpose so they die earlier and you have to buy another one and she gave me this Irritated look. You know that look someone gives you when you point out that their new iPhone was created by exploited child labour in Africa but they're the type of person who doesn't care cause they just want to look cool and show off their money? Yes that look of apathy towards capitalisms wrongs and irritations for you pointing it out.

Anyway the guy was so happy I was still there and was ready to show me around but his mom reminded him he had to spend time with (I forgot her name so let's call her Carmella since I remember it starting with a C.) Carmella was a beautiful yet terrifying woman who was my age and her beauty was also subjective but I'd guess she fit the beauty zeitgeist that was the standards of this future. She was south Asian too but her skin was pale like she bleached it until it was milky tea coloured. Her hair and eyebrows were a metallic platinum blonde and her eyes were the colour of greenish blue opals with the same opal like specs that flash. They were pretty but you could see they were artificial like implants. She wore Indian Jewelry like the bridal nose ring that connects to the ear and the hair jewelry that ran across her silvery blonde parted hair but they were both made from turquoise stones and fiery pink crystals that matched her bright hot pink iridescent gown with turquoise and goldfish orange accents on it. I think it was the style of the upper class to dress almost like Marie Antoinette royal court fashion that was modernised by the unnatural colours and blended with the local culture by mixing it with south/south East Asian jewellery, shoes and accessories. Carmella looked like a living doll but had the personality of a kardashian. We found her in her suite of the home surrounded by hypercolorful boxes filled with shoes and bags of all different colours and textures. She didn't really budge to say hello to him until she saw me with him then she smothered him in hugs and aggressive kisses and though I couldn't understand their language she said something to him that I could tell was dirty. She kept asking him in different ways if he wanted to spend time with her and was was sucking on some type of sweet loudly and suggestively and he did not want to but his mom was there and he felt pressured so the mom closed the double doors and ushered me away. I was confused but the mom explained that him and Carmella were engaged and that Carmella parents were some insanely wealthy oligarchs (clearly as well as this family and I could tell the marriage was arranged to keep money and power with the family) and she further mentioned that she would gladly liked to have left me dumped by the fields by the beach but she never saw her son so happy in years so I could stay as his servant (strongly hinted as concubine).

I was so confused, I tried to protest but she showed me my room which was very doll like and custard yellow. It was near the rooms where the white monkiesh servers slept. She forced me out of my clothes and wanted me to wear something fashionable which was a white lacy Victorian gown with a long lacy collar. I wore neon yellow boots and custard yellow and neon elaborate jewelry (like necklaces, a nose ring I was sure was a tracking device but was too painful to remove, chandelier earrings).

I was restricted from entering parts of the manor like there were no locks on the doors but the doors could read the details of your face and register if you were allowed to pass or not. I was stuck in the servants quarters unless the guy would visit me. I realized I was imprisoned but that didn't stop me from my investigation of where humanity went wrong with its experiments and disregard for nature. The mutated servants were a small piece of the puzzle. I was devising ways to escape as well but the mother scared me and has a personality similar to cersei so I was trying to be as sneaky as possible. Even though the doors wouldn't let me pass I'd sneak across the elegant black marble manor by using my powers to open the doors mechanical lock with telekinesis.

I finally met up with the guy who I saw for the first time was wildly depressed. Something happened which he felt he had no control over his life (probably cause his parents controlled his life and his future) and he turned out to be a heavy drug abuser in effort to escape his reality. He was just very drugged when I found him and lounging in the corner of a room. He warned me that I couldn't use my powers in his home cause if his mother sees they'll think I'm some mutant/monster as well and will hand me over to the government that'll get me killed or worse, experimented with. I asked if he wanted to run away with me and he looked so sad I could feel pain in my chest. I understood it that he was just a very important person and no matter where he left to he'll be found. He just said that he'll never be free before doing another fat line. I understood he'd be no help and I'd have to escape the manor by myself.

I got a slightly interesting revelation from that final conversation. Maybe I was a monster too. Still in this futuristic world there were witches, even more powerful than before with powers of telekinesis. We evolved, and we evolved with nature. We could communicate with our emotions to other animals and monsters that could read our vibrations. We understand the earth and can understand her change and adapt to her, yet still the capitalist society that clings onto her like a parasite won't ever accept that and nature has to undo it with force. The monsters are only villanized cause they challenge that way of life and bring destruction to cities and resources humans depend on and I would be villanized since I still love and accept a changing environment and hate capitalism and have the ability to break through mechanical doors that oligarchs put up.

I can't tell you what happens after cause my FUCKING ROOMMATE WANTED TO PLAY FUCKING SHOOT EM UP GAMES AT 9 AM THANKS but that was my dream!

#I know people don't care about hearing other peoples dreams but you can ignore it #this one was a witchy harvest moon dream #personal

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themurphyzone · 6 years

Text

Haunted Ch 4

Ch 4: The World Moves On

Roger didn’t speak to Heinz anymore. Over time, Roger shot up in height. Soon he towered over all the other boys in the village. Mother fussed over his handsome looks, proudly bragging about him to anyone who’d listen. There was no shortage of girls tailing him from a distance. They practically worshiped the ground he trod on.

It was kind of gross.

To fill in the time, Heinz practiced levitating heavier objects. He’d managed to lift the cabinet full of gifts and family heirlooms a foot off the ground. And only felt slightly bad about destroying the vase that had been on Mother’s side for five generations.

He also noticed that people shivered uncontrollably when he floated close to them. Mother and Father had taken to wearing heavy shawls and thick coats, even in the middle of the summer heat.

Rumors cropped up all over the village about the Doofenshmirtz family and their strange habits. Some said they were vampires who immigrated from Transylvania, seeking fresh blood following a famine in their homeland. Others declared they were servants of a mysterious creature in the forest, posing as humans in order to lull the village into a false sense of security before slaughtering their livestock under the darkness of the new moon.

Even Roger wasn’t immune to the gossip and stares. However, most people continued to be charmed by his handsome face and compelling voice.

They always referred to Heinz as an evil spirit. Never by name. Just an evil spirit to be lumped in with a multitude of other evil spirits.

And he was fine with that.

The laughter Heinz and Roger once had was nothing more than a distant memory. The plump kid who once enjoyed kickball and doonkleberry cookies had long been replaced by a broad-shouldered young adult. He spoke eloquently, with emphasized ‘t’s and a strange inflection at the end of his sentences.

The language of Drusselstein was harsh and curt and rude. It was nothing like the melodious river of syllables that flowed out of Roger’s mouth.

Roger had been practicing a bunch of funny phrases in front of the mirror lately. Heinz felt like he would burst if he had to hear stuff like ‘economic budget’ and ‘it is my pleasure to welcome the French ambassador’ again. He’d given up on making funny faces behind Roger while he did that.

Annoying his targets wasn’t nearly as much fun when they didn’t react.

Heinz didn’t see what was so appealing about America. What was wrong with the village? There were gardens to protect here! Father wasn’t so keen on the idea either. He and Mother had shouted nonstop at each other ever since Roger had announced a desire to study political science at Danville University. They practically had to wade through the enormous pile of acceptance letters that Roger collected like candy.

“Roger is offering to set us up in a nice apartment,” Mother argued. “He’s being generous with that fortune Great Uncle Frederick left him. I have no idea where he got his charity from, because it did not come from your side.”

Father huffed.

“Well, I could use a change from this cheap plot,” Mother said as she plopped a bowl of bran mash in front of him. Then she sprinkled a red powder over the kitchen counter, muttering something in a language Heinz didn’t understand. “The evil spirits won’t reach my precious boy there.”

Heinz would just have to do spooky evil spirit stuff in America then. It couldn’t possibly be that different from Drusselstein.

Turned out America was completely different than Drusselstein. Heinz had never seen so many colors in his life, much less an enormous city. Blazing neon green lights hung off shops that had a strange assortment of scarf-wearing teenagers. The sky changed from blue to orange-pink to black, and healthy grass lined the paved streets.

Father didn’t know what he was missing when he stayed behind.

People exchanged friendly pleasantries on the streets, even if they were complete strangers.

He spent a lot of time observing people when he wasn’t following Roger around the college campus. His classes were boring and dry, just some stuffy old man at the front droning on about the ‘bigger picture’, whatever that meant.

It was more fun to pick a target and tie their shoelaces together when they weren’t looking, drop acorns on kissing couples, and make people drop their heavy, expensive textbooks to the floor.

There were ups and downs to life (could he even call it that?) in America, but he was starting to enjoy it. Mother seemed happier too. She’d made friends with several women and they spent a lot of their time walking around the apartment complex with clipboards. Yesterday she’d gone up to Mr. Harrison’s door and told him off because his roses were a fourth of an inch past regulations.

Yeah, he didn’t really get how she noticed that without measuring it first.

But the thing he hated most was how the toddlers always ran to their moms when they got scraped from a fall.

He hated how the toddlers tugged at their mothers’ skirts.

He hated how the mother would bend down, giving them a hug and kiss on the insignificant cut. Then they’d reach into their purse and pull out a cheesy band-aid with rainbows and dinosaurs.

He hated how the toddlers would dry their tears and smile back, then run back to the slide or jungle gym and the process would repeat all over again.

Heinz could never explain the hollowness he felt when he saw those moments.

The banquet celebrating Roger’s graduation from Danville University was a boisterous affair. As the head of the Alpha Delta Epsilon fraternity, the star player of the Danville University Dolphins tennis team, and the valedictorian of his graduating class, Roger had amassed so many connections and admirers that the Danville Convention Center had included valet parking for guests.

Heinz sent another set of keys flying, giggling as the valet guys screamed and scrambled after it.

“Why, with your charming personality, I bet you could even convince the entire Tri-State Area to break off the rest of America and form its own country!” Mr. Aquino roared, clapping Roger on the back as he addressed the adoring crowd.

“Thank you, Mr. Aquino. But I would like to allow my constituents the final say on such an important matter,” Roger said politely. He waved to a young woman in a crimson dress, who bounced on her heels like a puppy as Roger smiled pleasantly at her. “Valerie, you look marvelous tonight.”

Valerie squealed, and her friends suppressed their laughter behind her back. Heinz stuck his tongue out at them. Girls were weird. They all squealed like baby Goozims when Roger was nearby.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of you,” Mother beamed brightly at Roger. He’d pulled some strings with the rich kids he’d befriended to give her a rather expensive black dress. She even had a necklace imported from some famous diamond mine.

Heinz covered his eyes and groaned when Mother embraced Roger. Cameras flashed and girls placed their hands over their hearts at such a cute scene. Somehow that managed to be grosser than the girls fawning over him.

“Please, Mrs. Doofenshmirtz. There’ll be plenty of time for bragging later,” Mr. Aquino laughed as he extracted Roger from her embrace. “Will everyone please make their way to the banquet hall? I believe Roger has a lot of things to say.”

He elbowed Roger in the ribs playfully as they headed to the stage area. Heinz followed them, glad that he didn’t have to hang around a large crowd anymore. “Especially to a certain someone,” Mr. Aquino winked knowingly.

Roger patted his coat pocket. “You’ll make me blush,” he laughed.

While Roger was busy with last-minute preparations, Heinz flitted around the banquet hall to look for anything he could use to disrupt the celebration. He noticed that a lot of women were carrying purses around. There was sure to be something in those!

Then he spotted an open purse on a chair, its owner obliviously chatting with a group of people nearby. It was ripe for the picking. Heinz zipped between the various cliques, his eyes set on his target.

But a shrill screech caused Heinz to lose focus, and he mentally kicked himself for not paying attention. He must’ve flown straight through Mother in his haste.

She shivered wildly, her teeth chattering as if she were trapped in a blizzard. It didn’t take long for the other women to notice. They led her to a table directly in front of the stage, helping her sit down and checking to make sure she was comfortable.

Someone even lent her a shawl to wrap around her shoulders.

“Are you alright, Mrs. Doofenshmirtz?” someone asked.

“They’re following us,” Mother said quietly. “I don’t-no, impossible. Yes, yes I’ll be alright. This is Roger’s night. Don’t worry about an old woman like me. Thank you. It’s a lovely shawl.”

Her helpers backed off, but still looked uncertain.

Before anyone could question her further, a light clinking sound came from the stage. Everyone took their seats immediately, and Heinz used the opportunity to steal a zipped flowery bag from the open purse.

Mr. Aquino tapped a glass with a small spoon several times before setting it on the podium in front of him. Roger sat on a chair nearby, next to two older men in tuxedos. He was perfectly poised on the chair, his back not touching the cushion and his hands folded neatly in his lap.

Out of curiosity, Heinz tried to mimic his position, but gave up within a few seconds. It just seemed more natural to cross his legs.

“May I have your attention please?” Mr. Aquino called. The entire hall fell silent, gazing at the stage expectantly. “Hello. My name is Manuel Aquino, and some of you may know me as your local district representative.”

He paused to allow the audience to applaud before continuing.

“We’re here to honor one incredibly accomplished individual tonight. One whose stunning intellect, brilliant wit, and undeniable charm has captured the hearts of many in Danville University,” he said, winking towards a table full of female graduates. “Perhaps you don’t even know how much you’re charmed by him.”

Instead of listening to the rest of the speech, Heinz levitated the bag’s contents onto the steel beam next to him. It was mostly makeup with names he couldn’t pronounce, but it was more interesting than the ceremony below.

Why did they need to take so long to say thank you? Just say it and move on! Heinz played with the makeup as another guy in a tuxedo droned on, smearing red streaks all over the steel beams.

As he worked on a large, goofy mustache to his Roger drawing, the audience clapped and whistled loudly as Roger finally took center stage. Curious, Heinz set the brush down. Like everyone else, he also wanted to know what Roger had to say for himself.

“Tonight will be a night to remember,” Roger announced. “Though we’ve graduated, our learning will never stop. Danville U has instituted a winning spirit and a can-do attitude onto each of us, so we must pass that onto the next generation to the best of our ability. When one moves into the next stage of life, one must ask themselves ‘What are we going to do?’ Some of you may have figured out the answer. Some of you are still searching. Both options are equally valid. But I suppose you’re also wondering what I want to accomplish.”

The audience nodded earnestly, hanging onto his every word.

“And I would like to thank Mr. Aquino here for mentoring me,” Roger said, with a polite nod towards the man. You see, he was rather charmed by the story of a fellow immigrant to this golden land of opportunity. We were both raised in poverty by hard-working parents, you see. Then as young adults, we found Danville, a city with such a colorful and vibrant culture. My dream is to give back to this lovely community, to allow everyone to flourish, to improve all aspects of education for our children, and their children as well. Mr. Aquino has generously offered me a staff position in his political office, which I’ve accepted. This will serve as my stepping stone so I may learn the issues each of you face, and I hope to be trustworthy in your eyes when you next see my name in the local newspaper.”

Heinz was starting to understand why Roger wanted to start his career in America. The Gimmelshtump elders would never have allowed a kid to upstage them when it came to decision-making.

Roger poured a glass of wine, holding it high in the air. “Before the appetizers are brought out, I would like to propose a toast in honor of Mr. Aquino. Let us drink to his good health and his successful career!”

“For Mr. Aquino!” the audience cheered.

“A toast in honor of my mother, Olga Doofenshmirtz,” Roger continued. “Without her loving support and careful guidance, I would not be the man I am today.”

Mother smiled and nodded. Several women whispered their congratulations to her.

“And lastly, an acknowledgment to a person in this room that I would like to make myself. Everyone, please set your cups down.”

What did that mean? Heinz circled above the stage, wondering what Roger was talking about. Why couldn’t he just say it on the stage like everything else?

His fists clenched. And Roger didn’t even mention him! Heinz played with him, he kept watch for monsters, he even comforted Roger! And after all these years, Roger never mentioned him to anyone! If he could thank Mother, he could thank Heinz too!

Heinz focused intently on what looked like a fluffy pom-pom, making sure that every centimeter of it was coated in a fine powder from a nearby case. Then he held up his hand, waiting for the right moment to send it hurtling down towards Roger.

“Charlene, I was privileged to have met you three years ago in a debate match. You were kind yet bold, not afraid to challenge anyone in a verbal spar. Now I only have one thing to ask,” Roger said. He knelt down, opening a small box which contained a golden ring.

“Will you marry me?”

Charlene smiled graciously, allowing Roger to slide the ring on her finger. “Yes, yes I would,” she replied as she leaned in for a kiss. Roger’s fingers cupped her short, black hair as he kissed her back.

Heinz stuck his tongue out at the gross kissing, forgetting that he was still levitating the pom-pom.

Somebody shrieked below him, and Heinz quickly ducked behind a thick pole. before remembering that nobody could see him.

Mr. Aquino was trying to rub the powder out of his hair, but it just smeared all over his hands. Heinz laughed at the ridiculous sight.

Some people stared at Mr. Aquino, and others glanced nervously at the ceiling as if expecting more makeup powder to rain down upon them. Mother’s finger shook as she pointed at the politician. “You must sprinkle poppy seeds on your pillow tonight to ward off the evil spirits!” she shouted.

He blinked at her. “Of course, ma’am. If the rest of you will excuse me, I’ll clean up in the restroom. Be back momentarily!”

“Ah, good ol’ Aquino,” Roger chuckled. “Nothing ever keeps that man down.”

Charlene took her seat next to Roger, smoothing out her dress. “It’s still a little strange though. Maybe a prankster hung powder from the rafters before we got here.”

Heinz liked her already. Sure, she didn’t know him by name, but her guess was close enough.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Bon appetit, everybody!” Roger called as the workers began passing out baskets of bread and cheese.

The room filled with the sound of chatter and dinnerware clattering against the tables, and the incident was quickly forgotten.

*holds out trash bin for all of you gagging at the Mrs. Doofenshmirtz’s ‘loving support and careful guidance’ bit*

#phineas and ferb #heinz doofenshmirtz #roger doofenshmirtz #heinz's sucky bio parents #haunted #ghost heinz au

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ablupotato · 5 years

Photo

Gylden trekant

"Hey, is it just me or does -he- look...different?"

"You mean Nathan?"

"For f*ck’s sake Billy! How many times do I have to tell you? Do NOT mention the name of that self-proclaimed leader of ours in front of me, or I’ll strangle you with my shoe laces!"

"...whatever you want Jojo"

"Don’t call me that"

"Jeez, Jonathan, you’re such a wuss. Yeah, he looks different and I don’t mind him bein’ our leader, he knows what he’s doin’ y’know?"

"pfft sure, you two are on RED afterall, I wouldn’t be surprised if you suc-"

"Here we go again"

"Excuse you?! You interrupted me!"

"Yeah and? Whatcha gonna do ’bout it? Strangle me with your shoe laces? I’ve met many pricks in my life, including me, but you sir, you are a cactus"

"Billy."

"Yes, sir cactus?"

"Can we...get back to the point?"

"If you let me...people say he just dyed his hair red, -but-..."

"but?"

"His eyes. They were brown-green, not turqoise. They also seem...bigger?"

"How’s that?"

"Exactly! Do you know what does this remind me of?"

"Those two freaks from Phi?"

"Yes, exactly, those two from Boneyard."

"Phi."

/sigh/ "From Phi...They also have big strange eyes that seem to glow at certain angles."

"Glow?"

"You haven’t noticed? Wow...it’s a bit unnerving really. The way they look at you. The older one is fine, but that ginger... he’s...ugh"

"Yes, he looks like a mess, I heard he was in a mental asylum for a few months in his teens. He never did anything to anybody, but I stay away from him just to be save untill we get to know him better. Oh! I just realised!...Do you think he has a connection with the Epsilon location few weeks ago?"

"You mean the fire? Like Phi and Tau? Might as well been just robots..."

"Yea...but hear me out. Survivors kept telling stories about a creature from the forest, a wendigo."

"Don’t be ridiculous."

"No, no, wait! This is the best part, a Scout from Epsilon-"

"The Italian? His surname is Scutari, what a silly name."

"Yeah, yeah, you have attention span of an average goldfish, we get it. He claimed they found a strange guy with pale white skin and red hair in the forest just before the incident. With blue glowy eyes."

"Sounds like a match to me!"

"Just one guy...huh...Don’t wendigoes...eat people?"

"According to the legend. Cannibalistic spirits who can posses a human once they taste the flesh of another. Forever hungry, tall, sometimes with antlers, resembling a mix between a human and a deer, sometimes just deformed human, with white fur or completely bald-"

"Can you...shut up?"

"Sorry."

"So, do you think they are going to eat us?"

"Well...I heard something from our pal Stephano...When he went to use the restroom at night...He saw a pair of bright blue eyes at the end of the corridor for a split second before he ran back to his room."

"We have a problem."

/Noone will read this/

#TF2 #Team Theta #I should sleep now

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a-crazy-person · 7 years

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I really couldn’t think of another appropriate place to put this, but I feel like a semi-public diary is kind of what I’m going for here which kind of fits the tumblr bill.

So it’s 2017. The year we have been dreading and thanking for most of last year. I feel like this is a year of change. Good and bad and the things that make each other come out. I feel myself changing from the mindset of the girl who goes to school, where you have major fuck-ups that tow the line between the major foundation of all learning experience and being the lesson. The girl who moved every three years for over a decade; who never stopped moving. I feel my roots starting to spread and needing a more permanent home. My new home is a completely foreign adventure and I have never had such a frantic excitement in my life.

I am scared for our new president. I’m honestly tearing up when I think of the inevitable hatred that will cloud this country the next few years. Saying “a secured 4 years” doesn’t seem plausible for some reason. I really don’t think he will be president for 4 years simply because something major in our history is coming. I feel a new era of humans are coming. We had the romans, the renaissance, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, Shakespearean England, The time you learn about in AP Euro (whenever that was because I never took the class hah), etc. and I feel that Trump will be impeached, ignite nuclear warfare that will physically alter this planet and inhabitants, or in another way that I cannot write down. I literally feel my animalistic instinct to adapt to a completely foreign thing that is not dissimilar to what the birds and the lizards and the other animals on the Galapagos Islands encountered. I think people often forget that we are in the animal kingdom and like every living creature, abide by the rule “only the strongest survive”. I am feeling the instinct of surviving in my scientific name, not the one that evolved from moral heritage.

I recently started reading again. It really started with New Years and feeling the clicking of actually completing a New Years Resolution that will resonate with the rest of my life. I saw a list circulating Facebook talking about reading a book every 2 weeks and they were themed. So, the first theme is called “A book you read in high school”. Now, I graduated almost 6 years ago and my maturity and knowledge has changed a lot since then. Back then I was really into reading and reading about social justice issues and analyzing books about a deeper understanding about the human conditions. (I obviously moved onto plays and I now have a B.A. saying I am qualified to analyze plays from multiple perspectives for a living. An actual dream come true for me). Mostly, I was really into dystopia. I thought Utopia was so fascinating in an almost ancient thought of a world in social peril under the guise of a perfect world. I would look up the general synopsis of several stories under this category and be so incredibly fascinated in myself on how I feel that the general goal of a specific scenario would firstly be something I want for a world while simultaneously seeing how humans will fuck up that scenario. As someone who says they hold the philosophy of a realist, while actually (low-key) being an idealist, it really drove me crazy. The best example was Animal Farm and the book I’m reading now, and read most of while in High School, Brave New World. Animal Farm is about rebellion and making everyone truly equal with the harsh reality that there will always be someone who is more powerful than another because of its corruption. (”Absolute power will corrupt absolutely.” -Lord Acton), Brave New World teaches about the major setbacks in technology and the major tradeoff in stability within a society. I want of world of complete happiness by people but this book in it’s satirical way is basically like “you literally have to brainwash people into believing they’re happy in their role in society while still being able to evolve mentally”. It’s brilliant and they cause my major moral dilemmas on thought. I also almost always find it scarily close to our actual reality. Especially now. I feel dystopia grounding itself here.

This is a little on the sadder side, but I think it’s good to think about. I think if we ignore out current state, we will fall victim just like the barn animals did to the pigs, like the Epsilons, the proles, the citizens of the capitol, the pretties, those from the Allegory of the Cave, and others who are enslaved by those who thieve independent thought. I do have comfort in the thought that I educate myself enough to feel like I don’t have the chance to fall victim to it. I know I’m under the consumer spell but I am at least aware of it and I’m striving to be better.

I’m not reading back to edit because I know it’s not going to make total sense to anyone. (Though I seriously doubt anyone except for maybe like 4 super random people will read this, if any honestly) But that’s ok. It’s the deepest window into my mind I’ve ever allowed and I don’t know if I want a lot of people to read it anyways. Plus I’m super high right now and High Me doesn’t want Sober Me to read this, be embarrassed by this, and delete this.

EDIT:OK I SPELLCHECKED BECAUSE I COULDNT STAND IT

#2017 #A window to my soul #not that deep #but actually pretty deep #i need to get out of internal talking hastags #too late #im here #I

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sarzonthesilver-blog · 7 years

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Jason was sitting in a cell on the ship. He was alone, in grief and his only consolation was that he was still able to hear Shandarro on the link. At least that still worked. He was sitting on the bunk in his breechcloth, they had taken all of his other clothes, and he knew Shandarro was in a cage not far away. They were told that they were headed to Marn. Jason was about to be the first Guardian to see the Marn homeworld. He was sitting there grieving and heard his father’s voice in his head. He kept saying use it, and there is always a way to escape. He consoled himself that at least Shamira and Knala wouldn’t suffer whatever humiliation and torture he and Shandarro were about to face. Shandarro spoke to him “Jason, life for us isn’t over, we need to take advantage of this situation. We have the opportunity to do what no Guardians have ever done. We have to submit so that we can learn all we can of the Marn, how they live, and when we have gathered all this information, to find a way to escape and return to Embrellon. This information could change everything for us. Our grief is ours, and ours alone. We need to use it as fuel to learn, plot, and gain our freedom. We are not forsaken, or forgotten. We are here, and we live.” Jason thought about what Shandarro had said and decided he was right; this was an opportunity if they took it. He answered Shandarro “Then let’s do this and make the most of what we’re given. We must not fail. Our return will be a severe blow to the Marn’s pride.” They had made the decision to use this as an opportunity, he buried his feelings and his grief, and became submissive, without losing his sense of self-worth. The Marn came to his cell twice a day to feed him. They asked him how often his beast ate, not knowing that they could link telepathically, or that they had the power of speech as well. He told Shandarro to keep the secret. Shandarro understood immediately. It wouldn’t do for the Marn to know that Skree could speak. However, he wanted to use it to its best advantage when the situation was right and presented itself. Shandarro was ten years old, a fully adult male Skree. He had horns that were almost two meters long, he weighed in excess of six hundred kilograms, his wings were five meters long, and he had fifteen centimeter claws. his fangs were huge, nearly twenty centimeter longs. He was the perfect picture of death on wings. The trip to Marn took several weeks, Jason hadn’t shaved since the day he was captured and had developed a nice beard, his hair hung to his shoulder blades, and his hands were chained whenever they took him out of the cell to interrogate him. They wanted information, they wanted to know the strength of the forces, wanted to know what it took to ride the beasts, they wanted to know the secret to the metal used for their swords and armor, he gave them nothing. They had beaten him, chained his hands above his head and whipped him, laying his back open and then dressing the wounds with something that healed them up in a couple of days. It went on for days, he was interrogated, beaten, whipped, and the cycle repeated, and still he gave them nothing. They had even threatened to kill Shandarro with his sword. He still didn’t break, he was committed to this, and so was Shandarro. He kept encouraging Jason, and telling him they weren’t going to kill him, they wanted him for show. They had never captured a full grown Skree before, and for them, he was an incredibly fierce looking creature, who would bring in crowds to see him fight. He had heard them say that usually, they took the wings off them, but they wanted a full show, and had decided that he would keep his wings, and they would use a long chain connected to his leg, allowing him to fly, but keeping him from leaving. It was something to work with in formulating an escape plan. He knew that Jason’s sword could cut the chain in to with no effort. The metal was nearly indestructible, and could cut through anything, including tanzite. All they needed was time, and an opening. They could wait, they would also need an ally who could fly a Marn craft to get them home. Jason might be able to stow away on one of their ships, but he could not. After eight weeks of space flight, interrogations, and torture, they finally arrived on Marn. When they landed, they were paraded in front of the people, the Marn announcing that they had captured a Guardian and one of their beasts. When they were brought off the ship, Jason was marched down the avenue surrounded by armed Marn, Shandarro was brought out in the cage he had been in since they had left. The Marn had fed him, but hadn’t cleaned the cage, they were afraid to get close to him. That was something he liked; they were afraid of him. They had their first look at Marn, it was hot there, the buildings were highly ornamented, and all the building were a dull red color, almost like sandstone. It was an ugly world so far. They crossed a stone bridge and entered into a what he would call a palace. It was several stories high, the walls were at least two meters thick, and there were armed guards patrolling the parapets. As he entered the palace, it was cool inside, almost cold, especially since he was still in just a breechcloth. He shivered, the Marn took it as fear; good he thought, they think we are afraid. He had convinced Shandarro that when they neared his cage to roar, and paw at them. Shandarro said he was a civilized, sentient being and acting like he wasn’t didn’t feel great. He understood why, but that kind of reaction only happened when a Skree fought another Skree, which was rare. He did as Jason asked. They were at the mercy of the Marn, and they needed to play the part if they wanted to live long enough to escape. Shandarro agreed. When they were brought to the ruler in the palace, his receiving room was lined with Skree skulls and heads. They had captured many Skree over the years and the evidence was on the walls. He asked Jason for his name, and while he stood there mute, the Marn ruler rose from his chair and walked up to him. He slashed his face with a whip, and told him “I am Shagon, I am the governor of this region and you are my prisoners, to do with as I will. Now, what is your name?” Jason looked at him with smoldering rage in his eyes and answered him, “I am Jason.” His father had told them that if they were ever captured, giving them their name was the only information they should share. Other than to say they were scouts, no matter what position they held, they were to say they were Scouts. Shagon, satisfied that he got an answer, and feeling superior to this back world fighter who didn’t know that he could never defeat the Marn and that he would spend his life here as a slave, sneered at Jason and told him he would never see that ball of dirt he called home. Jason stood there mute. He never spoke except his name. Shagon asked him “Have you met Shagos, he was my brother, he went to your planet, and we have never seen or heard from him since. Is he a prisoner on your planet?” Jason had captured Shagos, and it was hard to keep his composure. He told him, “Yes, I know your Shagos, I captured him and exiled him to a place he and his companions cannot escape. In fact, he’s probably dead by now.” That infuriated Shagon to the point that he had Jason strung up and whipped. Jason had scars from previous whippings, they applied their salve, and his skin healed, but it had left him scarred. The whip came crashing down blow after blow, and Jason held his tongue until he passed out from the pain. What the Marn didn’t know was the bond between him and Shandarro allowed him to call upon Shandarro’s strength when needed, and right now he needed it. When he woke, he was in a room, with several other men from different races, none of them were Marn. The women who tended their wounds were like the men, and no Marn women. He was still working on his escape plan. He had been taught to use his mind, and to observe everything. He noticed that some of the men and women bore traits that reminded him of his father. He had learned English at an early age, and so he spoke to them asking if any of them were from Earth. Two of the men raised their heads, surprised that this newcomer could speak their language. Three of the women also looked at him. One of the men speaking in English, asked him who he was, and where he learned to speak English. Jason obliged them and told them that his father was from Earth, and had been marooned on Embrellon, his home world, some thirty years ago. Then, he told them who his father was. When they heard his name, James Whitlaw, they all looked at him. His name caused them to open up. One of the men, the oldest of the group, some fifty odd years old, told Jason that he had served with a Major James Whitlaw at the battle of Epsilon, and asked if this was his father. Jason said it was. That made all the difference to the men and women that were here. They told him they were on assignment looking for the Rapier that had gone missing and that Colonel Whitlaw was in command. There were no space buoys to let them know where he was, and they had received no distress signal. Jason told them that it was because the Marn had destroyed his ship and all hands with her, when they marooned him on Embrellon. They wanted to know if he was still alive, Jason told them he was, and that he was the commander of the Guardians, a defense force he formed with the Vela and the Skree. They asked him about the Vela and the Skree, and he told them what he felt wouldn’t go beyond the walls, he still didn’t want Shandarro’s secret to become known. They were amazed that Whitlaw was still alive, he had to be in his sixties, he was thirty-five when he disappeared, and if he was still living, he would be nearing retirement age. Jason told them that Whitlaw was alive, vital, and the best swordsman he had ever seen. He told them the story of the duel with Skagos, and they all sat their amazed at what he had done. His reputation as a fighter was well known among the space marines. And his victory at Epsilon had been the reason for his promotion to Colonel at the age of thirty. Jason had learned things about his father that he had never known. With these people, he could forge an escape plan. Jason called to Shandarro on the link “Shandarro, I am in a room with other captives. Some of which are from Earth, and know my father” Shandarro replied, “If that is the case, then we have some ready-made allies to help us escape and return home.” Jason agreed. They had allies, if they weren’t spies. He asked all of them their names. He had no problem remembering names, his father at an early age, taught him and Lantana that a good memory would serve them well in life. He also had Shandarro, who would know all their names and faces once each introduced themselves. The oldest man in the group was O’connor, ships mate, and chief engineer aboard the Stardust, a heavy cruiser with a crew of five-thousand. Jason was shocked, that was close to half the population of Embrellon, and on one ship. The next was burly thick set man with black hair, olive skin, and black eyes, he said his name was Singh, first officer aboard the Starlight, a ship similar to the Rapier that Whitlaw had commanded. He told Jason he had studied his battle tactics in the academy. The other man in the group was a large man, taller than his father, and heavily built, he had a large mustache and sideburns, and his hair was brown, he had green eyes and his name was John Harlow, and he had been the Captain of the Avenger, a Star Destroyer class ship, with a crew of five-hundred, and he was all that was left of her crew, the women were all med techs from the Stardust, and their names were Shannon, Lisa, and Shaniqua. Shannon was a redhead with green eyes, Lisa was a brunette, with brown eyes and dark brown skin, she said she was Latino, and the other, Shaniqua, was black. He had never seen someone with black skin. The Vela all had blue hair and violet eyes and their skin had a dusky hue to it, an almost brown color to their skin. The Vatarians were unlike any other race he had known, three meters tall, with black hair and yellow skin, and they had five fingers and a thumb on each hand, and hooves for feet, and his father, who had black hair, blue eyes, and his skin was white, but had a deep brown tan. The black girl intrigued him. He asked her where she was from and she told him she was an aborigine from the continent of Australia on Earth. There were two Velans in the room a man and woman, he asked them who they were, in Velan, and they told him they were Linarro and Rena and had been here for years, they were taken from Vela in a raid. Now he knew the rooms occupants, and he had at least three men and possibly three women who could fly a ship. He told them what he wanted to do, his plan. They all looked at him with hope in their eyes. It would take some doing and take some time. First he needed to know where the Marn would have taken his weapons and his armor, if they had brought it. O’connor told him if the weapons were of excellent make, that Shagon would have them mounted in the room with the horned heads. A trophy room Jason figured. Next he wanted to know how far it was to the launch pads from their cells, and where they would have taken Shandarro. They all asked what or who was Shandarro, and he told them it was his mount, they were captured together on Embrellon and he couldn’t leave without him unless he was killed. They all seemed puzzled at his attachment to a beast, but decided to help him free Shandarro when they tried to escape. Linarro told him that if they were going to put him in the arena, they would most likely take him to the arena, and cage him there. Then he told them that not thirty meters from the door was an entrance to a tunnel that led from the palace straight to the arena, it was how Shagon went to the arena unless he had to be in public first. The Marn weren’t above assassination as a means of advancement. Jason asked who had been here the longest and Linarro said he had been here for fifteen years. He and Rena had been captured and brought here from Vela, and had survived by keeping off anyone’s list. They walked with downcast eyes when they left the room, and shuffled, something that they suggested that all but Jason adopt. He had just arrived they explained, and it usually took time to break one’s spirit. He and Rina only walked that way when they were outside this room. They were always looking for someone like the humans and Jason to help them escape. That disturbed Jason. That could mean they were spies for Shagon. They swore on the Creator that they wanted to leave as badly as the rest, but this was the first time they had seen any capable of actually escaping. The humans were skeptical, but Jason was not, he shared their religion, and had been taught by his mother that to swear by the Creator, was the holiest of oaths that a Velan could make. It was good enough for Jason. He also realized during the conversation, that Linarro and Rena weren’t cowards, they had more backbone than most. His father was human, and after several years on Embrellon, had embraced the religion of the Vela and Vatarians. He asked Linarro if there were any Vatarians on the planet. Linarro said not that he knew of, they more hostile than the Marn, and if there were they would never live as a slave, they would fight to the death. That surprised Jason, all the Vatarians he had known were like Yoran, sworn to a life of non-violence, and a refusal to kill. Linarro asked why he wanted to know about the Vatarians, and Jason told him that he knew some Vatarians, but they were monks and lived on Embrellon. Linarro laughed, he said those weren’t real Vatarians, they were the ones the other’s called the Tamey’s, they were scared of their own shadows. Jason didn’t want to argue, he hoped they had the opportunity to meet Yoran, and to see him train cadets with the staff. His father’s speed with a sword and staff were legendary, and only Yoran was faster with a staff. Now that they had all been introduced to one another, Shaniqua asked him why he had pointed ears and upswept eyebrows, Jason laughed and said that his father was truly human, but his mother was Velan, and he had her features and his eyes and hair. He started to tell them about Lantana, but a nudge from Shandarro made him stop. He asked them who was familiar enough with the customs of the Marn to help him understand what to expect. He also wanted to know why he hadn’t seen any Marn women. O’connor answered him. “We have rarely seen their women, they only keep them to produce their litters, or to marry to someone they want control over. Marn women have no rights and their place in society is slightly above ours. They will feed them to the meera if they disappoint them, and they don’t have any sort of bonding rituals. Females are an ends to a means. They’re not educated either. Most of them cannot read or write, only the gold ones can, those females, are never fed to the meera. But they can be beaten and killed. He told him that there are two types of Marn, the grey and the gold, and the gold are in charge. That helped Jason to begin forming an escape plan. He made sure that Shandarro had been listening, he confirmed he had. The Skree were capable of communicating three ways, telepathically speaking, telepathically with images, and talking. He and Shandarro were a part of each other, symbiotically joined and one couldn’t exist without the other after being bonded. Shandarro told him he would be looking for a means to escape and would do whatever he had to do to survive. That was a relief to Jason, he was concerned that Shandarro would try and escape without him and that he might be killed. He had never seen a Skree fight in any other way other than as a Guardian, but deep in Shandarro’s mind he caught images of a savagery that all Skree kept contained, and he knew that in this fight, there would be a degree of savagery that would haunt him the rest of his life. They continued on for days, learning from each other, putting things together, and figuring out how things worked in this place. He was taken one day to the arena, it was empty except for Shagon and his men, he could here Shandarro somewhere below where they were. He had no idea what Shagon was going to do, but he told Shandarro that unless they tried to cut off his wings or maim him, to cooperate. Shagon told him that his beast was going to be given the chance to keep his life in three days, and that Jason would be here to watch. Shagon leered at him and the malevolent intent was in his eyes. He would pit Shandarro against some other beast down below in a fight to the death, and they would handicap him in some way. He passed that to Shandarro, and he knew he was prepared for what was to come. The next three days had been almost intolerable, he had been question again, then beaten again, followed by another round with the whip. He took it and said nothing. They took him back to the room with the others, some of the other men had been beaten as well, but none but him had been whipped. They were attempting to break him. He was stronger than they knew. Lisa, the earth woman applied the healing salve to his whip marks and then he fell asleep. When he was awakened, it was to eat. The Marn had brought them cooked meat of some kind, and without asking what it was, they ate, they gave them water, and some kind of vegetables, and when they had finished eating, they were ordered back to the walls, searched, and then all the dishes were cleared out of the room, and counted. They didn’t want them to have anything they could make into a weapon. For the whole time he had been a captive, he had had nothing to wear but a breechcloth, finally the night before the so-called games, they brought him some clothes. They were the same kind of clothes the other men wore, and he was given some kind of shoes that were different than the boots he made for himself. But they would hopefully protect his feet. The next morning, he was sent for and he was taken to the arena, to wait for Shagon to make his appearance for the arena games. After standing in the hot sun for about an hour, Shagon arrived, and he was given some water and was invited to stand in the shade within sight of Shagon’s men. They wanted him to witness the death of Shandarro, and he knew it. Tension in the arena was mounting. The arena was full, there were no empty seats that he could see. The first event was a battle between a Vatarian and an animal he had never seen before. It was huge, bigger than an aurochs or a Skree, it had huge legs, and tusks that were at least five meters long, its face had a snout and it grunted, down its back it had huge plates that stood straight up, and its tail was curled. It looked like a cross between a warthog and a dinosaur. But it was huge. It stood at least five meters at the shoulder and the plates stood another meter above its arched back. It had hooves that looked deadly. They were black and thick and looked bigger than the Vatarians. The Marn liked fanfare. They blew trumpets to sound the beginning of the contest, and it lasted for at least fifteen minutes. He had always thought that the Vatarians could be vicious, he had never seen one do the things that this one did. It felled the beast twice with a smash of his fist. The beast had his moments as well, he had picked up the Vatarian and using his tusks had flung him over his head and back to smash into the stone wall. The Vatarian was stunned for a few moments and then with the most ferocious roar he had ever heard, the Vatarian charge the beast, he got his massive arms around one of the tusks and broke it off. Then he spun around and pierce the animals hide, shoving its tusk straight through the heart. Them it ripped out the heart and proceeded to eat it raw. He had never seen anything like it. The Vatarians he knew were tame considering what he had just seen, however, he didn’t want to rile them either. If they ever withdrew from their vows, the ones on Embrellon could be a force to reckon with. The next matchup was even more stunning. They had a beast it looked like an elephant with no trunk or tusks, but was massive, stood at least six meters at the should, had spikes growing out of its hide, and its maw had razor sharp teeth. Its opponent, was the most unusual creature he had seen so far, not that any were usual, except the Vatarian, it looked like a huge blob of jelly with two great eyes and a long body, on what could only be described as its face, it had a razor sharp beak. It was almost the same size as the creature it faced. He thought it would do better if it was in the water until its legs came out for it to move, it had crab-like legs and tentacles that were long enough to grasp the beast in front of it. The creatures faced each other, and started circling, then the spike covered beast charged the other beast and in the blink of an eye, its tentacles shot out and it grabbed onto the spiked beast, and the beast screamed and shuddered, and fell to the ground. The odd looking creature had a highly toxic poison in its tentacles, and when it had paralyzed the beast, it dragged it towards itself and started to consume the beast. Shagon told him, “What do you think so far? The beast that just won, will get to eat that beast, once it injects that toxin, there is no way to get it out of the meat.” Jason shrugged his shoulders and said “We don’t take pleasure in seeing animals killing each other for our own amusement. All life has a right to live, we only kill to defend ourselves, or in need of food.” Shagon shook his head and laughed at him. “That is no way to live, life is about conquest, taking what you desire, and having plenty of women to pleasure you in every way.” Jason wasn’t impressed so far. The third match, that was different, in the stadium, was Shandarro, and though he wasn’t as big as some of the other beasts they had seen so far, he was fully winged, which relieved Jason, and seemed fit. He did have a chain around one leg and a long length of chain. His opponent was another winged beast, it resembled a large wolf, it had leathery wings and long fangs. At least the same length as Shandarro’s. this animal had a long nose, and a huge head, it was black with red eyes, and you could feel its wildness in the stands. Shagon told him it came from Marn, and was the most highly prized beast on the planet. They were hard to hunt, and even harder to kill. He could see the concern on the face of Jason, and then he just relaxed. Seemingly without a care, This puzzled Shagon. Why would he go from concerned to at ease, in a few seconds? He watched Jason to see if his demeanor changed, when he saw that it didn’t he assumed that Jason had decided that his beast was either dead, or he was totally sure in its victory. Jason had asked Shandarro “Are you sure you can take this beast?”” Yes, I am sure.” He had been so sure that Jason was instantly at ease. He watched this match intently, not for pleasure, but to learn. He had never seen a Skree fight before, and even though he had seen one eat, he wasn’t prepared for the savagery he was about to witness. They sounded for the match to begin and Shandarro led the beast all over the arena and allowed it to back him into a corner, he seemed to be on the defense, then the beast charged him and Shandarro slashed him with his talons. The beast backed up and tried to attack again. It tried to jump on Shandarro’s neck and bite down. Its jaws came down on his horns and all he got for his trouble was a sore mouth. It had to retreat and try something else, this beast wanted to kill, and it was at the point of a berserker rage when it charged again, this time, Shandarro jumped over it and landed behind it crunching down on his hind leg when he landed. The beast roared and spun around to bite Shandarro, and got a mouth full of air. Shandarro had jumped back at least fifteen meters, and landed poised for a fight. The beast then vaulted into the air and Shandarro crouched, and waited until it was over him, and then he launched straight up into the air with his horns up, and pierced the beast’s ribcage with both horns. It screeched, and Shandarro pinned it to the ground and tore its abdomen to shreds with his front claws. Then he shook the beast and sprayed blood all over the arena, it flew off his horns and he pounced on the beast’s neck and tore its throat out, the proceeded to eat his kill. The Marn were cheering, there was gore all over the arena, all over Shandarro, and when he was done eating his kill, he went and reclined on the arena floor and absentmindedly began to clean himself. Shagon was stunned, he had never seen anything like that. He looked at Jason, and it dawned on him why he had relaxed, and why the Marn had never conquered Embrellon. With an animal with that kind of ferocity, how could a Marn warrior survive an attack from a beast like this one. He was going to find every kind of beast to pit this thing against. He was bloodthirsty. He wanted more. He also told Jason that he was going to fight his beast against all comers. Jason said “If you’re going to do that, then you might as well know his name is Shandarro.” That seemed to please Shagon. He was going to issue a challenge to the other Governors. They were going to have the biggest games in history, and he was going to use Shandarro and gain fame and fortune on Marn, and then he would consider his options after that. He wanted to keep in Shagon’s good graces for the time being, and he had a thought. He would need to talk to Shandarro first though. Then he would approach Shagon once he let the others know what he was planning. He had been looking for a way to form a plan to get his weapons back. He knew that the Marn considered themselves to be the best swordsmen in the galaxy. He had seen how good Shagos had been when he faced his father. He was almost as good as his father, the only one he knew who was better than him, was Jamar, and he was second to Whitlaw. That made him think about how to make this work. After the games they returned him to the cell with the others, and they let him keep the clothes. At least he no longer felt naked, and they hadn’t taken him for interrogations, beatings, or whippings in a few days. He was almost healed up completely. Shandarro had helped him heal, and in a duel, he could draw on his strength to help him through them. He told Shandarro his plan first, he got a solid yes from him, as well as him telling him the beast was easy to defeat. He knew what Shagon was planning for him, and told him not to worry, he would be ready. He told the people in the cell. O’connor was all for it, as was Singh and Harlow said he was as well as long as they coordinated everything well. He seemed to be of the same tactical mind as his father. The women were all for it as well as the Velans. He told them he couldn’t guarantee anything, but trying was better than dying in a cell. They all agreed. That afternoon Shagon sent for him, and he went and didn’t fight the men, or try and cause a disturbance of any kind. He needed to win Shagon’s approval for this to work. He was going to need to be his most charming, and magnetic to carry this one off. Lantana had always told him he was a charmer, and Shamira was his bright spot. That caused him pain. He hadn’t thought about her in some time, and she was the most important reason he wanted off this planet. To be here with her killers was more than he could take.

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The Captive of Embrellon – 2 Jason was sitting in a cell on the ship. He was alone, in grief and his only consolation was that he was still able to hear Shandarro on the link.

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