tilly-ttdrp

[tilly-ttdrp]

Diming Light

Tilly:

The kid gives me a whole speech about the name thing. Kipp stares at him wide-eyed, wondering how he made it so complicated. Nothing is complicated in Kipp’s world. The hybrid making the coffee looks over, both confused and suspicious, but I use mental commands to ease his mind.

“Kid, relax. I just wanted something to call you other than ‘kid’. Doesn’t have to be a letter, it can even be your real name if you want. I was just saying it didn’t have to be.”

The woman bursts into tears, and it takes even more mental effort to convince the hybrid that nothing weird is going on. I have him bring over our coffees in whatever state they’re in- I didn’t come here for the quality- so I can get him out of our hair.

“You smoke?” I ask him, once he’s set the coffees down. I see in his mind that he does, so use it to my advantage.

(Hybrid): “Er… I’m going to take a smoke break out back…”

He leaves the room and shuts the back door over.

“He won’t be bothering us anytime soon.” I inform the strangers, so they don’t freak out that he’s gone to call the cops on them.

Then I get down to business.

“You pretty much just told me that you’re on the run from the authorities. I don’t need all the details.” I say that part to the kid specifically, since he seems to love details. “Just reassurance that you’re not mass-murderers or sexual predators or some other type of creeps.”

Looking at these two, I seriously doubt it, but I always ask the question.

[tilly-ttdrp]

Diming Light

Tilly:

I nod when they agree to come to Pumpkin Sphyce. I don’t blame them for still being skittish, but at least they have enough common sense to know they need to get out of the rain.

Normally I’d go the back alley route- the less I’m on CCTV the better- but I don’t want these two panicking and thinking I’m leading them into some sort of trap to get jumped, so I go via the main street. We get a few odd looks from passing hybrids, but I put out a mental order to ignore us and keep on walking to any who start to look too closely.

We reach the coffee shop, and it looks about as good on the outside as the coffee on the inside tastes. The windows are covered in grime, and one of the neon letters in the sign has gone out, so it looks like we’re going inside ‘Pu_pkin Spice’. I open the door, and a real bell (rather than an electronic beep) tells the owner of the shop that he actually has customers.

As I wait, I check the exits; front door, door to the back room over the counter, fire exit to back alley probable but not a guarantee, store-front windows are only single-glazing so easy to smash through if needed. There are no other customers in the store, and I only sense one hybrid worker.

Said worker- a depressed looking middle-aged hybrid- comes shuffling out of the back. I indicate with my head for Kipp and the others to take a seat, while I handle getting the drinks.

“Four coffees, please.”

The hybrid nods.

(Coffee Shop Hybrid): “I’ll bring ‘em over once they’re done. That’ll be 7.96 credits.”

Kipp raises an eyebrow at me as I actually hand over the money. While I very rarely need it, I always make sure to have cash on me in case of emergencies. While not an emergency, this shop certainly is a disaster. I can’t imagine it’s easy for this guy to pay his bills, and I only steal from those who can afford it. I also tell myself it’s probably wise not to give too much away to our new ‘friends’ yet. I’ve been deceived by more harmless looking people than them in the past; out here, you never know.

I go back to sit at the table.

“You don’t have to tell me your real names if you don’t want to, but it would be useful to have something to call you. I’m T, and this is K.” I indicate Kipp.

I lean back in my chair, hoping that seeming casual will lower the anxiety of the two strangers. I don’t say any more than that while the hybrid is still within hearing distance making the coffees.

[tilly-ttdrp]

Diming Light

Tilly:

They accept the supplies without much of a fuss. I can tell the boy is a little on edge about our motives, but it doesn’t look like they’re in a position to turn down the help.

“Don’t worry, we’re not creeps. We’re survivors- people who needed help from strangers once too, and were lucky enough to come across good people instead of murderers or slavers. So now we pay it forward.”

I see parts of their skin starting to burn, even with the waterproof coat.

“I can see this isn’t the best place for a conversation. There’s an old, run-down coffee shop a few streets away called ‘Pumpkin Sphyce’. The coffee’s shit-

(Kipp): “And they don’t even have a pumpkin spice latte on the menu!”

I roll my eyes at him.

“…But it has a distinct lack of both customers and CCTV that I find makes up for it; if you wanted to get out of the rain?”

[tilly-ttdrp]

Diming Light

Tilly:

I take us to a planet on the other side of the galaxy from the mall worlds. It’s just a typical hybrid world, not as easy to get supplies on, but not dangerous. Or at least, it shouldn’t be, but I remind myself that you never know. I have us go through the gate in small groups, so we’re not noticeable, and take the first group through myself to scout ahead.

It just seems like a normal day on the planet; no big celebrities visiting, no major events taking place. Good. I turn to Kipp and the others I came through with.

“Well, this won’t be easy pickings like the malls were, but there’s enough around here that we should be able to get the supplies we need. Prioritise the essentials, and meet back here in two hours.”

I also send a ‘resupply’ message out on the watch, along with a two-hour countdown, so the others will know what to do when they come through the gate.

We split off into pairs or threes so we blend in better, and I go with Kipp to try to score some food. I begin to lead us over to the back alleys behind the supermarkets, ready for when the next delivery truck arrives.

(Kipp): “So, what cover story are we going with, in case things go south? Siblings, homeless buddies, or am I lucky enough to get to be your fake boyfriend for the day?”

I internally wince as he says siblings, I don’t really want to think about having relatives at the moment…

“Well, since you asked so nicely, I suppose I’ll do you the honour of being your fake girlfriend for the next couple of hours.” I tease him.

(Kipp): “Whatever you say, honey.”

He teases me back, and I playfully elbow him in the arm. We both get serious again when we hear the deeper engine of a delivery truck a few streets away. We begin to race over, but I stop on the way, noticing two out-of-place figures.

At first glance, they might just seem like homeless waifs, sitting huddled in a dingy back alley. But I can tell from their body language that this is a new experience for them; no one living on the streets is ‘comfortable’ exactly, but most have an air of having adapted to their surroundings. These two seem out of their depth. Besides, the boy is wearing a school uniform, not the standard for homeless attire. I notice the singe marks on both of their clothes, and the faint smell of smoke, as if they’ve been in some sort of fire or explosion. The older one, the woman, has severe-looking injuries, but both her arm and eye have scar tissue, so these must be old wounds. Rough life then? Apart from that it just seems to be flesh wounds that will heal in a few days.

I try to get a proper read on them. Given how they’re sitting together- at ease in each other’s close presence- I’d say the two consider each other family. Mother and child perhaps? Another smell tells me that the woman is Trydein hybrid, while the boy is half Trydein and half Lyratisan hybrid. I already have a bad feeling about that. Most Trydeins in the crew are running from Lyratisans, it’s hard to imagine one having a child with a Lyratisan by choice. Then again, I suppose anything is possible. I should also be wary; even with hybrid minds that I can control, Trydeins are known for their unpredictable powers. I don’t want to scare them and have them set me on fire. Although they don’t seem to be coping too well with the rain.

I share a look with Kipp, and he nods back.

“You two need a hand?” I ask them.

(Kipp): “You look like shit.”

I roll my eyes at him- ever the diplomat- before taking off my backpack and throwing them some healing balm along with my fold-up waterproof coat. I don’t carry an umbrella, but it should protect them from the rain better than a fabric blazer.

I wait to see how they react before saying anything else.

[tilly-ttdrp]

Character Bio

Name: Tilly

Aliases: Vitalia (wraith name)

Age: ~120

Species: Wraith-human hybrid (current), wraith (born)

Affiliations:

Leela: Friend (Deceased)

Kipp: Friend

Tilly’s Crew: Leader

Quicksilver: Old friend

Powers/strengths:  

-Strong wraith mind abilities

-Good fighting skills

-Good survival skills

Weaknesses:  

-Claustrophobia/ fear of being trapped

-Can be callous and cynical towards strangers

History:

Tilly is the only child of Queen Vipsania and Commander Tiberius. She was born after the Lanteans awakened the wraith, and just before the war with Michael. Despite the ongoing conflict, the first couple of years of her childhood were happy, and she was well-cared for by her parents and her maternal uncles.

When she was around two years old, her paternal grandparents were killed by the Hoffan drug, and her father left to attend to his old hive. While he was gone, her mother’s main hive was captured by Michael. Tilly was onboard at the time, and in order to let her escape with some of her uncles, Vipsania allowed herself to be captured. Michael did not know of Tilly’s existence, and so the lone dart fleeing was assumed to just be one coward, and was not heavily pursued with the Queen in custody. Due to her close escape, Tilly was given the wraith name Vitalia, meaning ‘full of life’ or ‘survivor’.

With her mother killed, and her father exiled for failing to prevent the death, Tilly was raised by her maternal uncles. At first they put in a lot of effort to raise her well. However, things changed when they were called to join Queen Death’s alliance. Tilly was summoned to swear fealty to Death, but was instead taken captive. Death wished to use her DNA to help develop a bioweapon against Michael. Since Michael’s old hive had been shunned by the rest of the wraith before Death’s rise to power, they had gone off the grid and could not be found. This made Tilly Michael’s closest living relative that Death could get her hands on.

The next few years of Tilly’s life were scary and turbulent. While she was not kept behind bars, she was essentially Death’s prisoner, and had to submit to giving samples or being tested whenever ordered to do so. She was also often targeted and ‘punished’ by the other wraith on board due to her connection to Michael, despite never having met him. Her uncles were too afraid to go against Death, so did nothing to help her.

Since she had to stay on the main hive, she got to know another of Death’s captives: Quicksilver. She was aware that he was a human-turned-wraith and actually a prisoner rather than Death’s scientist, but never told him due to fear of Death’s wrath. Tilly saw that many of the wraith treated him like an outsider, the same way they did her, so she felt that he was a comrade of sorts. She also formed bonds with a few of Death’s other test subjects, most closely a human woman named Leela, as both were determined to survive and escape someday.

As the war continued, and tilted more and more in favour of Michael’s victory, an opportunity arose to escape when Tilly was around 8 years old. With the ship under heavy attack, and most of the wraith distracted, Tilly freed the other test subjects. Tilly wanted to offer Quicksilver to come with them, but Leela argued against it. She said that since he believed himself to be one of Death’s loyal men, there was every chance he would report them. Ultimately, Tilly listened to her mentor and left him behind.

The group of escapees were outsiders to both sides of the war. Tilly herself did not expect Michael to treat her any differently just because she was his niece, given his hatred of all wraith and her own experience with her maternal uncles. So the group went on the run, gating from planet to planet and trying to avoid both wraith and hybrids. However, once Michael defeated Death and began settling worlds, this became very difficult. One by one, the survivors were killed off until it was just Leela and Tilly. Leela taught Tilly the skills she needed to survive, and was the one to suggest she drop her wraith name and take on the ‘cute’ human name Tilly (“No one expects to get their ass kicked by a girl named Tilly, which makes it all the easier to kick their ass”). They made it together for a long time, but Leela was ultimately killed a few years after the escape.

Tilly’s advantage over the other escapees was her wraith queen mind. She found she could order hybrids not to attack her and even give her supplies. Nevertheless, she knew that being an adult wraith was practically impossible due to the Hoffan drug. She therefore made the decision to convert herself to become a hybrid before her feeding organ developed. Whether Death never gave her the permanent-feeding-drug, or whether it was never able to kick in pre-puberty is unknown. The hybridisation process did not weaken her mind as she had feared, so she continued to survive using her previous methods.

Tilly survived alone at first after Leela’s death, but over the years came across a number of other individuals who, for one reason or another, needed to live off-the-grid. She avoided the violent criminals, but banded together with those who were political criminals or victims of injustice. Eventually, this led to her forming her crew (see more below).

Things got easier for Tilly when Michael allowed for the existence of female hybrids. Rather than having to sneak around on every world, she is now able to blend into crowds, so long as she stays topped up on fake tan and hair dye to cover her green skin and silver-blonde hair. However, she still never lingers for too long, in case someone takes notice of her unusually powerful mind.

Currently, Tilly is able to survive fairly easily using her tried-and-true method of taking a few items from hybrid delivery trucks and having them marked as ‘damaged during transport’. Unlike other members of her group, she prefers this to out-and-out larceny, since it’s less likely to land her on a list of criminals and draw unnecessary attention. Her biggest fear is being discovered and ending up a prisoner or experiment victim on one of Michael’s hives.

Tilly’s Crew

Tilly’s crew is not a solid group; many of its members come and go, and the mortality rate is fairly high. Only a few people, like Kipp, have been with Tilly for a significant period of time, and would be called friends of hers. The group is also very diverse in terms of age, species and factions of origin: there are hybrids running from Michael, Trydeins running from the Lyratisans and Genii, perhaps even a few Doras and other humans running from the CCC. Tilly keeps the crew constantly moving; they don’t have a ‘home base’ since that would be vulnerable to attack. As such, they are very hard to track down.

There are few members of the crew that Tilly would risk her life for (she’s seen too many people die over the years), but she still puts in reasonable efforts to keep everyone safe. All members are gifted with a watch that Tilly can use to give them warnings, e.g. ‘return to gate’, ‘under attack’. Food and other necessities are also shared out evenly amongst everyone, rather than being horded by the best thieves. In return, Tilly expects each member of the crew to contribute what they are able to. She also has them live by their own ‘code of conduct’, e.g. no random acts of violence, no stealing from poor people, and she is not afraid to kick out or even execute those who break her rules.

Those few people who have stayed, and managed to survive, for a significant period of time are considered by Tilly to be her real family. Shared experiences and acts of friendship mean far more to her than blood or species. Tilly feels no loyalty to Michael or the wraith. In fact, she strongly dislikes wraith culture, both because of Queen Death, and because she found their rigidity in things such as human feeding illogical and foolish. She appreciates people who are tough (since she’s less worried about losing them/them dying) and smart (useful to the group), as well as people who treat others with respect and kindness.

[tilly-ttdrp]

A Chance Encounter (Safe Zone #2)

Tilly:

I lean against the wall next to the delivery alley, trying to look casual and blend into the crowd of shoppers. I’ve been here enough times to know where all of the emergency escape routes are, but habit causes me check them, make sure they’re still open and clear of obstacles. It’s especially important to be wary right now, since the rest of my crew doesn’t know I’m in the fashion district. Normally I’d never come to somewhere as frivolous as this, or risk not having anyone know my whereabouts. However, I have my reasons for not wanting them to know about the particular products I’m picking up today…

A quick glance at my watch, which automatically adjusts to the time of the planet I’m on, tells me that the delivery truck should be pulling in any moment now. I’m about to turn back into the alley, when-

(Hybrid Security Guard): “Excuse me, ‘miss’.”

A hybrid security guard comes over. I sense his mind, it’s nothing I can’t handle, but I don’t want to cause a scene in front of so many people. The security guard looks me up and down in my plain, practical, slightly worn clothes.

(Hybrid Security Guard): “Are you here to shop?” he asks sceptically.

“Oh, I’m just waiting for a friend. She’s the fashionista of the two of us…” I try to BS my way out of the situation without resorting to my telepathy, but the guard doesn’t look impressed.

(Hybrid Security Guard): “I’m sorry, but loitering in this area isn’t allowed. Especially with so many high-profile visitors around. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

As he speaks, I notice the delivery truck pull up. Shit, I don’t have a lot of time. I also see a few people in the crowd beginning to stare. Well, I guess it’s going to have to be that.

“She’ll only be another minute, are you sure I can’t wait?” I ask him politely, while at the same time mentally ordering him to leave me alone.

(Hybrid Security Guard): “Oh, I see… well in that case, I suppose you can wait…”

He walks off, and the crowd soon stop staring as they get distracted by other things. Once no one’s looking, I dive around the corner. I manage to intercept the delivery driver just before he can enter the back storage area of the beauty shop. Luckily, there are no security cameras back here, only on the main street, so I can simply take the items I need.

((Five brown hair dye packages and three fake tan sprays were damaged on transport.)) I use my mental powers to convince him that this is the truth, and as he marks the damages on his tablet, I pack the mentioned items into my backpack.

As soon as I’m done, I head back into the crowd. I’m about to make my way to the food area of the mall, where I expect to find most of my crew, but something draws me in the opposite direction. As I walk, what I sense with my mind makes no sense. Is that… a wraith queen? And nearby, some of those minds… is one Quicksilver..? And the other one… it also feels familiar somehow, but I’m not sure why…

(Kipp): “Tilly!”

Kipp catches me by the shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. Luckily he’s in front of me; if he’d grabbed me from behind I would have him pinned to the floor by now, crowd or no crowd.

(Kipp): “What the Bane Ones are you doing? And here of all places?”

“I… I don’t know…” I say honestly, still feeling a little dazed.

(Kipp): “This is the last way you want to be going. The royal family are all up ahead in some fancy clothes shop, so security’s probably super tight.”

“The royal family, what are you talking about?” I look at him perplexed, never having heard anyone mention a royal family before. Though the guard had said there were high-profile visitors…

(Kipp): “Haven’t you heard the news? The King’s sister and some of his brothers just appeared out of nowhere a couple of weeks ago. No one knows exactly what happened, but they’ve already caused a few headlines.”

The sister, she must be the wraith queen, and the others… I wonder if… No, it shouldn’t matter to me. It doesn’t. It’s irrelevant.

“I don’t read the celebrity gossip column. The only news I care about are things we need to know to keep us safe and alive.” I reply coldly.

I quickly block my mind, hoping that none of them have sensed my presence yet.

Kipp looks a little irked, I shouldn’t have taken that out on him. I sigh.

“Sorry Kipp, you have a point. Security is sure to have been stepped up a level. There might even be non-hybrids around.” Those were the worst to try and deal with, not only did they often not have a wraith mind for me to control, but their fighting skills were usually insane. I’d lost quite a few people to aliens like that over the years, and learned it was better to avoid them. “Let’s ditch this planet asap, there are plenty of easier places to resupply on.”

I send out a ‘meet at the gate’ signal on my watch to the rest of the crew, and use one of the emergency escape routes to get there quickly with Kipp. Once everyone is accounted for, I dial another hybrid mall planet in a different sector of the galaxy, and depart.