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The Amazing Flying Circus
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 Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 8:27 pm
[[TCH! Typical Miinefield. WHAT an a**. Pff.]]
Tobart had indeed been near the door, however on the outside of it. He was steadily recovering strength, and stood as he saw Apsalar approach.
Lonomia was running for his little life out the door with everyone else.
[[Ta-da!]]
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 8:58 pm
Apsalar, turning her head from side to side in what seemed almost like a parody of searching rather than an actual search - her atrophied peripheral vision was causing her a lot of trouble out in the open - finally caught sight of Tobart, now that he was standing. She crossed the space to him quickly, and once she got there, just stood looking at him for a minute or two.
She had never seen any of her pack free, out in the open the way that others could be, and her initial awed gaze turned slowly to nerves and uncertainty.
Tentatively, she offered a hand to him. They had to go, try and find a space in the woods. Tobart was still recovering from his self-inflicted injury, and while she was sore and tired she thought she could handle this last leg of the route. The others were...she didn't know where. She would have to come back for them, if she could.
Turning her head, she spotted Lonomia running out the door and gestured to him with a hand. Come, Lonomia! Come with us! She wanted to get out with as many of her packmates as possible in the first try.
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The Amazing Flying Circus
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 9:15 pm
Tobart was a bit nervous himself, though most of that washed away when he gripped Apsalar's hand. Physical touch and lowly murmured words had always been the Chimerae way of comforting each other, it seemed. He smiled, fearless and ready to traipse into the open unknown.
---
"Smoke..." Lonomia looked back, shuffling backward toward the group. "Come, Smoke!" he called, heart syrupy at the thought of leaving him behind.
[[Did I just compare sorrow and a body part to syrup? I think I did.]]
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 9:36 pm
Apsalar looked back at Lonomia, frustrated. "Lonomia!" she called. She nodded at where Smoke was, saying as clearly as she could, See, he's there. He'll be fine. We have to go!
If Lonomia wouldn't come, she'd have to leave without him for the first round. Her first instinct was to get Tobart to safety - she felt responsible for leaving him in a dangerous situation. She looked back one more time and then tugged on Tobart's hand, turning back towards the forest that she could see. Though she had never seen a forest, didn't know what one was, she had the memory of the outdoors somewhere deep in her head - and she hoped to be able to figure it out.
Her eyes were focused on the trees. If they could only get in there... "Tobart," she said quietly, looking back at him with steady golden eyes. "Come with me?"
It was the second proper sentence she'd ever uttered, and after a second, she added the first. "Don't worry, it'll be all right."
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The Amazing Flying Circus
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 9:45 pm
Lonomia howled; he knew Apsalar was right. He turned his back to the slaughterhouse and charged after them. The air was not like he was used to; it was clean, light. There was something in it that the boy liked. He wanted to take Apsalar's other hand, but knew better than to allow himself the comfort. He was not to touch anyone; they would die.
Tobart's smile was wider than it had ever been in his life and he found his cheeks hurting, but he did not care. "Yes," he said, conviction in his voice as he turned toward the grove.
[[Whoops; is Smoke already out? :B ]]
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 9:57 pm
((OOC: I got that impression, but I don't actually know.))
Apsalar also knew better - through an instinct she didn't quite understand - than to touch Lonomia. She settled for giving him a quick, canine smile, and then turning and loping towards the forest. Her eyes were focused ahead of them, and due to her lack of peripheral vision in this kind of light, she had to trust Lonomia and Tobart to keep an eye on what was going on around them.
It was possibly the most stressful run of her life - every second she expected to hear shots ring out behind them. It just seemed impossible that after so long, they would actually have a chance to go free. She was sore, she knew Tobart was still healing, and Lonomia...well, she had no idea if the boy had been injured. It didn't seem so, but...
The cover of the grove that had looked so far away eventually beckoned to her, shady and welcoming. "Hurry," she said. "There." Somewhere in there, there had to be shelter for Tobart and Lonomia. She'd have to go back - she knew that Hound and some others seemed to have cleared out, but John, Smoke and the rest...she had to help them get out.
She couldn't leave anyone behind. It just wouldn't be right.
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Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:06 pm
((Sorry Mayhem D:
And yes, Smoke is indeed out lol))
The drug acted separately from his own immune system, eliminating the more dangerous parts of the toxin and bolstering the defenses around his heart and kidneys. Within moments, his heart was beating more regularly again, albeit very faintly.
Before Jared was treated with the anti-toxin, his blood had thinned considerably. A pool of watery blood had collected from his mouth and nose, and his face would need to be cleaned before the blood could clot around his eyes and seal them shut, or even blind him.
Smoke was in front of the other Chimerae, and John was coming out of the slaughterhouse, having seen the rest escape. Or, those who were to escape.
He called Seiko, trying to let her know that they were leaving. It was imperative that they get out of there before Hiccadu could track them down on sight.
Good thing Smoke's car was here. It was a four-wheel drive jeep, with straps on it that were designed to keep a person in the car when they were jerked around at all angles. They were similar to a roller-coaster's straps, but not metal.
"Get in," Smoke said, pulling on his leather jacket hurriedly and searching for the keys in the pockets. "Strap in, like this." He showed them where to put their arms in and how to buckle the belts, but they would still be a little tricky for the unworldly Chimerae. He stepped out of the car to help them. Lonomia might be a problem though, because Smoke was hesitant to touch him.
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Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:28 pm
Hound climbed into the back seat of the jeep and strapped himself in. R.J. however, whistled at smoke, "You lead the way, I'll follow. Most of these old folks just think they're seeing their guardian angels when they see me flying." He was standing on the roof of a nearbye building.
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Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:58 pm
"Then take this," Smoke said, pulling thermal covers from a storage spot in the floor of his jeep. "Humans may dismiss you, but TAIS won't. Stick in the clouds, and wear this."
That way, the satellites couldn't see him in the clouds and TAIS wouldn't be able to get a thermal image on him. Unfortunately, that was all Smoke was prepared for.
"Hey." It was John. "Can I get some of that?" He had Panther in his arms, so he put her down against the car gently, taking the foil from Smoke and donning it. He realized with a distant awareness that Panther was cold, so he didn't need to cover her. He let Smoke helped him tie it securely over him and lace part of it down his wings where it wouldn't get in the way. Then he picked up Panther again and held her close to him, and joined RJ on the roof. He wanted to know more about this Chimera.
"I can take her if you wish," Smoke asked him gently. Could he fly with such a burden? "Are you sure you can handle it?"
John looked down at him, knowing he knew he wasn't only talking about the physical burden of carrying her added weight and flying. "I can take it."
Reluctantly resigned to his course of action, Trent returned to his jeep, wishing he had enough space to accommodate all the Chimerae. He didn't feel safe allowing them to fly and follow him, but on further inspection, he doubted driving would be a much better way to travel discreetly.
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Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 5:04 pm
R.J. glided down and took the time to add some thermal covering to himself. "I hope I can still fly long distance with this stuff on. I have to go home and Tell my dad that I'm cured. I've got to lie to him yet again."
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Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 6:10 pm
"You have a dad?"
Now that they were out of the slaughterhouse, John was able to get a good look at RJ. He seemed to be wearing some kind of hindering garment that he would later learn to be a straight jacket. How he managed to fly in the thing, John had no idea.
Something else he noticed being closer to him--and downwind--was that the Chimera stank. Badly. John didn't have a heightened sense of smell at all, but he could tell that much. He didn't want to offend him though, so he kept quiet about it.
The fact that he seemed to have a father was beyond John. There had never been anyone that he could look up to or even depend on. There was no authority figure in his life, and so he'd had to depend on himself. A father, someone to answer to as well as someone to rely on, was an alien thought.
((I'm changing my posting style a little bit. Let me know if you prefer the other method.))
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Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 6:26 pm
((I prefer the new way, easier to read.))
R.J. replied, "of course I have a dad, and a mom. Why wouldn't I? I live at home like most Eighteen year olds in my home town do. I'm from the next town over. and if you're wonder about the smell, It's me. My dad says he found me as a baby in the sewer and for the past 18 years no matter how clean i get, no matter how much soap I use, I can't get rid of the smell." Then R.J. leaped into the air and flew back up onto the roof.He then retracted his blade like feathers and looked at John, "It's nice to meet you. My name is Rose Jumperstien, but everyone calls me R.J."
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Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 9:27 pm
Apsalar looked uncertainly at the vehicle. She didn't know how it worked, and wasn't sure she should trust herself, Tobart and Lonomia to the item.
But Smoke was urging them into it, and he had risked too much for them for it to be a joke.
Her eyes softened a little at John's statement. Yes, she thought, he probably could take it. She just hoped that that added burden wouldn't break him.
Panther.
She turned her dark golden eyes to Tobart and Lonomia, nodded once - the others were following them. Her last fears faded. If Smoke had planned to deceive them, he would have insisted that they all go in the vehicle. She pointed towards the vehicle and told Lonomia, "In." Then she copied what she had seen Smoke do, climbing in and setting the straps. It was sort of comforting, actually - nice and confined, not as intimidating as the world outside.
"Tobart, Lonomia," she insisted. "In!"
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Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2010 8:23 am
The jeep was terrifying. It was loud, it was metal, and it was headed toward them.
At Smoke's first promptings, Lonomia practically jumped into the vehicle and sat himself down, careful to keep his head away from the others. (It was a good thing that the only pieces of clothing he owned was a pair of worn jeans and a thin, long-sleeved shirt). He did not understand the scientist's words, but he knew that he wanted the Chimerae to restrain themselves. The boy hesitated and did not touch the straps. He would just sit, thank you. There was no need for restraints in Lonomia's mind.
Tobart understood and, with a bit of difficulty, found a seat and pulled the belts over himself. He didn't know why, but Smoke had gotten them this far. Fear suddenly punched the Chimera in the stomach. What if this was all just a simulation? Uneasiness spread through the boy and he stared at Smoke. Until they were safe, he probably wouldn't take his eyes off of the other. He wanted to trust, but all of those years of torture in the name of science was a hard wall to scale.
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The Amazing Flying Circus
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Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2010 1:59 pm
John puzzled it over in his mind. He was older than R.J., as far as he knew from the scientists, but he had never lived with anyone else, much less a parent. He had been the closest thing to a parent for the Chimerae he had helped escape, but it seemed so long ago.
"Mine's John," he returned in the introduction. He shifted Panther's weight slightly, saying "This is..." Was. She was. The thought made moisture p***k at John's eyes like feeling returning from numb fingers. "This was Panther. My little sister." The grief, so evident in his voice, was etched in his eyes as well.
He said this in all seriousness, although him and Panther hadn't been biological siblings. He considered all Chimerae as his brothers and sisters, as they considered him as well. But he wouldn't let her limp, lifeless form deter him from being able to fly with Smoke and Seiko. He told the man he could do it, and so he shouldered the pain and bore the burden.
Smoke nodded his approval at Apsalar's understanding of the straps, but he couldn't allow Lonomia to just sit. The jeep would be going over crazy terrain, and he wasn't about to go this far for the Chimerae to have one fall out and die.
He shrugged off his leather jacket and gave it to Lonomia to put on, rather than forcing it on him and terrifying him, despite their time shortage. It was a few sizes too big for the small boy, even though Smoke was small-framed, but it would keep him safe of the spines until he could strap Lonomia in. "I have to do this, it's for your own protection. Please let me help you?" He didn't know if Lonomia would understand him, let alone let him get closer and put belts around him. The scientists had ruined the trust of the poor Chimerae, but that was why Smoke was working so hard to get them out, out of that horrible slaughterhouse. Away from Yani and his computer's clutches.
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