Frightened, Chimera? [Remake] (O / A)

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Apsalar frowned for a moment. Thrown off by his phrasing, she caught herself glancing upwards at the sky to check. Then it clicked - right, Smoke had told her about that one once. It meant what is going on. It was a 'slang' term.

She found herself turning her gaze away while she blinked to subdue the sudden surge of grief. She didn't want to lose either of them to a battle for leadership. Tobart, who was always pushing her to learn more, to get better, and John, who kept her from being pushed or pushing herself too far.

Once she was sure she had herself under control, she turned to face him again, and took a slow breath. Tact and diplomacy had never been a strong suit of hers, and she wouldn't have known how to approach this subject any way other than bluntly.

"Tobart, please don't fight with John," she said, keeping her voice low so that it wouldn't carry to Lonomia; even though they now stood by the front door, she was being careful about it. There was a hint, a faint undertone of a question in her voice as she spoke - the equivalent of Why do you want to, anyway? "If you do, it won't matter who wins. The pack will splinter, and we'll all lose. We can't afford to be separated right now."

The words were the same as what she had been thinking while she'd been talking to John, and they came out in much the same way - a nervous rush of fear and concern and tension all wrapped up together. "I know that sometimes it's hard, but..." No, she didn't. She had no problem following the orders of a leader. "We have to stay together. If you have to challenge him, if you have to, can you please wait? Wait until we're safe?"

She had more to say, but it was stuck in her throat; she hadn't learned enough vocabulary to express the feelings of grief and stress that hit her whenever she thought about either of them walking away from the pack. She didn't know how to explain that they all needed each other right now.

So she trailed off into nothing, shrugging her shoulders apologetically while she waited for his answer.  

[The Amazing Flying Circus]

Apsalar was so bright; Tobart saw the glance she'd given at the ceiling before she'd registered his words, but she'd registered them nonetheless. He blinked at her words. Fight with John? "Why would I fight with John?" he asked, though repeating the words surfaced another concern within the male.

Would he have to challenge their leader? If it came to it... would he do it?

Tobart shook his head and placed a hand on Apsalar's shoulder affectionately. "We've never fought before. He's a good leader."

These words brought another concern. John was known to fly off the handle easily - always bringing unnecessary harm to himself. Did he really want someone like that to lead them in the new world?

"Don't worry."  

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Wait, what now?

Whatever response Apsalar had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been one that so perfectly mirrored what she would have said he would say before her conversation with John.

She let out a breath. "Good. That's good. I..."

Well, she wanted to give an explanation, or maybe to get one. Why would John think that Tobart was going to challenge him if Tobart seemed as confused as she did about it?

Forcing her mind to click back over the conversation, she looked thoughtful for a moment.

No. John hadn't said it, not straight out. She had been the one to ask him if that was what he'd meant. What if it hadn't been? Well, what else could he have meant?

"We can lead the pack the way we want...Tobart wouldn't know how to do that. Wouldn't know how to help."

Seemed pretty clear to her.

Even now that she understood it, this language was so frustrating.

"...Maybe he doesn't know himself yet."

She managed a weak smile. "Well...if...something were to happen. If. Would you...remember, what we talked about today?" By 'something', she meant if Tobart were to become aware of wanting to make the challenge.

But her vague phrasing left it open for interpretation.  

[LovetoCauseMayhem]

Well, that was boring.

Hiccadu huffed, rolling her eyes as the two split apart and Apsalar made her way back to the house. Checking to make sure the beach was empty as this time of day, she hefted herself up over the rocks and settled down upon them in the afternoon sun, the chilled wind carrying off most of the overbearing warmth.

She didn't care if John saw her, didn't care if John realized she had been spying. What the ******** was he going to do to her? Slap her with his little birdie wings? Ha. She'd rip them out of his back first.

Her tail curling around her as she got comfortable, she straightened her head to watch Apsalar vanish into the house before looking over to John.

"Well, that was effective, wasn't it?" She asked, amused and nonchalant. But ever-so-slightly mocking. She yawned. "Yep. Looks like she understood you perfectly. You really do have a way with words."  

[AninOnin]

What with animal instinct conflicting with inner human emotional turmoil, the last thing John wanted to hear was Hiccadu's derisive voice. He whirled around on her, tossing up sand, wanting more than anything to bite her as hard as he could, until he could feel the blood trickling through his teeth. He knew this would only lead to further troubles down the line, and so he sought for a witty retort that wouldn't come. In the end, he froze up, doing neither. He stared with smoldering eyes before he clenched his fists and looked away. Her words had some truth to them. John hadn't said what he had meant to. Now it felt like, to him, he had caved in.

"What did you want me to do? Rape her?" Despite his response to Smoke's words, John still hated the idea. He wouldn't hurt Apsalar, a friend and pack mate, not like that. The very idea was horrible.

--

Whenever Hound decided to make his move, Jared would be ready. But in the meantime, he would start getting Smoke out of there. He was the only target worth pursuing at the moment; Hound was simply a nuisance, albeit a significant one.

Jared holstered his weapon, the AutoMag, keeping the Glock out and at the ready. With his now-free hand, he reached into the pit where Smoke had half-way sunk and was resting against the slanted dirt wall. He was coming to gradually, but still seemed in a sort of haze when Jared pulled him out with a grunt of effort. Perhaps the bloodloss had gotten to him; perhaps the pain. In any case, it made Jared's work easier. He listened for Hound, but stopped every now and then to keep a look out for the chimera, making sure he kept his back covered whenever possible.  

[LovetoCauseMayhem]

Hiccadu was amused. Seeing John stutter, stumble over himself, fidget as he tried to figure out what to do - it was funny. Just the kind of thing she liked to see in other people. Uncertainty. Hesitation.

But then he spoke, and the moment was ruined. She snorted.

Do you even know what that word means?

"Do I really give off the impression that I care what you do?" She replied dismissively. "You obviously want her. She obviously doesn't understand. She's a child. She might have the capacity to be intelligent, but until then she is an infant. Until she grows up, you need to treat her like one. Otherwise you'll get yourself into a lot more trouble then you'll know how to handle."

((So how is the character going, Anin? biggrin ))  

[AninOnin]

((I've hit a dead end of mind-numbing-ness. I blame school.))

John needed to let out some frustration. Not at Hiccadu, and not exactly at Apsalar or even himself. It was mostly undirected, general irritation. He kicked the sand, watching the individual grains travel through the air and plummet back to the shore again.

Treat Apsalar like a child? She wasn't a baby. When John thought of a child who needed to be treated like one, he instantly thought of Panther. Someone who didn't quite understand, someone who needed to be protected. Maybe Apsalar didn't always understand words, but she did understand. And she didn't need individual protection, not the kind that Panther had needed.

Now he faced a dilemma. Either continue to pursue Apsalar, breaking her promise, confront Tobart without telling Apsalar (which was, in itself, stupid, because Apsalar would figure it out eventually), or let it go and hope it wasn't an act of defeat.

John sat in the sand and looked out to over the sea, squinting in the sunlight. He wasn't sure anymore.

((Going to work on said character. Wish me luck!))  

[LovetoCauseMayhem]

((Haha, good luck! biggrin ))

Hiccadu merely watched John. Well, it was back to being boring. She could see the internal struggle, but she had really hoped that the stupid idiot would lash out or say something snide or do something to give her a reason to get violent. All this peaceful crap was getting dull.

Her tail twitched. She was not one for stagnation. <******** she stood, and shook the sand out of her armor.

"You're pathetic," she stated simply, turning her back to John and leaping lightly onto the sand, padding back towards the house.

Some leader YOU are.  

[LovetoCauseMayhem]

((bumps))  

[AninOnin]

Jared was able to lug Smoke all the way back towards his own vehicle, leaving a sickly blood-trail behind him. Smoke had gone unconscious again, and Jared was worried that his charge might die on him. There had been a few moments of discomfort when Jared could've sworn he'd heard Hound coming through the trees, but it had been nothing. So now Smoke was in the backseat of the car, disarmed, incapacitated, and Jared was speeding towards Smith's associate.

--

It took several moments for Hicadu's words to leave his mind. It took several more before he was able to think of what to do next. He most wanted to leave for hours, fly around, feel the wind lifting his feathers, blowing across his face. But he knew he couldn't leave the group, not with Smoke gone, not with this turmoil. In fact, he knew he had better face Tobart. Using Apsalar as a messenger was not only unfair to her, it was cowardly, hiding behind her like this.

And yet, John couldn't think of the words to say. He had a broader vocabulary than most of the chimerae, but that didn't mean it was any easier picking the words that were least likely to cause a rift between them. He could get to Tobart and start, improvising... But he knew he would only erupt if Tobart said the wrong thing. Besides, hadn't he promised Apsalar he would wait?

Of course, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be able to settle it peacefully, right?

John ran through the conversation again and again, coming to no ideal resolution. Eventually, he gave up the attempt and headed back into the beach house, turning his back on the night that was descending outside.

--

Sam was sprawled on his stomach, enjoying the warmth of the diluted sunlight that poured from the massive domed sunroof onto the grassy courtyard below. Not even a month in his chimera body, and he was soaking up as many new sensations a day as he could get. He had already experienced a few pleasant sensations (the warmth of sunlight, soft blankets, cool breezes) and a few unpleasant ones (pain, itchiness, soreness). Then, of course, there were a few he wasn't sure fell into either category, like being tickled. There was no other word for it--being tickled felt weird. It made him laugh, but at the same time he wanted it to stop, immediately.

((Awful post is awful. But that should lay out a bit of groundwork for the new characters...? As far as their location, anyway...))  

[Wire_Colossus]

Near Jarreds Car, there was a very loud bellow, followed by a loud cracking sound and a feeling of the ground shaking, as a tree as big around as a barrel of oil started to lean and then fall towards the front end of Jareds car from the side. If Jared wasn't fast enough the tree would crush the front end of the car, and it was unlikely that Jared would be that fast. Hound had inded followed. And Now he was pushing over a tree with all his might. He was having a moment of sanity, and was trying to get smoke back. "Leave him alone, I'll not let you kill my family!!!!!!"


Little Neo hugged Yani and snuggled, "Daddy...."  

[SilentShadowDreamer]

((OOC: *waits for Tobart*))  

[The Amazing Flying Circus]

"Well...if...something were to happen. If. Would you...remember, what we talked about today?"

Tobart cocked his head. "Of course," he said, a little puzzled. He hoped he would not be pushed to fight John. They'd been friends for their entire lives; how could they?

Then the thought came. If they did fight, what would the outcome be? They both had fast-acting, deadly potent venom. He didn't know if Smoke had kept any of the antivenin from the slaughterhouse and wasn't willing to risk it whether he had or hadn't. He'd felt the effects of his own venom and wasn't going to forget it any time soon and would never wish it upon any of the others save perhaps Hiccadu if he were feeling particularly nasty. John could fly where Tobart could not, but Tobart was strong. John was light and and fast.

It would indeed be an interesting spectacle, to say the least.



[[I am so sorry! I didn't even notice the replies until today. Forgive me m(_ _)m ]]  

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Apsalar's smile was full of relief and happiness. "Okay. I...thank you." She stepped back, and turned towards the front room. "We should go back. Lonomia is probably lonely."

It didn't matter to her what it would be like to see the battle; she had no interest in who would win or why. She didn't want either of the men she considered friends to fight, not for anything, particularly not when the pack needed them both if they planned to get out of this alive. There was no reason to choose now as the time to be all snarly and possessive and...male. They could both put it aside for now, she thought irritably - it wasn't as though the pack wouldn't still be there for them to decide...after.

Not that she really wanted them to have to decide ever, but once these things got started it was hard to stop them in their tracks. Even now she wasn't sure if she'd gotten through to Tobart or not - he could have been lying to make her feel better.

Having slipped away from one of the objects of her thoughts and unaware that the other would be coming in any minute, she opened the door and headed back into the front room. On coming in, she looked at the messed-up game board and lifted a brow at Lonomia. "Got bored, did you?" she inquired, sitting down across from him again. "Do you still want to play?"

It wouldn't surprise her if he refused out of sulkiness. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he was still a little boy in most respects. Other times, it was hard to forget it.  

[The Amazing Flying Circus]

Tobart nodded. The boy was probably frustrated with them, a thing they discovered upon returning to the living room.

Apsalar offered to play again. Did that mean he won? Frustration grew within Lonomia. He used to understand Apsalar better than any of the others. Now she spoke like they did most of the time and he was just stupid. "I win?" he asked about the game they'd just played.