The Red Lands ::Private RP::

[KatDrama]

Whitney still found the chopsticks infuriating. "Why can't this place afford silverware?" He said with mock anger as he chased a piece of chicken around his plate.

Shannon's gaze grew a little soft. "I will do my best." He said with a frustrated sigh. "Do you suppose if I talk to that little girl again she'll know how to get in touch with Nancy?"

[FrauleinD]

Landon blushed and figured Whitney had had enough. She reached over to the folded napkin next to his plate and poked her finger inside, slowly dragging a fork out from between the folds. "Well, I suppose not everyone likes to use them," she said with a kind smile.

Audrey looked over with a light smirk, "Morgan can find anyone just about anywhere. If the captain's here, she can sure find him with no trouble. Well, the captain and I don't exaclty get along, so I guess I'll get going so you can talk to him," he turned to leave but stopped after a few steps. "Oh, by the way, why exactly is he so attached to her?" he meant Dylan.

[KatDrama]

Shannon shrugged. "I don't know how their connection began, but I know he thinks of her as a daughter. I haven't pried farther than that." Shannon admitted the truth. In all actuality he and Dylan didn't know too much about each other's pasts. Until now he had liked that fact. Now he wasn't so sure.

While they stood there talking Shannon relaxed his mind and called out to the little girl, who was more than happy to respond.

"Hey Granpa Nancy...Sparkle-nii wants to see you. He says its important." Morgan broke into Nancy's mind and announced with a sense of wondering, curious as to what the big secret was.

Whitney stared dumbly down at the fork that had come from his own napkin. His face turned bright red from humiliation. Whitney quickly grabbed the fork and shoveled some food in his mouth, trying to hide his embarrassment.

[FrauleinD]

"Hehehehehe, you're adorable!" Landon tittered as she went back to her own food, motioning for one of the waiters to come by and whispering something into his ear, snickering to herself as he nodded and went into the kitchen. "Say, have you ever had something called sushi? It's a kind of.... fish cuisine..." she said slyly.

Nancy was just finishing some food he'd gotten from the cafeteria. Was it really already after lunchtime? What? Sparkle? Sparkle? What was sparkly? Oh, right... Shannon was pretty bright and sparkly. Nancy chuckled a little to himself. Arright, Morgan. Where's 'e wanna meet me?

Audrey made an odd face. "...Daughter...? That... Answers some questions," he coughed and folded his arms, staring at the ceiling for a moment. "But raises so many others..." His eyes flickered and flew to the bedroom door, "Ah, I should go. Now," he said hastily, all but darting toward the door, but being too late as the bedroom door opened and a yawning Dylan came out.

As she wiped some of the sleepiness from her eyes, "I can't sleep no more... M'stomach won't stop growlin'..." when she looked over to Shannon and looked to where his gaze went, she saw Audrey who had frozen just in front of the door. Her expression changed and she looked between the two men, paying no attention whatsoever to the things on the table. "Aw. Aw, are ya friends now?" she asked hopefully, scampering over to get between Audrey and the door. "Dozzat mean we kin-"

"N-No." Audrey said firmly, though he backed away from her a few steps, unable to keep his cheeks from burning. "Uh...Maybe." It wasn't that he didn't want to see her... But he still wasn't sure he could forgive himself, even if she so innocently had.

[KatDrama]

Shannon slowly approached Dylan and put a hand on her shoulder. "Dylan..." He tried to get her attention. "Dylan, Audrey's told me of a place where you can go to get better, isn't that great?" He weakly smiled.

"Who's she?" Whitney asked innocently as he stuffed his face full of the food on his plate now that he had a proper utensil.

"Sparkle-nii's in his room talking to Audrey-nii and Dragon-nee." Morgan dutifully replied.

[FrauleinD]

Landon blinked at him then burst into a good-natured laughter. "Ohoho! You're too funny!" she said as the waiter brought her a plate of various types of sushi from octopus, eel, and salmon to tuna and egg. "This is sushi," she said, pointing at them with her chopsticks. "It's fish and rice... Only it's raw... But it's quite delicious!" she insisted, "Why don't you try some?" she said, picking up one of the pieces and offering it to him with her sticks.

Arright, then I'll be right on up, then. Thanks, kiddo, yer a real helper, ain'tcha? he said as he picked up the last bit of his sandwich and finished it as he went to the elevator.

"Huh?" she looked over to Shannon, "Really?" she blushed, wondering how much Audrey had told Shannon. It hadn't been her intention to tell him exactly how bad off she was... But if it was Audrey, then he must have known of a cure for her life-threatening mutation. "Really, are ya gonna take me there?" she asked excitedly, innocently laying her hands on Shannon's chest as she looked up to him.

Audrey, meanwhile she was distracted tried to inch his way to the door... But much to his dismay she was still blocking it. Sneaky little...

[KatDrama]

Shannon hugged Dylan with a melancholy look on his face. He glanced up at Audrey and gently maneuvered himself and Dylan slowly from the door. "Yeah, yeah I'm going to take you there, real soon." He said softly as he bent his head and kissed her gently on the top of her head. "We'll leave as soon as the sand storm is over, alright?" He smiled sadly.

Whitney gazed and Landon with horror. "Raw? That's hardly sanitary." He said with disgust, clearly wanting to avoid that food. He looked back down to his stir fry and stuffed another mouthful on to his fork.

Roi jerked awake, sitting up so fast she made herself dizzy. Just when had she passed out? She felt weak, it was so troublesome to breathe. She tried to stand but fell to her knees. The dream...that dream! Roi panted for air as hot tears spilled down her face.

Francis stared at the bird through the glass walls of her cage, disgust on his face as he looked at the timer on the clock. "Alright...summon the muscle back. That's enough for now." He said with a wave of his hand. He glanced back over his shoulder at her. "Call Casey as well." He said with a smirk.

"Audrey...." Morgan quietly spoke to her friend. "The men...they want you back." She hesitantly relayed the message.

[FrauleinD]

Landon made a face, "Oh, poo on you!" she said playfully as she helped herself to the delicious fish. "Oh, you don't know what you're missing. Of course, I suppose those with only the most refined tastes could like such a thing," she laughed teasingly.

Dylan opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by the soft shutting of the door. When she looked, Audrey was already gone. She looked hurt for a moment, but turned back to Shannon and tried to smile. "Okay," she agreed. She could guess from how he acted that Audrey probably wouldn't be coming with them. Gently, she wrapped her arms around Shannon's waist and lay her chin on his chest, looking up at him, "What's the matter?

"...Audrey," Nancy said as he passed Audrey in the hallway.

"...Captain," Audrey returned as he walked past and into the elevator. All right, tell them I'm on my way.

[KatDrama]

Roi began to shake. That dream, it was her, but it wasn't her. That couldn't be her. Why this, why now?

Shannon tried to smile. "It...may be hard...but in the end it will be good for you." Shannon looked away, trying to hide the tears in his eyes. Did she know of her own fate? Did she know she was dying. "Let's...eat some lunch, then start packing, okay?" He smiled gently down at her.

"I'd say only those that were desperate would eat such a course food." Whitney said gruffly as he continued to eat his cooked food.

[FrauleinD]

Audrey sighed heavily as he exited the elevator and started through the labyrinth of hallways. It took him a couple of tries, but he finally found what he thought was the right path when he saw familiar looking hallways. He saw Francis on the far end and slowly approached, not exactly looking forward to whatever it was they were going to make him do this time.

Dylan frowned and her expression hardened. She put her hands on his cheeks and made him look at her until her gaze softened and turned into something flushed with regret. "...He told ya, didn't 'e?" The red and gold of her eyes swirled slowly, but she wasn't going to let herself cry this time. "I'm sorry... I didn't say nothin'... I jes'... I thought weren't nothin' could help me, so-" there was a soft knocking on the door. "...But... If there's somethin' kin help me live... Fer you... I'll do it," she said with a soft but firm determination, "I'd do anythin' fer you..." she said, reaching up and hugging him tightly, leaving a quick but warm kiss on his cheek as she dropped herself back to the floor and went to open the door, taking a deep breath, but being instantly relieved when she saw it was Nancy. "Papa bear!" she said happily. "What'cha want?"

"Heh. Heh heh... See y'got some boy clothes now," he said, ruffling her hair as he came in, a little unsettled by the look on Shannon's face. "Girl... Boy..." he said to Dylan, being interrupted by her stomach growling. "Git yer a** in 'at kitchen'n make somethin'. Gwan, git," he said, shooing her away. When she disappeared into the kitchen, he turned back to Shannon. "Huh... That Audrey kid done been here, ain't he? What'd he say?" he asked lowly.

"This used to be a delicacy in some countries, you know," she said absently, quite enjoying her unsanitary, raw, desperate fish. "Hehehe... Will you be wanting second portions? You eat like a wolf."

[KatDrama]

Whitney blushed with embarrassment and slowed his eating speed. "No, thank you. This serving is enough." He straightened his back and tried to save himself some dignity by trying to eat like a proper gentleman.

"Decompression in 5-4..." Someone said out loud as the seal on Roi's glass chamber was broken and the door popped open a crack. Francis turned to catch a glimpse of of Audrey approaching. "Ah, just in time." He pointed behind him to the bird who had fallen to her knees and was crying to herself. "Calm it, before we can continue." He said dissmissivley, then appeared to ignore the situation.

Shannon smiled at Dylan as she scuttled away to the kitchen, then turned to Nancy, his face dead serious. "We're leaving, as soon as the storm passes." He said decisively. "Audrey...knows of a place where Dylan can be saved." Shannon's fists trembled with frustration. "I want...I need you to come with us."

[FrauleinD]

Nancy's expression was entirely surprised. They still had a use for this old man? Well, if that didn't beat all. He was a little taken aback and spied the map sprawled on the table. Looking back to Shannon, "O'course. I ain't got nothin' keepin' me 'ere. They ain't gonna lemme within miles o'that bird girl, but seems like our red haired menace got to takin' care o'her, so I trust she be arright," he reached over and gave Shannon a hearty, friendly punch in the arm, "C'mon, now, now's th' time y'gotta be a man, ain't no time fer nothin' else but action now, right?" He went over to the table. "Zis where we're goin'?" he asked, picking up the map and looking at it. "...s**t."

Audrey gave Francis the look of distaste, "I'll calm her as best I can," he said as he slipped into the chamber. It didn't look like they'd done anything to her short of depriving her of air, there must have been something else wrong, "Hey," he said softly, kneeling down next to her and trying to bend his head so that he could see her face. "Hey, now you can't have missed me that much, I should be the guy you're happy when he's gone."

"O-Kay!" she said happily quite content with her combination of sushi and stirfry as she handed her cash card to the waiter to pay for both of them. "Well, I hope you enjoy all of it! I know a lot of nice restaurants around the dome."

[KatDrama]

"Yeah...that's why I need you." Shannon laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not much of a fighter..." He admitted, a blush of shame crossing his face. "And that there....that's Raider country..."

"Well, thank you for the meal." Whitney sighed, supposing he better be polite. Whitney sighed and observed the ceiling of the place, wondering if they were going back to the medical wing now.

Roi's eyes were wide with fright as she turned her head to look at Audrey. She spoke as though she had seen distant things. "T-the dream...I didn't...they did...I...white...child...tubes...Mergan...." She spoke disconnected gibberish as though trying to piece things together. "B-but...the sky....sky...blue..."

[FrauleinD]

"Wh-O-Of couse it is..." Nancy coughed, rubbing his chin as he blushed. His mind was obviously on something else the map had reminded him of. "Well, I'm perdy familiar w'this area, least..." he said, turning back to the situation at hand, pointing at a place on the map that was almost on top of the supposed volcano they were supposed to go to, "This 'ere... That's where I done plucked 'at poor red haired kid outta th' debris o'that dragon kin town some twenty years ago. I wonder if'at volcano done got somethin' t'do w'that radiation there... Well, ain't no matter, if ain't nothin' else, I'm a damn good wall o'a man, I taken more hits'n any o'the men in m'troupe. Anything ain't done killed me yet ain't gonna kill me now. Not that I's zactly proud t'admit such a thing, but 'at kid o'mine's a better shot'n I am, she gotta knack fer that kinda thing somehow, she'll be provin' 'er worth soon w'that shot huh?" He paused. "We do got weapons t'take don't we?"

"Hehehe," Landon's watch started to beep. "Oh, dear, it appears it's time for us to go back. Well, I'll have you know I've rather enjoyed your company, Dr. Jiles. We'll have to do it again sometime!" She said as she stood and stretched her legs.

"Damn straight the sky's blue," Audrey said, not really understanding what the hell seh was going on about, but making a mental note of some of the random things she'd said for future reference. He reached out a hand and laid it on her shoulder, "Anything else you want to tell me?" he said, scooting in closer to her and trying to bring her mind back to reality, rather enjoying the delay because he had a sneaking suspicion it would piss off Francis. "You just tell me all about it."

[KatDrama]

It almost seemed as if Roi didn't notice that Audrey was there as she continued babbling. "Section 10...the lab...children...needles...tests...tests...the...wait...nooo!" Roi screamed, closing her eyes for a second. When she opened them again it was like she had finally snapped out of it. She glanced up at Audrey with confusion. "Um...what did I just do?" She asked, slightly afraid, her mind still feeling a little fuzzy and light headed from the low oxygen.

"Um...yeah. Thanks again." Whitney said as he scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed and nervous from their lunch adventure.

"Yeah, Audrey says his jeep is well stocked." Shannon said, a bit hopeful. "I'm...a...I'm a decent shot. But, I just can't kill." Shannon admitted, a little ashamed to admit it to the gruff man.