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Waaayyy backdated.... sweatdrop

Dear jurnul (was that right ? Anyway)

Everyone seems to be getting big. Ora got all big the last time I saw him ! It was kinda... scaree at first but beside being big Ora's still nice and fun. It relly wierd, he says I will get all big too eventualy and it's kinda scaree to think about.

But ten it no look like being big is too bad so.

Am just not too sure. Ah kinda want to be and ah kinda don't want.

And if everyone get big and ah stay smal it wont be fun.

I duno. I asked Ty and he just barked and sat on my knes for petting. Ty's getting big to - he can't fit in my lap anymor.

I think m just gonna go sleep and ill think about it later.

See ya later mr jurnul.

O_O!

Despite his wish to avoid keeping the others waiting, Yukiko had completly lost track of time with the arrival of his new companion, Snow. He didn't notice the setting of the sun behind his lacy curtains as night crept upon the city, he and his new friend silently chatting, getting to know eachother through their mental bond.

Yuki plucked at his pants in annoyance and glanced back towards his closet where the dress he had seen earlier was hanging. Reluctantly rising from his place on the bed he decided to change into something cooler for when he returned to his friends, taking the little sundress from its hanger he draped it over his small frame and smoothed the skirt over his hips. He glanced briefly to window and blinked at the darkness that looked back. Where had the time gone!? He should have left his room a ages ago! Silently he cursed as he called Snow to his side. At least he had somewhat of an excuse... all be it a lame one. He turned to head out the door when it hit.

KABOOOOM!

The development house shook with an unknown force, sending Yuki stumbling back to fall on his backside and plunged into darkness. He uttered a soft gasp as a furry creature pressed firmly against his side. "S...snow?" He whispered and reached out, clinging tightly to the warm wolf cub.

"Hold onto me, I'll lead you down." Unlike Yuki, Snow was at home in the dark, his keen eyes making out the objects around him. Yukiko nodded and with one hand on Snow's back, stood and was lead from the room, his destination the playground. He hoped his friends were still there...

The blast shook the development house and frightened Marisole. Her new plant pot teetered uneasily on the edge of her night stand but didnt fall. She pushed it back and stood absolutly still for a moment. If there was going to be another blast she wanted to be prepared for it.

There wasnt. She wanted to hide under her bed, where it was warm and safe and nothign could ever get her. But then she thought that maybe the loud sound was the building about to fall down. She decided that she should go away from the building, incase it did fall. Before she left she took her plant seeds with her, even if the pot, which she liked an awfull lot broke, at least she could still have the seeds. Very slowly and deliberatly she headed to the play ground.

Thankfully for Akoni, after the initial shock had passed, he found that he could see somewhat decently in the pitch darkness. Decently being at he could at least make out the outlines of things. Thus, he saw moth Yukito and Marisole on their way out as he finally peeked out his door, one hand clamped on Ty's collar as he, too, started to make his way out. He didn't really care that he was only wearing his pjs at the moment.

"Guys ? What happened ?" He asked out loud, steering himself and the dog toward the two figures he could make out.

Marisole didn't know the Rosin who was speaking to her, but after the fright she'd just gotten she didnt really care. She hurried over to him and shook her head letting her thick strands hall infront of her face.

"Dunno" she said from behind her hair. Then, as an after thought "are you... okay?" She saw lightly colored boy...what was his name? Yukkiko? What ever. She noticed that both of the other two Rosin had dogs with them, she wondered if she was supposed to have a dog as well.

"Im fine. What about you two ? Maybe ill't be safer to get out of here." He caught the unmoving Nanny construct out of the corner of his field of vision, the outline perfectly still whereas the construct would usually have started moving as soon as they had come inside. "Nothing's working... Im scared..." He muttered to himself.

Likewise, Ty replied with a sniff of his own. The golden retriever didn't seem to consider Snow a threat at all and thus gave no sign of aggressiveness. The canine gave a thug to the arm that was holding his collar, as if agreeing with his master.

Yukiko nodded his agreement and looked around in the shadows. The bright friendly home that he had been welcomed to now seemed dark and gloomy where anything could be lurking in the shadows. "Nothing's working at all?" Outside was begining to sound better and better.

Snow looked up at his master and gave a soft whine, sensing Yuki's distress. "Yes.. outside sounds good. Maybe someone else will be out there too." He said in a frightened whisper.

Marisole was against doing anything and everything adventerous on principle. However, she quickly considered the possiblity that there could be something terribly wrong with the Development house. She looked at the other two Rosin and gently touched the packets of seeds in her pocket. She had never been anywhere else that wasn't the Development House... but maybe...

"Should we maybe go...look? For others?" She asked "Maybe....someone else will know...what's wrong"

"Maybe..." The gila monster answered, tail laid low in the darkness as he squinted at the hall, trying to see if someone else was coming out of his room. "...Can't see much... Maybe the others are already outside ? Can't see anything moving."

Ora had been hibernating... it was too cold for him to be outside, even in his older state. However the large blast that rocked the city managed to disturb his slumber. Rubbing sleep out of his eyes and streaching he realized he was in a middle of a shead again and pealed away a few more patches of skin. He would have to clean up the scales laying in his bed late. But first... he wandered outside to find out the source of the noise.

Though it wasn't until later that he realized he had forgotten to put on a shirt...

Peering down the street he saw a few other rosen milling about. Ora decided to wander over to find out if they had learnt of the source of the explosion. He must have been quite a site considering he was dressed in only large baggy pants and half his skin was falling off.[

Dylan was getting tired, just so tired... Even with the makeshift stretcher, Sparks was a lot heavier than the child could handle for much longer. The boy turned around in mid-step to gaze at his motionless friend and mentor. The little man was breathing, but it was ragged and soft, and it worried Dylan to no end.

If only he could make it to the Development House, he could find someone, anyone, that could help him. Dylan could fix a machine, but a life was different, and he dare not open Sparks up to find out what's wrong.

FInally, the boy made it. He collapse by the entrance and lay on the ground gasping for breathe. "Hello?" Dylan called out, hoping anyone could hear him. His voice was still sore from all the work. "HELLO!" he finally yelled... oh, may someone hear him and come out to help!!!


Ladon had heard a lot of noise lately, a lot of moving too and fro, raised voices and general oddness. He hadn't left his room though, a bit afraid of what lay out there and at the same time, painfully curious. He'd sat, coiled in his favourite corner, the many eyes of his head snakes watching the door. He hardly even moved, his breathing shallow with practice, his movements slow and deliberate.

He'd probably have sat there all day, listening, if it wasn't for the voice close by, the voice of someone who was clearly distressed. He was impartial to events but he wasn't heartless and couldn't stand by and let the other yell. He got up, uncoiling casually, his hair snakes picking up to veiw the way, hurriedly slithering out to see what was happening.

Peeking his head and snakes round the entranceway, Ladon looked for the source of the yelling. Spotting another boy not far away.

"Are you okay?" he asked tenatively.

Dylan had been checking over Sparks as he waited for someone to come out. He had listened to his heart, checked his breathing and temperature, saw his eye response to light... everything he had read in books; but he didn't know what he was looking for.

FINALLY, someone opened the door and peeked out. Dylan looked up and didn't even flinch, he was too concerned. "I'm f-ine," his voice cracked in worry. "But Sparks here needs help, and I don't know what to dooo....!"

Sparks is not looking well, he's hot with a fever and sweating badly. Sparks' hand does not look well, on the back of his hand appears as if he's been stabbed twice with something sharp and pointy. He tosses and turns in his unconsciousness, always muttering and mumbling. The words he speaks are utter gibberish it seems, but one saying continues to be repeated on and off. "Redird".

Ladon nodded at Dylan before turning half of his attention on the figure that he now knew was called sparks. Some of his snakes lingered watching Dyaln though, something he did out of habit. He didn't say anything for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong and catch up on the situation. He had no idea though and turned up nothing. Eventually he conceded that though he wasn't sure what had stabbed his hand It looked as though the person before him was in a very bad way.

"I don't know what you would do either." he said, with an apologetic frown. "I don't know what'sss going on, to tell the truth. I was trying to ssleep it away. I'll help you though if you need to move him. Iss there anywhere we can take him?"

He raised a hand to his lips thoughtfully, as he did so, noticing his fangs. His frown deepened.

"I think he might have been bitten."

A snake tilted it's head near the prone figure.

"And what'sss a Redird?"

Dylan frowned and his eyes almost started to tear up with worry. "Let's get him inside. We have to cool him off, what with that fever and sweat. He'll overheat," that, at least was something Dylan understood well.

"Can you grab the other end?" The boy grabbed one end of the stretcher to take it inside. With all the tossing and turning Sparks had started to do, he was glad he strapped the man in - didn't want him to fall out.

"I'm not sure what's going on, either," Dylan sighed as the maneuvered the stretcher in, "We can figure it out once we deal with Sparks." The man was his first concern, and to the ends of the world with whatever else was happening.

Ladon nodded. "Sssoundss like a good idea to me." he had no idea about illnesses but figured that if someone was way too warm, cooling them down again would be a damn good place to start. He slithered around to the end of the stretcher and hefted it up in his arms, helping to get it into the door, thoughtfully watching the man. What happened to him? It suggested a danger Ladon had no idea about and that unsettled his little organised world a great deal.

His snakes fidgeted nervously, snapping at one another as they crossed the threshold into the building.

"Good idea."

Dylan helped Ladon getting the stretcher and unconscious Sparks inside. He went straight to where a pile of large cushions, pillows, and blankets, waited on the floor. Perfect, "Over hear...." he said, leading the way.

Once the got there, he unstrapped Sparks and with Ladon they lifted him onto pile. "We need to get most of his clothes off. They're soaked through now, he may be sweating, but he'll catch a chill or something." Again, something he had learned from his experiments.

They took off all that was decent, and made sure a nice wool blanket covered Sparks. Then, Dylan sat next to the man, and lifted the hand to inspect it. "I think you're right, ahhh?...." he didn't know the name of his helper, so he let that trail off. "It appears like a bite of some kind."

Ladon co-operated with Dylan, helping to get everything in order and Sparks relatively safely laid up and position Still, the boy couldn't relax, the idea that whatever it was that had happened to Sparks could happen to him too, wouldn't let him, he didn't even consider that he could be pretty dangerous himself too if he made a mistake until he dwelled on wether a snake had did it to the man with the fever.

He nervously tightened his blindfold.

"I'm Ladon. And yeah, it looks like a bite, I've had a few myself when I'm.." he smirked "brushing my hair. " he lapsed back into concern. "If it's a bite and a poison one, is there any way to cure it? If it isn't, what could it be?"

Dylan was thankful for the help, and it showed in his actions. He was much more talkative than usual and more open to accept this snake-like Rosin. He even let himself smile a little when Ladon joked about his hair.

"Dylan," he offered his own name and walked away for a moment.

He returned with water that was at a comfortable temperature and a couple rags. Dylan walked over the Sparks and sat down, legs splayed to get them out of the way (being able to just coil upon oneself would have been convenient at that point). He took a rag, wrung it out, and then dabbed at the sweat at Sparks's head.

"I think the head would be the most important to cool down first," he said not only to Ladon but to himself. "Just like with machines, it is the information processor that would be the thing you want overheating the most..." It was had to continue to wipe the sweat off Sparks's head, for the man get tossing.

Dylan crooed and spoke softly to Sparks, a side of him anyone never saw before.

He looked up to Ladon, concern written on his face as he had thought of something. "Redird.... If you spell that backwards, it's 'Drider'.... now, I've read that driders are a kind of...." he tried to come up with a word that wasn't offensive, "well, they are a kind of tauric Spider. Kind of how you are like a snake."

Dylan scurried around and looked at Sparks's hand, "Could that be a spider bite?"



Ladon noted the other boy's name, surprisingly glad to have another living being to chat to, he forgot how lonely he'd gotten with only the constructs for company. Even in such a risky situation, the company was very welcome and just as Dylan was being more open, Ladon was making an effort to be less self-obsessed and focus on the troubles at hand over himself. He joined Dylan on the floor beside Sparks, coiling his tail up out of the way.

He knew very little other than what the constructs had taught him, not aware of much to do with machines, more interested in fantastical stories than eingeneering. He nodded though. "Yesss, makess sense" the many keen serpentine eyes watched Dylan's concen and he added "I assume he was important to you then?"

He interuppted himself at the mention of spiders. "Spider people?" the thought made him shiver. He hated the eight legged things. "Sounds horrible. Really horrible. Maybe it was one of them. It might still be around."

Dylan took a hold of the hand and held on firmly as he sponged at the wound with the rag. He was hoping to coax some of poison out, even though he knew it was already too late for that. With a long sigh, he gave Ladon a pathetic look, "I think all we can really do is keep him cool but warm, and comfortable. I waited too long... whatever did this too him did it awhile ago."

"Yeah," Dylan said quietly, "He's sort of a cross between a father, teacher, and friend...." He didn't want to go into more detail, he may get choked up.

The boy got up and replaced the rag since it was now gross. Dylan re-took his spot at Sparks's head and resumed his method of trying to cool him down. "You wouldn't happen to know if there is any warm soup or water? It may help give him the strength he needs to fight this.... thing..."



Ladon's blindfold concealed a lot of his expression but he still frowned in sadness at how much seeing Sparks like this seemed to affect the other boy. He'd never really grown attached to anyone and he was really beginning to doubt the benifits of doing so if it could cause this much pain.

"I hope he'ss alright." he said, completely honestly.

He was feeling rather useless, so at Dyl's question, was only too happy to go get some water and see if there was any soup, even if he had relied on the construct to do all that for him till now. He did know how to use the microwave and could read the basic instructions on things.

"I think there is ssoup somewhere around here, and assss long as the water hassn't been affected, there should be that too. I'll go look."

Dylan smiled, at least something seemed to be going as it should. "Could you bring it over here? I have something that we can cook it with. I noticed awhile ago there's no electricity. I grabbed a whole bunch of things on my way out, so hopefully that will help.... and a soup that doesn't require and chewing."

The boy left Sparks for one moment, just to reach over and dig in the sack he had put a whole bunch of weird odds and ends. He pulled something out that looked like a bunsen burner, as well as an interesting lighter.


Ladon nodded, the fact that there was no electricity only just hitting him. Good thing Dylan thought ahead. "Will do." he said, heading to go retreive the soup.

He came back a short while afterwards with a glass of water, a pan of water, a bowl and the packet of powdered tomato soup. So he didn't drop it, he let one of his snakes be useful and carry the sachet, the others carried the bowl.

"Thiss okay?" he said, handing over the pan and putting the glass and bowl down. He then whipped the sachet of powder out of the jaws of the protesting snake and handed it over as well before letting his attention fall on the strange contraptions the boy had produced.

"What are they?"

Dylan looked at them and nodded, "Yes, those will be good." He reached in again and grabbed a metal bowl with a cap, and some attached.... handles made of a strange material. He didn't want to destroy the blass bowl.

"This is something that you can cook on. I've rigged it so it uses energy stored in this kind of battery." he pointed to a very pretty stone. "It will heat of the soup."

Dylan deftly grabbed the water and packet and poured them together, then stirred with a spoon he pulled out of his sack-o-wonders. He lit the burner, put it on and waited for it to heat up. "This is the worst part.... waiting."

The boy returned to Sparks side, where the man had a sheen of sweat on his face now since Dylan was previously occupied.

Yukiko nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat as Snow started moving carefully down the stairs. Yuki looked over his shoulder and softly whispered, "W.. watch your step.." as one of his hands gripped the bannister and the other clung gently but firmly to Snow's white fur. As he neared the bottom he could hear voices and shuffling coming from around the corner and stopped, "W... who's there?" His voice was high pitched, squeaky, and most certainly frightened.

Marisole noticed the blue spikey boy and the one with the snakes on him. She had never met them before...although this was not a time for introductions. They were doing something to the little man with the tools.

"Is...is he okay?" she asked, hiding behind her hair. Then, as an after thought "Im marisole...".

Ora shuffled into view of the two rosen and raised a hand, a slither of skin falling off as he did so. He frowned slightly at the scared face of the paler one and quickened his pace. The komodo loomed over the two smaller rosen his shadow reaching far before him as if to catch them itself. As he neard thme, they could see that a large patch on his face was falling off and slightly waved in the breeze. Ora didn't meed to notice, more intent with catching up to the pair.

O_O! Yukiko squeaked as the big peeling thing moved closer to him and the others in the dark. It took him a moment to realize that this was probably just another rosin. They all certainly looked different from eachother. He fidgeted with the hem of his dress with one hand and waved uncertainly with the other. "H..h.. hello?"

Akoni reacted quickly at Yukiko's tenseness, by gently taking hold of his arm and getting closer. For some kind of reason - be it the circumstances, the fright in his voice, or even the fact the pale rosin was a bit smaller than him - the gila seemed oddly protective of this one. He interposed in between Yuki and the possible "treat", squinting a bit as he saw an hand rising. He couldn't make things out really well - the person was tall, had a tail... looked a bit like him, in fact...

And that jolted Akoni's flickle memory. "Ora ?" He asked out loud, squinting a bit more to try to make out if it was really him. The rosin had no hair - Ora was the only one he knew like that. "What's going on ?" He turned toward where the other girl had went, making out the faint outlines of Marisole, Dylan, Ladon, and Sparks. Sparks was rather easy to make out, even from that distance. But try as he will, he couldn't remember his name... "Is he gonna be okay... ?" His usual happy-go-lucky personality was completely absent, his voice betrayed his worry, and for the first time in his life, Akoni seemed to be taking the matter quite seriously, and seemed also pretty much focused. Weither it was the panic, or if he actually had it in him all along, was uncertain.

Visibly trusting Snow to take care of the two boys, Ty used his master's shock to break from his hold, making his way to Sparks and laying beside his head, licking a cheek in hope to wake up the small man. The dog gave a small whine when this failed, laying down and glancing at the others gathered. Visibely, Ty intended to keep guard on the small engineer, to watch upon the one who had brought him to his beloved master.

Suddenly very aware of the number of people around her Marisole snuck away from the crowd and began walking towards the east.

Ora heard his name and nodded, rubbing his arms to get the rest of the shed off. His legs were itching like crazy trying to shed his scales under his loose pants but he wasn't about to take them off to fix that problem. "Heya Akoni, are you all ok?" He looked worriedly around at the darkness and sudden unfamiliarity that surrounded them. "Do you know what is going on over there?" the komodo added when he saw the smaller do break away and race over to where a few other rosen were crouched down around something.

As if to answer his own question, the large reptile made his shuffeling way over to the smaller group. Absentmindely he scratched at his arms and another large patch of scales came off and floated slowly to the ground.

Yukiko, quietly followed Ora into the other room, curious himself as to what was going on but too shy to move there on his own. He plucked at the hem of his dress, his pink eyes were becoming more acustomed to the dark making it easier to make things out. At least there was that small comfort.

"I think so..." The gila answered, following the other two. "Beside the man over there. He doesn't look so well... I know him but... I can't remember his name..." Akoni seemed almost sad. He was trying hard to remember but it was like if the information simply wouldn't come out.