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 Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:19 pm
Jett had rather not enjoyed the trek all the way to the Aquarius outpost; it had been particularly hellish with his damned tailbone aching at every step, and cradling his arm got old, fast. His feet were sore after all the walking—and not wearing shoes didn’t exactly help, particularly when he and Darwin had been walking along some of the more beat up paths. Leo’s outpost was of no interest to them sans to find that, yes—there were plenty of survivors, and that each outpost had its own benefit. Jett noted that it was a place he’d come back to visit if given the opportunity, but right now there were far more pressing things to do. Virgo was clearly first on the list; Jett’s arm might have been back in socket, but Darwin had still needed to be looked at—and the enhanced healing was definitely a plus. His shoulder felt so much better after the time they’d spent there that he hadn’t even felt the need to acquire a sling—though wasn’t fool enough not to still be tender with his arm. Jett was thrilled to happen upon a pair of useable shoes, and even if they weren’t entirely his style—who cared? It was better than stepping on debris.
After a bit of healing, and a quick freshening up, he and Darwin and kept going; it was decided amongst the two that the Aquarius outpost, from what they’d heard, would be the best place to look for something—rumor had it that it was the information hub, and since Jett hadn’t seen Raven at either Leo’s or Virgo’s outpost, she could be—essentially—one of three places. One, Chronos’ Outpost—which he wanted to avoid since he’d determined that if he was going to launch an attack, the first place he’d hit was headquarters. Two, Aquarius. Oh, or three: dead.
Walking had taken a lot longer than he’d realized; by the time he’d even arrived at Aquarius’ Outpost, it was late—or, at least, it felt that way. He had no watch around his wrist, and no electronics to tell time—or check his stocks, he mused, certain with his luck that he was in the red by now. Jett’s other personal quest was to find someone who had some sort of watch and could tell him what time it was; it wasn’t going to change anything, but the simple comfort would tell him exactly how long he’d been gone.
His body clock was screwed up enough; by the time the two had gotten inside Aquarius, Jett’s body was telling him it was far past bedtime. Safe at the outpost, he’d tried to sleep. Physically exhausted, emotionally drained, and just wanting to escape all of this, sleep should have come easily.
…But, of course, it didn’t.
An hour or two of light dozing and tossing and turning made Jett give up; too many nagging thoughts were preventing him from sleeping, so he decided that maybe if he sated some of his curiosity, he could just meander back to bed and finally get some sleep.
Books were everywhere and the place clearly needed to be cleaned—Jett remembered someone mentioning that as long as he stayed here, he’d have to participate—but poking around and exploring seemed like a fair enough idea.
There were a few faces around, but only one really interested him—and, go figure, she was asleep in a chair, using a table--no, wait, a book--for a pillow. It was an awkward position, Jett noted, and wondered why she wasn’t—at the very least—in a more comfortable looking chair. He was sure there were still bedrooms open as he walked towards Raven. A slight sense of relief washed over him; he didn’t know when he’d gotten even slightly attached to the girl, but assumed it had something to do with her being the most familiar person in this unfamiliar place. He stepped lightly, not wanting to disturb the room any more than it already had been.
Resting a hand on her shoulder, Jett leaned over and said softly, in a tone that was just ever so slightly mocking, “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Wake up.”
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:32 pm
Getting here had been stressful, and Raven was at the end of her rope. She ventured into the library, thinking for some reason that it would be a better place to find her strange group of friends, due to the books that lined the walls. Nerds liked books, so she had hoped she would have found them there.
When nobody was in sight, the girl pulled a few books up off of the floor and began to leaf through them, disappointed once again, this time by the fact she couldn't read anything in the books.
She fell asleep after about half an hour, and when she felt a light pressure on her shoulder, her eyes blinked open. When she heard the voice she looked up, rubbing at her eyes with her good hand.
"...Jett?"
She had never been so happy to see someone in her entire life.
"Jett! It's you! You're okay!"
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:39 pm
While her excitement wasn’t completely reciprocated, Jett was relieved that he wasn’t being swatted away with cries of ‘Pirate’ again. “Mostly okay, anyway. And Darwin is, too. So far as I know, anyway. He’s sleeping somewhere around here.”
He’d have shrugged if he wasn’t deliberately favoring his shoulder, still; it might have been a mental thing; the last time he’d dislocated it, it was a complete nuisance, and even though the trip to Virgo had left Jett feeling very refreshed, he didn’t want to risk popping it out of socket again by being stupid. “Glad to see you’re still alive. Why were you drooling all over that book?” he asked, nodding towards the head on the table. “Don’t you have a room to stay in or something, here?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:49 pm
She nodded, sighing slightly, before giving a yawn. "Yeah, I have a bed, I was just hoping to find someone in here. I guess I thought Darwin or Mary would be in here for some reason."
Since they were...bookish...or something.
She shrugged with her right shoulder then rubbed at her eyes once more.
"I'm really glad you're alive, Jett. I'm so relieved. And Darwin, he's okay too? He's here? Have you seen Mary? Or Molly? What about Candice?"
Huh. There were so many people that she was worried about. How strange.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 8:07 pm
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Too many names at once. Jett wasn’t wake enough to put a face to the name immediately and so he ended up staring for a few seconds. “…Yeah, no. I just know Darwin’s fine.”
He hadn’t even thought to look for any of the others; the only reason he’d even really kept his eye out for Darwin was because after the space whale blasted then through space, they’d wound up together. During their walk here, Jett found that maybe he was a little fond of Darwin; he blamed it on all this stress. “Kind of surprised you’d be glad I’m alive though,” he mused, reaching up to stroke his chin as he looked down at her. “You seem to have jumped around a lot with your emotions tonight. Nice to see you making so many friends, though. But.” He tilted his head. “You were always popular, though. Even in high school. You always had boys—and girls—chasing after you.”
He moved, tired of being on his feet, and took a seat atop the table, brushing aside a book so he had a good seat. “How’s that going for you, by the way? We kind of lost contact after I graduated. How’s life treating you?” he inquired, making idle chatter. He was genuinely curious; for all the time he’d spent with Raven at high school—eating lunch, chatting in the halls, he was aware that he didn’t really know much about the girl. Now that they were in this situation, he’d felt a bit of a desire to get to know her better. It wasn’t like knowing her life story was going to make him understand why they were here, but he couldn’t just call up any of his friends back home for a friendly chat and—hell—Raven wasn’t that bad, anyway.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 1:29 am
Raven let out a little laugh, nodding. "Yeah, I guess I have just always been that attractive, you never seemed to show any interest though."
Yeah. Good time to bring that up. He already thought she was nuts after the whole pirate thing, she was sure, but after that kiss, she was truly surprised he had sought her out.
She gave a smile, then yawned. "Life's been doing really good, you know. Until all of this chaos began to happen. But, I guess I can't be too upset, I got to meet you again."
And got more kisses than she had ever had in her life. Ah well.
"I'm glad to know that you're safe. I know I mentioned that before, but I really do mean it. I was so freaked out when I ended up with a bunch of people I hadn't talked to."
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 1:37 am
“Oh ho, of course,” Jett said, leaning back as he glanced over Raven. “…You’ve had a far more exciting night than I have, I warrant. How many boyfriends did you get? –Oh, and girlfriends, that too. Though, I managed to get pretty lucky, too,” he mused, lifting his hand to trace over his lips.
…And yet, he’d been petrified when Raven and Candice were pressed so close against him. He still didn’t understand what had happened or why he’d been so afraid, but was relieved that he wasn’t suffering such effects anymore. He was feeling pretty mellow right now, just taking it easy. Lethargy probably came from all the strain, but he didn’t understand why he couldn’t get to sleep after all of it.
He looked at the table, trying to decide if it looked comfortable enough to lay on or if he just wanted to sit up. He glanced back to Raven after a second. “Anyway. You were jailbait in high school. Looks like you filled out some more,” he said with a slight smirk. “So, tell me. A girl as good looking as you. Dating Darwin. Are we still playing that game, by the way? –Are you actually dating him or still just pretending? It’s been bothering me all night.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 4:51 pm
Raven smirked, going so far as to chuckle slightly.
"Bothering you? Really. The question of who I'm dating has been bothering you? That's new. I thought nothing bothered the great and mighty Jett Draven."
Oh. Yeah, she was still bitter to him, at least slightly. Though, should she continue to say she was dating Darwin? Who knew. Well, she'd avoid the question for the moment, give herself some more time to think about it.
"So you've made camp here at Aquarius as well? That's interesting. Also, I am still in High School. I'm a senior this year though. Cheerleading Captain and all."
Yeah. Rub in what he was missing.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 4:57 pm
Jett would be the first to admit that ‘bothered’ might have been the wrong word choice, but he hadn’t expected it to have his word choice shoved back in his face. Fine, he could play that way. “Cheerleading captain?” he prompted, seemed to be deep in thought for a second, and then offered an exaggerated, “Oh, that explains all the kissing. Yeah, all right. I get it now. You weren’t that forward when I last knew you, but I guess you finally hit puberty. Yeah, well—congrats on cheerleading captain. You’ll have to introduce me to some of the other girls on your squad, I’ll bet they’re real lookers if a pretty girl like you has to date a kid like Darwin. I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with Darwin,” he said; he spoke slyly like it was all just a game to him.
…It probably was.
“He just doesn’t seem like the type of person someone as high up on the social ladder as Cheerleading captain. Were all the jocks and pretty boys taken or are you just more interested in the ‘introverted nerd’ type person? I mean, since we’re getting into this and all. What is your type?”
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:09 pm
Raven's eyes narrowed and a look of disgust crossed her face. Ugh. he was such a stupid, pathetic jerk.
"Well, after I got over you and realized that you were a lowlife scum who didn't deserve someone as wonderful as me, I figured Darwin deserved a chance. Yeah, he's strange, but he's sweet, and caring, and he's never gone out of his way to make an a** out of himself like some people I know."
Yeah. She didn't need to stand here and take this. "Besides, Jett. You owe Darwin your life, don't you? Isn't he the one who saved your sorry hide from that hole? And you want to know my type? Anything but a**. So, sorry. You're not my type any longer."
Yeah. Well, she was angry. But he was a jerk. A real big jerk.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:11 pm
Books were not good pillows, and space was no place for civilians. The civilians were completely unaware, just passing the time in Aquarius Outpost attempting to make themselves useful. It was noble, really, for them to take this action. The many texts and books of Aquarius could certainly use sorting. Instead, an ooze-covered hand smashed through the side of the outpost's wall, grabbed Jett, and then ripped him out through the same hole. Raven would have little time to worry about his safety. No sooner had he disappeared, and another oozing, three-fingered hand shot through the other wall, scooped her up, and yanked her through the wall as well. When both civilians were in the squeezing hands of the enemy, there were able to see what was attacking them: two Deep Space Chaos Monsters that looked a hell of a lot like massive spotted salamanders. And they didn't look friendly. Quote: CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
TWO DEEP SPACE CHAOS MONSTERS ARE ATTACKING YOU! YOUR OPTIONS ARE SLIM, BUT YOU KNOW THAT IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO GET AWAY FROM THIS NASTY EVIL CREATURE. IT MIGHT KILL YOU!
DO YOU...
A) ATTEMPT TO POKE IT IN ONE OF ITS SEVEN EYES SO THAT IT WILL DROP YOU
OR
B) BUNCH ITS NASTY GOOEY HAND WITH ALL YOUR MIGHTIEST MIGHT
CHOOSE WISELY, WARRIORS!Bold your choice in your post.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:22 pm
Jett stared at her for a moment. It wasn't really a long moment, just a few seconds of silence. And then he smiled. And then he laughed, as though she'd just told him some hysterical joke. The laughter was short--not really biting, but still very amused. He was grinning again before he spoke, "You're adorable, Raven. Absolutely adorable."
He leaned forward a bit, careful still not to jostle his arm, and rested the elbow of his good arm on his knee so he could be closer to her height. He was amused at how she snapped at him--amused that she'd liked him in high school and that she was trying to insult him, now.
"You fling insults around like they're greetings. Let's see, what was that? Lowlife scum, a**, sorry hide? First of all. Lowlife? Maybe. Scum? Hardly. a**? Yes, I'll give you that one. Sorry? Sorry hide? No, never. I'm never sorry."
He still seemed amused--and spoke as if they were still having a light hearted conversation. "Usually I'm the one picking the fights. And, let's be realistic. You grabbed Darwin and made him your boyfriend to make me jealous, right? Because, look. I'm not that stupid. And--hell, I actually don't have anything against Darwin. A little off, and sometiems he says things that I don't really get, but he's not bad."
--Which was almost the nicest thing Jett could say about someone.
"So, if you're really happy with him, for all, oh--I don't know--five hours you've been dating? Does that sound about right?" It was rhetorical and he went on, "Good. Good, I'm glad for you. He'll probably treat you better than I ever would. Not that I wouldn't treat you well," he said, voice once more sly and sultry. "...But I do owe Darwin."
Inwardly, he told himself he could have pulled himself out of that hole at any given time, but he understood that Darwin had helped him, and he had accepted it. He owed him.
"Now." He flashed a charming smile that looked more friendly than mocking--and even wore a slightly sympathetic look on his face when he said, "I didn't know you liked me before. I thought you were just being friendly. I liked you, too. For a while, at least. You were cute, and always had something adorable to say. I wasn't lying when I said I was happy to see you."
Except. He didn't see her for very long. He barely realized what was going on when he was yanked through the wall. It hadn't hurt as much as it had surprised him, but what he came face-to-face with wasn't what he wanted to see.
His eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't really appreciate the oddity of the sight; all he knew was that he wanted away. Seven eyes looking at him? That seemed like a good place to start. He twisted and lifted his hand, intent to jam his thumb as deeply as he could. With a low growl, he attempted to poke it in one of its eyes.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:36 pm
Raven listened, trembling in a mixture of anger and some other emotion that she couldn't quite name at the moment.
Her eyes closed as he spoke and when he stopped talking, she opened them, then opened her own mouth to speak, blinking in confusion as Jett was gone.
When she felt herself being dragged from the room she yelped, staring at the creature.
My God. So many eyes...
Her hands moved towards them, trying to poke as many as she could. It sucked getting your eyes poked! Maybe then it would drop her and she could run for it. Go climb into bed. Go be safe...
Safe. In Space. Yeah. Right.
(Choice A)
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:05 pm
The two Space Salamanders hissed in unison as both civilians attempted to blind them. The one that held Raven seemed particularly irritated. It shot out a bright purple tongue, wrapped it around her throat, and then let go of her. She dangled like a ragdoll from its thick tongue, flipping back and forth. Breathing was difficult for her, near impossible. No matter what she tried, she could not free herself. Worse still, the saliva oozing from its tongue coated her mouth and eyes. Jett was better off, but not much better. He did poke one eye and it burst like a ripe grape. The black-red ooze that spurted from its eye and landed across his face. He didn't mean to, but he inadvertently swallowed some. Quote: THE SALAMANDERS OF PAST LOVES These two salamanders have a very strange elixir stored in their bodies. Spit, saliva, blood, mucus -- it all has the same effect. First, it brings back the memory of strongest love a person has ever felt in their life. Then it causes the person to hallucinate that they are back in that memory even as they slowly asphyxiate. Jett and Raven have the same choice to make! Do they... a) believe the memory they recall and fall asleep with it OR b) rebel against it (in whatever way they choose)?
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