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 Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:29 pm
"I'm not going back to the... party." She didn't say anything more about it- hoping he wouldn't call her childish again, or selfish. "How is your nightvision? If you want, we can cut through the jungle." Emelyn wasn't keenly familiar with this section of the island's foliage- but her long stint as a 'wild child', coupled with her now innate animal instincts suggested she'd not have a problem bypassing the 'path'.
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:38 pm
"I didn't expect y' would," he replied, sending her a smile to show he meant no offense. He wasn't going back either. Shrugging, he gestured her forward, not towards the path, but into the jungle where there seemed to be the least ground growth. "'Ardly better than it was b'fore, sadly. But we'll brave it, eh? It's an island. Sooner or later we'll run into somethin' recognizable. No rush, is there?" He sent her a half-grin, then started along his chosen path at her side.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:07 pm
((continues from http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=6764419 )) Awen saw the clearing up ahead and suddenly her nerve faltered. She didn't like dellusions, as long as they were other people's. Her own were quite comforting, and for as long as possible she would hang onto the potential that it was all a hoax. Though she already knew the truth, she didn't want to see it for herself all of a sudden.
She paused and hesitated, but rather than admit to it she turned back and gave Richard a concerned smile. "Are you going to be okay? I didn't realise it was this far or I'd never have had you come..." The poor man must be near exhaustion the way he'd been breathing on the way there. For most of the journy Awen was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to comment or take it in fully.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:18 pm
Richard waved her off, "I'm fine. Almost there anyway." Internally he cursed his lack of his cane but he wasn't going to admit that he needed assistance. He wasn't old, just advanced middle age. Yes that was it.
He pressed on until the low fence was visable where he stopped and pointed. "There it is." He said breathlessly. That low wall looked like a good spot to sit down.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:39 pm
Awen swallowed hard before turning to follow the man the rest of the way to the short wall. She kept her eyes on the ground until she almost ran into it. Where was that determination, the steel, the disbelief and laughter even? The manta was a pile of mush trying to get her head to just tilt up to look.
Finally she sighed and looked up. From where she was nothing much but the gravestones could be seen, no details. She bit her lip and made her way over the fence. She was pointedly ignoring the ache in her fins and the dryness of her rubbery skin, as the walk had dehydraded and pained them both. This was not the time to be worrying for oneself.
The first she went over to was the larger, more detailed grave. "Alphonse Moreau..." She whispered under her breath and read the heading. "His creations were his life...and his death." Awen's brow turned down again as she pondered this. "This guy is old enough to be Moreau's ...what great grandfather? Grandfather...? Was he... could he have been...doing similar experiments?"
Ah distractions distractions... they were always nice. But Awen found this one couldn't hold for long, but she did store this information in the back of her mind. Probably to ask Sabin later.
Slowly she made her way to the other graves, the...fresher ones that you could still read.
Guard, guard, oh a doctor too? All killed by Anni it says. Part of Awen still didn't want to believe it. Not Annie.... But she knew... it had to be true. This wasn't a hoax a prank or a joke. The name Oscar didn't ring any sort of bells in her mind though.
The hardest part was when her eyes fell on the next tombstone. The Dude... no way... it couldn't be... He was so...full of life and... but she hadn't seen him for awhile... but dead since february?
Pressing on, something compelling Awen to keep going until she'd read all of the recent stones Awen's pruple gaze fell on the others. Matt, another name she didn't know.
Fiona.... and Nathan. Both of these she recognised... but only one had meant something to her. Nathan she'd only met briefly for a poker game... Fee though...
As much as the two were at odds with eachother Awen cared for the red head. The pressure and tension didn't seem to get to Awen all that much and honestly everything stemmed from Awen trying to keep the girl safe.
Complications, Annie..... How had this happened? The labs were advanced, they were supposed to be safe as long as they didn't deviate from the path. Awen did, on a few occasions, and was almost killed for it. There was no reason for this to have happened.
Awen was in the labs for three months, she'd had complications but she hadn't died. Why did they have to? Jamal went feral for some time but she'd never killed anyone, even Billy who was derranged and quite insane for a time from his withdrawl hadn't killed anyone. No one was supposed to be able to kill anyone, the process was supposed to be safe as long as you kept getting the shots!
Everything swarmed the blue haired head of her's and for a time she just stood staring at the ground. She didn't move, couldn't move.
"This isn't supposed to happen..." Her voice was weak and it's uncertain if Richard would even have heard it. She was trembling....but she didn't seem to notice anything. "It's supposed to be safe..."
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:01 pm
Richard sat heavily on the wall and watch Awen make her rounds on the headstones. He responded to her questions about the first grave. "Yup, he's the one that started all this. Moreau's grandfather, he turned animals into humans appearently and I believe found the key to all this. I don't think Moreau could do all this without his Grandfather's work. Runs in the family I suppose."
Richard let her tour the rest of the graves in silence, focusing on catching his breath and getting his heart to stop thundering in his ears.
When Richard saw Awen reach the grave he knew to be Fiona's and freeze he felt a twinge of regret for bringing her here. But it was importants she know, she understand, he told himself. It rang a little hallow though. An old man making a young woman cry.
He pushed himself up and walked over to Awen. He stood close to her, his arm brushing her shoulder. "I'm sorry." He said in a whisper. It was really all he could say. Currently where was nothing to do but accept the situation, risks and all. But one had to remember that this was not a game the labs were playing with. He was sure the Lab's hadn't meant to kill these people, but still the graves were there.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:17 pm
Awen didn't look at Richard but moved back to the Dude's grave. She didn't mean to shurg off the man's brush, had it been deliberate, b=and in all honesty the girl probably needed a hug, but she just had to see again. Complications. Such a wonderful guy, full of life and caring. Complications.
"Why not me...?" She asked softly, but not as soft as her earlier rambles. Her breath was uneven and her steeled self was definately completely gone, but no tears fell. Not yet.
"Why not me?" She said again a little louder. "I had complications. I shouldn't be here. I was out for three months, it had to have been serious. Why, why, why am I not here? I've almost died so many times on this god damned island... why am I not here? These people... they were wonderful people. The Dude, Fee, Nathan and I'm sure the others too. Why the hell do they die but not me? I should be dead, not them. It's not fair!" She knew it was irrational, she knew it was survivor's guilt... she'd been dealing with that enough after hearing Alec had lost his legs when she had not.
"Complications." She spat out. "Death by attacking islander."
She shook her head, but her whole body was now visibly shaking as well. "This shouldn't happen! It's not right."
The poor girl couldn't lift her eyes to Richard but she looked up at the grave of Alphonse. The monster. It's his fault. Awen couldn't even fully blame the current Moreau now. No. It was all that god damned bastards fault. Who was he to start down this twisted path? "Who was he to try to play god?" She said outloud not being able to help herself.
"Animals, humans... all being caught up, hurt maimed trapped killed. Who the ******** are they to do this!? It's not fair, no one here deserves this! They're good people...." Awen wasn't one prone to using strong or foul language, if anyone knew her well enough they would know just how crushing this was for her to resort to it. Sadly, Richard didn't know her that well.
Her brain ran a mile a minute, trying to reconcile all of the emotions she felt, her woods definately showed her incoherence and lake of concentration, quickly shifting from sorrow to guilt to anger.
"It's not fair..." She said finally, once again in a soft voice, shaking trembling, wavering. She wrapped her own arms around herself as she sunk to her knees infront of the graves. "None of this is fair..... not changing, not dying, not living..... none of it...."
And finally, finally the tears came. Slowly at first, silently as she stared at the ground then all of a sudden in a rush of sobs and choked noises. Her nose ran and the mucus clogged her breathing. She tried to sniff but it just sent her into a horrible bout of coughing. She doubled over with one hand on the ground and the other holding her chest as she felt she was going to be sick from the coughing, sick from everything.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:40 pm
Richard didn't try to calm Awen as she rapidly moved through guilt, anger and depression. He looked at her, feeling a bit guilty but still glad he had broken through. What could he do about it, this was the reality of the island. It was unfair of course, inhumane and down right rotten at the core. Start with the truth, build a future from there. That's what Erica used to say, so many years ago. Word he was doing his best to live by.
This reflectance was instantly shattered by Awen collaspe and coughing. His eyes bugged, she had been out of the water too long, he realized as he looked at her dry skin. He moved quickly despite the ache in his legs and soreness in his body. Kneeling besides Awen he let her lean into him. rubbing her back. He waited and hoped for the coughing to stop. He wasn't sure if he could carry her with his shoulder.
"Awen, it will be okay. Just calm down." He felt like a hypocrite but what else could one say?
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:53 pm
Slowly the coughing subsided, and it was less being out of water and more probably a little bit of the complications lingering. Or perhaps she was just upset enough.
"It won't be okay..." She said taking a deep breath in. "We're stuck here, we're powerless, we can make the best of the situation, hell even making friends with the lab techs.... but it doesn't make it okay. Not then, not now." She was still shaking, but definately a little calmer.
She gave another weak cough before finally looking back up to Richard. Awen's lips slowly curled into a weak smile. "Thank you Richard.... without you I probably would still think it was a hoax... I didn't know the story of Annie... I didn't know... any of it. Thanks.... for making me see the truth."
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:07 pm
Richard smiled, glad for the reasurance that he had done the right thing. He rubbed her back a little bit and then stood, offering his hand. "Your welcome. Truth is where I try to start. You can't build a future on falsehood, they don't weather well." He smiled sadly. Awin wouldn't have much of a future here unfortunately. So damn young, all these kids. "Your looking a bit a dry, there is a river not to far from here. Why don't we head there."
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:13 pm
Awen definately looked up to the man, in more than just the literal sense. She took his hand and stood up slowly. "That is some really wise words..." She said softly.
She wasn't over grieving, far from. The night will probably be spent with more tears... But for now Awen smiled again, glad to have Richard there, if even sad about him having to be there.
She scratched her shoulder, a piece of skin flaking off and suddenly she grew very aware of her state. Walking in the jungle all the way here not to mention the time spent really dried Awen's skin out and large chunks had started to flake off. She chuckled self consciously and nodded. "Sure, that would be perfect. My flippers are killing me from the hike. You have no idea how much I miss shoes sometimes." She laughed a little as she waited for Richard to lead the way.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:21 pm
"I learned from the best." He sighed a bit but didn't elaborate, instead he fingered his wedding ring. Erica had married a very timid and insecure man. He like to think he had grown since then. "Follow me, I'm afriad its pretty rough terrain, but its only about ten minutes away." He turned and walked toward the woods.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:27 pm
Awen smiled, if a little sadly at the last comment. The young girl wondered how he was doing with the whole island thing. After everything that had happened in his life, now this? After all.... old people usually get depress-ish nostalgic on mainland. The girl didn't even care to guess how bad this must be for the man. Unless, he was one of those to not care anymore? But she doubted it.
He seemed like a very caring man, and Awen was so thankful to have someone like him on the island. She made a mental note she should do something nice for the man, not just as a thank you, but because he seemed to deserve it.
"Ah, ten minutes to fresh cool liquid goodness, this I do not mind." She grinned as she followed him.
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:46 pm
**New RP**
The blood was sweet...not overpowering, but still sweet enough for his tastes. He leaned over the still breathing deer, sniffing at the wound in the neck. He gave it a few more licks so that the enzymes in his saliva would keep the blood flowing. Not that it would have mattered anyway, he had slit an arterie with his razor-like teeth. The bat-man looked up with a start, giving off a few high-frequency echolocation bursts around him. Satisfied, he once more bent over the neck and began to drink in the blood.
Tommy was a sorry sight at the moment. His entire upper-torso was drenched in the deer's blood while the skin and what little fur he had was caked in his and Zach's blood. The bandages across his back were dirty and seeping. The only remnants of clothing he had were some cargo shorts that were in almost as bad of shape as he was. Due to his frolicking about the woods on all fours, the tops of his hands were ripped and bleeding. Finally, if anyone were to look in his eyes...the young-man that was there has been replaced by a wild, manic gaze.
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:11 pm
It was the weekly pilmgrimage as Richard called it. The hour long trek to the island's graveyard had become a weekly ritual for him. It was the only way he had to track Annie's war againist the labs, since they weren't in the habit of issuing press releases. The dead didn't exactly tell their stories but their sudden appearence in the packed dirt reminded the old man of the true cost of Dr. Moreau ambitions. Back in the village it was easy to forget about that price and live easily within the gilded cage of the island.
Richard made his way to the graveyard with the aid of a thick walking stick he had made yesterday with the aid of his pocket knife. He really hadn't needed a cane since his last change but Richard felt safer with the stout peice of wood in his hand. He doubted Antony's threat held any truth but it was far better to be safe than than sorry. On the path Richard made little sound as he walked, his sandles quiet on the dirt path, his breathing only slightly labored and his stick made a occianional soft clunk againist a rock.
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