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 Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 9:37 am
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 9:39 am
The Spyre
"Run this by me again."
Crow gave Julian a long look, cocking an eyebrow.
"What, the storyline, or how I found three of my sprockets mutated into a little whatever-it-is?"
Julian pinched at the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off a headache.
"Everything. Just.... explain it slowly."
Crow took a deep breath, trying to get her thoughts collected before she started talking.
"Okay. There's this band called-"
"Coheed and Cabana. I know."
" -Cambria, dipwad. Anyway, they've got this intergalactic storyline that they tell in the songs on their albums. There's this thing called Heaven's Fence, which is a star-powered energy beam that connects 78 planets together in this thing called the Keywork, and-"
Julian cut her off with a frantic motion.
"Maybe you can give me the details on that later." He paused, looking over at Lenore and the aptly called "whatever-it-is". Both child and machine looked back at him before returning to their game of Go Fish.
"Got any fives?"
"Go fish."
Shaking his head, he merely pointed at the little machine, looking lost.
"How does something like that happen? There's a little person in there!"
Crow shrugged, looking equally perplexed.
"I dunno. Maybe the three that fused together were malfunctioning or something." She paused as well, leaning over next to the machine and looking at it carefully.
"You're right, there is a little person in there. And look at this-" she grabbed hold of the little thing, presenting it to Julian. The thing gave a startled buzz as it was torn away from the game, and its quite threatening-looking blades rattled slightly.
"What's that marking?"
Crow gave a helpless snerk.
"It's the Keywork symbol. My Sprocket's mutated into a pregnant little Coheed-themed...whatever-it-is."
Julian threw up his hands, looking irritated in his confusion.
"Great. Just great."
Crow let the little machine go, and it hovered back over to Lenore, still buzzing slightly in its annoyance. Crow gave an apologetic little shrug.
"Sorry, Onstantine."
Julian gave Crow a sudden look of horror.
"Tell me you didn't just name that thing."
Crow nodded, looking rebellious.
"Yeah, I did. Why d'you care?"
"Because once you name something, you get attached to it - then there's bonding, and then you'll do stuff together, and it'll end up all of us will have to start burying evidence together! You can't bond with this thing!"
Crow shrugged again.
"Too late."
"Got any threes?"
"Go fish."
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 7:17 am
Movies and Gunshots
Crow had been standing outside Rabid's room for ten minutes.
"It's not that hard. Just knock on the damn door."
And yet, it was nearly impossible to reach up to the door to try to knock. She didn't like feeling like this - especially not over a boy. Being nervous around people made for awkward situations she would wholeheartedly like to avoid.
"It was your dumb idea. Go through with it, ya big wuss."
Taking a deep breath, Crow knocked on the door.
"Liam? You in there?"Liam had been sitting alone and shoeless on the couch, doodling his little heart out. He knotted his brow in temporary confusion upon hearing Crow's voice. It didn't take him long to react, though, and he threw his notebook into intangibility before opening the door.
"Yah, I'm here," he nodded, "What's up?"Trying to ignore another random swoop of nervousness, Crow leaned nonchalantly against the door frame and fixed her face into a calm, detached expression.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie with me tonight - I'll buy."
Careful not to think anything nervous or fluttery, lest he be trying to pry, Crow gave an easy smile to cover it.
"What d'you say?" Liam arched an eyebrow and half-smiled. Something was up, but he wasn't quite sure what. He refused to invade Crow's mind against her will, though, and so satisfied himself in neutrality.
"Tired of dragging the little big brother out, are we?" he shook his head, "Sure...but I can pay for myself.""Great! Er - cool. Okay."
Clearing her throat slightly to collect herself, Crow straightened up off the door frame and jammed her hands in her pockets.
"He's busy burying evidence, anyway. Besides, I need to get out more with other people. I'm not what you'd call a social butterfly," Crow said coolly, the faint smile still on her face. Okay, so it hadn't been as hard as she thought it'd be.
"Wanna go now? There's a matinee show for a new horror movie I've been dyin' to see."
Hope I'm not being too pushy with this - how the hell do I ask him out without asking him out?Liam smiled and nodded in understanding. He knew, what, 5 Gaians at most? Eh. Even if it was going to be some kind of twisted method of self-mutilation, he was going to go to a movie with Crow.
"If you'd like," he began backing into Rabid's room, "but I need shoes. It'll take a minute. Feel free to come in."
He grabbed his boots and sat down in a nearby chair, yanking them up to his knees and starting to buckle them. Stupid mandatory Rebellion footwear.Wandering into the room, Crow's ghost of a smile twitched a little wider at the sight of the abused wood floor. Deciding not to comment, she stood a bit awkwardly off to one side, frowning at the scuffs in her own boots and the tears in her fishnets. Was she properly dressed for this?
It's not a date. Stop acting like it's a date.
"The movie's called Blood Asylum or somethin' like that - it had a pretty good trailer, so....yeah."
It was a well known fact that Crow didn't do small talk well. Trailing off into silence, she eyed Liam a little conspicuously.
"I like your boots.""Hm. Haven't seen it," Liam said, taking a second look at his boots. Huh.
"Thanks."
He stood and swiveled his ankle, trying to fit into them better. He was going to need to buy some new shoes some day.
"Should we be off?""It's pretty new. They remade it after a video game, I think," Crow said conversationally. Nodding eagerly, she scooted towards the door and held it open for him.
"Yeah, let's go - I can call a cab that'd get us to Durem in time for the last matinee."
Sometimes she really hated going without a car - it was bad enough walking to work every day."Ah...I see...but I've still never heard of it," Liam smirked and made his way out the door, holding it for Crow in turn, "I can do one better. Unless you're afraid of motorcycles...I have a rather fast one. We could make it in double time, I think."
He was grasping desperately for reasons to ride his bike somewhere. He had not, in fact, been able to bring it anywhere since he'd arrived in Gaia.
Sauntering out into the hall, trying to maintain her cool air, Crow couldn't help but fidget a little excitedly at the mention of the motorcycle.
"Sounds fine by me - never been on one before," she said, trying to hide the eager note in her voice.
Keep it cool already - you're acting like a fourteen year old. Possibly on Ritalin withdrawal.
"We better get moving, then - the early show starts pretty soon.""Right, then," Liam turned suddenly and placed his hands on Crow's shoulders, transporting them both to the parking lot. It would make to much sense to simply transport them to a nearby theatre.
He cleared his throat nervously and traipsed over to his motorcycle, head bowed. Without a word, he retrieved 2 helmets from the back, returned to hand one to Crow, and mounted his bike, kicking off the side bucket.
"You're going to want to hold on," he turned back to Crow, "When I say fast...I mean fast."
"Now...which theatre?"Blinking in slightly disoriented surprise, Crow jammed the helmet on her head and climbed on behind him.
"I'm not worried - I love going fast," she said, though she wrapped her arms securely around him, hoping she wouldn't fall off. "It's the theater near the middle of town - you know, the one with all the gaudy lights and the big neon sign. Cinema-Plex or somethin' like that."
Readjusting her grip slightly so that she wouldn't sink her claws into his stomach if she panicked, Crow looked around at the bike a little dubiously. As interesting as it looked, she didn't see how this thing could stay upright...Liam turned back and nodded to Crow, quite proud of himself for not thinking anything perverted upon feeling her grab him.
It took him a moment to remember quite how to work the elaborate metal behemoth, but he soon flipped a switch on the handlebars to the highest setting and (in his usual dangerous tradition) kicked the kickstand down and immediately gunned the engine. In the beginning, he leaned forward, hoping that Crow had enough balance to not fall off.
Sure, they were breaking a hell of a lot of laws...but that's what backroads were made for.Swallowing a surprised squeak, Crow held on tighter and leaned against Liam.
"How fast can this thing go?" she asked, trying to make herself heard over the roar of the engine. This was rather exhilarating, really - as long as they didn't crash headlong into something and splatter the road with their remains. But even then, it might be fun - what was life without a little risk of being roadkill?"Something over a hundred, I think!" Liam yelled back, not tearing his eyes from the road, "I'm not so good with conversions!" His helmet pushed his earrings into his ears, causing a small amount of irking pain, which wasn't unpleasant. It was because of this that he was forced to temporarily think of Crow as a horrendously unattractive Vavvian male.
Or bad things could happen.
It didn't take long before he saw what could have been the right theatre up ahead. He shifted a bit to try and get Crow's attention and pointed toward it with a gloved hand."That's the one," Crow roared, her voice nearly drowned out no matter how loudly she tried to make herself heard.
She wasn't quite sure if she like the motorcycle or not. She kinda didn't, but the fact that Liam was the one steering it.... feeling herself blush for no reason at all, Crow gave a self-conscious (and inaudible) cough and shrugged it off. Some excessive gore and bad one-liners would get rid of the awkwardness she was feeling.
She hoped. Liam nodded, hearing some kind of noise that didn't sound like screams of agony. He turned easily into the parking lot, leaning to the opposite side to compensate and pulling the bike back down to the normal (and legal) speed. He took a space too small for a car and put the kickstand down as the engine sputtered into nothingness.
"We're here," he said as he pulled his helmet off, suddenly remembering why his trademark hairstyle was what it was.Climbing off the bike, slightly dazed, Crow tugged the helmet off and smoothed her habitually wild hair down as best she could.
"What a rush."
Wandering over to the ticket booth, she bought her ticket from the half-asleep teenager locked inside and waved Liam over.
"I gotta go use the ladies room - I'll meet you in the theater."
Scooting inside, Crow made a beeline for the restroom and kicked the door open. Wrinkling her nose at the stink of urine and stale popcorn, she glared at her reflection in the dirtied mirror sternly.
"Stop acting like a dork,"she scolded herself, tugging her fingers through her hair in an attempt to tame it. "Stop blushing, and stop being a dork. It's not a date."
Ignoring the stares of the other women as she berated herself, Crow gave a dignified huff and gave them a cool sidelong look before marching back out.Liam smiled and nodded at Crow's statement and did as she said, approaching the teen in the ticket booth.
"One for...whatever that last girl's going to see," he said and dug the gold from his pocket, "I came with her. Really." He thanked the higher powers that the boy was too out of it to think well, apparently, and began wandering down the corridor, attempting to find the right theatre.
He found it soon enough and sighed, marching inside alone and taking a seat near the front, one over from the middle. He kicked his feet up onto the head of the empty chair in front of him and waited.
The outing hadn't been nearly as hard on him as he'd expected...but that didn't mean that it had been easy.The trailers had already started when Crow scuttled into the theater, tripping over people and spilling their food as she went through the aisles. It took a couple minutes, but she finally made it over to him. Picking off a lollipop that inexpliacably gotten stuck in her hair, she sank into the seat and grinned as the opening credits started to roll. A man looking panicked and beaten was sprinting through a seemingly empty hospital, trailed by another man in a trenchcoat and wielding a bonesaw.
"Compared to what we see on practically a daily basis, this is pretty tame," she whispered over to Liam.
But, she couldn't help but jump and grab at Liam's arm as the creepy music boomed, and winced at the gruesome sounds as the man running across the screen was caught at last and chopped up with the bonesaw, his entrails splattering on the ground.
"Not very subtle, is it?"Liam simply laughed at Crow's statement, nodding in agreement. It was depressing, how true it was. His interest was peaked when the man was murdered, though, and he almost didn't notice Crow's grip on his arm.
Almost.
He stayed politely still, mentally repeating a phrase in Vavvian.The movie was gruesome and brutal, and had enough cheap scares to keep Crow on the edge of the seat most of the time. She'd relinquished her grip on Liam, though she tended to lean a little closer than she should have during the tense moments.
Halfway through, as the overly-handsome hero and token female character were being persued by gutted cadavers with their eyes and mouths sewn shut, she threw up her hands slightly and got up.
"I'm gonna go get some popcorn. Watching people being tortured into insanity's makin' me hungry - I'll be right back."
Scooting through the aisles blindly, tripping over her fellow traumatized movie goers, Crow exited the theater.
Maybe we shoulda gone to go see that romantic drama instead, she thought to herself. The movie was a little too like everyday life to really enjoy without being paranoid.Liam was completely entranced and disgusted throughout the movies. All he kept thinking about was the amazing inaccuracies. Then again, what could one expect from Human movies? He was every so slowlybeginning to get used to the fact that he and Crow were only together...not together.
Her sudden exit jarred him from his dreamy state.
"Uh...alright...?"Bustling back in with her popcorn and ignoring the glares and mutters from the people she'd already tripped over twice, Crow threw herself back into her seat. Trying not to crunch on the popcorn too loudly, she stared back up at the screen and gaped as the female character started trying to gut the hero with a rusty scalpel.
"Jeez, what a b***h."
Offering some popcorn to Liam, she couldn't help but laugh as the hero tried to plead with the obviously possessed woman.
"Please. Like anyone possessed can actually be reasoned with," she snorted, deeply amused. Liam watched Crow return and politely refused her offer, resisting the urge to launch into some kind of random explanation.
Upon her statement on the posessed lead, though, he shot her the kicked puppy look, reacting and feeling as if she'd just stabbed him in the chest.
Was I really that bad when I was...oh, you're a bloody idiot. Stop being so dramatic.
He turned slowly back to the screen.Biting back another laugh as the hero 'mirculously' saved the woman from her possession, she nudged at Liam slightly.
"I'm almost jealous of what you went through," she whispered, a bit oblivious to his response from before. "Gettin' stuck with demons is a b***h."
Taking another handful of popcorn, she watched with amusement as the newly-saved woman started hacking away at the demonic zombies with a handy fire hatchet, getting doused with their blood. It was taking all of her willpower not to make more sarcastic commentary - next time, she'd definitely let Liam choose the movie.
"Thanks for coming, by the way," she added, smiling in a quiet sort of way and looking at him with something like shyness before quickly looking back at the carnage onscreen.Jealous? JEALOUS?!
He felt a great deal of things from anger to depression slide into his chest and constrict his heart, although his face betrayed nothing. All the things he'd done...she couldn't possibly have any idea. She had control now, for the most part. He never would. He'd never know who he truly w--
"Yeah. Any time."Watching the overgratuitous bloodshed with a dwindling sense of enjoyment, Crow thought harder on what she'd said. It hadn't been very intelligent, but it was the truth - she tried not to think about it, running a hand over a tendril of the Marque unconsciously.
Her pleasure in the movie killed by her own hand, Crow sat back in her seat and watched it unseeing, thinking morosely.
As the movie ended, Crow blinked in surprise. She'd been so wrapped up in her own thoughts, she'd missed the ending. Getting up and wiping of the popcorn crumbs, she made a slightly disappointed face.
"The trailer was better."Liam was already standing and peering down at her, fighting the urge to simply walk away.
"I still haven't seen it," he said and forced a half smile. His emotions had been beaten down using brute mental force, and he was feeling a bit better...although he still wanted to get out of the theatre as quickly as possible.Nodding without really hearing him, Crow walked out of the theater as the flood of mortified peopel fairly ran out. Even the sound of a couple people throwing up their popcorn did little to cheer her up.
"Well, it coulda been worse."
Stepping out into the fresh air outside the movie house, she squinted in the almost over-bright sunlight, and sighed. Could've been better, too.
She turned to speak to Liam again when the bullet grazed against her cheek.
"AH!"
She fell to the ground, mostly out of shock, wincing as the bullet blew through the glass door behind her. Instinctively curling into a ball as the glass shattered, she brushed it off and rolled onto her stomach. Oblivious to the other people's shouts of surprise, she looked around frantically. Another shot blasted over her head, ricocheting off the metal door frame. She gave a curse as she saw a black car with tinted windows speed away, tires spinning on the asphalt.
Shaking with shock, Crow still laid low to the ground as she watched it leave.
"s**t."Liam, having dropped to his stomach immediately, watched the mysterious vehicle as it sped away.
"Bloody Hell," he murmured, placing one hand comfortingly on Crow's shoulder, the other on his bike, and transporting them instantly back into the room.
Great...more people wanted her dead now?Shaking violently and wincing as the burned skin from the bullet's near-miss healed, Crow sank to the floor and breathed hard.
"Oh, s**t... s**t, s**t, s**t."
She'd recognized that car.
"No, can't be, can't be." She muttered, trying to stop the tremors of shock. Taking a few minutes to collect herself, she got up and tried to smile at Liam. It came out twisted and fearful, quickly slipping off again.
"Thanks. I...I gotta...yeah. See ya."
Still shaking and deeply frightened, Crow stumbled out of the room and ran back to her own.
That couldn't have been good.
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 2:50 pm
Before the Storm
"You were shot at?"
Julian's face was pale and stricken. Crow nodded mutely, motioning for him to keep his voice down.
"Yes. I think.... I think it might've been...." She muttered, looking sick. She ran a hand over her healed cheek, a phantom pain spreading over the skin that had been burned.
"You think it was him. The Piper."
Crow winced and nodded slowly, looking even sicker.
"You have to tell Liam and Rabid. Tell them both. This guy could go after them, or Malachi, or Len...." Julian trailed off as Crow started to cry. Looking horrorstruck, he hugged her close and shushed her, unnerved. Crow rarely cried unless it was for a pretty damn serious reason.
"I can't, I can't! It was bad enough telling you. I can't do it again," she said, burying her face into his shoulder. Julian stroked her hair and murmured comforting words, holding her closer.
"Shhh, shhh. It's alright. Don't worry. Everything'll be alright..."
----
Jean Michel laughed raucuously as he listened to the conversation coming over the tap.
"Un tel idiot. Ce sera un plaisir pour les tuer tout. "
Turning to his new aide, he beckoned the boy forward, looking jovial.
"Jeremy, I do believe it's about time we paid dear Lethe a visit. Gather a few of the Brigade. They will know what to do."
The boy nodded gravely, and left silently. Jean Michel reclined behind his desk, tuning back into the wire tap's transmission and smiling to himself.
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 2:50 pm
The Second Delivery Diehard_Dreamer "Kupo, I hate working for that slave driver, kupo... but I love Miss Catherine's cooking, kupo. What to do, what to do kupo... The little ninja is looking at me, kupo! Ahhh!" Fluttering around the hallways of the mishaps headquarters was a moogle known as Gizmo. Around his shoulder was a brown bulging mailbag and in his arms was a jar filled with formaldahyde and a little ninja fetus. "Kupoooooo..." The moogle whined as it flew to Lenore's room, dropping the jar, letter and a small package in front of it. Flailing, Gizmo flew away. Baxterfullous Dear Crow, I have wandered about Gaia for the past few days, and I came across an odd petshop. Mind you he looks.. odd, but for the strangest reason the little fellow reminded me of Lenore. It might be because he's a ninja. Does she like ninjas? I know she was fairly interested in learning how to being more intuned with her shadow alignment.... and I guess'd this be something lovely. He's alive and eats gold fish food. Don't feed him too much or he'll explode, litterally. Baxterfullous I also found something you'd like... a movie poster I manage to snatch for you, the busyboy was taking a piss. It's a promotional poster that was apart of a much larger display... I think they are going to miss it. I heard it was also originally a video game. I might decide to try playing it, if I can find it. I also want to see it, do you? I would love to take you. Baxterfullous Anyways, you must find this strange, so I'll shorten my letter... though I don't know how. Well what I means is that, I don't know what to say. I'm not wonderful at small talk, though details I spew out are endlass that sometimes I wish I would shut up. I really don't know how to say things like this, I'm not very experienced. So I'll just say write it: I'd like to see you again, but for a much longer period of time... And maybe again, if it goes well. Gods, that was hard to write.Sincerely, Baxterfullous ps: Did you like the rose?
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:51 pm
Ambush
"Will you just chill out already? I just wanted to take a walk."
"I know, I know. I'm just saying to be-"
"Careful. Yeah, I know."
Lenore glared at Julian a little, quirking an eyebrow. He'd been all uptight for a couple days - it was really starting to irk her.
"What is wrong with you an' Mum lately?"
Julian gave a noncommital shrug, looking evasive.
"...Nothing. Nothing at all."
He had to bite his tongue pretty hard to keep from saying what he'd been thinking.
Oh, you know - just fearing for Crow's life because her cartel-buddies from when she was a drug pusher are hunting her down and trying to kill her. Nothing big.
"This place is gonna make me go gray," he muttered to himself, rubbing his temples with an exhausted sigh.
Lenore's puzzled expression deepened, and she shook her head in exasperation.
"Whatever. I'll be right back."
Julian tensed.
"Stay in sight."
Len stuck her tongue out, shaking her head again.
"I'm not gonna go anywhere! I'm just gonna go feed Ch- go, er. Uh. HEY LOOK, DEAD BODIES!"
It hadn't been a smooth save.
"Huh? Where?"
But it worked. Lenore took off like a shot towards the edge of the out of bounds forest, clutching a bag of dinner leftovers. As she left Julian behind, she looked around to see if anyone else was around.
"Sure wish the others were here to see this," she said to herself. Or at least Ike - he'd be happy to see Chase again, most likely.
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 7:08 pm
"Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"Positive."
"I still say you look funny."
"I still say you're short."
"Alright, alright..." Ike walked beside Liam, his hands shoved in his pants pockets. He heard a vaguely familiar voice. Julian. Ych. Maybe Len would be around.
Liam followed close behind, looking a bit off, as Ike had said. His Vavvian pupils were expanded to such a loose curl that he almost appeared to have none. His hair was flat, and his clothing was uncharacteristically...not-black. He sniffled and rubbed his nose on the back of his hand, amazingly aware of everything around him.
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 7:57 pm
Julian was starting to chase after Lenore, cursing his gullibility, when he heard voices. He nearly jumped out of his skin and crouched down into a defensive position, raw nerves ready to snap. He blinked and shook his head in self-disgust as hie saw who it was, a mix of nausea and relief flooding through him.
"Liam. Gods. I gotta talk to you."
Len gave an excited squawk as she heard Julian's faint voice say the name "Liam". Liam always meant-
"IKE!"
Dropping the bag and sprinting back, she smiled broadly and grabbed his hand, tugging at him to follow.
"Come see, come see! Hurry, c'mon!"
---
They blended in with the trees. Their weapons were hidden, but still easily accessible. The boss leaned against one of the trees, smoking and watching with devious amusement in his cold eyes. One of the Brigade approached him respectfully, looking confused.
"Who's the squirrel boy?"
"Malachi Devreaux. The Vampire's son."
"He the one we're looking for?"
"No. We want the grey girl. Ignore the boy."
"Possible hostile?"
"Doubtful. They're all just animals. I'll take care of the girl."
"Yes sir."
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:03 pm
Liam's eyes went unnaturally wide and he took a step back upon seeing Julian's position. Alright...something definitely wasn't right.
"What? What's wrong?" he asked, his pupils contracting horribly with an almost audible noise.
"LEN!" Ike laughed as he was dragged into the forest, following obediently. His ears swiveled about his head. He could swear he heard voices...
Ah well. Man-eating beasts generally didn't speak.
"See what?!" he swished his tail excitedly, "Where are you taking me?!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:17 pm
Lenore gave a laugh and let him go, beckoning for him to follow. Running ahead a little further and stooping down to pick up her discarded bag, she gave a secret smile.
"I made a new friend."
Julian was shaking. He couldn't help it - his nerves were shot. Watching as Ike and Len took off with dead eyes, he turned back to Liam and touseled his hair, tugging on it as though he wanted to rip it out.
"Th' other day at the movie theater. Crow got shot at - and, I think I know who - I, ah, ******** hands were trembling. It humiliated him to have Liam see him in this condition - he hadn't had a good night's sleep since Crow had told him about her past. Up close, he looked like death warmed over - dark circles blackened his eyes, and he had a thin, starved look to his face. He hadn't hunted, and so hadn't eaten.
"Has Crow ever told you or Rabid about her past? Before Lenore?"
---
The boss eyed the approaching children, a thin smile lighting his features.
"Get ready."
"Yes, sir."
The boss's eyes flickered over to the two men. The taller one looked very tense. It was amusing to see a grown man shiver like that.
"The brother. I don't much like him. Jeremy?" he said, calling over his shoulder. The aide snapped to attention, his mouth set in a thin line.
"Bring me the rifle."
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:24 pm
"Gods, Julian, you look like Hell," Liam's pupils fluctuated size as he attempted to concentrate. It was mildly amusing, the things that could snap you out of a high. Concern was not one of them, "No, I...I don't think so. What the Hell is going on?"
Ike continued following, curious as all Hell and ignoring the voices he continued to hear. What kind of friend could one find in the forest? As long as it hadn't torn Len up, whatever it was, it was alright with him.
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:34 pm
Clenching his hands into fists to stop them shaking, Julian tore his eyes away from Liam's shadow with effort. He was so damnably hungry...
"Ah, s**t. Ishta.... I, I know. I haven't eaten anyone-uh, thing, anything for a while."
Trying to take a deep breath, he looked Liam full in the eyes to distract himself from the shadow.
"Crow.... Crow made a few enemies over the years. One of them tried to off her a couple times - he.... he shot her in the head. I don't think it's the same one that shot at her a few days ago, though." Gods, but it was painful saying these things. He plowed on, his raw system starting to relax a little.
"She recognized the car - it was his. A guy called the Piper."
He licked his lips, his mouth gone dry.
"She was a- a...enrgh. Anyway, now her old boss.... I dunno why. He's come back to kill her."
Pressing a finger to her lips, looking almost giddy, Lenore opened the bag and drew out a dripping raw slab of beef. It was bloody and mottled, and a bit freezerburned. Holding it gingerly, she tossed it towards the edge of the trees and whistled loudly.
"Chase! CHAAAAASE!"
---
The XM8 was a quality weapon. Army issue. The boss held it with well-practiced hands, peering through the telescope and aiming at the tall man with care.
"Steady....steady...."
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:40 pm
"That's...not good," Liam said, his head beginning to hurt quite a bit, "I...is there....we need to...find him. Get rid of him. Something."
Oh, right. The kid ate shadows. Rabid had told him about that. Huh. Best to not burst into shadow form around Julian until he figured out what effect, exactly, its consumption would have on his physical body.
"Not good...very not-good..." he was slowly dragging himself back to his usual state, "Gods, I'm sorry..."
Okay, so it ate raw meat. A little bit of hope flickered up in Ike's chest. Could it be...? Naw. Whatever that thing had been, it was probably off somewhere loathing them.
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