Seth [King Cheetah] - elfgurl1234

[elfgurl1234]

Noelani has been kidnapped? [PM RP]
1/11/10 - 1/13/10

Quote:

Boss had paced back and forth at The Clubhouse. It had been four days already and no other sign of Noelani had come up. Checking the scanners and many of his sources provided little solice for his worried heart. Moreover was his concern for the girl's fiance. She had made him promise not to inform Seth or he'd worry himself sick but he couldn't possibly just sit quietly. A few days ago he had to make up a story to ensure the Cheetah that the Kuppy was okay. Just taking on a special assignment that require a bit of radio silence. Only that wasn't true, and Boss was not the kind of man to lie blantanly to another.

Therefore he stood at the young Kuppy's apartment sighing heavily as he rapped on the door. So many different ways of putting this had run around in his mind. What had happened how it went wrong, who to blame (which he blamed himself.)

Said cheetah Hyte was currently sitting comfortably on the couch, idly flipping through one of his old books. It had been a few days since he had last seen or heard from Noe, and frankly he was starting to worry about her. Then again, he always worried about her when she went on any kind of assignment. Even though he always encouraged her to pursue her dream of becoming a bounty hunter, her career of choice never exactly rested comfortably in his mind. Fortunately the kuppy was often more than capable of fending for herself, which is why Seth could even have any peace of mind about her work in the first place.

His ears perked in slight surprise and interest at the knock on the door. Can't be Noe or Haevan, cause they would just use their keys, he thought to himself as he got up and walked over to the door. "Coming." When he opened the door he was more than a bit surprised to see Noelani's boss there. And just the slightest bit worried. "Ah, hello, Sir. Please, come in." Once inside, the cheetah Hyte closed the door and turned back to the guest. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

When the door opened he gave a soft nod smiling only from the warm welcome he got from the Cheetah. Really these Hyte species were quite beautiful he mused but quickly shook himself from those thoughts. "Thank you." He offered for being let in and quickly took a seat at the edge of the couch. Ringing his hands together he gave the cheetah a slight smile but it held no mirth for what he had to say next. "I'm sorry to be the barrer of bad news but Noelani is missing." He allowed a moment of silence for Seth to register this before continuing one. "We've managed to use our connections in hopes of finding any leads. The most we can go off of is the fact she is no longer in this world." That alone was hard to swallow but if a human gene can be merged with an animal gene then, an Angora/Retriever mix breed can travel between worlds.

"There's not much else that I can tell you. She had a new assignment she insisted on taking fully. I wasn't sure about it but her persistence is so strong. When the girl wants something she doesn't stop." And that was the honest truth. "At any rate we lost track of her a few days back. No leads could be found where we last tracked her whereabouts. Although not until yesterday, we received this." Handing over the lock of blond, blue white tipped hair, Boss gave the cheetah another moment to register things. The hair alone was unique no amount of people around Gaia had that hair, on top of that was Noelani's favorite hair piece. "We think the bounty she was after was a lure to get her alone and capture her. She may have been kidnapped. Though we have yet to figure out why or for whom the kidnapping is targeted." Boss was a good man but he really wished he'd followed his gut instinct on this one. "Do you know anyone else she might know outside of yourself. We don't want to believe they are after you through her... but it is a possibility."

At the news that Noelani was missing, the cheetah Hyte's stomach completely disappeared. He stayed dead silent as the boss continued on to explain the situation. She's... no longer in this world? That expression could be taken in a very unpleasant way, but he remained silent and continued to listen to the rest. Seth held the lock of hair carefully in his paws as he contemplated the man's question. "I... don't know anyone, no," he replied quietly with a small shake of his head. The only person he knew of that they knew from out of this world was Dyre, but it would make absolutely no sense at all for him to decide to kidnap her. Especially since from what Noelani claimed of her visit there he didn't even actually remember her. "... Where was her last known location?" he asked, fingering the lock of hair lightly in his hand.

"She was in town heading north. We lost track of her about 30mins after her last check in. That's all we know for now." Boss spoke solemnly wishing there was happy news to speak of than this. Standing he sighed heavily looking toward the cheetah with an apologetic gaze. "I regret that any of this happened but she loved her work. I'm very certain she's putting up quite a fight so don't lose hope. I will personally keep you informed if anything new is discovered." With that he gave a curt nod and headed for the door. "I'm sorry again for this." Pulling out a card he handed it to Seth. "Just call me if you need or find out anything."

Seth didn't answer, but simply nodded as he accepted the card from him. For a few minutes after the boss had left, the cheetah Hyte simply stood there, deep in thought. "She was in town heading north." Well, he thought, Might as well start looking there. Grabbing his keys and his coat, he left the apartment in a silent determination. There was no way that he was not going to look for her himself, even if there were already many others who had been searching the past several days. He would find her. Somehow.

 

[Seth_Avi]

[PM RP] The Word Spreads
1/14/10 - 1/15/10

Quote:

The cheetah Hyte was out for several days before finally returning to the apartment. He hadn't really taken anything with him on the impromptu journey, but frankly he didn't care. It didn't matter if he didn't stop for anything to eat or only slept for brief periods in his car at night the past few days. Who cared about such trivial things? The only thing that matter at the moment was his search for Noe. Which had turned up empty. It had taken Seth a good part of the day to decide to finally return home for a bit, but he wouldn't be staying very long if it could be helped. He wasn't about to stop looking for her so easily.

Once inside, he only cast a brief glance around the living room before padding off in the direction of his own room. If he was lucky then he would be able to just slip in and out again without being noticed. Then again, luck didn't quite seem to be on his side lately...

Eli had been mildly alarmed when first Noe, then Seth had disappeared from the apartment. Still, he figured as long as he kept things tidy and bought his own food they wouldn't kill him or anything, so he hadn't thought too much about it. He'd had a bit of a headache all day and was in the kitchen fixing some hot tea when he heard the key in the door, and then emotion--or, rather, a curious mix of utter misery and a blank, numb, buzzing sort of feeling--hit the kuppy like a ton of bricks. He hissed as he managed to scorch his fingers, hot water somewhat missing the cup, and reached for a towel to quickly mop up the moisture before hurrying out to the living room, just in time to catch Seth's back retreating towards the bedroom. It was hard to tell from the back, but the cheetah looked as if he hadn't taken care of himself in days.

"Kekasmai'pha," Eli swore, one hand placed to his temple as his mind struggled to deal with the source of the headache coming closer, and his other hand reaching out for Seth's shoulder to stop him. "You look like hell, Seth. What happened?"

Seth paused at the hand on the shoulder, barely even registering the other's presence. What happened? Well, everything really. "... Noe is missing," he replied quietly, voice and expression blank as he stood in place, not even bothering to turn around and face the magical boy. "She's been kidnapped."

Noe--kidnapped? "By whom?!" Eli asked, though he didn't really expect an answer. If there had been some sort of ransom request...well, Seth would've probably told him sooner as opposed to just going out around looking for her, which is what his eyes told him had happened. Surely if Seth himself had been given any leads, he would've let at least Noe's siblings, Noe's mother know... "Come sit on the couch. You're at least getting real food if I have anything to say about it." Eli had the suspicion as long as he was bullheaded enough about it, he could probably manage to bully Seth into doing what he said. And it wasn't entirely altruistic, the kuppy had to admit to himself--Seth was giving him the beginnings of a migraine.

I'll help shield, you help him, Elti's voice came as a whisper in the back of his mind. The aura of an impending migraine was somewhat lessened, and Eli thanked his mother star fervently.

Eli came back to the living room with a fresh cup of tea and pressed it on the cheetah. "It's hot," he warned, "but you look as if you could use it. Now, tell me from the beginning. When did you find out? What exactly were you told?"

Initially the cheetah didn't make any replies, simply sitting on the couch as was requested. He was rather too numb at the moment to bother arguing back. When the tea was pressed into his hands, he simply stared blankly at it, the only sign of him having heard or registered Eli's words being a light twitch of his ears. After a brief moment of silence Seth spoke, though still in the same dead monotone from before. "A few days ago Noe's boss came to the apartment. She had been on an independent mission when she disappeared. They've been searching for her, but... have found nothing. The only clue they received was a lock of her hair." He still had the lock of hair with him actually. In his coat pocket. It was want he had been using in his desperate attempt to find and follow a scent trail these past few days. (Not that he needed a reminder of her scent, but it was the only link he had at the moment.) "They think she might have been taken to another world."

"And I don't suppose they have any details on this independent mission," Eli said regretfully, though he filed away the knowledge to drop by Noe's workplace at some point and chew them out on the matter. "Another world. It can't have been Phanes or else Aikatyrine would've told me; she's monitoring all the worldgates there..." He supposed it might have been Nevre, but...it didn't quite seem the Empress' style. Kidnappings and hostages, sure, but Nevre was also very open about whom she was holding captive--flashy, really. He supposed it came with the territory of being an Empress. And he didn't think the Empress would necessarily have even bothered with his sister if she was going for that route... "Unless Noe's been doing a lot more worldhopping than I'm aware of--" (and as far as he knew, it'd only been the one time to Dyre's homeworld) "--I can't help but feel this has something to do with Contractors. Still, it seems an awful roundabout way..." To what? Get to him? He still couldn't quite buy it. Had Noe's quarry been offworld? Why hadn't she ever bothered to ask him about those lessons they'd half jokingly proposed, her weapons skills versus his magic...

"Seth, if she's offworld, she could be...anywhere," Eli said finally, for lack of a better term. "You can't do this to yourself. I have friends--Shimy know people--we'll find her, Seth, but you have to take care of yourself, too!" The kuppy was quite emphatic. "What kind of help will it be if you're half dead when we know where she is?"

His ears twitched again at the kuppy's words, although this time in a slightly more agitated manner. "I won't be half dead," he said flatly. "I just... had to make sure. I tried to follow her trail, but... it just disappears. Completely." Seth had to stop talking at that point, feeling his numbness shell cracking a bit as he spoke. The cheetah Hyte continued to stare at his tea for a few more seconds without really seeing it before he spoke again. "... I need to go shower."

"You could've said something before haring off, Seth. She's my sister, I care about her too." Eli could feel the stronger pain threatening to break through even the shields Elti had thrown up, and he sighed. "Don't drown or anything. I'll talk to some people, get the ball rolling." Though he was really just saying that; Eli suspected he wasn't going to be able to speak to anyone for the next few hours. He knew Seth didn't realize it, wrapped up as he rightfully was in his own sorrow, but it wasn't going to be a piece of cake or anything for the empath while the cheetah had a good cry or whatever. Eli could maybe leave, get far enough out of range, but--he shook his head. No way was he leaving Seth alone, not like this. He did his best to project some kind of comfort, but he suspected it wasn't very effective. "Go, do what you need to do."

The cheetah's ears drooped a bit at the reminder of his unintentional secrecy. "I'm sorry, Eli," he said, genuinely sorry for having left without at least telling her family anything. They deserved to know about Noe even more than he did really. Standing back up to head to his room, he said, "I just need to get cleaned up. I'll be out in a bit." It was true, he had for the time being forgotten about Eli's particular brand of magic. He would certainly be regretting that later, but for now his head was still in a numb fog as he set down the tea and returned to his room.

There had always been an odd sort of "love/hate" relationship with the shower, for while the cheetah needed it for staying clean, he still hated the water just as much as anywhere else. Yet, this time was different. The water was still just as cruel, wet, and unforgiving as ever, but Seth couldn't find it in himself to care. No, instead he found himself with a bigger problem of his numbness shield breaking away. Alone in the steady echo of water on tile, there was nothing to distract him or keep his mind occupied. The search for Noe had turned up empty, and as much as he wanted to keep searching he knew it would be utterly useless. He couldn't travel between worlds himself, and until he found some way to do so he was pretty much just stuck here. But what about Noe? How was she doing? What was her captor doing to her? The thought made him sick, and the shield that had been in his mind since he first heard the news finally shattered. The shower would be lasting a lot longer than he originally planned...

Feeling a twinge of guilt as Seth responded to Eli's intended jab, the kuppy watched the cheetah go with another sigh. He wondered how to make himself useful--cooking dinner, perhaps?--and reached for the untouched cup of tea to take back to the kitchen. He made it as far as the sink before a tsunami of pain hit his shields, and Eli dropped to the floor, back sliding against the lower cabinetry, head in his hands. He couldn't focus right, couldn't rise above the choking waves, and he wasn't even aware of his own body shaking until he felt Elti's cool hands on his face, tilting him carefully to the side--like a child held in his mother's arms. He rode out the pain as best as could--nearly all of it Seth's, though his own fears and worries had managed to mix in and make it all much worse--Elti holding him all the while, occasionally brushing his hair to one side. It felt like ages, years certainly, before the pain had receded enough he was able to think again. Elti brushed away the remnants of tear trails from his cheeks, and offered him a helpless, sad look.

"I'm sorry," Eli said, his voice raspy. So much for being able to hide this from Seth.

"For what? For feeling?" the Ti'ama simulacrum asked pointedly.

"If I'd trained more dilligently--"

"Bah! I couldn't even hold your shields, that had nothing to do with your power," Elti said, flicking his nearest ear. "All the same, yes, I think refining your empathy is in order. If you could project, I think it would help Seth." She paused, then hugged him quite fiercely. "All the same, I'd take a crybaby over someone callous any day."

"Good thing, too, since the Contract spans lifetimes," Eli said, with as much of a laugh as he could muster.

That... was rather something. Well, at the very least the cheetah Hyte was clean now, and had fortunately managed to reign his thoughts and feelings back in to more manageable levels. Still, it hurt to come out of the bathroom and be faced with the now Noe-less bedroom. There must be some other way to go about finding her. If we work together then I'm sure we'll find a way. "We" being him and Noe's family that was. They were all in this together.

Seth got dressed and padded out of his room quietly, heading first to the living room in search of the magical kuppy. He needed to apologize more properly for his serious neglect before in telling him about Noe. Hm, he's not here. Perhaps in the kitchen then?

Indeed, when he entered the kitchen it turned out that Eli was there, along with Elti. "Hey, Eli, I just wanted to sa- are you alright?"

Eli sniffled and turned to face Seth. "Does it look like I'm all right?" the kuppy asked, tears pouring down his face.

"I told him to light a candle next to the cutting board," the Ti'ama said, utterly amused. "Isn't that supposed to help?"

Eli brandished the knife he was using to cut the onions--the source of his tears--at her. "If you want to complain--" (sniffle) "--you can just make dinner yourself!"

Elti giggled. "You act like world dragons know how to cook!" She danced over to Seth in a show of scooting away from Eli, and put a hand on the cheetah's shoulder. "Are you doing okay, Seth?"

The cheetah had never seen such a display of tears from onion cutting before, but then again he hadn't really cooked that many times with the root himself. At Elti's question he gave a small nod. "I'll be fine," he replied, forcing a faint smile before turning back to Eli. "Um, in any case, I'm terribly sorry about before. It was wrong of me to just run off without telling you guys anything." Amber orbs locked thoughtfully on the onions as he watched them being chopped up. His ear flicked as he put two and two together before saying, "Elti's not here to just give you cooking advice, is she." How could he have been so slow as to forget Eli's abilities?

"I'm very good at giving cooking advice!" Elti said defensively, putting her hands on her hips.

"It's okay, Elti," Eli said, finishing off the onions and placing the knife to the side of the cutting board before grabbing a paper towel or two to wipe away the tears--which, at this point, really were the onions' fault. "Anyway, it's not me you need to worry about. Mom's going to go ballistic." He moved to the sink to wash his hands, before finally meeting Seth's eyes and giving a little shrug as if to say 'well, what can you do?' Then the kuppy groaned, looking back in the sink. "Well, damn. I hope nobody cared about that mug I was using for tea..."

Ah yes, Mena. She and Shimy would need to be informed. "I should probably head over to the Cottage right now," the cheetah Hyte remarked mostly to himself, completely not noticing Eli's comment on the mug. After all, this wasn't the kind of news that could be simply shared over the telephone or anything. "Everyone should probably be home about this time of day, right?"

"Yeah--I'll come with you." Eli knew his mother was going to throw a fit before her pragmatism kicked in. He could maybe distract the kids--and then he remembered there was a tiny squid involved and amended the thought to 'Elti can distract the kids'. Surely Shimy would be...cognizant of how very bad taste it would be to throw a hissy fit of her own about Eli moving out, in wake of learning of Noe's kidnapping. "Let me just throw this stuff in the fridge."

The cheetah's ears perked in mild surprise at the kuppy's declaration. As far as he was aware, Eli hadn't gone back there since he had initially run away. Had he? "Is that... safe?" he wondered aloud, unsure of how Shimy might react. "Have you guys even spoken yet?"

"It's perfectly safe...I think," Eli said, unintentionally ruining the surety of the first statement. "No, we haven't spoken, but I think Shimy has enough life experience--" (you could call it that, he guessed, all those lifetimes) "--that she'll realize there are things more important than petty squabbles." Besides, if he was really lucky, she'd throw herself into the fervor of figuring out which world Noe went--if she could be possessive as to overthrow an Empress in revenge for a brother's death, surely Noe's kidnapping would inspire some of that same passion. "And she has much better connections than I do, probably on every world near enough for single-portal travel." He didn't add that if they'd taken Noe through more than one it was going to take substantially longer.

It was undeniable that they would be needing Shimy's help in this search, so the cheetah made no more remarks on the matter. "If you're sure then." The real question he was currently wondering was how exactly Noe's family would take the news. "Let's get going."

******

The drive over to the Cottage was fairly quite and uneventful. A small portion of the numbness had returned by now, but it was mostly just as an after effect from earlier. Right now the cheetah was mostly just tired. Still, they needed to do this, so there wasn't any time for such things as sleep just yet. Hesitating only briefly, he rang the doorbell and waited patiently.

Mena answered the door, took one look at the both of them, and shouted over her shoulder, "Phoebe, take Dacj and go play in the backyard, please."

"But Moooooom," came the refrain.

"I'll let you play with Ellery and Tirren in the lab later," Mena shot back.

"Done! Come on, Dacj~," was Phoebe's reply, and it was quiet enough that all could hear Phoebe squelch all the way to the back door. Mena turned back to the boys, and waved them in, leading them to the library in the front of the house.

Eli'd described it before as a 'steampunk library' and that seemed to be the best descriptor--arranged like a classical 19th century study, the walls lined with bookcases so tall they needed ladders. Weaponry hung around as decoration (fandom weaponry, most of it, including replicas of various wands used by Sailor Moon), along with the odd tapestry. A bookcart or two was visible, as was a curio table in the middle that held a replica of some kind of city inside. There were a few comfortable looking burgundy couches, with a stack or two of older looking books piled on side cushions. To one side of the room was a bay window, inset with a seat, heavy curtains drawn almost shut. Next to it was a bit of golden gadgetry that did who knew what, and then a large, stately desk--behind which Sabra Sabina sat, flanked by the tiny Txori whose golden eyes flickered over the new arrivals.

"I don't believe I've ever met the boy with the fetching spots~" Txori said, bouncing out from behind the desk to offer her hand to Seth.

"Ilazki," Eli said, not sure whether he was introducing her or scolding her.

"We know," Shimy said, twining her fingers in front of her on the desk. "Though I appreciate you having the nerve to come in person." Ostensibly she spoke to both of them, but Eli could tell her words were intended towards him alone.

"Gaia's been told to tell us if any Hyte goes offworld," Txori explained, flashing a quick smile. "And I'm familiar with your DNA so I could tell it was a kuppy."

"Mother had just gotten around to telling me," Mena said, flopping on the nearest couch. Eli could tell Mena wasn't happy about that fact either.

"It was inconclusive that she'd been taken by force," was all Shimy replied. Until a moment later, when she added wryly, "You try talking to Ti'ama sometime, it's like prying a tooth out of a Trikuado."

"Threading a lamiak through a needle's eye," Txori offered.

Eli gave Seth a helpless little look, as if to say 'see, this is what I have to deal with.'

"All the same..." Mena said, crossing her arms, "having taken this long...it'll make the trail cold, won't it?"

"It depends entirely on what we're dealing with," Shimy said, shrugging.

A knot of guilt formed in the cheetah's stomach at the course of the conversation. How could he have been so foolish as to just go out on his own without asking for their help any sooner? He obviously hadn't been thinking straight (which was still a bit of a struggle even now admittedly), but that was no excuse. "... Is it possible to find out who or what went with her?" he asked, gaze serious. "If it was possible for Noe's DNA to be recognized, could the one who captured her have been noted too?" After all, they'd have had to have left at the same time, right? And most likely together.

Txori exchanged a look with Shimy. "I can tell if it's human or something else, I think--much more than that and we might need to call in some favors."

"It's not Nevre," Eli said, almost defensively.

Shimy shrugged. "I don't think it's her either, but it's possible Nevre could've put an open bounty out on anyone related to you or I--so we'd be dealing with an independent 'contractor'...so to speak." Shimy looked at her hands, then met Eli's eyes squarely. "If that's the case, this won't be easy. If it's someone else entirely--I'd guess they weren't very well informed when they entered into this."

Because they didn't know you bite back when something you've deemed yours is taken away from you? Still, he couldn't help but continue to hope that his own activities hadn't lead to his sister getting kidnapped...because if it was because of him...

He didn't want to keep thinking down that line.

As usual, Seth didn't understand about half of the conversation; however, he still understood enough to catch the meaning of what they were saying. "So you think it might be because one of the Imperials then?" he asked, wanting to clarify a bit. If that were the case... wouldn't that be worse than just a regular bounty? Well, maybe not. At least these guys could be tracked, the cheetah Hyte amended to himself. He felt so utterly useless in this current situation, not having any ability to help track her himself. Then again, perhaps he could help somehow. "Do you think it might be easier to track her down if other contacts had a sample of her DNA?" He still had that lock of hair with him after all. There were enough strands that they could easily be divided and distributed among many others.

"That would be very helpful indeed," Txori said, clapping her hands together. "I imagine I'll be the courier, then, Sabra?"

"Yes, I'll talk to Gaia and whomever else in this quadrant of space I've got something on," Shimy said, standing up. "Eli, you might as well contact Aikatyrine. She has people in Nevre's court, they should be able to hear rumors if this indeed has anything to do with her."

"I've your permission to speak with her now, then?" Eli said, not able to resist the cynical jab.

"The damage is done," Shimy said with a little shrug. "It doesn't change the situation at hand, and you're aware now more than ever I don't like it when people think they can harm my family. That's really what this comes down to, doesn't it?"

Eli shrugged back. "As long as you consider them 'family.'"

Shimy gave Eli a withering look. "Oh, don't you start on that. It's bad enough to have Erika harp on me about past mistakes, you don't have to harp for her."

"If it came down to it, me or him, which would you choose, Grandmother?"

Shimy raised an eyebrow. "Keep acting like that and you well know the answer. Now go, do something useful."

Seth pulled the lock of hair out of his pocket and handed it over to Txori. While a small part of him didn't want to part with it, if there was any chance at all of it helping to find Noe then it was definitely worth it. "Thank you, Ilazki."

He listened silently to the terse exchange between Eli and Shimy, and the woman's ending remark brought about a small flare in his temper. Given the circumstances though, he had no choice but to remain silent. This was a fight between Eli and Shimy herself, and the woman had just after all agreed to help search the universe for Noe. Not to mention the fact that there was some part of her that wasn't entirely human and he had no idea what kind of magical powers she possessed. "Thank you for your help, Shimy," he said with a polite nod. Before they left though, he turned to Mena with an apologetic expression. "And I'm sorry for not informing you myself any sooner. I went searching for her on my own, but.. that obviously didn't turn out too well."

"Thank you for trying. If it had been possible to find her on this world, I'm sure you would have," Mena said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Take care of yourself, Seth. I'll let you know myself as soon as we have anything."

--
It was a quiet trip home, and the first thing Eli did was flop on the couch. "Argh," was what he seemed to say, though it was a bit muffled on account of his head being pushed against a decorative pillow.

While Eli went and flopped on the couch, Seth locked the door behind them quietly. The fact that Noe wasn't there at the moment wasn't entirely unusual in of itself, except for the fact that they now knew this time she wouldn't be coming home this evening. How long would it be? How long would it take to find one lost kuppy in the great expanse that was the universe? "Thank you for coming, Eli," he said, trying to distract himself from his current train of thought. He had to keep reminding himself that Eli was an empath, and so he couldn't let himself feel too strongly of anything. At least not while the kuppy was around anyway.

"No problem," came the muffly voice. Eli's ears twitched, and he moved his head to speak more clearly as he eyed the cheetah. "Just because I can tell what you're feeling doesn't mean you need to try and be numb. Any time you feel inclined towards blind rage, or a total breakdown--eh, some warning would be nice."

Seth gave a slightly pained smile, but shook his head. "That's not fair to you though," he countered, plopping down in a nearby seat, laying his head back casually and closing his eyes. Ah, big mistake; he had forgot just how little sleep he had had recently and now the fatigue was nearly overwhelming. Still, he pressed on. "... you shouldn't have to be subjected to anyone else's feelings but your own. It would be cruel of me to add to it if it can be helped."

"Oh, trust me, usually it's my own emotions echoing back on me," Eli said dryly. "Feeling someone else's is like a bit of a vacation." He paused, and laughed, facepalming. "It's really depressing but it's also true. Sometimes I really wish I was normal, just saying."

A small "hm" was the only response that Eli received from Seth as the cheetah quickly started to fade. Within only a few seconds he was out like a light, his body finally having succumb to his exhaustion.

Eli chuckled, then got up to go fetch a blanket from Seth's room, tucking the slumped cheetah in on the chair as best he could. I'll wake him in an hour or so, at least to get him to move, he decided. The last thing the cheetah needed was a sore neck from sleeping in an odd position. With one final glance towards the door, the kuppy headed back into the kitchen to finish the dinner he'd started on earlier.

 

[elfgurl1234]

~An Unexpected Visitor~

[PRP] Dacj's Big Adventure! [Seth, Eli, Dacj]

Summary: The search for Noe continues, but it seems that an unexpected kraken girl has decided to stop by the apartment. What is she doing there exactly, and how will Eli react to meeting his new sister for the first time?

 

[Seth_Avi]

~Time to Vent~

Journal

Seth finds his old journal and decides to add a new entry.

 

[elfgurl1234]

[PM RP] Good Friends Indeed
1/19/10 - 11/18/10

Quote:

Seth was currently in his room, staring blankly at the ceiling from where he was lying on the bed. He had already finished his shift at work for the day, as well as his usual fruitless search for Noe. There were no new scents around the warehouse or the city, no matter how often he looked. Even in their room her scent was beginning to fade, and it was absolutely killing him inside. While he normally might have been reading or listening to music, he now chose to do neither, instead simply staring and planning. Mapping out situations and ideas in his mind.

Haevan could sense his friends broken heart. It didn't take a genious, or require a special anything. He could see it when ever he passed by the cheetah. The look was haunted. Something the wolf found hard to swallow, especially when there was little he could do on his own for Seth. However, soon as it was Seth's nature he would go looking for Noe again. And likely Hunter and Eli whom the wolf had become aquainted with in recent days would look anew. The wolf had resolved to do what he could for his long time best friend, regardless of the price to pay. Noe was a friend just as well. Her absence left the apartment even more empty then when Hunter had left for different reasons.

Padding down the distance to his friends room, the wolf's paw rapt on the solid wood, his head tipped downwards as he waited for some sort of response.

Seth's ears twitched slightly at the soft sound of knocking on the door; a brief and light sniff told him it was Haevan standing on the other side. "Come in," he called, pushing himself up into a sitting position and looking toward the door. He hadn't really talked that much to the other lately, for which he felt slightly guilty. It wasn't that he was trying to avoid him or anything of that sort, he just hadn't exactly been in a very talkative mood for obvious reasons.

Not that he blamed him. To a lesser degree he'd felt the pain of losing some one close. Nothing like this however..not to the level that Seth had to endure the last couple weeks. His ears perked, flicking back at the sound of the others voice. "Ye sure?" his Scottish drawl carried threw the door. Resting his shoulder on the door frame once he'd gently pushed it open, the wolf hyte folded his arms over his chest. Concern showed plain as day on his face, his resolve to help solidified.

Seth gave a faint chuckle at the wolf's question. "Of course I'm sure," he replied, getting off the bed and stretching a bit. "Something on your mind?" He saw the concerned look that the other gave, but tried not to pay it too much mind. Noe was the one who needed the concern after all, not him.

Haevan frowned at the others trying to dismiss his own problems. It was quite clear he -wasn't- alright. Then again it wasn't the wolf's place to push. Sighing he nodded resting his temple against the door frame. "Aye. If 'ah can.. 'm gunna help ye find her regardless the cost." he said very seriously, no hint of a smile or his usual jovial self could be found. Something more akin to resolve and determination. "Ah.. dun't know to what end, but 'ah offer my help all the same." He smiled faintly then.

Seth returned the faint smile, appreciative of his friend's offer. "Thank you," he said, glancing off briefly at another wall. "... We'll probably need all the help we can get. Still, I don't want to put you in danger either. I have no idea what kind of place she has been taken to." The cheetah fell silent at that, not really happy thinking about the possibilities.

The wolf shook his head almost instantly when Seth made reference to endangering himself. "Nye, 'ah can handle myself just fine..beside mebbe ye goin' alone would be one hell'ah bad idea." He finished softly looking away. The pain written so clearly on the others face was hard to swollow. Haevan's ears laid back, and he peered back at him trying to replace his own troubled look with a tiny smile. "'sides...what 'r friends for?" He leaned foreword and rest his paw on the others shoulder. Just because he didn't know what to do to cheer the other up..but he could at least offer his friendship.

He would have gone already now had he found a way to get there. Wherever 'there' was. "... Thank you, Haevan," he said again quietly, eyes still seeming a little glazed over. Thank you for your help and support. Thank you for always being such a good friend. Thank you for being here now. These things were left unsaid, but they were very much a part of his few quiet words. Seth looked back over at his friend and offered another faint smile. "I guess the saying's not wrong about a dog being a man's best friend." At least he could still joke.

Maybe a little dry..or a little out of context but it was there none the less. Perhaps he could have ran in circles around the matter..or tried to say a million and a half things but would even be appropriate? Why would he -not- lend a paw or two? History had shown it's self that in time of need you lend what you can. "Aye..'just dun't loose hope." Even without the spoken words, the moment wasn't lost on the wolf. Slowly moving into the room he plunked down on the ground and scooted back against the bed and idly reached for the remote. "We'll talk ta the magick folk 'round here meybe? 's start." He mused quietly idly flipping on the set to give the other something to focus on.

"Mm," Seth replied non-committally, half-way watching as the channels were flipped through on the tv. Eli and Shimy were already on the look-out and they were the only real 'magical' folk he knew. Still, the suggestion was appreciated, and even the distraction a tiny bit. "See anything interesting?"

The wolf nodded lamely indicating to the current channel. It was hard to really feel one way or another, with Noe gone..the apartment was even more desolant. Not only that..but they hadn't a clue what to expect. They were in the dark, unable to make a proper move. Yet...he wouldn't leave the other alone just yet knowing full well Seth would merely return to his drained lifeless state. "Do..ye want something ta eat?" He offered quietly glancing side ways at the other.

"Ah, I'm good, thanks," Seth replied with a faint smile. It was true, he hadn't been eating quite as much since Noe's disappearance, but he couldn't really bring himself to eat more than was necessary. It was hard to feel hungry after all when your stomach felt like it was gone half the time. "Did you want anything?"

The wolf shook his head with a soft growl. "Nye. Just tryin' ta be helpful 'ah suppose." He said quietly, having gotten up and moved into the door frame of the room. He pressed his forehead against the frame and sighed. "Just...dun't give up hope. Whatever ye do." He added softly vanishing around the corner. It was mainly...so he didn't end up tearing up himself. The whole situation was frustrating, both to know Noe wasn't safe..and to see the pain of those he called friends suffering.

After a while, he came back in. Whether Seth had said no or not, he'd at least made him half a sandwich. Placing beside the other, he hunkered back down, gazing into the T.V.

It was what friends did after all right? They offered friendship in the others time of need. While there wasn't to much to talk about, the wolf at least would stand by his friend. Hopefully they'd hear word soon on what they could do for Noe. In the mean time..all they could do was hope for the best.

The cheetah Hyte watched with some mild confusion as his wolf companion suddenly decided to get up and leave the room. Give up hope? Hardly. They would know if he had given up hope, for he most certainly wouldn't be here in this apartment right now. No, right now it was more of the wait and their current lack of ability to do anything that was eating him up. Not to mention his worry for Noe's well-being.

Seth watched the TV idly for a bit, only half-paying attention really. When Haevan returned with half a sandwich, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "You worry too much," he remarked with a faint smile, picking up the sandwich after the wolf Hyte had settled back down in front of the TV. He thanked him quietly for the food before starting to eat, mainly for the sake of being polite. He still didn't exactly feel very hungry.

Certainly he had said it, and whether or not Seth had lost hope or not..it was simply meant to remind the other. It was simply how the Wolf Hyte was, he usually tried to keep things in focus. Not that it always worked..but he could certainly try his best. On the same hand...he was hard to understand some times. For all he was loyal and friendly Haevan very well might have been on his own orbit mentality wise.

At the others comment he smiled faintly in return, tipping his hat to the other. "Aye, meybe so." He shrugged softly, nibbling on the other half of the sandwich he'd made. "'n even if ye don't eat it...I figured 'ah would 'nyways." he remarked idly with a small sigh. The waiting game wasn't his favorite either.

What else could they do? The answer of course was nothing. While frustrating..it was simply the truth. Scowling at the television the wolf growled quietly more out of frustration. "Do ye know if 'ny one has word? 'r they still workin' on eet." He peered over his shoulder at Seth.

"No word yet," Seth replied with a shake of his head. "Shimy and a few others are keeping track of different world portals, but so far they haven't found anything. ... Somehow I don't believe this is linked to any of their affairs." Short of making her a hostage to use against Shimy or Eli, the Empire's involvement in this wouldn't make any sense. No, something in his gut told him that this was something different. Noe was a bounty hunter, but she wasn't exactly a very experienced one just yet. Had she seen something she wasn't meant to see while on a mission and thus been captured because of that? What reasons would someone have to kidnap Noe versus any of the others in her field? It was confusing and frustrating to say the least.

The wolf listened patiently absorbing the news for what it was worth. In a way...having less details seemed to make the situation grimmer still. Shaking his head he rose up from the ground and laid a paw on his best friends shoulder. "'ah will check with sum 'un 'ah know.." he said softly ears flicking back, a small offered smile lining Haevan's face. "Considerin' Noe's 'ah bounty hunter...the clan ye see has 'un as well." He admitted sheepishly, mindful that if he talked to much about one of his fellow 'pack mates' it could spell disastrous.

Not that he couldn't speak of his clan, oh no. It had everything to do with the mention 'person'. Edward...while a bounty hunter, also happened to be a cold blooded killer at heart. The man as Haevan understood him was literally nuttier then a basket of fruit cake. The wolf hyte had seen the werewolf literally gut some one without an ounce of remorse while sneering. "Dun't know if eet will help..." he chewed at his lower lip before adding "but worth 'ah shot." Whatever had happened to Noe was certainly not ordinary. Whatever was behind her disappearance was likely beyond earthly matters, however it didn't stop the wolf from trying every outlet to narrow the feild down.

Excusing himself from the room, he went to make his phone call. After several minutes of clipped conversation his answer came in the form of "No. I don't -deal- with that magickal s**t you fool. However." there was a pause and the sound of something striking a wall. Perhaps a knife..? Haevan wasn't sure. "If I hear something I'll call." Click. The empty dial tone was the only goodbye Haevan got. Resting his forehead in his palms he sighed frusrated, he'd hoped for something...anything besided more irritation and despair. Not that he'd have worded it that way..it still didn't change the fact they knew little to nothing.

"Damn." Haevan breathed removing his hat and raking a hand threw his blue mess of hair.

Seth's ears perked slightly when Haevan mentioned speaking with someone he knew. "That might be helpful," the cheetah Hyte replied with an appreciative smile. He watched as the wolf excused himself from the room, and listened as well as he could to the sounds of conversation coming from the other room. By the time the conversation ended, Seth had the feeling that things hadn't gone well. Coming out of his room and seeing Havean with his head in his hands confirmed it. "Thank you for trying," Seth remarked as the wolf ran a hand through his hair. "Having multiple contacts is helpful."

Haevan nodded with a small sigh. "'ah know a friend 'os 'ah Bounty Hunter." He rest his cheek on his bent legs, only settling down once he was certain he'd done all he could for the other. "'ah asked 'im if 'e heard 'nthin'" Edward didn't deal with inter-dimensional travel, but it was worth a shot. In the mean time..the best he could offer was his company. For what it was worth, it was better then suffering in silence. They would have to remain patient, and hold out hope for Noe until something happened.

 

[elfgurl1234]

~An Unlikely team~

[PRP] Where is she?

Summary: Hunter decides to confront Seth about Noe's whereabouts. Can the two Hytes perhaps discover a way to find her?

 

[elfgurl1234]

Message from Another World

Kuuro Kitten

All was silent in the house. No one seemed to be stirring much, or rather were they all doing other things that were more important? Whatever the case, the crackle of static emitted from the television in the living room. For a moment a flicker of something popped into view but then it was gone for a brief moment as well. The sound of someone trying to talk could also be heard through the crackling of static. "Hel-lo?" It sounded like a familiar voice but anyone could be mistaken. Again the television flickered with static but soon the vision of the kidnapped kuppy came into view. "Seth? Eli? Hunter? Is anyone there?"

She sounded as if she were in distress, in a rush to speak but whatever the case she continued on, hands pressed against the screen in fashion of actually being trapped in the tv and not another dimension. "I don't... I'm sorry! I messed up- they- are after me- I don't know who they- but I got away-" Her words were broken up flickering in and out with the static and the picture. "Can't keep running- find me, please! I don't know what-"

Soon the picture went blank but the noise continued, static, crackling and then she screamed. All went blank moments later. Only a small glint of something shinny remained on the floor. The engagement ring she'd been given by Seth.

 

[elfgurl1234]

~Through the Portal~

[PRP] The Hunt Begins (Eli, Haevan, Seth, Hunter, & Kamiko)

Summary: The group teams up in an effort to save Noe. What will happen once they cross over to the other world?

 

[Seth_Avi]

~Empathy Training~

[Hytech PRP] Shield Yourself (Seth and Eli)

Summary: Seth and Eli are left behind to train while the rest of the group seeks out Noe. Will the two be able to work together to successfully get the magical kuppy's abilities under control?

 

[Seth_Avi]

~Gone and Back Again~

[PRP] The Return Home (Seth & Noe)

Summary: The group has finally returned to gaia after Noe's rescue. Once everyone has left for the evening, it's time for the couple to have a private chat.

 

[Seth_Avi]

[PRP] Oh, There You Are
4/21/10 - 4/23/10

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It was a cloudy day outside. Seth had been out on a casual walk about, but as the threat of rain seemed to draw closer the cheetah Hyte thought it might be best to duck inside somewhere. As the Hytech building was nearby, he figured that would be a good place to hang out for a while.

Currently the feline padded through the main area, but at first glance there didn't seem to be anyone else about. Hm. Another slow day, he mused with a shrug. Well, since I don't have any books with me and my ipod's nearly dead, perhaps I'll just browse the web for a bit.

As the cheetah entered the computer area, however, he caught the scent of a familiar kuppy nearby. "Eli?" He wondered aloud in mild surprise, following the scent over to the tv at the other end of the room. Sure enough, dead asleep in one of that lounge chairs sat the magical kuppy boy. That's odd, Seth thought to himself with a slight c**k of his head. Why didn't he just return to the apartment? He's been gone an awful lot lately actually... He deliberated with himself as to whether he should wake the other or continue to let him sleep.

Eli slept quite soundly, shifting in the chair slightly as he was observed. He likely would've remained that way for some time if not for a gentle mental prodding by--well, who else?

Eli, wake up~

Groaning at Elti's terrible timing--it had been a very lovely dream! Very peaceful and everything!--he stretched out, yawning, before opening one green eye to see Seth. Startled into somewhat more consciousness than he'd possessed before that moment, he blinked and settled himself into a somewhat more dignified sitting position than the sleepy sprawl he'd been in, heterochromatic gaze managing to look somewhat sheepish. "Uh, hello Seth." Faced with one of the people he'd basically been avoiding, he didn't really know what to say--or why Elti had insisted he wake up.

"Hello, Eli," Seth replied with a faint smile, unsure whether to be amused or feel bad for having startled the other. "Hope I didn't wake you." He glanced briefly about the tv area before looking back at the sheepish kuppy. "So... Find yourself a new hang-out area? It is rather private I suppose." And the collection of books nearby wasn't too bad either.

"Nah, Elti did that," Eli said with a shrug. The rest of Seth's words filled the kuppy with an intense sense of guilt, though he knew it was just the kuppy's own usual emotional overreactions. At least he was able to recognize them early and keep them in check now--and it had been with Seth's help that he'd managed it in the first place...

Still, there were some things that even his shielding couldn't handle, especially when the improved shielding itself was so relatively new.

"Oh, I just thought it was better if I tried to stay out of the way," he admitted eventually, his voice lilting and deceptively casual. "Pretty sure Noe's gonna toss me out any day now, so why remind her I'm still crashing at her place?" And the Cottage was a no go--not only because of his grandmother, but he wasn't quite ready to brave living in the same building as Dacj. What with her penchants for hanging from ceilings and lurking from trees and generally alarming behavior, he thought it was best he never actually live with his little sister.

Seth had to chuckle lightly at Eli's excuse. "Whoever said you were in the way?" he replied, sitting down comfortably on the arm of a nearby chair. "Besides, it'll still be a while before the house is finished, right? I don't really think Noe will mind given the circumstances." And really, Eli was actually quite a good house guest. He wasn't very intrusive at all, and the cheetah usually enjoyed his company.

"You've met my sister, right?" the kuppy teased back, one eyebrow raised. "I don't think it will be too terribly much longer...chances are we'll move in before all of it's finished and work on the rest as we go." It had become his mother's main project--anxious as the rest of them about Noelani but unable to participate in the rescue mission, she'd gone into overdrive on the 'house' instead. Eli still wasn't sure what to call it. A lair? That made it sound villainous...

"Noe definitely minds. We're twins, remember? Fraternal twins, but I can almost guarantee we have a vestige of the freaky twin thing," Eli said solemnly, though he was mostly kidding. "Zane's a lot easier to read than she is, but it also doesn't take a genius to interpret the 'argh I am going to hurt you' look, so there you are~" He realized he was going on because he was nervous, but there was no real way to admit why he'd been avoiding the apartment. Seth was just polite enough he'd try and insist it out of Eli, the kuppy mused darkly.

Seth had to laugh at that. "Yes, I believe I am fairly well acquainted with your sister," he replied, a slightly amused smirk on his face. If worse came to worse he could probably sweet-talk her into letting her brother stay over a bit longer, but for the time being things seemed to have been going well enough. "But in any case, I'd feel bad if you just keep holing yourself up in the shop like this. It's a great place for hanging out, but don't you get a bit stiff sleeping in the chair like that?"

"Pssh, I'm a mahou shounen. I can and have made beds out of magic," Eli said with a grin, remembering Kamiko's request for Clement quite a long time ago. Almost a year ago, he thought... He shook his head slightly as if to shake himself out of his reminiscences. "I think about the worst that can happen is Maxx deciding to charge me rent, but if he goes for that I'm arguing for proper quarters up above," he said, thumbing upwards. "I'm not around quite enough to warrant grabbing one of the dormitories here though," he added with a shrug.

Ah yes, Seth had forgotten about that particular ability of his. Well, there went the bed argument. Still, he felt as if there were something that Eli was not quite telling him; something that he was skirting around. "Still seems like an awful lot of trouble to me," he remarked with a faint smile. "But, I suppose if you're that worried about your sister, then it can't be helped." The staying over at their place was just a temporary thing after all. He just couldn't help but feel that there was some other issue that he was missing.

"'Awful lot of trouble' practically defines my life," the kuppy said dryly, resting his head on his arm propped up on the edge of the chair. "After everything, though, I think Noe deserves a bit of calm. My presence is generally not conducive to such, honestly..." Trouble did have a way of following him. And, what with Kitten's visit the other day, the last thing his sister needed was to meet her future niece...

Especially since he had a sneaking suspicion Kitten would very much idolize Noe on sheer girl power rating alone. Kitten had magic; she didn't need new and more effective ways of fighting, not until she was a bit older, anyway. "Kekasmaphai, Noelani still hasn't properly met Dacj yet, has she? That'll be a fun meeting..."

"I suppose that she hasn't," Seth replied, ear flicking thoughtfully as he mused over this piece of information. "Somehow I think they might hit it off fairly well." At least he guessed that they would. It was hard to say really, but they could probably find some common ground in discussing Eli at the very least. "... Although let's hope that Dacj doesn't take a sudden interest in the throwing needles. She'd be quite lethal with those."

Eli groaned. "You just had to go and say it, didn't you? Thanks, Seth. Thanks for the nightmares I'll be having for the next three weeks. Dacj with throwing needles, hanging off ceilings..." The kuppy placed a hand on his forehead, shaking his head sadly. "Luckily, I think Dacj's sole interest in sharp pointy things lies in swords she can perform dances with."

Seth rolled his eyes at Eli's declaration. "Nightmares? Do you really find your little sister that terrifying?" Sure, in all technicality Dacj could be classified as a 'tentacle monster', but she was really quite nice. A bit quirky, but still nice. She was nothing like the creatures down in Mena's lab after all.

"Remember the part about 'primal fear' and 'worst enemies' and all of that? It's like asking my mother not to want to beat Tio, that's what it is," Eli said, rolling his eyes. "Dacj's a lovely person. I'd find it a lot easier if she was lacking the tentacles, but I suppose it could have been worse. She could have had tentacle fingers, or something..." Shivering at inviting even more unwanted imagery, he gave Seth a lopsided grin. "Besides, it's all Mom's fault anyway. I wouldn't have the panic attacks if it weren't for her 'safety videos'. Scarred for life, I am..."

Seth had never really met Tio actually, but he had heard plenty in the past of Mena's 'relationship' with him. "Well then, rather than shielding perhaps we should work on your tentacle phobia next," the cheetah replied with the slightest of smirks. "I'm sure it would be good training for you anyway." Couldn't have him going all phobic if he ever encountered an actual tentacle monster on the job, right?

"Work on it how, pray tell?" the kuppy muttered. "Tried 'exposure therapy' with Phoebe--yeah, like that went well. I rather doubt hypnotism would work, and that leaves, what, behavior therapy? Usually you use that to break habits, not get rid of fears. I doubt giving me a cookie whenever Dacj's within a certain proximity to me would really help..." And it wasn't as if he enjoyed his fear--all things considered, he really did like Dacj and thought she was an excellent little sister, tentacles notwithstanding. It was just a fear that ran so deep he didn't see any way of circumventing it.

Actually the cheetah had been of exposure therapy, but thinking back to the babysitting weekend that hadn't gone over entirely well. As such, the cheetah shrugged. "I don't know... I don't suppose there are any friendly tentacle videos to counter-act the safety ones, eh?" he said jokingly. The only thing Seth usually tried to avoid was water, but he wasn't exactly phobic about it (the need to bathe prevented that from ever being the case), he just greatly disliked it.

"You realize what you're suggesting, right?" Eli said, with more rolling of the eyes. "The tentacle phobia stems from rape phobia; to counteract that--nope, I can almost guarantee friendly tentacle sex inspires just as much fear as rape tentacle sex." And from what his mother had mentioned, Dacj actually had just as many problems with it as he did--she didn't seem to think she'd ever find anyone, poor girl. He had to admit, scary as the 'mechanics' might be to him, it must be even more complicated for the young female kraken. Still, even pity and sympathy wasn't enough to overcome strong mental conditioning on his part. "I don't think there's really too much of a solution, or a cure. I think it's just something Dacj and I will figure out how to work around as siblings. She's a lot more respectful of personal space than Phoebe is, for one, so it'll work out in some fashion. Don't really foresee too much hugging though," the kuppy said wryly.

"And you realize I was only kidding about the video thing, right?" he said with a smile. Although he hadn't really meant friendly 'sex' videos so much as simply friendly videos in general. Regardless of what he meant however, such a thing would obviously never work. "I suppose things will work out in time then. After all, Kitten seems to also get along quite well with Dacj, so I suppose that means that you two see each other fairly often in the future."

"I realize that, but I also thought it would illustrate the seriousness of the situation to respond as if you were serious," Eli said dryly. But Seth had a point; Kitten was very clearly close to her "Auntie Dacj" so she had to have fairly frequent contact with her. "Mmm, you're probably right. Somehow or another..." Just because he couldn't foresee it now didn't mean it wouldn't happen; he had no idea how far into the future Kitten was really from.

"Fair enough," he responded with a light shrug.

The cheetah's ears flattened at the sound of distant thunder, and he made a small grimace at the reminder of the on-coming rain. "Say, do you want to head back to the apartment for a bit? If we leave now we might beat the rain, and there's no way of telling just how long it'll last..." He really didn't want to walk back in the rain, but he also didn't want to possibly be stuck at Hytech until nightfall either.

Suddenly faced with one of the few questions Eli really didn't want to have to deal with had the kuppy scrambling for a proper excuse. He was almost certain Noe's presence would be ever present--he was actually a little surprised Seth had come out to Hytech and left Noe to her own devices. Of course they'd stop being joined at the hip after awhile, but...it just made it all the more difficult for the kuppy to endure when they were together. And to make matters worse, it was his sister. That's probably why he picked it up so readily, actually...freaky twin mindlinks indeed.

"Uh...you could go on ahead, really, I wouldn't mind," the kuppy said hurriedly, all too aware his excuse was rather lame. "I know you aren't fond of the rain..."

Seth quirked a brow as the kuppy suddenly appeared to be slightly panicked and hurried to rush him off on his own. "Is there something you're not telling me, Eli?" he asked outright. "Honestly, there are no tentacle monsters hiding at the apartment to ambush you."

"There's the next worst thing," the kuppy muttered under his breath, then heaved a sigh. "Seth...uh, I don't really know how to put this. My shields are very helpful, and I'm very indebted to you, but--because I'm so used to you, and Noe's my twin...um...I still have empathy." He half prayed he wouldn't have to spell it out, but there was no way around the fact that this was a damned awkward conversation to be having at all.

The next worst thing? Seth listened on with mild confusion as Eli tried to explain what was bothering him. "Ok? I don't think either of us have been very emot- Oh." The pieces clicked together just then, and suddenly the whole thing made sense. "Oh." Well, this was rather awkward... "Ah, Eli, I'm so sorry. I didn't even realize..." He didn't finish the sentence and instead glanced idly about the room. "Well then. Um, I suppose I can understand you wanting to stay here then. I won't bother you about that any more."

Eli drummed his fingers together, looking a lot more calm now that the worst was over with. "Yeah, I didn't exactly expect you guys to, so...uh, don't worry about it too much. I didn't even realize it would be such a problem until--well, until it became one." It just had to be his sister and Seth, didn't it? Two of the people he was fundamentally closest to--his sister and the guy he supposed he'd call his best male friend, whom he'd felt the emotions of probably far too many a time, especially with Noe's disappearance. Despair, rage--things that were impossible to ignore. "I'm trying not to be a spoilsport," the kuppy added, somewhere between dry and good-natured. It wasn't Seth's fault, or Noe's, and since Eli was the interloper in the household and it was Eli who had the problem, it only made sense for him to skip out. "I hope Dad doesn't say I've failed my brotherly duty though. I'm counting on the fact Mom can bully him around and the fact that Mom doesn't have any qualms whatsoever about you two..." Since his dad hadn't really been around for Seth dating Noe, Eli really didn't know if he'd be easygoing as usual or full of fatherly bluster. Eli tried for somewhere between the two in his place.

Seth could only imagine what it must have been like for the poor empath- especially when they had first returned home from the other world. Things had been a bit... intense, for a while. His ears quirked slightly as Eli brought up Colton. Oh yeah, he and Zane still don't know, do they, he mused. "How would you have failed in your brotherly duty?" he asked. "I remember a couple of occasions where you gave the good brother speeches and such." Those were actually semi-amusing to think back on, even if they were a bit awkward at the time, simply for the lack of real threat they seemed to possess. Well, at least he had tried, and it was the effort that counted.

"Remember to tell my Dad about them, and how very intimidating they were," Eli said, his mock-solemnity ruined with a chuckle. "If he freaks out about his little girl going off and getting married, anyway. He was pretty cool with Zane and Ciaran though, so I don't really foresee a problem there. I'm just covering all the angles, just in case. And he can't get mad at me for you guys living together, he'd have to get mad at Mom for that. And Mom can get him to do whatever she wants, it's amazing." It was also why he inwardly grimaced every time Kamiko seemed to suggest they ought to pattern their relationship on his parents'--they were happy, yeah, but he didn't think their relationship was one he cared to emulate himself...

It was difficult to keep from laughing at that. "Will do," he replied, highly amused by the intimidation factor. He did let out a light chuckle however when he went about explaining the course of blame. "Actually the whole thing was Noe's idea from the start," he admitted. "Even the room-sharing, which, you were here at the shop that time when she first brought it up." Now that had been a very awkward conversation for the cheetah indeed. Mainly because it was in front of so many others at the time. Noe sometimes had a knack for asking things at the entirely wrong time and place...

"Dad can't blame Noe though, she's his only 'little girl,'" Eli said, rolling his eyes. "She's got him wrapped around her finger--do you have any idea how much she charged up on his credit cards when she was younger?" He shook his head with a chuckle. "I know what you mean though. Noe's idea; Kamiko's idea--I think we just have to resign ourselves to the fact that we have really opinionated girlfriends." Crafty, too, he was certain.

"I imagine that poor Colton is still in debt," Seth remarked, having seen first-hand how Noe liked to shop. "It seems to me that most of the ladies of Hytech are rather opinionated. Certainly not a bad thing though." The cheetah Hyte looked upward at the ceiling as another clasp of thunder sounded over head-- much closer this time-- and was quickly followed by the soft sound of rain hitting the roof and street. "Aw man... Well, I guess we wouldn't have beaten it after all." Even as a cheetah he couldn't have run back to his apartment that quickly...

"Nah, Mom paid it all off--she makes ridiculous amounts of money doing government contracting stuff, it's a bit absurd really." Eli also had the feeling he didn't want to know about the bioweapons his mother likely developed for the government... "I mean, she's building Kamiko and I an apartment complex so we can have a secret hideout, she's got more money than she knows what to do with it. I suspect that's why she'll build Kamiko whatever she wants, gives her a challenge or something." The kuppy chuckled. "I have a sneaking suspicion she'll build you two a house or something as a wedding present; better speak up soon if you'd rather she not." He gestured over to the bookcases and shrugged. "Sit down? Watch a movie or something to kill time? Better here than lurking in your car waiting for it to stop, I guess."

"I wouldn't even begin to know how to go about asking that," the cheetah replied with a slight chuckle. Really, under what circumstances would it not be entirely odd to randomly approach your future mother-in-law and be like, 'Um, I know you mean well, but if you were planning on building us a house, you really don't have to go through the trouble.' Yeah... perfectly normal conversation to have. (Not that anyone in this family was normal-- he got that-- but still.) "I didn't actually even bring my car today," he said with a faint smile, "but I suppose that works. Feel up to visiting the bar?" He hadn't been up to the rooftop level in quite some time actually. The cheetah usually even forgot the bar was there.

"With Mom, straightforward is usually the best approach," Eli said wisely, grinning back. "Lurking under a tree and hoping for the best then, I guess. Better here than out there! I don't think I've ever been up there, come to think of it..." He'd seen the pool, but never made it inside HQ--he'd missed the (in)famous 'prom'/dance/whathaveyou, though he'd heard Zane had gotten drunk, and had been entirely unsurprised. "To the roof, then!"

"You haven't been up there yet?" the cheetah Hyte replied with mild surprise. Smiling, he said, "Well then, this is long over due. Let's go."

 

[Seth_Avi]

[PRP] Up on the Rooftop, Click click Click
4/23/10 - 4/24/10

Quote:

"Well, here's the bar," Seth remarked after the two of them had reached the top of the stairs. It was a rather nice scene with the dark walls and the low lights, and really made for a rather nice hang out area. The cheetah just never really bothered to come up here since he hardly ever drank anything. "They did a good job, didn't they?"

"Very sleek--very Hytech," the kuppy said with a chuckle. He had to admit, the bartop was about the coolest thing he'd seen in a long time, technology wise. He padded over to it curiously, moving a claw-tip on the surface and watching the resulting patterns with a little smile. "So! You've been here, you know the drill... Come to think of it--do they usually just leave it unattended?"

"Surprisingly enough I believe that they do," Seth remarked, stepping over to the ibar himself and idly dragging a claw across the surface. "Maxwell's the official bartender, but since this place hardly ever gets that many customers he doesn't really need to be here all the time." He lifted his claw from the lighted surface and looked up at the wall of drinks behind the counter. "I think most people usually just end up serving themselves when they come here. If they know how anyway. Anything look good?" He didn't actually know all that much about liquor, but he had learned a few things from his mother. Unfortunately, most of the drinks she liked were sweet...

"Guess that's true enough. And with the rain outside, I guess I can see why no one's at Hytech general," Eli said thoughtfully, grabbing a seat on a nearby barstool. "I have no idea what looks good. I think the last alcohol I had was at my parent's wedding," the kuppy admitted. "Nah, wait, maybe a bit of sake here and there, but generally I don't drink. Stories of Zane doing ridiculous things drunk have had me hesitant to follow his example," Eli added dryly.

Seth chuckled at the kuppy's words. "I'm not actually much of a drinker myself," he admitted, still glancing over the different labels on the wall. "I don't much like the thought of being intoxicated around others. Although at the moment we're alone here and I don't have to worry about Hunter making true on his threat to push me down the stairs." The cheetah smirked faintly at this as he made his way around the counter. "Perhaps I'll try some Vodka..."

"I know what you mean," Eli said sympathetically; he got enough flack for being a magical boy, why add drunken exploits to the list? And Seth was such a stickler for privacy, it was no wonder he felt that way. "Yeah, Hunter performing acts of violence would be a good incentive to avoid impaired faculty--I have no idea how Dacj managed to befriend that 'savage beast', but more power to her, I guess." Eli moved to crane over the counter, trying to get a look at at lay beneath, and finally shrugged, more to himself than expecting Seth to notice. "I suppose I'll have what you're having, if you don't mind."

"Mhm," he said absently, selecting a bottle and pulling it down carefully. He had to chuckle again though at the Dacj comment. "It doesn't entirely surprise me. Her personality fits with that." The cheetah grabbed a shot glass then, also getting a second one for Eli. He started to pour as he spoke. "And really, Hunter does have his good points... he just doesn't often show them." Indeed, most times it seemed that he just preferred to be an a**. But whatever. To each their own he supposed. Picking up both filled glasses, he turned and handed Eli one before holding up his own. "So what shall we toast to? Rainy days?"

"She's surprisingly saintly for a creature of the deep descended from beings that will bring about the end of the world," Eli said wryly, taking the proffered glass. "It's probably to be expected she could coax Hunter's better side out of him." At the suggestion of a toast, the kuppy chuckled. "Rainy days and a lack of witnesses," he said with mock-solemnity, clinking his glass against the other.

"Hai hai," Seth said with a grin as he clinked glass with Eli's. "Kanpai." He took a sip of the Vodka and grimaced slightly at the burning sensation that went down his throat. "Wow, that's strong," he remarked, looking over the small glass of clear liquid in his grip. "How is it that people can chug this stuff?"

Eli made a grimace as his own sip went down. "Clearly they have burned off all ability to taste it," he said, sticking out his tongue and continuing to make faces as he tried to process the drink. "Yeah, dunno if I should actually start off with the harder stuff, come to think of it. Anything sweeter or creamy back there?" Anything to mask that aftertaste--he'd forgotten how much he disliked the taste of alcohol without something else in it.

"Um... Let's see..." Seth replied, taking another small sip as he looked back over at the selection. "Well, I know Kahlua and Grand Marnier are sweet. My mother seems to really like those. There's also always all the different flavored Schnapps and such..." He made another small grimace as he listed off all the sweet drinks. "Whatever sounds good to you I suppose."

"I kind of want to say 'I'll try a little of each' but I also have the feeling I'd get ridiculously drunk if I went with that course of action," Eli said thoughtfully. "I'm guessing being an empath and having a hangover would not make a great combination. Moderation--whatever's your mom's favorite. I think I can probably trust her taste."

"Alright. In that case let's just go with Kahlua and cream," he said, grabbing the proper ingredients. "I think she's also very fond of Mimosas, but I don't quite know how to make one of those." He knew it was something simple, but he couldn't remember whether the liquor for that was champagne or Grand Marnier. Grabbing another glass, he filled it with ice before filling it with Kahlua and cream. "Here you go. This'll probably be more to your liking I'm guessing."

With an appreciative nod and a quick 'thank you', Eli tried the mixed drink, and found it very much more to his liking. "That's--a lot sweeter than I expected," he said, pleasantly surprised. "You're just not a fan of the sweeter stuff?" he added, noticing Seth made no move to make one for himself...and he'd specified his mother preferred it, not that he did. He vaguely recalled Seth not being fond of baked goods, but didn't realize it seemed to extend beyond that.

Seth shook his head lightly, taking another small sip of his Vodka. "Not particularly," he replied. "I don't really like sweet things in general. I'll eat something if offered, but..." he shrugged. The cheetah was already starting to feel a very light buzz from his drink, but at the moment he was still sober. "I suppose we're rather opposites in that respect."

"Eh, everyone has different taste, I suppose," Eli agreed. "Working in a bakery for awhile--actually, I did get sick of baked confectionery stuff after a bit! At least, got sick of the stuff we sold," he said, thoughtful. It seemed ages ago, Shimy's mad little bakery... "Not fudge though; never the fudge. I couldn't eat half the sweets I do if not for the mahou shounen thing, I process sugar a lot more efficiently than the average person." The kuppy grinned. "Perk of the job, I guess. More calories, too, so better for you after a fight." He didn't feel particularly impaired yet, but he'd have to watch himself if he continued with the Kahlua and cream; he suspected it would be very easy to drink more than advisable with it.

"Oh yeah, whatever happened to that bakery?" Seth asked, having forgotten about the business. He had only stopped by the place once, but it had been pretty nice.

"It's closed for now, but I think Shimy might start it back up after...well, after things get sorted," Eli said, with a shrug. "According to Mom, Shimy's not spending a lot of time outside the library now, so I'm not really sure what the status of things are. Still, she seemed to have fun running it, so she'll probably get back to it at some point..." Funny how a slight buzz could soften his feelings considerably towards the woman he called his grandmother. Granted, it'd been only relatively recently the more-or-less betrayal had overshadowed the previous year and more of benevolent grandmotherly behavior--he supposed it wasn't surprising that, underneath it all, he still felt very fond of her...

He probably ought to resolve to never drink in front of Shimy lest that fuzzy warm fondness lead him to something he'd regret later.

"Hm. Well, I'm sure that would be fun." The Vodka, which had previously been so difficult to swallow, was slowly becoming easier to drink; and even though it was strong, the cheetah Hyte found that he rather liked the taste. The shot glass was emptied and he filled it with some more. "By the way, have you heard from Colton and Zane lately?"

"I haven't," Eli said, a bit morose. "Dad and Mom are in contact, so we know they're safe...off on some mad adventure, I don't even know." He drew a circle on the ibar, amused, before shrugging. "Everyone comes and goes 'round here; I haven't seen Ciaran in ages either. I really hope we'll manage to get most of 'em back for your and Noe's wedding though--I don't wanna think about the hissy fit Noe'll throw if Dad can't be there." Actually, he wasn't sure if she'd be petulant or put on a brave face but be inwardly crushed--the somewhat primadonna attitude she'd sported as a teenager seemed to have mellowed out a little bit with dating Seth.

The cheetah Hyte frowned thoughtfully. "Yeah... I rather miss some of the old gang really. I understand everyone leading their own lives, but very few seem to ever even visit the shop anymore..." There were actually still quite a few Hytes that he had heard of but had yet to ever meet. "How many of us are there again? I've lost count."

"Maybe the warmer weather'll draw people back," Eli said, with a sigh. At Seth's point, he started trying to do the mental math. "There've been, what, four batches? That's twenty, six of us from Gen, five 'special orders', uh...like ten or more events? We'll hit fifty soon enough!"

"There's also the Clytes too," Seth added with a small smile. "They're perma-tweens, but they're still Hytes nonetheless." He took another sip of drink and was slightly surprised to find the glass at it's end again already. Hm, that went fast. I suppose one more drink couldn't really hurt... it's still raining anyway. He poured himself another shot, his tail swaying casually behind him. "So, how big do you think our population will eventually get? I mean, we can't really 'reproduce' on our own, but we don't really seem to be aging much past adult stage either. It's an interesting dynamic really."

"We might already be past fifty then," Eli said thoughtfully. He did tend to forget about the Clytes--he hadn't seen any of the slav--er, boys about in some time, and their female equivalents...he was rather grateful he hadn't met any of them, actually. He had very vivid memories of a younger Missy, he didn't think the drama llamas would be much better. "I dunno. Since we are sterile, it's all up to Maxx and Jun I guess. I do wonder about aging, sometimes...well, not on my account, that's just complicated. But we have to grow old at some point, right? I think somebody would've mentioned if we were near-immortal, you know?" He frowned. "'Course, I am near-immortal, but that's the Contractor bit. D'ya know how old Shimy really is? This lifetime, I mean. She's like--I can't remember if it's two hundred or closer to a single century. She's real old though!"

"I suppose being magical can have it's advantages," Seth replied with a faint smirk. "But seriously, can anyone really know how long we'll live yet? I mean, the oldest of our kind are like, what, not even three years old? Human children are still learning how to walk and talk by that point." He paused to take a slightly larger sip of his drink, ears flicking thoughtfully as his tail continued to swish around behind him. "There has to be some point at which we'll continue aging, right? With how fast we grew to begin with, who's to say the process won't pick back up again around five or something." As part of the customs batch, he had experienced fast growth more than most. A slight pink tinge was beginning to come over the Hyte's cheeks at this point from the alcohol.

Eli considered the subject as he took another drink of his own. "Pretty sure there would've been a warnin' or something if our lifespans were that short. I bet everyone's got at least a regular human lifespan--what's the point of hybrid eugenics if your kids can't outlive you, right? Still...it'll make for right odd generational cycles. Hytes mature within four months, give or take. If we've got, what, sixty, eighty years--I mean, you could be livin' with your great-great-great-great-somethin' grandkids by then." Eli paused, then a dawn of realization seemed to come over the tipsy kuppy's face. "They'll have to build a bigger building!"

"Good point," Seth admitted with a small nod of his head. "I suppose Maxx and Jun would know what they're doing in that respect." The cheetah Hyte listened quietly as Eli continued on, and the building remark amused him. "Bigger Hytech building wouldn't do it. We'd need several of them," he said matter-of-factly before taking another drink. "Assuming everyone stuck around anyway."

The cheetah Hyte chuckled softly to himself. "Sheesh, I don't suppose I make a very good drinker. A few shots later and I already feel fuzzy." There was no doubting in Seth's mind at this point that he was a cheap drunk. Then again, he didn't take into account that he was drinking straight Vodka, so that definitely was a large factor...

"Even if they didn't, the lot of them would show up for holiday parties and big events," Eli decided, finishing off his drink. "I guess if they had several buildings, they could each be totally different parties, and you could sort of travel 'round to each one over the course of the night..." He let his comment trail off, shrugging, and spinning round on the barstool before giving Seth a grin.

"Fuzzy is delightful, and I intend to get a bit fuzzier," the kuppy proclaimed. "Are you with me?"

"Is that a challenge?" Seth replied with a smirk, setting his shot glass down on the bar and twirling it around a bit. "Alright then, we'll be here a while anyway. Only you'll have to switch back to the strong stuff with me." He slid the unfinished shot from earlier back over to the kuppy, smirk turning into a grin as well. "Tell me first though; Are magical people immune to hang-overs?"

"If you want it to be," Eli said with a chuckle. He gave the vodka a look, and then heaved a dramatic sigh. "I suppose I'll acquiesce, but only because I think I won't care very much after a few more of them," the kuppy said with a smirk of his own. At Seth's question, he became instantly thoughtful. "D'ya know, I have no idea. I suppose I'll find out."

"I suppose that we will." He downed the remainder of his shot, and what at first had felt like a burning sensation now seemed quite pleasant. "And for the prize... I dunno." He didn't really care to think of a prize by this point. For now they were just enjoying the fuzz... And although he couldn't see it, the cheetah Hyte's face was getting quite red by this point. "For the prize the winner never has to deal with rain again."

"I could go along with that," the kuppy said, finishing the neglected shot. "I can magic it off but that's too much trouble really. Better to not deal with it in the first place." This really wasn't too bad--congenial conversation, a nice buzz--Eli sort of wondered why he hadn't ever bothered trying to get a bit drunk before. Probably a previous lack of social companions with which to drink was the issue at hand. "Hmm~ Also...also...there ought to be other prizes, don't you think?"

"Like what?" the cheetah Hyte asked, taking a moment to just sit and chill. The fuzziness was very distracting. As was the ibar all of the sudden. "... This thing is very entertaining," he mused, dragging a claw along it once more and watching as the lights connected between all the different points of contact currently on the bar top.

Reminded of things that were bright and shiny, Eli pondered for only a moment before flicking out his right hand, releasing a shower of small sparkles that were solid enough to register on the ibar, creating a little light show before they twinkled and disappeared. "That was much cooler than I had anticipated," the kuppy said happily, tail wagging. "Hah, Kamiko and I should get one of these things for the lair. Building. Whatever we're callin' it now."

Despite all the teasing normally made about the sparkles, even Seth had to admit that the display was quite cool. Although it was hard to tell if that was just the liquor talking... Didn't matter. "You know what, you should get a whole room like that," he said with a sage nod. "The floor, the walls, the ceiling... That'd be cool."

"That would be cool," Eli agreed, captivated by the idea. "A room with the sensor panels...a room with mirrors maybe. I have always wanted a trampoline room too, you know. Also I figured if I could legitimately tell Mom Zane was bouncin' off the walls..." The kuppy dissolved into laughter.

Seth joined in the laughter, having to clutch his side at the mental image. What made it even more hilarious in his mind what picture Zane bouncing around the room, cocooned in a blanket as he had seen him the last time they had more than a one minute conversation. "Oh- wow," he said between laughing, trying to recover but failing. "Brilliant idea. You must have a that now." He chuckled a bit more before sloppily pouring them both another shot. "Ooooh, what about one of those, uh... um... sky diving rooms! You know, with like the giant fan in the floor and stuff. You could be flying."

"Kamiko'd go for that, she'd use it for 'training' most like," Eli said with a wry smile. "S'only a matter of time before she asks Mom for a jetpack, I think--if she hasn't already," he added, mildly alarmed at his own uncertainty. Still, his mother's track record with machinery was a lot better now, so maybe he'd trust Kamiko's safety to something Mena'd made. Maybe. "Flying's a bit overrated though--I can jump really high and it's half the same thing. Also I can walk on powerlines. That's it, we should have a Hyte circus! I've got acrobatics, Dacj wants to dance an' stuff--that'd be a sight, wouldn't it?"

He chuckled at this. "There wouldn't even be a need to get circus animals. All the Hytes would be the main attraction." Seth paused to down the shot he had poured earlier. "You know what? We should all go to the zoo sometime. That... that would be quite the trip." The cheetah's speech was starting to slur.

Eli joined Seth in downing the next shot, considering the cheetah's next proposal. "That'd be fun. Or the aquarium, for the mer-Hytes! Cats and dogs--a shelter? Hey, were you there for that time--the one where Noe was attracting cats? Never managed to figure out how that happened. Sure was funny though!" Thoughtful, Eli gave Seth an appraising glance. "Hmm, if Noe's more cat, what'll your kids be? Cheetah-domestic kittens? Turkish Cheetahs?"

"Nope. Wasn't there for that," Seth replied, amused by the thought of cats following Noe around. The cheetah turned thoughtful at Eli's question of future kids. "Hm... Angortahs? Chitties? No wait, that doesn't sound right." He chuckled in spite of himself. "Hm... I dunno. If her retriever side passed on though I suppose we'd have more kuppies." He looked back over at Eli with a grin, propping up his head on one hand. "What about you and Kamiko? Think any of your other children will be pups? Or will they all be kuppies like Kitten?"

"Angorrrrtaahs!" Eli said, rolling the r and attempting a vaguely Spanish accent, at which he failed horribly. "One of these days we'll have to get straight answers out of our creators on the subject. The only pity with your kuppies would be the loss of the blue color gene--your kids would be really golden though!" He chuckled at his inadvertent pun, and looked bemused as Seth questioned him. "Black and gold pups, I suppose, or perhaps tricolor kuppies--who knows! Kitten's been using glamour-magic, reekin' of it, every time she comes here, so could be anythin'. She could be blonde, or blue, or black haired--suppose I won't find out 'til I get to the proper part of the timeline."

"Golden kids wouldn't be so bad," Seth said with a small smile. "Although I have to say, I'd be rather curious to see spotted blue fur as well..." In the end though, the cheetah Hyte didn't particularly care what his future kids might look like. If he and Noe ever got to the point of having kids at all, he'd love them no matter what.

He was distracted from his warm musings as Eli continued on. "Glamour-magic? Seems you have quite the mysterious daughter there, Eli," he said with a light chuckle. "Hmm.... I think I'm going to have to bow out of our contest." Even just sitting in place as he was, Seth was quickly feeling the effects of the liquor catching up with him. "You win the... uh... What was it again?"

"Once in a...blue spot..." Eli muttered, but it didn't sound as clever out loud as it had in his head. It'd be a sight, though, blue spotted chitties, kuppies...whatever they'd be...

"Mysterious, or just vain," he chuckled. "If you've the ability to change your hair, your eyes at will, why not? 'M a little surprised future-me'd let her get away with it though..." Not to mention Kamiko--future-Kamiko would definitely disapprove of magic for silly purposes, wouldn't she? Or maybe she'd...

"I win?" Eli asked, distracted back into the here and now. "That's more like it! I win--wasn't it something about rain? I'll make the rain shine! That is, if it's still raining." Weather-working would be a bit beyond him, the state he was in.

"Mm, you do that," Seth replied, laying his head down on the ibar, tail slowing down to mostly just hanging limply behind him. "You take... image thing... of the shiny rain. Hm?" The cheetah was fading quickly, and his head was just too much of a blur right now to make any sensible conversation. "Call me when the... the... whatever starts." It seemed that the Vodka had won.

Eli had to chuckle at the outline Seth's head made on the ibar, leaning over to poke the cheetah in the side. No response--he was right out. Considering his options, Eli moved to stand--and was very quickly stopped.

You'll thank me later--it could have been worse, came a wry Elti's voice in his mind, her voice oddly echoing. And then he couldn't remember anything at all...passed out cold on the ibar next to Seth.

They'd lain there for some time before Melisande happened upon them, the pig Hyte tsk-tsking as she surveyed the two. "Welp, better remove the evidence. Moi shall make some calls..."

***

When Seth finally came back to consciousness hours later, the first thing he noticed was the unbearable throbbing headache. The second thing that noticed, even through closed eyelids, was that the lights were on overhead. This didn't help the headache any. "Turnthatoff," he mumbled under his breath, squeezing his eyes tight and turning his head away to the side. He was still too out of it to notice the fact that he was in a bed or to even really wonder where he was. My head... Was I hit by a truck or something? If the cheetah Hyte never tasted liquor again it would be too soon.

"Opps!" came a cheerful voice from above. "I'd forgotten--off they go!" The light dimmed considerably, though the windows were still letting in ambient midmorning light. "Wake up now...the sooner you start drinking water, the better off you'll be," Dacj added wisely.

A long groan came from off to the side--somewhat muffled by the fact the groaner's face was half buried in pillow. "I'm gonna kill her."

"It's not Elti's fault you were an idiot," Dacj said, sounding amused. "Next time you drink, remember to eat first. And drink lots of water. You know, the basics."

Seth's ears twitched a bit at the talking, but it wasn't until the lights were dimmed that he carefully squinted an eye open. "Dacj?" he said in mild confusion. Carefully pushing himself up into a sitting position, he finally noticed for the first time that they were no longer at the bar. "Where are we?" he asked, clasping onto his head with one paw. He never imagined that a hangover would actually be this bad...

"Still at Hytech, in the empty dorms. Missy helped me get you both down here; figured this would be the best place for now," Dacj said as she turned around, then back to face Seth, gently pushing a large glass of water into his free paw though not letting go until she was sure he was actually gripping it. "Drink the water, I've got food too. You two really made a right mess of yourselves, didn't you?" She really did seem amused by it all.

"I don't think you're any authority on drinking, Dacj," the kuppy muttered from his cot, still steadfastly remaining half head-in-pillow. "You're not even of age yet!"

"My body's not, but you act like Maxwell wouldn't slip me something if I asked," the kraken replied with a grin. "I'm overdue for growth, remember? I'm just taking longer than the others to get all the bits sorted out. I'm basically an adult by now..." She chuckled. "Mostly it's all on Missy's instruction, though, apparently she pitied you your foolishness. I think she's been through this more than a time or two if you ask me..."

It was probably wise of Dacj to make sure that he had been gripping the glass before letting go, for the cheetah Hyte was still quite out of it. He listened only partially to their conversation while sipping the water, for he was having trouble focusing still. So... Missy found us? Better her than some of the others perhaps, but it still wasn't too pleasing to have been found in such a state period. The only reason they had even allowed themselves to drink as recklessly as they did was because they were the only ones around at the time. "..."

"Come on now, Eli, you've got water to drink too," Dacj said pleasantly. "Don't look down now, you'll be fine." Her second glass of water dispensed to her groaning kuppy brother, Dacj came back to Seth's side. "All right then, ready for step two? Stomaching food? I have breakfast sandwiches."

Eli was busy muttering darkly into his glass of water and pointing his eyes skyward--honestly he'd probably care less about the tentacles at this point, what with his splitting head. Worse than a reaction-headache from his empathy, it was...

Stomaching food would probably be easier said than done. Regardless, Seth murmured a small 'thank you' to Dacj as he set down the water and accepted the sandwich. He took a small bite and chewed for a moment before swallowing and turning back to the kraken Hyte. "Do you know if anyone else happened to see us?" he asked, trying to sound casual. In reality though the news spreading of their having been drunk was rather appalling. The cheetah Hyte didn't really want anyone else to know about this incident.

"Hmm...I think just Missy really. Oh! And then Missy mentioned it to Mom and Mom hacked the surveillance tapes and then we watched them together this morning," the kraken said, a bright smile on her face. "You're both very amusing. Also, I am holding the tapes in case of necessary future blackmail, though I don't anticipate ever needing it~ You know how it is though; can't turn down a good opportunity for blackmail. Mom's got pictures of Dad in a dress, even."

Eli had gone wide-eyed at Dacj's ramble. "You--Mom--argh!" He tossed the nearest thing he had--which happened to be a slightly lumpy pillow--at his little sister. "There's more where that came from!"

"I'm terrified. I shall be fluffed to death," the kraken said, with a giggle. "Now eat your sandwich, Eli."

Seth paled visibly as Dacj rambled on. There had been a surveillance camera? And it had sound? Ohhh this day was just getting better and better. Suddenly a small wave of nausea overcame him, although it had nothing to do with the topic of conversation. "... Excuse for a moment." Stumbling awkwardly out of bed, the cheetah Hyte made a quick retreat to the bathroom. It seemed that his stomach wasn't quite willing to hold down food yet after all.

"Sorry!" Dacj called after him, though it wasn't clear what she was professing to be sorry about. She turned her gaze on her brother, crossing her arms. "Eat."

"After seeing that, I've lost any appetite I might've had," the kuppy muttered, putting the sandwich back on the tray on the simple nightstand beside the two cots. He caught his sister's eye, a questioning look in his heterochromatic eyes. "Really?"

"Eli, it's Mom. You know full well how she is. She even has a whole--" Dacj stopped, surprised. Eli was confused. Why was he confused? "You don't know, do you. How on earth could you miss..." She trailed off, shaking her head. He wasn't that thick, was he?

A groan could be heard from the bathroom. Pounding headaches and vomiting did not mix well. It was a few minutes before the cheetah Hyte finally emerged again, a pained grimace on his face. "If you don't mind, I think I'll hold off on the food for now," he remarked, forcing a faint smile. "Thank you, though."

The interesting task now would be somehow getting home... he knew the way just fine, but it wasn't that close by, and the sun looked awfully bright through the shades of the window. "... So did I miss anything else besides blackmailing footage?"

"Eli's an unobservant idiot, apparently," Dacj said, still stunned her older brother hadn't seen it. He could see through Shimy and he couldn't realize their mother had a mobile espionage van? That she probably harbored a secret desire to be some sort of spy? Dacj supposed that was where Noe got the action heroine part from... "That's not new though. Same old, same old, in fact."

"I am not an idiot!" the kuppy growled, though belatedly he realized it didn't improve his headache any, and put a paw to his temple. "Why can't you just tell me?"

Dacj shook her head. "Nope. I want to see how long it takes you."

"I don't think surveillance cameras are always meant to be noticeable," Seth remarked, figuring that the conversation was still linked to them having been recorded. He sat back down on his cot and his tail curled around to hang off the side of the it. "So... I'm assuming Mena got rid of the video after taking herself a copy, right?" After all, it wouldn't be very much blackmail if other people saw the tape as well.

Ignoring the still-protesting Eli now entirely, Dacj turned back to face Seth with a wry look. "She won't go showing it off to anyone else, if that's what you mean...oh. Well. Hmm. No, I think I can keep her from doing that." It had just occurred to the kraken that Mena might want to use it in some typical embarrassing function at the wedding, didn't a lot of wedding receptions have mildly shaming videos of the bride and groom going? Still, Dacj was reasonably sure she could persuade her mother out of that at least... For one thing nobody had embarrassing videos on Noe, and the kraken didn't see that changing anytime soon. No point in shaming one and not the other. Baby pictures were probably still fair game... "Also it's less the surveillance cameras and more of...eh, Eli'll find out. Someday."

"You're being infuriating," the kuppy muttered darkly.

"That's what little sisters are for, aren't they?" Dacj asked with a wide grin.

Seth was almost afraid to ask what it was that Dacj was going to have to dissuade her mother from doing. The cheetah Hyte was trying to think back to what he remembered of their little drinking experience. "... I don't think we did anything odd, right? I seem to remember something being said about a trampoline though..." He remembered it was something he had found funny, but couldn't remember what exactly. Much of their conversation was rather a blur.

Dacj looked very much as if she was suddenly struggling not to burst into laughter, and it was a moment or two before she could compose an expression of serenity, though she was still smiling widely. "Don't you worry about it a bit, Seth," she said, patting him on the shoulder. "Eli was the really silly one."

Eli shook his fist feebly in what seemed to be an attempt at a threatening gesture. "Tentacles or not, I'll get you--"

"How are you going to catch me while avoiding them?" the kraken asked, hand now over her mouth as she tried very hard not to laugh.

 

[elfgurl1234]

~A Hairy Situation~

[Hytech PRP] ... MENA! >O

Summary: While in the middle of some genetic research, Mena inadvertently creates a virus which transforms Hytes into their animal equivalents. Fortunately, aside from the kuppy family, most of the Hytes were away when this experiment went awry. Will they be able to find a cure before the effects become irreversible?