Welcome to Gaia! ::

“I slept really well...” This seemed to only make Maximos' smile stretch into a wider grin. It was a grin slightly reminiscent of the grin he wore before she fell asleep. His left hand moved across to his right and rubbed his cheek idly. She was thin, but then again he expected that...thus the food provisions.

In all honestly, he had expected less and that was not an insult on the rabbits culture. He knew first hand the effects of life leaf, most people exited their healing several pounds lighter and absolutely starving. He had half expected her to quite literally dive into the food, and end up wearing an equal or greater portion to that which she actually ate.

Salad first, natural. Every dish it seemed was laced with carrots in one way or another. Carrot cake. Carrot juice. Carrot pie. Carrot was chopped into bits and sprinkled on a salad. Carrots were placed in beef stew. Carrots were pureed and mingled in with shredded cheese. Carrots. Carrots. Carrots. But along side the orange spike vegetables other things were slipped into her food.

Calories. Madison had lost alot of weight. Vegetables alone cannot give the protein required to make up lost muscle or skin. Leafy greens did not rebuild bone. Carrots could did not give her fresh blood. Meat was on the table. It came in juicy steaks, roast chickens, steaming fresh fish, and even a few meats not normally found on the dinner plate in an attempt at confusing her into blindly eating that which smelled delicious even if not recognizable. Among these were frog legs, lizard tail, and several like rare delicacies. Maximos considered asking Walter to fry a spider or two...but Maximos never liked spiders and decided against it. Instead, some good old fashioned bacon and eggs were added, and every salad had its fair helping of bacon bits. Not to be confused with the sort that comes in a can, these were actual broken bits of freshly fried prime cut bacon. Madison did not need fat persay, but she needed meat or by the time she tried to stand up she would find herself to light headed to do anything other than fall back down, much less find herself.

“My Goodness! This looks amazing! Thank you...but...Who is Walter?” The question did not surprise Maximos as much as it perhaps should have. He simply under-estimated when exactly she would wake up. He gave her a bright smile, a silent "your welcome", not sure if she would hear the actual words over her eating. And then softly added.

"That, dear, is for later." Madison's first question appeared to be little more than a stopper in a drain and once it was out, the others poured out behind it like water gushing from a released hose. She spoke so fast, and while eating that it seemed utterly impossible for anyone to honestly have understood a word she said. When she finally paused, Maximos held no misconceptions that the outpouring of inquiries was anywhere near over. His smiling face showed absolutely no sign as to whether or not he had actually heard her, or simply smiled kindly and bewildered through the verbal assault.

And then he leaned forward and passed her the carrots.

“...Are you going to have any?” Maximos chuckled and waved his right hand. He half considered telling her he already had eaten. As creepy as it may sound, he could still feel her in him. Souls were like caffeine, they kept you fed and active and temporarily removed your need for other sustenance. Madison, however, was like cocaine. She provided all the buzz of a soul, but laced with a hyper streak a mile and a half wide. Maybe two. Maximos did not want to admit that a good portion of the cleaning done in this small house was done by him, at his behest, so as to work off the rush. But beside that, he also had a three whole steaks and so he said.

"No no, I already ate. This was prepared especially for you. It was not part of the deal, but I would consider it a very big favor to me, if you ate it anyway." She was eating as though this were her last meal. The irony was rich considering this was what was saving her from being a last meal. And she wasn’t going to stop, the hunger in her stomach only seemed to grow as she fueled the fire.

And yet, Max only seemed to grin at her.

For some reason, the rabbit was very entertaining to watch.

Max wouldnt dream of interrupting, he took occasional glances at his book but made no mention of time. Sometimes, one simply has to appreciate the little things.

Why was this so amusing? There really was no explanation for it but once Madison's hunger degraded from randomly picking at things and scarfing down throat fulls to steadily inspecting the spread, the act became infinitely interesting. He felt a bit like the individuals who write books about the behavioral patterns of animals. They had to sit for hours and observe and to the common onlooker that must seem so very boring but this...this wonderful. There was an amused smile split straight across Maximos' face which was made uneven by his very strenuous efforts not to break into an all out laugh. And then...

STAB.

The poor egg. It was quite dead now. There was nothing unusual about that, but when Maximos saw the surprised look on Madison's face he immediately donned an almost saddened face.

"Oh no. You killed it." He said with a theatric frown.
“...Oops.”
"Now you must eat it or else it will haunt you for days." He added solemnly, he even nodded in his most grim nod and made sure to look Madison straight in the eyes so she would see how serious he was trying to be. Her nervous laugh and timid smile were all he needed to know the attempt was a job well done. And then hunger overtook concern and Madison was back at it again.

Max looked back down at his book solely to give the appearance of reading and then looked back at her. Shoveling, stuffing, scarfing. Maximos could fix the walls, but the manners in this place were a mess. And then came the moment of truth, after her precarious inspection earlier the bunny had moved to the beef. A part of the Shadow felt bad for putting her through an experiment like this, but he simply had to know. Rabbit genes. Human body. But Madison poked the steak like she had never eaten, or even seen beef before. And then completely ignoring her knife she bit it. And all at once Maximos saw his folly.

Rabbit genes. Human body. Herbivore. Omnivore....with herbivore teeth. Biting through cow flank with dulled chompers was...probably near impossible. And yet, when he was about to give up on the attempt, Madison was not. She was putting alot of earnest effort into this bite, and eventually something had to...

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.

As the meat managed to separate a part, her chair went flying backwards. The small woman flipped over in her chair and landed on the ground. At which point Maximos lost all semblance of control over himself and broke into long, hard, belly laughs. His arms even moved across his stomach and he laughed, and laughed, and then laughed some more to the point that it almost made him tear up. This might have been rude, if not for the fact that young Madison was laughing as well. The humor was about simmer off and then, exactly like a bunny popping out of the grass, Madison popped up.

“I’m okay! Really! I am!” This...only made Maximos start laughing again. Not a mocking laugh, never that, but just a lighthearted and well humored laugh. Probably the first this cursed and dead land had heard in quite some time.

The laughter faded off when sitting down slowly, she held her stomach. The bunny did not seem to be enjoy herself. Her reaction was so fast it verged on the allergic. After the moment passing, she smiled and continued to refill her plate. Her hunger didn’t seem to die down. Maximos moved to slide what remaining beef there was on his plate over to himself and then said.

"Well, maybe I am a bit peckish." Waste not, want not. There was suddenly a fork and knife in his hands. "By the way, what do you think of your new coat?"

Maximos pointed to a coat rack near the apartment door. It held a brand new, scarlet red coat just like Madison's except that sported a few more pockets and seemed to be a bit thicker. Gesturing like so, the Shadow grinned and waited for a reaction.

Madison was hilarious. There werent many other words that fit the sort of natural and accidental comedy she bred. Madison wasnt trying, she was just being and thus was her natural being, and Maximos for the life of himself simply could not bring himself to anything less than a chuckle.

But, simply funny or just accident prone people are not the sort of people that usually draw in this Reaper's attention. A person, in order to really be noticed and accepted as something close to the Shadow had to be, or present something a bit more. Something deeper.

Laughter was good and well, and it faded as such things naturally do. Madison was as appreciative as appreciative can get...and then she stopped. Maximos' laughter stopped in cue. Madison slipped off her new jacket, and Maximos in turn put on a simple and yet proper smile. This was not a smile born of a jovial moment, but a prim and proper thing for formal engagements. And then she said it.

“Why...are you doing this?” And it was an innocent question, but it was also a smart question. Maximos was generally safe, but what sort of individual gives this sort of thing freely? In the world, in truth, most men only give when they want to receive. And most times the amount they give is only proportionate to what they receive in that, they always want something several times bigger than what they give. Maximos was not that man, but neither did he take offense to the woman's question. Instead his hands folded in his lap, his eyes stood softly on her and he let her continue.

“Don’t get me wrong, but I do greatly appreciate it Max. I can’t even pay you back for this food, or this jacket....I should be the one treating you for your help. You helped me through so much so much, I should be doing something for you!” She had real appreciation, she had a real honest sense of the world even amongst all that innocence and naivety. And so, the bunny presented something deeper, something Maximos valued more than he had words to express. Traits that were all but missing in this "modern" and "civilized" world.

“...Thank you.” She let a small smile fall on her face before she walked even more closely back to her own seat. At which point Maximos very cordially responded. "Your very welcome."

And then as she began to sip he continued. "In order to answer your question, let me instead present one of my own. You ask me why...?" Maximos' smile stretched warmly across his face.

"I ask you, why not? Why shouldnt a man with the means help out a friend in need? I doubt you'll find an answer. There is nothing you have that I want, and there is no need for repayment as I am giving this freely. Its just what friends do. Now..." He smirked. "While its in your hands, please do me the favor of pulling up your jackets collar and checking beneath it. And then, if you would. Examine the inside lining of the jacket, just around the neck."

If she followed through Madison would find two things. First, beneath the collar was a zipper that ran a circuit around the entire neck of the coat. If she unzipped it, she would find it filled with plush white...and completely animal free...fur. The collar was designed so that it could be turned inside out, and then be zipped again so that it transformed into a fluffy white neck.

Secondly, inside the lining jacket was a flap of fabric on buttons. If she popped the buttons young Madison would find yet another zipper ran an orbit around the inside of the jacket's neck. If she unzipped this, she would be assaulted with a sudden excess of thick fabric which had two large holes....This was a red hood, built into the neck of the jacket with two bunny holes. The furry neck and the hood able to be opened and used simultaneously, in more extreme climate.

Infact, it seemed that inside the jacket was a whole other set of thick lining on top of what it previously had to counter the cold. Although a few well placed buttons meant the lining could be removed for use in warmer weather. Underneath the lining were several hidden pockets. Just because. "Walter noted that your previous jacket, while nice, did nothing to protect you in the winter. I suggested that he improvise something new. I hope its too your liking."

Good. Very good, everything was finally in order. Madison had eaten and rested and even healed. Nothing stood between her and her destination...beside a horde of starving undead. But really, who was counting that? Not Maximos! The Shadow was smiling ear to ear, enjoying a job well done. After all, the only real pleasure on can get out of having alot is being able to give alot. And thats precisely what he did. It didnt matter how much food was left, all that mattered was that it was enough. And that Madison had seemed to especially enjoy those...whatever they were, he did not question Walter's methods.

And so there was Maximos feeling very good about the situation, and himself, sitting up straight with his book resting in his lap and his arms folded across his chest. On his face was a wide grin just about as innocently childish as Madison's own.

"Thats quite alright, Walter will handle the rest after we depart." Maximos assured the bunny eared girl. And with that he stood up, slipping his book into his own backpack...Had he had a backpack earlier? And slinging it over his shoulder. For a moment, something was visible at his back. A sheathed blade about 1ft long an 2inch's wide, a long dagger it appeared, and it was even with as well as attached to his belt. And then Max swung on his coat, and slipped his backpack over one shoulder.

“Now Mr. Max--”
"Your absolutely right Ms. Madison! A deal is a deal, and now that all the terms are complete its time to go!" And with that, he kicked his gun so that it flipped twice in the air and landed in both of his hands, and then he cocked it and checked its ammunition. Seeing it was full the rifle was leaned against his shoulder as he turned to Madison and very excitedly said.

"Alright lets move out!" Max was at the door, swinging it gingerly open and stepping through full of cheer!

"The night is still so young, we can slip by unseen! I dont know about you, but I just so happen to have a certain affinity to shadows myself." He paused, all the way in the hallway now with his foot holding open the apartment door. He was smiling. Alot. "Its a bit cold out, you had better button that up. I think your boot lace is undone. Come now."

Oddly enough, Max looked far too happy for his own good as she witnessed the neverending grin that was plastered on his mouth. It was almost contagious as she could feel her own face begin to form the crescent formation, and she didn’t even have any logic for it.



There he went with that Walter fellow again.

“Well, could you thank Walter for me when you see him?” Even though she couldn’t see him, she wanted to make sure that he got her full appreciation for it. But despite his reassurance, she did feel slightly guilty. All that hard work gone to waste, she only hoped that it was going to be taken care of. But something about that smile only said otherwise.

As she continued to sit, she watched the man suddenly sit up and prepare himself for what appeared to be an adventure. However, for some reason it seemed like her had many more items this time. First of all, there was a backpack that she could have sworn he had never had before and what appeared to be something on his belt. Both were things that she had never seen before till now. And then finally he swung everything on in such a graceful manner she could only sit looking rather dumbfounded. He was practically like a bull fighter as he twirled to place his coat on...



The rabbit practically stumbled out of her chair as he seemed overly excited to even get going. She held her jacket between her arms as she moved towards the door where he held it open just as excited as a small excited to go to a theme park of some sort. The rabbit looked out the door slowly only to see that despite how pretty the inside of the room may have looked, the outside was still full of decay and death as beforehand.

Her button nose cringed up slightly as she took a first glance at it. The smell was definitely a first major turn off, however it quickly changed into something more. The sight was definitely anything but welcoming to the untrained eye. The paint was peeling off the walls as the doors barely sat on it’s hinges. Hell, the floor didn’t look as safe as it did beforehand. But at the same time, despite the smells she could still see and feel the beauty that once lurked within the building. It was almost picture perfect, for them it was nothing more than their own wonderland.

A perfect start to the next chapter to their adventure.



“But...Zombies have noses can’t they smell?” She looked from the door and up to him almost curiously, she had a valid point. Even if they can go unseen in the pale moonlight, the two of them had quite a scent. Max smelt of soap and cleanliness, and Madison smelt of small prey. Both were definitely a excellent combination in order to get served up on a silver platter for dinner.



“Oh!” That was her cue! Quickly and not so gracefully she wrapped her coat around her body. Sure, getting the first arm was easy to get on, but it seemed that the second one was much more difficult. Reaching, she flailed slightly and tried running in circles by the door at an awkward angle.

Aha!

Once having the coat was surprisingly rather becoming on her as the white fur trim sat along the top of the jacket top. Quickly buttoning everything up, she quickly bent down to tend to her boot. However she seemed to do it in a very simple and childish way, almost mouthing the words to herself as she did it.

You take one lace and make a loop.
Take the other lace and make another bunny ear.
Fold one under the other and there you go!
Tied shoes.

It seemed that despite the lack of knowledge she did have of being young, there were a few things that did manage to stick with her. Next were of course the buckles that were on her smiling feet. This one only required a bit of work all things considering, and far less concentration.

With everything all set to head out, the rabbit stood and quickly made her way out of the doorway. Each of her footsteps were much more careful than the next considering that she had managed to fall through two flights of floors prior to this. Slowly, she turned around to face him and continued to move backwards with her steps.

“So...do you know where it is?” Perhaps this would have been the first major tip off for Max to realize a rather disturbing thought. If he hadn’t had met up with her, Madison would have probably ended up wandering rather aimlessly through the streets of the decaying town. And that was definitely no place for a lady, or anyone for that matter. However the good thing was they did manage to find one another, this time he was helping her. Just like how she had helped him previously last year in the hotel in Latent. To this day, she still did not fully know what he had been doing, nor did she know the cause of the blood source. All she knew was the fact that he was fragile during that period, and whatever he did he greatly regretted it with his being.

A monster or not...

This man was nothing more than her friend.

And that was something that she greatly cherished

“Well, I’m sure we’ll find it. After all, the night is still young.” She grinned. His smile was definitely contagious.

Swinging the bat over her shoulder, the rabbit made her way through the door as Max bowed before her as though she was some form of royalty. As she passed, she gave him a quick informal curtsy in return. It was rude not to return he gesture otherwise.

The building creaked as the two of them moved through the building, each of her steps were as cautious as the next. If they moved too quickly there was a small chance that it would collapse on itself. And honestly, she really wasn’t in the mood to get battered up again. She just got fixed up too! If anything, she was going to save the damages for something far more dangerous. After a short walk down the hallway there were two options for them to take, first there was a lovely set of rickety stairs for them to wander down with steps missing from having some of the locals fall through the floor, or there was an empty elevator shaft that had the doors ripped open and yet there was no sign of an elevator anywhere.

So many choices!

“Oh...I want that one!” Madison pointed at the elevator shaft rather enthusiastically from where she was standing. She seemed far too excited considering that it was an empty shaft, but her smile never faded. Madison was finally getting somewhere on her journey! Finally she was going to have the answers that she worked so hard for.

Jogging over (to allow Max to stay with her), Madison went up to the edge of the doors and took a look. Peer on the edge it was quite clear that the entrance to the front door was a few floors down at least. And once looking up, it was clear to see that the elevator was stuck a few floors above them. With a rather sneaky grin on her face, the rabbit turned for a moment an flashed him a smile. She may have not been the brightest crayon in the box, but sometimes she came up with some rather interesting and good ideas. With her hand, she reached forward to the cables dangling in the center of the small doorway and grabbed a hold of it.

Creaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak.

Nervously, she looked up yet again only see that the small metal box seemed to remain perfectly still. If it fell, she would become bunny goo. However, it seemed safe. With her hand still on the cord she than swung forwards as though to swing to face him, with her boots, she wrapped her legs around the one cord as though to provide some support before she tumbled down towards the ground. With her one free hand, she quickly laced her bat between the two wires. Once hanging in the balance of everything, she tossed him another soft smile. Despite how nervous she appeared, it seemed she knew what she was doing.

“See, you at the bottom!” With a smile she than took her grip off of the cord and grabbed onto the bat. Instantly, she slide down to the bottom as gravity began to take place. It almost seemed dangerous but at least it was fun!

Whoooooooooooosh~

Madison’s ears and hair flew upwards along with the bottoms of her coat. And all the while the rabbit was grinning. This seemed to be way too fun! And the real question was Max going to follow her lead or was he going to take the stairs? Whatever his choice was, she sure it was going to be good. However, if he was going to follow her lead, then perhaps it was wise for him to make a decision soon considering that the cords she was whizzing on wasn’t looking exactly like it was going to stand for very much longer.

Clunk!

Her feet hit the ground and she was standing at the door. Looking around the lobby she slowly witnessed what appeared to be a depressing sight. It looked as though it was the remains of a previous warzone. Dried blood covered the walls along what appeared to be the remains of carcasses. None of it looked fresh, but it all a rather disgusting picture before her. Letting go of the bars, she slowly took a step forward into the chaos before her. Her ears where on a full alert as they listened around the room for any sort of sound, it was hard to say how many more of the horde was left. Her grip tightened on the bat as she continued to walk...

And yet...

There was nothing.

Not even a sound, it was the sound of what was left of a post apocalyptic scene. And it was beautiful to witness...in a strange and interesting way atleast.

Madison stood for a moment and looked around the room.She was well aware that Max was going to arrive shortly after her, but for now she seemed to be listening for some sounds. Because for all she knew that instead of Max leaping forward to help her move on it could be another creature.

Her eyes were focused on the doorway leading out to the main drag now. Waiting...

And yet there was nothing.

No sounds of heavy breathing, no blood curdling screams, not even the sound of feet dragging against the cement. And what was even better there was no smell that one would associate with sanitizer...that was only a slight comfort. However, the lack of these sounds only caused the rabbit to fill with even more worry. Maybe the creatures had gotten smarter, and perhaps they were waiting to make their move.

Until...



“AH!” At that moment almost out of pure reaction Madison swung the bat to attempt to hit whatever was talking. Like her own species, Madison appeared to be slightly skittish, especially under the current circumstances. After realizing who she had swung to hit, the rabbit looked horrified, she had no idea that she almost (or had) clocked Max on the side of her face. Practically horrified she dropped the bat to the floor. There was no malice in her actions, he had just spooked her that was all. And because of it, she had probably caused more harm than done.

“Oh my goodness! Are you okay? Come here. Let me see!’” The rabbit quickly reached for his chin and pulled it close to her own face. Slowly and carefully as though a mother would tend to her own child, the woman began to examine the pale man’s face. He was a fir bit taller than she was, which only meant that he was forced to bend over slightly so she could stare at him through her own glasses. It seemed that despite how much she had suffered within the realms of GUARDIAN, she had learned a thing or two about basic first aid. Her hands were ever so soft and gentle as they little grazed his jaw bone. She was treating it as though it was a delicate piece of art, rather than a monstrous piece of garbage that sometimes lurked within the depths of Max’s souls.

“Well...I don’t think I broke anything...but it hard to say. Can you talk?” It seemed that the rabbit had gotten so worked up about his injuries that she hadn’t even given him a chance to speak. Instead, she was only watching out for his best interest. After all, someone had too when he was pulling stunts like he did earlier.

However, as Madison looked over the pale face her ears twitched. Not because they were itchy, but there was sounds in the distance. It sounded very faint where they were, and she highly doubt that Max could even hear it. But, her sense of worry faded into seriousness as her ears twitched with every sound. Before he could even start talking, her hand quickly covered his lips.

Something was coming.

She wasn’t sure what.

But all she could hear was the sounds of heavy breathing. And it wasn’t just one lonesome breath, but it sounded as though it belonged to a group. The only problem was, Madison couldn’t give details at that moment.

“Max...something is coming. Don’t you hear it...?”

After the man shook his head the rabbit turned her face so that she could look at the front door. It seemed that it was slowly making it’s way closer as though it was dragging itself across the dirt covered road outside. Turning her face back to him she had a rather sneaky smile on her face, it seemed that she was becoming far more excited to see what was around the corner.

“I’m going to check it out!” Max really couldn’t argue with her as her hand was still placed tightly against his face. Without any hesitation she removed his hand and began to wonder towards the door. Now if he was coming or not was really his choice, but she had darted off and wasn’t exactly being stealthy about it either. Instead of peering to make sure that everything was safe, she bolted with her bat in hand. At least she was going with some protection on her! Again, Madison found herself standing within the ruins of the city. Everything seemed so different now that they had spent the time within the relics of what was once was and may never be again. So much had happened within the last few hours, she herself was a totally different person than she was to begin with.

Her ears continued to twitch as the woman continued her search in the ruins around her, there was nothing. And yet... she could still hear something.

The heavy breathing practically echoed through her mind as she constantly searched for the source. From the alleyway, a rather large shadow covered the area. Slowly, it dragged closer to her and Madison’s face felt with fear. Perhaps, this wasn’t the best idea she had ever had. But then again, she really never did have great ideas. Holding her breath, the woman waited to see what was going to wait for it to turn around the corner before she made her move. If she acted too quickly, things there could be some severs consequences as a result. Between each of her heartbeats she could hear the slow sounds of death crawling closer to her.

Till...

“You poor thing...” Slowly, the rabbit moved closer to whatever it was and kneeled down on the rubble covered ground. If Max had even followed her outside it would be practically impossible for him to bear witness what exactly she was looking at. Perhaps all of a sudden Madison had developed a change of heart when it came to the hordes of the undead. But whatever it was, she seemed to act as though she was in no danger.

Before her appeared to be what remained of a dog of some sort. It was a large dog, possibly a German Sheppard. However it was very hard to tell what exactly it was when clumps of fur seemed to have been ripped off from its fur. On its neck a large bite mark was exposed and clearly it had been bleeding for quite some time now. The poor creature seemed to also have various scratches and other injuries as its paw was practically held near its body. It seemed that the horde that they had been encountering had managed to get a small tasty treat.

Small whimpers left the animal's lips as the rabbit began to slowly examine the injuries. As gently as she tended to Max's face prior, she had done so to the animal. It seemed, that her judgement was practically the same for everyone as she treated it as though it were nothing more than human.

“...What is it?” Madison looked almost confused. She had never seen such a creature before in her life. As she turned her head to pose the question to the man who she had accompany her she would not have notice some of the physical changes that the animal was going under. The whimper had stopped and was only replaced with foam and snarling from the mouth. Small clumps of hair dropped to the floor as though it were rain to reveal the animal's bear flesh.

It seemed that nothing was safe from whatever was causing individuals to change from humans to monsters.