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 Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 6:04 pm
Participants: |  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Midnight's bright, blue eyes glowed in the shadows of Pegalus's Buisness District, before blinking once and disapearing. He darted out and came to a halt behind a particularly large rock, peering out through the side. His face was slightly illuminated from the faint light below and he quickly ducked his head back, not wanting others to notice him. He appeared small when compared to the rock, and even smaller because of his protruding ribs and sunken cheeks. It had been a while since he had a good meal and he had come to Pegalus in search of a job. When most deemed him too young, he had grown desperate. After eavesdropping on a few conversations here and there, he discovered the location of the Buiness District and had come in hopes of stealing something valuable to sell later on. If his plan worked, he hoped for a few weeks amount of good food. If not, he would have to depend on his dark coloring and small size to help him escape. After another quick look, he decided the place was practically empty and creeped towards the buildings, hiding whenever he could. He would have preffered to just pick a building and be done with it but he was unfamiliar with the place and wasn't sure if there was anything valuable in any one of them in the first place. Reaching what looked to be a promising place, he glanced through the first window he came across to see a room that seemed to be buried in paper. Unless writing suddenly happened to become the most popular hobby, he doubted it would help so he slipped past it and mvoed on to the next building.
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 8:54 pm
Kaosu had always hated Pelagus.
The sunken city absolutely teemed with tourists and fools. Submerged under mind numbing gallons of water, the bustling town seldom saw the sun. Its inhabitants were ignorant and overly energetic. Even in the Business District, where science and reason reigned, the fantastic tableau was simply unnatural. Most Daruma did not have fins. Most would not survive without the dome that monitored the thousands of pounds of pressure that crushed the ocean floor. Their species was simply not meant to live in the sea. Why try to defy nature?
The main reason the tigris hated the area was that it housed a special CCorp lab which in turn housed many unpleasant memories. Time after time his job forced him to return to the shifty research facility that had served as his prison in younger years. It was unpleasant and inconvenient. And tonight was no different. His mood rather sour, Kaosu absently sifted through classified files in the back of the building, looking for some information on a daruma he needed to track down.
His brooding was shattered by nearby beeping. Surprised, he turned to the row of monitors on the wall behind him. Although crime in the region was uncommon, CC had installed an extensive security network to help hide some of its secrets. One of the cameras just outside the Genetics department had detected a trespasser. How unusual. Thankful for the distraction, Kaosu eagerly headed towards the disturbance. Maybe a robber had broken in? Maybe the vandal would be violent! Ohhh, that would be lucky.
Either way, he hoped the encounter would at least be interesting. Anything to break the day's monotony.
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 10:04 pm
Midnight glanced around him warily, getting even more nervous as the large building loomed over him. He had passed by many of them, only to find that most housed things of little to no value that he could see. It wasn't long by the time he found himself near the buildings by the edge of the dome, away from most. Obviously, he was inexperienced at thievery because, first of all, why would anyone put things of value in plain sight, even if most don't steal, and second, he wasn't exactly the stealthiest thing around. He was unaccustomed to the land around him and he had tripped often. Finally reaching an illuminated window, he checked to see if anyone was inside before scanning the interior. His eyes fell upon a cubical object which he assumed would sell for a high price. After all, it was shiny and encrusted with what seemed to be precious stones. They glittered and that was all that mattered to him. He gently lifted the window and was surprised to find it locked. He disposed of the measly thing quickly and slid the window open for him to clamber in, quickly snatch whatever it was, and get back out. He started back but halted suddenly a few feet away. Didn't robbers usually make it look as if nothing was out of place so it would take longer for the owner to notice something was missing? He ambled back to the building, careless now that he had what he wanted. All he had to do was close the window and leave. Easy as that. He could already taste the many delicacies he would get with the money the object would bring him and his mouth watered.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 9:17 am
Kaosu wondered what kind of trespasser would have the nerve to try to rob a CCorp lab. The resident scientists lived in dormitories inside the building; there would almost always be someone around to alert. Additionally, the company put much more effort into security than any of the surrounding complexes. It had locks, alarms, sentries, cameras, and sensors. It was clearly the most heavily guarded facility in the entire area. Wouldn't it be easier to break into one of the other businesses? After all, daruma were naive creatures. Those whom had nothing to hide put no effort into protecting their property. It would be child's play to make a pretty penny cashing in on their trust. Maybe this intruder wasn't interested in money?
That idea was extremely appealing to the tigris. If the stranger was trying to steal secrets, that would give him an excuse to remove whoever it was himself. It would make his week! Fairly excited, Kaosu cheerfully picked up his pace and entered the Genetics department. He had taken quite a while to arrive and was surprised to find his culprit... just outside? "Mmmm, not a bright one, are we?" he inquired lightly, climbing out the window himself. He eyed the cube in Midnight's grasp, clearly curious. Did the skinny thief know what was inside of that gaudy, worthless box? Or was he simple an inexperienced burglar who decided to swipe the first object that caught his eye? If that were the case, then why would he return to the lab? That made no sense.
"Now now. That's not yours. What do you think you're doing?" he sighed and shook his head. He acted more like he had stumbled on an ill behaved child than some criminal.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:11 am
Midnight placed the object he had taken on the ground and yanked at the window's edge, trying to close it. He was startled to hear footsteps nearby and as a result, the window was closed more on one side than the other and was stuck slanted. A soft gasp escaped him and he looked up to see a Daruma with what looked like an eye on his forehead and strange pupils. He reached down and gripped the object tightly, his brows furrowing slightly as he tried to think of ways to escape. Backing away, he looked around wildly, trying to keep his eyes on the other at the same time. His ears twitched and he longed to reply but instead he chose to dart back towards what he hoped was Downtown when the Daruma's head was turned away for a moment. Ignoring the other buildings, he tried to jam the box-shaped thing into his mouth so he could run on all fours. In his opinion, it was unsightly, but better to get his hands dirty and look stupid for a day than get caught. He managed to use his teeth to grip onto the uneven surface of the side with jewels, only to crash into a fence. Grumbling, he gripped the wire and pulled himself up, jumping off when he reached the top. He landed on his hands and feet and sprinted towards the flashing lights ahead. Once he reached it, he could hide between the many Daruma there, and then leave to another city. After that, all he had to do was sell the box. If anyone asked about the teeth marks... well, lying was always an option.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:12 pm
The culprit took a moment to react, and Kaosu used the precious time to get a good look at him.
The stranger had a pretty color scheme –black and dark blue with hints of white- but otherwise he had nothing going for him. He was thin, lanky and terribly malnourished. Obviously the tigris was no professional criminal. The most likely scenario was that the poor thing was starving and lived on the streets. Out of desperation, he had broken into CCorp and stolen the most expensive looking object he could snatch. Midnight had no luck either; he had selected perhaps the only target in the area that was laced with security cameras. No matter how far the boy ran, he could be tracked easily by the authorities. Additionally, he had made off with the one item in the entire Genetics Lab that could compromise the company’s… shifty activities. Inside of that tacky box was a data disc entailing some rather unethical tests that had been performed on Pelagus. The release of that kind of information would raise questions that they could not afford to answer. If he had thieved any other item, Kaosu might have let him escape.
As the robber bolted, the tigris grinned to himself. He had always enjoyed a nice hunt. Patiently, as though there was no hurry, he reached back to the window and switched off the silent alarm that had tripped the second it had been touched. It would get messy if law enforcement got involved in this particular incident. "Where are you going? Wait for me!" Kao called after his prey, breaking into a smooth lope. He, like most CCorp creations, had been built for Engaging and his body responded with surprising speed. Running on all fours came naturally for him and he managed to keep up with the troublemaker without too much trouble.
Kaosu chuckled to himself as he saw the other collide with a fence. The minor mistake allowed him to close a great deal of distance. Gracefully, he bounded up and scaled the chain links. When he dropped back to the ground, he noticed that his victim still was intent on fleeing. "You don't know what you're getting into, love," he hummed, lifting a sharp stone with his tail. "Why don't you give this up and come back? I'll take you out to dinner myself as a reward. No harm done. I rather need that box~" Aiming carefully, he lobbed the dangerous object at Midnight then resumed his pursuit. It would be a royal pain if his target managed to reach Downtown.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:11 pm
When Midnight looked back, he was surprised to see his pursuer was not far off and shortening the distance between them at an alarming rate. Frowning with distaste, he dug his fingers into the rough rock to slow himself before darting to the side. The projectile managed to scratch one of his ears somewhat before flying past and he held the box in his hands again to slip between some rocks. Maneuvering himself around some lofty outcroppings, he called back, "How about I keep this for myself and take you out to dinner for letting me go?" He was already gasping for breath and he wished his words would stall the other somewhat at least. Obviously, speed wasn't going to help and he tried to think of a way to outwit his pursuer instead. When he thought he was hidden from view, he wrapped his tail around the box and proceeded to climb the uneven stone in front of him, using every crevice he could find. He didn't think he was that far from the ground when his arms trembled from the effort. Weak. You're weak, he thought, trying to taunt himself into going faster. The extra weight on his tail didn't help much and he almost groaned out loud when he saw that the pillar about ten feet away from the one he was on had a chunk torn off the side that he could've hidden in. If he had gone there. But he hadn't, and he couldn't risk trying to jump. The sight of it made him falter and, feeling as if he couldn't do much else, he clung to the sides of the stone. He hoped his dark coloring and occasional whites would help him blend although, even if that helped, he wasn't sure if his arms could last.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:13 pm
”That’s such a polite offer!” Kaosu replied, slowing slightly. At this rate, he was going to corner his target. He needed to take care in case the desperate Midnight had some tricks up his sleeve. ”But I’m afraid I have to decline. Frankly, I’m not very hungry. I just thought that you might want a little snack before you get locked up…” He could tell that his prey was running out of steam. Unfortunately, the rascal was not quite done and suddenly twisted out of the way, slipping away between two boulders. How frustrating. The tigris had grown unusually large for his age and would have trouble navigating such a small space. Worse, his thief had disappeared. It would seem the hunt was not quite over.
Sighing, Kao halted before the rocks. "You're determined to make this difficult, aren't you?" He mustered his strength and pushed off the ground, leaping to the top of one of the shorter obstructions. He did not quite make the jump, but he managed to dig his claws into the stone and climb over the edge. From his better vantage point, he glanced around, surveying the terrain. And then he spotted movement. The other daruma was above him. He had attempted to climb the taller pillar and was now trapped. Kaosu could not reach him, but all he had to do was wait for him to come down.
"You know, most rocks don't have blue and white streaks."
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 7:03 pm
Midnight might as well have bashed his head in repeatedly against the rock for all the worth it was. Of course. He shouldn't have assumed all rocks would be like the ones he was used to. "Well... they could." he muttered, gritting his teeth. Now that his location was known, he wouldn't have to cling to one side anymore so he stretched his arms around the pillar. The stone was too wide for him to grasp his other hand and his fingertips barely brushed against each other but hugging it was still easier than gripping. He pressed his head against the cool stone, wrapping his legs and tail around, too. Maybe the Daruma below would get bored or something and fall asleep. Yea right. His breath came in ragged gasps and he wondered why there weren't any police coming. Surely his pursuer had enough time to contact one. His arms were slick with sweat and slowly, he started to slip down, although he didn't realize it at first. When he did, he was so surprised that he lost his grip. He cried out as he fell, dropping the box and waving his arms in a feeble attempt to control himself. Luckily, he had managed to slide down most of the distance and only bruised himself. The air escaped his lungs in a soft oof when he collided with the floor and he slid away a few feet. The box flew from the impact and rolled to a stop by Kaosu's feet. Muttering to himself, Midnight lifted himself up, rubbing his head. He eyed the box and glared at Kaosu as he got to his feet, preparing himself for what he thought would be a fight. He didn't think there would be much of one but at least he would go trying.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:20 am
Kaosu watched Midnight's desperate attempt to hold on with mild amusement. Shrugging, he conversationally replied, "Well I suppose it IS possible. I'm afraid that is not the case at the moment though..." He was not complaining, however. It would have proved quite annoying to hunt down a single individual in the crowds and clubs of downtown. Smiling mockingly, he shook his head. "It's quite a shame, isn't it? You've had suck terrible luck tonight. You might have given me a run for my money if you had used your brain." Stretching, he sat down on his rock, waiting patiently for the other tigris to slip. As he observed, he nursed an interesting new idea in his mind. This stranger had the nerve to steal from CCorp. This stranger was quick and somewhat clever. Best of all, this stranger was desperate.
The red daruma was an expert at spotting opportunity, and now was no exception. Taking advantage of a situation such as this could help him... get ahead. Starvation, after all, was a wonderful bargaining tool. When Midnight rather comically fell to the ground, Kaosu lazily retrieved the dropped box. He twisted the lid and gingerly pulled out a data disk. Abruptly he snapped the device in half. Casting the item's worthless container aside carelessly, he rounded on the exhausted Midnight. "You've wasted quite a bit of my time tonight, sir. Don't think I'm going to let you get away without a little payback..." The large male smirked insidiously and popped his knuckles. The other braced himself, clearly aware of his plight and what was coming. "Of course, there's more than one you can make this up to me. If you're at all interested."
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 7:56 pm
Midnight's eyes widened in surprise when Kaosu threw the container back to the floor, and he glared at the Daruma. He still thought the box was of some worth, and thought the Tigris had only done that to taunt him even more. He took a step closer, searching for a chance to once more retrieve the box, but could find none for the moment. Kaosu was still closer to it. Noticing it, he backed off as Kasou started speaking again, closer to the numerous pillars behind him, hoping to lure him closer. Then, he would circle around, take the container, and run downtown. He was sure he would find more cover among the bustling crowds.
He stopped, though, at the Tigris' latest words. Pricking his ears, he said, "I'm listening." and leaned a bit forward so he wouldn't miss anything. He still hadn't forgotten Kaosu's previous offer on dinner, and there might be a chance for him to escape, too, depending on the circumstances. All he was doing for now was stalling, seeing as he lacked other, more desireable options.
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