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 Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 10:05 pm
Escape. Tau wasn't sure if she was able to swim and frankly didn't want to find out. She had hightailed it out of the tent faster than a meerkat into its hole and found herself further from the beach and closer to the tallest structure she could find around.
Typically you weren't supposed to go to the light, but . . . Well, this wasn't a tunnel. And she wasn't dying. Not yet at least.
Little Tau hunched over, puts her hands on her knees, and caught her breath from the flight. Did the others think she was a coward for running away immediately? Would they get out of the tent to tell her as much before they drowned? Well most of them were at least several inches taller than her or so - longer helps sorta helped the whole escape deal.
But for now she focused on the rhythmic sound of her breath, trying to reign her heart back to a more manageable pace; the hand creature had frightened her more than she thought. In, out. In, out. Tau became hyper alert to sounds as she caught her breath, casting glances about.
So much for dreaming.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 4:15 pm
"WAIT!"
Alpha's voice cracked as she huffed and puffed, struggling to catch up to the other person who'd bolted like lightning. She felt out of breath when she finally caught up with her, and she had to stop and put both hands on her thighs, bent down as her body heaved to catch her breath. It took an awkward amount of time before she could finally say something without wanting to throw up.
Which would be so gross in a helmet. Ew.
"I.. whew.. that was quite a run." She laughed breathlessly, and stood up straight. "So, okay, uhm. I don't wanna go through this place alone. I know we don't know each other but, mind if I tag along?"
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 9:51 pm
The shout made her pulse go from calm to panicky once again, and her fingers scrambled to locate the hilt of her dagger uselessly; the thick material of her armor showed its weak point as she fumbled. But a split second afterwards Tau recognized the figure's emblazoned A - Alpha. One of the nearly drowned ones she had helped up.
"Oh! You made it." While little Tau's voice was subdued (even sleepy-sounding), there was relief evident in her tone. Hopefully the, ah, attempt to find her weapon wouldn't put distance between them. Five might only be able to make it, but Tau wasn't quite willing to turn on a teammate. Not this early in the game, and certainly not when alone. Besides, this one didn't mention how she'd fled the team almost immediately, so there was some kindness in that. Tau had a feeling kindness was not going to be a common occurrence here.
Pitting people against each other sparked the beginning of a memory. Some sort of literature, where it was all a sport to an invisible audience. Was the false professor back in that school setting watching? Were there more of them? And was there popcorn?
Mmm . . . what she wouldn't give to taste something other than her sweat.
Approaching her, Tau extended a friendly hand and bobbed her head. "Safety in numbers, right? All I've got's a dagger and whatever's in this pack, but it's something right? I think I can shiv with this thing. Looks pointy enough at least." Hopefully her knee-cap buster and the nunchuck-clocker made it out, else Tau would have to make a new plan . . . "What'd they give you?" she asked, deciding she could at least start making a backup one.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 10:51 pm
Once she'd completely caught her breathe, she smiled up at the girl - ah, but she supposed she couldn't see that smile, could she? These masks were a pain. "Well, thanks for stopping!" She let out a big breath and paid attention to what the other girl - T, she had a T to identify her, so she supposed the girl was T for now! - was saying. Happily, she pulled her sack over her shoulder and showed off her own supplies. "I got the exact same as you! See, fate. Dagger and supplies, looks like. So I guess, we can uh, double shiv." She shuddered visibly and put her bag away. "I really don't like this whole idea.. it kind of feels like a bad dream."
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 11:20 pm
Had the mask not been on, Alpha could have seen her eyes brighten. "Really? Cool beans! We could be like . . . We could be the Twin Fangs!" she exclaimed. "'Cuz've the daggers and all. Or maybe Wolf Pack since you're Alpha? I dunno if wolves have a Tau though . . . Oh! Right, sorry. I'm Tau, but man I wish I was Omega, this would make so much more sense." She even sounded apologetic, like it was her fault for getting the wrong name.
She was acting childish, but honestly Tau grasped at what she could to make this enjoyable. Though she hadn't the slightest idea who she was, it felt right to act like a kid. Maybe she was younger than she thought? Or maybe she had never grown up to begin with. In either case, danger seemed best coped with using humor and creativity - better than dwelling on the fact that they had just seen a magical water hand try to drown them and would probably have to kill people pretty soon.
"Funny, I thought this was a bad dream too! Only I think my bad dreams let me have a chance and shiv things. Or wait, I don't think I get weapons at all . . . I think mine's more the ones that have me running and running, only I never get away. I die and then wake up instead've waking up before that part." Tau tilted her head up at the other woman, her voice growing soft. "If it really is a bad dream . . . can we run together?"
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 12:28 am
Alpha snickered softly at the nickname, and held her fingers out in front of her mask like fangs. "Rawr." She teased, before nodding quickly. "Twin fangs it is." She looked at the T again, and suddenly everything made sense. "Ohhh. Tau! Cool cool. And I guess.. I'm Alpha, huh. Sounds weird! I don't feel like an Alpha." She didn't feel like much of anything, just yet. But when Tau softly spoke, Alpha leaned in to hear, as if they were sharing some secret. Another nod signalled her acceptance. "Totally. We can watch each other's back! Four eyes are better than two, right?" It made perfect sense.
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 1:12 am
"Four eyes, two daggers, one team~ Go Twin Fangs, rawr!" she growled most ineffectually, grinning and mimicking the toothy gesture with both her pointer fingers before her mouthpiece. "I like it~ Thanks, Alpha." A unified force gave them better chances, right? Well at least if they named themselves they wouldn't be forgotten so easily . . . That was what frightened Tau more than anything, even more then the prospect of death.
Losing the improvised fangs, she pointed to the lighthouse not far from them. "I didn't really look at the map, but I figured higher ground might help. Least it's away from the water and the giant hand. Maybe we could spot a place to head that's safer from there?" Tau suggested.
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 1:31 am
Alpha delighted at Tau's response, hopping up and down as she got excited about it. "You're welcome! I think it suits us. After all, fangs are quick to bite, and we're the ones who got out of there first!" She thought of this as a triumph, and not abandonment in the slightest. ..And she hadn't even noticed the lighthouse until Tau pointed it out, if only because she hadn't taken a single second to look around yet. Wow! That definitely looked like the right place to be! "Good job, Tau! I think that's an excellent plan. Lead the way!" She saluted her partner like a soldier. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe they'd hole up in the lighthouse and wait until the game was over, and they'd win without having to shed a single drop of blood! That would be nice.
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 9:29 pm
"Yes, yes!" Alpha's excitement was contagious, and soon Tau was bouncing on her feet with accompanying giggles. "Thaaaaanku~" she cooed, curtseying at the compliment. "I try my best. Hope the others don't hate us for running though . . ." On whim she took the other woman's hand, feeling like a little kid taking her mother to some secret spot to hang out away from Dad. You know, for some girl time.
"I dunno about you, but even though my memory's all hazy and stuff, I didn't remember that fake teacher-person-guy mentioning water hands," Tau commented as they began to wind their way towards the lighthouse steps. "You think that's to keep us from swimming away? Hmmm. I doubt any've us could, not with these suits on. Fake teacher-person-guy also said it'd get 'explosive' if we took them off. Hmmmmmmmm." The way she said it, it was as if she was pondering over a riddle rather than a prelude to their deaths; you could almost hear the frown. "The weird names, the red uniforms, and texts telling us we're gonna die unless we're the last five left. Maybe . . . maybe it's a new gameshow for aliens on a different planet?"
"Outlandish" didn't exist to Tau anymore, not after she'd seen a hand rise from the ocean.
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 11:28 pm
"Tau?" a voice called, plaintive and inquiring. "Tau, are you there? I thought I saw you go this way, it's Iota, please, can I come with you?"
Iota herself came into sight a few moments later, picking her way cautiously towards the lighthouse. When she saw that Alpha had already caught up to Tau, though, she stopped. "Oh," she said, sounding disappointed. "I guess you've already got someone to come with you ... "
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 11:42 pm
Another voice, another jump. She clenched Alpha's hand reflexively and only recognized the voice a split second afterwards. Had the mask not been on, Tau's embarrassed look would have been obvious. "Hey, you made it!" she exclaimed, a mixture of relief and . . . was that some anxiety beginning to creep inside her? Iota sounded downcast for some reason. Did she think Tau had left her to die and had replaced her already with someone new? Wait, could one conversation matter so much? Man, who was she kidding - friends were made fast or not at all here. Funny how even when the atmosphere was morose and mysterious, little things like this could bother her.
Crap, what about Rho? Crap crap crap.
Tau beckoned Iota closer with her free hand. "You, uh, wanna join the Fangs?" she asked, putting a little extra pep in her voice as if that could make up for it. "Alpha and I were gonna check out the lighthouse, see if we could get a better look of the island. Safety in numbers, right?"
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 9:34 am
"May I?" Iota asked, relief clear in her voice. "I don't really want to be alone here. It's creepy. I'm not a chicken or anything," she added hastily, just to be clear on that point. She hurried to catch up with the other two figures.
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