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 Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:18 pm
 The bandages around Jabril's chest strained with every step he took, and he knew that the back of his coat must be stained with flecks of blood. Drugs helped to take the edge of the pain and keep him as active as he'd ever been, but they didn't change the fact that he'd sustained a major electric shock in his and Setsu's battle below the earth. It was a wake-up call. Since escaping his father, Jabril had become fat and complacent, pursuing wasteful side-projects and accomplishing absolutely nothing.
He was too weak. He needed power to survive, and he needed it now.
Thankfully, Jabril knew just where to get it. Though the genetic lottery had not been kind to him, there were plenty of kitsu out there with overwhelming gifts that they took entirely for granted. Kitsu who never felt fear, pain, or doubt. Ones strong enough to be immune to the predators of this world. If he loitered near the more populated areas of the Realm, he was sure to find one.
And then-
Ah, then!
Then he would make glorious progress. Lose himself in his work and let his mind soar somewhere where his power was truly infinite. Forget the bruises and the fear. Science was greater than any flesh-and-blood mistress, and she would never scorn him.
The biologist was forced to suffer through the comings and goings of several dull, ordinary breeders before he finally caught sight of an unusual-looking femme. Those mechanical wings, oh, those were interesting. Those could be useful.
Jabril slipped down from his camouflaged hiding-place and set out to trail his new quarry. He'd see where she was headed before he bothered to say hello.
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Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:35 am
 The mechanical bird had traveled to this place many times before. Of all those times, only once did anything strike her fancy. But it wasn't anything unusual, just a bunch of Kitsus meeting together and having a conversation. A pair of siblings and a fairly tall Kitsu of rather skinny stature. It was sort of unusual, but she did recall her savior had the same type of stature. He was tall, almost towering her, and he was skinny. Compared to him, she was fragile and tiny.
She actually wanted to see him again, though they were not the same people. It didn't matter much, she just wanted to see him...just to talk to him. He held some interest to her. Maybe because he reminded her of the one who freed her from her cage. Indirectly speaking, anyway. It was the government who allowed her to leave, he was merely her escort.
Mechanical wings remained folded against her sides as she softly padded across the dirt path. She wasn't really looking out for any dangers, nor did she anticipate any stalkers. Danger she was aware of, stalkers...the concept was alien to her. Light green eyes were fixated at the HQ. Perhaps she could meet those peculiar Kitsu again.
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Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:20 am
During the winter months Jabril would have been very conspicuous, but spring brought new frontiers and unexpected advantages. The dark brown of his coat and tails blended well with the green of his limbs, granting him a sort of natural camouflage. Jabril's only worry was disguising his bright orange hair.
To that end, he quickly laid down and rolled in the damp mulch, covering himself with as much dirt as he could. Keeping his tresses neat and his coat clean were hardly high priorities for Jabril. The world had come alive again, and Science sang her siren song.
The male trailed his odd quarry for several minutes, ducking behind trees and crawling through the undergrowth, before he realized that she wasn't likely to do anything informative without prompting. The femme appeared to be wandering aimlessly, wasting her unique biology on the ordinary business of meandering around. That didn't give Jabril any hard data at all!
He spent a long moment mulling over his options, then drew a vial out of the inside of his coat. High technology was hard to come by in the Kitsu world, but a molotov cocktail could be just as useful to the dedicated researcher as advanced synthesized compounds. In this case, he could use the missile to trigger an impromptu dexterity test for his new specimen.
Jabril balanced the vial in his paws and then batted it up into a tree full of migrating magpies. Wood burst into flame, and the flock exploded into action, squawking and screeching and flying every which-way, bearing down on Su's position.
It wasn't Jabril's intention to harm the Wing Specimen, since a subject with a compromised physique wouldn't yield accurate data. What he wanted was to force her to dodge.
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Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:11 pm
Her ears heard the strange noises before her eyes could see the flames. Green eyes enlarged as she saw the orange-red flames dance and speckle on the leaves. The trees were on fire! Plus the birds were all flying towards her direction. If she didn't do something fast, they could potentially harm her! These weren't the same mechanical birds she communicated through. They were alive and very much real. In a panic, they could actually harm her. Even if she didn't know much, her self-preservation instincts told her to dodge.
Pearl colored tails ducked low to the ground as her head tilted upward at an angle. Every part of her body was low to the ground, avoiding as much damage as possible. This was not a good time to use her mechanical wings. Using them would only damage them. It wasn't a total emergency, she could manage this on her own without the use of her gifts.
Her facial expression remained alert, yet rather calm. Don't panic. Panicing never brought about good results.
Relatively nimble on her paws, she ducked when the birds swept over her. When they came from the side, she merely jumped out of the way.
That was a close one! Just what sprung up that spark? It was still relatively small and contained. She could put this out, but the fact that it started in Spring of all times was most peculiar. If it was the fall or winter, she could understand, but Spring? Why, that's the most rainy and wet season of all!
Whichever the case, there was little time for those thoughts. She had to put out this fire before any more trouble starts. One thing always leads to another.
Her mechanical wings unfurled from her sides. Each individual "feather" spread out, like a pair of skeletal wings in a way. Without so much as flapping them, she took off into the sky. Floating required little energy, but putting that fire out may require a lot more.
The hose laying on the ground would do! She concentrated on the hose with its end attached to a sprinkler. It soon lifted off the ground with the water turned on. The sprinkler shot water in close to a 360 manner as it made it way towards the fire.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 7:44 pm
Jabril's gold-green eyes narrowed, and he congratulated himself for having the foresight to seek camouflage. It this femme could move a hose and cause it to start spurting water without touching it, then she likely moved herself by sheer force of will as well. He wasn't stupid enough to carelessly toy with that kind of power.
Not since he was a kit, and his exuberance had nearly gotten his neck snapped by that sanctimonious witch of an alchemist. The strong in this world existed to prey upon the weak, no matter how much they blathered on about love, filial piety, or noble intentions. That was the lesson his father had taught him, and the alchemist had re-enforced. Occasional reminders kept him alive.
"'Na bad, m'girl." The scientist settled back on his haunches and affected a slow clap, pounding his forepaws together. Such motions did not come naturally to him, but he'd seen his mother make them often enough to know that they were human. His lips stretched into a pleased sort of grin, and his tails lazily twisted behind him.
"But m'curious. Why th' 'ose? There's a brooke na half a k'lometer from 'ere."
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:17 pm
After the fire was put out, a sense of relief flushed over her. Good thing it was put out early, or else bad things might've happened. What if the fire spread, and ended up burning the HQ down? Some may end up blaming her, and banish her from ever entering the HQ. That would be rather dieasterous. If such a thing happened, she would never be able to interact with this outside world she longed for. Essentially, her freedom would be taken away from her once again. Of all things, she most certainly didn't want that to befall her.
Her ears perked up at the noise. "Who's there?" She questioned with alert. Why didn't that person make him or herself visible to her yet? Green eyes peered all around, unable to make out much at first. Just some bushes, grass and dirt all about. But once she focused some more, she could make out his coat. A long brown coat the length of his body. Then the orangey-green hair as well. What was his purpose standing so close to those bushes and dirt? It made it rather hard to see him.
"A brooke?" She questioned curiously, "What is a brooke?" The term was alien to her. Maybe if she saw it, she'd understand what he meant, but many of these outside world terms she didn't understand. She knew to use the sprinkler since they used to water the plants within her cage. An easy piece of technology. She could easily make the water turn on and aim the hose in the direction she wanted to. When she was still caged, sometimes when the sprinklers turned on she would move them to certain plants she felt needed more water.
But a brooke? What in the world was that? She could make it was a watery piece of device...but aside from that? Nothing else came to mind.
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:16 am
Jabril couldn't have cared less if that ramshackle old HQ burned down. In truth, he hadn't expected the femme to douse his fire at all. But he wasn't upset. His thirst for knowledge far exceeded the the urge to scrounge up some raccoon meat and roast it over the remains of that public hovel.
The smoke made him cough, and he had to pause before continuing.
"A brooke- ye know. Smaller th'n a river, larger th'n a stream?"
His brow knit. Could this kitsu really be so dense? Of course, she was wearing a good deal of clothing, enough to give the impression that she was used to covering things up. And a kitsu couldn't forge those metal ornaments. Which probably meant-
"What sort o' world did ye come from, then, tha' ye do'na have brooks lyin' about?"
Jabril shook off some of the dirt from jacket and padded away from the old, dead log he'd been using as cover. He was far easier to see in the clearing, without a layer of dust masking his movements.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:19 am
The world she came from was a very technologically advanced world. Little nature dwelled in her world, and when they did it was at specific locations such as parks, zoos, gardens, etc. Her cage had quite a bit of nature, but none of it was really "natural". They were all taken care of by automatic sprinklers, pesticides, etc. Each and every bit of plant-life was cared for by some piece of technology. Streams, brookes and most bodies of natural water was unknown to her. She lived a sheltered life, after all.
She chose her words carefully, not to let him into too much of what her world was made of. If she spoke too much, troubing things may follow. He didn't look evil, but it was best to play it safe. "A very technologically advanced world? More advanced than this world, certainly," she nodded lightly. What with teleportation machines and AI and whatnot.
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:41 am
Could Jabril really be dealing with such an innocent? Life seemed to have dealt this femme an easy hand. Oh, aye, she'd been ripped away from her old life and cast into the Realm, but kitsu were biologically superior to humans in so many fashions that getting transformed was hardly a tragedy. Jabril doubted that he would ever solve the mystery of how some bipeds were reincarnated as kitsusagi, but he liked to think of it as a form of selective evolution.
"I s'pose yui'll be lookin' fer a way back then, yeh?"
Jabril smiled and tossed his head. This specimen didn't have a clue. It was almost too good to be true! Once again, science had led him to the place he needed to be.
"T'willnae be that easy. But if ye like, I could show ye around this natural world o' ours. Ye could say that biology's m'hobby."
The scientist slunk forwards through the underbrush, slow and steady, as though he were trying not to spook a small animal. He was mad, not stupid. He understood that he'd trap more flies with honey than with vinegar.
"Ye'd only ha' to... help take care o' a few problems fer me in return. Na anythin' worth mentionin'."
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:22 am
In truth, Su wanted anything but to go back to her old world. She would only be sought after once again, and tragedy would more than likely befall someone who didn't deserve it. Her world was vastly different, but she kind of like it here. So much greenery....Back in her world, the only greenery she saw was within her cage. Even then it wasn't really real, as they were planted by the people who kept her there in the first place to "spiff" up the place a little bit.
She shook her head lightly, "Not really...I escaped, you could say." In actuallity, she was set free. Only so she could see the park her friend spoke of. The statue of her friend, the beautiful singer as she imagined her to be. After that she did escape...after tragedy befalled her friend's lover.
"But if you want to show me around, then go ahead. What did you want me to do for you, though? I can't do very much, so I want to be sure before you help me out. I wouldn't want to let your efforts go to waste," She nodded lightly and innocently.
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:09 pm
What Jabril needed was a lure. He was almost gleeful with hos easy this was proving. It was hard to keep the sparkle out of his eyes.
"Oh, na anythin' tha'll put ye out, unless ye ha' big plans." He raised his forepaws in a gesture of supplication. "I ha' this kit a' home, y'see. Found 'er on th'mountainside when she was a wee egg. Pairents run off. Verra sad tale."
Jabril couldn't claim to understand a lot about femmes. Most of the ones that caught his eye ended up being undead, or unbalanced, or totally uninterested in him unless he wanted her to carry eggs created with another male. But even he knew that girls liked children and adorable animals, and thankfully, he had plenty of specimens who could fit the bill.
"She 'as this constant 'unger. Cannae be 'ealthy. But if ye could watch o'er 'er while I do some tests, I think I could find a way t'help 'er."
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Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:38 am
She was a bit reluctant on following through now that she thought about it. It didn't seem like such a big deal, though she didn't really have a preference when it came to children. The only birds she ever saw weren't even real, and those were the closest encounter she had to animals save the Kitsus so far. She didn't take a particular interest in either, but she didn't really dislike them either. As it stands, they were both on neutral grounds right now.
Before she promised her soul away to the devil, she had some questions to ask. "Tests? What kind of tests? On the girl or...?" Doubtful eyes glanced over at the orange and green male in front of her. She was naive, but she was sharp in other cases. Just because she lived in a cage all her life didn't mean she was dumb. She wasn't a child who was ignorant of everything in the world. There was still TV, the phone, etc. Her friend from back home did speak to her about the world, filling in gaps about things she never knew of. There was no way she'd dip her feet into the water without knowing what lurked in the water first.
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Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:57 pm
"Fer the girl's sake, o'course," Jabril said smoothly. "M'the closest yiu'll find to a doctor in this place, unless ye place stock in th' kitsu who think they can cure things wit' happy pixie rainbow wings an' magic wands an' th' layin' on of paws."
He peered up at Su through thick orange bangs.
"I'll list off all th'bones in the chest if ye do'nae b'lieve me. Give ye a lecture on blood flow or oxygen m'tabolization."
The male sat back, brought his left forepaw to his cheek, and made a funny sort of tapping motion. It was obviously a habitual motion. It would have looked more natural if he were holding something. A scalpel, for instance.
"Tell me... d'ye ha' a role in this world?" Jabril arched an eyebrow. His tone was probing, but not unkind. "What d'ye do with yuirself? There're plenty o' kitsu who're content t'live an' die wi'out e're doing anythin' more impressive than breedin'. An' tha's fine, if tha's as ye please... but I find it feels better, gettin' somethin' more done."
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Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:33 pm
Dubious eyes glanced over at the other, he seemed to have good intentions, but that wasn't always the case. "So you're experimenting the little girl, right? I just wanted to confirm this before we started." She already saw her fair share of experiments while she was imprisoned. Over time the experiments stopped, but she never wanted to go through them again. Any small child sold out by her mother only to be experimented on would remember these things. The experiments they preformed were not easily forgettable.
Her head tilted to the side with curiosity as he asked her about her role. In her home world, she didn't have much of a role, either. Being the only four-leaf clover in the world was great and everything, but she never did anything. "But I just did something. I stopped the building from being burned down. I never had a real role back in my world anyway....So I don't see why this place would be any different."
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:27 pm
"No role in yuir world?"
Jabril's brow furrowed. He was used to other kitsu being opposed to his work, but-
"But there's so much t'see, t'do, t'investigate! Why, with yuir floatin' skills, ye could build a lab that'd rival some'aught it'd take me m'whole life t'build! Does'nae that excited ye? Get yuir blood up?"
The scientist waxed manic, a gleam in his eyes and a song in his heart, until he realized that Su wasn't playing along.
"Do'nae tell me that yuir one o'those bleeding 'earts that cannae stand fer progress. Do ye nae miss the wonders o' yuir homeland?"
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