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 Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:09 pm
Madison had taken a (thankfully dreamless) nap on a small cot, then woken up. She'd methodically washed her face with warmed snowmelt, gotten as cleaned up as she could, then picked up a cup of soup and retreated to the edge of camp. She settled down against the rigid end of a tent just beyond the cracking protection of the barrier daggers. Her breath made a white plume in the air, and it was cold - especially after the Sahara - but she was loathe to go inside again. Too many people. Out here, she could think and process and... just be for a while.
She pushed up a little snowman with one hand, and gave the thing a thin smile.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:13 pm
Jerry had no idea what had just happened, but someone had tossed him out in the snow. He fluttered, and nearly lost the glasses perched precariously on his... beak?
"W-wark?" He managed, staggering forward a few steps... where.. where on earth were his legs?? What the heck was... He blinked upward, spotting the familiar face of Maddie sitting not too far away in the snow. Oh thank god, a familiar face!!
Staggering forward in a wobbling waddle, he tripped over flippers to slide the rest of the way on his bell, stopping in a pile of snow at her feet.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:15 pm
Madison had just been taking another slow sip of soup when something moved. Instantly, the cup of soup was in the snow, warm liquid crackling and steaming as she summoned her weapon and-
... omg.
omg
"You're a... you're a penguin! Oh my god, you're so cute!" She stared in wonder at the little creature, Kouki vanishing back into his unsummoned form (and grumbling a bit about the rapid change). "I'm sorry, mister penguin... miss penguin? I didn't, like, mean to scare you. I'm just on edge, and stuff, you know?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:23 pm
"Wark-ark?" The penguin said, wriggling in terror in a sad attempt to get back up to his feet. Hell, oh hell, he had dropped his glasses, not that they were of any use- but how was he expected to put them back on again??
The particular bird looked like it had already hit a few rough patches already in it's little birdish life, scrawny and gangly with dark burn scars across it's shoulders and back through the oily feathers.
"Warrrk ark ark!" He quacked frantically once upright, wriggling his flippers as best he could to gesticulate towards the tent, but coordination seemed to no longer be his strong point.
With a disgruntled beakish snort, the bird bobbed it's head, plucking the sand-damaged glasses from the snow to place them on her foot.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:02 pm
It had... it... okay, the penguin had glasses. Okay. Maybe these penguins were tamed Deus penguins or something. It would be just like the Life Division to give prescription lenses to penguins. "Um, please don't bite me," she warned the penguin, then gingerly picked up the glasses and shook the snow off of them before holding them out, trying to balance the bridge on the beak.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:11 pm
Robert snuck up behind Madison, tiptoeing to keep from making too much noise or any tracks in the snow. He loomed behind her, waiting really creepily and watching her, in hopes she would do something embarrassing.
Or, you know. Something sexy.
Either way, he was totally taking advantage of this invisible thing.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:14 pm
The penguin groaned in exasperation, giving itself a frustrated shake.
Okay... okay, so... so he was a penguin. People in the labs knew, they had mumbled something distantly about it 8wearing off* so... so that was good, right? Just... ride it out. With a little quacking grunt, he flopped in the snow, chin resting on her knee.
Maybe at least she'd find him a fish, which, for some reason, sounded really good right now.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:29 pm
"Awww!" Madison practically melted. Yeah, these birds had to be tamed. Probably, they were someone's pets or something - she could just see some of the wackier Life Hunters training penguins in their spare time, just for shits and giggles when nothing was trying to murder them. When the penguin flopped down on her knee she tentatively reached down and scratched at its head-
...
She felt like someone was behind her.
...
"Oh. Hey, Robert. Dude, check out this penguin! Isn't it precious?!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:05 pm
Robert assumed that Madison must have thought he was back in the tent, and was calling out to him. So he ignored her completely and loomed even creepier, almost breathing down her neck. It was clear, if Robert ever did become an invisible superhero, he would end up being the seriously creepy one.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:38 pm
"Wark?" The penguin sat up again, glowering up at Robert incredulously. He was there when it had happened! Oh, come on, Robert, throw him a sardine here! Wobbling uncertainly on his webbed feet, he waddled around Maddy to try to n** at his ankles, nearly losing his glasses again in the process.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:59 pm
Madison scooted forward abruptly, coming up in a crouch and turning to face Robert directly. "Dude. Stop acting like a creeper-" Oh god, he was acting weird, wasn't he? Was he...
Oh god. The nightmares bloomed in her mind, visions of her friends taken and twisted and- Shaking, Madison summoned Kouki for the second time in five minutes, this time putting one hand on a hilt. "Tell me your name," she grated, her body radiating tension. "Talk."
Part of her appreciated the penguin, but most of her was focused on please don't be a sack full of bugs wearing Robert like a coat.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:05 pm
There was no denying now that Maddie definitely saw him, and he slumped in complete disappointment. "How the hell- how can you even-"
A lightbulb went off above Robert's head, then flickered, and then exploded. Robert looked at Maddie with wide, awestruck eyes.
"Oh my God Maddie, you got superpowers too.. you can see invisible people."
Not as cool as seeing dead people, but.. you take what you can get.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:14 pm
The penguin gave a little huff when Robert barely batted an eye at his pecks. Fantastic. His beak swiveled up to Madison with what he thought was an irritated look, but mostly looked like a slightly clueless birdly expression.
"Wark." This translated, roughly, as 'Oh my god, Robert.' Had he gone for medical testing as well? Hopefully they BOTH would wear off before trouble brewed.
For a moment, he wondered if he could even summon his weapon while like this, and the mental image made him ruffle his feathers.
One thing was for certain- there was no fish in his future here. With a fresh grunt, he turned to waddle away through the snow.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:21 pm
Madison relaxed, though she didn't unsummon her weapon quite yet. "Geez, Robert - like, duh, of course I can see things other people can't. That's kind of why I'm here- oh, oh, penguin, I'm sorry, come back-" She hurried over to keep pace with the penguin. "Look at it, Robert, isn't it darling? It has little tiny glasses and everything! I bet the Hunters here keep 'em as pets."
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:46 pm
Robert had a blind eye for animals, and when Madison finally pointed it out, all Robert could see was kickable thing. Jerry should have counted his blessings that Robert had been ignoring him until that moment.
"You want one?" He asked Madison, moving away to try and sneak up on it. "I bet it can't see me, I could catch it for you.."
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