359 replies to this topic

[Fujoshi Otaku]

Timmy beamed again, pleased with himself. Then he tilted his head to the side when Jayjay introduced herself, and announced they were lucky to still have friends. "But...Jayjay has friends too," he replied, sounding confused, and pointing to himself, Yuui and Kurogane. "See?"
The three listened as Jayjay spoke, Kurogane already aware of what Yuui was thinking. It was always the same. When someone needed help, like Jayjay did, if she was going to continue surviving, Yuui always wanted to be the one to help them. It was just the way he was.
Kurogane almost felt guilty when Jayjay pointed out that they had it much better than a lot of people, because he could teleport.
Yuui's expression fell into one of concern when she mentioned bad things happening to healers, thinking about Grace.
By the end of Jayjay's story, Yuui looked as though he had just received the news that his mother had died, Kurogane was frowning with sympathy, and Timmy looked more confused than ever.
Before they could say anything, though, Jayjay continued, and Kurogane raised his eyebrows. "You already trust us that much?" he asked. For all Jayjay knew, this could be a new cannibal tactic. And, they didn't know that much about her, either. But, of course, he wasn't going to refuse to help her.
"See, even she can see you're just a big soft puppy dog," Yuui teased. Then he smiled again, and patted Kurogane's big, muscly chest. "She has a point."
Kurogane scowled. "I swear, I'll kill-!"
"Not when we have guests, Kuro-tan~!" Yuui continued sweetly.
Putting his hand to his forehead, Kurogane sighed impatiently. "Sure...You can stay with us as long as you like."
"Yay!" Timmy exclaimed happily.

Fay narrowed his eyes at Gabriel again. "Are you planning to take us with you?" he asked, his voice beginning to shake now. "Because I'm not leaving here...You can take him, if you like." He pointed at Justin. "But Jessie and me are fine where we are. We don't need you people interfering!" His hand had closed around the flint again, almost automatically. But, when Gabriel offered them food, he let go of it again, and slowly, grudgingly reached forward to take a piece. Despite their small breakfast, he was still starving, and knew he would just be out foraging again the second Gabriel left. At least it would save him a little work. "...Thank you...But, we're fine. It's great you're helping people who need it...but we don't. And, if it's an interrogation you're looking for, it will be long and boring, because I have nothing to tell you." His tone became cold as he added that last sentence, and he frowned at Gabriel. The guy probably didn't trust him much, either, but he didn't care. It was better that way. If people didn't trust him, they would stay away from him. That's what he wanted.
But then, Gabriel had to add the last part, and Fay looked down, trying to keep the guilt from showing on his face. "They lived because they're strong," he muttered stubbornly. "You just helped make them stronger..." His voice trailed off, and he grimaced.
"Am I supposed to be sorry?" he asked coldly. "Am I supposed to be eternally grateful?...And, maybe it did-" He stopped again and looked up quickly. "Is Cross...?" he started, not really needing to say the last word. He was so terrified of how many of them could be dead now because of all this, that just the word 'existed' made him feel a hundred times more guiltier than before.
But, at that moment, the fox pup began to growl again at something, and Fay tried to look past Gabriel to see if he had been lying about being alone. And he saw them. A whole pack of wolves waiting outside. "Oh no..." he breathed. They had faced animals before, but not in such a large number. These wolves must have traveled to the forest because they ran out of food where they had been living before.

[Phoenix]

Grace smiled back at him. "Which definitely makes you a wimp, seeing as you did cry." She teased him.
She looked at him when he looked away. She had the distinct feeling he was undermining the difficulty of the task she asked him to do frequently. "Whatever you say." She replied in a mockingly complacent way. Then she smiled. "Definitely better than those who whine about not having anyone brining them food."
The people in this town were lucky. Having been beside a forest, there was plenty of hunting ground. The people also knew eachother well, and being such a tight knit community meant that they hadn't had to resort to Cannibalism and that people protected each other. That was the only reason Grace, Adam and Liam were still where they'd started.
Grace sjhook her head. "Maybe we won't. But maybe the world can become a better place."

[Yandere✯]

Jessie grabed onto his blond hair with both his hands.."Im gona loose hair?!?" He squeaked, checking to see if his completely full head of hair was still there, which of course it was, and thicker than ever.
All thought of his impending old age, and ruin of his good looks went out of his head as a voice spoke at the door.

"Personally though, I wouldn't say you look at all that bad for thirty."
He blinked staring at the military man, with the same expression of confusion.
Another person..? where were these people coming from, He didint mind people,but just now...all at once, it was a bit overwhelming, he wasent alarmed until fay grabbed his skinning knife, and held it up defensively..When Fay reacted he would..
He shot out, and grabbed the first thing that he could find, that could be used as some type of weapon..and that happend to be the Axe, that they used for wood, dull with hardly any paint on it anymore..still it was sharp, and could rend flesh if it was thrown hard enough.
He held his finger to his lips in a shhhing jesture at justin, indicating the quiet when the adults are talking rule.
Waiting while Fay, and the new comer conversed, both of them-Mainly fay- seeming a bit stand offish about what the operative was doing there, even acusing the man who in Jessies opinion 'Talked funny' Of haveing somthing to do with the mans apearance.
When the man brought out food, Jessie let his Axe fall, coming farward to snatch a bit of dried meat, popping it into his mouth eagerly, forgeting to say thank you. chewing the tough stuff with a funny expression on his face...it sure tasted good but it was damn hard to eat...Well if strangers brought food, he didint care where they were from or what they intended to do.

(stranger danger Jessie..dont forget..dumbasss )

When he heard the snarls, he darted forward imidatly to shut, and bolt the door..Not that that would keep them out for long, but it would buy them some preparation time, for the attack..
He could see them out the window..that was more wolves than there had ever been here, and they were big..like wolves didint used to be..great.
There were scraping sounds, nails against wood, as the wolfs pawed at the heavy wooden door, their snuffling, and growls could be heard clearly through the door.
As the first wolf broken through, barging the door open. Jessie threw himself forward burring the Axe, in the creatures scull with an audible 'thunk', and blood flecked his face.
He pulled it out and stepped back, to stand in front of Fay protectively as the rest of the pack started to squeeze their way into the house.

[Fujoshi Otaku]

{Oh, Chatzy is working now. @ Vicnet.}

"My eyes were watering from the allergic reaction," Cody insisted, smiling again. Then he heard Grace's tone, and he looked at her, wondering whether she was becoming skeptical about his ability to find her friends. "Honestly," he insisted. "I'll find them soon."
He rolled his eyes at the thought of those idiots who refused to adjust so they could survive long enough to help the resistance. "Good, I'm tired of those people."
The last thing Grace said made him think. Maybe it would be better if humans learned something from this, but he doubted a lot of them would. "That means I can't have anymore pets, doesn't it?" he joked. Then he hesitated.
"Should I...Should I try to contact them now?"

"What about David?" Fay tried to protest, as Jessie closed the door. But, too late. He tried to get over to his chair, but before he could reach it, he heard the sound of the door being broken down, followed by a sickening thunk as Jessie managed to kill the first wolf. And now the others were following. "I don't think we can fight this many," he whispered worriedly, looking past Jessie, Justin and Gabriel to see the wolves forcing their way inside.

[The Oro]

Gabriel swept up his pack and compound bow as he shot up to his feet, pulling his mask back over his head. As Jessie barricaded the door, another wolf began to find its way in through a window. Gabe drew his first arrow back and sent it flying into the canine's skull. He waved them back from the doors.

"I don't think we can fight this many."

"Agreed. Back door. Now. Let's move!" He rushed to the back, booting the door open and flooding the room with a blind of snow. He checked the clearing, scanning it with his bow before waving the others to follow. "I got a place not far from here."

He took point away from the mayhem, not looking behind them to see what was in pursuit. Claire, I'm coming in hot with three survivors. Get ready to fight and have Adrian ready to jump us back as soon as we're in range. It was always a one way conversation, calling back to his telepathic messenger. It was better than risking being heard by using a radio but he never gets an acknowledgment in reply. He had faith in Claire though. She was a full-blooded abnormal with no ICC tweaks. She hadn't let him down before, he didn't expect her to this time.

[Hyena.]

"Aaahhh, feck this!" Justin grabbed hold of Fay, who grabbed Jessie, who grabbed Gabriel.
And nothing happened. Justin's shadow flickered, disappearing and reappearing simultaneously, but otherwise they were still in the in the snow, still running from some still hungry wolves.
"Now?!" Justin shouted in exasperation. "Really?!"
He shoved his hand into his pocket, coming back out clutching his grandfathers straight razor. He flipped the blade open.
"Whatever y'r gonna do, soldier, do it fast." He called out, watching the wolves slowly break through the back door.

---------------------

JayJay grinned and fist-bumped Timmy. "Guess I do, little buddy."
She turned back to Kuro, sighing. "Honestly? No. But I'm running out of supplies and there's strength in numbers." She packed away her mugs and canteen.
"And you don't trust me either, and I figure that's safer than a party that does and a party that doesn't." She sniffed, and smiled when they agreed.
"Thank you. You won't see much of me, I promise, I'm usually out scavving during the day, and I sleep in..odd places at night. Safer that way."

[Phoenix]

"Yeah right." Grace replied, smiling. Then she looked into his eyes, and smiled encouragingly. "I know you will. Just don't exhaust yourself in the process."
She smirked at the idea of men walking around in designer suits that were incredibly scruffy, but the men wearing them walked about, just as pompous as the day they first wore the suits. Then she chuckled. "Pets would be the wrong word. Friends would probably appease them more." Then she nodded. Remembering he need something that reminded her of him, Grace took off her necklace with the shell on it, the leather cord stained heavily with red and blue blood.

To cheer Liam up, Adam took him out on the field, and the two were kicking round an old football. Adam kicked the football, and it went into the forest. Adam was about to get it, but Liam went instead.
Liam stooped under the branches, pushing some out the way as he went. Suddenly he went round a tree and spotted a couple of men, both with long, tangled hair that clearly hadn't been looked after properly for the last year or two. Not that Liam's was exactly pristine. Before he could do anything, the man jumped and sank his teeth into Liam's arm. Liam yelped in pain, and forced the man to release him. Before Liam could do anything else, the man pulled a switch blade out his pocket. "You're a normal, right? There's a healer in your town, and I need them, now." The man's voice was urgent, and Liam, who could have just killed them with his flames, decided not to, because there was genuine concern in the cannibals voice. So he nodded meekly, and led the way out of the forest.

[Yandere✯]

Jessie dropped the Axe, as the wolves clawed through the windows, and even more came through the now broken door,and used his arms for a more productive reason, scooping fay from the ground, and running through the house with the wolves hot on his heels, one snapping onto pajama pants leg, making him have to kick the creatures eye hard enough to crush it, before it would let him go.
When he reached the back door he had no hesitation in running out bare footed onto the snow, fallowing the operative, which was apparently turning out to be their savior.
Though he had left everything else he owned in the abandoned house, he still had the mind to snatch up Fays blanket along with him, which, while he ran, he tucked around him,keeping him at least a little less cold, neglecting obviously all of himself, like he usualy did, with no shirt, or shoes on, he was going to get frostbite if they didn't go wherever Gabriel said they were going, quite soon.

The wolves hadn't fallen far behind, and they were snapping, and snarling, sounding far to close for comfort..
"F-fay..Put up a barior or something, just..long enough for us to get wherever this guy is taking us."
He usually didn't ask fay to use his powers more than he usually did to move himself around, because he knew it toke a physical tole on him as well.

[Fujoshi Otaku]

Fay's worried expression turned to one of horror when Justin failed to teleport them out. But, the next second, he was lifted off the floor by Jessie, making sure to bring the sharpened flint with him, just in case. He buried himself against Jessie's chest, more to try to keep Jessie as warm as possible, than because he was scared.
As the blanket was wrapped around him, he used his power to send the flint flying back into the skull of one of the closest wolves. "How far do we have to go?" he asked Gabriel, concentrating to move the snow around them, and make it spin around them, the hard snow hitting most of the wolves back, but some managed to break through.
Those wolves tried to block their path, and control the direction Jessie, Justin and Gabriel were running in, snapping furiously at them.

Timmy giggled again, only half listening to the rest of the conversation. As long as Jayjay got to stay with them, he was happy.
Kurogane nodded. At least Jayjay had the right attitude. "Well, there'll be time to gain each others' trust," he replied. He just nodded again at the last thing she said. "And, if you decide there's somewhere you want to go alone, I can get you there-"
"As long as it isn't on the other side of the world," Yuui added. "We ended up in the middle of the ocean when he tried that."
"We did not!" Kurogane snapped at Yuui's joke.
Yuui just smiled back at him innocently. Kuro-tan's so cute when he's mad.

Cody smiled. "I promise I wont," he insisted. As he took the necklace, he thought about the 'pets' thing. "Friends sounds nicer," he agreed. Then he closed his eyes, and tried to concentrate. A thought flickered into his head momentarily, the thoughts of Liam as he followed the ball into the forest. Then he felt the thoughts of someone on a ship, much further away. Silence. Then, the thoughts of someone else. One who he had almost got twice before, but never had enough energy to finally contact.
...so cute when he's mad.
The concentrated frown on Cody's face deepened as he tried not to lose the person.

[Phoenix]

(Happy New Year)

Adam froze when he saw Liam walk out the forest flanked by two men, both of whom looked like they'd given up on hygiene a while ago. He mentally cursed himself; both he and Liam had left their weapons at home. But, Liam could have escaped from these within a second if he'd wanted, so why...? The men behind Liam tensed at the sight of Adam. "Normal?" They yelled threateningly, one of them holding the switchblade as if to throw it at Adam. One quick glance at Liam, and Adam nodded. Whatever it was that Liam was concerned about, Adam knew it was something serious.
The cannibals followed Liam through the streets, looking increasingly anxious. Liam nursed the bite, wiping away the blood as he lead them to Cody's house, half hoping Grace was there, half hoping she wasn't.

Grace studied Cody's face carefully, watching for a flicker of anything showing on his face. Suddenly his face became even more focussed and Grace wondered what he was hearing.
Before she could find out, Grace heard the door open and she turned around, before she felt a grimy hand grab a fistful of her hair, a blade pressed against her neck. before her assailant could even utter his threat, Grace slammed her elbow into the arm holding the switchblade, making the switch blade cut a chunk out of her hair. This freed her from his grip and got the switch blade away from her neck. In seconds flat, Grace had the man pinned against the floor. His eyes filled with terror, not having expected a healer to be so violent. "Please...My wife...Needs your help." Grace relaxed slightly, before allowing the man to stand up.
"You could have just asked." She replied calmer than she felt. They'd only heard rumours about cannibals from travellers that passed through from time to time, but Grace was disgusted by them nonetheless. Looking at Cody with concer, Grace followed the man outside, where the second man was waiting with Liam, who was positively fuming. He looked worried when he saw the chunk of hair missing, but Grace just shrugged it off. "Where is she?" She asked the man, who just took hold of her hand, before porting them into the forest.

[Fujoshi Otaku]

Almost...Cody thought. This time he was going to connect, and he knew it. But, just as he was about to send a thought to Yuui, he lost him again when he heard noises nearby. By the time he managed to open his eyes, he realized he was alone.
"Grace...?" he asked, sounding confused. "Did you get eaten?" He had never been very optimistic. Sighing, he stood up, and made his way over to the TV, 'turning it off' by removing the drawing from the screen. "I finally almost contact one of her friends...and she goes and gets eaten," he muttered, before leaving the living room. The front door had been left wide open, and just outside, he could see Liam standing there.

[Phoenix]

Liam was trembling slightly from the cold, when Cody looked out the door. "I think Grace just got kidnapped because of me." He said quietly, his memory of the last few minutes fuzzy.

Grace flinched when she heard a cry of pain slightly deeper in the forest. She followed the 'porter cannibal and spotted a woman who was sligthly better kept than her partner, crying out in pain as she clutched her stomach. An older woman was holding a surgical knife that was unclean. Grace instantly figured out their intentions. "You can't do that in the middle of the forest!" Grace insisted, kneeling next to the woman who was screaming in pain.
"We have you now, and you'll just heal her as soon as it's done. Problem solved." The man with the switch blade replied, clutching his wife's hand.
Grace's eyes widened as she realised exactly why she had been brought there. "I can't do this, I'm not-!"
She was interrupted by the second man, who looked her in the eye. "You will do this. Now." Grace was about to protest, but realised she couldn't, for some inexplicable reason. It was then that she realised. That man had the power of persuasion. Grace found herself turning to the older woman, and instead asked "Do you know what you're doing?"
The older woman nodded as she placed the knife into the right position. "I used to be a nurse." Grace was only slightly reassured by this. Then, the screams intensified as the older woman began slicing. Grace's hands hovered millimetres above the woman, ready to heal. But, she couldn't heal this, what was she thinking? She'd been hypnotized.

Grace couldn't exactly tell when it started going wrong, but the instant it did to a noticable level, she brought down her hands and began trying to heal the skin together. Blood was gushing between her fingers as she focussed.
It wasn't enough. For either of them.

The woman's heartbeat stopped, and the silence that ensued was like ice. Everyone was so shocked that the second man lost his grip on Grace's mind, and she instantly stood up, managing to dodge the switchblade that came flying at her. "You were supposed to save her!" The porter screamed, before lunging at her throat. Again, Grace dodged, stepping away from the bodies before she tackled the man, holding her hands round his throat. "Bring me back, or I will kill you." She hissed.
"No!" The man screamed, trying to bite her arms. Grace spotted the switch blade in the ground beside her knee, and picked it up, waving it at the other man and the older woman threateningly. They got the messaghe, so she focused her attention back at the man trrying to bit her arm off.
"Now." Grace hissed. Suddenly she was next to Cody and Liam, and the porter vanished again.

Adam wrapped his arms round his fiancee and hugged her as she trembled. "What's wrong?" He whispered into her ear.
"I think I'm going to die." Grace replied shakily, before forcing a smile and looking at the boys, ignoring the fact she was covered in dark blood.

(Vague post is deliberately vague)
(Okay, so maybe it isn't that vague. Still)

[Fujoshi Otaku]

The second Liam spoke, the expression that could have won the Olympic gold medal for apathy, if there was such a medal, vanished from Cody's face. Wordlessly, he hurried back inside the house, and into the living room, grabbing the sharp knife that was hidden beneath the mattress in the corner.
He rushed back outside. "Where?..." he started breathlessly. But, moments later, Grace had been returned, covered in blood, and looking shaken. Cody stabbed at the place where the teleporter had been half a second before, but the blade just met with air.
"Aw...He got away," he muttered, before looking at Grace, the expression on his face returning to normal, but his eyes betraying how concerned he was. "Someone found out you're a healer?" he asked, noticing that the blood didn't seem to belong to Grace. She must have had to fight to escape, or something. "Relax...You're not going to die. The worst those people will do is try to keep you for themselves, which wont happen because the people who do that are weak and not very smart."

[Phoenix]

Grace smiled at Cody. "You okay? I couldn't tell whether they hurt you or not." She said, her voice steady, surprisingly. Then she nodded. "It's not like I exactly keep it secret, is it?" She smirked, trying to hide the fear the scene had just instilled in her. She wasn't afraid of the two men, she suspected the 'porter was struggling to control his abilities because of his horrendous loss. She hadn't though of that kind of problem before, but now it occurred to her. She had barely two months before she couldn't camouflage it anymore.
Suddenly she was snapped back to the present by Cody. "I guess so." She agreed wearily.

[The Oro]

Just as Gabriel was about to answer either of the two, he saw a plume of snow just outside of their barrier. From the blinding white appeared two Enclave scouts. Agents Claire and Adrian headed for the barrier, using knives and crossbows to scatter part of the wolf pack. Gabe almost smiled. "About time you showed up!"

"Detour!" Adrian grabbed one of the survivors by the arm and yanked him away from a a wolf as it tried to snap at them. He then quick warped a knife out of his bandolier and into his hand in time to stab it up into its maw. Its jaws clasped down as the blade entered, digging into his forearm. Growling in pain, he forced the dog off of him and doubled back.

"Come on!" Gabe shouted to the other three. As they fell back, he covered the exit with his bow. There seemed to be almost no end to the wolves. "Everyone bunch up!"

Adrian hefted himself off of Claire, fighting the pain as he struggled to envelope the group in a teleportation field. Flood streamed down his arm through his torn thermal gear. The warp bubble finally covered everyone and he could focus on his destination.

-------------------------

Yuki bolted down the halls of Shield Base, the subterranean Enclave outpost that the organization was using for scouting runs. The moment they were alerted of an hot arrival by Gabe's team, all available combatants in the sector had started to rush for the "transport room" as they called it. Reiko met her half way down the corridor, handing off a sidearm as she joined her.

Reiko smirked. "Having fun yet?"

"Hardly."

They entered the room along with about ten others carrying some form of a weapon. Firearms were preferable in this kind of a situation, and the vacancy of the massive warehouse class room permitted it with little risk. Base defense took priority, and they were so far underground that nothing would know if a gun was fired.

The handful of people formed a half circle around the jump point that teleporters had to memorize. Their fingers were ready on the triggers. Suddenly, a snow blind filled the center of the jump spot, sending a wave of snow washing past some of the operatives. "Jesus!"
"Fuck!"

Gabe shoved himself off of the floor, knife ready. "We're clear! Friendlies coming in!"

Yuki leveled her sidearm on the figures emerging from the snow, instantly recognizing Gabriel and his two recovery specialists. The other three she kept her sights on. "Identify!"

Reiko placed a hand over her sister's. "Jesus, Yuki," she whispered, a relieved smile forming on her face. "Don't tell me you don't remember them."

Yuki lowered her gun and took a second look at the newcomers. "Oh my God," she said, realization coming into play. "Is that really you?"

[Fujoshi Otaku]

"I didn't even notice them," Cody admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, and smiling.
Then he frowned. "I know sometimes there's no avoiding it...but I wish you'd keep it more of a secret," he whispered. Before continuing in a voice he hoped sounded less concerned. "I mean...If you get kidnapped, we'll have to work hard to rescue you...and probably about ten others along the way...That kind of thing will happen soon enough now I'm involved with people like you. Heroes," he added quickly. "So, maybe you should relax while you can." The frown didn't fade from his face when Grace replied. It seemed as though that wasn't the main thing bothering her. But, there didn't seem to be any other problems, and he wasn't about to interrogate her when she was already this upset.

Just before they teleported, Fay looked back over Jessie's shoulder, through the blur of snow blocking out most of the wolves. "Wait!" he cried out, when he saw a dot of red fur among the grey. The fox pup was trying to follow them. A second later, however, David was snatched up into the mouth of a hungry wolf.
Then they teleported.
"No! They're going to kill him!" he screamed, before realizing they were surrounded by about twelve more armed people. Fourteen if he included the two who had just met them on the surface. He realized where they were immediately, now even more terrified than he had been of the wolves. His gaze quickly fell on the two faces he recognized, and he felt only a tiny bit of relief when Yuki finally lowered her weapon. Part of him wished they hadn't recognized him.
Then he realized something else. "Why do you all have guns?" he asked, his voice indicating just how afraid he was. "They were all supposed to be destroyed...You're not allowed them anymore." His thank you to the teleporter for getting them away from the wolves, preventing them from being injured and getting bitten himself in the process was now completely forgotten, by the shock of everything else. And, he really needed to go back for David. But, he doubted anyone here other than Jessie would care about the baby fox.

[The Oro]

A trail of red followed Adrian as he inchwormed his way out of the pile of snow and hunched over his wounded arm. He didn't even want to hear Fay's attempt at virtue, hinting that they should go back for a wolf. "You're welcome," he groaned. Claire pulled out her first aid kit and went to aid him.

Gabe knocked the snow from his uniform and helped the others up. "Ease up, they're with us."

Yuki hadn't even noticed that the rest were still sighted up on the others, a few more aiming at Fay than usual. It wasn't until Fay mentioned the fact that they were carrying ordinance that she realized it. "You heard him. Stand down." Reluctantly, they lowered their guns.

One of the more recently recovered ICC drone victims stared at Fay as if he was trying to pierce his soul. "Did you really think that everyone in the world was going to throw away their guns because a fucking cat said so?" Gabe was already adjusting his footing in the event he had to charge the operative.

Reiko was rubbing her fingers together, warming her hand to prepare a barrier to stop the man until Yuki waved her down. Eugene may have been edgy but it wasn't worth the fight. She couldn't use her power on him but she talk him down either way. "Eugene, let it go."

"No," he spat. "You let it go. Because of him--"

"You weren't there, you didn't see what was happening. Because of him a few more of us are still alive. So just stand down."

Eugene tightened a fist around his gun's grip. He finally lowered the muzzle to the floor. "If he so much as tries anything--"

"You'll leave it to us," she said with a firm tone. She looked at Adrian as he fitted a bandage around his arm.

He reluctantly returned a nod to her and stood up, facing the response team inside the room. "We're clear. Yuki, Reiko. Stay here and debrief them. The rest of you are dismissed." He then eased himself on Claire's shoulder as she guided him to medical.

Reiko exchanged glances with her sister as secured their weapons. "It's been a long time," she said, forgetting the fact this was the first time she had ever spoken to Fay. Despite her kind demeanor, she wasn't sure how she should have been feeling. Under other circumstances she would have probably hugged one of them by now, including the new guy, but this situation failed to have the same reunion atmosphere.

Gabe nodded. "It's good to know you're still alive at the least. I almost can't believe we found you when we did. The outskirts of the ICC death zone was the last place I expected to find you."

"We haven't seen the others since Rio either," Yuki added. "Have you been in contact with them at all?"

[Hyena.]

Justin looked at the jumper. He sighed, and bowed his head. At least someone could do what they were born able to do.
He watched the other soldiers. He didn't care where he was, or who they were. They had saved his life, and that was good enough for him, He pocketed his straight razor once more, watching the scene in silence. He only spoke when the soldier asked of others.
"I've...been places. Usually not of me own volition, so I've been all sorts, but I did catch sight'a those ghost-twins once, f'r a day, but I was taken away again a'fore I could learn where they were headed. The brasher one did mention somet'in o' Africa, but whether that was where they'd been or where they were goin', I don' know."
He sniffed. "An' I reckon I'm on a tickin' clock as to stayin' 'ere."

----------

JayJay laughed. "Don't worry, I'm good with water."
She sat, and gazed at the quietly flickering fire. Timmy sat beside her, and she ruffled his hair.
"Must be nice, having those you love to get through it with. Gives you something to keep going for, I guess." She looked up.
"You guys heading anywhere? Supplies'll run out around here soon enough."

[Phoenix]

Grace smiled at Cody. "Consider yourself lucky. They weren't the nicest people." she commented.
It was then she spotted the nasty looking bite on Liam's arm, and, whiping the blood off her hands onto her jeans, she began healing his injury, and it crusted over, making the injury look a week or two old, instead of just five minutes. "I'm not going to hide a way I can help just because of some lunatics like them. I can hold my own against them, clearly." She smirked, deliberatly sounding overly self confident to hide her fear. Then, she smirked again. "Don't worry, i don't need rescuing... But you might." The overconfident act and teasing felt almost uncharacteristic.
Then Adam, who was still concerned about Grace, but was trying to hide it because he knew she wouldn't tell him until later, decided it was his turn to tease. "Her, relax? Like that'd ever happen." That earned him a hard elbow in the chest.

[Fujoshi Otaku]

Before Fay could even mumble a hasty thank you to Adrian, one of the others started shouting at him, refusing to lower his weapon. He glared back at Eugene, trying not to let any of the fear he felt show on his face. Remaining stubborn was all he could do, because he knew he couldn't retaliate. If he used his powers to knock the gun from Eugene's hands, the others might attack, and he and Jessie were outnumbered...Justin would probably be on the side of these people. "It's still against the rules," he retorted coldly. "And having them will just provoke more pointless fighting."
He buried himself further into Jessie's arms as the others tried to calm Eugene, obviously afraid he would shoot. It was the first time he had been faced with such real hate because of what he had done, and he knew they all probably felt the same way. It was terrifying and upsetting at the same time, but he couldn't let it show.
When Yuki finally got Eugene to lower his gun, and Adrian had gestured for most of them to leave, he let himself relax a little. He looked at Reiko, a little confused, but he nodded anyway. "But, everyone's still the same," he whispered, almost coldly, before looking at Gabriel again, now unable to hide his fear.
"We weren't lost, so we didn't need to be found," he couldn't help hissing at him. Although he knew the 'ICC' wasn't the same anymore, the name still stirred up even more distrust. "I want to leave now," he begged. "Thank you...We might have died if you didn't come when you did...But...I can't stay here...Jessie and me were doing fine on our own...You can't keep someone here if they don't want to stay, right? You're not the same ICC as before...And, David...He could still be alive out there. He's just a baby, so he can't defend himself properly." Then, he remembered they didn't trust him either. They probably thought he would tell Desgraca about their guns if he left.
Then, when Yuki spoke of the others, he shook his head. "I don't want to contact them."
He looked at Justin when he spoke, thinking about Vance and Dimitri. "Lucky," he muttered, when Justin added that he would probably be forced to teleport out soon.

Timmy giggled again. "I like swimming too!" he exclaimed. "And, daddy's a pirate because he has an eye patch. See!" He pointed towards the patch over Yuui's left eye. "I want to go on a sh-" He stopped when Kurogane gave him a look that said 'stop', and he frowned at the next thing Jayjay said. He briefly remembered she had said something about a ship when telling her story.
Yuui's expression saddened, for two reasons. "It is," he admitted quietly. "But, now you don't have to be alone anymore, either," he reminded her.
Kurogane shrugged at Jayjay's last question. "Like we said, we leave occasionally to find more food, and to search for our friends, but we always end up back here."

"Still...They made me run to get the knife, I just wanted to repay them for it," Cody explained. He watched Grace heal Liam's injury, unable to stop himself worrying that people might see.
He smirked when Grace spoke in an overconfident voice. "Clearly," he admitted. "But, it's still annoying having them barging into my house, and if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't be covered in blood...which will attract animals." He added that part as a reminder, almost expecting some large, fanged creature to pounce at them at any second. Then, when she added that he might need rescuing, if people found out about his power, he smiled. "Of course...And that's why I stay quiet about it."
He laughed when Adam earned an elbow to his chest. "Well...sometimes I wish she would relax." He backed out of Grace's reach.