bakerstreet | (no subject)

[ All scenarios seem fine. ]

Edited 2012-11-24 00:18 (UTC)

[Run, stop, pant, run some more. For three days this had been her life. Now? Now she has to stop because her body just will not give her any more. The wilds of Canada are cold and she's wearing nothing but a torn X-Man uniform. At some point she's lost her communicator and everything else. What she has is very, very little. She hadn't brought her coat, not wanting the brilliant yellow to stand out amongst the drab colors of the forest.

The sound of rustling leaves have her on her feet and hiding behind a tree, a branch in her hand. She tries to still the panicked breathing quickening her heartbeat. Maybe it's Sabretooth, maybe it's Wolverine - she'd take either right now.

The facility she'd escaped from hadn't been fully operational. Not yet. It'd be only a matter of time before they are. She needs to get back to her people and warn them.

Another rustle of leaves and she tenses, then whips around, swinging the branch like a bat.]

Of all the people to get stuck in an elevator with, Q cannot believe it would be 007. Then again, he never imagined getting stuck in an elevator period. What was even worse was the fact that with all his technical knowledge and genius, he still was unable to get it going again. He had the console open already, and was working diligently away.

"Not a word, Bond," he told the agent standing somewhere behind him.

James Bond wasn't going to say a word... At least not until he could come up with something really good. The obvious is out there in the air between them: best mind for gadgets for Mi6, stuck in one of the oldest gadgets ever. Shameful.

He's not going to say a word, but Q will surely feel it when something presses against his back and shoves. In case you were wondering, Q, 007 has just made you into a step-ladder while he dismantles the light in the ceiling.

Q is certain he will never live this down, which is why he's focused on getting the damned thing running again. He can just hear M berating him right now, although he's at least blessed with silence from Bond.

That is... until he is suddenly thrown forward with the weight of the other man. "What the... Bond! I didn't agree to this," he snaps, his concentration distracted for a moment. He glances up, stumbling a bit under the weight of the other man. "I am not climbing up there. While you're busy wasting your time there, I could be actually getting us out of here." He may or may not be afraid of heights.

"So stay and try doing it your way." Bond grabs the light as the younger man wobbles beneath him, but his weight is coming right back as soon as the other stabilizes. "I'll leave you to it."

There goes one of the lights as Bond pulls it free. You can work without light, right?

Summer glares at the smoking engine of their immobile car, the sleeves of her button-down shoved up to her elbows, and she curses mutedly. Girls know their way around a car too, thank-you Mister Bond. "Blown head gasket and a dead starter," she comments as she tucks a stray hair behind her ear as a way to try and cool her temper. Having them both go like that is suspiciously unlikely. And, of course, they're in the middle of nowhere, with no reception to contact MI6. Catching their flight back to London is seeming more unlikely as the minutes tick by.

"I don't suppose you have any brilliant ideas, Mister Bond?"

[ Kaldur stood on his side of the elevator with Zatanna standing next to him. He had his eyes shut and his arms folded across his chest. They were just going lower into the mountain, and there weren't any missions so there wasn't a hurry. There was awkward silence that surrounded the elevator though. ]

[When the lights had begun to flicker, Zatanna glanced up. That wasn't a good sign.]

Do you think--

[Of course, Murphy's Law dictated the moment she commented was the very moment the entire elevator would give a sudden, horrific jerk. Knocking her off balance. She tumbled to the ground in an ungraceful heap, head slamming against the back wall.]

...!

[ He quickly moves to the floor to her side and holds her forward. ]

Zatanna, are you alright? Does it hurt?

Yeah, I think so.

[She winces in the dim emergency light, hand rising to her head. When she tries to get up, she stumbles a little but makes it to her feet.]

What just happened?

[ He stays by her side as his hand slips to the emergency button. Clearly someone should be around to hear, right? He takes his attention back to her and gently places his hand on her head. ]

I believe our elevator has seemed to short circuit. The backup generators should kick in soon.

Great. Just our luck.

What do we do until then?

We sit you down and let me check out the back of your head.

[Instinctive flinching]

You don't have to.

I already told you. I'm fine. Just a bump.

You can never be too careful with an injury like this.

[More hesitation. She wants to protest, but knew it would be futile. Kaldur was easily as stubborn as she, and had seniority to boot. Giving a slow nod so as not to risk any further injury, she sat down and turned to allow him access to the back of her head.]

[ he moved down as well to sit on his knees and access her head. With his water barrers he lit up the room a little and gently pressed pressure to the back of her head. ]

[She gasped softly when his fingers came in contact with his skull. There was a flash of pain, then...okay, yeah, that part still hurt too.]

How bad is it?

[ He frowned and took his light away only to replace it to the back of her head, giving her a cooling waterpack to the back of her head. ]

It does not seem to be bleeding, but until we can get out of here I will not be able to tell very well.

[A frown. That didn't sound good. Then he placed his manipulated water source against the wound. The frown softened. She relaxed.]

Feels good.

[ he smiled softly. ]

That should relieve any swelling that might be happening.

Thanks, Kaldur.

[Closing her eyes, she leans the side of her head against the wall. His makeshift ice pack was actually only slightly cooler than room temperature, gradually decreasing in temperature as time went on so she could adjust.]

Next time, maybe we should have M'gann retrieve the supplies. [Since she could shift, and wouldn't necessarily need the elevator.]

[ he gives a slight chuckle to that comment. ]

Yes, I believe that idea would be better. She was too busy though.

[A weak smile]

So she said.

We never did find out what she was up to, though.

If I had to guess, it was one of her surprise parties. Unfortunately she is not very good at hiding them.

Not when she's about as subtle as Wally when it comes to those things.

Though I won't be the one to tell her we figured out the surprise.

Neither will I. That look she would get on her face.... would not be worth it.

Tell me about it. It's impossible to deal with a pouting M'gann. Believe me, I've tried.

I learned on the first day of meeting her.

So, in other words, she's always like this. It's not just me.

[She says this with a smile, of course. Zee adores her brosis.]

[ he chuckles a little. ]

It's part of her charm I suppose.

[Zatanna also laughs. Until a sharp pain cuts the jovial mood short.]

Ow!

[ he frowns and pulls her closer to him. ]

Zatanna... are you alright?

[She doesn't protest this time]

Kinda...dizzy...

Must've hit it harder than I thought.

[ He frowns and with a hand he massages her shoulder to try and get her mind off of it. ]

[It has the opposite effect; she tenses up, confused.]

Kaldur? What're you--?

It is a maneuver to calm you down and keep your mind elsewhere...

[ he takes his hand away. ]

It seems to have backfired though.

N-no! I was just surprised, is all.

[She makes a point of turning her back to him once more. Feeling bad for accidently rejecting his kind gesture.]

You can keep going.

... Are you certain?

Yeah, I'm sure.

[ He silently reaches for her shoulder again, seeming hesitant at first before he slowly massages her shoulder. ]

[It still feels a little weird at first. She and Kaldur were not as close as she was with Robin or Artemis...but, after a few seconds pass, she grows more comfortable with his gentle massage. His hands were on the cooler side, which actually helped a little with the pain.]

Where'd you learn to do this?

It was something my Queen taught me. She said it was a great relaxant that causes your mind to drift off into a better mindset.

You and your Queen must be very close.

She is perhaps like a second mother... if I might be so bold to say.

You may.

[She thought it was pretty sweet, actually.]

How long have you known her? Or seen her in this way, I guess I should say. [Since obviously he would know his Queen all his life.]

Ah... perhaps since I became her student.

When was that?

Perhaps around the age of 10?

What about your birth mom?

My mother... she is a kind and beautiful woman.

Do you get to see her often?

Probably not, because you spend so much time on the surface, right?

[All scenarios are fine! No smut, please.]

[This was dumb. Cameron's doesn't even like mazes. Or at least now he doesn't. HMPH.

He's just throwing balls of ice and the maze walls in frustration.]

[ There was a loud scream when the ball hits the wall and Yue is crouching down now. She was walking down this little way and out of nowhere she almost gets hit. ]

[Oh hehe, he almost hit someone.

NO WAIT, THEY COULD KNOW THE WAY OUT.

Let Cameron walk over to her and try to be concerned. "Try."]

Uh. Are you okay?

[ She frowns a little and looks up at him. Did he just.... no she can't just accuse him. ]

Y-yes... I am fine, thank you for your concern.

[Oh. She's really pretty, that makes this all slightly easier.

He'll even offer her his hand so she can get up.]

Well it would be a tragedy if someone as cute as you got hurt.

[ She smiles a little at that and takes his hand. When she's on her feet she dusts off her clothes. ]

I'm sure you must say that to girls much prettier then I.

Oh no, you're definitely one of the prettiest.

So, I take it that you're lost in here too?

Yes... I am afraid I just can't find my way around here. I'm sorry I'm not much help.

Don't sweat it, babe.

Hey, I have an idea, if you wouldn't mind hearing me out, that is.

[ She looks confused at the Babe comment. It almost sounds like a name Hahn would give her. ]

Alright, I am listening.

[A screech, a lurch, and suddenly the elevator stops.]

...you're unlucky. You're unlucky and I should be avoiding you.

[He looked up from the book he was reading and stared at elevator door.]

Yet you don't. Does that make you a masochist? Or do you have crush on me?

[He reached out, pressing emergency button several times.]

Edited 2012-11-25 08:09 (UTC)

Neither! It's not like I'm trying to follow you around!

[Crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, Abe is looking annoyed as per usual.]

And stop that. Pressing it once is enough.

You don't sound very convincing, Abe-kun.

[He stopped pressing the button and tapped his chin.]

Power is out. I don't think anyone heard emergency button.

Seriously, how would I even keep track of you long enough to follow you?!

[Never mind that they're stuck in an elevator, this is an important thing to straighten out! (...badum-tish?)]

Maybe you have some special stalker skill.

[His tone is so flat that he sounds completely serious. Talk about having no sense of humor. Should he tease him some more? It's small elevator...]

[He is a serious young man with a seriously short fuse. ]

I'm not stalking you!

[Does someone need to get noogied, because Abe's unfolding his arms and approaching Kuroko.]

[He blinks and looks down for a second then tilts head.]

You are stalking towards me now.

[Should he smirk? He should smirk. A small one. He gets so riled up it can't be helped. Besides- Kuroko was known closet-sadist.]

[Fffffff]

Yeah, because I'm gonna make you shut up in a second!

[...once he gets there! Uh. Actually, now Abe's standing in front of him at an uncomfortably close distance while trying to loom (there really is not much difference in height), but hasn't yet touched him.]

[Looks at him with the ever unreadable expression.]

Beating me up won't make me shut up. I might yell in pain.

[He's not bothered with closeness at all. There's another tiny, tiny smirk on his lips.]

There is only one efficient way of shutting someone up.

[The kiss. Seriously, you don't talk and kiss at same time.]

It might make me feel better.

[Nah, he wasn't going to beat him up. Abe's angry and loud but not actually violent. He stands his ground, though, and purposely gets in Kuroko's face this time. What is this, a game of chicken?]

Oh yeah? What's that?

[Playing dumb!]

Will it? Then do it. I don't have anywhere to run.

[He doesn't pulls away. He has one pack of steel nerves. That and he's subsiding the blush with all he has too, trying to look unaffected.]

See? You are flirting with me. It negates your statement that you have no crush on me.

[He comes into Abe's face even more, looking amused now.]

And it's kiss of course.

[...wait, was that flirting? He doesn't even know how to flirt intentionally, okay. Whatever, Abe just wants the upper hand back; it's something he enjoys having. ]

I'm the one with the crush? Look who's blushing.

[He grabs Kuroko's chin to keep it tilted up, thumb just below his lower lip.]

You want me to kiss you, Kuroko?

[Blushing? Well that wasn't planned, especially for Abe to see too. He tilts head slightly.]

Unlike you I don't deny it.

[And while he intended to tease him, it somehow backfired at him. Right? ...wait, why is that thumb so warm? Or was it his face again?]

Maybe. Although it's usually you who makes a fuss about kissing.

Yeah, it's hard to hide anyway when your skin's so pale.

[.......maybe all of his smarts went to baseball. He thinks Kuroko meant to not deny the fact that he's blushing, which is obviously just from embarrassment at the proximity! That's what Abe was trying to do, turn the tables and while he's at it, fluster him and peek past the impassive facade. Things are being pushed a little far, though...]

I told you before, that was different. This time nothing's forcing us to.

[And yet here he is, close enough to note that the other boy has pretty nice skin. They're still just teasing, right? It's only a matter of who will back down first, right? Abe doesn't plan to be that person, and just barely brushes his thumb across Kuroko's bottom lip.]

"Maybe"...what a cop-out. I could always go ahead and find out for myself.

[Well it seems that Abe will never find out why Kuroko's blushing. He's not prone to saying such embarrassing things... while he can still think that is.

Nothing's forcing him huh? Well then-]

Is that so? Then why don't you find out?

[He is also known not to back away from challenges. It's just too thrilling even if he doesn't shows it.
Although, that teasing finger should stop moving any time soon or he will blush badly and for real this time.]

[...shit. Time to put your money where your mouth is, Abe. No, literally your mouth. Come on, kissing is not that big a deal!

And it's not like he can back away now, anyway.]

You need lessons in being straightforward.

[Unlike last time, Abe presses his lips gently against Kuroko's, moving his hand to cup the other boy's face.]

[Well this is finally getting somewhere. Not that Abe realized how skillfully he coaxed him into kissing. Like spinning basketball on tip of his finger.

And straightforwardness is not his strong link in situations like this.

He closes his eyes, placing hand on the other's chest and returns the kiss slowly, the blush deepening slightly.]

[With his hand there, Kuroko can probably feel Abe's quickened heartbeat. His own free hand comes up to cup the curve of the other boy's elbow.

He can't say this often, but it's good being bigger. Abe moves his body forward, pressuring Kuroko backward or else he'd fall over. There's definitely an aim; the elevator isn't that big, of course, so he doesn't have far to go until there's a wall.

Moving toward the comforting warmth of another person is also a nice aim in itself.]

[He sure didn't have long way to the wall. Only one step back and he was comfortably supported by something- anything. Because he was truly getting into the kiss and he didn't want to think if he will fall or not.

He could feel the heartbeat and it was probably beating as fast as his own. He let his hand slide from chest to neck and kept it there.]

[There we go, at least Abe feels like he's in control now. If it isn't obvious by now, that is a thing with him. It feels good and there's little thought beyond that.

If he could actually think straight right now, he'd be surprised at how naturally he ups the intensity. As Abe deepens the kiss and slips his tongue into it, he also slips his hands down to grab Kuroko's hips and press him into the wall.

...which might feel a little weird, since elevators have that bar-thing to hold on to!]

[He didn't mind Abe having control. In fact- he preferred it. Not that he is passive in the kiss- hell no.

His other free hand is as well on the other's hip, pulling him forward. He didn't mind the handle behind him- he barely noticed it there. He was too preoccupied with the kiss.

Both of his hands now moved and locked around Abe's neck, holding him as close as possible.]

Edited 2012-11-26 09:38 (UTC)

[The other boy's compliance and even eagerness surprise him. It encourages him further. Using his body flush against Kuroko's to keep him pinned, Abe's hands drift up along his sides, feeling him through the fabric of his shirt.

But before long he needs to take a breath. Pulling back just enough to speak, he pants a bit with an obvious red tinge to his cheeks.]

"Maybe" my ass. Not gonna push me away?

[He breathes out heavily as they break apart, he still feeling slightly dazed from the length of the kiss. He can kiss good, he'll admit that (in his head...). He was afraid to glance at the mirror and see his own flushed face from this.

But he didn't hesitate looking up and meeting him eye to eye, with curious head tilt.]

You don't seem like you want to pull away. And I don't mind it.

[Goddamnit, dude. Why so obtuse?]

That's a funny way to put it.

[If he's going to tilt his head like that, then don't mind Abe as he takes the opportunity to kiss along Kuroko's jawline, murmuring in between:]

You should say what you really mean.

[His fingers sneak under the other boy's shirt, brushing against actual skin.]

[Hey, he's not obtuse. He just likes to play that way.

His eyes fall closed halfway at the kisses on his jaw and stomach does an Olympic somersault at the touch on his skin. Yes, that's a small shiver there.]

I usually do. [He just finds his tongue tied when talking to this guy...]

[Oho, he can feel that really well as his hands glide up Kuroko's abdomen, bunching his shirt up higher and higher. Abe nibbles his skin a bit, and a rational voice pipes up that leaving marks is a bad idea. Unless he wants the basketball team after him, that is.]

Yeah, so what's special about now?

[Besides the fact that they're making out against a wall in an elevator. That's a new one. Definitely not something he thought he'd be doing today.]

[Two play this game. He sneaked his own fingers under the other's shirt, trailing single finger against Abe's sides, followed by rest of them.

He shifted his eyes to glance at him, breathing out heavily. Nips felt too good. Kuroko would deal with the team... somehow.]

I-I don't really want to say.

[Stupid Abe asking stupid things... well they are not stupid, but they make more color flood in Kuroko's cheeks.]

[A soft gasp turns into a hum at the touches. A little offense, huh? Abe can't complain. Catching Kuroko's eye, his mouth edges into a nice smirk.]

I can wait. Doesn't look like we're going anywhere soon.

[He moves to press more hot kisses to his neck, up against his pulse point. At the same time, his fingers brush over the other boy's nipples teasingly. The blush and the heavy breathing just make him want to see more, you know.]

[If he can convince Kuroko to talk... although it current situation it wouldn't be too hard.

He tilts head backward, eyes fully closed now and full blush on his cheeks. At the touch, he tried to hold back a sudden gasp- which ended up making a weird sound in the end.

The hand that was under Abe's shirt had stopped moving and now just nails scraped across the skin. He forgot what he wanted to do with that hand...]

[Maybe he's distracted enough that when Abe nudges his legs apart with one of his own, alarm bells won't immediately go off. They're ringing somewhere in the back of his own mind, but he's having too much fun with this to pay them mind. What was he trying to do again? Nnng, the nails draw a groan from Abe, which he tries to cover by turning his kisses more open-mouthed, more insistent.

Until he pulls his head back enough to get a good look at Kuroko's face.]

Feel like talking yet?

[His thumbs make deliberate circles around those sensitive spots and then...tweak one, a bit.]

[Even if his head supplied 'things are getting out of hand here' he didn't give much attention to it. So what if they are in elevator? Sure, the damnable thing can move any minute and someone might enter but that wasn't the problem he had at hand.

His current problem was trying to keep gasps at the minimum. It was embarrassing. Besides, what would the other think of it?

The next soft pinch got him fully against the wall, the hand that wasn't under the shirt gripping on Abe's shoulder and pulling him closer.]

I-ah-maybelikeyou... [It was all bundled up together and barely audible.]

[...a-ah. There's a pleasant heat pooling in his gut. Abe obliges the other boy, letting himself be pulled closer again. With their lower bodies pressed against each other, how much this is affecting him might become evident right about now. He's busy extracting a confession, though, so with lips barely brushing against Kuroko's ear, he speaks in a husky tone.]

Hm? I didn't quite catch that, Kuroko.

[And it's punctuated with a harder pinch. Abe honestly didn't hear what was said besides the "like" part, but he's assuming it's an admission that he wants/likes this.

Which is not the reality, or...only half of it. If he did find out, he'd probably feel guilty. A catcher's gotta have a mean-streak, and Abe has one a mile wide, but playing with this kind of emotion is just cruel.]

Edited (spelling/grammar) 2012-11-28 03:02 (UTC)

[His hand moved from Abe's shoulder to cover his mouth, then pressed his face against the other's shoulder. He didn't know how much that stifled his loud moan, but he did everything he could.

The murmur against his ear got another shudder going through him and he just shook his head. He will not repeat himself. Well- there's danger that he will moan again if he tries to answer that. He's not taking risks.]

[Cute...

Okay, that was a weird thought. He can still hear the moan as some muffled noise, but it's not the same. Going back to just brushing his fingers over Kuroko's chest, Abe presses a few gentle, conciliatory kisses against the edge of his cheek. It seems like he's going to let up a little.]

C'mon, don't do that. I want to hear you.

[...right before he rubs his thigh up between the other boy's legs with a definite purpose.]

[That was bad timing.

Well for Kuroko anyway. He had pulled away for a moment to catch a breath only to feel a firm grind that had his head thumping back against elevator wall, gasping out with a moan.

He breathed heavily, and wanted both to stop and just do more of it. Stop because he was making weird sounds... but it felt so damn good that he just couldn't. Whether willingly or not, he ground slowly against Abe's thigh, biting his lower lip.]

[More like perfect timing. Man, that was an amazing sound. Hearing him, seeing him undone like this is doing things to Abe.]

That's better. Feel good?

[His voice is a bit shaky now, body tingling in pleasure. Abe has forgotten for the moment how this started or why it continued, more focused on answering Kuroko with a roll of his hips and a low moan of his own.

Meanwhile, his hands wander over muscles, gradually making their way lower.]

[He wanted to deny it, but... he would be lying, and he never lies. He gulped lightly, peering up at him with half-lidded eyes, nodding once and muttering a silent]

Y-..yes..mnn-

[The moan had Kuroko's attention returned to his own hand that was still under Abe's shirt, to which he added his other one, slowly tracing fingertips over the abdomen and up, then returning back down. He half-expected that his own zip-up sweatshirt would be gone by now.

His stomach gave a flip when he felt hands sneaking lower and he couldn't help but bite lower lip, glancing down.]

[Better to take off only what they need to, since the elevator could move anytime. That's the problem doing it in a public place, hm?

...ah. He's rutting against Kuroko in an elevator. They should probably st— fff, He shivers at the touch of Kuroko's fingers, arching into it.

To be honest, Abe's mostly going off of instinct and second-hand accounts here. But hey, he can work with this. His hands grip Kuroko's hips to keep him still, thumbs hooking into the waistband of his pants. Then his body moves back, still at an intimate distance, but just enough so they aren't touching. Maybe "cruel" is pretty accurate.]

Hey. [Eyes up here. And since he doesn't have his hands free, Abe bumps their heads together lightly to get his attention.] You're either going to tell me what you want, or tell me to stop. Nice and clear now, okay?

Edited 2012-11-29 01:05 (UTC)

[Kuroko's not expert at this either. He just does what he thinks it would feel good (and apparently he was being right...).

At the small bumps of their heads, he looks up, eyes glazed a bit and flushed up to his ears. Blush always knew how to work against him.]

I... I d-don't want you to stop. [But he doesn't really knows what he wants. He wants something that Abe can only give him, so his hazed brain supplied only one answer for the other.]

Want... you...

[...

What? What's that supposed to mean?! Is he trying to sound sexy?!

Because he does, just sayin'. Find the weak points and exploit them, that's the strategy. But Abe's own weak point is emotion, and the insinuation in Kuroko's answer is enough to fluster him badly. Cheeks red, his eyes widen before he quickly diverts them elsewhere.]

R-right. [Agh, his voice did not just crack. Keep it together! Abe starts to tug the other boy's pants down, slowly.]

You...undo mine.

[The jeans he's wearing have become quite uncomfortable. At least he doesn't have a belt to get through.]

[He didn't plan to sound like that. He didn't plan to say that at all. It just easily slipped out. And at this point he didn't seem to care.

At the small stutter, he leaned up giving Abe's chin nips, making his way to his lips, wanting to reconnect his own with them. He moved his hips away from the wall a bit so that Abe could tug his pants down.

Kurkok's fingers, slightly shaky, did as the other asked him- traveled back down and undid the jeans slowly, tugging them slightly lower and giving the erection firm rub through the fabric.]

[Oh good, that makes it easier to pull down both the pants and underwear in one go. There's a furtive glance down before Abe ducks his head and recaptures Kuroko's lips, grazing teeth against his lower lip as an obvious restatement of who's in control here. He's totally recomposed!]

Mmm— haah!

[...fuck. Abe leans into that, getting a little desperate for his touch.

Well, not...his touch in particular, just. Uh.

Yeah, this isn't the time to be thinking about that. This should be just like jerking himself off, except the angle's different. And that isn't his dick, it's Kuroko's. And he's also kissing him. So besides that, it's completely the same!! Abe traces his fingers along the curve of Kuroko's hipbone, down, closer and closer, until he wraps one hand around the base and gives an experimental stroke.]

[At this point, Kuroko's head supplied him information not to bang head again against the wall because it will leave him with bump. Instead, his hips bucked up against the touch and moaned loudly, almost completely out of his control, just wanting more of it. A lot more.

His own fingers somehow managed to slip past the waistband of the boxers, teasing the tip with his finger since his hand was in slightly awkward position. He tried to ignore the continuous strokes from the other, trying to tug down the boxers, which wasn't easy task at the moment.

He didn't tug him off completely, but just enough so he can wrap his own fingers around him, and giving a firm stroke in return.]

Edited 2012-12-01 14:23 (UTC)

[You know, kissing's nice, but he'd like to hear those noises fully. Abe moves to the side, presses a kiss to the corner of Kuroko's mouth, then another to his cheek where that blush is so blatant. He did that. He was able to get Kuroko to this state, so heated and wanting.

Wanting...him. asadfk

Abe exhales shakily at the initial touches, and when Kuroko gives him that first stroke, his mouth closes tight to suppress the noise he knows is coming. Leaning the sides of their heads against each other, he tries to get his voice back for more teasing.]

...think I like seeing you like this.

[His thumb swirls around the head before continuing, at a faster pace now.]

I bet... nghh.. you d-do.

[His head turned slightly towards Abe's, and now that the ear got close to him, he didn't hesitate one second to nibble on it. His thoughts might be all scattered around but he could still tease.

He gasped sharply as the pace of strokes increased, burying his face in Abe's shoulder, shuddering from head to toe. He tried to increase the speed of his own strokes but it seemed so much slower than ones he got.

Kuroko accidentally glanced around, his vision blurry, but in the mirror next to them he could clearly see the disheveled state he was in. He bit down on Abe's shoulder, through the clothes, turning away from it- he shouldn't have looked.]

Hnn...well, you're so...blank, usually.

[Which is what makes this such a novel experience. Er, besides everything else about it, that is.

Something else Abe has realized from this: he likes being bitten. While he doesn't see what caused it, the bite to his shoulder makes his breath hitch, even softened as the teeth are by the fabric between. He nips Kuroko's throat lightly in response, as if to say: not like that, like this.

Speaking of things that he isn't going to say out loud—]

C'mon...a-at this rate you'll finish before me.

[Which is a less embarrassing way of saying More, damnit! Although it might be obvious from the the short thrust of his hips that he doesn't quite manage to stop.]

[It wasn't his fault that he always had expression like that... really.

He groans at the nips, head tilting to opposite side to give space for more of those delicious bites. He shivered again, feeling as if he will lose the footing and slide down from the wall. He didn't know what kept him still standing.

And he stuttered... it was enough to make his hand move faster, with more firmer grip. The other hand gripped on the hip, pulling him even more closer to him, if it was possible.]

[Oh, Kuroko likes that too, huh? Abe takes the invitation to move along his neck, kissing and giving hints of teeth while trying to restrain himself from leaving marks. No, seriously, how was he going to explain that?

Yes, that's it! Abe tightens his hold in turn, urging him on.]

J-just like that.

[His legs press against the other boy's, but Abe's upper body is arched a bit for him to angle himself right. Because his free hand comes up to tug Kuroko's collar to the side and, in a more discreet location, he allows himself to bite harder.]

...okay, whose idea was it to wait until today to do our Christmas Shopping?

[ie: she's blaming you, Wallace]

Hey, I'm not the one who spent forever deciding if I wanted to buy the blue sweater or the light blue one.

[Rude, Zatanna.]

No, you were the one trying to find just the right style of Superman boxers.

[...]

Nobody likes to chafe, alright?

I can't even begin to tell you how TMI that is.

You brought it up, not me.

So not even what I was talking about.

I'm almost afraid to ask who they're even for.

[Robin.]

Like I'd really buy underwear for somebody else.

...Anyway you don't think all the doors are locked, do you?

Sure they are. [/doesn't believe you]

I'm almost positive they're all locked. Because what's the point in leaving one open for thieves?

Right. That... makes perfect sense, actually.

[Wally walks over to one of the "YOU ARE HERE" maps and looks at it.]

So, have any grand ideas for escape you want to share?

[Wally is thinking air vents. Like Mission Impossible. They don't have to hum the theme though... unless she wants to.]

I don't suppose you have a lock picking kit on you?

No, I left it at home in my utility belt.

Does everyone on the team have one of those?

I suddenly feel so left out.

You should probably look into getting one. Bats could make them mandatory any day now.

He's not the boss of me.

[Except he totally is.]

If you wanna face the Bat-glare, be my guest.

I'd like to point out that anything he could deal, my dad's probably dealt worse.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he taught him a thing or two.

[ All the lights went out and there was no one in sight. It seems like the guards were feeling a bit lazy today not checking everywhere for extra people.

She looked around curiously. ]

H-Hello?

[Wally knows he should probably just find a security guard to let him out, but then again the cart that sells fried cheese on a stick is right there.

He's still contemplating what to do when he hears what sounds like someone talking. Hm. At least he's not alone. He'll just walk in the direction of that voice.]

Someone there?

Hello?

[ She starts timidly walking around. Why didn't she hear them closing? This was the first time she was locked somewhere and it scared her. ]

[Hmm. Wally doesn't see anyone, but he's pretty sure he heard something. So he'll try yelling:]

ANYBODY HERE?

Y-Yes? Hello I can hear you!

[ She looks around worriedly. ]

[Hey that sounded kind of close. See, Wally knew everything could be solved by being loud.]

You don't have a pair of keys do you!

...Whoever you are!

[A pause.]

And where ever you are!

[Roy and Wally thought it'd be a great idea to go to the mall when it was approaching its closing hours. Okay, actually, that was Wally's idea. Anyway, they were warned several times about it closing for the day, but thought nothing of it.

Just as they were about to leave like they should have an hour ago, the lights suddenly shut off and the doors locked up. Oh snap.]

...did the mall always shut down before letting all the customers leave or is this a new thing?

[Angroy will be showing up in 3...2...1......]

[Wally thought they wouldn't have to deal with crowds that way, alright? Jeez.]

I dunno...

[Glancing around now.] Dude, I don't even see any security guards around.

[Maybe there was an evacuation and they missed it. What if some beam or something passed over the Earth and disintegrated everyone who wasn't a ginger?

Or what if Roy and Wally just really need to get their hearing checked. There were plenty of warnings, get it together guys.

Wally will casually walk over to Jamba Juice and try opening the door. It won't budge, well they're just doomed.]

[Okay, fair enough.]

[He tries to open the door once more. Nope. The door's still not budging.]

So we're the only ones trapped in here? Perfect.

[Wow. Having an unannounced evacuation? That's perfect. What if there's poison gas in here and they're just breathing it in? Yeah, wow, mall cops. You certainly fell short by not making sure everyone was out. Gosh. You should all be fired.

Well, either that or Roy and Wally need to pay better attention to announcements, but still. Slacking ass mall cops not doing their job properly :|

Jeez. What the hell are they supposed to do in the meantime?]

[Wally will press his face against the glass window of the exit and look out. Nothing and no one out there either. Welp. There is a nice smudge where his face was though. He'll try to wipe that away with his sleeve, oops.]

You could be trapped with someone way less awesome than I am, look on the bright side.

[Nah, they'd be dead by now if there was poison gas. Probably. They'd know for sure by morning at least, um.

What are they supposed to do? How should Wally know? Well, maybe he has one idea.]

Hey, I'll race you to the furniture store.

[While Wally was mushing his face against the window, he found himself a seat on the bench, trying to fiddle with his already dead phone. Yeah, of course the phone would die at a time like this.]

I guess.

[At least they would have died in good company? Uh.

Wait, what'd you say, Wally?]

Seriously?

[Way to charge your phone, Roy. Wally didn't even bring his, but still. Way to go, Roy.

Wally makes his way over to sit on the other side of the bench.]

Would you rather walk there in calmly manner?

[He was only kidding about racing anyway, racing against Wally isn't fair unless you're Barry. ~~Or even Bart, sobs.~~]

[At least he brought his! Gosh, didn't your parents tell you to never leave the house without your phone, Wally?

Anyway, he shrugs.]

I'd actually rather be out of here instead of racing to a furniture store against a speedster...

[YOU'D NEED A HANDICAP TO RACE BART okay, sorry.]

At least walking there sounds more fair.

Edited 2012-11-28 06:11 (UTC)

[Duh, Wally doesn't come from a family of barbarians or anything.]

I think we're stuck, unless we try breaking the doors down...

[Then run like hell, since that's bound to raise an alarm or two.

Wally jumps back up and grins.]

Let's go then, we can test out the mattresses.

[By jumping on them, obviously. Possibly making a fort too, hmmm. Anyhow Wally starts walking in the direction of the store.]

[So, Wally's the only barbarian then.]

Fine.

[Today just happens to be the day Roy doesn't feel like dealing with the police's crap, so he'll follow along. Who knows? Maybe the jumping and building a fort could be fun after all. Hmmm.]

[...excuse you.]

[Walking through an empty mall is really weird. Almost spooky.

Wally will keep that thought to himself though, uhhhhh. Hey look at that, they're at the store. There's one of those metal grate things blocking the entrance though. Ah man.]

Huh. You don't have a lock pick, do you?

[You're excused.]

No. Left it in my other jacket.

[If he had one, he would have been using it on the exit doors.]

You should look into getting a utility belt.

[And then carry it everywhere like Robin. Even to the bathroom.

Wally has the really genius idea of kicking at the grate. It wasn't very effective.

Unless his goal was to hurt his toes, then it was super effective!!!]

Ow.

That's Batman and Robin's thing.

[Besides, he has his quiver, although carrying that around 24/7 would be ridiculous. Maybe he should get a utility belt. Hm.]

That was smart, by the way.

Edited 2012-12-08 07:15 (UTC)

I don't think they have it trademarked or anything.

[Yet.]

I didn't see you trying anything.

[YEP. HE SURE IS TRYING NOT TO LOOK EMBARRASSED.]

Well, if the gate's pulled down over it and we don't have a lock pick, our next idea is to keep it moving.

...So, you want to walk in circles until the mall opens in the morning?

[Gee that sounds.]

Sure, of course, I call dibs on that bench over there if the rest of the stores with beds are gated.

[Glancing over at the bench in question. That doen't look very comfortable at all.]

Okay, but you realize there's a couch upstairs too, right?

[The really ugly one outside the bookstore. It's not all that comfortable either, but it's better than a bench.]

...then let's go upstairs and see if there are anymore couches.

[Because that does sound more appealing than a bench.]

Okay, but if you really want to sit on a bench all night, I won't stop you.

[Hehehe. Heading towards the escalators anyway... or just the stairs, since they're not moving.]

No, I'll pass on that.

[He heads for the stairs, too.]

*blurs to a halt, really confused* Um...hi.

Hi?

I'm guessing you didn't find the way out.

[THEN AGAIN neither did Wally. Running and avoiding trees at the same time is annoying, okay...]

I'm leaning towards pocket dimension, how about you? What about running through the trees? You can still do that, right?

Verdammt verdammt verdammt! Kurt kept an even pace and his face was fairly neutral, but his tail lashed like an angry cat's, betraying mounting agitation. There wasn't that much space for him to cover, really. Only one room full of creepy, wrecked equipment and a couple hallways since that alarm had gone off and the doors had locked down. His attempt at productive exploring had already turned into irritated pacing. He tried to tell himself that someone would have to find him eventually, but it was hard to stay positive with the oppressive weight of the earth above and the creepy, identical rooms that made teleporting to safety untenable.

And he was pretty sure the X-men weren't the only ones to have come across this abandoned facility. That was just icing on the cake.

[They were in a maze. Don't ask why. Something something The Light and Klarion...really, it was all of a blur until now. Now, when they were trapped in a maze.]

I have no idea what just happened.

[It's probably Klarion's fault, toying with them like this and making some elaborate maze while probably laughing his butt off somewhere.]

That makes two of us.

[She tries a spell. Breaking down the wall. Nothing. Something to help light the way. It went out in less than a second. GDI, Klarion.]

Well, I'm out of ideas.

Your turn.

...that was what I was about to suggest.

[And it didn't work. Dang. He pulls one of his explosive arrows out of his quiver and shoots it at one of the walls.

Unfortunately, he had even less luck than Zatanna, unless he was aiming to be noisier, because he succeeded there.]

Well, that was a bust, too. Looks like we're probably gonna have to run through it the hard way.

[She uncovers her ears once the explosion fades, turning to him in question]

...what?

The hard way...meaning we actually walk through the maze to find a way out.

[Assuming there's a way out to begin with because, well, Klarion.]

[Well, let's just hope Klarion gets bored enough to eventually let them out.]

After you.

[Good thing he gets bored really easily sometimes, right? Roy walks on ahead with his guard up. Who knows what could jump out at them while they're roughing it?]

[While Roy watches the front, Zatanna keeps a close eye on their backs. Her fingers twitching, readying the spells silently in her head so she could be prepared to counter at a moment's notice.]

[But nothing came. No attacks, nothing. Which made her all the more nervous, because it would have almost seemed to easy, except for one small detail:]

...wait. I recognize that corner.

We've been here before.

[Things did seem to go smoothly enough, a little too smooth, but he wasn't complaining. That might change, though. He stops in his tracks and turns to look at Zatanna.]

...we have?

[He really hopes she's joking. The walls all look really similar, but the idea of going in a circle is really horrifying right now.]

We have.

He's got us in a spacial loop. The usual way isn't going to work, either.

Well, that's perfect. And we already know trying to blow through the walls and using magic isn't going to help us.

Not necessarily.

There's always some weak point in these kinds of illusions. If we can figure out where it is and hit it together, we might be able to break out.

True, now if only they were easy to find.

There's a way.

I can try to see if I can sense any weak spots. When I find them, you aim one of your arrows and we'll see if we can break it open.

Now that I can get behind.

Glad to hear it, because you're going to be standing behind me while I look.

Though we've been in here long enough by now that even someone without magic might be able to sense something's off. If you focus hard enough.

That seems to be the logical thing to do, anyway.

Either that or they'd be able to recognize if they've been in a previous area before.

Like I said: if you focus hard enough.

[ This is like passing out in the desert all over again. Kaldur slowly sat up with a splitting headache and blurry vision. ]

What.... happened?

[As Kaldur was getting up, Roy was trying to get an idea of where they even were. Good news is that somehow landed on an island.

But, the bad news? Roy has no idea where they are or if there's any civilization nearby...]

Still unclear of that myself, actually...you okay?

.... An ache in my head is beginning to form and a minor concussion at the worst.

[ he sighed followed Roy with his eyes, finally being able to focus on him. ]

How long have you been awake?

A good fifteen minutes. Figuring out how long we've been here is another story, but we can worry about that later.

[Because concussions are never a good thing. Fortunately, he found that most of the first aid stuff was still in tact, which means he's going to focus on trying to help Kaldur now.]

... I am a fast healer you do not need to waste this time on me.

[ he groans and sits up more, finally being able to see a bit clearer. ]

How did... we get here.

Making sure you're alright doesn't sound like wasting time to me.

[He looks around for a bit. It doesn't look like they crashed since there's no form of transportation in sight, he thinks.]

I'm...not clear on that, either. Think we might've been teleported?

...There is always a possibility of that.

[ he rubs his head and sighs, now observing their surroundings. He murmurs under his breath.]

At least I am with someone this time... ]

Now all that's left is finding out who and why...

[Someone who will not ditch him for an indestructible clone, right?

His next suggestion is to explore the area further and hope to find some civilization, but first...]

Can you walk?

Yes... I believe so. It seems the pain is only coming from my head.

If you say so. Wanna head out, then?

[ he nods his head. ]

Lets go my friend.

[He looks off into some random direction and then back to Kaldur.]

How about this way?

[WALLY TOLD YOU HE DIDN'T WANT TO GO CAMPING, ROY. HE TOLD YOU. But then you had to go and use that stupid pouty face, and Wally still doesn't know where you learned to make that face by the way.

So. That's like. Whatever.

It doesn't matter because now they're lost and Wally can't just run out because there are way too many trees, holy shit.

And what was that? It sounded like a growl.]

Was that a bear? Dude, you never said there were bears!

[HE'S NOT FREAKING OUT OKAY.]

[SUCK IT UP, WALLY. YOU COULD HAVE SAID NO EVEN AFTER HE USED THE POUTY FACE. It's not his fault you can't resist it. Also, Roy will never tell you where he learned it.

But, yeah. Okay, so maybe Roy made a few miscalculations here and there, but it's nothing they can't handle. They're superheroes for crying out loud.

....would be nice to have a working GPS, though. He's currently tinkering it, so he didn't really hear the "bear".]

A what?

[Well, he sure did miss a good chunk of what Wally said.]

[Um. It is his fault, because it's his face!!!

A few? Yeah. Okay. ~~Wally could've helped, but he was busy. Guarding the snacks.~~]

What do you mean "what"? Can you not hear all those hungry animals and all the sounds they're making?

[THESE SOUNDS? THAT'S TOTALLY MOST LIKELY SOME HUNGRY ANIMAL.

Ignoring him? Rude, Roy. Wally is so upset he is going to kick this pine cone over. Hmph.]

[Rude. He can't help that he was cloned this way.

Yes. A few. You could've helped, too, Wally. :| And those sounds? Wow, you're ridiculous.]

Yeah. The frogs sound like they're going to pounce on us at any minute. We better get out of here before it's too late.

[That was so deadpan. So very deadpan.]

...frogs.

[There is no way all those ribbits are coming from frogs! Wait...]

I knew that.

[Pfff, but still Wally is going to stand closer to Roy. Just in case.]

Of course you did.

[Silly Wally.]

Sooo... know how to get out of here, yet?

Not quite. I was hoping the GPS would help, but it has other plans.

Didn't you bring extra batteries? That's, like, rule one of going out in to the wilderness, isn't it?

....

I knew I forgot something.

[OOPS.]

[....................................... . . . . . . . . .]

Dude.

[Worst bro ever.]

What about you? Do you have your phone on you?

[YEAH LET THEM JUST IGNORE ROY'S SHORTCOMINGS FOR THE TIME BEING...]

[Wally is still making a face at Roy, but he stops so he can dig through his pocket to grab his phone. He checks and...]

No signal.

Perfect.

[Except not really.]

Looks like we'll be roughing it, then.

[Roughing it? No. No, Wally doesn't want to.]

Okay... but we're gonna rough it in a different spot, right?

[It's kind of damp here, that's all.]

Yeah, Wally. We'll rough it somewhere else.

[Deadest of pans.]

Edited 2012-12-11 07:24 (UTC)

[Wally doesn't appreciate that tone very much.]

...I don't believe you.

[They're not gonna rough it somewhere else at all, are they?]

[Oh, really? Then don't mind Roy taking off. He was being serious.]

Edited (lol redundancy.) 2012-12-12 06:48 (UTC)

[Hey. HEY ROY WAIT FOR WALLY. RUDE.

...

Well, actually nbd, Wally is the one with superspeed here, so he catches up pretty easily.]

So, are we walking aimlessly now?

[Or is Roy following the moss on the trees or something? Moss grows on certain sides doesn't it?]

Well, you didn't want to rough it in the wet patch.

[No, they're wandering aimlessly until they find a drier area okay?]

[This wasn't a predicament either of you fancied to be in.
Coexisting in the same hallway was nearly impossible for Midnight Crew and Felt alike on a good day- let alone being trapped in a confined area for an indeterminable amount of time, but here they were.

Not that this girl was exactly a Felt member (aside from baring remarkably similar ties to their attire and Lord), or that the man she was trapped with completely linked to the dersite tossers she faced for that matter. All the same, Calliope wasn't so certain she should take her eyes off the other man so soon.]

“it appears as thoUgh we will not be retUrning the way we have come. while it is UsUally Unwise to rUle options oUt so early, i think it best we pUrsUe other alternatives.
woUldn't you agree?

[The cherub girl may not look like much, but she does have a gun and whatever door lay at the end of this bunker certainly isn't going to open by the strength of one person alone.]

[If he had it his way, he would have shot her the moment they had landed. He trusted nobody outside of the Crew, and he sure as hell wasn't going to trust an English look-alike. But Droog considered himself a man of style and class, one who could actually think ahead versus his teammates. Their impulses were deplorable, and more often than not clouded their judgements. Droog liked to think that he was a cut above that.

He stares down at the girl, his face a blank slate. His gun is pointed straight at her, but he's refrained from pulling the trigger.]

What would you suggest, little girl?

[Call her cautious, but after a lifetime of death threats from a sibling she had never fully met, Calliope was more than aware how she should react to a firearm: by making sure Droog knew she was also armed.

The cherub lay with the small of her back comfortably against the wall's corner, one arm casually by her exposed white holster, but that was the extent of it. She continued to smile passively at her counterpart, eyes creasing only in strategic thought.]

“well.. we shall make no fUrther progress by dilly dallying aroUnd this bloody shaft. it is qUite likely the rooms Up ahead shall not be properly illUminated. therefore, i sUggest we find a means to light oUr way. with a place this worn from disUse, she is likely to be qUite clUttered.”

[there was a possibility the only room affected by the poweroutage was the one whose ceiling they had just fell through, but Calliope knew a meeting of such bad jUjU couldn't possibly be that lucky.]

[A light... well, that was something Droog certainly kept on himself at all times. He had several lighters, in fact, and several backup lighters as well, all tucked away into his Brawloseum. A smoke was an important prop to a man's image, see. Not to mention a useful tool in interrogations when needed. It wouldn't be very classy of him to offer a lady a smoke when he lacked a lighter.

But he won't mention that. Not yet.]

Very well, then. Do you have anything on your person that could be of use?

“i'm afraid I haven't mUch on me for the moment...”

[Calliope pondered. it was hard to be accurately prepared when her brother was the only one who could captchalogue the more useful items in her juju modus. aside from a couple jujubees and a handful of special stardust there was only the usual series of UNPLEASANT NOTES...

well... those might be good for burning she supposed. she procured a couple pages that were particularly.. colorful; one fully drenched in 'her blood' as it were. With luck some of her paints would adhere to the flames well. Now all they needed was a torch or lantern..]

"but shoUld oUr flame soUrce refUse to catch, perhaps this will do for fUel?"

[Her gun also being a magic wand might have been useful to mention, but that could wait for now- never reveal your full hand- er claw- too early after all!]

[If he had a nose he would raise it and look down at those papers in disdain. What was with the state of them? It looked like Slick's usual paperwork, only with paint, not blood. What a mess. He holds out a hand.]

Those'll have to do. Hand them over. Don't try anything funny.

[He isn't sure if she has some shitty timey-wimey powers, having never seen her around before. He hopes she doesn't. It would make killing her later harder.]

[She complies, keeping her arms as straight and still as possible so as to not spook the man when she hands him the self incriminating doodles. It isn't that she expects him to trust her- or that she trusts him for that matter!- but all of this suspicion was getting stale.]

“i trUst yoU won't get a papercUt.”

[She had enough of that at home.]

[Her eyes dart down to the remnants of the shattered ceiling they fell through. Those might act well as a torch- but she dare not move unexpectedly.]

“and what do yoU intend for them to light?”

[Years of feuding against those Felt assholes have made him quite suspicious of anyone with a lick of green on their skin. It's lead to quite a few... unsavory encounters in inconvenient locations such as the grocery store. Quite a lot of blood had been spilled in Aisles 2 and 3 from poor judgement (as much as he hated to admit it) his part and the opposing gang members'.

Droog accepts the papers and sticks them into his inventory. He follows her gaze and gives the briefest of nods. ]

You can get those. Here.

[He tosses her a lighter.]

Try not to burn the place down. [That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing... but he wasn't keen on being trapped like a rat in a burning mansion.]

[Calliope returns the nod. Well now, this is more like it! Enemy or not, there isn't any reason for them not to be civil with each other. Lighter in tow, she hesitates for a moment before turning to reach the sticks; as suspected, the flames barely bite into the wood before dwindling out.
Looks like they will be needing that fuel after all... but the paper itself won't stick the wood.]

“bollocks.
No, no this won't do..”

[Grabbing a disheveled- bugger- ripping a disheveled sheet with her claws, Calliope wraps it around the top of the makeshift torch, tucking a few mangled 'drawings' underneath. Lets light her up! As promised she won't go waving it around and igniting the place. Droog's 'fanart' will have to be for backup when the torch runs out.
The cherub glances back to her truculent traveling companion.]

"any fUrther reqUests?"

[[Okay so this is probably a really stupid question but: Have you finished the last episode? Only asking because I really don't wanna be that jerk that spoils it for you with a tag if you haven't finished yet. D: ]]

[ Yep, I definitely have. Spoil away. THIS SERVES AS A SPOILER WARNING FOR EVERYONE ELSE, THOUGH. ]

[[ooc: Oh man okay so. I was thinking maybe soonish after episode 5? Right after getting out of Savannah? I'm just gonna... Pretend that the prison is closer than it probably is, whoops. >_> Only way to do this without my brain breaking. Gonna assume this is somewhere before Little Ass Kicker, too.

...Forgive me my wall of text, my god.]]

[Despite having been on the run for the better part of the past eight months, it sure feels good to be outside again. Having a reasonably safe place to hole up for the time being is all well and good, but the nature of the place- a prison- had made Daryl feel just this side of uncomfortable, like an animal stuck in a trap that he's too dumb to recognize in the first place. He knows he should be using this time to take a load off (like the others, and while he may not be completely comfortable with it he sure as hell isn't going to begrudge them their time to rest), recover some of the strength that's been chipped away since they left the farm, but he hadn't been able to just hang around.

He'd offered to go and check out the surrounding area alone, because it seems like everyone else had found something to keep busy with back there. Rick had agreed, though with that sort of half-nod Daryl knows means he's not entirely comfortable but doesn't want to argue, and so he'd grabbed the necessary provisions before his friend had had a chance to change his mind- water, a bit of food, map, crossbow, knife... And that 'horse blanket' he'd grown so fond of. Say what you want about that, it's a hell of a lot warmer than it looks.

Bike parked in the brush just off the road, he's currently making his through the woods, tracking an animal he'd thought he'd seen when he'd stopped to check the map. It'd been too quick for him to know for sure, but it'd looked big... And even though he'd come out here with the intention of scouting, the hunter in him hadn't been able to resist hopping off and checking it out. Food's food, after all.

He stops to kneel in front of some crushed leaves, squinting at them as he does so because, huh, those don't look like hoof prints to him... They almost look like... Footprints? A single set of small footprints... Scowling at the dirt, he shakes his head. Obviously he's imagining things, ain't no way in hell--

A twig snaps behind him and he whirls with crossbow raised, peering into the distance. He could swear he saw something move just behind that tree... Against his better judgement, he calls out quietly.]

If you ain't a geek you best say so now.

[Probably just a walker... But you never know.]

Edited (lmmfao how do I numbers...?) 2012-11-25 01:26 (UTC)

[[ l-lmao I was like 'trapped in.... an elevator....?' And yes, all of your assumptions are fabulous (also assuming this is before she spots the two figures in the field at the very very end? so I don't have to mess with WAS IT OR WAS IT NOT OMID & CHRISTA.), and I adore text-walls so. :|b ]]

[ That wasn't a deer he spotted in the corner of his eye. That was a girl. Clementine, to be exact. And she'd been curious about another living person, sure, but as soon as she spotted his crossbow she was off like a shot. Clem can maybe defend herself against walkers, kind of. Living people with actual weapons? Not so much.

As soon as she was out of sight, she ducked behind a tree and hoped he didn't see her like she saw him. But he did, and he followed, and now he's talking and she doesn't know what to say. She was always pretty smart, but the geeks were always the kids with the glasses who always got 100% on their tests. Nobody liked the geeks, and it doesn't sound like the man with the bow likes them very much either. So all she has to do is tell him she isn't one, right?

But all of a sudden, that doesn't sound nearly as safe as just staying hidden and keeping quiet. So for a minute or so, she keeps her back pressed against the tree, holding her breath as best she can (as if he could hear, from this distance).

Is he coming closer? It sounds like he's coming closer, and that sends a thrill of panic up Clementine's spine. All of a sudden, the weight of the gun in the pocket of her hoodie is just that much heavier. Keep herself safe. That's what Lee wanted her to do, right?

Agonizingly slowly (to make sure it doesn't make any noise), she's sliding the pistol out of her pocket. She shot the man who kidnapped her. She even had to shoot Lee. She can do it again to stay alive, right? She has to.

And then Clementine's out from behind the tree and aiming the pistol at the man with the crossbow, her face a mix of determination and miserable fear. But it's obvious almost immediately that she isn't gonna be able to shoot him. Not with the way her jaw's quivering, or the shaking of the gun despite both hands trying to keep it steady.

Talk her down, Daryl. She really really doesn't want to shoot people anymore. ]

[[ooc: Works for me :P

OMG I THOUGHT IT WAS OMID AND CHRISTA TBH. Lmao dude I assumed they left because I didn't give the right responses for them to hang around. I wonder if that's the only ending... Ugh. SO MESSED UUUUP. Dat game. ...Need to replay haha.]]

[There's silence for a while, long enough that Daryl's started to think that maybe he is imagining things. It wouldn't be a stretch, and he'd probably blame it on not having been out here for a while (though that's not exactly true and he knows it; how long does it take to recover from chasing ghosts in the woods? The world may never know...) or being less rested than is strictly safe these days... But then he hears it again, unmistakable movement, though it's very faint and he has to strain to hear it...

And then there's... A child. A girl, a little girl with a gun pointed right at him stepping out from behind the damn tree. One would think that a person's first instinct when faced with a child would be to maybe lower his own weapon- and that would certainly have been the case before the world went to hell- but Daryl isn't about to do that, not immediately, anyway. For all he knows this could be a setup, he doesn't know this kid, doesn't know the area, either- he could have walked right into that asshole Randall's group, or worse...

No, that crossbow's staying right where it is until he gets a good look at her. If she was gonna shoot him she'd have done it already, he knows this and he's using this time to let anyone who may or may not be watching think they've got him too scared to move. He takes stock of the area around her first, watching for blurs in the distance, things that look out of place, anything he may have missed on his way over here. Finding nothing, he narrows his eyes and focuses on the child.

She looks... Dirty. Dirty and tired and, he can't help but notice, absolutely terrified. The way she's holding that gun, her body language, the look on her face... Shit, she looks so young, even younger than--

And maybe he'll regret it, maybe it'll end up being the mistake that gets his sorry ass killed... But by god he's lowering that crossbow slowly, carefully, because holding kids at gunpoint (arrowpoint?) isn't who he is.]

Easy, take it easy. [He's keeping his voice as calm as possible; he really doesn't think this kid's gonna shoot him, but... You can never be too careful.] Ain't gonna hurt you.

[[ do you have some other form of contact so we can akdhaskd over the game without spamming our thread? :|a I'm Amxire on AIM and tracetopia on plurk. ]]

[ Though the crossbow's being lowered, her pistol isn't. Not yet, anyway. Everything she ever does is gonna be dangerous--that's another thing Lee taught her. And it was true enough to get him bitten, so it's definitely true enough to be a little too careful now.

At his tone, she bites her lip, stubbornly keeping the pistol leveled just long enough to realize that there's really no way she can do it. Not so soon. It's been a couple of days already, but she still hasn't thought to wash the blood off her face. Lee's blood, that walker's blood... It doesn't matter anymore, does it?

Then she caves, the pistol falling to her side. It's like he thought: she just can't do it.

Which brings her to the next most important thing. Clementine swallows hard, then tentatively says: ] Have you seen a man and a woman? [ ...How specific. She clarifies: ] She's really tall and he kinda limps. [ Yeah, the chances aren't very good that he's even come close to seeing them, but... ] I have to find them. Lee told me to meet them at the train, but I don't know where that is, either...

[[ I'm shichiloafs on AIM and... I don't have a plurk hahaha avoiding it like the plague ]]

[He can't say he blames her for not getting that gun out of his face right away... Actually, he'd probably be more worried if she did- she's afraid of him, obviously, which hopefully means she doesn't have a legion of guys behind her. It's a good sign?

There's a very, very long pause (which probably feels a lot longer than it is because, hey, gun pointed at him by a very shaky, scared kid) and then finally the weapon's dropped to her side and Daryl can breathe again, is free to look her over properly. Without that gun in her hands she looks smaller, even younger than before... Where the fuck are her parents probably isn't the smartest question, but it's the first one that comes to him regardless- kid's got no business being out here by herself...

And then there's her question, and shit, he hasn't seen anyone for miles, alive or otherwise. He shakes his head slowly.]

Ain't seen nobody like that. [He frowns.] Ain't no trains around here, neither... Where'd you come from?

[So she's alone and lost... He can't help but be reminded of Sophia, can't help comparing the two, either; this kid's got a weapon at least, maybe if Sophia'd had one... No. No, thanks. That's a road he really, really does not need to be going down right now. What he needs to be doing, he tells himself, is dealing with what's right in front of him.]

[[ w-whoa we met on the last role call, I already had you added. MY BAD. ]]

[ She knows how much weaker she looks without pointing the gun, and that makes her really nervous, but both of them know she isn't gonna kill anyone so what's the point of pretending? All she can do is hope the man didn't lie, hope he really isn't gonna hurt her after all. He doesn't look like a nice person--he looks kind of like a wild-man, actually, and his accent is the same as the men on the dairy who ate Mark for dinner--but her judge of character is usually pretty good and right now it's leaning toward 'safe'. Safe-ish, anyway.

'Ain't seen nobody like that.' Her stomach drops with the weight of how high she'd gotten her hopes. She shouldn't have, she knows, but there was always that itty bitty chance... 'Ain't no trains around here, neither.' Clementine swallows hard, glancing around. She was pretty sure this way was the way to the train tracks. Is she going the wrong way?

'Where'd you come from?' ] Atlanta. But we were in Savannah looking for a boat and my mom and dad.

[[I THINK WE DID. Wow haha, I feel like you're probably on my list already too. 8'D WHOOPS.]]

[It's not so much the weakness Daryl's noticing- though that's definitely something- as it is the... Childishness. Take Carl's gun away and he still looks like Carl, like a little soldier who'd kick your ass six ways to Sunday if you cornered him. This girl, though... She doesn't look quite so hard. Daryl isn't sure which of the two is worse.

Her face just drops at his response, and he feels pretty damn awful about having to be the one to give her the news. He's never been good with this, handling other peoples emotions (or his own, if he's honest) and so really he's just hoping against hope that she don't start cryin'.

Fortunately, she seems to be made of tougher stuff than that- all the way from Savannah? By herself?]

Shit... [He chews at his lip as he studies her again. All things considered, she's a lot better off than she could be.] You shoulda stayed put, gonna be hard for them to find you all the way out here.

[He allows himself the most irrational flash of anger at the fact that if Sophia'd just stayed where Rick told her to, things might have been different. But this little girl ain't Sophia, and she don't know any better, either.]

How long you been on your own?

[ Don't worry, Daryl. Clem isn't gonna start crying, if only because there isn't much cry left in her after all this. Her face may have fallen, but so would yours if you were eight and walking for almost a day in the complete wrong direction without any food and no idea which water sources are safe to drink.

But wait. ] Stayed put? But the walkers were gonna get in. [And she couldn't look at Lee anymore. Not after what she did.

How long has she been out on her own? ] Yesterday morning.... I wasn't s'posed to be. I was s'posed to find Christa and Omid. [ She's clarifying so Lee doesn't get in trouble for leaving her alone. Even though he's dead, and dead people can't get in trouble. ]

[Daryl's face had done more than fall when he'd been unable to find his way back home after that first day he'd been lost- he'd spent pretty much the entirety of the second one bawling his eyes out before finally sacking up and making the decision to take care of himself...

But then, it'd been just him and the woods back then. This little girl has the walkers to dealwith too. Daryl feels for her, really, he does.] Okay, okay. You're lookin' for your people. [He nods; he's not gonna push it... Even though he has his doubts about a child finding much of anything in these woods.]

Yesterday, huh? [Face visibly softening, he reaches a hand into his pocket- slowly, of course, he doesn't want the kid to think he's going for a weapon- and pulls out a string of jerky.] You gotta be hungry. Here-- [Carefully he takes a step forward, jerky outstretched. He's aware he probably isn't exactly the most friendly looking asshole around, all covered in dirt and sweat from stomping around in the woods, but he's trying. He should ask her her name. That's friendly, right?] What's your name?

[ By now, she's almost entirely convinced that he's not as bad as he seems. Mostly on account of the fact that usually, bad people are better at pretending they aren't. Especially when his face softens. She's seen that look on enough people to know it's usually genuine.

So she's offering: ] Clementine. [ And after a second, she lifts the gun to examine it, carefully makes sure the safety's back on, and slides it back into her hoodie pocket. (She always saw Lee store it in the waistband of his pants, but she's had nothing but this nightgown and hoodie for a long long time, and storing it in the waistband of a nightgown isn't very possible.)

Congrats, Daryl. You won at least enough trust that she doesn't think she'll have to defend herself from you in the next few minutes. So with that, she's meeting him halfway, accepting the jerky. ] Thank you. [ But it sounds almost apologetic, and a second later she's letting him know what's on her mind: ] I'm sorry I almost shot you. I just didn't know if you were bad. [ And now that she's apologized, she takes a bite of the jerky. After going hungry for this long, it tastes amazing, so don't mind her if she's just going to scarf it all down right here and now. ]

[Considering Daryl probably couldn't fake an emotion if he tried (shit, he has problems conveying the ones that are 100% genuine), yeah. You're safe, Clem.

Daryl can't help but notice that she seems to be pretty knowledgeable about that gun- someone obviously taught her how to use it, where the hell are they now? Maybe it was those people she's looking for, the tall one and the gimpy one... He supposes it isn't really important. Once the gun's safely tucked away, the girl- Clementine- goes for the jerky. Thanks him for it too, and he wonders if the person who taught her how to handle the gun also taught her manners.

...Probably not.]

Sure.

[He's... Actually surprised by that apology- far as he's concerned it's pretty much a non-issue.] You were protectin' yourself, same as me. [An awkward pause. Now that she's apologized, well... He guesses he may as well, too. She's set that standard.] Sorry I scared you. [Another pause, as she just goes to town on that jerky. She's clearly hungry, and there's another piece in his pocket that he has half a mind to fork right over... He'll wait until she's done with this one.] But I ain't bad... Unless you're a walker.

[And there's a teeny smile for you, Clem. It vanishes pretty quick, though; ain't nothin' to smile about- kid's lost in the damn woods. And speaking of that...] Your group know you're out here? [And again, he can't help but be reminded of Sophia's disappearance and the way the group had searched for her, can't help but think of Carol and all of her hoping and praying. Is someone out there doing that for this girl, too?]

[ It's just a teeny smile but it's a smile nonetheless, so despite herself, she's offering a grin right back. It's a quiet sort of grin, not at all bright like it may have been if her not-family hadn't all fallen apart in the last couple of days, but that too is a smile nonetheless.

And though he may be surprised at the apology, it doesn't occur to her that it was unusual to offer it. If he'd meant her harm, it would have been totally fair to point the gun at him, but he hadn't so it was only natural that she apologize.

'Your group know you're out here?' Clem shakes her head a little. ] Everyone thinks I'm with Lee. [ She swallows, and this part's a little tough for her to say. ] Lee's-... He got bitten. [ And she had to take care of it. ]

[Got bit... Daryl frowns. He'd kind of figured it'd been something like that, why else would she be alone?]

'M sorry about your friend. [He's been feeling awfully sorry about things lately, it seems to be a trend... One he's not exactly thrilled about.

But back to the situation at hand, he can feel sorry later:] So no one's lookin' for you...? [It's more rhetorical than anything else- how can they be looking if they don't even know she needs findin'? He brings his hand up to gnaw at the corner of his thumbnail, eyes narrowed somewhat in thought.

This girl is fucked. Unless...] I could help you look for 'em. If you want.

[Well shit. It's out of his mouth before he even gets the chance to argue with himself about it. It's none of his damn business, and he knows that if this was an adult he'd come across he'd very likely leave their ass in the woods... But this is different. He can't just walk away.]

[ He's... gonna help her? If her face fell before, it's sure as heck lighting up now. ]

But how are you gonna do that, if you don't know where the train is?

[ Really, though, that's just a technicality. She's still thrilled, seriously. Daryl just made one little girl's day. Because somehow, even when it was established that he's good, she didn't even fathom that he'd stick around. Maybe offer her a little food and point her in the right direction. That's what people always did for Lee, when they were looking for help. ]

[Her face brightens, and while it's a much better look than the miserable, downtrodden expression she'd worn before- even with the blood- Daryl can't help but feel like he's just gotten himself into a situation he might regret. He's just getting used to the responsibilities he has within the group, and now he's got this kid to look after... At least for today.

But really, what other choice does he have?]

We gotta work our way back to the road first, bike's there with the rest of my gear. I got a map.

[He shoulders his crossbow and turns to peer back the way he came. They're not too far, a mile or so... Shouldn't take long.]

You ready?

[For all your 4 + i needs!]

[ Well, this is just great. First crazy Russians, then aliens, and now the living dead. It really shouldn’t be possible, logic says it shouldn’t be possible, but logic’s pretty damn hard to listen to when there’s a horde of rotting corpses pressed up against the glass door, slavering to get inside and strip the flesh from his bones.

How he ended up in a mall is a combination of coincidence and bad luck masquerading as good fortune. Because it seems like a good place to be: plenty of supplies and food. But there are a multitude of entry points, and eventually the food’s going to run out. At the moment, however, he’s not thinking about that. He’s thinking about reloading his gun and trying to figure out if the guy he’s hiding out in here with knows what the fuck’s going on. ]

What the fuck’s going on?

[CJ doesn't know shit about Russians, other than the pregnant ones are fucking awful. Aliens? Not so much about them, either. In fact, CJ doesn't know a lot about a lot, but the living...the things outside his mall? He knows that one shot in the head puts them down, they feed on warm flesh, and that's all they care about. He's seen some running around on ankles that are clearly broken, their legs and feet moving in a manner that makes him wince to just to see it. Some of them run around with missing arms, some with sores...all they care about is getting in and being bitey fucking assholes all over the place.

At least the other guy who found his way in knows how to shoot.]

The glass to the outside is shatterproof, so don't shoot at it. The only way to shoot at any of these fuckers is from the roof.

[It's the only thing, so far, keeping them out. Shatterproof glass, something he used to bitch about, suddenly the savior of Crossroads. He'll never bitch about it again.]

Unless you plan on going out, then you're going out on the roof, too; we're not opening a fucking window in this place.

[ Shooting them from the roof should like a good idea. There’s minimal risk to the shooter and a better vantage point to see the target. Or in this case, targets. There seem to be a lot of the damn things. Considering they’re in a large, densely populated area, that doesn’t really come as much of a surprise. ]

Is there a sporting goods shop in here? Some place that sells ammunition?

[ The path down which Justin’s thinking might be obvious. Take a lot of ammunition up to the roof and start picking them off from safety. There’s plenty of food and water, enough provisions for days, maybe even weeks, and by then they’ll have thinned out the crowd a little. Or the walking dead will have lost interest and gone after other prey. ]

If the access points are secure, we should be able to do something with this.

[The question makes him snort. They're in one of the biggest malls in the fucking state, and he's asking if they have a sporting goods shop in the place. No, they don't, and there's no coffee shop, there's no furniture store, and there's certainly no little places that'll pierce ears for a minimal fee. Not at all.

Jesus Christ.]

Yeah, there is. And there's a Goddamn gun shop just outside the mall, if you feel like running through the parking lot and stocking up on what a mall shop wouldn't carry.

[The only way he'd get to run across the parking lot, however, is if he jumped, because like hell is he opening any doors he doesn't have to. Or maybe he can fuck off through the sewer, CJ isn't picky.]

Got some propane tanks, too, so we could always have a barbeque.

Yeah, uh, I'm thinking I want to hold off on venturing outside until the crowd gets thinned out a little.

[ If the damn things weren't as fast as they are, Justin might make the trip without waiting for the horde to get thinned down too quickly. He's a good shot with a gun and he can run pretty fast when he needs to. But those things aren't the slow, lumbering hulks of rotting meat the movies have always led him to believe they are. They're fast. Almost faster than it seems possible for them to be, but with no reason to breathe and no need to worry about cramps in sides and legs, maybe there's a reason for that, too. ]

Have you noticed if that's been happening? If any of them have been leaving or dying off or getting eaten or something?

I haven't been keeping numbers on the books or anything, if that's what you mean.

[CJ works with numbers and books when it comes to his job. He works with numbers when he has to figure out how much someone stole from one of the stores. Outside of that? He doesn't do numbers so much. He doesn't exactly have a chart on the roof with the numbers and how they've grown or lessened during the past week. He could stay here a damn long time, just him and...]

How'd you get in, by the way?

[ Justin nods, accepting that. Numbers aren't for everybody. And that's okay. He's here now, he can handle the numbers. ]

Oh. Yeah. There was a door hanging open in the parking garage.

[ He shrugs, totally casual about the whole thing. The trail of zombie bodies leading up to it might have a good deal to do with that. He's a good shot. Best marksman in his secondary school class back when he was a teenager, and he's only gotten better over the years. ]

It's fine. I locked it and blocked it up after I got in.

[That answer catches him off guard. Why didn't he see it on the security cameras? How could it have been hanging open without those things noticing it? Getting in? Well, they were dumb as fuck, that much was for certain. Maybe they just focused on a certain section and didn't spend that much time exploring. Maybe this guy was lying and he broke it open himself. Either way, there wasn't a bite on either of them, and if he hadn't blocked it, it would have been obvious by now. They would have seen a living person and followed, and then his whole Goddamn mall would have been overrun with the fuckers, running and knocking shit over, biting him...]

Yeah? Good job. Great. I didn't know there was a door open.

[It's a bit awkward, but he eventually says:]

Name's CJ, by the way. Roof now?

Justin Hammer.

[ He doesn't say it with fanfare. He doesn't expect CJ to have any idea who he is. And if the world's being overrun by the undead, who he is probably doesn't matter a whole hell of a lot anymore. ]

Yeah. Sure. Roof sounds good.

[ The sooner they start picking these bastards off, the faster they can get out of the mall. Or so he thinks, anyway. ]

Want to see who can get the most in an hour?

[He gave his name because it's easier than dealing with dumbass questions. Or, questions that would come from a dumbass if security had their names on the front of their shirts. CJ doesn't have a name tag on, and extending his name is the most basic thing he can do. The only thing he will do, because if this Hammer—what the fuck kind of name is that?—guy falls behind or gets in the way, CJ won't give a damn. Nobody's getting in the mall, nobody's going to compromise the safety of the place, and that's all there is to it.]

I've got two propane tanks up there already.

[Why shoot them one at a time when there's barbeque to be had?]

Done it twice a day the past four days. They keep coming back. It's like they think we have fucking blood coffee.

Hasn't there been any decrease in their numbers?

[ Maybe it's not that surprising. It's a mall. It's situated in a populated area. If the whole city's infected or cursed or whatever the hell's going on, it stands to reason that there's going to be a lot of undead people shambling around. It just seems like eventually a dent would be made in their numbers.

Or they'd give up and go the fuck away. ]

Jesus Christ. And you haven't seen any other survivors?

Not since my trainees went down to turn the lights back on.

[There's nothing in the way of sorrow that shows at the information that people he knew were quite dead at this point. Dead but not dead, he doesn't know how the fuck it works. They left, the lights came back on, they didn't return, he went on the roof to look out a bit, and saw one of them in the parking lot. He can only assume Barton got eaten alive, the dumbass bastard.

He pulls out a hefty set of keys and walks to the sporting goods store, opens it up by lifting up the cage-like door.]

I'm assuming you know your shit—go wild.

[ That sounds ominous. Justin frowns, recognizing that there’s no follow-up mention of those trainees coming back. And they’re certainly not around right now, which points to really only one outcome. ]

I’ve been making firearms and explosives since before I was old enough to vote. I do indeed know my shit.

[ He crosses over and ducks under the door. ]

Give me, I don’t know, ten minutes. I’ll be ready to roll.

The first lights stared to go off and Isaac came to with a start. He wasn't sure how or when he'd lost consciousness. It was close to the moon but nothing like this had never happened before.

Now it does and he's in the kiddie play area of the mall, curled up on a mat sticky with god knew what.

Rising up, he looked around. No one. Not that he could see, a few store fronts glowing softly.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

"Oh, do keep it down."

Said with a lazy drawl as he slowly emerged from the shadows behind the pillar he'd been leaning against, waiting for the boy to wake up.

A werewolf, that much was clear from the stink, and a young one too. Garrett should probably just have wrung his neck and been done with it, but his curious nature had kept him from doing so. It wasn't every day you came across a child of the moon after all.

Besides, he much preferred a fair fight if it was to come to that.

Isaac spun, pale eyes narrowing. Frustration showed in the set of his jaw, upset more with himself than he was with this stranger. He'd let himself be caught out, alone, taking that chance with all the hunters he'd encountered lately.

Straightening his shoulders, the leather rustling as it settled around his frame. Trying to look nonchalant as he slid his hands into his pockets. He could handle this. Wasn't like he'd meant to be there. Except this guy didn't look like security.

Not to mention smelling off.

Isaac's nostrils flared, brows furrowing as he took a long, slow look over the guy. His frown deepened. Not security at all. Shit.

"I'll do my best," he said, tones bright and louder than they needed to be. "How about pointing me to the nearest door and I'll keep it down all the way back to my car." Well, Derek's car but who was keeping track?

Oh no, definitely not security.

"I might."

Because the way this young one smelled Garrett doubted he'd enjoy making a meal of the kid.

It was probably too dark for most eyes to make out the ruby gleam of his eyes or the deathly pallor of his skin, but he didn't count on that to hide what he was from someone with a nose as good as his own.

"But first I have to ask how in the world you ended up here flat on your face like that."

Because he'd really like to know. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but Garrett was in a sense already dead so he didn't really let that get in his way.

Edited (what are tenses) 2012-11-24 02:42 (UTC)

For Isaac this was entirely knew to him. He'd had a hard lesson in learning there was more out there than just werewolves, but even that had been a mutation. This man though, he was nothing like that.

Despite himself, Isaac took a step closer, circling to one side as his nostrils flared again. Everything was off. The man's scent. The way he looked in the dim light of the mall.

Isaac paused from one step to the next, realizing what he wasn't hearing. The normal sounds of a person. Heartbeat. Air in lungs. Everything he'd been learning to listen to so he'd know lies from truth, panic from adrenaline.

"Well you know. I was playing with the kiddies and fell asleep." He made a mockery of yawning, stretching broadly. "Oops?"

Truth was, he'd like to know too but all he could smell were the stale scent of the mall - old foods, spilled formula, all the crap stuck to the bottoms of shoes.

"You always go around skulking in malls? I'm used to creepy and brooding but this is new." Even for him.

"I skulk around in all sorts of places."

Garrett didn't move. In fact, he was still in a way that no human could be. Only his eyes unblinkingly followed Isaac as the youth moved, without a single flicker of his eyelids.

He sounded amused, and was in fact smiling a little now as he spoke. It would seem that this little cub didn't know what he was, or things would probably have gotten out of hand already. Then again, it wasn't entirely the right time of the month for it, now was it?

"Playing with the kiddies and no one woke you up? How careless."

"Isn't that just cheery and foreboding," Isaac drawled, shifting slightly on the balls of his feet. Not quite fidgeting though the nervous energy was there. "Your last name doesn't happen to be Hale, does it? Different kind of creepster vibe but still creepster."

Taunting a stranger, one stranger than most that Isaac had dealt with, was probably not his smartest move. Did hunters come in a supernaturally creepy variety? He'd have to ask Derek later. If he got home.

Playing up his bravado, letting curiosity get the better of him as he took a step closer. His head cocked to one side, eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to work it out in his head.

"My friend's uncle is sort of a creepster too. It's the kind of game he'd play." And likely to leave Derek thinking Isaac had bolted. "Course he does things you don't. Like breathe. Blink. Not come off like a friendly zombie. You know. Those kind of things."

Edited 2012-11-24 03:41 (UTC)

"No, not Hale."

He hadn't actually used his last name since he was turned, and he wasn't about to start for the sake of this kid.

Actually, what was starting to nag at the back of his mind was the fact that if he wasn't going to kill the werewolf he ought to get his butt out of there right quick. There were forces that did not appreciate at all when vampires were revealed to exist. Or rather, there was the one force. The Volturi.

But he was still so very curious. And werewolves probably didn't like getting revealed either so maybe they could just part ways and that was that.

Shame to kill something he wasn't going to eat, and he certainly wasn't going to snack on something with that smell.

Garrett tilted his head a little to the side, and his smile widened.

"Is your friend's uncle a werewolf too?"

Let's see what sort of reaction that got.

This was going to turn into another of those things Derek just conveniently forgot to tell his new betas. Like so much else that had driven the others away. The thought made him almost physically wince, wondering how many times he'd live through Derek's omissions before they caught up with him.

The worse was knowing that if he walked away from this, Derek might still not answer his questions. This could well be his only chance to find out anything about the man before him.

Trying to keep that self assured, devil may care attitude he projected at school, he moved closer as he shifted more to the side as if that might show if those eyes were a trick of light, or more like his own. Mutable and reflective of his nature at that moment.

Of course he stopped from one step to the next. His foot slowly eased back to the floor.

"Peter? He's... something. Not sure what yet," he said, shrugging one shoulder. "He's got a heartbeat though, so guessing that puts him a step above whatever you are. You speak. Seem to have motor control. So going with not a zombie, though that would have been cool."

He was admitting he didn't know what he was, but he wasn't going to get answers if he didn't make that admission.

So the young one didn't know what he was. Well, that was good. Not that he cared so much on a personal level, but there were laws to obey and he generally did his best to do so. It usually didn't end so well if one didn't.

He kind of liked Isaac's attitude, he had to give the kid that much.

He turned a little so they were facing each other directly again, keeping his movements slow to not give away just how fast he could be if he wanted to.

"I'd say you're better off not knowing, but I have a feeling you wouldn't believe me."

It was a lie after all.

His knowledge of werewolves was a little limited, so he wasn't sure just how messy things would get if he decided to get rid of the boy. His senses were more acute than a human's even in this form, that much was certain.

It wouldn't do to make a scene. That was the sort of thing that got a nomad in trouble. Especially since he wasn't a particularly valuable individual, all things considered. No special gifts outside of what vampires normally had.

Edited 2012-11-27 01:34 (UTC)

Isaac, had he known it was life or death, might have backed down a bit. No, probably not. He had a curious streak when it came to his new life and all he hadn't learned yet. Especially things he was pretty certain that Derek would never tell him.

He considered that, smiling wider when he moved to face him.

"Actually, I believe you. I do believe I'm better off not knowing," he said, agreeing with a nod. "Doesn't mean I don't want to know though."

Shrugging with a rustle of leather, pale eyes looking Garrett over. His lips curved into a smirk, sardonic and trying not to show how damned curious he was.

"Way I figure it, if you wanted to kill me, you probably would have. Had plenty of time while I was unconscious. Also means you're probably not working for Peter, who I figure dumped me here. Means my chances of living have gotten better by the moment."

He could talk his way out of his. He was certain of that. Or so he prayed. Dying now wasn't high on his list of things to do.

Garrett's smile was wide and pleasant, the smile of a generally nice guy who liked being around people. Not really a facial expression befitting a predator.

That was one of the great things about being virtually indestructible though, it didn't really matter if you were intimidating or not.

"You know, I kind of like you. I've never been good at walking away from a challenge or a mystery either."

He folded his arms across his chest and considered Isaac thoughtfully.

"And that wasn't a bad display of logic either, even if it wasn't entirely correct. Could still kill you quite easily."

Which probably was giving away too much, but there really was no point beating around the bush much since Isaac could already tell he wasn't human, when you thought about it.

"It's a vampire thing."

Besides, he felt that inquisitiveness should be rewarded.

Having dealt with Peter, a rather charming and charismatic sociopath, that look sent a cold chill up along Isaac's spine. It didn't make him back down though. Apparently sanity was burned out by whatever the bite caused.

"Yeah I'm sure the others would tell me I'm a fool," he admitted, but he smiled at the compliment such as it was. Praise had a way of getting to Isaac above all else.

"Oh, yeah, you probably could. I could try and defend myself. A mess would be had and then my pack would come looking for you and you'd maybe bring your friends into it and suddenly we have a bad Syfy movie type war going on," he said, trying to sound nonchalant though his heart was pounding in his ears. Yep, this guy definitely reminded him of Peter in some ways.

The proclamation shouldn't have been surprising. In a way it wasn't. Isaac still growled slightly, though not at Garrett as he cursed under his breath.

"Knew there was more shit he was keeping from us," he muttered, eyes narrowing. Anger welled up within him, though not at the man before him. "So, rude to ask how old you are," he asked, trying to keep that emotion from his voice though he failed rather miserably.

"Being polite won't get you answers," Garrett said with a carefree sort of shrug. He didn't mind being asked questions, he sure was in the habit of asking many of them himself. And since he was under no obligation to actually give any answers here unless he felt like it, it bothered him even less.

"And we wouldn't want to be making a mess, no. A guy can get in trouble over that."

Would, in fact, if word got out that the mess was his fault. And word always seemed to get out one way or another. He did not want Demetri tracking his ass, that was for sure.

"Counting my human lifespan I think I've been around for... oh, I don't know, two hundred and fifty years and some change? Somewhere in that general area at least."

Edited 2012-12-19 22:35 (UTC)

It was a simple sentence but it left Isaac pale, folding his arms tight over his chest with a creak of leather. For a moment there was something more in his eyes than nerves and false bravado. There was a flash of anger.

"Story of my life," he muttered, thinking of all he'd faced recently because Derek thought information was a four letter word. "Both the lack of answers and the getting into trouble thing."

But this was more than he'd learned after the kanima and what else was out there going bump in the night. This was something more, something he could cherish and use.

Something more that made his eyes go wide.

"Whoa. Dude. Damn. Well, you're less creepy than the other back from the dead guy I know." He considered what he just said. "Which isn't insulting you but him. I mean, if your goal is to be creepy or something."

Garrett laughed a little and shook his head.

"Not really going for any particular effect."

He tilted his head to the side, curious now.

"There are other ways of coming back from the dead?"

Not that he'd ever actually died as such, but it seemed to be how people thought about the transformation so he stuck with that terminology. The point here was to find out what Isaac was talking about, because that sounded interesting.

"Yeah well, not creepy is a good thing in my book."

Mostly because so much in his life was surrounded by bizarre creepiness and he was glad that the newest thing wasn't there as well.

"I... Don't ask how he did it. Basically all I know is he got his throat ripped out after they torched him and now he's up and walking around again," he said, nose wrinkling it up and realizing how it sounded. "Like months after they took him out."

[If he's in a car or elevator, it's likely you're trapped because how did you get a giant nightmare monster horse in such a small space in the first place?]

[ aaand it's a doomsday scenario. the good news is that the bunker keeps them safe from the zombie hoard outside moaning for their brains. the bad news is that it's totally locked and there's only a limited supply of food and Terriermon has already eaten half of it. ]

Wh... whoops.

[Not having a lot of food is okay, if only because actual Digimon poop doesn't turn into Sukamon. Sukamons? Poop Digimon. He could do without Sukamons for the rest of his life, which is going to be until the end of time or beyond, so they should all just fart out of existence before he stamps them all to death.

He can handle not eating his doomsday bunker survivor if it's Terriermon, though, because he's the best digital buddy Sleipnir could possibly have. (He couldn't handle a Giga pet, let's be honest.)

Are you still hungry?

Because dude you ate a lot.]

Not really. I was mostly eating out of boredom, anyway.

[ don't worry I am the most hygenic digimon, toilet-trained and everything. only that's in the video game and this is real life, not fantasy. so for now he just... glances down at the leftover supply with a sheepish look like YOU'LL FORGIVE ME IF I ACT CUTE ENOUGH, RIGHT? ]

Buuuut I'm going to stop that now. Momentai!

[Of course he can't be mad at him! And even if he does fill up one corner with a bunch of Digidookies, it's okay! Sleipnir has survived and battled in worse conditions. But he's not a dog, and there will be no eating of any dookies, because gross.

That's more his mom's territory, probably. He doesn't ask what he gets up to in his spare time.

If you don't stop, I might have to eat you later. Would you like that?

Please say no because vore is also gross.]

N-no! I'll be good, I promise! You could have the rest, even.

[ yyyeah how about let's not. he takes a cookie and breaks it, offering the bigger half as a truce or apology or a sheepish sign of please-don't-wouldn't-you-rather-have-this-delicious-treat-instead! o/ ]

[Yes, he will be good with a side of lamb and some pineapple sauce...no, no. He'll never think that way about Terriermon seriously, because he shoots fricking laser beams out of his horn or whatever, how could he eat that? Seriously. One of a kind, this guy. And, also, the only "animal" who's allowed to crawl all over him and perch wherever he wants, from knee 4 to knee 6 to left flank to, well, wherever.

Oh yes, he would really like that cookie. Amazingly, he can gather it with his giraffe-like tongue so he doesn't have to deal with how sharp his teeth are, but there's a lot of slobber going on. Can Terriermon deal????

What is left? You seem to have gone straight for the sweets.]

[ a good question! he glances back at the stockpile. it's... mostly cans, and there's not a can opener in sight, and while he could probably punch holes around the top with his horn to open it, that would just be awkward and he has slightly more dignity than that. but just slightly. ]

... You like creamed corn, right?

[Heeeey, no worries. They can use Sleipnir's canine teeth! Those things are good for cutting through pretty much everything else, why shouldn't cans be on the list? Oh, he has dignity; but food comes first.

Who doesn't like corn?

Seriously, just because it has like no nutritional value doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed!]

I'm just making sure. We can't afford to be picky, after all.

[ hopping up and draaaping on horsebff's neck. hey it's cool, fangs on horses ain't no thing. have you seen unimon, now there's a guy who needs to see a dentist. ]

[They can't afford to be picky because someone went on a binge, he means, but Sleipnir's not about to point that out. He loves the little bastard far too much to be an intolerable buttmunch, and when he ends up on his neck, it's like Sleipnir's whole life has led up to this moment, it's so perfect!!!!

...minus the moaning, clawing sounds of the undead from outside. That's not so perfect. But, for the moment, he can't think of anything he wants besides charging outside and kicking some ass.

Did all that eating tire you out?]

[ FAVORITE PERCH sorry Jian for cheating on you with another but sometimes you just can't compare. although yeah the sounds of zombie apocalypse outside does rather ruin the mood. wondering if that lock would hold, though... ]

Not really. But maybe we could take a nap anyway. There's not much we can do while we're trapped here, huh?

[WHO IS THIS JIAN SLEIPNIR WILL REND HIS MUSCLES FROM HIS nah j/k j/k he doesn't care. It's not like he can be everything for him anyway, since he's got performance issues in the first place. And, also, different species and and...

Are you afraid of going outside now? Do you not feel up to the challenge?

WHERE IS YOUR HONOR SIR]

Wha... I'm not afraid! I like napping, but fighting is fun, too.

[ don't talk to him about machine guns unless you want a trigger-happy bunny on your hooves. he rooolls over on sleipnir's neck and just stares at the door for a moment >8| ]

I just don't know how to undo the lock.

[Wow, T-mon's priorities sure are screwed up because there is glory from a battle well fought to be had and he's not into it. He can't undo the lock? What, his hornbeam isn't working? That doesn't make sense. He's seen it do a lot more damage than breaking a lock before...

But hey, he has eight legs and a set of teeth that would make a dentist cry! He can figure this out. He will. He just stands right up and reaches out to take the damn thing in his mouth and...crunch...

...wait, why is not breaking???]

[ shh it's a plot device lock, it probably won't break unless we smooch seven-minutes-in-heaven style. OR... PROBABLY NOT EVEN THEN so forget I even mentioned it. ]

See? There's something weird going on!

[T-dawg please, Sleipnir is pure and innocent and, also, his tongue is almost as big as long as your ear, okay, it wouldn't work out all that well.

He sees the weirdness! He just doesn't believe it. And by Odin, if the lock won't break...surely turning in place and battering the door with all four back legs will work to break the door if not the lock, right?

Behold your Prince Charming and swoon.]

[ hopping down to the floor before horsegodbff decides to use his body as a battering ram and smash him flat against the door like a terrier pancake. he raps on the metal with his tiny fists like ANYONE HOOOME?? ]

I don't know if that's going to work!

[He would NEVER!!!! He's not like Pieceofcrapmon, he won't expect him to churn out fifteen digieggs in the first three years or marriage, get him his booze, and do all the cleaning while he does nothing but get fat. But, really, if he got fat, that'd be okay, because Odin is getting pretty hefty himself.

But it's not working! What is this shit? Seriously, this is redonkulous right now. Not even a dent in the door, and the undead horde is still chanting outside.

This must be the work of my mother.

Yeah, everyone just blames Loki. It's easier that way!]

Would she really do something like this?

[ he just pats horsebff's ankle like THERE THERE, sure we can blame no good dirty rotten pig-stealing Loki!! o9" also let's not mention pieceofcrapmon, still getting over those mental scars. some wounds never heal. ]

[He would, if it pleased him at the time.

PLOT TWIST!!!!! His mother is both in-laws in one! Did he not mention that before? Terriermon will be supportive and understanding, right? Because, really, his Momdad's not in his life enough for it to be a dealbreaker, please don't abandon him!

He has done stranger things.

And wow, when an eight-legged horse the size of an elephant flops down on the ground, there's aftershocks miles away.]

One of those types, huh? Well, I hope that he'd let us out eventu--wait, he?

[ double-taking at first from WHAT IS YOUR FAMILY EVEN and then from miniquake caused by flopping. he flaps a little with his ears to land on Sleipnir's flank. saaaafe! ]

[Oh no, this is going to be a big deal! Gosh, there's a reason Sleipnir never talks about his mom other than the fact of the matter that he never talks about him. Or when he does, it's always like OH YEAH THAT CHILD OF MINE CAN WE NOT MENTION HIM HE'S KIND OF...YEAAAAAH ANYWAY, MOVING ON.

My mother is not a horse.

The longest of sighs, two legs twitch while he gets comfortable beneath tiny little horn head's little body.

Or a female. He's a god, of fire and mischief.]

It sounds like an interesting family!

[ you know how dogs do that shuffling around in circles thing before lying down... then terriermon snuggles against sleipnir's neck. looks like naptime might be a go after all, huh. ]

Well. I guess if you're that powerful, you can be anything you want, even a mom.

Edited 2012-11-25 23:42 (UTC)

[Geir should have known something was up when Odin willingly gave him Sleipnir for the mission.] I think we've passed that tree before. [At least, that's what he thinks, but they were all starting to look the same to him. He knew Jotunheim was a big realm, and Utgarda-Loki was a great illusionist but how hard was it to find his castle to ask about the recent upsurge in frost giant activity?]

Edited 2012-11-24 04:12 (UTC)

[Odin doesn't give Sleipnir to people; Sleipnir is his own creature, his back is his own, and there's no tattoo across it that says PROPERTY OF ODIN ALLFATHER. If he hadn't been willing, there was no way in all the Nine Realms that he would have ended up with Geir, clopping around in the wilderness.

There are many trees we have passed before.

Going in circles? Not new for him. At all.]

[Geir let out an annoyed huff at Sleipnir's statement he had been raised in the mortal world with stories of the fast and slippy Sleipnir, who could be and find anywhere and made Ásbyrgi simply be letting a foot down on the ground. Which brought him to his next idea to pass the time.]

Hey Slip, can I ask you a question?

[There were a lot of stories about Sleipnir. There were a lot of stories about all of them, actually, but what was true and what wasn't was something he rarely addressed. Didn't have to, usually, considering where he made residence, but he didn't see any harm in being asked a question about being asked a question.

Of course, he was still his mother's child, still had that damn sense of humor, and so:

You just asked a question.

But he wouldn't leave it there, because he knew how aggravating that was.

Yes, certainly. Go on.]

[Geir slid his fingers through Sleipnir's hair as he thought back to when he first saw him. He had just turned fourteen and was camping in Ásbyrgi with his mortal mother and friends. When two grandsons of Fenrir's had tried to kill him and how Hugin and Munin had led him into the forest in an attempt to outrun them about how he tripped and found what he thought was an old rusted seax and used it to kill one of them only to be rescued by his father from the second one. He was snapped out of these thoughts by Sleipnir's first answer, which caused him to give a derisive snort but that was replaced by a small smile at his second answer.]

I thought that there was only one god of smartasses and that it was your mother. Can you tell me which stories are true, which are kind true and which are just made up?

[What is this, her life, she can't even.]

Well this is just perfect.

[Hey, not all the crazy-ass Frankenstein animal creatures get lucky enough to turn human for a little while, babycakes. How he got in this car is a mystery, though he should probably be able to break out of it...if he could get enough momentum going, that is. As it is, he's a jumble of legs where they shouldn't be, head pressed up against the windshield, and hair just piled all over the place. What is life, really?

Are you incapable of opening the door?

Come on, put your thumbs to use! Like she hasn't tried already, shh.]

[Awesome as thumbs are (really; they're super awesome) the locks on the door appear to be stuck. At least the two doors that are within her reach - she is so not about to climb into the backseat and get embroiled in the tangled mess that is octo-Clydesdale there to attempt getting at the other two.]

Worst traffic jam ever.

Honestly; you have eight legs, don't tell me you can't kick out a window.

[Creatures with thumb privilege are the absolute worst, how dare she.

He leans one hoof forward—it goes all of an inch, right into the windshield, smudging it up and barely doing anything but letting out the tiniest of noises to let it be known that it was, in fact, touched. See? He can't get the momentum. It's not his fault!

They're a bit ensnared at the moment, if you have not noticed. Perhaps you could form a fist and gather enough momentum to break a window yourself.

Just because his bro is the god of all gods doesn't mean he doesn't need some help from time to time, okay?]

[Hey, she went the first couple hundred years or so without thumbs just fine, buster. But then you don't need thumbs to be a venomous murder machine.]

And ruin my manicure?

[Being cornered like this makes her snippy. Even more so than usual.]

[Sleipnir doesn't need venom to be murderous, thanks so much. He just has to be a strange amalgam of equine nightmares come to life and it's gotten him by well so far. But if he could get a manicure, he'd totally ruin it to break a window. Totally.

Yes, and ruin your manicure.

At least he's honest?]

Are you always this rude?

[She folds her arms over her chest, just to show how far she is from trying to break a window. If she's going to be trapped then she'll take perverse satisfaction from being difficult and making sure he's just as miserable as she is.]

[Being randomly flung to a random island was not exactly Loke's idea of something good. It was likely a sign that something was wrong at Asgård. He could only hope that the other gods could stand up to whatever it was. At least he was not alone here.]

I will find a way back home.

[Being stuck with his mother wasn't the worst thing that could happen. In fact, it was one of the better things that could happen. He didn't get to see him very often, after all, and if it took being stuck together on some gods-forsaken island to get some mother/son bonding time going on, Sleipnir wasn't about to complain. Or bring up that he could totally trot on water and get them out of there in no time. If his mother was going to insist on him being the one to "save" them, so be it.

It is not so bad here, is it? Perhaps there are people that would interest you about.]

[Loke smiled at his son. It was not that bad here, it was a nice island. Looked like it could let people live here without problem.]

It is nice here, yes. And who knows it might be.

[It was not need to rush with getting away. In fact now that he thought about it a vacation from the other gods would be nice. If something was happening in Asgård then it wasn't his job to fix it. Even if the other gods seemed to think otherwise.]

Shall we take our time in finding a way back? It is no need to rush, right?

[Unless there's a battle needing Odin, and thus needing Sleipnir, he doesn't think there's a need to rush anything. He doesn't get much time with him, after all, so why not take advantage of it, yes?

No need to be in a hurry, Mother, no. Unless there is something you are required to do soon...?

Always best to give a family member a way out if they really want it, and Sleipnir is nothing if not a good family member.]

Not that I can think of.

[Just some small tasks that he could push on some more anyway. He looked at their surrounding a bit. It was no path to take so it was only to make one.]

What direction should we take?

[Sleipnir couldn't, either. Think of any pressing matters that needed him, that is. It wasn't like he couldn't take off and be wherever he needed to be quickly, at any rate, so there really wasn't any harm in taking the long way home, now was there?

No path was no problem, and there was a moment of him looking about before he settled on east in his mind, nudged his head in that direction, and flared his nostrils.

To the sun?]

[Loke nodded at the decision. The sun was good to use as a guide so they didn't walked in circles. That would be a bit pathetic.]

Is Oden treating you well?

[Not a strange question to ask. Sleipner was his son and as a parent he had the right to want to know about his son's well being.]

[ Miles now knows why he hates shopping. His mom sent him to grab some blouse that took him forever to find and now the lights are going out and he can't find anyone. ]

Hello, is there anybody there?

Edited (stupid mouse hit send to early) 2012-11-25 05:10 (UTC)

[ Billy had a similar problem, well... kind of. See one of the street bullies from his neighborhood decided to play a game of hide and seek with billy here. He ran off before the cops could get him and Billy... well he spent his day stuck in a trashcan. He finally got himself out when he noticed the lights in the mall were completely off. ]

How long was I in there?

[ Miles notices the other kid coming out of the trash can and goes over to help. ]

Dunno, but smells like it was a while.

[ He jumped a little and laughed when the boy helped him out of it. ]

It had to have been like at least an hour...

[ He holds out his hand but then took it away. Who'd wanna shake the hand of a trashcan kid. ]

I'm Billy.

[ Miles eyes the hand. He was gonna shake if offered, trash can kid or no. ]

Miles. Any idea how to get out of here? There's gotta be a security guard or something.

We should try looking for one before we freak out or anything. [ he dusts off his pants, pulling off a banana peel and tossing it back into the trashcan. ]

C'mon lets go looking!

[ Miles heads for where he thinks the food court is, hoping for a directory or maybe an info desk. He eyes Billy as they walk. ]

So how'd you end up in the can?

Oh you know, the guys and me. We were playing a fun game called hey lets see what billy can fit into.

Heh. I know that game. Not the most fun.

It's a lot more fun then a lot of other games.

[All green lit, but pass on the smut if you please]

[ What is this odd doll sitting on the floor. Did some kid before him forget the poor little rabbit guy? he bent down to get a little closer look at Terriermon but then the elevator shook and stopped. ]

A-Ahhhh!

[ He face plants into the floor. ]

[ aaand the rabbit guy goes flying from the momentum, right into the guy's side. hopefully his horn doesn't poke anything too tender! ]

Wha--whoaaa!

[He groans and sits up, rubbing his head. Wait was that another voice in here with him? He looked around confusedly. ]

Hello?

[ bunnydoll is standing right in front of him, arms crossed and looking rather >:T ]

Hey, we haven't gotten to my floor yet!

.....Did... you just talk?

Did I talk? I don't know~ I wonder about that~

.... That's so cool! You can talk!

I can talk, and you're easily impressed!

Well, I am a ten year old kid. It doesn't take much to impress us.

[ FLOPPING ON YOUR HEAD o/ ]

Well, a ten year old kid, I'm Terriermon. Nice to meet you!

[ he laughs and softly grabs the bunnymon's ear and gives it a shake. ]

Nice to meet you, Terriermon. I'm Billy!... This would probably be a cooler meeting if... you know or elevator didn't stop.

[ +1 dograbbit hat! ]

Yeah, I was going to say that, too. What's going on with that?

I dunno! It's like the power went out or something.

What... what are we supposed to do now?

[Military places aren't normally her hangout but she had that report to write and Rhodey had offered to let her hang out for the day. She really appreciates it, because, well, she normally doesn't get to do much hanging with Rhodey and to be honest, sometimes he's more awesome than Tony, just because he doesn't know it.

Writing up some notes on her notebook, she tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear and blinks when the lights flicker and the car abruptly stops.

Pulling the ear bud out, she rouses herself from the only semi-alert haze she'd dropped into.]

Oh man, this sucks.

[ It sucks even more for Justin. He's a busy guy. He has a company to run, acquisitions to oversee, and a really important meeting to get to that this is going to severely screw up if the elevator doesn't get working soon.

And by soon, it needs to be right now.

Walking over to the control panel, Justin presses the emergency call button. For good measure, he presses it again. ]

[Jubes raises her eyebrows at the guy's nervous energy. She recognizes him from news footage and Tony ~~laughing~~ranting about the guy's incompetence.

She leans back against the wall, watching him mash the button.]

Um, I don't think that's going to do much good. The security lights haven't clicked on, meaning, ya know, no power.

[All alone, just the two of them on an awkwardly quiet elevator ride to the upper floors of a very tall office building until for some reason the car grinds to a halt.

At least the lights are still on. Unfortunately the muzak is still playing. Diddle diddle dee dee doo...]

[ so, about those labyrinthine passages underneath the Asian headquarters.

about those tunnels that neither of them, apparently, knows so well after all.

about Allen's sense of direction. ]

. . . that turn didn't look familiar at all, did it.

[ she groused and kicked a rock ]

The whole damn tunnel looks familiar. We've been this way twice before!

I don't suppose third time'd make the charm.

[ she glared ] We've taken both forks. The only other option is up. [ and, well, it ain't like she can fly! ]

. . . Would you mind leading for a while, then, Fou?

[ urk ]

Uh... I think I might've seen a small tunnel back the way we came.

[ she colors slightly because it's only now that he's asked that she even realizes she might've missed it behind some rubble. So she wasn't on her game. Sue her! ]

[ what's there to worry about? this is Allen Walker. would he ever bring it up? ]

Maybe we'd better go back for it, then.

[Mao's tail twitches irritably. How had he managed to get stuck in an elevator with the enemy?

Hei, hurry up!]

[ April leaned on against the wall of the elevator, staring at the cat a moment before she bent to scratch him behind the ears. ]

Sorry, fella. They'll just be a moment. [ if it weren't for the cat, she'd just escape out the hatch, but all in good time. She wasn't expected anywhere. ]

[She doesn't recognize him. Good. That makes this easier. All he has to do is pretend to be a real cat.

He butts his head against her hand and purrs loudly. It's all just a show, really... Oh yes right there!]

[ her lips turned up slightly at the obvious pleasure the cat's contriving from her fingers. So much different then herself but such is the life of a cat.

Working her away around his ear, she scratched down his back to tug at his collar, trying to get a glimpse. ] Let's see now, do you have a name?

[No tag, only the bell which hides his radio. Mao tenses uncomfortably as her fingers approach it. If she manages to knock it loose, he's SOL.]

[ knock it loose, hm? Of course not. They're just the most gentle fingers as she feels around his fur, letting the bell jingle lightly as she runs over it. ]

Hmm... no name? [ tsk ] I guess you're coming with me then. There's not much, but I do have tuna.

[ and maybe she should have a small bite of breakfast herself. A night of drinking on the town always works up an appetite. If she could be bothered to eat. ]

[Shit. Damn it, Hei! Get moving! Mao can't afford to be dragged along with her, but if he struggles too much, he risks breaking his cover.]

[ One minute she was walking down the street looking for the police station to find her little brother and then the next minute she finds herself lost in a giant maze. ]

I have never been very good at these...

[ April turned her head slowly, a slight smile on her face as she glanced down at the girl ]

Didn't plan to get lost, did you?

[ She glanced up at her with a small smile forming on her face. ]

Yes... it seems I wasn't paying attention.

[ she watched her a moment longer before she started walking, hands crossed behind her head ]

Ah well. Guess we'll just be lost together then. [ she paused and then looked behind her ] Unless you'd rather try getting out the other way?

They always say that getting lost in company is better than being alone.

[ She bowed her head gently and moved to follow the other woman. ]

A wise man then. I much prefer company myself when I can get it. It's no fun drinking alone.

[ she turned a corner at random, not concerned with where they were heading. These things usually worked out for them in the end. ]

I cannot say I am much of a drinker, but a kind companion is always welcome.

[ ah, that's a shame. She'd been hoping. ]

Hmm... Then I suppose I should ask your name since we're heading the same direction for a bit. You can call me April.

April? That's a beautiful name, though it is not one I am used to. My name is Mitsuba. It is a pleasure to meet such a beautiful young woman.

[ she could hardly be young, but oh well. She certainly wasn't old either. ]

You don't get out much then, do you? [ there's no sting to her words, just idle conversation as she turns down yet one more path and then another. ] It's common enough overseas.

No, I'm afraid not. I am not really... well enough to go long distances.

[ She chuckles softly. ]

I see... that must be why it sounds so strange to me.

[ooc; yes, or shall I reroll?]

[ooc; just to clarify: Trapped in car + smut ? that works for me :D]

[Unsurprisingly, Namine has absolutely no idea what to do with a car when it breaks down. It is enough of a miracle that she knows how to drive one in the first place, after all. A loud, angry noise had the vehicle jerking awkwardly no matter what she did, until it finally flailed wildly, scaring the living daylights out of her.

Namine was able to direct the failing car to the nearest rest stop, successfully getting them off of the freeway if nothing else. At nearly midnight in the middle of nowhere she doubts they can get the car towed, leaving them stuck here for the night.

Alone in a car with Lea, who has fascinated, intimidated, and amazed her since the moment they were first introduced. Clearly this is a wonderful idea, not one that rakes violently against her hormones. Not even a little.]

Do you want to sleep in the backseat?

[He is taller than her by quite a bit, and there is no way they can both fit back there without the sort of physical contact that would drive her insane. Namine will endure the pain of an unhappy sleep if only to keep herself from doing something unforgivable and stupid.]

[Truthfully, he'd been pretty surprised that she knew how to drive as well - it had been a little, well, weird to think about it, but once she'd gotten behind the wheel she was surprisingly decent at it.

At the very least, though, she managed to not run them into the ditch when the car started acting up, even if he had been a little braced against the door for a couple minutes, there. Lea's no mechanic, though once they'd pulled over he'd attempted to look like he had some sort of clue by popping the hood and giving the engine a critical examination (which told him absolutely nothing).

If someone had asked him, this is probably one of the more bizarre situations he's been in lately. They've really only known each other a few years, with a slightly awkward and rocky history. But now they're both a little older, maybe a little wiser...

...and Namine's a little...um. Fuller. That certainly hadn't escaped his notice, lately.

He drags a hand through his hair.]

Yeah I guess- might be easier though for me to just take one of the seats and push it back.

[She does her best to perfect the skill if only to make sure she doesn't actually hurt someone. Fair enough motivation but the wrong kind, maybe.

Cars can be ridiculous and unfair creations that break down solely because they want to. Namine doesn't stop him from trying to figure it out but she's already digging out the single pillow she brought along. One of the upsides of having two drivers was that when traveling long distances it was possible for one to sleep and the other to drive and cover more ground.

If only the car had stuck to the plan.]

All right.

[No matter what they do it's going to be a little awkward and cramped. She may as well stay in the driver's seat, head pressed to the cold window and eyes only half closed.]

Could be worse.

[Maybe, but this is pretty rough so far.]

I would rather be stuck here with you than anyone else.

[digs out his own pillow, scooting the seat back all the way and stretching as much as possible. It's still not quite as long as he'd like, but then cars aren't exactly built for sleeping comfortably in in the first place.

But that stops him. Lea gives her a slightly bewildered look for a moment before covering it up with a laugh, shaking his head.]

What, even over Roxas? Not sure I believe that. Guess it could be a whole lot worse, though.

[Like she could be stuck in a car all night with Sora's loud snoring.]

[Excuse her while she stares for a second. How does one manage to be so tall, and why must that be so attractive.

A second too late she realizes how that must have sounded, but by then he is already laughing it off.]

As if I could lie in the first place. [She's never been very good at that.] What makes you think I'd prefer him?

[She's honestly curious, and at the mention of worse possibilities Namine can't help but grin. Bless Sora's kind heart, but it's a wonder he doesn't knock down walls.]

[likewise he's trying not to notice how neatly she tucks herself into the driver's seat, how her curves seem to be a little more accentuated when she curls up like that - so he's just sort of glancing at her, and then past her through the window with a slight shrug.]

I know you two are close, that's all.

[he glances away, like he probably shouldn't even go the extra step, but...]

It's not like we have the best past, after all.

[what with the way he used to be tied up with some people who tried to use her, manipulate her. The worst part is that for a while he was complacent about it, and let it continue. Lea's really not sure he'll ever completely make it up to her.]</small.

[Was he ...? Ahh, no, she's seeing things. Maybe she is tired. Namine keeps her eyes firmly on his, refusing to look elsewhere but before she knows it that task becomes easy. A higher concern is where their conversation has wandered off too.

It isn't in her nature to talk about things that have already happened. Even now Namine lacks the proper tools for that and so quietly accepting things as they are has worked best for her. But apparently this was something that needed to be discussed.]

Roxas is like a brother to me. [Or a best friend in general. They have very much in common but they aren't ... Well, there just isn't a spark there, not for her anyway.]

True, but it doesn't stop us from being good friends, does it? [She pauses, knows that this won't make him feel better at all and so Namine takes a deep breathe, letting it out slowly. She does not enjoy talking about that part of her life.]

You had your reasons for doing what you did, Lea. I like to think I understand most of them. But there is a very big difference between who you are now and who you were then. The person you are now is the one I like and the one that I trust.

[She gives him an honest smile. All of this is difficult to say even if she appears composed, but she wants to get rid of this once and for all. He doesn't need to make anything up to her.]

So don't worry.

[shifts a little, like he's trying to make himself more comfortable in the seat. He's delaying looking at her, giving her an answer, but truthfully...he's glad to hear it. They haven't talked about it a whole lot - not really, but even if she appeared to hold no ill will toward him, he'd be lying if he ever said he completely understood her (or any girl, for that matter).

When he does manage to look back at her, he smiles, faintly.]

Thanks.

[it strikes him then how...ethereal she looks. The moonlight streams in through the window, covering her with a silvery hue that somehow only complements her fair coloring instead of washing her out. His eyes slide over her again before he can stop himself.]

Hey- you cold? I can grab the blanket for you.

[The same could be said for understanding men. Though Namine can't speak for her gender, her demeanor rarely changes and so it is no surprise that actual clarification was needed. When she gets the full strength of that smile, feels it in the rush of her blood and the desire to kiss him, Namine suddenly thinks that she could talk about anything and everything if it made him look like this.]

You're welcome.

[She debates telling him the truth, that even back then he was fascinating, strong and calculating in a way she could never manage. It had been an innocent curiosity at the time, Namine was too oblivious and naive to understand what it really was. Now it is much more.]

Oh. Yes! Thank you. [Hopefully it's big enough for the both of them, since she won't leave him to freeze, and they can't keep the car on all night.]

[given how dark it is out, he can't make out that flush on her cheeks. He reaches into the back seats, arching some so that his shirt rides up a bit while he gropes for the blanket. Finally after a minute he comes back with it, dumping it on her lap. It's just a travel blanket, so it's really only made for one person (and certainly not big enough to spread across two people in a car like this).]

Here, hope that works okay.

[for his part, he just digs up his coat from the floor next to his feet and shakes it out a bit. This will work just as well for a blanket for himself...

...if it weren't so dirty.]

[She wouldn't want him to see anyway. She can't help but feel guilty taking it in the first place, only making an affirmative noise when he speaks. And them she hears him rustling again, spies what he's apparently going to use for himself.

Oh god.]

Lea.

[Lea, no.

Namine tugs the coat off of him and replaces it with the travel blanket. The somewhat brief touch gives her an idea of how he's positioned, though she was aware of that before. The act is somewhat premeditated and so she can't feign complete ignorance as she leans over to very quickly kiss his cheek.]

Better.

[She's fine in her dress, besides, Namine is a few things at the moment and tired isn't one of them. She doesn't mind.]

[her leaning over like that gives him a-- well. A nice close-up view of her dress...and more specifically the small amount of cleavage it reveals. He's about to protest her giving him the blanket when she leaves that kiss on his cheek, and that-

wow. That was unexpected. He visibly flusters a moment, just kind of staring at her before looking away. Lea licks his lips, subconsciously, and shakes his head.]

No, come on. Can't let you freeze like that. I've got more layers than you, I'll be fine.

[leans over to wrap it around her again, because really, she's the one baring the most skin, here.]

Edited 2012-11-24 08:01 (UTC)

[She doesn't think anything of leaning so close, of what it may or may not let him see, but the way he reacts - it would be impossible to miss that. Even in the dimness of the car he might catch her smiling. It was a little out of character for her but worth the effort.

Baring skin is sort of a given with a dress but she bites at her bottom lip as he gets close. She could kiss him. She could try.

... No, let's be honest, Namine can't do that.]

Lea.

[His name comes out while he's still near, she wants to tell him, at least. But that would make it awkward, wouldn't it?]

I -

[The words are caught up in her throat, suspended.]

Huh?

[sort of grunts it as he's tucking the blanket around her, aware of how close they really are. She's not quite so...fragile-seeming as she used to be, at least physically. Namine has always had a surprisingly strong spirit, despite however she might look. Back when he'd first met her, it seemed like a stiff wind could blow her away she was so dainty. Now - well she's still sort of dainty, but there's definitely more weight to her, she's a little taller, more...solid, with a physical strength that more closely matches that spiritual one.

Lea turns to look at her, not having pulled back all the way, not quite - and their faces are perhaps closer than he realized. Somehow, he never noticed before just how sensual her lips were...]

[A strong enough spirit to endure, though learning how to turn that into action, into controlling her own life had been a challenge. And even though she could accomplish that somehow it's difficult to just lean forward a bit more.

Words probably wouldn't do her any good and she's only kissed one other person, she might be bad at this if not a bit awkward.

But if she could live through Marluxia, Namine can do this.

It certainly isn't the most award winning kiss. Much like her the press of their lips is gentle and calm, with the faintest hints of restrained emotion behind it.]

[he's just sort of - frozen in place when her lips meet his, not even breathing. It's like his brain hasn't quite caught up with what's happened yet, stunned. He'd - never have expected that.

Though it's not like it's unpleasant. Her lips are soft - warm, uncompromisingly gentle though it's like he can feel something simmering just beneath the surface. For one, tense moment it's like they're both hanging on some kind of precipice.

And then he falls, closing his eyes and kissing her back just as gently.]

[She wouldn't have expected it of herself five minutes ago.

It occurs to Namine to pull away, to refuse to let this drag out awkwardly and maybe cover it up with a stilted apology. She's already thinking up excuses as it occurs to her that breathing is a necessary function. And then Lea is kissing back, creating an unbelievable feeling in her chest, in every inch of her.

Though still a little hesitant, Namine lets one hand rest on his shoulder, leaning closer and falling into the rhythm of it.

This is really happening. Huh.]

[his own hand cups her cheek automatically, gently, holding her steady as the kiss continues. She tastes - sweet, actually. Most people really have no taste, but she does, just a hint of it.

He can feel his pulse pounding in his chest, and it still feels pretty surreal. Namine kissed him, he's kissing back, and somehow he thinks he doesn't want it to stop. After several moments of the first kiss, he has to pause, gasping slightly for breath but staying close. The position isn't entirely comfortable - leaning over the center console, bracing himself on one arm.]

Namine...

[it's not quite enough to discourage him from finding her lips again, kissing more firmly this time.]

[Breathing is a very useful mechanism, one that returns some blood and formation to her brain. This is the right moment and after doing something like that admitting how she feels couldn't possibly be difficult.

And yet when he says her name there isn't a chance in hell that she would turn away from him.

Their slightly cramped environment is kind of a problem, yes, but she wonders if it's really acceptable to get closer. But if they keep going like this the both of them are going to end up unfairly sore, and Namine doesn't want that. She also doesn't want to stop kissing.]

Lea, can I?

[She moves forward a little, in that cautious way that means she isn't expecting him to say yes, does not want to immediately invade his space. The seat can only fit one person but if she's in his lap, then ...]

Yeah-

[it's not hard to guess what she's asking, and he takes one more kiss from her before he moves back to the passenger seat. Grabbing for the lever at the side, he pushes the back halfway down to make more room for her before he reaches to help tug her closer.

When she's settled in his lap, he realizes that- this could potentially become a problem later. She's practically situated right over his crotch, and even in the dim light he can't help but notice the way her dress rides up her thighs a little. His hands have already found them, sliding up her legs before resting at her waist.

Lea's eyes travel upward, tracing along her curves, lingering a moment at the way her breasts rise and fall with her breathing. Her slender throat leads to her somewhat more delicate features framed by her pale blonde hair.

She looks...she feels so much more like a woman and less like a young girl, now.

He licks his lips, then leans in to press his lips gently to her throat.]

[Ignoring the jump in her skin, the way she bites the inside of her cheek gently, trying to look calm when she certainly isn't, Namine waits, is careful with situating herself on him. She's still too thin a girl but that doesn't keep her from worrying.

Still, Lea isn't the only one looking, and as his hands rest on her waist, hers travel easily along his chest, fingers mapping out the geography of him, trying to burn it all into her memory. Idly one hand drifts over where his heart should beat and it occurs to her to smile a little, for whatever reason.

Unfortunately that expression fades naturally with the press of his lips in such a delicate places. Her voice shifts, becomes both heavy and thin with a soft] Ah!

[As if she should have guessed his next move and what it would do to her. But there was no such thing as preparing. One hand rests on his shoulder, the other slips easily through his red hair. For the record, it feels the way she had always thought it would.]

[where it does beat now - he's pretty sure she can feel it thundering there when she touches him. It's getting kind of hard to ignore now, the way his pulse rings in his ears.

He makes a soft, pleased noise when she slides a hand in his hair. That's always been a particularly favorite sensation of his. Lea pulls her a little closer, nuzzles her chin up and leaves more fluttering kisses along her neck before nipping lightly at her earlobe. Sure, she's light - dainty still, almost, but it's not as if she doesn't have a little spice to her that he thinks she can't appreciate a light scraping of teeth on her skin.

With his nose brushing her throat, he picks up on her scent better. She smells warm, vaguely flowery with a faint hint of feminine musk.

It's...intoxicating, really.]

[She can, and that along with everything else is leaving an impression on her. The idea that she can help cause such a reaction in him is unspeakable, it's perfect.

Namine lets him move her, as long as she's allowed to keep her pleased little smile, twisting red strands through her fingers harmlessly, allowing herself to be expressive and ignoring how embarrassing it should be. Small as she may be, unimposing and gentle, Namine isn't lacking in her own needs and she's more than appreciative of that decision. Her voice rises from gentle, surprised panting to substantial moans, though quiet and barely controlled on her part.

Moving the hand that has rested over his heart, Namine adjusts, closing whatever faint little distance was left between their forms. It amazes her a bit how comfortable it feels, especially considering how different they are.]

[Lea feels his pulse pick up again when she presses fully against him, his arms tightening around her for a moment. Angling her head gently, he finds her lips again, pressing more into the kiss before deepening it. Her taste makes him groan again, tongue sliding gently into her mouth.

If he runs a little warm normally, he must surely feel like a furnace to her now. It's suddenly almost too hot in the car, especially with her pressed so close. But it's gonna take a little more than that to get him to pull back from her now.

One hand slides up her thigh, slowly, slipping just under her skirt.]

...how far are we taking this?

[She hums in approval, more than happy to let their tongues move together, hot and slow only because she doesn't want it to end anytime soon. Her nerves have faded and while not brimming with confidence even Namine can listen to her own body and his.

It works out well since, as Lea has likely realized by now, Namine is a little bit colder than normal, the downsides of her usual outfit. Even through his clothes she loves how hot he is, if only because it is a wonderful excuse to stay this way should it come down to that.

He can still think clearly enough for something like that, which is both impressive and slightly nerve wracking.]

All the way to the end? If you want to.

[It certainly isn't a decision she can make on her own but she might as well be blunt.]

Just checking.

[murmurs it against her neck, distracting her from his real intent, which is sliding both hands under her dress. Warm fingertips stroke gently at her skin for a moment before he pulls back, stripping her of her dress in one fluid motion.

Lea tosses it into the driver's seat, let's his gaze slide over her. It only lasts a few moments before he's leaning in again, pressing his lips to newly bared skin.

As his hands stroke at her thighs, he starts to notice that his pants are becoming... uncomfortably tight.]

[And to think she was so concerned about saying that much.

Her dress comes off quicker and easier than she could have ever anticipated and so in less than a few seconds Namine has two scraps of clothing left to her body. So much for trusting that fabric, it was clearly unreliable.

There is a slight hitch in her breath, the realization that he is seeing more of her than anyone else ever has. Of course it is a little scary but more then that Namine is quietly thrilled, her fingers tugging at his clothes, aiming to get them off. It isn't fair for him to have so much on when she has so little and there is only one way to fix that.

With surprising composure one hand eases between their bodies to snap open the button of his pants. If they're uncomfortable then they aren't useful anymore.]

[he's just gotten to the top of her breasts, still hidden by the delicate lace of her bra, when he finally relinquishes his shit. He shrugs out of it as fast as possible, exhaling as the cooler air hits his heated skin. Now they're a little more even.

Lea pushes one strap off her shoulder before he realizes she's going for his pants. With a light groan, he shifts his hips, spreading his legs wider in encouragement. He doesn't quite help her out, assuming she'll get to it on her own time. Just hopefully it'll be before his cock gets fully hard and those pants become unbearable.

In the meanwhile, fingertips trace her skin, teasing between her breasts, over her stomach, up her thighs...somehow with her dress off it seems like there's more of her. More to touch, to hold onto.

For the first time - and more because he's never really thought about it much before - he realizes that she's really...beautiful.]

[A little more, and as more comes off, Lea might catch a satisfied smile on her face, even if it is a little brief.

She will, right now there is a definite art form to touching him through the fabric without dislodging herself from his lap or bumping into a part of the car. He is still warmer than her and Namine adores the heat, the fingers of her still free hand tracing over his chest and stomach just to feel.

Namine has always known he was gorgeous from the moment they first met. The only thing that has changed in the intricacies, the little specifics of it. He has gone from unattainable, far off and so hot that he becomes cold all over again, to something deeper and stable and no less untamed. He is fundamentally different from her and it's fascinated her, yanked her closer whether she wanted that or not.

Right now she certainly wants it. Lea teases and Namine shivers, the only reason she doesn't ask for more is because she wouldn't know how to.]

[the efforts of her hands draw soft, appreciative little grunts and hisses from his lips. Once or twice his hips buck slightly, clearly seeking out more of that wonderful friction.

He's been noticing her more lately, and not just because they've been spening a little more time together recently. It was first in the way she moved - more sure of herself, but it'd been something about the way her hips swung that he'd first noticed. A day or two later she'd turned around, and he'd noticed the softness of her lips, her hair slipping from one bare shoulder. Then it'd been the line of her neck...and just earlier that day he'd found himself flicking his eyes to her breasts. It hadn't really been that he'd really dwelt on it much, but the fact that she'd grown into her more womanly figure certainly hadn't escaped his notice.

There's an ease about her as well. Even if no small part of him still feels guilty for what was done to her, she has a warmth of her own that he finds soothing to be near.

Right now, though, she's anything but soothing, mostly naked on his lap and rubbing his arousal through his pants.

Lea gives her a heated look, slides his hands around her back to finger the clasp of her bra.]

Can I?

[There is a rush of pleasure, pure excitement beating through her chest when she hears that. It doesn't occur to Namine to tease, her first reaction is to give more and so that is what she does, focusing on his responses and getting an idea of what he wants, what he likes.

Said changes don't register to Namine by the simple virtue that one is hardly aware of their own change. Of course her confidence has grown in strides but that was inevitable. But remaining gentle and kind, only stern when absolutely needed and preferring simplicity are inherent traits. Ones that she had figured weren't appealing to him but it is so good to be proved wrong.

Soothing can wait until a later time, they've got the whole night. Maybe more.]

Yes.

[One honest and simple word as she unzips his pants, tugs at them with both hands. Her bra for his pants, that is the trade off.]

[that seems a fair enough trade to him, so he fiddles with the clasp for a couple of moments until he works it off before wiggling his hips to help her tug his pants down. He groans, his half hard cock finally freed from its clothed confines. Much better.

Her bra comes next as he pulls it carefully away from her, sliding the straps down off her arms and tossing it over to join her dress. Lea feels his mouth go a little dry as he looks at her, soft pink nipples standing out against her creamy skin. Almost like he doesn't believe she's real, he slides his hand up her stomach, fingertips brushing the curve of one breast before cupping it gently in his palm. It feels...heavy, but her skin is so soft as he rubs his thumb over the nipple, rubbing it until the little nub hardens.

Her skin almost seems to glow in the soft light filtering in the windows, giving her a near ethereal look. His eyes slide over her, catch her pale blue ones, and he feels like he must be in some kind of trance as his fingertips brush her lips.]

...you're beautiful...

[Now they are even enough. She is letting her fingers ease over his hips, touching firmly but carefully, as if it would even be minutely possible for her to hurt him in some way.

She stops to get her arms out of the straps, and is only slightly surprised to see the look on his face, mostly visible despite the lighting in the parking lot. Of course she is a little nervous, but up until now the excitement has kept her going. But Namine can practically feel his eyes on her, it's strange and nerve wracking, still she lets him look, allows him to touch. It feels incomparably good, just being touched by someone else. By him, really.]

Lea!

[His name comes out in a soft, weighted little moan, almost too quiet and kept between the two of them. She leans into his touch, one hand coming to rest over his, letting him touch her lips but as he gives her that compliment she eases her fingers through his threading them together before she turns slightly to kiss the palm of his hand. She won't tell him he's wrong, she takes the compliment gratefully, the effect of it showing clearest in her eyes. Touching, seeing, feeling each other is visceral, it's partially driven by instinct, but to hear something like that is thoroughly governed by emotion. It means so much to her.

Without looking away from his eyes, Namine allows her other hand to touch his cock, wrapping loosely to stroke him almost too carefully. It could be considered teasing if she actually had enough experience or brain power for such a thing.]

[his breath hitches very obviously as she touches him, and it only takes that light touch for him to roll his hips into her hand. He echoes her gasp a moment ago with a breathy version of her name, his hand cupping her cheek to bring her closer for another searing kiss. Heat is rapidly collecting between his legs now, coiling tighter, faster, as she continues to touch him. He'll be fully hard for her in no time, at this rate.

But he's trying to tell himself to be patient. She's already said that they'll see the whole thing through - hopefully that holds true still, but he wants to take his time with her anyway. Granted, the front seat of a car isn't exactly the easiest way to do that, but still.

Lea trails his lips down from hers, moving lightly over her jaw, to her throat, and then lower...

...he leans her back gently. Their height difference doesn't really make this easy, but it's not so great that they can't make it work. Warm kisses and light scraping of teeth move down her chest, tracing over the top of the other breast. His lips find that soft pink nipple, and close around it warmly with a soft hum.]

[There isn't anything quite like causing such a response, hearing how different her name sounds when he says it. Her heart has never beat so fiercely, strong enough to flood her ears and drown everything out. They kiss and Namine slows her hand a bit, tries to keep from getting ahead of herself.

And then lower, enough to make her aware of what they're doing all over again. Namine follows his direction though it means she has to let go of his cock for the time being. Lea does a wonderful job of distracting her, drawing out heavy, excited little gasps.

Knowing what may happen does not prepare one for the full effect of it. Namine groans, is overtly aware of how she sounds, how different her voice is, but can't think on it too hard. Instead she tugs at his hair with more force, but nowhere near enough to truly hurt.

He's really going to be the death of her but Namine doesn't mind.]

[the loss of her touch on his cock is just a small sacrifice for the little noises she's making as he suckles carefully at her breast. Namine could pull at his hair until it does hurt and he wouldn't mind - in fact he'd probably encourage it. After all, what's pleasure without a little bit of pain, right?

Still, he tries to be gentle with her. Lea takes more of her breast into his mouth, tongue laving around the nipple to draw more of those moans from her. Eventually he releases her, kissing over to her other one before repeating the same treatment. From here it's almost like he can feel her heart and how furiously it's beating, just from the brushes of his lips and skin against hers. His fingers press firmly against her, holding her securely in his arms while he teases.

Finally he lets her go, cock throbbing for attention and eager to move along. He gives her a somewhat smug, if not smoldering look as he pulls her forward again, cupping one cheek to bring her in for one more kiss.]

[At the rate they are both going Namine won't be able to remain so careful no matter how she feels about it. The sensations he creates in her body, unrelenting shocks of pleasure, toss away little inhibitions. When he stops for even a few seconds Namine finds that she's shaking just a little, as well as panting.

The more he teases the needier she seems to become and try as she might to hide that, it's proving difficult. Her nerves around wound up and pulled tight with every swipe of his tongue, for someone who has never felt these things before it is simple but monumental. When he stops Namine isn't disappointed and kissing him back is a bit of an outlet. She isn't as gentle this time, communicating with small, generally harmless bites to his bottom lip and since he gave her such an inviting reception before she enjoys pulling at his hair, groaning as her free hand holds onto his shoulder.

He really doesn't have to be so gentle with her even if she does still appear a little small and helpless. If necessary, she'll find more dramatic ways of helping him understand this.]

[it's a little hard to completely disconnect that impression of her - a frail bird kept in a gilded cage. But the longer they continue, the more that impression is challenged and painted over. As Namine gets bolder he can't help a smile against her lips and a soft purring sound rumbles up from deep in his chest in something like both amusement and pleasure.

His hands slide over her, touching everything he can as though he's memorizing every curve and plane of her body. He can feel her trembling, and that just makes him haul her closer as they kiss, wrapping his arms around her tightly and digging his nails into her skin. His cock is trapped between them now, hard and thick and demanding friction and heat. Soon.

Lea breaks their kiss, gasping for breath as his lips seek out her ear. Softly, he manages to moan out a few words.]

I wanna be inside you.

[Hopefully she can help to fully reinvent that image. While it may be true that she is still frail even in now, she isn't captured. She would never allow that to happen again. They have both changed for the better, it seems.

Namine would bet that being touched is one of the greatest feelings to ever experience. Or maybe that is the moment, the emotion, that winds her around his every action and every little touch. She's aware of his excitement, more than a little excited to help relieve some of that need he must be feeling.

As they part she can't keep herself from kissing wherever the position allows, his cheek, his jaw. But those words make her stop, shooting a particular feeling all throughout her. Five little words as strong and unforgiving as a touch, she could have never guessed.

Pulling away from him Namine can only nod, a certain heat in her usually calm blue eyes. She wants this just as badly. It might require a little bit of his help, given the space they are allotted in the car but Namine is flexible enough to get her panties off and out of the way. Even she had figured that the first time this happened she might be a bit more nervous but all that's in her is want, and maybe something else a bit stronger. And that's all she needs.]

[the contorting she has to do to shed her last garment is probably a statement as to how difficult the actual...execution of this is going to be. Keeping one hand on her, Lea gropes for the handle of the seat, pulling it up and leaning back to push it back a little more. There's not a ton of room to work with, but it might be slightly...easier.

Maybe.

Her kisses are endearing, alluring. Lea pulls her closer, kissing her shoulder, her throat, finally her lips before he leans back against the lowered seat. She's completely bare for him now, and his eyes flick to between her legs, one hand slowly moving toward her sex. Carefully he parts her folds, sliding one finger along her slick heat as though testing to see if she's really ready for him or not.]

[Next time they happen to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, they can somehow amble towards a hotel. For now there is just the car, and they'll figure it out. With the seat back as far as it'll go, keeping herself well balanced as she straddles him is something of a tricky act, but worth it. One hand remains on his chest, near his heart, while the other braces against the opposing seat. Being forced to lean down a bit is an upside, it keeps them both relatively close to one another, and it'll be easier to move her lower half this way.

Really, If it's possible to be anymore ready, then Namine imagines it must feel somewhat painful. She's certainly wet enough and his touch only urges her further along, an unashamed and rather enthusiastic, if soft, moan making its way out of her.]

[feels his throat tighten as he watches her, feels her. She's soaked, the slickness making it easy for him to slide that fingertip inside her briefly. As much as he might want to try taking his time with her, it's gotten to the point where he's just too impatient.

He grabs her hip with one hand, the base of his cock with the other, and carefully guides her to line up with him before urging her to sink down. It's hard to not just thrust up into her, feeling his body tremble with the effort to not move too much too quickly. The sensation of being enveloped in her heat drags several moans from him in succession.]

Fuck--!

[If she minds that impatience then it'd be next to impossible to tell. Namine obeys that wordless request, the pressure of his hand on her hip. Slowly she lowers herself, finds it's a bit easier to do than she had expected, until a certain point.

It isn't painful so much as plain uncomfortable, the only trouble comes when he is halfway inside of her and she has to focus on relaxing her body. For as much as he wants to press all of him into her maybe the way she flinches will let him know she needs the moment. Aside from the slight hiccups, it isn't as difficult as she'd thought it would be, a sizable blessing.

When he is seated inside of her body, as deep as possible, Namine is bent over him slightly, head tucked into his shoulder. They haven't even moved yet but she's groaning softly, working up the bravery to truly and finally do this.]

[pants hard when she's finally seated - truthfully he's not sure if she's done this before, and even if she has he doesn't want to push her if it's painful. The best solution was to just let her move as what's comfortable, but he'd be lying if he said he wouldn't have been disappointed if he couldn't get all the way inside her.

A hand tangles in her hair, other arm wrapping around her tightly. It's getting harder and harder to process a real thought the more she stays like this.]

Namine-

[gasps her name out, hips rolling up into hers a little more. It's hard to not want to start up that rhythm, instincts aching to thrust into her over and over until they both fall off the edge of ecstasy.]

[She hasn't, and it's pure luck that it doesn't hurt as much as she may have heard before. Or at the very least all the soreness will occur later on. Thankfully there isn't anything to be disappointed about.

As if Namine hadn't done enough of it already, she shivers again, moaning as he takes the first step, decimates her ability to process anything other than him in a single moment. Leaning up enough to look in his eyes, Namine begins to move, slowly at first until that isn't enough.

There is a certain amount of pain involved, just a bit of stinging but it isn't anything she can't bite her lip through. It doesn't stop how wonderful this feels, greater than anything Namine could have imagined.]

Lea!

[Namine doesn't sound like herself or at the very least, this is a very different side. One she's beginning to like.]

God-

[barely chokes it out, gasping harshly for breath as she moves on him. His hips roll upward, meeting her movements as best he can. She feels - incredible. Slick and hot and tight around him. Arching his back, both hands dig nails into her hips, helping her move and egging her faster. The sight of watching her ride his cock, how her body moves over his, is probably the most erotic thing he's ever seen.

At this rate, he might not last all that long.]

[Lea moves his body and takes her own with it, pushing her up as she moves down. It takes a few tries to find what works but really, Namine doesn't need it to be organized to feel all the benefits. She likes the bite of his nails in her skin, how much easier it is to move when he guides her.

She wants to see him too, but even though her eyes remain at least half-open Namine comes in and out of her vision, her fingers scratching faintly at Lea's chest. Namine can't stop moaning, becoming more and more hurried and she knows in some kind of far away manner what her body is working up too, what it wants and rejects at the same time.

Neither of them is going to last, but thankfully duration doesn't seem to be the end goal for the moment.]

[the scraping of her nails and the sound of her voice makes goosebumps raise on his skin, sending shivers down his spine to help wind him closer. His own moans echo hers, especially when they move and she seems to tighten on him every now and then. He's close, so close...

Perhaps never in his waking imagination would he have thought they'd ever end up like this. But now that they have, it's almost just so...natural. The way they fit together and respond to each other, how easy it had been to kiss her and touch her without any hesitation - it's almost a mystery that something hadn't happened sooner.

It hits him suddenly. With a harsh gasp he gives one more hard thrust into her and orgasms, spilling himself inside.]

[There is a form of surrealism to this, because as natural as it does feel like a part of her that is now made better, it would have been impossible to guess that they'd be having sex in a car in the middle of the night. As two complete beings, at that.

Namine really isn't too far behind him, she's given enough time to register what's happening, catch the look on his face, meet that final thrust that catapults her over the edge as well. Short, but loud, Namine cries out, the strength in her arms all but completely evaporating. She has to rest her forehead on his shoulder, breathing heavily.

Damn.]

[draws in a somewhat strangled breath as he feels her climax and her body tightens around him again, over and over. He rides it out, waiting for his vision to clear, and the next moment finds him panting to catch his breath, arms wound around her and stroking back her hair. His whole body is thrumming, tingling in afterglow as his mind plays catch-up with what just happened.

Oh.

Of all people to do it with in the front seat of a car for their first time together...he probably would not have picked that for Namine. But he'd be damned if he denied that it hadn't been good. Incredible, in fact.

Regaining a little more brain power, he rubs one hand up and down her back, still inside her but having not quite enough strength just yet to move.]

...y'okay?

[It did happen in kind of a whirlwind, didn't it? But if there should be something like regret or shame or confusion, well, there isn't. Mostly she is just tired in the most peaceful way, breathing heavily into his skin.

She has no objections to how and where it happened, so why worry about it? The whole thing was indeed incredible, and that's all that counts.

Don't be mad at her Lea, but she kind of fell asleep for a few seconds there, woken up by his hand on her back.]

Mmhm.

[Sore, but definitely all right.]

I guess I don't need to confess, anymore. [Maybe.]

[hooks some of her hair behind her ear, fingertips just trailing lightly as he considers her. Confess? Well, no not really, but despite what they've just done it's definitely new information for him.

He shifts, lifting her slightly so he can slide out of her with a soft groan, his cock already softening quickly. Afterwards he gathers her close, one hand groping for that blanket that sort of...started this whole thing.]

...how long? [finally manages to ask it, grabbing the blanket and pulling it over them both.]

[A soft hum from her end, his touch keeps her warm. It feels a bit strange to be left ... Empty, but the slight ache in her body demands more attention. Slowly she gets comfortable against him, resting her head on his shoulder.]

A while. [It didn't begin the exact moment she saw him. But it was soon after that, a basic version of infatuation] Since you betrayed them, I think.

[Namine exhales, softly. Almost thoughtful.] You were always different.

[that makes him shift a little in something like discomfort, if not at least feeling unsure. That hadn't exactly been his most stellar moments in life. His own motivations had been so tangled up at that point, trying to organize his loyalties only to just align with himself in the end. Nothing had really ended up the way he'd wanted or planned.

Not that, now, it really mattered. It was almost ironic the way that things ended up working themselves out in the end.

Lea presses his lips to her hair thoughtfully a moment.]

Guess I was the only one who had a problem with what they were doing to you.

[even if it was dangerous for him to show it outright.]

[She feels a bit bad for making him uncomfortable, but it's the truth. Namine can't say that her feelings - or the shadows of them, as they may have been at the time - make much sense, but that seems to be the trick to them. No logic, all recklessness. Nothing ended the way that any of them had thought, really.]

I don't doubt it. [It's her turn to be uncomfortable, but she represses it into a somewhat blank tone.] I wish I'd had a problem with it, too. Enough to do something about it.

[Of course Namine hadn't enjoyed being treated that way, in one manner or another she had loathed every second, hated being trapped and manipulated and threatened and mot of all alone. But she waited too long to develop a backbone, any desire to want for more than what she was given.

And so no matter what anyone says or does, Namine will always view a portion of it as being her fault, too. No one is blameless.]

[holds her a little more tightly, sighing and pressing his nose to her hair. She smells really incredible now...although that might also be in part because of what they've just finished doing. That blonde hair is also just incredibly soft, and he can't help nuzzling into it a little more, just to feel it against his skin.]

Doesn't help when the person you're afraid of is capable of anything.

[really, he can't blame her for being afraid. What chance would she have against any of them, if they'd truly meant her real harm? Larxene most of all would have made her end especially cruel. He'd like to think that if it'd come to that he would've protected her as best he could. He would've tried, anyway.]

[Then it's a good thing she doesn't mind at all, that she smiles a little despite their conversation topic.]

I know. But I still wish I was strong enough then.

[There's truth in that too - Namine was, for whatever reason, the only one born without an offensive power. Any of them could have gotten rid of her in an instant and there was never a moment where Namine was not aware of that.

She pulls away just enough to look at him.]

Are you all right with this?

[About how she feels and what they did. Namine is not making any assumptions, but if he's going to regret it, she would like to know as soon as possible.]

[gazes back at her, lifting his hand to brush the back of his fingers against her cheek.]

Yeah. [cracks a grin.] S'not like it's not mutual, y'know.

[tilts her chin up gently with two fingers, leaning in to press another light kiss to her lips. He doesn't regret it - any of it. Sure perhaps he's adjusting still somewhat to the fact that she's had a thing for him for...quite a while. But by the same token, he's realizing that maybe he's needed her, too.]

[And there it is, the answer, the one she really did not expect.]

Okay.

[Leave it to Namine to impart as much emotion into one single word, before she returns that kiss.

She's never smiled so brightly in her life.]

[she just really shines like that, a sort of beautiful, nearly otherworldly light that's almost too bright for him to see her properly. It's a little funny, but he's pretty sure the warmth in his chest and on his face is a result of that smile. In that moment, he promises silently to try and see that smile as often as possible.]

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James Bond | Craig!Continuity

7?

Stuck in an elevator? And I'm fine with any genre!

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Rolled a 3!

Zatanna Zatara ⟡ Young Justice

1

/le gasp of shock at your decision

fufufu

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Amalia Sheran Sharm | Wakfu

Princess Yue ❄ Avatar: The last airbender

5 idk

Oh cammy you silly boy

Can't be tamed ALSO FIVE YEARS LATER I'M SORRY

GOSH MAKING ME WAITSO LONG

;_;/

<3

<33!

eee

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Kuroko Tetsuya | KnB | ota

1 & idk genre

pffffffffffff /dies

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//is so very amused

Likewise :o

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//>> is there a mirror in there? usually, fancy elevators have them cough

patpat No worries. You can't imagine what RP's I did in past... cough