TRAPPED [P]

What was that old saying? About the early bird and the worm? Or was it, early to bed, early to rise? Well, whatever it was, it was early, and the bird was already on the wing. Hunting, as nature dictated, came quite naturally to a bird of prey like Sully. With sharp clear sight, lightning quick reflexes, and strong wings to lift prey right off the ground, there were very few things that escaped his razor sharp talons. Flexing them against the warm breeze that kept him aloft, he would have smirked slyly if his beak allowed it, those cool green eyes of his scanning the ground below for any sign of prey activity. The one problem with hunting near the ring borders was that it became a little harder to tell what was truly prey what was another shifter traipsing about in animal form. He'd only made the mistake once in the many years he'd been cooped up under the dome. He had planted his talons square in the hindquarters of a delectable looking rabbit, which then turned out to be one very pissed off Carna girl.

Speaking of which... He had just about crossed into Carna territory when he spotted a small pack of scouts leaving the waterfront. Making a sharp banking turn, he decided to follow them, curious as to what had caught their eye. The four men slipped into their shift forms and broke into a chase, the object of their pursuit unknown for the time being, but Sully made it his business to find out. Staying relatively high in the air above the hospital he kept his keen gaze on the pack of Carna as they eventually came to a stop, cornering whatever they intended to catch. Finally getting an unobstructed view of the ground below, his gaze narrowed in slight as he noticed their quarry was nothing more than a tiny cat, hardly what one would call a snack, let alone a meal for four. Then again, knowing the Carna, it probably wasn't a snack at all.

Betting on the chance that it was a someone rather than a something, Sully sprang into action. The niggling feeling that he would regret this later was washed away by a swell of heroism and a little bit of stupidity as he tucked his wings in close and dropped into a dive. Shooting downward and through the sparse trees that dappled the landscape around the hospital, he kicked out his feet and spread his wings, tilting into a sweeping turn and rushing straight past the four beasts in something akin to a black and white blur – or at least that's what the adrenaline and his overactive imagination lead him to believe. Taking care not to let his own predatory instincts kick in he snatched up the little cat and gingerly closed his talons around it, hoping he wasn't turning the poor thing into a pincushion in the process.

Its weight – however slight – immediately caused some drag and he had to beat his wings hard to gain altitude, but he was well out of the reach of the Carna before they had time to retaliate. Aloft once again, he banked in way of Fulsi territory and set his sights on a vacant lot overgrown with grass and weeds. While it was no problem at all to keep carrying the little cat, it was squirming so feverishly he was worried he was losing his grip, and he really didn't want to tighten his grasp any more than he already had trying to keep it still.

As the little cat squirmed more, this time it was with purpose, and suddenly tiny claws sent pinprick sensations through the thick hide of his scaled legs. It didn't hurt as much as it felt weird, almost tickly, but in an annoying way like he had landed on a particularly spiny cactus. Shifting the angle of his wings Sully began to descend toward the grassy lot he had spied earlier, eager to let go of his fidgeting – and no doubt terrified – little passenger. He was curious to see if his hunch had been right about it being a shifter rather than an ordinary cat, and while it had occurred to him earlier the he could have just spoken to it, his words would have been lost upon the rushing wind around them.

Then all at once the little cat shifted into a girl and her frantically grabbing hands yanked him right out of the air. A high pitched avian scream shot from Sully's beak in protest as he flapped frenziedly trying to get free. It seemed selfish, like he was trying to save himself, but his intent was far from such. When he finally wrenched his feet from her grasp he quickly tucked his wings into a dive and put himself between her and the ground, shifting out of his bird form just in the nick of time. Sully connected hard with the grassy earth below and managed to take the edge off the fall of the former cat, but it was still quite painful regardless.

Hey, at least they got where he was going.

Allowing the dazed young girl to roll off of him on her own Sully let out a pained wheeze and rolled into something akin to a fetal position, clutching at his ribs and gasping for air. The impact had knocked the wind right out of him, broke two ribs, and bruised another, but he was lucky. They weren't too far from the ground when she had shifted and almost all the way into the vacant lot. Otherwise they could have ended up dead – splattered on the pavement, on the roof of some building, impaled on a fence... Okay, enough of that.

With a moan the man rolled over onto his back and sucked in a lungful of air, finally catching his breath, but succeeding in aggravating his injuries which quickly sent the air back out in a whinge. He turned his head to set his gaze upon the girl, who seemed to have recovered much quicker than he did, and all at once she recoiled away like he was going to eat her. Sitting up with much effort and releasing a mix of a growl and a groan as he did so, he quickly gave himself the onceover before looking back at the girl. "Hey..." He turned to face her fully now, a hand rising to brush his shaggy hair from his eyes. "Hey lass... Are you alright?"

He watched her for a moment, rather amused by her various expressions – shock, disbelief, confusion, elation, confusion again. It really was quite entertaining, and focusing on her was the only thing that seemed to dull his pain for the time being, so he did his best not to let his attention stray even as his mind raced trying to make sense of everything. A lot had happened over the course of a few moments and even he wasn't entirely sure about the fine details, but he was glad to be alive at the end of it all. The landing had been rough but they both seemed to escape with relatively minor injuries, at least by what he could tell from a few quick glances.

Suddenly there was a finger in his face and the interrogation began, her broken speech intelligible enough in spite of all the missing words. He did his best to fill in the blank as she went along, an amused smile easing to his handsome features in spite of the circumstances. Did you just pluck me into... "The air..." I was... "Cornered..." But the Carna... "Did not get you." He said the last part with a greater measure of reassurance upon his smoothly accented voice, as if to say that everything was okay without actually saying it just yet.

A strained laugh escaped him at the mention of flying and squishing him, his hand rising to hold his ribs gingerly as he took a breath and released it slowly. "Aye, tha's usually what birds do, we fly. An' don' worry lass, I've had worse fall on me." His smile faded a little as he noted the blood and then a flood of confusion washed it away entirely as she began giggling daftly at the ground. As she went into her Bard-like monologue, he shook his head a little, a gruff chuckle escaping him as he keeled over and dropped onto his back, lying there for a moment as a wave of dizziness attempted to overwhelm him.

As he focused on the slightly distorted sky beyond the done, the details blurring in and out, he did his best to let his mind focus. He was no doctor but he knew a concussion when he felt one and he knew the last thing one should do was fall asleep. Forcing his eyes open, he spoke again once it seemed like her hysteria had subsided, his words hanging in the air above him as he had yet to turn his head to look at her again. "You're alive. You're safe. An' for now, everything is going to be alright..."

At this point his speech started to slur just a little, his lids growing heavy over those normally brilliant green eyes, which seemed to have dulled ever so slightly. He wasn't sure if he had hit his head in the fall or not but the sudden overwhelming deluge of delirium started to convince him he had. The brightness of the sun overhead was almost painfully blinding and all the fine detail had blurred away. Raising a hand, he reached for the back of his head and sifted through his thick dirty blonde locks, the hot stickiness there an obvious giveaway.

Suddenly the girl was hovering above him, her hands all over his face and head, poking and prodding and examining him like she was some kind of doctor. Her hands flew over his eyes, blocking the light, then letting it in, the brightness excruciating as it shot into his eyes like a needle. A groan of discontent was all he could muster before she ordered him to follow her finger. "Which one...?" He said in a tone that sounded half-joking half-serious as the image of her hand above his head merged and split back and forth between one and two.

He followed it well enough regardless, his gaze straying back and forth in time with her movements. When the finger count changed from one to four, things got a little more complicated. Squinting slightly as she asked how many, he made a sound like he wasn't sure, his eyes shutting tightly as he took a moment to focus before exposing those bright greens once again to give it his best shot. "Four..." Gently nudging her hand away he moved into a seated position, a hand rising to clutch at his throbbing head as he took a breath and centered his focus once again.

"Look, I'm fine, just a wee bit dizzy is all." Turning slightly to look at her, he managed to summon up a smile. He wasn't used to being cared for, and even if he needed it, he wasn't about to let her ignore her own injuries in favor of his. A couple of pills, a little meditation, a good night's rest, and he'd be right as rain. "'Sides, you could do with some doctorin' ye'self."

Her appreciation was acknowledged by a soft nod and that lingering smile. He really didn't have the words to follow her own, since, what could he really say? You're welcome? No problem? Anytime? Any conventional responses seemed strange and inappropriate for the kind of thanks he had received. Then again, saving someone's life quite literally out of the blue wasn't exactly part of the norm either, so he supposed he could be forgiven for not having a proper answer. Bringing his knees up, he leaned forward a little and rested his arms atop them, taking a bit of the weight off his aching ribs.

As her gaze strayed away, so too did his own, his attention wandering to the vacant lot they were sitting in, the empty street beyond it, and to the city in the distance. Having flown above the area dozens of times, he knew where they were well enough. When his gaze came back to the girl, he found her staring at him cautiously before she suddenly – and rather unsteadily – rose to a stand. He didn't make a move to follow just yet, his gaze lingering on her as she spoke again. A soft chuckle escaped him when she apologized for landing on top of him, but her attempt at a joke made her uneasiness a little more obvious. Nothing he did showed he had taken notice of it however, his features remaining soft and unassuming.

"Ahh, don' worry about it lass. Better you landin' on me than me landin' on you, aye?" He tried his own joke, a strained wince hissing through gritted teeth as he slowly rose to stand thereafter. Wavering a little, he extended an arm out to counterbalance, eventually steadying himself with a little effort. Once he was sure he wasn't going to keel over he took a breath and let his gaze stray once again, plotting a course in his head to get them back to the Gospel Complex. "The name is Sully, by the way." It occurred to him that he really didn't know who this girl was, only that she needed help, and since she seemed harmless enough bringing her home to the healers wouldn't be a problem, but getting to know her on the way wouldn't hurt either.

The girl seemed to perk right up at his introduction and advanced toward him, offering her hand and her name in the most polite and formal of ways. With a warm smile he took her hand in his own and shook it just as firmly and warmly as she did, not inclined to give her the death grip he usually offered other men, especially those outside his ring. She was an interesting little thing this Sorcha Maureen Juniper Depplamere, oddly well-mannered and proper for someone of her age, especially in a place such as this.

As their eyes met and she mentioned the Fulsi, he let loose a small chuckle. "Well then, imagine that. I'm one o' the Fulsi m'self." He said quite proudly. Joining the ring so many years ago had given him purpose and some semblance of normalcy in an otherwise unforgiving and turbulent environment. For that alone he felt he owed his ring his utmost loyalty. "I s'pose it weren't coincidence then. I was meant t'save yeh."

His gaze strayed as a hand rose to brush back a few of those rebellious locks that kept defiantly falling into his face, his fingers dancing gingerly over the wound at the back of his head. Dismissing it for now he dropped his hand to his side and absently wiped the blood on his jeans, returning his attention to his ringmate without a change in his warm expression. "We best get yeh home then aye? Have them healers get a good look at yeh."

Turning his attention to the sky momentarily he referenced his mental map, something he'd fabricated from so many missions flying over the Fulsi territory and beyond. Orienting himself with the buildings around him, he turned a little and faced ever so slightly northwest. "That'll be it that way then. Not too far either, just a twenty minute or so trek. Can you handle that alright?" He wasn't sure just how hurt she was and he didn't want to push her too hard.