It Was a Stormy Night [ Velocity ]

[Switchblade]

Switchblade glanced back at the dock in silent disappointment. Her usual spot for killing time just hadn’t cut it today. The usually calming, rhythmic waves of the Blackwater Sound had lost their luster. The grey, overcast sky hadn’t helped matters much. It cast everything in a somber tone. It was depressing really. The murky waters of the bay were only amplified by the clouded atmosphere. What a terrible day to be off-duty. She had grown restless down in the sewers, felt trapped, confined, down in their dark depths. The air there was stale and mildew-y, and been driving her mad all morning. So, it was a disappointment when she came to the surface, only to find the atmosphere here to be not much better.

“Hnn, no use sticking around here,” she grunted as she turned away, hooking her thumbs into the front of her jean pockets. Despite the threatening rain clouds that lay overhead, the air was quite cool, crisp even. It was a welcoming compared to the damp underground. All the same though, Switchblade wasn’t much for a melancholy day when she was given free time. Her booted feet trekked quietly on the cement as she made her way towards her chosen destination. The large, foreboding redwood trees had caught her eye.

She had never ventured out towards the Torrentem Cliffs before. Most of the details she had been put on where more towards the northern and eastern sectors. She had never really gotten time to “adventure” the southern area. So, when her usual plans for her free day were shot, it seemed only natural that she should check out the unexplored region of territory. The grey concrete gave way to soil and unmaintained vegetation and Switchblade’s footsteps were effectively silenced. A gentle wind kicked up, catching the ends of her platinum blonde hair as she leisurely made her way towards the faraway tree line. She had been tempted to make the trek in her animal form, but had decided to forgo it this time around. She spent so much time as a wolf that she was starting to lose touch with her natural shape, a human. She found it pathetic really, to have lost so much pride in being a human.

‘It’s kind of hard not to though when you’re treated like some zoo animal,’ she defended herself spitefully, throwing a nasty glare over her shoulder in the general direction of the Carna wall. Damn Keepers… Just the thought that there were people on the other side of that unbreakable glass just staring at the contents of the dome like some park goers irritated her. She wasn’t some insipid wild animal caught from the wild plains of Africa or the offspring of two domesticated ones. No, she was a human being, just like the rest of them. Her only problem was that she had been treated like a rare endangered animal when she had been caught instead of being handed the death penalty or a life sentence that she knew she deserved.

“Keh, fate sure does has its ways of screwing with you,” she murmured aloud, kicking a lonely rock that had the misfortune to be in her direct path. Her icy blue sights watched as the little thing bounced across the overgrown terra, tumbling to a stop a few good feet from her. The Carna hunter continued on her way, not bothering with the wayward rock any more. The tree line was drawing closer now, and from the dark looks of it, it’d be best if she kept her wits about her.

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Words: 595
OOC: Sorry it’s kind of sucky Dx

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[Deleted]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=height,450][atrb=width,500] [tr][atrb=background,http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o119/skeezixgirl/black_bar_anime.png] "And we all fall down," It was all gone. Lost into oblivion. A life perished like salt dissolving into lukewarm water, churning as effortlessly as the waves of the sea. So quickly, so suddenly, with no real time to prepare, and all the damage of a missile aimed at the heart of a machine. All of the damage, with no tools to put any futile attempts at repair into action. She was alone now. Everyone was gone. Everyone she thought she had, thought she knew, though she loved, gone. If they were even her's to call to begin with. Life felt so bitter to her, and all the passion she'd once felt toward living was gone. What was the point? "We lived to die, and we die so that others may live. It is a ruthless cycle that never ends, and never will, no matter what the circumstances. There is no point in fighting any longer." Fighting whispers was all that could be managed now, her throat so swollen swallowing was hard. The tears that threatened to pierce the once bright eyes that the young woman claimed as her own, now turned dull and blank, ridden with grief and pain. Betrayal. Hatred. She'd never been up to the cliffs before, and after the she'd been forced down to the sewers, this was the only time she'd need to be up here ever again. She hated this world, but she couldn't go back to her old one. Her past life had been a fraud, a lie, nothing but a bare sham shoved in her face and she'd taken in it, lived it it, reveled in it, until it all finally came crashing down on her as hard reality had a harsh tendency of doing. The gray skies seemed to be mocking her, somehow, making fun of her inner chaos as it's churning clouds seemed as if they were about to break out into storms, but hesitated, keeping the world below in tension, awaiting the rains, but not receiving them. It was cruel, but it served her right. Velocity had been nothing but naive. And she was to be an intellectual? Think again, little girl. She was nothing but a toddler dawdling about a room full of exposed syringes tossed about a bare floor, awaiting her soft flesh, begging for her cries of pain and tears of fear. Yes, this was reality and all its glory. Below the ridge, just underneath the cliff, she knew no one would be able to catch sight of her. Yet, in this cruel world, who would care if one threw themselves clear over the edge of the sheer cliffs? Still, Vee's young mind had yet to be shaped in this new and feral way of the Menagerie, and she took all caution in the strategy of her own suicide. With nothing left to lose, and nothing more of this world to offer, why not? Why keep toiling with the pathetic ways of struggle and survival? She clung to the side of cliff, tears streaming down her burning cheeks from her mismatched eyes, one blue, one gray, as she bared her teeth at the great height and sharp rocks below, the waves churning and crashing against stone. The breath in her lungs came in rushed gasps, fiery with adrenaline and fury. Finally, the girl had had enough. With no warning she grabbed her necklace, a smooth sapphire pendant hung around her neck on a silver chain and tugged it off, breaking the chain in one swift movement. Now she could feel her heart in her ears, and with her arms held over head, she pulled them back, ready to fling the precious stone into the sea below. But, as she went to do so, she found she held no will to do so and her wrists fell upon her head, and she crouched there, on an outcrop, below the cliff, maybe three feet, and screamed, a heart-wrenching, painful wail. There was nothing left for her, so why couldn't she do this? Why couldn't she do this one simple thing? Wouldn't it help so many people? She lifted her face from out of her knees, looking at the pendant, realizing she'd lost the chain, and sobbed. Damn the woman who raised her. Did she really love her, or was it all just some sort of pose for a sick experiment? Was she just a variable in a controlled formula? She couldn't take it, not this thinking, not like this. The girl leaped up, over the cliff and back onto steady ground where she was safe and shifting, lightning fast; something she'd already mastered within a few days. Her twin might have artistry, but Velocity was a wicked fast learner, and it aided her greatly. She held her pendant in her jaws and bolted, charging blinding, paws thrumming wildly against the soil she once studied the mineral composition for. And then it seemed, she crashed, blindly, into a wall. She fell off to the side, skidding across the earth until she stopped and then hopped, adrenaline-ridden, onto her black paws, fangs bared, yet eyes dull and not much will about the straggly vixen. It was a woman, not a wall, and yet, it was all the more reason for her to be angry. It was a woman who'd betrayed her, and it was a woman who'd abandoned her. "Til we all come 'round."

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Word Count: 949
OOC: Sorry it took me forever; font too big?
Topics: Isolated Variables; Independent Variables
Lyrics: "In this celebration, it's all a game, to keep us the same." (Edisun/Medicate)
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[Switchblade]

Her tread was easy, steady, yet there was a sort of confident stride about it as she continued her course. Like she knew exactly where she was going versus merely exploring the territory. Her eyes were trained on the ground up ahead of her, silently studying the terrain for anything out of the ordinary. She listened carefully to her surroundings as she placed one foot in front of the other. The air was surprisingly calm, silent really. Not that eerie silence though, just, quiet. The wind would rustle a few stray leaves here and there, maybe the song of an optimistic bird would be heard. Overall though, the melancholy day was without much background noise.

The rhythmic sound of her booted feet shifting the dirt and the lack of anything attention-grabbing caused the hunter’s mind to wander. She sifted through the past days’ events; replayed certain memories, analyzing the contents and the meanings of importance they were to her. Most were simply procedural things, work-related. Nothing too important. A few border happenings, some minor disputes down in the sewers. The usual day-to-day things. A few memorable faces popped up, both those she favored, and those she wouldn’t mind taking a good fist to.

The longer she dwelled in thought though, the further into her memory she delved. Soon, she began to trek in those dark, murky waters of her life before the Menagerie. Flashes of her old life came to the surface to spite her. Gunshots from her seemingly never-ending pursuers. Shouting, lots of shouting, curses and threats. Running for her life countless of times. Learning to survive on the wildlife or be force to scrounge the trashcans like a filthy dog. Staying in shady hotels when she managed to rummage up enough money. Three years. For three years, she had been running, dodging, hiding from her past wrongs. And even after three years, after all the shit that had come afterwards, the nightmares of that night still hadn’t left her.

She could still hear his deep, rough voice in her ears, using that name she had long since thrown away. She could still feel his hot breath, his coarse hands on her skin. She could still taste his horrible saliva on her tongue. She could still see those haunting, hungry orange eyes staring down at her. She felt a chill run down her spine as flashes of that night attacked her senses, reminding her of how she had ended up in this humanized zoo.

Switchblade came to a stop, closing her eyes as a hand came up to massage her temple at the assault of memories. A groan escaped from her throat as she forcefully pushed the flashbacks to the back of her mind where they belonged. “I need to find something better to do with my free time,” she grumbled.

The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps invaded her moment of calm, causing the young woman’s eyes to snap open at attention. A blur of greys suddenly hurdled into her legs, causing the Carna hunter to stumble forward at the impact. Her palms sung with pain as they harshly met the ground, causing a string of curses to slip from her lips. The impact on her knees paled in comparison to her hands. Switchblade immediately rocked back onto her knees, turning her palms upwards to examine what had caused them to hurt so badly. Sharp pebbles clung to her pale skin, as if refusing to let go of her despite being picked up from their resting place. She wiped the small rocks off without a second thought. The pebbles left behind nothing more than indentions and a few shallow cuts. Her icy blue eyes sought out the cause of her falling over. Oh, they were going to get it now.

She was met with the sight of a snarling fox with two-toned eyes. Little time was spent on considering the oddity of it all. Alarms shot off in her brain. Not wasting a second at the sight of a threat, Switchblade shifted to her own feral form in the blink of an eye. A vicious snarl erupted from her at the finish of the transformation. She was a stark contrast to the smaller canine. She was large, nearly completely white, and boasted a sturdy build, whereas the fox before her was smaller, mostly of a dark grey coloring, and held a slim structure. Switchblade’s tail flew up in a dominate fashion as her ears flew against her cranium. A threatening paw was put forward. “Who the hell do you think you are?!” she snapped none too kindly, her anger having seeped through her emotional wall. She didn’t appreciate being run into, only to have the being who’d run into her get pissy at her, as if it were her fault. And she had just been standing there!

Icy blue sights narrowed on the smaller creature, assessing it. Her nose sniffed the air. She felt her snarl slacken—slightly, ever so slightly—in its original ferocity when she finally took a moment to look the stranger over. She wasn’t sure, but she was sure foxes were a little bit larger than the one that stood before her. There was also a…sort of “younger” look to this creature as well. So, it was likely the canine before her was younger. Despite the threatening front, the vixen’s two-toned eyes shined with a different intent. Now, Switchblade was no master at reading people, but she sure as hell knew what the intent to harm or kill looked like when she saw it. This little thing…lacked that. That look…it was lifeless, soulless, like one who had given up. Just like…

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt. ‘Woah now, Makaila.’ The past memories that had sprung up were rudely shoved back to where they belonged. She focused her thoughts on the problem at hand. Her test of the air had eased her initial worry. Whoever this kid was, she was definitely a Carna member. She was about to yell at the young vixen when her sharp eyes noticed something. The fox’s jaws, her teeth, they weren’t properly meshed together like one would have expected. It was…like she was holding something in them.

Switchblade’s icy blue eyes glanced in, what she guessed had been the direction the fox had come, before she returned their attention to the other female’s face. Switchblade’s defenses were up again. “You ran into me, kid,” she growled, “If anyone is to be upset and baring fangs here, it’s me.” A pause before she interrogated, “What the hell are you running from?”

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Words: 1,100
OOC: Sorry, Switch isn’t exactly the comforting type Dx I didn’t know how big the pendant was either. Also, sorry this took so long. I had an art project due on Thursday that I was slaving away my week over.

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[Deleted]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=height,450][atrb=width,500] [tr][atrb=background,http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o119/skeezixgirl/black_bar_anime.png] "I don't want to be the one the battles always choose," Fear prickled along her spine as the woman began to shift. Oh god, she could shift. The possibilities of mortal wounds that could happen on the vixen's end were virtually endless now if she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, Velocity was no fighter. She stood no chance of defeating this wolf, who stood far taller, nearly twice her size, her muscle well-packed, lean and well-nourished. Velocity was the exact opposite. She was tiny, ragged, mal-nourished and with little muscle, her chances were far less than slim. Hell, they were non-existent. The fox need not do the math in her mind, she could already guess the outcome. She'd only fought once, with another Carna member, and even then the results were poor and pathetic on the fox's end. She was a sad fighter, with no tactics, no skills, no strength. The only thing the melanistic beast had for her was her fast speed and agility, but up against a wolf, she began to wonder if she was faster than the canine before her. But she couldn't afford to be afraid. She did not fear this woman, she couldn't. This wolf could not and would not be intimidating. Her sister was not here to protect her, not here to defend her in her time of need. The bitch, but that was a topic best left for later times, now, her death was awaiting her. Now was the time to suck up the dignity necessary for a proper falling. She would die with respect, not as some mangy mutt tossed to the side. As the wolf snapped at her with its outraged voice, she snarled and backed up a step, ears pinned back against her skull. She was so scared, yet she could no let on. There was nothing left to fight for, but Velocity had to fight one time more. All the pain and sorrow would disapate as the rain's dew when the sun rises on a bright morning, it would all finally be gone. Really, if she thought about it, Velocity should be thanking this woman. She was finally ending this cruel game before it really began, before something horrible could happen. She was saving her the misery. The pendant between her jaws was growing warm now, the metal heating up with her body temperature. What was she to do with it? Die with it in her mouth? Should she spit it out? But then what if the wolf got a hold of it? Velocity nearly smirked at herself: how ironic it was she was to be killed by the wolf, the one beast so misunderstood by the human species. Forever it had been seen as the one to be the antagonist, in Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, children all across the world had always been taught to fear them. And now? Well, Velocity hadn't paid close enough attention. Ever so carefully, as if she should still have some sort of sentimental attachment to it, regardless of its history, the fox placed the quarter-sized pendant on the stony soil between her paws, sapphire gleaming against the silver it was set in as the sunless sky set some sort of gloomy light on it. The fox almost guarded it, her paw pushing it back slowly, her neck arching as she glared at the wolf. "Unless you favor to have your neck compared to Swiss cheese, you'll stop pestering me, insolent mutt." The fox felt fear spike up her scruff, her heart pounding harder. She'd never been this brave before, so where was it coming from now? "I owe you nothing, especially answers." "'Cause inside. I realize, that I'm the one confused."

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Word Count: 784
OOC: My fault, shoulda put the size down
Topics: none
Lyrics: Breaking The Habit(Linkin Park)
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[Switchblade]

The heavy scent of fear overpowered her nostrils as the young vixen seemed to realize exactly what she had run in to. Switchblade wasn’t sure if it was simply her feral form that frightened her, or if it was the knowledge that she was about to get her ass handed to her, that ‘Oh shit, I’m gonna die,’ moment when you realized you just had to pick the biggest, roughest, person in town to piss off. She had had plenty of those during her runaway years. She had been fortunate to have the ability to shapeshift though, and into a typically frightening animal at that. Her wolf form had sent many dangerous individuals scattering, and then there were those who just freaked out in general that she had changed form at all. Those that were unfazed, well, it was a good thing she could outrun them.

The fox’s initial fear was quickly thrown away though as she seemed to gather a resolve, returning the snarl as best she could while backing away. The stranger tilted her head downward, jaws opening in the slightest as she gingerly deposited what had been incarcerated within her mouth. ‘So I was right,’ she mused, her earlier suspicions having been confirmed. A good sized jewel fell out that dainty maw. Switchblade wasn’t much for jewelry, but she did recognize beauty when she saw it. It was a pretty sapphire color with a silver base to hold it in. Even in the dreary sunlight, it seemed to glow.

Her eyes were on the canine once more as the vixen appeared to guard it, settling it protectively between her paws and the wolf before her. The threatening and insulting words that followed soon after were enough to prick a nerve in the Carna hunter. Switchblade’s icy blue sights hardened as she looked the fox over once more. Did she honestly think she could win this fight? Switchblade had killed sewer rats bigger than her. She was obviously hurting for nutrition, something that struck the wolf as odd. There was no reason for her to be this skinny. There was plenty of food during mealtimes—Switchblade had made damn sure of that—so unless she was purposely starving herself…

A growl rumbled in her throat. “Your bravery may be admirable, but your stupidity will be what will get you killed,” she snarled warningly, forgoing outright attacking the little thing for the insult that had been thrown her way. She didn’t feel it necessary to point out the obvious. Surely the stranger had realized how badly matched they were if a fight were to ensue. Switchblade wouldn’t kill the fox, mind you, but if it gave her no choice, then she sure as hell wasn’t about to let it chew her up. Fellow Carna member or not. The fact that she seemed to be possibly a teenager be damned. Switchblade wasn’t going to let herself get mangled because of some damn moral obligations.

The young vixen was courageous, she’d give her that. And while some part of her might have been impressed that the fox had stood up against what could be the death of her, this feeling was squashed by the more reasonable side of Switchblade. She wasn’t about to just lie down and take it. ‘She’s like you were when you were younger though,’ came the whisper from the darkest reaches of her mind, ‘Scared, afraid, naïve, inexperienced. Yet, despite it all, you bared your fangs at anyone who dared to cross you.’ Switchblade mentally swiped at the thought, making it dissipate in an instant. ‘I knew how to pick my fights though,’ she argued venomously.

Icy blue eyes were narrowed onto the younger canine. “We’re on the same side, kid,” she pointed out in a growl, as if that was reason enough for the young vixen to stop acting defensively towards her. It took everything in her not to call her by a more…unkind name. “I’m not going to sink my fangs into your scrawny hide unless you give me a damn good reason to.” Despite her words of truce though, her tail was still held high and her ears were still rolled back. And while her snarl had relaxed—her fangs no longer bared threateningly—it was evident it could return at any moment. The tension in the air was thick, and that faint scent of fear was back again.

Switchblade glanced back in the direction she had seen this grey-toned canine racing from before returning her cold gaze onto the vixen. “And, if it deals with the safety of our Ring, then yes you do,” she continued, referring to the stranger’s refusal to her previous demand. The fox had been running, blindly if the current events were anything to go by, from somewhere, maybe something. “Who are you running from?” she repeated sternly. The FallenRing bordered their lands out this way, and then there was also the fact that there could be some rogue wildlife wandering about. Judging by the vixen’s guarded actions thus far though, there were suspicions of another kind lurking about in the Carna hunter’s mind. Switchblades eyes narrowed on the younger canine. ‘Don’t make me call you out as a thief.’

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Words: 871
OOC: There were so many ways I could have gone with this xD

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[Deleted]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=height,450][atrb=width,500] [tr][atrb=background,http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o119/skeezixgirl/black_bar_anime.png] "I can barely eat." Textbooks, equations, mc squared, yes, those where things that the fox could familiarize with. Things she found common. Sodium carbonate was commonly used to produce glass. These things that Velocity knew, things that Velocity found comfort in. Science was the common key, the connecting line. Without science, Velocity was lost in this world. And now, she wasn't sure what her purpose was. And now? This fight? This wasn't science, this was brutality, with no finesse, no quick-wit, no intelligence whatsoever. It required nothing but fast brawn and blood lust. Nothing that the young vixen possessed. Yet the wolf hadn't pounced quite yet, which had to mean something. As long as the fox held her tongue, curbing her words enough to avoid angering to a point of rage on the wolf's part, she could avoid a physical fight. It seems the games never end, do they? Always, her mind worked, never did the puzzles cease to present themselves, with clear ways to put the pieces back together. It was once a gift, but now, it was a curse. She no longer wished for it. Her intelligence would no longer serve her in any way, not like this. Not when there wasn't any point. But wasn't this what she wanted? For the wolf to charge and tear her throat out? Perhaps treasure her gem for her, the damned pendant who's silver shone like the stars but held a past as black as the depths of the sea. She wouldn't have to worry, she wouldn't have to think, she wouldn't have to struggle, she could just let it all go and everything would dissolve before her. Yet, if she were to do that, then why couldn't she manage to do that on the cliffs, tossing her own body into the seas and onto the sharp stones below to her death? It would have been quicker, and would have cost less energy on the woman's part. Perhaps she was too much of a coward. The fox snarled at the last bit, fearing that, fearing that she feared too much, fearing her own fear. It was horrible the way she thought, not being able to grasp herself once her mind began to delve into the situation, into her thoughts, into her deepest worries when she least wanted it to do so. She flicked her gaze back up to the frosty gaze of the wolf's, her fangs bared, "My stupidity is of my own concern, is it not?" The vixen fought the urge to flinch when the wolf growled at her, her tail lashing out behind her in crazed patterns, growing faster until she was forced to slow down, only to speed up once more. Honestly, if the fox was to voice her own thoughts, she would be surprised that her voice hadn't been shaking when she spoke. She'd never felt so small, so helpless, yet she felt so brave even with the terror flowing under her pelt, driving her fur upright in prickled spikes. As the wolf continued, Vee simply couldn't help it. She simply couldn't. The fox grinned, then laughed, though the loss of humor might have struck up some sort of alarm for others if there were spectators watching. "Foolish cur, there are no sides. In this world, it is every dog for itself." She could feel herself grinning, though her blood had run cold, the meaning of her own words sinking in. She really was alone in this. No one was here to back her up. If she didn't strike first, she'd be struck down. Though, the fox found, with a heavy heart, she couldn't find herself attacking the wolf. It didn't seem right. In the deep recesses of her mind, she was reminded of her 'mother', yet at the same time, she knew this woman had done nothing to her and deserved no wrong. As the wolf began to question her again, Vee couldn't help but remember her view of the sea crashing against the stones, as she was seconds from hurling herself from the cliff. She found herself growling, but it was weaker than it rightfully should be, coming out pitifullly small, and Velocity could practically feel her light fall out. The weight of the world was all too much on her, her shoulders far too heavy now, her ribs lined with nothing more now than skin and bones. Her past came tumbling back, whizzing before her eyes. Her sister, science fairs, a mother she now wished she never had, all those times she'd end up swearing in a language even she couldn't name, every birthday of candles and cake and balloons and friends she'd never see again. The fox sat, her shoulders slumping, jaw falling slack though her mouth didn't open as her eyes dulled. The little beast shifted, involuntarily, and when she noticed she was human once more, she picked up a pink hand and looked at it, sighing slightly before picking up the pendant laying in the soil next to her knee. Even now, as it was covered in dirt, it shone and gleamed, and Vee blinked hard to bite back tears. She sighed heavily, her thumb rubbing the sapphire stone, sitting cross-legged in the cold earth before a possibly raging wolf. "It isn't 'who'," the girl began, flipping the pendant over in her palm as she gazed at the silver inset, peering at the name engraved in it. "More than it is 'when'." "This is to show that I will always love you, no matter what. You'll always be mine, and nothing can change that." The girl closed her eyes, her hand turning to a fist around the stone, raising her face to the canine interrogator. "You've gotten you're answers, go tread on someone else's tail." "I can barely sleep."

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Word Count: 1140
OOC: Shoulda held out longer... but I'm so impatient. xD
Topics: Sodium Carbonate, MC Squared, Physics Formulas
Lyrics: Well(Hurt)
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[Switchblade]

Invisible brows screwed up at the fox’s retort. What the hell was this? Did this kid actually want to die? Or was this simply the teenager’s way of being difficult? Icy blue eyes narrowed on the smaller canine. The vixen’s tail lashed about behind her, her defensive growls coming out at uneven intervals. Her teeth were still bared. The young female lacked that killer edge though. Her fangs were bared, but only as a show to help defend herself. It was akin to what a smaller dog would do when approached by a more aggressive larger one. If it made itself look big and bad enough, it would hopefully make its opponent think twice about attacking it. The vixen’s ever wavering feral sounds of warning only helped solidify that assumption. ‘She’s afraid,’ that annoying voice whispered to her, ‘Terrified. You’re scaring her.’

Switchblade wanted to snort. ‘And why should I care?’ If the kid was afraid, it wasn’t her problem. The vixen had every right to be. She was not only outsized, but she was extremely malnourished compared to the wolf. Against those types of odds, Switchblade was sure she’d be trying to puff up as big as she could get too. Her thoughts on the matter were swept away though as she saw the fox suddenly grin before she…laughed? A growl rumbled from the hunter. She didn’t see anything funny here. The stranger spoke once more, and, like before, felt the need to talk down to the larger canine.

An angry snarl ruptured from her at the vixen’s words. That damned creature was grinning even more so now. The she-wolf took a threatening step forward. “It’s true that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, but you’re a part of a pack now. Or did the Carna mark not burn that fact into your mind yet?” she spat venomously. Every member had that mark on their shoulder. It reminded them of who they were, who they ran with, and it told everyone else that they were a force to be reckoned with. And while Switchblade wasn’t one for companionship and that whole “we’re all family” bullshit, she was loyal. She had thrown in her lot with the CarnaRing, and they had treated her well enough. She knew the importance of team work, and she knew that as a member of that team, she had a part to play.

Either this vixen was new to the Ring or she had yet to grasp that, in this giant dome at least, there were sides. Either she was with the Carna, or she wasn’t. That’s how simple it was in Switchblade’s eyes. Yet, she knew what the younger canine meant. Everyone was alone in this world, forced to watch their own backs and scratch out their own pitiful existence. You couldn’t trust anyone, her past had taught her that.

Still though, Switchblade couldn’t help the irritation that had bubbled in her when the fox had so quickly thrown aside the fact that they were technically on the same “team.” If that really meant nothing to the vixen, then why had she even bothered to join up with the CarnaRing? From her obvious lack of nutrition, she wasn’t gaining anything food-wise from being with the group. The fact that the fox had seemed so against them being allies made it hard to suggest it was for protection either.

A weak growl had escaped the other’s jaws, causing the irritation to temporarily sway. Switchblade’s hard gaze recognized the far-off look that had suddenly taken the adolescent’s eyes. The vixen sat down as a sort of resigned expression seemed to take over her. Her shoulders sagged, and not a moment later, she had shifted to her human form. The wolf’s eyes looked her over once more. Her assumptions had been right about the vixen’s age. She was looked to be around her mid to upper teens. Like in her other form, she looked terribly skinny.

The aggressive façade left the wolf at the sight of this less threatening form. Switchblade was silent as she watched the adolescent. It appeared that the shift had been accidental, if the young woman’s body language was anything to go by. She looked at her hand, as if surprised to see a hand instead of a paw there, before picking up the piece of jewelry that she had been so bent on protecting. A round of sighs were let loose now that she was in this human form. The young woman’s aggressiveness seemed to have died off with the shift between woman and beast. She seemed almost melancholy now, staring at that pretty stone that she had placed by her knee.

The teenager crossed her legs before she finally gave Switchblade her reply. The stranger’s words confused the wolf. “‘When?’” Switchblade repeated, silently willing the younger woman to explain what she had meant by that. The vixen seemed to get out of her slump, suddenly focusing on Switchblade again before bravely telling the wolf to leave her. Icy blue eyes stared long and hard at the young woman, the wolf’s mind churning with decisions on what she should do.

Technically, no, she hadn’t gotten her answers. The child had merely danced around them, her roundabout answers only birthing more questions. Then there was that spark of pride to consider. She wasn’t about to be dismissed by some ill-mannered teenager. She wasn’t inferior to her. She would leave whenever the hell she wanted to, damn it. Switchblade’s eyes narrowed on the younger shifter. A moment passed before she sat down, indicating she wasn’t leaving. She remained in her feral form though, not trusting the broken teenager not to slip into being that fox of hers. Even emaciated, the fox’s sharp fangs could do a number on human flesh.

Another moment drew by before Switchblade spoke up again. “You’ve given me nothing but more questions, kid,” she finally replied. Her ears were pricked forward, awaiting a reply from the nameless young woman. Her adventures for the day had been shot when this youngster had run into her. As much as she wasn’t one to play therapist or act comforting to someone—and a complete stranger at that—something told her to stay and try to figure out what was at work here than arrogantly storming off.

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Word Count: 1,051
OOC: Sorry for the late reply, more art projects DX I swear, they will be the death of me.

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[Deleted]

As the wolf's eyes narrowed with an almost venomous distaste, she found herself frowning. Yes, she still feared for her life. The goosebumps that plagued her skin must answer that question, if the cold hadn't caused them to begin with. Still, she had to reason, if the wolf wasn't going to kill her now, would she ever? What would the canine gain, anyway? The only thing she could possibly receive is a few new scars that were surely part of a larger collection, and a stone that shone in the light, which meant nothing to no one now in this hell. Money, fame, fortune, it was worthless. The only thing that meant anything to anyone, that made any being worthy of a damn, was survival.

Yet, it almost seemed the larger canine seemed conflicted, struck by hidden emotions that Vee couldn't read. Hell, she couldn't figure the beast out. Velocity would never find herself in that kind of situation. She made her decisions quick and with precision. Either she did something, or she didn't. If she were in her wolf's paws? Well, if she were the wolf, she'd probably kill her. It was logical in all respect. If she didn't kill Velocity and word got out, her ranking could fall and others might attempt to take advantage of her, and then she'd be stuck in a position of fighting for her own respect yet again. All this from a simple shove, all this because Velocity couldn't open her eyes.

She almost felt sorry, but still, she couldn't find the will to care.

When the wolf stepped forward, her fangs glistening angrily at her, Vee cringed, her ears, pinned against her skull, flicking awkwardly, wanting to go even further back, but knowing that wasn't possible. When did she become such a terrified thing? Well, always, she supposed. She'd never had the heart for scary movies, or taking up sports, or standing up to bullies, not if they dealt with her. She'd always been the bookworm stuck in her room, glued to her homework or eyes locked on her laptop, working on a new equation for a chemical theory. That had always been her way, not this feral life of rain and terror. No, not this.

”The scarring on my skin means little more than an old wound.” Her gaze faltered, her mind burning as visions of her twin and past guardian came back, threatening to allow tears past the barrier of her eyes. ”Alliance is a vocabulary word left in the books of world history, something I've forgotten long ago.” She wasn't a very good hero-type. A good hero, Robin Hood, maybe, would have said something three words long, turned around, and left. If the wolf bothered to chase after him, he would have turned around, proved his dominance and found a good home to work out a new life in this chaotic world. Vee would have to work on that.

How simple this creature was, to have full and complete faith in others and not believe in any way that they would falter, that they would fail on her. Vee had been the same way, but she simply figured it had only been because she was young, foolish, a complete and absolute moron who needed fine tuning. This was a grown adult, by the looks of the fur, the form of the body, build of the muscle. Yes, an adult female, and a strong one. Velocity had yet again proved her stupidity by daring to challenge the massive beast. The canine could have easily taken out her throat in one swipe.

Of course, as she spoke, the wolf grew confused. She really had no desire to answer questions, to hear them, to give them. . . She wanted to be left alone so she could try to cast herself off the cliff again. But maybe she could do so in the presence of the wolf? Would the greater canine really care? She showed a slight interest in her, but surely that couldn't be too much of a problem, it couldn't be that much of a drive to risk her own life as she grabbed a stray teen from falling to her death. No, Velocity wouldn't leave it to chance. She'd have to wait until this encounter was over.

Vee sighed, meeting the narrowed gaze that made her shiver as she arched her brows lightly, tired, frowning, growing impatient at the exit of this wolf's presence. Still, the beast sat down, directly in front of her. And where she slumped, the canine sat proudly tall, making her look even more pitiful. Thank you, hound. She cursed silently, shunning the feral canine before her. It wasn't as if she had a bomb strapped to her back, she wasn't going to cause any harm to this beloved “Carna” of her's, she just wanted to be alone.

The gravel below her pricked into her skin, breaking it in some places, sure to cause some sort of bruise in the softest areas. It hurt, the cold, sharp surfaces of stone biting against tender flesh, eager for an entrance, almost hungry for the taste of blood. Damned things, they were. Now more than ever it felt as if the whole world was out to dig into her flesh, and devour her soul. Every waking moment she spent fighting, she felt her will to keep doing so slip farther and farther away.

Still, this wolf was here. The teenager's patience was beginning to fade and she felt her nails try to bite into the stone in her hand, with fail, as she sent out a retort before it could be bit back. ”Some questions are better left unanswered, wolf.” She felt her cheeks flush red with anger and shame, her eyes glossing up with the threat of tears, though the girl eagerly rubbed at them with curled up fists, pitifully attempting to keep up the strong look of independence and steel-will. ”Surely your past wasn't all roses and rainbows, so it shouldn't be out of the question to ask for your jaws to find themselves clamped on the subject.”

The surge of anger, the betrayal, the fury she'd yet to unleash on the women who'd cast her aside came to her full force and she found herself slamming the pendant in her hand to the earth, ignoring the sting of gravel as it tore into skin, casting it away from her, the bitter pain written on her angry face. ”Trust is something only the foolish can afford.” She bit off a cruel laugh, cringing as she hurt her own heart. ”Perhaps that is why I had it.”

Was she breaking down? Surely should could have chosen a better time to do so, without an audience. At least then she wouldn't have pity following her around, the wolf sparing her only because she felt sorry for the girl. No, that's not how she wanted it, and for Velocity, it only made things worse. Her heart was sore as it beat, her eyes shedding tears slowly, silently, her gaze locked on the pendant lying on the earth, her old name staring her in the face.

For Vienna, Love Mom.

Her hands found their way in her hair, pulling enough to cause a bite at her scalp, but not hard enough to cause tufts to pull out, though Velocity was sure the pain would ease her heart, her aching mind, her sore body. Once more, she thought of the cliff, how easy it could all be if she simply took one step forward and ended it all. ”An apology is in order, yes? I owe you that, and then you may leave. I doubt you hold any interest in this conversation,” she sniffed, looking back to the wolf, hoping that a simple sorry would chase the dog away and leave her to her own doings, hoping that her own courage wouldn't falter in the amount of time it would take to get rid of the wolf.


ooc: Seriously sorry for the wait >>

[Switchblade]

Switchblade felt her head slightly cock to one side at the teen’s response to the Carna mark. It was obvious that it held no meaning for her. It was just a brand, an “old wound,” as she had said. It struck the wolf as odd that the young woman would be so apathetic about it though. Just an “old wound?”

Switchblade herself had been initially irritated, angry when she had been forced to accept the branding or be chased out, or possibly killed. She had had enough scars on her body, why should she be willing to accept any more? She remembered being furious for those first two weeks of becoming a member, frustrated because of the trouble the mark had caused her and bitter about having another recognizable mark on her skin. As weeks had drawn by though, her initial anger had subsided. She had eventually accepted what had been done, accepted what it meant, and had moved on with her life. She had too much anger in her life to be pissy over another scar.

This young shifter though, it appeared that she could have cared less. Though, as the wolf noticed, the young woman’s gaze had shifted at her own words. It was as if there had been a double meaning for what she had said, like she had purposely left out a piece of important information. Switchblade decided not to pursue the matter. She wasn’t one to dig into other people’s pasts. She had no business in doing so, nor did she really care to. “Well, I guess you better re-learn it. It might be the only thing that keeps you alive in this zoo,” Switchblade scoffed lightly, referring to the teenager’s remark about the word “alliance.”

There was a moment or two where only silence was to be had between the two. The nameless teenager seemed to be lost within an inner monologue. It was only a short time though. The wolf’s sharp eyes noted how the young woman’s hand clenched mercilessly around that pretty stone still caught in her grasp. Her voice rose once more, pale skin growing red, and eyes becoming glossy. It seemed Switchblade had struck a nerve somehow. Her statement about unanswered questions had caused the fox shifter to become angry for some untold reason. Tears threatened to fall, only to be scrubbed away by the girl before they could break free. She was trying to stay strong, but it was becoming clear to the wolf that she was cracking.

‘I sense there are some issues that have yet to be resolved here.’ Switchblade thought as she silently watched the younger woman. And, there it was. The vixen had let out an important clue as to what had apparently had her on edge this entire time. Her past, her history. Something had happened there, and that was what she was running from. Not an actual threat or person chasing her, just, simply, previous events. ‘You know what that’s like. You’re still running from yours, after all,’ that infuriating voice whispered to her once more. She mentally snapped at the voice. She didn’t need it to remind her of things she already knew.

“If you had simply explained that in the first place, I wouldn’t have pried,” she growled. She had asked a simple, innocent question, so it shouldn’t be her fault that the conversation had wound up where it had. If the fox had simply explained that there was no physical threat around, Switchblade would have left the shifter a long time ago. No one’s feet would have been stepped on, and she wouldn’t have had to deal with this growing irritation. She didn’t even bother to make a remark about her own history though. Those darker days were not something to be brought up with a stranger.

That bubbling anger within the young woman suddenly let loose. The wolf visibly twitched, muscles ready to spring her to her paws in an attempt to avoid an unexpected attack, when the teenager slammed the pretty piece of jewelry into the ground. She hadn’t expected the sudden show of violence, and the animal side of her had instinctively wanted to duck away to avoid being possibly hit. It had taken a bit of self-restraint to not move away like that feral side of her wanted to. The young woman then threw the stone away from them, and Switchblade watched as the inanimate object cruelly bounced on the graveled ground from the force of the throw. Her icy blue eyes were on the vixen once more when she spoke.

The girl spoke of trust, her voice laced with frustration and a sort of spiteful humor at the thought of it all. There was a pause from the lightly-furred canine before she finally spoke up. “It is,” she agreed before adding somewhat bitterly, “But, we all have it though.” She refrained from giving some petty speech about the topic at hand. She wasn’t much for that crap, and she was pretty sure the teen wouldn’t hear any of it anyways. She didn’t seem the type to want to hear about life lessons or inspirational speeches. Switchblade also wasn’t about spit out some “I feel your pain” nonsense either.

Switchblade watched with a quiet regard as the teenager allowed those stubborn tears to finally have their way and fall down her face. She said nothing to the fox shifter, not a word of comfort, but neither one of disdain. It had become obvious to the adult that these…mental wounds, whatever they were, were still fresh for the young woman. Hers had long since healed over, but even she could not proudly proclaim she hadn’t been without those broken moments early on.

The adolescent’s gaze fell to the stone that she had so quickly caste away before she began to tug on her hair rather harshly. It was a moment before the girl finally spoke up once more, this time telling of an apparent apology that was owed. The wolf blinked at the words. If this girl thought Switchblade was going to leave now, she was certainly wrong. “I don’t see anything we’ve discussed worth apologizing for,” she rumbled. There was a pause before she inquired, “Do you?” There was no reason to apologize for simply being oneself.

She flicked her tail and cast her gaze towards the pretty stone. “Perhaps, perhaps not,” she informed the other indifferently. She rose to her paws and ambled over to the abandoned object. “If you see me walking away—” she gently picked up the pendant between her teeth and walked back over to the teenager, depositing the stone at her knees, “—I guess you’ll know that you’ve lost my interest.” Her icy blue eyes flicked back to the fox shifter, wondering if the little thing would dare to let the load off its chest or continue to stubbornly hold out.

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Word Count: 1,152
OOC: Sorry for the wait DX Also, hope Switch didn’t cross a line by picking the pendant up <__<

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[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 499px; height: 768px; background-image:url(http://i48.tinypic.com/21l0baw.png)] The she-wolf almost seemed to analyze her words as she spoke them, making the young girl feel as if she'd been placed under a magnifying glass, pressed hard against a glass slide for examination. Soon would come the dissection, or at least, she would assume. Though, as Velocity was quickly learning, her vast sense of knowledge was being replaced by little more than masses of ingnorance. Soon she would know nothing, and she would be left with nothing but her fangs to carry her through this new feral world, and she would surely perish underneath the onslaught of the elements. The wolf spoke up for a reply, and the girl found herself smiling drearily back at her. "Don't mistaken this new world for a zoo. Despite the horror of it all, it's hard to deny how well thought out it is. A life-size experiment and we are all now test subjects." She laughed, almost with humor in it. "I can imagine the amount of government funds they're wasting on us right now. Still, it's brilliant." A few moments of silence hung between them, like a heavy boulder suspended by only a thin thread of yarn, ready to crash down to earth at any moment, if only the yarn would give in its futile efforts. Velocity could only feel her heart slowly thumping away, the feeling of warmth long gone, without her pelt to offer her the protection from the cold. She shivered slightly, her body aching for warmth, but her mind merely ignored it. She put up no efforts to shield herself from the freezing air, as goosebumps continued to plague her skin. She simply didn't care. The wolf growled at her, and she almost cringed, but she had to keep reminding herself that if the wolf didn't attack before, there was next to none that she would do so now. Slouching, the girl frowned further than she had been before. "Tell you? And risk your pity? The last thing I want is some stray cur tagging behind, feeling sorry for me." She almost sighed, "Of course I thought you would simply walk away from irritation rather than interrogating me when I didn't answer your question. Obviously, things didn't work out as I planned." She flicked a piece of gravel laying on the earth away with her fore finger, sending it rolling over and over, until feet turned into yards and the stone was out of her sight. "Not that they ever do." She had always aspired to go far, something anyone young would do, their motivation high, their wisdom low. But Vee had always though herself different, higher, and it was that sense of pride that had always sent her cascading down into deep pits of problems. Her sister had always helped her though, and she'd always thought she had learned from her mistakes. Now she was making mistake after mistake in a new foreign world, and there was no one there to guide her. She almost hated herself for leaving her sister, but her twin had betrayed her just as much as her so-called 'mother' had. When she threw her pendant away from herself, the wolf visibily twitched, and the girl nearly grinned. She really assumed Velocity would be that dull to leap at the wolf? It would be as suicidal as casting herself off the cliff, only much more painful. She could feel the inner-turmoil pushing barbs through her chest, and for the next few moments, all she desired was to curl up in a ball and close her eyes forever. No more of this wretched experiment, no more of this wolf, no more of her pendant, nothing more of anything. Her existence would be so much easier if she were simply in a coma, fed food through a tube, forever lost in a dreamworld created in her own mind. She could be whatever she wanted there, and nothing could stop her. The tears finally slipped through, but the wolf said nothing. She did not mention them, did not note them, no words of sympathy were exhanged. For that, she was slightly grateful. Not having to acknowledge it meant it was not in fact happening, and if the wolf said nothing, than it must mean that Velocity was simply imagining it on her own. It meant absoultely nothing at all if her mind was conjuring it up. Her fingers tugged harder on the ends of her hair, the strands twirled around the tips of her fingers, her scalp burning with the pain, giving her something to focus on. "Nothing verbal, but I should have been watching where I was going. That's what you've been waiting for, yes? An apology for my shove?" Anything to get rid of the wolf, she was almost desperate now. Only fifteen feet away, and the only thing keeping her from the cliff, and her end of this cruel existence, was the damned wolf. But the canine didn't seem to care, and as she lost eye contact with the canine, she watched it stand up and paw her way to the lost pendant, laying face down in the earth. The wolf picked it up and worldlessly dropped it back down at Vee's knees, and the girl felt a sense of anguish crash down on her. "I suppose it doesn't matter what I do," Her shoulders slumped as she reached for the jewlery, ""I can't get away from you, can I?" Whether she was talking to the wolf or the pendant, not even she was sure. Perhaps it was both, perhaps it was niether. Maybe she was simply making mindless words and spitting them out just so she could talk. Who could say? There was no doubt she was somehow losing her sanity. She didn't look back up at the wolf as she spoke with little feeling, "I wouldn't see what interest you could find in a malnourished fox other than a midday snack, wolf. But you have your reasons for being here, just as I have mine. Do as you please, I don't care." Word Count: 1059 Possibile Scientific Links: Laws of Gravity Inner Thoughts: No that's fine, anything goes in a thread for me. :3

[Switchblade]

Had she had any, Switchblade would have raised a brow at the adolescent’s laughter. She found no humor in her comparison. ‘“Mistake?”’ She felt her description accurate enough. They lived in a giant cage. They were given an ‘exhibit’ to live in while the ‘regulars’ stood back and watched them from behind thick glass. They were treated like the animals they could transform in to rather than human beings. They were kept alive for entertainment. That constituted enough similarities to justify in calling this hell hole a “zoo” in her book. She held her tongue on the thoughts though. It was a trivial matter to argue. What she saw as a zoo, the younger saw as some giant lab experiment.

She simply grunted, “Hnn. You have your opinion, and I have mine.” There was a pause from the wolf before she continued. “There’s nothing ‘brilliant’ about treating people like they’ve done us,” she countered. Outcast and betrayed, simply because of something they had no say in. No one could control their genetics. And yet, the government felt it within their power to corral all of these “impurities” up so they could have their fun with them. It made her sick. Only the arrogant and greedy could afford to entertain such thoughts. She was not a damn animal to be caged.

The teen shivered. Switchblade remained indifferent as she witnessed the accompanied rise of goosebumps across the girl’s skin. No doubt she was cold, or, at least, that’s what her body was telling her. Her human form was severely lacking in clothing for colder weather. It made the hunter wonder why the nameless girl didn’t shift back to her furred form. ‘Perhaps she simply likes the cold,’ she mused. She made no move to bring up the bodily change in the teen. Surely the girl would revert back to her canine form if she got cold enough? If the adolescent didn’t see it as a problem, neither would she for the moment.

The beginnings of a growl rumbled in her throat as the teen referred to her as a “cur” once more. The child seemed to have a fascination for the word. Her inner wolf tugged on its chains, its pride insulted by being compared to some mutt. The teen slouched and frowned at her. “Feel sorry for you?” Switchblade scoffed, “What pity is there to be had for someone who simply states that what they’re running from is a personal problem versus a true enemy? Beating around the bush only complicates things unnecessarily.”

When the vixen continued, Switchblade had to hold back a vicious laugh. Of course she wouldn’t walk away. She had asked the fox a question, so she’d be damned if she didn’t get an answer. Walking away would mean defeat, submission, that she was a pushover. The wolf was deathly silent though, her icy blue eyes simply staring at the younger shifter as she played with the gravel. There was nothing she had to offer to what had been said. It was true, things never went as planned. If they did, Switchblade wouldn’t have gotten caught, wouldn’t have been on the run, wouldn’t have ended up here. But, she didn’t need to confirm the adolescent’s statement. She felt her silence would be agreement enough.

There was a long pause from the other. She seemed ever lost in her own thoughts once more, her fingers continuing pull at her unfortunate hair. The teen clarified her grounds for apology, earning her a tail flick from the large canine. “That you should have,” she agreed. There was a pause before she continued, “It would be nice.” The fall had hurt, after all. Not to mention, all of this could have been avoided if she had simply been mindful of where she was going.

It was strange, this sudden change of character with the adolescent though. Before, she had been rather difficult. But, now? She was suddenly…almost…compliant. ‘What brought along that shift, I wonder?’ Switchblade’s ears flickered as the girl spoke up once more, her eyes on her returned jewel. The Carna hunter wasn’t sure who the teen was talking to. The younger shifter wasn’t looking at her, and her choice of words did seem a bit off for a reply to anything Switchblade might have said. So, the wolf thought it best to revert back to the safety of silence.

A moment passed before the vixen decided to speak up again, still refusing to look up at the wolf. Switchblade backed up and held her head a bit higher. Should she bother to bring up her observation of the shifter, or should she let the conversation continue to take its toll? It probably had something to do with the teen’s past though, which was a place Switchblade would have preferred not to dwell in. Switchblade sat down once more. Her icy blue eyes looked the shifter up and down as if to assess her. “I would have to be near death to even consider making a snack out of your scrawny hide,” she commented dryly, deciding to disregard the matter on why she continued to stay or why the fox seemed so desperate for her to leave.

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Word Count: 867
OOC: I know this is like, the 10th time I’ve apologized for being late, but, once more, sorry for the late reply Dx

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[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 499px; height: 768px; background-image:url(http://i48.tinypic.com/21l0baw.png)] The girl arched a brow as she watched the wolf handle her. . . less than heartwarming judgement on the live experiment. It didn't surprise her that the canine didn't share her awe at the lengths Keepers had gone to to make this project work, to further the strains of genetic material in shifter DNA. Or so she now gathered. She'd seen certain papers and documents from her adopted mother before, but she'd never knew what they were for. Each one showed abnormal DNA results. At least now, she knew why. She could understand shifter blood at a cellular level, something not many could boast on, but something she could care less about. It didn't matter to any more now that she was one. Still, she didn't expect the wolf to be so gruff on its reply when it simply stated it's next line: her opinion was her's, and it the wolf had it's own. She almost frowned as she heard the wolf deny the brilliance of the plans the Keepers had devised to keep them all in this damned cage. Was she ruined now? Was she spoiled to all other shifters? What kind of impact had being raised by a Keeper had on her? She'd seen it plainly before now, but it hit her harder than ever as she realized she saw everything in some scientific way. Now she was tossed away by Keepers, and not even shifters seemed to want to pick up the remains. "Forgive me, my judgement is biased. I'm a scientist by nature." Was there a way to break it? More importantly, did she want to? If she was an outcast, would that necessarily be a bad thing? She never did tend to fit in with the crowd, and even for 'nerds' she was too advanced, too intelligible. And her sense of humor didn't go very far when it came to common filth such as them. The wolf's tone changed as it spoke up again, a brief growl bubbling from it's deep lungs. Velocity almost growled back, her fox's nature coming out when she didn't want it to. She had to hold back the tensed tendons in her jaw, though, keeping a compliant look on her face, her eyes carefully reading the words off the wolf's lips as it spoke them. It was right, in a sense: It was rather pathetic to be running from your own feelings. There was no sadness to be found there, no pity to be given. Velocity narrowed her eyes as she looked away, "I suppose I am also self-centered by nature as well." Vee listened to the crash of the sea against the cliffs, and a sudden thought hit her mind. Before she really delved her brain into the notion, she'd shifted again, and was cautiously picking her way toward the cliffs, her tail flicking at odd intervals with no real pattern. Her stomach rumbled again, reminding the young vixen that she was still slowly deteriorating, but still, she did nothing but keep walking. The fox stopped a few feet from the cliff, not sitting, but not quite standing. Almost a limbo between the two as she watched the waves below. "You've completed your interrogation, have you not? I believe this would be the ideal opportunity for me to begin one." She looked back at the wolf, eyes inquisitive and curious. If she had to find a way to pass the time, why not do it this way? And besides, she might find a way to drive the wolf off. "What would a wolf be doing out near the cliffs?" She lashed her tail, the fox blinking as she continued, pushing more facts to debunk false tales that the stranger might shove at her. "The scent markers are fresh, which means there's no need to patrol. And they don't carry your scent, you didn't leave the last markers; so either you're don't scout at all, or you don't patrol this specific area." She turned back toward the trees then, breathing in the scents that drifted from there deeply, reading each one that came in. But she picked up nothing but trees, dew, rain, and soil. "And the land seems almost barren of prey, unless you're after mice. Though I highly doubt you'd be interested in poached rat." Word Count: 840 Possibile Scientific Links: Personality vs. Raisings Inner Thoughts: It's all good, I'm plenty patient

[Switchblade]

The wolf simply blinked as the girl explained her reasoning behind originally correcting the canine’s calling for the dome they lived in. “A scientist, eh?” she growled in an almost amused manner. Now that was ironic. The people that kept them here, bound them, caged them to this pathetic existence were all scientists. They found enjoyment in their cruel ways, enlisting the shifters into an abundance of mandatory tests simply to satisfy their thirsty minds or sadistic natures. The politicians were no better, but at least they didn’t partake in the dirty enjoyment of screwing up a person through their DNA. She had heard of what had become of those of the Nakoma tribe, and it boiled her blood. But, now, here, one of their very own—if the teen could be considered such—was the test subject instead of the one doing the testing. She wasn’t sure why she found it quietly amusing, but she had.

Instead, she cocked her head slightly and nodded to the adolescent’s scrawny form with her nose. “I don’t suppose, you’ve realized your current state of physical problems, have you?” she pointed out nonchalantly. It wasn’t meant to be patronizing, but, rather, more of a “shouldn’t you know better?” After all, it wasn’t any secret of what the public opinion of a “scientist” was. Many were viewed as incredibly smart individuals, though, sometimes lacked in sense in other areas. Perhaps this girl was the same? Or maybe is she was just some arrogant rich kid that couldn’t handle things not being given to them on a silver platter. ‘That would explain why she keeps talking down to me,’ that darker side of her growled bitterly.

The teen’s eyes narrowed before she looked away, speaking away from the wolf shifter. Switchblade merely grunted in reply, not really caring to answer the statement. The girl could make of it what she liked. The wolf didn’t care to ponder much on it. It wasn’t long after that the younger reverted back to her fox form and began to wander off towards the sound of crashing waves. Switchblade’s icy blue eyes followed the vixen, wondering what could have possibly interested her in that direction. ‘She was running from that general way, if I recall correctly,’ she hummed in thought. It was a moment or two before her large paws were put into motion, silently following after the smaller canine. Part of her was curious, part of her not satisfied with ending their conversation where it had.

Switchblade blinked as she watched the darker canine stop just short of the cliff side. She had taken up an awkward stance, somewhere between sitting and standing. The wolf stopped a good distance away from the crafty critter, not trusting that she wouldn’t try to pull something on her so close to the dangerous cliff’s edge. She could hear the roar of water as it blasted the rocks below. She would be a fool to allow herself to be so trusting. The vixen wished to turn the tables it seemed though. Bi-hued eyes met her icy blue ones. Switchblade stood firmly where she was, not daring to be the first to look away from such direct eye contact.

She was silent as the younger rattled off questions of her own, throwing facts and figures in the mix as well. The wolf let the fox say her piece, her eyes shifting as the fox looked off to the trees and scenting them before speaking to the wolf once more. Had she been in her human form, Switchblade might have shrugged. Instead, she simply flicked her tail. “Believe it or not, it’s my day off,” she explained somewhat gruffly. “I’m simply exploring the territory. Though, it’s very well that you’ve picked up all of that,” she remarked offhandedly.

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Words: 634
OOC: Sorry if this sucks, and for how late it is x___x I had to use the school computer to type this up.

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[Sparrow]

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