like a moth, [P]

[Sloane]

daisy chains and sudden rains I despise this place, she thought as she picked her way through the debris that cluttered the hospital's hallways. It was midday and still very little light reached even what should be the brightest corners. She rather liked the sunlight; it felt warm on her cold skin. And when she touched her sun-warmed cheek it reminded her of her children, how warm and soft they felt when she held them in her arms. She slipped in something black and oozing on the floor, the stench cloying and clouding her thoughts. Her children fluttered away from her like tiny, fragile birds and she watched them leave with a belabored sigh. No, this was no place to bring a child. It was the rotting, stinking cesspool of the dome, swarming and teeming with the vilest creatures of her own kind. She liked to think she was not like them, those beasties she could even now hear slithering in the darkness. She had been created to be clever and beautiful, as she had been told by her Creators, and she liked things to be as clever and beautiful as she. She wanted the world to be pleasing and bright and comfortable. The Others who had come before her were simple creatures content to wallow in their slag and refuse. Despite that, she sometimes found the company of lesser beings an unfortunate necessity. Her Creators told her she was, by their design, a social creature. She was not entirely sure what this entailed, but she supposed it explained that hollow feeling when she had not spoken to any other thing in a few weeks. It had taken some time to learn the two were connected, and as she headed up the groaning stairs to the second floor, she felt quite proud of herself. She would be sure to tell the Creators of her discovery the next time she was in the Compound. They were generally pleased and would let her stay outside of the dome longer as a reward. They knew how she despised the dome. "Anyone home?" She called as she came to the top of the stairs. She trailed her fingertips along the molding wall, unsheathing her lionesque claws so they scraped off the aged paint. Disgusting. The sound echoed down the hall and she listened for any reply, ambling in her boredom to an old convalescing room. Rays of sunlight struggled to get through a boarded-up window, filling her with a sudden desperation. She gripped at the poofed hem of her glittering, tutu-like skirt, claws catching in the fabric. "Something must be done," she hissed. In a few steps she had crossed the room of rusted bed-frames and molded mattresses and stood at the window. She peered through a crack in the wood, peering out at the bright world just outside. "I have to let the light in." She said, digging her long claws into the boards. She stood a moment in silence before tearing the boards away, piece by piece, splinter by splinter until she could feel the warmth of the sun on her skin again. She leaned against the dust-coated window pane, a smile etching her pale face. She could hear her children again. She thought she heard a noise behind her in the doorway. "Hello?" she called, her voice soft and welcoming. notes | Noir lemme know if it's okay I know it's kinda rambly but

[alexine]

The world vibrated for Alexine in the hospital, not because she recently made a kill or even found prey. It was because of her own heartbeat. Thump, thump, thump. The quiet made Alexine's keen hearing focus inside herself, which is something she avoided at all costs. That void could only be filled by the hunt and her prey. Alexine rarely came back to her home base without something, rather someone, to show for it. Not all hunts were successful. She knew this. But she hated being alone, because it meant that Alexine would have to think about other things. Like her own mortality, her own weaknesses. Being alone, she wanted to claw through her chest and rip her heart out, but Alexine knew that was counterproductive. So Alexine settled for looking around this rotting place where so many viruses have made their home. She focused on the black pools of festering rot and the peeling rust on the walls, even though that was disgusting and unacceptable too. The smells violated her senses, but at least her breath was coming out smoother.

Her boots clicked on the smooth tiles with each step. She was in such a huff she couldn't even remember where her damn room was. Alexine gritted her teeth until her jaw hurt, and then forced herself to relax. She wasn't sure if a virus like her could get wrinkles, but she remembered prey discussing it and she didn't want to find out. Figuring out the Creators' work was even more frustrating than figuring out her own inner struggles, and it was energy she didn't want to spend. The hospital winded back and forth in its hallways, and she was content to follow them a ways. She could leave somewhat soon to try again... hear voices other than her own. Her tongue flicked out at the thought, forked and brutal, and she started feeling the hum deep in her throat and her stomach again. The hum of the hunt. It meant she was rested enough.

The first noise that suggested she wasn't alone was thin and grating. Alexine figured it had to be fingernails, but against what? She slowed to a stop and tilted her head, with her blond hair like a waterfall around her neck and ending at the scales on her arm. She was listening, absorbing the noise like a dying man at the watering hole. She started walking again, but with increased speed. She didn't care if the source of the noise was a virus, or prey, or even a Creator. She. Needed. Contact. Without even realizing it, she started running, and she let out a hiss every time she stepped in old blood, spilled medicine, unidentified rot like it was not her fault, like she wasn't being reckless.

The noise escalated from thin scratching to the sound of breaking wood, and she stopped in the doorway. Another virus. Alexine let out a low hiss again before putting one arm up high. It was better than nothing. She didn't often like having the company another virus; her senses couldn't make sense of another being like her. She focused with her eyes, and this one seemed quite focused on her work. She was ripping out boards, letting in the light, and Alexine didn't question it. It somehow made sense to her, like she had performed the action herself.

"Hello." Alexine made her voice low and husky. A smirk crossed her face. She never met another virus who was pretty like Alexine: attractive, yet full of horrors on the inside. She decided a question out of left field would be best. Alexine rarely opened any sort of interaction the same way. "What are you looking for?"

OOC: It's fine by me. Rambling is easy to reply to XD Hopefully mine is okay. I am SOOO rusty.

[Sloane]

daisy chains and sudden rains Sloane’s eyes were pools of inky, glistening black as she stared at the creature in the doorway, her pupils fully dilated as she struggled to make its dim form. She leaned slightly to the side so the new-found light coming from the window behind her would show who had come to say hello. The light illuminated her, the creature, catching in her golden waves of hair, skimming along her ivory skin and making it glow as if the light emanated from within. Sloane let out a little gasp, surprised that such a pretty thing would be here, all caught up in the shadows and ick. The air inside the room was still and she couldn’t immediately catch a scent, so she was not sure what kind of creature it was. It did not look ugly and terrible like the Others, so Sloane thought for a moment that it might be Prey. But it did not seem afraid; rather it seemed calmed and curious. Either very brave Prey, or very, very stupid Prey. Though in all honestly Sloane didn’t think there was much difference between the two. Sloane tilted her head to the side as she studied her new companion for a few seconds, trying to identify it. She took a few light steps toward the other, so light she seemed almost to float. It spoke, then, a question, bringing her to a halt. She knew it wasn’t Prey then. To be in this place of rot and horrors and to be calm was not in the mortal creatures’ will; not in her experience, anyway. So it meant the creature was like her, made by the Creators. What are you looking for? Her head cocked to the other side and she smiled, a quick and curious little gesture, standing on her tip toes. “The light,” she said simply, her voice akin to the tinkle of a bell; the Creators had made Sloane soft and delicate, as lovely as one could be inside the dreadful Walls. She had not seen any of her kind to look as she looked, so very lovely – this Other one was lovely indeed, like she was, yet so very tall. Sloane giggled, wondering at the height of her. It seemed so very ungainly to be so tall. “But I’ve found it and freed it. It's much better now. Do you like it?” She breathed, wondering if this virus was friends with the light like she was. She took another few steps forward, seeming almost to skip in the small space. “And what are you looking for, my dear?” notes | Noir I love them, they're so weird <33

[alexine]

Alexine's pupils contracted as the being before her moved. A slight shift to the side. A head tilt. Shifting her weight so she balanced on her toes. Alexine tracked all movements and recorded it, even though this wasn't a hunt; she needed to believe she was hunting, restarting her purpose. Alexine let out a slow breath with a wide mouth, her forked tongue tasting the air. It changed so easily when it came to one of them, ravenous, insatiable creatures who could be quantified. Alexine lifted her heel and clicked it against the tiles, adding it to the cacophony she sensed. She breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure why she felt relieved. She wasn't outside, she wasn't tracking, ready to kill... but maybe it was just that this was better than nothing.

This creature was looking up at her, and Alexine supposed that she had taken note of Alexine's height. The Keepers had taken inspiration from models and famous actresses in her design, a seductive beauty rather than a pure one. She didn't care much how they calculated her looks, as long as they were there, and she could use them to infect, capture, and kill her prey. But this fascination was hardly a first for Alexine, and her lip began to curl. The one before her seemed too fragile and small to ask questions, but Alexine was often wrong about her calculations about someone else's character. And she took delight in being wrong; it wasn't her job to come up with answers.

She gave the Other a small smile. "I'm not that far away," she said. It made more sense in her head than out loud, but she didn't clarify it. But there were often times that other people talked a little louder, looked up a little more, as if her height brought her closer to the clouds instead of earth.

Alexine squinted her eyes as the Other brought her attention to what her ripping and tearing had brought about, light from the outside. Its soft, golden glow reminded her of her hair, and Alexine did love to think about her physical attributes. "I do," she replied softly, and she thought about doing it to her own room. Prey didn't have the sense to look in cracks in the walls; if anything, they seemed to shy away from them. Don't look, she heard them whisper once, don't get too close. Viruses lurk in the dark. But Alexine knew the truth; the Others stood in the dark so they could face the light. 

"The answer to that question has changed in the last few minutes," she replied, and her voice took a dreamlike tone. She turned her head towards the wall, like it held something dear to her. The fact was it didn't. Alexine felt boredom more intensely than any. "I heard sounds. I followed them. And then I found you. What shall I look for now?"

Alexine folded her arms. That was the question, and the lack of answer annoyed her. The hospital was such a rotten cesspool, but the attraction it held for her was magnetic, unseen, unexplained. She felt chained, and there was nothing she hated more than chains.

OOC: mo money Ack, yes, they are very strange, and it takes a weird part of my muse to write them haha. Let me know if any of this just made no sense.
    

[Sloane]

Sloane observed the slim, forked tongue flicking from between the woman's lips. Slim, almost translucent brows quirked up and pulled together for the briefest moment. She was born of a snake, then, or some part of her was. Sloane wondered if she held the venom of a snake in her as well as the precious, precious lifeblood of Their kind. Or if she was, perhaps, a constrictor. Sloane lauded herself very clever for such musings: after all, she knew something of reptiles, having observed them back at Home with her Creators. But Home seemed very far away now, especially when behind these moldering walls. She gave her head a little shake, the most mild of disagreements to the other's words. "One could always be closer," Sloane mused in reply, black eyes seeming to glint in the dull light. Her smile took on an almost sharper angle, laced with lurid fascination. She stepped forward again, wanting to reach out a long, clawed finger and trail it along the pretty's skin to feel how soft, to see if it would tear as easily as Prey. Her own skin was just as fragile, but some other's she had known had skin like a beast, tough and leathery and hard to cut. One step was all she took before the Other spoke again. She liked it then, the light? Sloane flashed her teeth, corners of her mouth pulled back until her cheeks hurt; it was a nice feeling despite the ache in her muscles. Her smile almost spoke for her, saying You do? "I am most surprised. The Others prefer very much to lock it away, to keep it out. They hide from it, also." She cocked her head. "It seems You are unlike Them. You are more like ..." She trailed off, fingers curling and uncurling at her side. She raised an index finger and tapped her pale temple with one sharp claw as if to say, "Me." What shall I look for now? Sloane shrugged, hands falling to her side to tangle in the gauzy fabric of her skirt. "What does One normally look for in this rotting place?" She paused, another tip-toe forward towards the towering, golden thing. "A name, perhaps?" Again the flash of teeth, the sharp smile that both tempted and yearned. ooc: Noir sorry for the delay -flails- edit - added a bit to the top of the post

[alexine]

The creature before her remained looking up at her, and it occurred to Alexine that this entire encounter wasn't just about her being tall. This one was quite small, delicate, and would look fragile if Alexine didn't know exactly what she was. So many fell for the trap that they set in their eyes, and she found herself annoyed that this one wasn't Prey. It would be so, so simple... cooing voices, a well placed word, and... Alexine's pupils blew wide, contrary to their contracted size before, and she knew what they looked like. She saw their reflections in her dead prey before she consumed them, or in eyes wide in terror, perfect pools for contemplation. She looked like a demon this way, but a mockery of one. She always felt contempt for the Creators, even though she knew her feelings could never be acted upon, because this place was nothing but a mockery of hell.

One could always be closer.


It was like a puppet string was tied to the top of her spine. It jerked taut, and Alexine's mouth fell open ever so slightly. Her annoyance vanished, and she found herself tilting her head in a much different way... not curiosity, but showing the smooth side of her neck. A little gasp escaped her throat, and an almost violent shiver crossed her. A quiet little thing who was just as dangerous as she, if not more so, and she still approached Alexine with deliberate and careful strides, each move calculated... but of course. This was how they worked, and thrived. Still, Alexine was used to their kind scuttling about like crabs, hiding in the dark, running unless their targets were their own size or smaller.

With Alexine and this one, surely, they were often the small ones.

Alexine wasn't on the hunt, but she took in details anyway: dark eyes, gauzy skirt, long hair, childish features; she put them away in her mind one by one, filing them away when they could be useful. She closed her own eyes for a minute, breathing in the pleasure of it all... because it was. This creature was so pretty... almost as pretty as she was. She let a huge, predatory grin cross her face, and she looked back at this creature that was more fascinating than most Alexine had run into these days.

"Well, of course," she said. Her eyes fell to half moon shapes. The Other had lit up when Alexine said she liked the light, like a gift that wasn't expected to be accepted. A childish reaction -- fascinating. Alexine would have to see if she could make it happen again, or maybe even take it away. "The light... is truth." Alexine looked directly into the source of light, and even though it hurt her eyes, she didn't look away from it. "To hunt in it... that is true ecstasy. The Others know nothing of reaping its benefits." Alexine took a step towards it, almost close enough to touch this other one. "Don't you think?"

She gave a low, fluttering laugh, and turned back towards her company. "The Creators have named me Alexine. Although, I think I was looking for yours first."

OOC: mo money Well that was strangely intense lol   

[Sloane]

“There is no truth,” She replied, almost eruditely, as if it were one of the simplest things in the world. “Except what we make very much to be true.” She was a deceiver, a snake in the reeds, a thorn hidden beneath the rose: That is what they had made her, the Creators. She was to be a thief not in the shadows but in the sunshine, a thief sent to steal amongst the crowds and wrap herself deeper and deeper in Their truth. And then she would bring it all crumbling down around her as They struggled for breath and she was left alone again. It was not the way she liked. It was not the truth. With her Children, she did not deceive. They were truth and light and always, she sought them. She went silent, suddenly, listening for her children. They fluttered again like birds just beyond her reach, calling, seeking, and waiting for her. It was cruel of them to taunt her so, dancing always just outside of her vision, parading on the fringes of her eyes no matter how fast she was. “Sloane.” She said. She was still, still as Prey, and then suddenly she darted past the Other, Alexine, into the halls, sprinting now, searching, a peal of laughter ringing through the darkness. ooc; why she do a run

[alexine]

A knowing, smug smile played on the corners of Alexine's lips. She leaned back on her heels, crossing her arms. It was hardly surprising, hearing what this One had to say. She didn't know It. She had not seen what Alexine did, when her hunt was complete and satisfaction was hers. That didn't matter. The One before her had potential, and even if she never lived up to it, oh, she was amusing. A light, bubbly laugh escaped her. Maybe what she said was the real truth, not Alexine's, but who cared? The hunt was all that mattered to her. 

The creature seemed to be listening for something, and Alexine stilled. She couldn't hear anything herself, and for the first time, confusion flitted across her features. The Other -- Sloane, she said her name was -- was still, and they stood as a couple of statues in the room until Sloane took off like a shot out of the room and through the hallways. The rational side of Alexine knew that she must have heard Prey, but she wasn't listening to that side. No. Her instincts took over, just like what happened in most of Alexine's short life in the dome. There was no room for logic. Only the hunt. Always the hunt.

Alexine's pupils slammed into slits so fast that the room's sudden clarity made her dizzy. Thinner, thinner, until they could cut like a knife. The whites of her eyes turned wild, and she turned towards the door with a languid slowness she did not feel. A song came to mind, one that she heard once in the Keepers' lab before. It was close to her conception, and she had never heard it again, but she would always remember it. It never made sense to her until now.

"On the farm, every Friday," she sang softly, her smoky voice turning to bells. "On the farm, It's rabbit pie day. So every Friday, that ever comes along... I get up early, and sing this little song."

A bang sounded as Alexine transformed, the massive lizard that stood so tall that all she had to do was rear up on her hind legs. Her scaled head and back collided with the ceiling and ripped off chunks of dry wall and paneling. Pieces and dust rained around her as the ceiling gave way, revealing copious amounts of sunlight. For this new one, who managed to impress her. That didn't happen often.

She transformed back to her human form, and she hadn't even finished the transition before she started running. "Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run. Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run." She let out a gleeful laugh as she followed Sloane's scent. She didn't go far, but she was having too much fun. The first of its kind in a long while.  "Bang, bang, bang, bang! goes the farmer's gun. Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run."

She never understood why the rabbit should escape. Now she did. Rabbits could be Other, too. And she didn't have to be the farmer with the gun, here. This was a different sort of game. Predator versus predator. Each role changing as they saw fit. But she couldn't turn off the need to hunt, even with an equal on the playing field. It would never be in her nature.

"He'll get by without his rabbit pie. So run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run."

She passed Sloane and stopped in front of her, a feral grin splitting her face.

OOC: mo money Well that was only a little creepy.