SO SACRIFICE YOURSELF ! [HALIFAX, ADLEY]

[Sarafina]

You take the breath right out of me!
You left a hole where my heart should be.

"That WH**E!!!" She screamed at the latest file of Adelina's pregnancy and the DNA match up of the father. Little fists smashed against the counters, throwing syringes and paperwork violently in each direction. Of course, as every single worker had a special eye on her from her father's command, it was only a moment before an assistant Keeper stood in front of her with a frown and a pager to call her father. She stopped instantly. Normally one would have stopped her physically, but another command was that no one could really touch her. And that gave her more freedoms than intended. 'Ms. DeSoto...I believe you have a few assignments to update information. Here are your latest subjects.' They were always trying to distract her with STUPID assignments. She held the glare with the larger man, tears streaming down a now much more mature face. In fact, the more she aged the more beautiful she grew aswell. Her presence still made over half of the less controlled men in the institute swallow nervously. But so much as one prolonged glance and her daddy had Jarvis on the job. Still, she snatched the papers from this latest assistant...She glanced at his lab coat...Mr. Marcis...and turned on her heel to leave.

He sighed, digging into his pocket and pulling out the diamond necklace that he’d just gotten back. “Hopefully it’ll mean more when it’s given and not taken,” Adison leaned over, so close that her soft, clean scent filled his nostrils, and placed the sparkling jewelry back around her neck. “From me this time,” he added quietly, no longer missing it, but glad that he could give his mother’s necklace to someone he wanted to have it.
“Couldn’t you stay here with me?”

"Oh, shut up, Adonis." She glared through wet eyes at a black-footed weasle sitting in a cage. She was pretty sure it was actually a reto, but being in an actual pet cage it didn't give him the room to shift. She was suspicious of who was keeping it...but day after day he'd sit there in lab no. 374, watching her. In return, she'd named it after the most frightening shifter of all their experiments. "You know, she doesn't even have pretty hair." She cried, taking Adonis out of the cage. Hm. Maybe it wasn't a reto...or an experiment at all. It just dangled from her grasp and stared. With a scoff, she set him back in and left to The Wall.

The Wall was a place she'd returned to on many occasions...a place her and Adison met ever since she was very small. She always returned. But he'd stopped coming, and she found herself staring sadely knowing exactly what he was doing. After an hour of her daily Unhealthy-Sad-Staring, she set off into the Menagerie itself after going through the safety precaussions and secret tactics of getting in. With in two hours, she'd captured three experiments according to the files. Returning to the lab, she had all three of them in the same room, strapped to seperate tables and heavily sedated. The first she'd captured - a Fulsi - would probably be waking soon. The other two, which were Carnas, would be sleeping for awhile... She glared up at the camera in the corner of the room and subtly disarmed it's abilties, aswell as finding two more, small and hidden, and doing the same to them. "So." She pulled two latex gloves on with a shuddering snap. "You're first, Fulsi."

You got to fight just to make it through
Cause I will be the D E A T H of you.

[Deleted]

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[bg=02000e] He cracked his eyes open and barely suppressed a groan. Bright fluorescent lights danced around on the ceiling, swirling and jumping and overall doing a wonderful job at making the boy nauseous. Adley turned his head to the side to escape them. When he did a warm fluid trickled into his mouth… Blood? He wrinkled his nose in distaste; was it his blood? Why was he bleeding? And where was he? The last thing he remembered he was turning a new bow over in his hands and trying to figure out how to fit an arrow to it. Right? What was he doing with a bow and arrow, anyway? He groggily tried to sit up, still horribly disoriented. Something pulled down at his chest and wrists, though. He panicked, pulling at his restraints, but then he lay still. There was a strange scent in the air, something sterile and fear-inducing, but also familiar… Adley froze. He knew where he was. He was out of the Menagerie. He was out of the Menagerie! He almost yelled for joy; he was in the Keeper’s area! Had it all been a dream? A horrible nightmare where he was one of the freaks himself? He tried to sit up again, and once more the pressure of the straps stopped him. His good mood didn’t leave until he saw the edge of a white lab coat. Yes, he was out of the Menagerie. He was in the laboratory, that goddamned laboratory that he used to love so much. He remembered observing as the older Keepers experimented on the subjects. He would jot down notes, maybe even talk to the experiment a little bit to fill in some missing information. But those days were over; now he was the experiment. He was the freak, the abnormality, the abomination. His stomach twisted. What would they do to him? What could they want with him? His existence was an insult enough; did they take him here to gloat? To mock him? Surely his father wouldn’t let them torture him… right? His father. Adley’s eyes found the Keeper who’d brought him in, his throat tight. It was a woman, though; he sighed, a mixture of relief and disappointment. He missed his dad more than he could bear, yet he didn’t know if he wanted to see the man again. Not like this. “So. You’re first, Fulsi.” The voice exploded in his brain. It broke down all the walls he’d put up since entering the Menagerie, chased away any problems he might’ve had. He knew her voice. Of course he knew her voice. His stomach felt like it was turning inside-out and he couldn’t talk, couldn’t function, not with her so near. His eyes desperately found her, but her head was turned. Her hair was exactly as he remembered it, just a little messed from venturing into the Menagerie. He never thought he’d see her again. He’d dreamed about meeting her, about talking to her. He’d imagined the conversation they’d have over and over again. He knew every word he’d planned to say to her, should his fantasies come true, but they were all lost to him now. He gaped at her like an idiot, more of his own blood trickling into his mouth and down his neck, staining his expensive shirt. “Sarafina?” His voice cracked with emotion and he wanted to look away, didn’t want to see her face when she turned, didn’t want to see if she’d be repulsed, but he couldn’t. He was ashamed and confused and elated and scared out of his mind. But she was here. Sarafina. His Sarafina. --- words; 605 ooc; SPEEDPOST sorry if it’s jacked up but omgg <33 x’D

[Sarafina]

You take the breath right out of me!
You left a hole where my heart should be.

"Be quiet, Fulsi. I don't usually waste my time with the likes of you. Consider yourself honored." She hissed in a manor that she didn't usually treat the experiments. In fact, she'd always been sweet and kind to them. She rarely got caught feeding them or reading them stories and talking to them. But a few violent incidents where the experiments were not so kind in return left her slightly more bitter and gaurded towards them. Another reason being, she really didn't waste her time with Fulsi and Fallen...or anything but Carna lately. It was her newest obsession. Of course, she'd always been fascinated by that world...the beauty of the docks, the carelessness of that life. It was what she wanted...the one thing she couldn't have. A few times she'd rebelliously injected herself with shifter DNA, once a white labrador and the other time an entire mishap of a monster...but always her father detatched the DNA(a process she found very painful indeed, although with her father she was hyped up on painkillers anyways). But, as she slowly saw how her defiance hurt Seraphim, she kept her escapades on the down low. She turned finally, and although she'd wiped her previous tears away, there were still dark circles under her brilliant, blue eyes.

Distracted enough, she filled a syringe with out even looking at him, before taking a step towards him and tripping. She hit the floor with a soft thud and cursed softly to herself...but she was used to it, being one of the clumsiest of creatures on the face of the planet. She searched for the syringe and stood up, stabbing it relentlessly into Adley's pinned down arm before squeezing it gently to release the sickly liquid. She then took it out, empty, and tossed it in the garabage. Sarafina? She glanced up effortlessly, brushing a hand through her curly, blonde hair. She stared for a few moments before her eyes went wide. With in a moment, she looked absolutely crushed again and stopped sobbing almost hysterically, half pouncing on him with a big hug and adding huge tear and drool stains to his blood stained shirt. "Oh, Adley!" She choked out. "I miss you so much! It's horrible! I can't take it anymore." And then she was laughing... The hormonal blessings of a teenaged female. She latched on two shocker bracelettes to each of his wrists before releasing the rest of his constraints so he could stand. The bracelettes were of course a precaution...She could never trust him the same. He was one of them. But still....

"You're so lucky. Why you? Why did you get to be the shifter? That's not fair. And you're stupid! Joing the Fulsi. God." She punched him playfully, forgetting about what it was she'd injected into his arm. She subtly eyed him up, taking note that he'd grown into a rather handsome boy...It was weird...being older...seeing him. They'd been best friends. And in the next moment - hello emotional roller coaster -- "You jerk!" She slapped him, and then rubbed her hand which probably took more damage then his face. "How could you just leave me behind like that? I thought you were my friend. You don't just do that to someone you care about!"

You got to fight just to make it through
Cause I will be the D E A T H of you.

[Deleted]

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[bg=02000e] She turned to face him, and she was beautiful. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes were still drawn to her face. He was trying to remember every detail, trying to store it away for later. Though Adley was highly intelligent and had a strong memory, he’d seen what happened to the experiments. Some went crazy, some became confused and couldn’t remember who anyone was, and some completely lost themselves. Adley was determined to keep his sanity and remember who he was, but if for some reason he failed he never wanted to forget Sarafina. He was able to drop his gaze then; he would never admit to feeling it, but looking at her made his heart ache. It hadn’t been bad, before, when he realized how he felt for her. There had always been hope that maybe someday she’d wake up and realize that the perfect guy for her was right in front of her. Now, though, no matter how much he wished or how hard he prayed, she would always be untouchable. Still, there would always be a little flicker of hope inside him, like a small flame on a secret candle. The soft ‘thud’ of a body hitting the floor made him turn in alarm. His anxiety heightened when he saw Sarafina was gone; had she been the one to fall? Was she all right? His fears were relieved, though, when she quickly stood up and shoved a needle into his arm. Ouch. Despite his pain, though, he smiled. That was the Sarafina he remembered, always falling and knocking things over. It was comforting to know that at least some things never changed. “Oh, Adley!” His eyes went wider than hers and his body completely stiff as she all but leaped on him. Within seconds his cheeks began to flush as he became aware of exactly how close she was to him. Though he enjoyed the hug, he was relieved when she stopped. He felt awkward and was unsure what to do with himself, not that there was much he could do when he was strapped to the table. It seemed almost surreal when Sarafina released him from his bonds, but he didn’t miss the shock bracelets weighing down his arms. He sat up and rubbed them, hurt flashing across his face. Did she really think he would hurt her? Did she think he had the capability? Still, if he was in her place, he probably would’ve done the same thing. He gave her a cautious smile as her sobs turned into laughs, that dangerous flame of hope growing even as it should’ve been sputtering out. “Lucky? Are you kidding? More like cursed,” He wanted to be serious, but her good mood was contagious. He laughed along with her. It was as easy talking to her as it had been before. He gave a gasp of mock-pain when she punched him and rubbed the arm with the injection, even though she’d hit the other one. “I’ll make you a deal: Let’s switch places. You go run around with all the smelly Shifters and I’ll stop by and kidnap you occasionally. And poke you with needles.” Adley thought things were going very well, but obviously the young woman did not. He jerked back as her hand cracked against his cheek and looked at her with wide eyes as she yelled at him. “I… I…” He stuttered, at a loss for words. Ah, girls. No matter how long he lived or how much he was around them, he would never understand them. He could do his best to make amends, though (no matter how unfair her accusations were). He stepped over to her and wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug and buried his nose in her blond curls. He’d never noticed how clean and fresh they smelled before; probably because everyone in the Menagerie smelled like blood and sweat and hard work. He realized that he probably smelled, too (even though he’d just washed with soap two days ago) and quickly stepped back, but not too far. “I missed you, too,” He said with a soft voice. Adley felt as if he could sense the heat radiating off her skin, so he took another step back, but he only got hotter. A frown touched his lips and he scooted away from the table; maybe that was heated? Or something? The laboratory tables hadn’t had a feature like that when he’d been training… But they could’ve added one? Though he couldn’t see it, his face was getting continuously whiter and whiter and his a cold sweat was breaking out on his hairline. He still felt like he was overheating, but light shivers ran up and down his spine. He crossed his arms over his chest, but recoiled when his right hand touched the swollen injection area on his right arm. What had Sarafina put in that shot? --- words; 823 ooc; THE LOVEBUG MUST'VE GOT HIM.

[Sarafina]

"Sorry." She calmed down, accepting the hug and keeping herself in check. She supposed it wasn't completely her fault. Seeing him again didn't exactly make it easy for her to keep her emotions in check...especially with recent occurances. "And it's a deal." She sighed, pushing the hair out of her face when he backed up, leaning against the counter and trying her best to focus on not slipping or breaking something. "I would die to be like you." There wasn't a hint of doubt in her voice. "Sorry, again...That was out of line." She reached a delicate, soft hand up to gently brush his face where she'd recently slapped him, a crease of worry on her forehead. Suddenly, he backed up again and she nodded acceptingly that perhaps she'd lost his trust. It was easy enough to do. She'd obviously lost trust in everyone, including Adley. There hadn't been one person in her life that hadn't lied to her in one way or another. She didn't care if it was to shelter her either...It was a lie. And she refused to live like that...so she avoided people. Shifters proved that they didn't want to play nice either, and so she always had precautions. But then she noticed he was sweating, shivering, and had a less than alert look in his flushed face. "Adley?" She looked alarmed. "Adley...Please, sit down." Although she didn't give him time to decide. Instead, she just gently pushed him back onto the table and grabbed his papers, reading through the files again and finding -HIGHLY ALLERGIC- with a long list of the drugs used here everyday. She swiftly dug through the cabinets, not finding the things she needed. They'd all been used up in this room and she cursed the faculty staff for not replacing them at the end of the day.

"Hold on-hang in there." She rushed out of the room and returned after three minutes(which in allergic reaction time is like a year). She only prayed he was alright, and returned to see him still breathing but the reactions accelerating. She filled the syringe with an allergent and found the previous spot, inserting the needle much more gently than earlier. Still she was swift so that he wouldn't really feel the pinch and injected the formula. It worked rather quickly, although in his case, she wasn't sure if it was fast enough. Mark down in diary: Today I almost killed my best friend. Great.
"Can you breath alright?" She pressed him to lay down, waiting to see what his body's next reactions would be. In a moment, she retrieved a damp wash-cloth and set it over his forehead, almost grinning at how dirty he was and how clean his forehead now was. Because she couldn't seem to get over it and failed to stop herself from giggling vivaciously, she cleansed the rest of his face while she waited. It helped her calm down really, and so she got a fresh cloth and scrubbed his arms, only gently brushing over the swollen area. She reached in a lower cabinet and pulled out two shirts-- a white one like the one she just ruined a blue one because white didn't last in the Menagerie very well anyone.

Once again, she just placed the cloth over his forehead and held his hand tightly, hopefully. With her low attention span, she sat on a stool and set her head on his chest, waiting with wide, puppy-like eyes. Even as she discovered the bad in this fake world, the light in her eyes and the life in her expressions remained. They always would. "I hope you don't die." She gave a toothy, lop-sided grin. Sure, proved to be beautiful...but she was still sort of dorky in her own, genuine way.

[Deleted]

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[bg=02000e] “I would die to be like you.” The statement gave Adley an awful feeling of sadness. No, he wouldn’t wish this upon anyone, especially her. He shook his head, though whether he was trying to clear it of the sudden dizziness he felt or disagreeing with her he wasn’t sure. “I don’t even know what I am,” His angry tone surprised him. He wasn’t that upset, was he? He did as she said and sat down, back on the table he’d woken up on. The Fulsi watched Sarafina bustle around, wishing she’d stop and just come and sit with him. Everything was much too bright and too loud and oh God he was burning up! He laid his head down against the table, but stirred when she mentioned leaving. Don’t go! He thought, but by the time he’d found his voice she was gone. Adley wearily brought his legs up on the table and did his best to relax as he waited for her to return. The fluorescent lights seemed even trippier than before; now not only were they blurring and swirling, but there were colors mixed in with them. He groaned and covered his eyes up with his hands, but that only made it worse. Not only could he see the dancing colors through his palms, but he could hear his pulse beating out odd tunes. And, if that wasn’t enough, sharp pains began to attack his stomach. The boy clutched at his abdomen in shock; never before had he felt such intense pain. It made him nearly black out, but unfortunately he stayed conscious. He rolled onto his side and curled up, but had to turn back over again because he couldn’t breathe like that. His lungs felt like they were getting smaller and smaller. Where was Sarafina? After what seemed like weeks but was only an agonizing few minutes she returned. By that time he was half delirious; his fever had climbed to such a high temperature that he was sure he’d get brain damage. He gave her a relieved smile (or he tried; it came out pretty ugly looking) and barely felt the needle reenter his skin. “Sort of,” He said at her question, closing his eyes and concentrating on the cold washcloth on his forehead. The water trickled down the sides of his head and some into his eyes, but he didn’t mind. It felt good. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining her giggling or not, but either way it made him smile. His eyelids flickered closed over clear brown eyes as she proceeded to wash off the rest of his face and arms. If this really was the end and he was going to die, he might not mind. His stomach still felt like it was digesting itself and his breath was coming out in gasps, but wherever she touched him he tingled. He must’ve lost consciousness for a few seconds, because the next thing he knew his hand was in her and her head was on his chest. Something in him told him that that wouldn’t do; she wasn’t in the right position. He pulled his hand out of her grip so he could use it to grab her upper arms and gently guide her off of his chest. Then he struggled to sit up, ignoring the blinding stabs of pain in his stomach and throbbing in his arm. At that point he wasn’t sure what his intentions were, he just knew he needed to get closer. “Sarafina” He whispered. She was very bright. All the colors seemed to be turned up, but she was the most. “I… you…” The words meant nothing, they made no sense, and before he knew it he’d pulled himself just a few inches closer and had his lips on hers. He couldn’t believe he’d waited so long to finally kiss her. He was vaguely aware of one of his arms letting go of her arm and sliding around her back, his fingers twirling her hair. His fever had climbed too high then, though, and he’d sweated out too much water. He fainted and went limp, slumping against Sarafina. ---* He woke about ten minutes later, feeling sore and achey but off of death’s bed, at least. The shot that Sarafina had given him to counteract the allergic reaction from the first one had worked, and just in time. If his fever had been allowed to get any higher he would’ve suffered from brain damage at the very least. Adley’s memory of the few minutes before he’d fainted was nothing but a whirl of senses and colors. He thought he remembered seeing Sarafina’s face so close to his and feeling her lips with his, but that couldn’t be true. He dismissed the memory; surely it was nothing more than a dream or hallucination. *You can ignore everything after this if you want, but thought I’d post it, just in case :3 --- words; 807 ooc; sorry, I couldn’t wait to post x’D I CAN CHANGE IF YOU WANT <3