Anthromorph
Vampire Bat
Haven
Founder
INVENTORY Skills - Healing - Sonic - Endurance - Wallcrawling - Stealth
Items - Outfit
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Post by Sascha Stark on Jun 23, 2012 23:52:22 GMT -5
Sascha had just returned from feeding for the night, his stomach heavy with blood from various different animals. He drained each of them only enough to feed him a bit, careful not to take too much so the creature would die. To know that he inflicted pain on another living creature was hard enough for him to overcome. But the pangs of hunger gnawing at him didn't allow him to be weak of heart when hunting. It was a strange, instinctive thing he had little control over. It was as if the animal hunter inside of him had been unlocked when he'd been transformed into an anthro, stuck between these two forms. He was a blend of both, the good and the bad.
At times it felt like the bad overwhelmed the good. He looked at his shadow of his outspread bat-wings the moonlight cast on the wall of the Inn, tongue running over his overgrown fangs. He looked like some sort of demon, felt like a monster. It felt as if he was turning into his brothers, turning into a senseless creature that fed and fed long past its fill. Even in this brand new hell where even more things were out to kill him, he couldn't escape his brothers. They kept hunting him, haunting him, casting shadows over every small light he could muster.
As if emerging from his nightmares themselves, two sets of hands grabbed either of his wings, and started pulling. Snapped violently from his distracted thoughts, Sascha could barely register what was going on before he felt a knife at his throat and a clammy hand grip his shoulder.
"Hold the bastard still, fellas. This thief is gonna get what's comin' to him."
Sascha went still, chest heaving as panic set in. Who were these men? Why were they attacking him, calling him a thief? He tried to stammer out something, anything, but any English words fled from his brain. "Te rog!" Please! he choked out in Romanian, but it only got him a harsh, barking laugh from the man with the knife.
"Sneaky bastard don't even speak English, boys!" said the rogue man. "Let's teach him how to say please, eh?" He nodded to his associates, who proceeded to throw all their weight into yanking on Sascha's wings. He screamed, the bones pulling and twisting as the men tug and yanked and twisted the boney, thin-fleshed wings. Luckily for Sascha the bones were flexible enough not to break, but the pain was intense as his joints twinged and threatened to pop. The man with the knife was laughing, poking at Sascha's back with a knife so he couldn't escape no matter which way he tried to wrench his body.
He swung his arms uselessly, trying to grab at enemies standing just beyond his reach. And if he got even a bit close, he felt the knife dig into his back, tearing at the skin. The pulling continued and he cried out as a boot slammed into the back of his leg, bringing him to his knees. The men pulled his wings tighter and held him still as the man planted his boot on Sascha's back, leaning down and tracing the knife along the back of his neck, twirling it so it dug lightly into the base of Sascha's skull. "We don't take kindly to thieves 'round these parts. Specially some mutated bat-freak like you." He whispered, his voice slithering down to Sascha's ear. "Now you best start speakin' my language an' tell me what you done with our loot, or yer head's gonna roll."
ooc| sorry for typos, will fix when I am not so WOOOOOOOO loopyloops
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Raneen Selma Thorpe
"There is no stop. There is only do."
Anthromorph
African Fruit Bat
Nakoma
Outrider
INVENTORY Skills Hearing, Agility, Stealth, Sonic
Weapons 2x 8" Stiletto Blade, Cat o' Nine Tails Belt
Items Violin w/ Case
pets Reed - Flying Squirrel
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Post by Raneen Thorpe on Jun 24, 2012 1:40:23 GMT -5
It had all been too easy. The one sleeping guard, the supplies right there in the closet... They hadn't even tried to hide those stolen goods. Even if the small group had returned in the middle of their pilfer, it had just gone off too smoothly. Raneen wasn't usually one to look gift horses in the mouth, but something about this particular job had simply grated against her senses. She had learned the hard way not to ignore her instincts, with more than enough scars to prove that.
So here she was, in the inky darkness of the pre-dawn hours, perched on the roof of a nearby building. She'd stationed herself here for the past few nights, the raid having happened little less than a week passed. Perhaps the rogues had hidden more supplies somewhere, and the raid had only inflicted damage on one of their smaller keeps. Perhaps they were planning retaliation against the Nakoma taking back what was theirs. She didn't know, but she was going to find out. Thus far things had been quiet; Raneen had watched the comings and goings from the hospital with little more than professional interest.
She begun to feel a bit better over the past night, feeling that this particular group just didn't have the brains to come up with a well thought out revenge plan that happened at length. But, as she had discovered many a time before, things can't always be taken at face value. Perhaps two hours before dawn, the grating voice of one of the rogues made her ear twitch. He was a few blocks away, not nearly far enough for the sound to be muffled by distance. In and of itself, that wasn't terribly unusual,it was the tone and the words that got her attention.
"Theif?" she muttered, creeping towards the edge of the roof closest to the small group. The sound of another voice, choked and scared, had a low sound of anger rumbling around in the woman's chest. There was no surprise in her when the response was nothing more than a laugh and a threat, and when the first scream split the cool night air, she took off running across the rooftops, using her wings to glide over the breaks.
It took little more than a minute for her to cover the distance in that manner, but it was still enough time for the bullies to pin their victim and land a few vicious blows. Ever so cautiously, Raneen peeked over the edge of the nearest roof, and her eyes widened as much as they could possibly go when she saw the bat wings that were held and pinned in a most painful way. She knew without a doubt then that this was the revenge plan, if it could be called that, and the victim had been chosen simply because he had the misfortune of sharing a bat shift with her.
Idiots.
Well, she definitely couldn't let that stand! She slipped away from the edge as the offending rouges spat insults and threats at the man, gliding down to an alleyway that intersected just behind where the group was standing. Once on the ground, she looked around, her eyes lighting with a slightly malevolent gleam as she laid eyes on a broken piece of asphalt about the size of her hand. Perfect. Raneen grabbed it and slipped around the corner.
The attackers were so intent on their victim that they didn't notice her stalking through the night shadows, and Raneen was content to let him finish his taunt. But as soon as it was done, she she let out a sharp bark of laughter. "You so dumb you cain't even tell a guy from a girl?" she demanded, hefting the piece of rock and taking careful aim as she talked. She watched as the one with the knife jumped at the sound, wincing and praying that the knife didn't dig into their victim because of it. The man half turned to find the source of the interruption. He was met with asphalt to the face, and Raneen felt the satisfaction of a nasty crunch and a wail of agony.
God, but that felt good.
Her eyes tracked the knife as it fell, dropped in favor of a desperate scrabble of fingers over face, as if he could somehow will his nose not to be broken, crushed beyond repair. The first pink of metal against concrete goaded her into action, launching herself forward towards the bleeding bully. His companions called out a warning, but the man was too blinded by pain and blood to do little more than grunt as an elbow collided with the sensitive kidneys.
The force of it sent them both tumbling forward, and Raneen immediately rolled to the side, reaching for the discarded knife. The other attackers, unfortunately, had taken enough time to recover by then. She was met with a sharp stomp of a foot, and felt the distinctive snap of bones as her elbow received the brunt of the force. Bile rose in her throat in reaction to the pain, and her throat seared as she gulped it back along with the screamed that clawed at her chest. The woman managed to muffle the sound to a loud hiss between clinched teeth as she glared at the knife, now held in a firm grim grip by near useless fingers.
It was almost in slow motion that Raneen watched the foot that had crushed her arm lift again, ready for another strike. Well that wouldn't do at all, she quipped through her pain addled thoughts. Time to put a stop to Mr. Kicky Buns. She took half a second to tentatively twitch her wing fingers, sighing in relief when in flexed with relative ease. A broken arm would affect its movement, beyond the searing pain that jarred up into her shoulder. So she gritted her teeth against the pain and snapped the boney limb up, catching her attack under the chin and causing his head to jar back. A sickening crack made her wince, but she tried not to dwell on whether it was his jaw or neck that made the sound. It wouldn't be the first time she'd killed someone, if it came down to that.
Well, that's two genius, Raneen's mind screamed at her. What're you going to do now with your broken arm and a worthless knife that you can't wield?
The pain fogged her senses and slowed her thinking so that she wasn't able to plan ahead. No quick third strike for her, not today, not like she would have if she'd had all her senses about her. The most she could manage was to shoot a pointed look at her fellow bat anthro; a pointed 'well don't just stand there' demand as she tried to motivate her worthless arm to magically jump to attention.
ooc ://: omg, so long. HOPE I LEFT YOU SOMETHING TO WORK WITH, HURR. -dies-
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Anthromorph
Vampire Bat
Haven
Founder
INVENTORY Skills - Healing - Sonic - Endurance - Wallcrawling - Stealth
Items - Outfit
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Post by Sascha Stark on Jun 27, 2012 2:21:02 GMT -5
The knife pressed to the base of his skull kept him still, his eyes darting from side to side, seeking any route of escape. All he could see was the gritty asphalt but inches from his face, and his mind kept wondering if this was the last thing he would see before he died. Dirt. The very thing his brothers had deemed him lower than his entire life.
His thoughts were hazed and scattered through the agony that sang from his limbs, trying desperately to make sense of the slough of English the man spat at him. He held in the the urge to scream as the men tore at his wings again and again, trying in vain to pull back against their determined yanks. The pain was verging on unbearable, tears pricking in the corner of his eyes as he struggled to make sense of the situation. They had him confused with someone else! Calling him a thief, when he'd never stolen a thing from anyone his entire time spent in the dome!
Sascha clenched his jaws together, attempting to drive out the pain, to gather his thoughts and explain that he wasn't their thief, that he was innocent. But before he could manage to get another word out he felt the pressure of the knife disappear, only to feel the cold metal bite yet again into his skin. This time though, the man dragged the blade downwards, between the joints of his wings sprouting from his back, cutting a design into the thin flesh. Sascha bit down until he could feel blood in his mouth, but he refused to scream as the man scrawled his initials into him. He struggled ferociously as the blade continued to cut and slice, blood pouring from the wounds in jagged rivulets.
Words escaped him even now, any hope of speaking was broken by the pain that ravaged his body, an agony that left him trembling. The man's knife finally lifted, and in the haze of pain Sascha thought he heard another voice. The voice of a woman. He heard shouts from the other men and suddenly the strain on his wings was alleviated. He fell limply to the ground, forgotten as the two men abandoned him to face the woman. Sascha moaned, struggling to his feet and leaning against the wall of the Inn. Agony lanced up his spine as the sliced flesh split further from the weight of his limp wings. Driven by fear and instinct, he started to stumble away blindly into the night more than happy to leave the devils behind him.
He got a few feet before the fogginess in his mind cleared and he realized there was someone back there who had saved him, a woman someone. He was no hero, he knew that, but he couldn't just leave his savior behind to fend for herself against men who had nearly killed him. Sascha cursed under his bad luck under his breath before turning round, stumbling back towards the brawl. Blood continued to spill from the wounds on his back, but he could feel his energy diverting itself to speed the clotting and close the wounds. Unfortunately it left him slightly drained of energy, but he pressed forward none-the-less.
He burst back from the alley way in time to see one of the third men aiming what would be a staggering blow at the woman. He put on a burst of speed with a determined flap of his wings, and the thrust propelled him straight into the man. He slammed into the man's back, wrapping an arm around his neck as they crashed to the ground. The cowardice in Sascha's heart fled as the violent nature of his family took hold within him. The rogue struggled against him, but Sascha held tight, only uncoiling his arm from the man's neck to grab him by his greasy blond hair. Sascha pulled the man's head back until he could pull no more, and with the full force of his body slammed the rogue's face into the cement, smashing his nose. Sascha could hear the crunch of the man's teeth as they cracked on the cement, almost cringing before he lifted the head again and slammed it down once more. He wouldn't die, Sascha didn't think, but he was certainly down for the count. He rolled off the man in time to catch a blow to the face by another of the rogues. Sascha took the blow in stride and recoiled with his own staggering blow to the man's midsection, twisting to the side and slamming his massive wing into the man, aiming the bony ridge in a slice towards the man's throat. It did the trick and nailed him in the trachea, sending him to the ground struggling for air.
Only then did Sascha turn to the woman, though he stumbled backward in shock. She had wings. Like him. Bat wings, attached to her body. He'd never seen another creature like him, even with all the other anthros in the dome, never had he seen another demon-thing like he. He noticed that one of her arms dangled at her side. He rushed to her side, clutching at her good arm and pulling her down the alleyway, knowing they had to escape. "I'm Sascha," he manged between heavy pants. "I can fly." He tilted his chin to the sky and without another word, wrapped his arms around her and curled her in towards his chest as his massive wings beat the air in strained, powerful flaps. It took longer than usual, carrying a load as he was, but he was soon clear of the buildings and gaining altitude in the night sky, hoping to leave the Rogues behind.
ooc| SASCHA CAN FIGHT! also, throwback ref to his first thread with Casey wat waaat
hope it's okay, Bah! let me know if I need to fix anaythang
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Raneen Selma Thorpe
"There is no stop. There is only do."
Anthromorph
African Fruit Bat
Nakoma
Outrider
INVENTORY Skills Hearing, Agility, Stealth, Sonic
Weapons 2x 8" Stiletto Blade, Cat o' Nine Tails Belt
Items Violin w/ Case
pets Reed - Flying Squirrel
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Post by Raneen Thorpe on Jun 27, 2012 23:21:15 GMT -5
He ran. Well, that figured. Raneen felt furious for half an instant as she watched the man's retreat. She'd saved his skin and he just ran? Bah! What a coward! She didn't have time for that, though, and adrenaline pushed the anger away as well as desensitizing her slightly to the pain ripping through her broken arm. Her eyes quickly flipped back to the attackers, assessing the situation. Two were down. One was thrashing and wailing like a pathetic child throwing a tantrum, the other was face down in the dirt and not moving. The other that was in her direct line of site seemed to be stunned for the second.
That at least gave her a moment to think of a plan, if she could. Had her arm not been shattered, and rapidly swelling at the elbow some part of her brain noticed with detachment, it would have been easy to take care of the thug. A quick jerk of her arm would have sunk the knife easily into unprotected flesh, slicing through the tendons that kept these sickening men standing. A few disconnected hamstrings would have left her plenty of opportunity to get up and dash away, and them not having the benefit of chasing after her.
Ah, if only.
But if only's weren't going to do her any good now, and she was left frantically searching her pain scattered thoughts for the next move. There was only one of them left for now, but there was no telling if there were more hiding out of site or on their way. She had to get away as quickly as possible, now that their intended victim was no longer in danger. Raneen quickly settled on the direct approach, swinging her legs up in an effort to shove the attacker away with a good swift kick in the chest. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite as distracted as she thought, and the man sidestepped the blow.
He glared down at her and lifted his foot to finish his companion's work in breaking her bones. Raneen closed her eyes, her body tense as she anticipated the blow.
It didn't come.
After a few seconds without the blinding pain she knew was coming, the woman cracked one eye open to see what was taking so long. What she saw caused both eyes to open wide. The bat man was back, and choking the living daylights out of the one who would have crushed her poor bones. So he hadn't abandoned her! She felt a thrill in her blood as she struggled to stand, gasping at each jar of her injured arm. As she did so, she silently apologized for the anger she had felt at him running away. As she gained her feet, a crunch of bones not hers tore through behind her, and she looked back to see the rouge's head being smashed into the ground. Good! Served him right!
One more smack and he was released, the antrho scrambling up. From the side, a rouge she hadn't seen before tried to attack, but the bat man was certainly not scared and calling for help now. No, he took this one down swift and sure, and a bubble of pride welled in Raneen's chest for him. Good for you, Mr. Bat. She was lucky he'd decided to come back. There was no way she would have been able to withstand that sneak attack.
Not that she had long to dwell on that fact. Her fellow anthro had turned to her. A rather odd look crossed his face as he stumbled, she thought perhaps he was a bit dizzy from the fight, before he moved forward and grasped her uninjured arm. She couldn't blame him for his hurry, but neither could she quite contain the hiss of pain as the ruff tugging jostled her ruined arm. The sound of his voice didn't allow her to dwell on her pain, and she twitched an ear in his direction, trying to slow her thoughts long enough to decipher the words. Sascha? What was a sascha? Oh, his name!
"Intros later, darlin'!" she managed to wheeze out between gasps. When had running become so all-fired hard, anyway? Sascha mentioned flying, and she nodded. "Good, you should get goi - EEEEEEEEEK!" Her words ended in a half pained, half startled shriek as Raneen suddenly found herself picked up and held tightly against a warm, firm chest. She instinctively glanced down, only to find the ground falling away.
Raneen discovered something in that moment. She did not like flying. Not when it didn't involve her own wings, at any rate.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" she whispered, immediately turning her head back and clenching her eyes closed. Of it's own accord, her good hand snaked up and buried it's fingers in Sascha's hair, because he was so not going to drop her and not have to plummet to death right along with her, thank you very much! With her face pressed into the crook of his neck, Raneen tried to remind her lungs that they really did need air and hyperventilating was not going to help with that. So when she spoke, her voice was strained. "So, um... Sascha was it? Name's Raneen." Anything for a distraction.
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Anthromorph
Vampire Bat
Haven
Founder
INVENTORY Skills - Healing - Sonic - Endurance - Wallcrawling - Stealth
Items - Outfit
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Post by Sascha Stark on Jul 11, 2012 0:06:02 GMT -5
It was a struggle to keep both of them in the air, what with each powerful push of his wings the wounds on his back split open. Blood continued to drip from the wounds, but he pushed the pain aside and tried to focus on keeping his wings moving. It was always a difficult thing to carry someone while he was flying and he could only do it for relatively short distances even on his best days. Considering that his back had nearly been filleted, he thought he was doing fairly well.
His passenger seemed to think otherwise though, and Sascha couldn't help but laugh when she started to panic and pressed her face into the crook of his neck. "You have wings! How you can be afraid to fly?" he shook his head and went back to looking for a place to land. They should be far enough away now to shake the Rogues that had been so intent on killing him; he wasn't going to risk simply running a block or so away. Men like that would hunt you until they dropped. He knew the type. Those men were just like his brothers, never content until the blood they craved was spilled.
So the only way to really lose them was to take to the skies where the men couldn't track them. Or so Sascha had hoped. He was about to ask Raneen what she had been doing back there when he heard the flurry of movement above him. He tried to dodge out of the way but it was a fraction too late as a body slammed into him from above, and hands snaked around his neck from behind. "Raneen! He-" he shouted, but anything else he wished to say was cut off when the hands cinched around his throat and effectively cut off his air supply, mid flight. He struggled for a few panicky seconds against the phantom on his back, realizing he was in a bind; he couldn't fight back because he was carrying Raneen.
He also realized that he was no longer flying; he was falling. All of them were; him, Raneen and whatever the hell was on his back. He didn't want to drop Raneen, but at this rate he had to risk it. He tucked his wings as best he could, wrapped his arms even tighter around her and with one push of a wing he sent himself into a roll. The grip on his throat loosened and the man fell, though quickly shifted into a small bird of some sort. It tumbled a few times before regaining its balance and charging after Sascha, who had sent himself and Raneen into a sharp nose dive, hoping to out-fly the Rogue who had obviously pursued them.
"Raneen, I'm sorry," he coughed, bruises already forming around his throat. "Thought we would be safe up here," he said, eyes watering from the wind blasting his face. "Just hold on tight." he rasped, spreading his wings to slow them down. He glanced upward to see a small speck above them growing nearer and nearer. They were closer to the ground now though, so Sascha tried to hurry his descent.
He was about to tuck his wings when he felt something slam into him again, this time snagging one of his wings, a pair of legs wrapping around his and an arm snaring around to grab at his face. Fingernails raked across his skin as Sascha tried to shake the assailant loose with another barrel roll, but the bird shifter clung on. And to Sascha's dismay, he felt his grip on Raneen loosening. He grappled to keep hold, but he was losing altitude by the second. The man dug a finger into Sascha's eye, and his arm instinctively jolted to battle off the attack.
He lost his grip on Raneen completely, and watched in horror as she fell away from him. He stretched out a hand in attempts to grab her again, but the Rogue had him by the throat again; he could only watch as the girl who'd saved him tumbled down to earth with a broken wing.
ooc| sorry for the wait! and the suck. Sascha being difficult :c let me know if I need to change anything or if I didn't give you enough to reply to xD
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Raneen Selma Thorpe
"There is no stop. There is only do."
Anthromorph
African Fruit Bat
Nakoma
Outrider
INVENTORY Skills Hearing, Agility, Stealth, Sonic
Weapons 2x 8" Stiletto Blade, Cat o' Nine Tails Belt
Items Violin w/ Case
pets Reed - Flying Squirrel
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Post by Raneen Thorpe on Jul 21, 2012 16:41:46 GMT -5
The rumble of laughter traveled down his neck and through her cheek, making Raneen flush. Lucky for her she had her head where he couldn't see it! "Flyin' is different when it ain't yer own wings!" she managed to say, her voice strangled and strained. Feeling him shake his head, Raneen chanced looking up, keeping her eyes forced upwards instead of down. She kept her mine on the sound of his wings, the scent of blood that wasn't hers, though she wasn't sure exactly where it was coming from, unable to see the wound on his back.
Ever so slowly, she managed to convince her muscles to unclench, her fingers to detangle from his hair, and she let out a breath. Panic still threatened, but she'd managed to push it back for now. "Thank you for coming back for me," Raneen said quietly.
A speck caught her attention and, since she was trying to keep herself distracted, she focused on it. The speck quickly distinguished itself as a bird. In and of itself, not all that unusual. Wildlife, true animals, were abundant in the dome. What was unusual was the flight pattern. It was being oddly direct for such a little bird. If she hadn't known better, she'd think it was coming right at them. But that was nonsense, wildlife tended to avoid shifters ... Her eyes widened as her pain and fear wrapped brain finally decided to flip the 'uh, duh?' switch. That wasn't a bird, that was a shifter!
"Sascha, bird! He's a ---" Too late. Great going, brain, make a mess out of things again. She'd realized too late what was going on, and the rogue slammed into Sascha's back before he could dodge. The extra weight was just too much for one set of wings to handle, and all three of them went tumbling down. Paralyzing fear shot through her for half a second before Raneen suddenly felt the horror fall away as if it had been caught up by the wind rushing by. If she'd had to guess, the woman would have assumed that her mind had gone into overload and sent her adrenaline skyrocketing, knocking aside the panic. She'd have been grateful for that, if she'd had the time to think about it.
As it was, she went right back into the fight mode she'd been in before her arm had been crushed. When the man landed on Sascha's back, he'd trapped her good arm beneath him. She'd been clinging to her savior's neck. Now it worked in her favor. Sascha tumbled, tossing around the attacker, and she snapped up her wing bone, catching the Rogue across the chest. He got flung off, and the two anthros tumbled down free of him for the moment. Unfortunately, said rogue recovered quickly enough to shift and be after them again.
Above the wind, Raneen heard Sascha apologize. The man was crazy. "Didn't know they had a flier either!" she called back, barking out a laugh at the sheer idiocy of this conversation while they tumbled to earth. Some things were just so absurd they were funny.
Not that the amusement lasted very long. That rogue wasn't through with them yet, and he gained quickly. There wasn't much she could do to fight back without hurting Sascha, kicking and any leg work she could have done stopped be the fact that her companion was between her and the enemy. That just left her good arm, and she struck out as viciously as she could, scoring a few glancing blows. None of them were enough to deter the attack though.
And then she felt it. Skin sliding against skin, and not in a good way. Sascha was loosing his grip. She was going to fall, and there was nothing she could do about it. The panic was back in full force, a scream trying to escape her as she felt Sascha's hand fall away. Raneen fell and started a tumble of her own. Light glanced off of the blade she'd nabbed from the one Rogue, still clutched in her fingers, frozen as they were with the bone that controlled them shattered.
Hm. Her eyes narrowed onto the blade. A plan pieced itself together as the ground flashed through her vision.
Oh, this was so going to suck.
"No time to be squeamish now, doll," Raneen muttered to herself.
Using her good hand, Raneen reached out and pulled the knife from her out grasp, then clamped the hilt between her teeth. She took the fraction of a second to take as deep a breath as she could mange, then snapped open both of her wings. The uninjured arm did as it was supposed to, stretching readily.
The broken one, though... The wing bone straightened, sending bolts of pain up to her shoulder. The arm itself, however, continued to simply flap in the wind. The result was a half exposed wing membrane, enough to catch the air but not to control. So as the membrane filled, it snapped Raneen's arm up and out. A sickening grinding sound next to her ear accompanied the bright white flash of pain as her shoulder was jerked out of socket.
She screamed around the knife, her eyes closing as her body threatened to throw itself into unconsciousness. Not that she could allow that. The maneuver had accomplished it's goal, and her blind fall had slowed somewhat while Sascha and his attacker's had not. Which meant they soon came tumbling past her. Raneen reached out with her good arm and grabbed hold of the Rogue's tattered shirt, pulling herself back into the fray. Now, at least, she was up against the right person!
What would have passed for a malicious grin passed over her face as she clamped her lips around the blade as best she could. And then, with every bit of strength she could manage, she swung her head violently, blade point first, into the Rogue's side. Raneen let out a grunt of satisfaction as she felt the edge slice first cloth, then skin. Then came the shriek of agony, and the warm flow of blood along the blade. The bat closed her eyes. Great, just what she needed. Hopefully it wouldn't get in her mouth and make her sick.
If she lived that long.
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Anthromorph
Vampire Bat
Haven
Founder
INVENTORY Skills - Healing - Sonic - Endurance - Wallcrawling - Stealth
Items - Outfit
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Post by Sascha Stark on Aug 9, 2012 20:02:26 GMT -5
The Rogue's hands were wrapped around Sascha's throat and his knees were planted on the joints of his wings, keeping Sascha from moving them. He only just managed to keep himself aloft, but the edges of his vision were starting to darken as he fought desperately for air. He was clawing at the man's hands, tearing through skin. He could smell that he'd drawn blood, but the Rogue was relentless with his vice-like grip. Sascha's ears started ringing, and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. His mouth was open and he wanted to scream, but nothing save silence escaped. He could feel himself losing consciousness, eyes struggling to stay open as his lungs burned and ached for air. His struggles slowed until they stopped completely, and everything went black. - - -
He jolted awake at the sound of a hoarse scream, and realized that he was still alive when air surged into his lungs. He realized the hands that had been clenched around his throat were gone, and the weight had gone from his back. But he was free-falling, tumbling towards the ground. It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening, but as he finally righted himself with a snap of his wings, he caught sight of the Rogue and Raneen still tumbling in a vicious battle above him. The Rogue was struggling with her, trying to get her away from his side where she was latched onto him, and Sascha gasped when he saw she'd driven a knife into the man's side. With her teeth. And she was fighting to keep her grip. Gritting his teeth against the burning in his throat and lungs, he started flapping his wings in great bursts, thrusting himself upward slowly at first, until he was gaining altitude with alarming speed. He timed it just right, when the Rogue was beneath Raneen in their free-fall. With one last great push of his wings, he blew past them in a whoosh of air, twisting to wrap his arm around Raneen's stomach and pulled her up and away, his boot simultaneously colliding with the Rogue's face in a savage kick. The Rogue fell away from them, catapulting towards the ground. Sascha didn't dare look to see if he managed to shift back and land safely, or if he'd been killed. He clutched Raneen close to him, and headed towards the mountains. "I'm taking you somewhere hopefully safe. We can fix your wing there," he rasped, his voice hoarse from the near asphyxiation. It was a bit before he reached the Safehouse, an old cabin he'd discovered in the midst of the forest a while ago. He hid out there sometimes when his hunting trips took longer than expected. It was empty most of the time, and he was hoping it would be tonight. The Inn wasn't safe to return to just yet. He landed in a clearing not far off, the grounds around the cabin too choked with trees for him to land. And just in time, too. His wings were just about to give out, and he knew he wouldn't have been able to fly a foot more. He guided Raneen to the cabin in the darkness, clicking his tongue and letting his echolocation guide the way. He let out a series of rapid-fire clicks, and the vibrations that came back to his keen senses didn't alert him to anyone inside, and he felt certain it was empty. He motioned her inside and grabbed her good hand, gently leading upstairs. They came to a small, relatively bare room that was filled only with an empty wire-cot and an old table. There was one window, the only one in the house that opened, in case they needed to make a quick escape. Sascha closed the door gently behind them, leaning against it for a moment to catch his breath. "Well, that was crazy." he murmured, eyes trailing over her body, checking for injuries. "Not the best way to be meeting someone, but it make a great story later, no?" he said with a laugh that turned into a cough, grimacing as he felt the bruises around his throat. "Are you hurt, besides your wing?" he asked. "The Keepers made me to heal things." he nodded sagely, holding up his hands as if she could see the 'magic' the Keepers had given him. ooc |sorry it kinda sucks :c Sascha muse is non-existent for once ;^; |
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Raneen Selma Thorpe
"There is no stop. There is only do."
Anthromorph
African Fruit Bat
Nakoma
Outrider
INVENTORY Skills Hearing, Agility, Stealth, Sonic
Weapons 2x 8" Stiletto Blade, Cat o' Nine Tails Belt
Items Violin w/ Case
pets Reed - Flying Squirrel
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Post by Raneen Thorpe on Sept 29, 2012 20:48:54 GMT -5
It funny how time blurs when things are happening. As she fell, it seemed as if time nearly stood still, prolonging the agony of knowing that the ground was racing up to meet her, ready to welcome her body as nothing more than another stain in its dark history. And then, as she fought to hold on to the attacker that threatened her life, it had sped by so quickly, her body reacting long before her thoughts could catch up. And then, finally, as she was pulled into safer, if not exactly familiar, arms, it seemed as if time simply disappeared.
All Raneen was aware of was the pain that screamed up through her arm, which she just knew was black from bruising and swollen beyond belief, and the taste of blood on her tongue. The female bat reverently hoped that it was her own blood she was tasting, the one thing she could get away with having in her stomach because her body was simply reabsorbing its own properties. But the rational, non pain driven part of her brain knew that wasn't true. She knew the taste of her own blood, and that wasn't what was on her tongue. Which meant only one thing: the rogue's blood had dripped down the dagger and into her mouth.
The one good thing was that she hadn't taken any great gulps of it, so her life wasn't in danger from the severe sickness that would cause. It was little comfort, considering the pain, but once that was over she was sure she'd be grateful for her life.
Her thoughts seemed to fade in and out, her mind going into a half consciousness, aware only of the beat of wings and the harsh breathing of a hurt throat for a long while. Slowly, though, different things started to seep in. The change in the scents around them, the way there was more rustling of dried, dead leaves beneath them. But most importantly, she was aware of every minute ripple of the muscles in her stomach. The woman fought to remain still and compliant, knowing that she was putting a strain on her rescuee turned rescuer as it was. Bats were not meant to carry loads, after all. But as the cramps and spasms became stronger, she started to struggle to stay still. The instinct to curl up in a ball around the ache was nearly impossible to shake, and her body twitched with the effort. Each twitch, in turn sent bolts of fire through her arm, and that only compounded the problem.
They'd only barely touched the ground when Raneen pushed roughly away from Sascha and doubled over, offering her meager meal to the forest floor. Her ears twitched as she listened to the soft clicks and squeaks behind her, and she would have grinned if she wasn't so busy retching. Those were sounds she was familiar with, but it had been a long time since she'd heard them. Trapped in this half form, she'd lost the ability to make the sounds needed to bounce back, but she could still read them. So her ears followed and took in the surroundings as he did.
Once her stomach was finally content that it was empty, she stood and followed Sascha into the cabin, too tired from a night of watch and the recent events to argue. Besides that, she didn't know where she was, nor how to get back home. It was rare that she didn't return home to her tree in the Nakoma territory, but not unheard of. They wouldn't worry too much. Yet.
She allowed herself to be led to the room, but once they were inside she eyed the window. Behind her, the man was talking, and she let out a rough, strained chuckle. Crazy did not begin to cover what had just happened. Eventually, Raneen thought, she would have to apologize for getting him involved in all of this. For now, though, she simply turned to him and offered a tired grin. "I'm sure it'll make a wonderful story. We'll leave out the almost dyin' bits though, ne?" She laughed, then shook her head. "Not hurt in any sense that ya can heal. I got a bit o' that... person's... blood in my system, so that'll have ta work out, but other then that, just my arm."
Another glance at the window and she fidgeted. The sun was almost up. "Don't suppose ya got a cover fer that window? Me 'n the sun don't get along too well, and I'm in no shape to be findin' a nice hideaway until tonight."
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Anthromorph
Vampire Bat
Haven
Founder
INVENTORY Skills - Healing - Sonic - Endurance - Wallcrawling - Stealth
Items - Outfit
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Post by Sascha Stark on Dec 24, 2012 21:42:28 GMT -5
Sascha watched her carefully, trying to see if she was telling the truth or not about other injuries. People were strange sometimes in accepting help, and he recalled several instances where people had lied to him about their injuries. Casey had tried explaining to him that not everyone was as trusting as he was--that not everyone believed his intentions were good. But Sascha didn't see any other pressing injuries, so he left it at that and his eyes flicked back to her face. She spoke with a strange accent that made it more difficult for him to understand her English, so it took him a little longer to reply. When she mentioned something about swallowing the man's blood, he felt a sudden pang of hunger in his own stomach. He grimaced, trying to fight back the sudden urge to grab the closest living thing to him and feed--since that thing happened to be Raneen, the woman who basically saved his life. He hated these cravings, this uninhibited hunger that gnawed at him constantly. The Keeper's cruel game of getting him hooked on human blood had only worked for so long, and he was proud to say that he hadn't fed on a human in months. It had taken him weeks of starvation to get over the disgust of having to feed on another creature of any type, but even now he still hesitated when feeding and rarely took the animal's life if he could help it. But when Raneen spoke of blood, and the heavy scent of his own blood mingling in the air, his stomach found it suitable to remind him that he was hungry again. He'd fed earlier, but her scent was irresistible. He edged away from her, though he knew he had to suck it up. He had to go over there and heal the wing she'd gotten hurt because of him, and that was that. Yep. He nodded to himself before looking back to her with determination in his eyes, though he was still noticeably tense. "I can work at to heal your arm," he said, trying to clear his mind. He spoke slowly, to ensure he was using the right words. His English lessons with Casey had paid off immensely, though it was still a struggle for him. "It will take a few times, but I can do for you. Is least I can do." He started towards her, but paused when she asked him to cover the window. He was confused for a moment at her phrasing, and he smiled as he pictured her getting into a heated debate with the sun, each storming off into their respective rooms. But he was more fascinated with the fact that she was sensitive to the sunlight, like he was. "It hurt your eyes, too?" he said with a grin, and went to look for a blanket to drape over the window. "My friend always make fun for me when I say 'the light burns!'" he shook his head and shrugged. "I don't get it." he said, stripping the tattered, stained sheet from the mattress. He shook out the dust and fixed the sheet so it hung across the window and blocked out the light, for the most part. "Best I can do for now," he said, turning to her. "Now let Sascha see what he can do for your wing!" he stepped closer and grasped her long fingered hand gently in his own, marveling at the strange mutations she had. The Keepers had made them so differently out of animals so similar. For once, he felt as if he wasn't alone in his sufferings. As he gently turned her hand in his to examine where the break was, he marveled at the delicate strength of her wings, admiring the things he hated most about himself. His fingers traced gingerly along her arm, hesitating when he came across her elbow and noticed the bruising that had already begun. It felt hot to his touch, and he grimaced. He continued up her arm and felt his stomach flip when he saw her shoulder in much the same condition. It looked like it was dislocated. Which meant that he'd more than likely have to...re-locate it. He'd seen it done more than a few times, from a distance, as he'd crept around the Ring medics and learned how their healers worked. It didn't look too hard, but it looked incredibly painful. "Umm...your shoulder is not good. I will have to...how to say, put it back?" he said. "And your...elbow is also not good. Broke I think. It mean will take many days and nights of heal-magic to fix." he fixed his eyes on hers, gently grasping her hand in his and giving it a light squeeze. "I can stay here with you tonight and heal, and tomorrow. However long it takes."ooc | wat is this, I'm so sorry </3 ;^; |
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Raneen Selma Thorpe
"There is no stop. There is only do."
Anthromorph
African Fruit Bat
Nakoma
Outrider
INVENTORY Skills Hearing, Agility, Stealth, Sonic
Weapons 2x 8" Stiletto Blade, Cat o' Nine Tails Belt
Items Violin w/ Case
pets Reed - Flying Squirrel
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Post by Raneen Thorpe on Jan 25, 2013 18:02:49 GMT -5
If he'd voiced his concerns about her not telling all of the story when it came to her injuries, Raneen would have simply laughed. True, there were lots of unsavory types in the M, and a lot of them probably would have taken advantage if they came across an extensively wounded person, but this had never been the type of woman to play it safe. Often times she spoke before she thought, and more often than not that got her in trouble. But still, in this instance she figured she was safe. After all, if Sascha had meant her harm, he'd had plenty of opportunities to inflict it. Like when the Rogue had been about to completely shatter her arm. Or when that Rogue had been about to plummet to his death, taking her with him. Or he could have just dropped her himself. But he hadn't, so Raneen was pretty sure she was in safe company.
Still, that was a curious look on his face. Coupled with the tense pull of his muscles, she might have thought he was getting ready to attack, but she pushed that thought aside as silly. Maybe he was constipated? More likely he had gotten himself pretty banged up as well, in a way that wasn't quite as visible as hers. "Are you okay?" she asked as he walked towards her, her brows pulled together in a show of concern. "Might work better if ya heal yerself first, ya know? Ain't like I'm dyin' or nothin'." Thank god.
When he turned back to cover the window, she was even more grateful. "I usually sleep in a tree, so this is five star service ta me," Raneen assured him with a grin, a sigh escaping her as the morning light was finally cut off. Then what he'd actually said filtered into her pain addled brain, and before she could control it, a bark of laughter pushed its way out. It was immediately followed by a grimace of pain a the sound jolted her arm, but even that wasn't enough to quell the chuckles.
Several long seconds passed before she could get herself under control, and by that time he had walked closer and was examining her arm. After the fact, she very much regretted her laughter, but she couldn't have stopped it if she wanted to. "Sorry, sorry! Ya just caught me off guard, there. 'The light burns', that's a classic vampire thing, ya know? And you bein' a bat and all..." she shook her head and grinned. "Yer friend don't mean no harm by it, I'm sure. It's just funny, even if it is true." Raneen stopped to listen to his diagnosis of her arm, and what little color there was in her face quickly drained out when it was proclaimed that her arm was out of socket. Though she didn't say anything, it was obvious that the bat was more than a little concerned about what would have to happen to get her well and whole again.
"Few days, huh?" she muttered, her eyes straying to the window despite the fact that it was now covered. "Well, ain't too bad, I guess. At least this is a forest. Probably be able ta find some food easier here. Might even count myself lucky in the long run, but..." Raneen stopped and turned to Sascha, her face completely devoid of the good humor that had been there since the start. "Before you go wastin' yer energy on fixin' me, you should know. I'm the reason you got attacked in the first place. My leader and I, we was raidin' the Rogues, takin' back some medical stuff they stole from us in the first place. Got away okay, but they saw me. Guess they was lookin' for revenge and took it out on the first bat anthro they saw. Stupid gits couldn't even tell the difference between a guy and a girl, there's a surprise."
Raneen paused long enough to shake her head at the stupidity. "Anyway, seein' as it's my fault we're in this mess at all, I understand if you don't want to be healin' me. There are some healers in the Nakoma who could tend me well enough. Though gettin' there'd be an adventure." |
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Anthromorph
Vampire Bat
Haven
Founder
INVENTORY Skills - Healing - Sonic - Endurance - Wallcrawling - Stealth
Items - Outfit
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Post by Sascha Stark on Mar 4, 2013 20:57:29 GMT -5
ooc | finishedd >.>; sorryitkindabad Sascha nodded to her when she asked if he was okay; the few moments rest had given the knife wounds on his back the chance to seal themselves. They were relatively shallow and would leave a light scar, but for now they weren't any concern besides the fact that he had yet another person's name carved into his skin. It was an unsettling thought, that these people had left an eternal mark on his flesh, as if they owned a part of him. First Eris had carved her mark just above his heart, then this man had carved letters in his back. Who knew what they said. His father had always told him that the scars he gave him showed Sascha who was in control, and how Sascha's body (as worthless as it was), was not his. It belonged to his Father, and the scars he left behind reminded him that no matter where he was, how far away, how many years had passed Sascha could not escape the knowledge that he was not free, and never would be. The scars reminded him who he was, the bastard child that should have been strangled before he'd even taken his first breath. Sascha didn't realize he'd fallen quiet until Raneen's voice brought him back to the present, and he gave her a toothy smile. "No, he wouldn't mean harm," he said, smiling to himself as he thought of Casey, a warmth spreading in his chest. "And yes! The forest is always where I getting food. It will be good, maybe you can even bring food back for your friends when you feel better..." he said, though his smile faded for a moment as he listened to her explain. It was the simple memory of the fight that drew the color from his face, and left him staring rather blankly at Raneen as he tried to understand everything she was saying. His expression had sobered considerably, though when she'd finished her explanation it cracked into a wide grin and it was his turn to laugh. "What you think I am, some kind of monster?" he said, shaking his head. "I do not blame you. Even if I did, I would still help. You came to save me even when you could have gone away and be free of those men," Sascha said simply. "So come here and sit next to me and let me fix your wing," he said with a firm, resolute nod. He stood and gently grasped her good arm, leading her to sit down on the mattress before turning to her injured shoulder. "It will hurt only for a few moments," he said, gently grasping her wing. It proved to be a slightly more difficult task than it would a normal human arm, but as he slowly rotated her limb, trying carefully to avoid the fractured bone further down her wing. It only took a few rotations for the soft click he'd been waiting to hear to sound, signifying that the bone had gone back into its joint. "Sorry," he said with a wince as he gently laid her arm back to her side and tried to keep his hands from shaking. "It should feel better now, yes?" |
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Raneen Selma Thorpe
"There is no stop. There is only do."
Anthromorph
African Fruit Bat
Nakoma
Outrider
INVENTORY Skills Hearing, Agility, Stealth, Sonic
Weapons 2x 8" Stiletto Blade, Cat o' Nine Tails Belt
Items Violin w/ Case
pets Reed - Flying Squirrel
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Post by Raneen Thorpe on Jul 3, 2013 21:48:22 GMT -5
Tilting her head, Raneen watched her new companion for the few brief seconds he was silent. Emotions flickered over his face quickly, mostly ones that were unpleasant, if his unhappy expression was anything to go by. But suddenly, his face lit and his eyes softened, a happy smile chasing away whatever bad thoughts he had been lingering on. Figured. She'd finally found someone to spark her interest, not the least of which because he was a fellow bat, and he was taken. Wasn't that just her luck? Oh, well. Anyone who could find that kind of happiness deserved congratulations, and the best luck she could wish for them. Life, let alone love, was harder than ever here underneath this retched dome.
"I'm sure he wouldn't," the woman agreed with a chuckle, nodding as he mentioned bringing back food. "Tha's a good idea, Sascha! We always need more food in da tribe. Gettin' bigger all da time without growin' too much. You should come back with me! We can always use a pair o' good healin' hands, and it's gotta be safer 'n hidin' out in dis ol' shack. Not that der's anythin' wrong with yer shack, I'm just sayin'..." Whelp, she was rambling again. Stalling, really. She so did not want to do this, despite knowing that she needed to. If her arm healed unset, she'd never be able to fly again, not to mention her entire arm would be pretty much useless.
There was no way she was going to let that happen. She had not survived this long just to die because she was too much of a coward to have her arm put back into place.
Startled by a laugh, Raneen's eyes snapped back to Sascha from where they had wandered to the covered window, which was lighting with the first rays of the sun. At least the sheet was holding out the worst of it. "O' course I don' think yer a monster! What a ting ta say! Though I am glad ya don' blame me. I'd hate ta lose a new friend just 'cause of circumstance, ya know?"
Allowing herself to be led, the bad studied her own arm as well, trying to judge the damage now that the adrenaline was draining from her. Not that she knew much, just that it hurt. "Whatever ya say, budd--- Eek!" Whatever she was going to say after that fled, as the first touch sent twinges up her arm. Eyes fluttering closed, Raneen sucked in air through tightly clinched teeth, refusing to let out the scream that was clawing at her lungs. She did, however allow herself some small, high pitched whimpering as the grinding continued, until suddenly the air left her lungs all in one puff as the shoulder popped. Almost instantly the pain receded to a dull throb. Something she could easily deal with.
After rolling her neck to try to release some of the tension, she opened one eye to look at Sascha. One side of her mouth hiked up in a mocking attempt at her usual grin. "Why ya sorry now? I swear, between the two o' us, we gonna be apologizin' fer days. It feels much better now, thankie." |
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Anthromorph
Vampire Bat
Haven
Founder
INVENTORY Skills - Healing - Sonic - Endurance - Wallcrawling - Stealth
Items - Outfit
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Post by Sascha Stark on Nov 17, 2013 10:43:04 GMT -5
Sascha glanced up at Raneen when she invited him to come back to her group, tried to connect his eyes with hers--but he faltered and went back to his work. He cleared his throat when she finished talking, wishing she hadn't said anything; part of him wanted to go so badly, wanted to see if he could be a part of a family. A real family, one that wouldn't hurt or bleed him. Perhaps Raneen had a family that was like her, and like him--turned into these mutated, monstrous things. Sascha had to admit that finding Raneen was a relief...she wasn't a monster, so maybe he could be normal again too. Maybe he could find a way to be with her and others like her. But the more he thought about it, the more it made his stomach turn. What if he broke? what if he hurt one of them? He didn't trust himself, not after what the whitecoats had made him.
"I don't think that is good idea," he said with a half-smile, still refusing to meet her eyes. "My friend would worry if I was not here." His fingers rested momentarily on her skin, trembling slightly; he could feel the warmth of her skin, almost hear the rush of her blood through her body. She said he wasn't a monster, she said he was her friend. Slowly, surely his eyes rose to meet hers and he was captured in them, so warm and brown. He suddenly felt safe, his fingers grasping her uninjured shoulder lightly, an almost insignificant touch. "It means much to me that you would say such things. It has been long time since I have heard words of such kindness." He held her gaze for a few long moments, yearning to cling to that safe feeling, that warmth that seeped into his chest when she smiled. It seemed almost as if she knew him, knew the shame and the hurt that threatened to overtake him and everything he was. His hand still lingered on her shoulder and he gave it a gentle squeeze and a soft smile. "Thank you," he murmured, voice hushed.
After he'd fixed her shoulder she fixed him with her gaze again, demanding to know why he was sorry. Sascha tilted his head in confusion wondering what she meant. "I do not like to cause hurt in others. It is a sad thing for me, always, to see another in pain." He gave her a sad smile before turning to the veiled window. "But I think sometimes in this place...it is impossible to never see pain. It seem some days like it is all I can see." After a few minutes of drawn out silence, Sascha spoke. "I wish I could come with you, to your friends. Is it true there are others? Others like you? Like..." He hesitated, drawing the sheet back with one finger to let in a single beam of light, as if it could give him courage. "...like me?" There was a tremble in his voice as he spoke, eyes fixed on the world outside their window.
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Raneen Selma Thorpe
"There is no stop. There is only do."
Anthromorph
African Fruit Bat
Nakoma
Outrider
INVENTORY Skills Hearing, Agility, Stealth, Sonic
Weapons 2x 8" Stiletto Blade, Cat o' Nine Tails Belt
Items Violin w/ Case
pets Reed - Flying Squirrel
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Post by Raneen Thorpe on Jul 12, 2015 21:34:44 GMT -5
Watching him work on her arm was a curious thing. Sascha was so intent on her injuries that it made her wonder if the focus was to help her or to keep him from thinking too much about other things. It wouldn't surprise her if it was really a mix of both, but she couldn't stop herself from wondering what sort of thoughts he needed to keep himself away from. He seemed like a sweet natured guy, really not the kind of person that was cut out for life in this glass prison, but then again it wasn't as if any of them really had a choice about coming here.
And he wouldn't meet her eyes for some reason. So when he refused her half thought out invitation, she was stuck wondering why he didn't think it was a good idea. The excuse of his friend worrying about him might have sounded legitimate, but Raneen wondered if there was more to it. Not that it was her place to pry into the life of someone she'd just met. "Naw, I get ya," she answered, flicking the fingers of her functioning hand in a dismissive gesture. "If ya don' wanna, ya don' gotta. Was just a thought. Life can be hard on yer own."
For whatever reason, this seemed to get her eye contact, so she flashed him a grin. One that quickly faded as he apparently took whatever comfort from her words. The other bat spoke about kindness, and Raneen had to reign in her wince. Really, she'd been asking because of just what she said: there was always room for a healer. She couldn't understand how that could be taken as some great act of compassion. "Darlin', if that's kindness then you been hangin' out with da wrong group o' people."
He thanked her anyway, and the woman huffed in response. Eventually, the conversation turned to pain, one of the basics of life when every day was a fight to survive to the next. Her uninjured shoulder lifted when he lamented about seeing pain everywhere. The gesture wasn't meant to be uncaring, more of a 'what can you do' sort of motion. "It is what it is. Pain is life aroun' here. Sure, ya get yer days where things are nice an' easy, but most o' da time ya gotta fight fer ever'thing. Gotta fight fer rotten fruit ta ease the ache in yer gut, gotta fight fer ever' scrap o' clothing, ever' moment o' safety is paid fer in blood. Yer own, or yer enemy's. Or both."
Raneen stopped long enough to draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her hand absently wandered up to tug on the soft skin of her ear, flattening it into her hair and then releasing to allow it back into it's usual upright state. She'd lived too many years in the Menagerie, to be able to talk about fighting and death so casually.
"Ya gotta do what's necessary ta live. Ain't always pretty, in a place like dis. Sometimes ya gotta do somethin' dat hurts ta do somethin' good. Like ma arm," Raneen continued, jerking her chin at her resently reset shoulder. "Hurt like hell gettin' it back where it goes, but if'n ya hadn't, if it'd healed outta joint like it was, it woulda been useless ta me and I'da died 'cause o' it. So I'll thank ya again an' hope ya understand when I say 'm glad fer da pain. Dyin' from a bum arm ain't on ma ta do list, ya know?" She chuckled, the last word turning into a snort.
It seemed like a long time before someone spoke again, her too busy poking at her injuries to guess at how long she would be incapacitated, him staring absently at the window. So when Sascha spoke next, even his soft tone had her ears twitching backward at the relatively loud noise after the silence. He was talking about the Nakoma? She wondered what had been said to go from thinking it wasn't a good idea to him wanting to know more. Or maybe he still thought it was a bad idea, but his curiousity had gotten the best of him.
"Depends on what ya mean by 'like us'. If'n ya mean bat people, no I don' think so. Not that I've run across, anyway. 'S a big place though, so there might be. But if'n ya mean people stuck between animal an' human, then yeah. There's plenty o' us. My tribe, da Nakoma. I think one o' the rings has a few o' us, too."
Raneen studied him, her eyes squinted against the shaft of light that was blinding her and causing colors to dance through her vision. The soft way he'd spoken, that slight tremor, the fact that he couldn't even look in her direction when he asked it... all of it stoked a desire to wrap the man in a hug and never let go. She shouldn't ask. It wasn't any of her business. But the words slipped out anyway.
"What do you mean, 'like you', Sascha?"
OoC:: TADA. One post for you, mo money! |
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Anthromorph
Vampire Bat
Haven
Founder
INVENTORY Skills - Healing - Sonic - Endurance - Wallcrawling - Stealth
Items - Outfit
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Post by Sascha Stark on Jul 19, 2015 19:16:07 GMT -5
“I don’t…hang out with many,” he said, his voice hushed and quiet. “After many years here, I learn it is better not to.” He had found kindness to be a scare commodity in the dome, though in the deepest, fuzziest of memories of his life, he could remember few times when kindness had not been wanting. His eyes cast down his arms where there were scattering He understood most of what Raneen was saying, and knew her words to be true. He had been inside the walls for years, most of them spent running from something bigger, stronger, hungrier than he was. But he didn’t want to believe that everything in the dome was about fighting to survive. He wanted to believe that there were still people who could see the good, who could see the good and not want to destroy it. But he let her speak her peace, not entirely confident in his English to explain his thoughts properly. Her thick accent made it a bit more difficult to understand her, but he got the gist of what she was going for; in response, he simply nodded as she spoke to show he was listening. “I heard maybe of a place like that to take us in,” he said. "But I did not think it to be true. What she asked him next, though, he should’ve expected. He should’ve, but he wasn’t prepared to give her the answer. He wasn’t prepared to tell her the truth. How could he, when he so rarely admitted it to himself? Though it was near impossible for a man like Sascha to be guarded and secretive, he seemed suddenly to go even quieter than he had been before. He cleared his throat, running his hand through his sweat-laced hair. The movement brought a wince of pain as the already healing cuts protested at the sudden, quick movement. Sascha sighed, exhaustion suddenly washing over him as he dropped the blanket covering the window and shut out the light. His shoulders and heavy, heavy wings drooped as his head thunked softly against the window frame, the wood feeling cool against his hot brow. “I am not sure what I meant,” he said after a moment, slowly turning to look at Raneen. He leaned lightly against the wall, back still stinging, burning pain. “I guess … people like me who, I don’t know, get hunted and killed for what the lab people did to us. People like me. And you.” He said with a sigh, shaking his head as he grabbed a chair and spun it around. He lowered himself slowly onto it so the back was against his chest, leaving his back and wings free. He folded his arms across the top of the back of the chair, resting his chin on his hairy, bruised and blood-smudged arms. His eyelids felt heavy, too heavy to keep open as he stared at Raneen in silent wonder that he had found someone who knew what it was to be mutated, knew what it was to suffer what they had suffered. “I’m glad I got to meet you, Raneen.” he murmured, fangs flashing in a voracious yawn as he settled himself in for the night. End of an 'Era WOO finally! <3 |
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Raneen Selma Thorpe
"There is no stop. There is only do."
Anthromorph
African Fruit Bat
Nakoma
Outrider
INVENTORY Skills Hearing, Agility, Stealth, Sonic
Weapons 2x 8" Stiletto Blade, Cat o' Nine Tails Belt
Items Violin w/ Case
pets Reed - Flying Squirrel
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Post by Raneen Thorpe on Sept 20, 2016 22:50:05 GMT -5
A soft sound of understanding echoed in the back of Raneen's throat, her head bobbing in a nod as her companion spoke. Getting close to people in this place was both difficult and dangerous. Especially for those like the two of them. You never knew if someone was tolerating you because they actually liked your company, or if they were just waiting for a good opportunity to get rid of the competition. And even when they did like you without ulterior motive, there was always the looming threat of the other shifters killing them.
Add into that the possibility of the Keepers swooping in at any time they wished to drag a person away, and there was a good chance you'd never see your so called 'friend' again.
It was easy to see why someone would fall into the safety of being a loner. Even within the rings, there were betrayals. Not that the rings accepted the cast off toys of the Keepers.
She didn't want to be there anyway, Raneen thought, mentally giggling as the image of a horrified socialite sticking her nose up with a proud sniff floated through her head.
Perhaps she was a bit punch drunk. Literally, even.
Shaking her head to clear away the inane thoughts, the Nakoma returned her attention to Sascha as he fumbled for an explanation. Everything in him screamed at a bone deep sadness. She had no idea what the cause was, but it made her want to wrap him up in her arms and protect him from every evil she knew this forsaken place had to offer. Too bad it looked like he'd already faced a great many of them.
"Yeah, Sascha, there are more people like you an' me out there. More so now then the beginnin', thankfully. It was bad fer our kind back then." A shiver ran through her unbidden as she remembered when she'd first been dropped inside the dome. Her father had been vocal about shifter kind when they'd first been exposed, and as a result her family had been one of the first captured. It made her one of the first anthros, and she'd experienced all of the hate and disgust as the 'real' shifters when those with half forms had been introduced.
It didn't matter how much the Keepers manipulated genes to combine two species, or instill in them superior abilities, as long as they retained the ability to fully separate their forms, they somehow thought themselves superior. The destruction of the Bestia had proven that much.
A phantom pain zinged through her at the memory of all who hadn't survived that massacre, and the ones who had died when the anthros scattered. It wasn't their fault. It wasn't her fault. None of them had asked to become these painful half creatures, but it hadn't mattered. It still didn't.
It was a spiral of thoughts that wasn't going to do anyone any good, so she reached over with her uninjured arm and playfully ruffled his hair as he yawned. "I'm happy ta have meet ya, too, Sweets. Just wish it had been under better circumstances. We'll have one hell of a story ta tell."
They both settled quickly after that. The lure of the sun and the crashing of adrenaline made even the lumpy, dusty cot luxurious. She would have offered it to Sascha, but by the time she thought of it he'd fallen asleep where he say, and she didn't have the will to rouse him.
The next few days were peaceful. Sascha worked to heal her arm, and by the time she was well Raneen felt as if they had built up a good friendship. She certainly enjoyed his company, and could only hope that the feeling was somewhat mutual.
But, in the end, they had to part ways. She needed to get back to the Nakoma, and he was no doubt itching to get wherever it was that he was supposed to be. So she'd gathered what fruits and nuts she could from the surrounding forest, waved goodbye, and took flight once more.
Raneen could only pray that the dome was kind to her new friend, and that maybe she would get lucky enough to run into him again one day. ❤This thread is now complete! Yay!
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