Shaky Legs (Open)

["Quick" Taylor]

"F*** YOU!" Quick screamed as he lunged forward with his spear, aiming it at the breast of the tiger which was leaping straight towards him with claws fully extended. The speearhead penetrated deep into the large feline shifter's chest, but the momentum from his leap, coupled with the great bulk of his feline form, carried him into Quick, ripping his spear from his hands and bringing them both to the ground in a heap. Quick hit the ground hard under the tiger's weight, his head cracking against the old, creaky wooden floor, leaving spots in his vision hand bolts of pain through the wounds he sustained in the fight.

He laid there, under the bulk of the large feline, his head throbbing and spinning, his vision blurry and spotted, and his body beaten, battered, and weakened from the fight and blood loss. After several minutes, he began slowly pulling himself out from underneath the tiger, using every ounce of his experimentally enhanced strength to drag himself along to floor towards a nearby wall. Taking heaving, gasping breaths, he leaned his back against the wall and sat there for a few minutes before turning his head to look at the wounds in his side.

There were four angry, deep gashes along his side, blood from them soaking his shirt around them. He groaned as he realized he was losing a lot of blood and needed to stem the blood flow quickly, before he bled out. With shaky hands, he pulled his shirt off and pressed it into the wounds with his arm, wincing and grunting as it sent sharp pains up and down his side.

He knew he needed to get out of here and back to Fallenring territory so he could be fixed up by their healers, so when he was sure his bloodloss had slowed down, he attempted to stand up. His first two or three attempts ended in him sliding back down the wall to the floor, his legs unable to support his weight just yet. His fourth attempt caused his wounds to begin bleeding again, blood running down from his improvised bandage in little rivulets. As he pressed his shirt against his side a little harder, he resigned himself to the fact that he was too weak to walk right now, and that he wasn't going anywhere for a good while yet.....

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer It had been one week since the woman had been dropped mercilessly into The Dome. She assumed it had been ten or eleven days since she had last seen her father and brother (unconsciousness took a toll on one's ability to keep track of something as mundane as days gone by). Veronica was actually quite surprised at the transformation her body had already undertaken; her soft, feminine physique was quickly becoming more lean and edgy. Hunger pangs haunted her. She had been able to catch a squirrel in her feline form on the second day, which had been cause for celebration since she'd never had a need to actually hunt before. Driven by her appetite, the woman had left Delica Park in search of food, water, and most importantly, companionship. She'd never been alone for so long before. Stalking through No Man's Land in her dusky caracal form (she felt she was better able to defend herself with razor sharp claws and teeth), the dilapidated Inn was the first territory she chose to set foot in. Although it was grimy, abandoned and stank to high heavens, it reminded her of the suite that she had been staying in before she was captured. Maybe it would have a large, rusting kitchen sink that she could curl up in for a moment or two, to renew some energy that she sorely needed. It was quiet, and that would help her welcome any shut-eye she could get. Quiet, that is, until a vehement "f*** you!" ripped through the air. She's not sure why she ran toward the disturbance, instead of far, far away. It may have been the fear her keen ears had detected in the stranger's voice, or it may have simply been her desire to not be alone. Either way, she was able to quickly locate a young man... bleeding profusely. Rushing toward him, her paws shifted to feet and hands, her fur shifted to skin and long dark hair. The most noticeable may have been her eyes; a sharp, pale sage as an animal, turning into a soft, chocolate brown as a human. Her hands flailed over the wounds in his sides, the slain tiger not far away all but forgotten. "Shit, shit, I'm not a damn medic!" she swore softly, her voice rising in distress. Her first human contact - no matter whether he was friend or foe - could not die on her, right? Noticing the shirt he had pressed to the wounds was already saturated with blood, she ripped the bottom of her own and replaced the second-hand "bandage," baring her midriff without a second thought. Lifting her gaze, her eyes met the man's own deep brown ones. "I'm Veronica," she breathed. "Again, not a medic. Do you happen to know where I might find one?" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: super patchy first post, I'll get used to her eventually c:

["Quick" Taylor]

Not long before he fell and reopened his wounds, Quick heard a noise down the nearby adjoining hall. He probed out with his telepathy to see if there was someone there, and sure enough he brushed against the mind of a woman. A female feline shifter, in fact. She was heading towards him to investigate the noise of his fight with the tiger shifter. He didn't have to dig deep to find thoughts that would tell him whether she was a threat to him or not. The thoughts in the forefront of her mind told him that she was new to the dome, perhaps had only been released in there from the Keepers for a matter of days, and had not come across a single person in that time. He was going to be her first contact with people who weren't trying to experiment on her since she had been captured.

He tried to sit up straighter, groaning and stopping as pain shot through his side again. Right after, the woman came around the nearest corner in her feline form, a small cat with long tufts of fur coming off the tips of its ears. Knowing she was new and posed no threat to him, he just watched as she shifted and started cursing about how she's not a medic. He fought not to laugh, though the act of fighting it probably hurt worse than laughing itself would have. He just watched as she ripped up her shirt without hesitation and used the scraps to bind up his wounds better, and introduced herself.

"Well, Veronica, I'm Quick," he said with a grunt as she re-bound his wounds with the crude bandage,"And we can find some in the Fallenring camp. It's a pretty good ways away though, and I can't move very fast. Not fast enough, anyway."

He thought about whether or not he wanted to trust this woman. She wasn't any kind of immediate threat to him or the Fallen, that much he knew. But he didn't know if he wanted to take her into the heart of their camp in case she decided to run off and join one of the other Rings. He also didn't want to just invade her mind, though, in case she decided she wanted to join Fallen. He decided he had to keep her away from Fallen territory until he could decide on whether or not to trust her.

"Do you know how to make a fire?" he asked her as he pulled one of his throwing knives from its holster on his leg, setting it in his lap, "We need to cauterize my wounds and I can't do it myself. I can't reach."

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer She was extremely impressed with the clarity of the man's voice and gaze; the amount of blood loss he had sustained would have had most people light-headed and incoherent. She supposed she could attribute his consciousness to the fact that this was a fairly common occurrence in this new world, something she could look forward to. Her deep chocolate eyes lit up as he obviously tried not to laugh. A sense of humor was always helpful, even in a situation as dire as this. "If I had known we'd be on a first name basis so quickly, I'd have introduced myself as Ronnie," she replied, her sultry voice lilting with appreciation. As she jested, her eyes once again glazed over Quick's physique, this time driven by curiosity instead of concern. He was lean, but muscles rippled beneath his lightly tanned skin. Full lips quickly going dry (hey, just because she was new to the Dome and he was in dire need of medical attention didn't mean she was blind), Veronica blinked slowly and redirected her mind to the task at hand. He mentioned how FallenRing had a medic, but quickly passed on that option when analyzing the distance and his ability to travel. She realized he was very quick-thinking, as he dug out a pocket knife and mentioned cauterizing his wound. Maybe that was why he was called Quick. Her face paled considerably, however, when he asked her if she knew how to start a fire... it clicked. A fire to heat the blade, to burn the openings, stop infection, and possibly even cut away dead skin that is deemed unsalvageable. Nodding, she stood, grabbing some of the dry plywood that was rotting away on the walls. Easily peeling it into small pieces, she created a pile of kindling on the floor, and spun the largest piece against them until smoke started to rise. A few moments later, the flickering of flames licked against the wood. It was a measly fire, but enough for a small switchblade to heat up. Leaning back against the wall, she met Quick's gaze once more, her mind drawing her back to the group he had mentioned earlier. "FallenRing," she tested the name of his clan on her tongue, brows furrowing as she recalled what she had learned of the Menagerie's society in the past. "They are... the passive group, right? More of a family than just banding together for necessity?" Hope glimmered faintly in her voice as she questioned Quick, although she was careful not to let her optimism seep into her voice or facial features. What she wished for more than ever was a close-knit group to belong to... but she could be horribly incorrect about the Rings, and then where would she be? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: oh I like this thread

["Quick" Taylor]

"Well you tend to not give a damn about manners in a situation like this, Ronnie," Quick replied with a grin and a light chuckle, which caused another wave of pain to shoot through his side. He let out a quiet, growling groan as he fought to shove the pain out of his mind. He just sat there against the wall as he watched Ronnie strip wood from the walls and used the pieces to start a fire. It was a small fire, yes, but it was large enough to heat up one of his throwing knives to cauterize his wounds.

That was when she started asking him questions about the Fallen. He thought he detected emotion in her voice as she asked about the Fallen being more of a tight knit family than a group of people trying to survive together. While that was true, he didn't want to just bring this new girl back to the Fallen camp and risk endangering the whole Ring. He clenched his jaw and looked at her, unconsciously giving her a look that most would feel bored into the depths of their soul. After several long moments, he let out a sigh and grabbed the throwing knife he'd pulled out earlier.

"Heat this up," he said, holding it out to her handle first, "It'll take a while to heat up, which is good, because you're going to have a few things to think about while it does.

"The first of which is, while I can tell you're pretty new here, I don't know exactly how new or how dangerous you are," he told her, "And I can't tell if you're genuine or not. I'm responsible for the Fallen's safety as their Beta. The Keepers gave me telepathy, so I can find out for sure, but if you're seriously wanting to join the Fallen, I won't probe your mind unless you allow me to.

"That being said," he continued, "It won't hurt. In fact, you won't feel a thing. You won't even know I've been in your mind. Not unless I want you to. So the only thing you have to worry about is me seeing things you might want to keep hidden. But if you don't let me do this, I won't bring you to the Fallen."

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer Instant chagrine washed over Ronnie's tanned face as a second chuckle lead to her new acquaintance groaning in pain. She found herself reaching for his throwing knife before he was able to tell her to do so; closing her hand around it, she hesitated only momentarily. She knew the implications of handing her something so lethal, especially in his state; she could easily end his life, even with her lack of skills. Brow furrowing with the severity of the situation, she placed the knife upon her little fire. Leaning back, her thin shoulder blades digging into the rotting walls, she set her gaze on him once more. Her long dark locks fell against her chest, still holding their beautiful buoyancy despite being slowly weighed down with more and more dust and grime. She listened attentively, drinking in every word Quick spoke with a strange quietness that was unusual for her psyche. Ronnie immediately sat forward as the word "beta" slipped from the man's lips. Her body tensed as she became keenly aware of just how powerful this man could be... and just how helpless she most likely was. She was thankfully sidetracked by that troubling information when he informed her of his ability. "Cazzo," she whispered the Italian curse breathlessly, eyes widening slightly. It was rare that her birth language slipped her consciousness, but it did happen. She hadn't known that the Keeper's experiments could basically end with superpowers. With that simple disclosure, her mind scattered onto a thousand different islands of a thousand different meaningless memories, Quick's words bringing back both ancient history and more recent times that she had thought were stored away. Her mother's death, her first kiss, the first time she shifted, her last vacation, the last time she saw her brother's smile, the last time she heard her father's laugh, her loneliness, her desire to belong, to be safe, to be trusted, to pull her own weight... to be loved. How could he possibly make sense of the puzzle that was her thoughts? How could he ever gather the answers that he sought from her, the answers she knew wouldn't disappoint if only she could arrange them coherently? She swallowed, breathed. "Go for it." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: xxx

["Quick" Taylor]

Quick looked over at Ronnnie as she muttered out something in response to what he'd just said. She sat next to him quiet for several long moments, presumably thinking about his proposal. He was about to ask her if she could start heating up the knife when she finally broke the silence, saying "Go for it."

"I think we're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves," he told her, pointing to his knife in her hand, "Can we maybe deal with the gashes in my side before I go diving into your head?"

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer As she mentally prepared herself to be, well, psychologically invaded, she all but forgot about Quick's injuries. After all, he was extraordinarily cognizant despite the blood loss. As he not-so-subtly reminded her of the task at hand, she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Filled with chagrin and guilt, Veronica quickly turned her attention back to the small knife, noting the bright ember color of extremely hot metal. "Right," she muttered, carefully picking up the weapon by its handle. Her mahogany eyes reached out to his, concern rippling through them as she approached him very slowly. She could never forget that he was a predator, and predators were very reflexive to perceived threats. Raising her hand slowly, she lifted her eyebrows infinitesimally, as if she were asking to make sure he was okay with this. As if she were imploring him to trust her. Before she neared his wound, she reached out for his arm opposite of the deep scratch, grabbing his hand and placing it gently on her shoulder. "Squeeze as hard as you can," she murmured. Smirking, she added as an afterthought, "A few black bruises will be nothing compared to this." And with that, she pressed the flat end of the blade against the flaps of his skin one scratch at a time, the smell of searing skin filling the air and inevitably making her eyes water. Yet she was determined - she kind of liked this man, and she'd be damned if she let infection set in. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: xxx

["Quick" Taylor]

Quick couldn't keep from laughing when he Ronnie's cheeks turn red as he reminded her of cauterizing his wounds. The laughing quickly turned into a groan as pain lanced through his side again, but a smile stayed on his face.

"You sure as hell are interesting," he said, resting his head against the wall behind him.

He turned his head to watch as she heated the blade on the small fire she'd made. As she finished and turned back towards him, their eyes met and she raised her eyebrows, as if askin for permission. He just nodded back and said, "Let's get this over with."

She grabbed his right arm and put it on her shoulder, telling him to squeeze as hard as he needed. He knew that if he did, with his experimentally enhanced strength, she was quite likely to have more than bruises. Before he could say anything or pull his hand away, though, she pressed the hot knife into the first of the gashes. The hiss of the metal on flesh filled his ears, acrid smoke smelling of burning flesh clogged his nose, and searing pain shot through his wounds where she pressed the red hot metal of the knife against them. He instinctively began squeezing her shoulder as he attempted to stifle the screams rising in his throat, managing to keep them to a loud growl, hoping he didn't hurt her too much.....

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer A soft warmth spread in Ronnie's chest as she noticed Quick's smile lingered. It took a strong person, a genuine person, to find optimism in the face of negativity, including pain. The fact that he found her interesting only added to the attraction she felt, making the blush on her cheekbones linger slightly longer than she would have liked. However, she diligently continued her work until lancing pain shot through her arm, originating from Quick's fingertips. Dropping the knife just as she finished the second cut (still one left to go, unfortunately), she pulled back sharply with a vehement and strongly impassioned "f***!" Eyes wide, the hand that had held his knife flew to her shoulder, where deep purple splotches were already forming. Her first reaction was to punch, to yell at him, to scoot away from the obviously inhuman aspects of him, the pain that saturated his face quickly grounded her. With a deep, shaky breath, she analyzed what had just happened in a way only Veronica Macer could. "Alright, so let's get this straight. Not only can you communicate telepathically, read my thoughts, and I'm assuming shift into some intimidating creature suitable for a beta... you've got insanely superhuman strength. Were they trying to make you a god!?" She couldn't help but let out a winded laugh, both impressed and concerned for her own safety. Approaching him once more, she picked up the knife with her good arm, determination hard-set in her eyes. "Shoulder is off-limits now. The wall is free for your distraction, though," she stated, setting the blade to his wounds once more while trying her best to ignore the throbbing in her shoulder and, subsequently, her entire arm. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: I keep planning on doing short replies and then getting too into it ;_;

["Quick" Taylor]

Without realizing it, Quick continued squeezing her shoulder harder and harder as she continued with the second gash. The thought he may be hurting her was completely thrown from his mind by the pain until he heard her yell out with an obviously pained "F***!" Eyes still closed from the pain, he immediately ripped his hand off of her shoulder and slammed his fist several times into the wooden wall besides him. He felt the blows shake the entire wall through his back, and heard the snapping of old wood giving way to the powerful blows. After three hits, he let his still-closed fist fall to the floor beside him, his breaths coming in heaving gasps as searing pain continued shooting through his side.

"Alright, so let's get this straight. Not only can you communicate telepathically, read my thoughts, and I'm assuming shift into some intimidating creature suitable for a beta... you've got insanely superhuman strength. Were they trying to make you a god!?" She said. Despite the pain, he laughed again.

"That's the only way to improve perfection," he said, eyes still closed and head rested against the wall. As the pain started subsiding some, he opened his eyes and realized he had something in his hand. He looked down at his fist and realized he had a scrap of light pink cloth in his hand. He blinked at it and looked over to Veronica to see he had torn off the sleeve of her shirt, all the way up to the collar.

"Oh shit," He said, holding up the scrap, "Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Or tear up your shirt."

"Shoulder is off-limits now. The wall is free for your distraction, though," She said as she picked up the knife to finish cauterizing the last gash. He nodded and lookd over to her.

"Yeah. Got it. Let's just get this over with," he said as he closed his eyes and waited for the last wave of searing pain. This time when it came, he wasn't able to hold back the scream, but managed to keep it quieter than it otherwise would have been. He slammed his fist against the wall two more times before the wound was through cauterizing, putting his fist all the way through the wall with the second hit.

As she removed the knife from the final wound, he sat there against the wall, breathing heavily again. He pulled his hand back through the wall and flexed his fingers, which ached from hitting the wall so hard. Then he leaned his head back against the wall and said, "Well, glad that's over."

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer As the Italian beauty finished cauterizing the final cut, she let out a hearty laugh at his comment on perfection, idly wondering if he knew how accurate that description was for him. Letting out a trembling breath she hadn't known she had been holding throughout the entire ordeal, she leaned back. The searing needle pricks she had been feeling in her arm had dulled to a throbbing numbness; maybe that's why she hadn't notice the lack of coverage upon her shoulder and neck. However, her rocking backward caused her bubblegum pink shirt to slowly slide off, hanging on only by the other intact sleeve, exhibiting her beige bra. It happened simultaneously, at the same time as Quick's comment. Cheeks flushing a deep carmine that somehow became her despite the circumstances, Veronica stood up abruptly, the cloth that had been her shirt waving uselessly at her side. "Uhm," she whispered, spinning around so that her sculpted back faced the injured beta, making sure he couldn't see the sumptuous curve of her breasts for longer than necessary. Ripping off the useless garment, she quickly wrapped it around her chest, tying it at her armpit. Her midsection had already been exposed due to the makeshift bandage she had created earlier, but now she was even less so. But alas, there wasn't really a shopping mall she could go to for a quick fix. This would have to do for the time being. Refusing to hide, she turned back toward Quick, her chin lifted in stubborn defiance. Her eyes flashed the sage green of her animal form, something that happened only when her emotions were extremely heightened. She cleared her throat, trying to gain her traction once more. "I didn't think we'd be undressing so soon after introductions," she jested with a shaky smile, attempting to make light of her embarrassment. The flush that remained in her cheeks betrayed the fact that embarrassment wasn't all she was feeling. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: okay this was super fun

["Quick" Taylor]

Quick sat there against the wall, watching Veronica as she realized what had happened to her shirt and her face turned a shade of red he wasn't aware was capable for someone in their human form. He just watched as she turned her back, pulled off what was left of her shirt, and tied it around her chest. He hadn't really intended to rip her shirt off like that, though now he kind of glad he had. Now that his wounds were cauterized and the bleeding stopped, he found himself noticing her body. He was glad she had her back turned, because his own face began turning red.

While she tied off her shirt around her chest, Quick grabbed ahold of the boards where he'd put his hand through the wall and pulled himself to his knees. Then, slowly using his arms to help push himself up, he slowly rose to his feet. One he was standing, he put a hand against the wall to steady himself to be sure he didn't fall, and turned back to face Ronnie, who had just finished tying her shirt off around her.

"I didn't think we'd be undressing so soon after introductions," she said with a smile. He noticed there was something different about her at the moment, though it took him a while to realize her eyes were green now, as opposed to the brown they had been earlier. That was something he'd never seen before.

"Well, what can I say? I like to move fast on the first date," he said with a chuckle and a grin, giving her a playful wink.

"Seriously though, Ronnie, thanks for the help," he said, giving her a more genuinely thankful smile, "If you hadn't shown up, I'd probably still be sitting on this floor bleeding for several more hours. I might not have even made it out of here."

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer "Well, what can I say? I like to move fast on the first date." Those words had Veronica's lips drying and a heavy warmth pooling in her tummy, chocolate eyes smoldering with unexpected lust. She placed a hand on the wall she stood next to, steadying herself both physically and mentally much like Quick had just done himself. She'd never had a first impression quite like this one. It was both refreshing and daunting. For the sake of slowing things down, Veronica carefully chose to stay silent - which required a very strong will on her part. As he fervidly thanked her for her help, a genuine smile softened her face, chasing away the last of her humiliation. "I'm glad to have helped you - and met you," she added honestly. One week wasn't all that long to be alone, but when she had been supported by the love of her family her entire life, it had become an eternity already. While she would have much preferred her first experience with another shifter to have been less chaotic, she realized she that Quick may have been exactly what she needed. He had given her a purpose (if only for a very small period of time), easily distracted her with concern, attraction, and wit. Now that he was more stable, he would most likely head back to his Ring. After all, he was their beta. Stepping forward, she picked up the piece of her shirt that he had left on the ground and tied it to her injured arm. It was almost useless; while not broken, it was still very numb. Damn, he had strength. Glancing back at him, she asked, "So what now, Quick?" She wondered if he would use his telepathy, or if he had been already, and a blush almost instantly splotched her cheeks once more (although not nearly as strong as before) - her thoughts hadn't exactly been innocent. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: x

["Quick" Taylor]

"I'm glad to have helped you - and met you," she responded, a warm and genuine smile spread across her face. He smiled back, finding he really enjoyed the sincerity of her smiles. He found himself glad that he was the first person to come across this woman in the dome. She seemed entirely too compassionate and kind, qualities which, unfortunately enough, ended up getting more people killed than anything else.

"So what now, Quick?" She asked him as she bent down to retrieve the sleeve he'd torn off of her shirt and tied it around her arm, where he'd squeezed her. He could see angry black bruises forming on her skin in the shape of his fingers. He frowned as he realized he'd lost control of something that he'd thought he'd gained control over long ago. He needed to be more careful with his strength in the future.

"Well, for starters," he said, shaking off his thoughts and returning his gaze to her deep brown eyes, "I still have to go diving into your mind. Just stay still for a few minutes. I need to concetrate. This shouldn't take long."

He closed his eyes, steadyin himself on the wall with both hands, and reached out to her mind with his telepathic power. He found it unusually easy to make his way through her mind, weavin his way through her thoughts. He didn't peer too closely at any of them, merely brushing against them to gain a general sense of the kind of person she was, and to see if there was anythin dangerous she might be hiding. As he continued through more and more recent memories, he found less and less reason to think of her as a threat to the Fallen.

Finally, he got to the most pertinent memories: the ones since she had been captured. Here, he slowed down and paid closer attention to the details, going through days' worth of memories. He watched her capture by the Keepers, envious that it hadn't been anywhere near as violent as his own. He then moved through the memories of her struggles to survive the past few days. Then, he finally got to the most recent ones, where she had shown up to help him. He watched the memories as she rushed to help him, and perused the thoughts she had silently as she helped tend to his wounds. Some of the thoughts she had about him, surprisingly, were enough to make him turn a bright red. Now that he saw her thoughts about him, he found himself sharing many of the same ones about her.

He decided he'd seen what he needed to and pulled back out of her thoughts. The whole thing took around five to ten minutes. He opened his eyes and looked her straight in the eyes, his face still beet red from seeing what she'd been thinking about him. He wasn't sure what to do about that right then, but he was definitely willing to bring her back to the Fallen with him.

"Well...uh....," he said, still trying to sort out his own thoughts. He kept his own lighter brown eyes locked on her deep, chocolate ones, feeling slightly lost in them, "You're clearly no threat to my Ring. If you want, I can take you there. You'll be welcomed with open arms too, even if you decide you don't want to join and would rather keep wandering by yourself."

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer Veronica was glad he didn't really give her time to prepare herself before diving into her mind. She wasn't sure what to expect, having never been faced with supernatural abilities before. It was, however, completely painless; she couldn't even feel his telepathic presence. After a few moments, she leaned her body against the wall, keeping her eyes trained upon Quick. She noticed he kept his eyes closed during the process, and she reveled in the chance it gave her to truly study him. Her gaze swept over his body, noting his light but taut muscles, the slight tan, the softness of his mahogany hair, the relaxed lines of his face. She also noticed the scars... he had a story to tell, something much more violent than her own. Her gut clenched with desire as she watched his cheeks flush. He was, no doubt, reading her previous thoughts. She smiled; the redness upon his face was a telltale giveaway that she wasn't the only one harboring guilty motives. Her hands flexed when Quick's eyes opened and she found herself still staring into them. Damn, what was this? It was almost an animalistic level of attraction that she felt... she laughed. They were animals, after all. Lifting her chin, her long locks flowing over her shoulders, she replied amicably, "I'd love to meet your Ring. And I think you've already gathered what would most likely happen if I continued wandering on my own." She walked out of the dilapidated Inn, feeling too exposed, her emotions too raw, to simply stand there. It was a calm winter day, with the sun shining faintly against the powdered snow that blanketed the ground. Her clothes (in their currently ripped up form) were entirely too skimpy to protect her against the cold, but she could easily shift into a formidable caracal if need be. She glanced back over her shoulder, waiting for her escort (could he be considered a friend already?), the hint of a smile appearing as the sun's rays lit up her face. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: x

["Quick" Taylor]

"I'd love to meet your Ring. And I think you've already gathered what would most likely happen if I continued wandering on my own," she said in response to him. He reached out with a hand and, this time gently, squeezed her uninjured shoulder with a small smile.

"Well, Ronnie, let me be the first to welcome you to the Fallenring. I think you'll enjoy being with us, as much as anyone can enjoy anything in this dome," he said. He turned around slowly, so as not to lose his balance due to his low blood pressure from his wounds, and bent to retrieve his spear from the tiger shifter. Then, he walked over to the nearby wall and retrieved the sack of food he'd stolen. Quick stole a fast look inside the sack to see what all was there, and was pleased to find most of it still present and uneaten. He looked over to Ronnie and remembered that she had barely eaten since being thrown into the dome, and so reached into the sack and retrieved a couple of apples.

"Here, you'll probably enjoy these," he said, handing them back as he slowly walked with her out of the inn, "That bastard raided our food stores. But I guess it all turned out for the best, afterall."

He led the way towards the Fallenring camp, keeping them moving at a rather slow pace so as not to aggravate the injuries in his side. Afterall, he only had a makeshift bandage over it, with no shirt for additional protection from the elements. He didn't want to cause any more harm to his body than he needed to.

"So, is there anything you want to know about the Fallen," he asked her as they walked. He gave her a fleeting glance as he continued, "Or...about me? I would ask you about yourself, but...I kind of learned a lot just now."

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer When he reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder, his touch left an electric heat that had Veronica's breath come in a little shorter than normal. Her faint smile grew into a full-out grin as he handed her an apple - a big, red, juicy, delectable apple that she promptly bit into without a second glance. It was as delicious as the apples that her mother used to grow in their backyard. Eyes dancing, she said enthusiastically, "Thank you!" With the ordeal they had just undergone, she had forgotten about the hunger pangs her stomach had been angrily sending her. For now, they settled, although she would need more sustenance eventually. She trudged along with Quick's slow pace, glancing towards his wounds every once in a while to make sure the constant movement didn't urge it to start bleeding again. He couldn't lose much more blood before fainting, right? But then again... he was a god. She laughed as the brown-eyed man asked her if she had any questions, giving her the perfect opportunity to give voice to what she was wondering. "Are you always such a gentleman, and ask before... probing?" She had a hard time believing he did; if she had that ability, her curiosity would almost certainly trump her personal code of ethics. She had so many questions, she realized. Yes, she was certainly intrigued by the workings of FallenRing. Would she actually be welcomed with open arms, as he claimed? Were they truly a family? Could they help her find her father and brother? Although she was on the brink of joining a strange group of unknown people, it surprised her that the questions that brimmed in her mind were instead more focused on the man beside her. What could he shift into? What other powers did he have? What was his real name? And most importantly... once she was integrated into the Fallen, would he simply leave her behind? It concerned her how much she cared about such a simple thing so soon. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: x

["Quick" Taylor]

He grinned as she tore into the apples and retrieved one from the sack for himself as he realized he was also hungry. An apple wouldn't satisfy his hunger, but it would at least take the edge off. Afterall, fighting a tiger with a spear and then nearby bleeding out had a tendency to take a lot out of a person. He bit into the apple and didnt even care about the juice running down his chin.

"Are you always such a gentleman, and ask before... probing?" She asked in response to him. He laughed, grateful that he could do so now with only a little discomfort from his wounds.

"Most of the time I'm not," he said matter of factly, "In fact, I've learned to kind of weaponize it. I can shove thoughts to the forefront of peoples' minds, make it harder for them to act and react to certain things. And if the thoughts I give them are troubling enough, it can essentially incapacitate them.

"That's against enemies, though," he said, looking over at her to gauge her reaction, "You won't have to worry about me going into your mind again. I don't do that to anyone who I can't tell for sure doesn't mean me harm. A person's head is the one place where their thoughts are typically safe from others. I have no right to violate that."

[Ronnie Macer]

veronica -ronnie- macer A very small pang of disappointment hit her when she found out that he was, indeed, a gentleman - it would have been so much easier for him to be just as overwhelmed by her own questions as she was! She appreciated his respect for the human mind; thoughts could oftentimes be volatile and incoherent before being formed into the right words. "That's a pretty powerful weapon," she reflected. Memories could certainly incapacitate opponents, bring them back to the moments in which they were the most vulnerable. Her own thoughts flashed back to the net that had captured her, the multitudes of needles that had violated her skin. With a subtle shake of her head, she pushed through the short relapse into despair. The Fallen were a promise of home. That was all she needed for now. She forged on to her next question, refusing to give up on the opportunity for knowledge. It was why she had been employed at a museum, after all. "So, you're the beta," she rolled the title over her tongue, testing the power it held behind it. What were the chances she'd run into a figure so prominent? "Do your demanding duties allow you to spend some time with me..." she raised her eyebrows at him, eyes dancing in play, before quickly adding, "...to teach me some basic hunting skills?" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ooc: x