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 Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:08 pm
He couldn't remember when he'd finally passed out or how long it had been since; all he knew was that dream world, and the gentle touch of a hand stroking his ears.
Niko, neko... Always with that name now. Always the confusion and the blurring of lines when his eyes closed. There was a disturbing familiarity about it that continued to drive him mad and yet, the further he fell into those strange visions, the less clear it all became. Why'd he feel so small and lost all of a sudden? And where was his voice? And why did he hear her crying for mercy all over again?...
A thin sliver of light broke over the horizon as the little ship finally closed in on its destination, edging all the thick clouds in the sky with a pale gold grim. It was a chilly morning, though even in winter the air of Porooskia was still worlds warmer than Salig.
Thank God.
Landing was a little rough, but the young cinnamon furred pilot had handled it with relative aplomb considering that he had to plant an OLD vessel on nothing but dirt, the whole cockpit giving a distinct lurch guaranteed to wake even the heaviest of sleepers, except--
... Except that a certain monster of a man had (apparently) dozed right on through it, and didn't budge an inch from where he'd been sprawled the past several hours, still out like the dead.
"Well, guys, y'made it," The pilot, however, hadn't even looked behind him and was just rambling with the assumption of both parties being up, taking a few seconds to lazily roll his shoulders, flex the sockets, and work out all the kinks he'd built up over the long hours of flight. "Time to get those sorry hides off my vessel an' go find your new folks, alright?"
... A beat of silence. He blinked and finally looked over his shoulder.
"C'mon, guys, up an' at'em...?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 6:48 am
It was the first real night of sleep Tamara had gotten... ever, actually. At least as far as she could remember. So she'd slept like the dead, her head leaned against Niko's shoulder and... perhaps they were sharing a dream of similar nature?
Little kitty, little kitty. Neko, Neko, you are a good boy...... go without me.... It was like a plague. Yet the hell in her mind, vague as it was, made her feel unsettled. Unpleasant, yet she couldn't force herself to let go of it- her and that little kitten she clung onto for dear life, and the bodies that lay outside the bars that were the only thing keeping her safe.
Alas.
However, the lurch had been enough to startle her into a state of semi-conciousness - not exactly JUMPING awake, but she wasn't asleep either, just half-nuzzling herself into her place of sleep before the feel of fur made her jolt up MUCH straighter and practically THROW Niko from using her as a pillow.
Ha ha.
If she'd been blessed with fur, it might have prickled.
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:05 pm
... For a moment, the cinnamon-furred pilot almost thought both of them had just up and died during the flight, and the only thing that ultimately saved either party from a hard prodding with his boot was the fact that Tama had finally startled awake (... ish) which, funnily enough, proved to have a ripple effect in the mind of her dearest cosleeper.
Though it wasn't the kind of reaction one would expect from a normally-hyper-defensive and freakishly overpowerful mosnter like Nikolas. No, the Koshka just hissed softly, which dissolved into more of a groan as he slouched back, and begrudgingly forced one eye to crack.
Urgh, couldn't even focus properly...
"C'mon, guys," the pilot repeated with a little more firmness, waving a hand in front of the duo to see if catching their attention was even VAGUELY possible. "You're here now-- in Porooskia that is. Now, I parked as close as I could, but it's still a block or two t'where you're going, so..."
Wait, where were they going?!
Niko, however, didn't seem to care at that point and simply choked out a dull, dry throated, half-coherent growl-- perhaps to shut up, perhaps simply because he could. Either way, he... he wasn't looking so good, and it was a small wonder he'd managed to drag himself to his feet at all, let alone without being physically hauled.
"Just listen to me for a second before you go shoving your way out of the ship, guy!" The pilot's tone took a sharper note to it right then, frowning slightly and putting up a hand when the latter male had just started to GO. "Look, there's a little house right up the path there you're gonna need to go to-- just tell them you were bailing out of Salig and they'll take you in, alright? They're nice people-- a real dark lady and a sandy guy with curly hair and glasses a-- hey!"
Yeah, seemed like Niko was just on auto-pilot at that point and limp right on past him without a word, just shoving the door of the vessel open without even waiting for his patron to fuss with all the locks. Hell, the only reason he'd even looked back was to make sure Tama was following him along!
... Seriously, that juggernautish behavior was going to be the death of him one day.
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:27 pm
Tamara had gotten up a little less oddly than her companion, using the wall for support and being the more attentive of the two while the pilot gave his instructions for the duo, nodding awkwardly and even offering him a quick bow and a 'thank you' for his assistance, before turning to...
..
...
Wow, she was actually rather frozen at the pilot's side while Niko walked off ahead of her, frowning just a touch more than she would have liked to have been, before moving to toddle along after him.
Though not exactly walking right up to his side, just.. tagging along like a good little tag-a-long like she was supposed to be. It was depressingly.. depressing. dfjl;fkj.
But she was there like he was checking, so she didn't mind, her ears flattening back underneath her hat at his limp, but not making any comment, just looking over the town she'd never been to before. No, the farthest her life had ever taken her was Salig. Which...
Well, she would be happy to NEVER see that town ever ever again.
Ever.
"Are we going to go to the house of that couple he mentioned?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 7:48 pm
Silence.
That was the only response she'd gotten at first: silence and this look that didn't quite seem as there as it should've been, before Niko finally shrugged and grunted (or hissed) his words.
"... Guess so."
It wasn't as if they had anywhere else to go and, quite frankly, he wasn't feeling too keen on just collapsing on the first bare patch of ground that presented itself if there was some better alternative (literally) down the road. How he managed to jump down to the ground from that little step at the door without pitching over was another small miracle, but one he'd just accepted with a dull growl before, with one last look over his shoulder to make certain the follower happened to be tagging alone, it was off to... walking.
God, this was going to be a painful couple of blocks.
The scenery was exceptionally remote by itself, let alone compared to a place like where they'd just come from, the bare, leafless trees still thick enough to obscure a decent view to either side of the open dirt 'path' leading deeper in... and god, was there even a fog on the ground, too?
Porooskia was a pretty harmless territory most of the the time (sans occasional run-ins with cult activity and the like), but to a couple of outsiders, it sure didn't seem that way in the slightest.
... Hopefully that hazy little blip in the distance was the place, because wo knew if they'd be able to get much further than that in their sorry states of being.
And the cinnamon furred pilot could only watch them go and sigh, shaking his head lightly.
"Best of luck there, guys..."
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:59 pm
And she'd rather liked the silence, wincing a bit at the sound of his harsh voice (She'd never get used to it), but nodding to confirm that she'd heard him, feeling horribly awkward walking through the streets of the town which consisted of more fullblood and the like than se was comfortable with.
Oh, how she'd love to go to Erasmus, but 'that' man was waiting for her there if word of the previous day's incident ever got out. Or if it travelled that far. Which she held no doubt it would, frankly. But no matter at this point in time. She just needed to follow along the one who was 'leading' at that point, cautiously making her way to his side and frowning as they walked. Awkward, awkward....
...
....
The closer they got to that house and away from the town, the more uncomfortable it made her feel. Not a pleasant feeling at all, sadly.
In fact, she'd almost glued herself to HIM, a cause of discomfort, due to the fact that she knew very well that he was safer than the discomfort that was eating at her stomach. Nnngh.
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:13 pm
Sure, there were a few fullbloods down the road, off in the deeper heart of the city... but here on the outskirts, honestly, Niko couldn't perceive much of anything-- or was that simply his bleary vision getting the better of them? He honestly didn't know, and didn't care to know; the only thing that mattered in his book was continuing onwards toward that singular blip in the haze.
That blip that would somehow be a proper salvation for the scraggly nobreed trailing behind him.
Or... not so much behind him, actually, as he could feel her continuing to gravitate closer (probably out of fear for their surroundings) with every step. He didn't respond to it, either, figuring that she'd be fine doing whatever she wanted, so long as they got there...
(Thump, thump, thump.)
Got... there........
(s**t, he could hear his own pulse in his skull all of a sudden.)
Eventually........................
How funny and dreadfully ironic that he'd wound up collapsing bater ten meters short of the innocuous little front porch, the bad leg giving out and instantly taking the rest of him with it in a limp heap.
And the innocuous little home's kindly residents, sitting together and reading a fairytale in the study, were none the wiser for their sudden new 'guests' in the yard.
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:23 pm
And she'd been able to tell the pace at which Niko and his wounds slowly started to get eaten away at, in terms of conciousness, not pressing a 'should we rest' for him, knowing his pride wouldn't allow it, and instead just looming at his side like a good silent companion.
They'd hardly exchanged ANY words between them in the time they'd been in the town, instead focusing towards that little house, just making sure she kept with him, almost not noticing, due to her position at his side, when he collapsed.
Outside of that it was PRETTY DAMN HARD to not notice when something hit the ground, stopping immediately to look at him. Surprised? Yes. However, there was a significant lack of panic to her actions, just taking the time to sit at his side and roll him onto his back, checking for a pulse - still alive - and other various things.
Even running her fingers through his hair and testingly saying his name, over and over.
"Niko.... Niko...?"
It was only when she got no answer that the instinct of 'OH GOD, WHAT DO I DO??' suddenly kicked in, her pulse immediately going up and debating between actually approaching the house or remaining outside with her companion.
Could she afford to stay outside?
...
....
Tama peeled off her coat and hat, using them to pad the back of Niko's head from the ground before she rose to her feet to... awkwardly tap on the door..........
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:08 pm
... As expected (though not hoped for), no response from the body, as it seemed the poor b*****d had finally hit his limit and just given out completely, not even gargling out a groan or hiss as she tried to rouse him.
Which meant that poor Tama was now officially on her own to confront the unknown in that (not really so) eerie little home, full of strangers who could've very easily been the type to cut down a nobreed on sight, or worse... Thank god that wasn't going to be the case, but it still must've been nerve-wracking anyway.
A Mench probably wouldn't have heard such meek knocking even if they'd been perched in the living room, but thank god a certain woman's ears were far sharper than that and, seeming to sense a very unusual importance that came with the sound, quietly muttered a "sounds like we have company, Roselyn" to the girl who'd just hopped off her lap before grabbing her shawl off a chair back, heading down the hall and--
Creeeeeeeeeeak--
"Hello there, what can I--?..." She paused the moment the door had cracked open, obviously not having been expecting a furless young lady in full-blown winter-wear, frowning slightly-- though it seemed more an expression of concern than anything. "Oh, dear... are you alright?"
Perhaps she already had half a mind as to what was going on, since it wasn't the first time by any means. After all, it wasn't every day one saw nobreeds in the open beyond the outright neutral zones...
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:11 pm
And had she had fur like a certain Butterfur, the sight of a fullbreed woman opening the door would have likely caused her tail to prickle. However, she was very much furless, therefore her only option was to just totally have a moment of slight-wince to her name. Ohgodohgod....
...
..... Certainly she was able to keep from squeaking like Roselyn's might have though, just stiffening up a little bit and fidgeting with her skirt.
"......." Meeeeh! What was she supposed to do? Just the look of concern caused her to sink a little bit (It was a foreign concept to her after only a couple of years, so she wasn't sure what to make of it), how very Kitten-like!
"...I am.." Yeah, for someone with bandaged hands due to trying to not die in the hands of the wrong individual. However, following the awkkkward and very quiet answer to the woman's question, Tamara looked over her shoulder to her companion who she, unfortunately, was not physically strong enough to move...
...
Oh dear god, she really didn't know what to tell this woman! 'HI, WE JUST MADE A GRAND ESCAPE FROM SALIG'S ARISTOCRATIC DISTRICT, CAN WE CRASH HERE FOR A LITTLE WHILE??'
The panic was building and she was starting to get to the point where, yes, tears were needed. "B-but...him........" she started, before hyperventilation kicked in. Oh god, NIKO. WAKE UP PLEASE. I CAN'T DO THIS!!!
fjdsl;fj!
SNIIIIIFF.
"He's hurt and I don'tknowhowbadlyandhejustcollapsedand--" RAMBLERAMBLEPANICCRY.
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 4:02 pm
Roselyn had even been brave enough that morning to hide behind the living room couch for spying on their visitor (which was quite a show for her!), though sadly, Mommy Dearest's frame had managed to obscure any real visibility of their 'guest' with the angle she was cowering at.
Though just her voice was enough to clue the child in that something was terribly wrong, and she, too, had started to shake just from the bad feelings in the air, shrinking lower behind her feeble source of cover and struggling to hold in a whimper.
As for Moacyr... well.
Motherly instinct had clued her in long before that sniffling and rambling and CRYING started, though sadly, any 'comfort' for the poor girl would have to wait until they'd taken care of the other problem she'd just noticed, frowning DEEPLY when she looked beyond Tama and saw what appeared to be a body on the ground not thirty feet away.
SIGH. Of all the times for Langston to be out like this...
"Alright, dear, you're going to have to calm down for a moment," her tone took on a certain authority right then, not harsh enough to be considered 'barking orders', but taking up the position of motherly leave and stepping right out past her, off the porch, and straight in a beeline for their resident corpse. "There's no one here capable of hauling him in but the two of us, so get on one side of him and lift-- Roselyn! You'll hold the door open for us, won't you?"
She was already hoisting one of his arms over his shoulders and getting ahold of that damned HEAVY torso for leverage.
God, the guy looked like a wreck-- and that was one hell of an ugly leg.
She'd just have to ask about it later, once they'd all gotten in OUT of the cold outdoors and had a nice cup of tea to calm their nerves.
Tamara would sure need it, she was sure.
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:40 pm
NOBREED BFFS. THEY WOULD BECOME THEM. Maybe. If Tamara was social enough for such things and was in a good enough state of mind to NOT panic, watching Moacyr with a very 'That's it?' look on her face (first time asking for help and not getting some snide 'from what' comment), cautiously following along after Moacyr while still being PANIIIICCCC. Ish.
She was actually calmly panicking, if one could achieve such an oxymoronic state of being. Which it more of less was. Especially since Tama didn't exactly seem ready to LEAP at making contact with the male, hesitating for a moment before she took Niko's other arm and awkwardly put it around her shoulders, before looking towards the dark male with a frown.
Had his leg gotten any worse since they'd left Salig? She couldn't even remember how it had looked back in the city, just that it had looked really really bad.
It was terrifying.
and frankly getting inside would definitely be a bonus for them all as far as she was concerned. Being out of the cold would definitely be a biiiiiiiiiiig plus. Nice and pleasant and then maybe she could find a corner to hide in.
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:51 pm
Well, repeatedly abusing a leg full of holes by walking on it didn't tend to leave a body in very good condition, and and just the fact that there was enough blood for soaking through his dressings and stanining that pant leg so thoroughly wasn't a very promising sign of the damage underneath.
Granted that Moacyr had seen worse in her time, but it was still pretty far up there on the FAIL scale, and she knew there wasn't time to dawdle, either.
Between the two of them, they'd managed to hoist their poor unconscious luggage upright with only-slightly-more-than-minimum struggle, and from there it all consisted of just a matter of getting him through the door (which a very timid and still-shaky Roselyn was holding and hiding behind), down the little hall and... well, thankfully the door to the guest room door was already half cracked by some grace-of-god fluke, and it only took a light shove with her foot before they were free to keep dragging and flop him on the bed.
Mmm, no doubt she'd probably be scrubbing blood off those sheets later, but that was irrelevant now.
"You stay here with him for now; I'll be back in just a minute with some supplies..." she noted to her new (awake) guest, even having enough left in her to muster up a faint motherly smile before it was OFF AND DOWN TO THE BATHROOM.
Which just left a bloody-pantsed Niko to lay there and a very nervous Tama to sweat...
And of course there was Roselyn, too, who greeted her Mother timidly at the door and just received a soft pat on the shoulder for her concerns.
"Why don't you make us something to drink in the meanwhile, mm?... I think our guest needs something to calm her down a little, don't you?"
"Y-Yes, Momma..."
Such a good little daughter she was (and it would keep her busy while 'Momma' took care of all the nice ugly fixing of a certain Nikolas, too). Poor guy, he really did look like something the cat had dragged in and mangled.
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:05 pm
And being camped out at the side of a semi-dead man wasn't something Tamara was enjoying that much either, having taken a moment to go retrieve her 'borrowed' clothing from outside to drape over the back of a chair while she loomed in the room, carefully, and hesitantly, reaching out once again to run her fingers through her companion's hair.
"Niko......." her voice trailed off a bit before she looked down at his leg and sighed deeply, frowning before she pulled her hand back to herself.
Nnn.... he looked creepily peaceful in his sleep - a thought that by itself almost disturbed her. He had more than willingly terrorized a house at pain of his own body over her. Why hadn't he just ignored her and allowed himself to go on with his household duties without giving a s**t about her?
She couldn't even count how many men who had been 'guests' to the household had done just that.
..
..
The thought made her physically sick, to be honest, clamping a hand over her mouth to make sure she didn't vomit over the already SADLY RUINED bedspread.
She just felt.. uncomfortable, and even though Niko was someone she feared, she would have felt safer if he'd been awake.
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:37 pm
Left so briefly to themselves in that strange, dimly lit little bedroom, this time, there was a slight shudder in response to his name-- one ear twitching as if making the attempt to respond, but... that was the extent of motion, and he was otherwise oblivious to all, lost in his own sick, bloody, smudged together dreams.
The air of the house was nice and warm, though, and the general atmosphere, despite its foreignness, had a relatively comfortable feeling about it... which was being built upon by the smell of tea spices leaking out of the kitchen as Roselyn concocted her latest batch and Moacyr, finally having collected all she needed, made her (not so) triumphant return, hauling a nice big first aid kit under one arm and a mess of other supplies under the other.
"Well, let's see what we're dealing with here..." Exasperated, sure, but matter of fact, dumping all she carried at the foot of the bed and, without further ado, whipping out a pair of scissors to start cutting that one pant leg right off just above the giant bloody patch.
She wasn't going to mess around, obviously, and it wasn't thirty seconds before she'd run a slit up the side of it and tossed the rag to one side, sliding the blade up through those old bloodsoaked bandages next to get an eyeful of what she was working with, a--
"... I'm going to guess that this is a very stubborn boy who insisted on walking off a bullet wound, hmm?" There was kind of a sad amusement to her voice right then, though it wasn't really amused at all, just... empathetic, really. She knew the pain of overly stubborn boys all too well. "And you..." Now there was an ever-so-brief glance back over her shoulder at Tama. "I'm going to take a wild guess in the dark that you came from Salig, dear?..."
Because of course, she knew what a nobreed in heavy winter clothes meant too.
But ah, no, she'd talk while she fished out a bottle of antiseptic, some thread, a needle, and of course fresh bandages to cover up the mess when she was all done.
(Thank god she knew enough to play field medic without her husband, too. It was just rare that she did the stitching herself.)
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