"You answered the question in your own question." She sighed, looking up at the celling. "she has a tigers body, a tiger may kill its prey with its jaws, but it secures its prey with its claws." She spoke with some sharpness too it.
She looked out into the rain, it was very tempting to go out and just sit in it.
Even more tempting to just leave.
Something made her stay she didnt know exactly what, but she stayed for that one uncertain thing.
“Well, I know,” he started running a hand through his braids again. “But you need a tiger’s jaws if you’re going to crush it’s windpipe.” He paused, lowering his gaze in thought. “How did she kill the alien, exactly?”
"you can easily crush a windpipe underfoot." she turned to look at him running a hand hrough his braids. "She asked me to cover my ears so i think she screamed or somehing of the sort."
He shrugged. “I suppose. But that’s interesting, maybe she’ll kill it that way. Whatever it is…”
He hoped she wasn’t going to bring them alien meat. But he decided to not worry about that, more questions coming to mind.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what are your abilities? You did a lot back there.”
"Well i guess, theres not much else to talk about." She sighed, looking away from looking at him.
"I can control and manipulate darkness and dark matter. The aliens have been training me to use it skillfully ever since well, since i was there. I think i was like a kid, or something." SHe shrugged not remembering how old she is lel.
“Ah, I see,” he sighed. “And would you mind telling me your name, since you know mine?”
Hmm, so she’s been with the aliens for most of her life. That explains a lot. He would need to be careful, if she‘s still loyal to them. Then again, she seems very… what’s the word? Détachée, apathique, perhaps? He shrugged internally. He probably shouldn’t mistake that for disloyalty though. But there’s got to be at least one rebellious bone in her body.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden cough. He turned away from the girl, holding an arm up to his face.
(Idk long boi part 2?)
(ye ye also what words was he saying?)
(Detached, apathetic)
(ah ok)
(I’m so sorry idk if this is too long or not-)
They were silent for a long time, just holding each other. Alister tried to speak, but his voice came out as a croak. “So-“ he coughed, his voice clearing. “So how did you get from then to now? If you’d be willing to talk about it.”
Noel stayed silent, thinking. “I’m willing,” she sighed.
She shifted, her face lifting from his chest. “It’s a better story to tell, anyway.”
“That’s good.” He wasn’t sure what else to say.
She shrugged faintly, deep in thought. “After I got the other pair of arms, I could tell my abilities had gotten more powerful. I think that’s what the aliens wanted, to see what would make a human’s ability more… expansive. But it worked too well,” she gave a rueful grin. “I realized what I was capable of, and I resolved to not let Willow die in vain, to… I don’t know, use what was given to me. They were taking me to get an X-ray done, I think. And suddenly, I felt like I could see every air molecule around us if I looked hard enough. I remember twitching my wrists in the cuffs, and they broke apart at the force of air I created. I think I pushed the aliens away from me… and I was running around, trying to find the exit, but they didn’t have English translations for the maps or signs, so eventually I just thought to go through the ceiling. I managed to make it crumble, and thank goodness it was one story in that area. When I was flying in open air, I guess the panic went away and I realized what I did. I wasn’t sure if I should be proud or ashamed.”
“Wait,” Alister interjected. “Why?”
She shrugged. “I guess I felt like I was using something she should have. I was using her power without permission. Her power, which she’d never again have the chance to use.”
“Well, it’s like you said,” he fiddled with his thumbs. “You didn’t let her die in vain. You used what was given to you to get yourself out. I think she’d be okay with that.”
An almost unnoticeable smile crept up on Noel’s features. “Yeah. I think so too.”
She sighed, straightening. “Eventually I got tired, and found a good spot to land, with no one around. Then I found a family who was willing to take me in. I stayed with them for about… two weeks. Then it turned out that they were the servants to some aliens, and Malachi was leading a group to rescue them.”
“Oh, sorry,” Alister looked up. “Can you tell me who exactly he is?”
“He’s the leader of the rebellion. The one I’m second in command to.”
“Ah, okay.” His eyed widened. So he’s the one they lost?
“So they basically rescued me along with them. Oh, the eldest son was one of the other guys besides Evan who got arrested. I wonder how he’s doing. Anyway, when I found out I was in District 6 and not District 3, I was severely tempted to go back and look fo you. But the rebels, including Malachi, reminded me how far away and dangerous it was, yada yada. I was still debating if I should go when I remembered the date I last saw before escaping, and I realized that it had been about 2 years since I’d seen you at that point. I didn’t know what you had been doing in all that time. So, I decided to wait and take my chances with the rebels, and gather information about you on the side.
“At first, they treated me like the thirteen year old that I was- which was nice, actually. Since, y’know,” she grinned ironically. “They treated me like an actual human being. And since I was underfed, I didn’t really do anything for a while except eat and sleep with that same family. Then I started helping out with the medics, treating people when they came back from missions and expeditions and things. Then… I think the rebels needed more people to join and support them. Malachi and a few others were going around, spreading the word and such. Then he came up to me. He said he knew I was already helping out, but he wondered if I was strong enough to at least plan out the missions, and eventually be part of one. I was kinda tired of sitting around in the med bay, having made virtually no progress where you were and what you were doing, so I said yes. After that…” she tilted her head slightly, bemused. “That’s when I properly met Evan. I’d seen him a few times, and treated him before, but we didn’t exactly talk much until I started working with the others in Malachi’s house. He kinda reminded me of you.” She turned her warm gaze to Alister.
He reddened. “Really?”
She nudged him playfully. “Yeah, y’know, he got super protective once he found out how old I was and how I’d spent a long time recovering from malnutrition. And he’s sweet, like a golden retriever. And don’t tell him this, but even his worst jokes made me laugh.”
He smiled weakly, trying not to cry. “Really?”
“Stop saying that. Anyway, I’m not sure how it happened, but I guess I had a talent for coming up with escape routes, and when I started going on missions, adapting on the fly. Eventually, Malachi told me he wanted me to be his second in command. Not full time, besides, we had to take my age and health into account. But he said I’d be perfect for coming up with strategies and game plans for him. And I thought that would come with more knowledge and such to keep me informed about you. So I accepted, and we’ve been pretty great so far. Not without bumps in the road, of course.” She shrugged. Then she sighed, biting her lip. “It’s going to be a major setback if he’s gone though. We might have to rely on the rebels here in ‘7, but it might get dangerous if that goes on for too long… are you okay?”
Alister gave a weak chuckle as he wiped his eyes. “I’m fine. Just… I can’t believe- I’m so proud of you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Now you’re just being cheesy, Ali. I mean, I can’t believe you served in the prison cafeteria.”
That made him laugh hard. Now he wasn’t sure where the tears were coming from. Noel joined in, wheezing.
“You should sleep,” he said after they had calmed down.
“No, it’s alright-“ a yawn caught her off guard.
“Are you sure?” He grinned. He laid down on the bed, pulling her onto his chest.
“Hey…” she protested, but her voice was low and soft. “I have questions for you too. There’s so much we didn’t get to talk about.”
“I know, I want to talk more too,” his grin slid off. “but I’m also getting tired.”
“Fine.” She got into a more comfortable position, snuggling up underneath his arm. “This is nice. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah…” Alister mumbled. They didn’t sleep together the previous night. At last, he truly felt at peace for the first time since they got to the inn. And Alister finally, truly knew that he had his sister back.
(Awwwwww I love that.)
(Awww I’m glad)
“Ah, I see,” he sighed. “And would you mind telling me your name, since you know mine?”
Hmm, so she’s been with the aliens for most of her life. That explains a lot. He would need to be careful, if she‘s still loyal to them. Then again, she seems very… what’s the word? Détachée, apathique, perhaps? He shrugged internally. He probably shouldn’t mistake that for disloyalty though. But there’s got to be at least one rebellious bone in her body.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden cough. He turned away from the girl, holding an arm up to his face.
"Yeah, about that, i dont really remember what my name is. They just called me Arden so much thats all i really know and i dont even know if thats my name or just something they nicknamed me." She put a hand to her neck, raising a brow when he turn to cough into his arm.
"the reason i know your name is because they assigned you as my target and they always have me memroize the detailings of my targets incase i need to play a role that knows things about you i previously would not." she spoke looking at him.
(there- sorry i forgot lol)
When he heard the name Arden, he nearly fought the urge to vomit. He took a gulping breath, trying to calm himself as his mind raced.
“Arden? Arden?” He choked. He waited a few minutes before he spoke again, his body in a much better condition to do so.
“Your surname is Arden?” He rasped, unable to quite make the connection at fist. “Why did he never mention you…?” He muttered under his breath.
He was willing to bet, since Evan’s ID code was 0632, that this was Arden 0631. Despite her size, there was reason to believe that she was older than him. And now that he was thinking about it, they did share some features…
"whats so gosh dang special about the name Arden?" she huffed seeing his reaction and watching it unfold.
"if by surname you mean last name then i suppose so," she huffed once more, pouting that couldnt understand why he was freaking out over it.
"And whos He?" she asked, crossing her arms at him having heard him mutter.
(Kali: huffing intensifies)
He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to collect his thoughts. “Sorry, it’s just-“
I’m back! With food, too.
The creature sang as she entered, a dead doe on her back. The first thing Malachi noticed was that the doe’s ears had dried blood on them, but no other injuries seemed evident on its body.
She gently lowered and shuffled it off her back, then started tearing it into smaller pieces with her claws. Malachi simply stared, still thinking.
Okay, so it seems that they don’t know each other… which makes sense, considering how different their paths seemed to have gone. Though, that raises the question, how did they become so separated? Maybe he could figure out her first name when he got back… And would it be wise to tell her? Or maybe….
The smell of deer carcass brought him out of his thoughts. He turned to Arden. “I don’t know about you, but I like my meat cooked. You got a way to make a fire?”
"Ah, Welcome back." She turned to the creature, watching as it teared up the deer carcus. she turned back to Malachi to stare at him. "i like my meat cooked yes."
she held her hand up and stared at it, eventually a dark, black flame slowly but surely got stronger in her hand and she tossed it at some sticks.
“Convenient,” he remarked.
Once the creature had finished tearing, she padded away from the humans, and shook the rain off her fur before coming back and tilting her head. Fire. I remember… she trailed off. Cook mine too? she pawed her share of meat, the biggest one.
"I've never really done that before." she held a flame in her hand and go up eslking over o the big cut of meat and starting to cook it.
(Hhh sorry got a bit of writer’s block)
About two hours later
The woman who brought the wheelchair, Bimala, gently opened the door. She pushed her glasses up her nose and peeked in, just as Evan sat up.
“Oh good, you’re awake. You might wanna come downstairs again, Talon and Trenton are here, along with the others who were part of the invasion. Do you know if the Storm siblings are awake?”
She spoke softly, without the rushed quality from before.
Evan*)
he smiled at her before shaking his head.
"Unfortunately no I don't know if they are awake or where they might be sleeping." He sighed, getting up and getting the wheelchair.
"Do I have to?' he asked already knowing what the answer would be.
(Oh shoot I forgot to mention that Talon and maybe one of your characters were the other rebels who got arrested with Evan, so he would know them somewhat. Also whoops, thanks)
“Ah, alright.” She walked in, pulling a cylindrical device out of her pocket. “Just thought I’d ask you, just in case. Just to check in.”
She kneeled at the side of his bed, shrugging. “Well, depends on how your feeling. They only came here because Malachi isn’t, so they weren’t sure where to go. Mrs. Collins and some of the other ‘7 rebels are going to decide with us what to do next. Anyway, I need to check your temperature.” She gave a small smile and held up the device. “And then I’ll need to check your wounds and put fresh bandages on.”