A friend in need

[Hadrian]

Blades of grass gently shifted to the left against one another as the winds, while soft, were unrelenting. The contact with foliage caused a frequent crackling, breaking the nightly calm provided by nature. No animal in their right mind would choose to travel in this kind of darkness, granted that they were unprotected.

One very tall, feline-like being, on the other hand, could threaten, or provoke anything she so chose. This time of night proved to be perfect for using the clear meadows as her playground. As well as being very tall, she was also covered in light tanned fur, with bat-like pointed ears which are larger in comparison to her head, with a feline like facial structure, and a long tail built for a runner. She stood on strong digitigrade legs, which gave her her height, and her eyes were wide, green with an orange ring around thr pupils. Her lips were parted, showing her englarged upper canines, just visible past the lips and built perfectly for a hunter.

Her name was Viph. She was advantageous in any sort of situation, able to petrify anything that moved. Unfortunately for the smaller animals, she was out on her hunt.

And even worse, she was extremely hungry.

It had been a few days since she had caught herself a decent meal; the last thing she had eaten was a rabbit, and it hadn't taken long at all to reduce that to a mess of bones and fur. Viph had found a perfect hiding spot in a tangled mesh of bushes bordering a large grassy field overlooking the sparking lights of the city, Hobart. The houses and buildings shone like thousands of little fires underneath the bright groupings of countless stars. The vast area of grass before Viph seemed like a good grazing spot for herbivores.

First lesson of leading a successful hunt; shut up. The second; keep downwind. You don't want prey to catch on to your scent. Three; know your strengths, and the strength of your prey. Just because she was a predator, didn't mean that all animals were afraid of her. Take a rabbit for example; he'd run away at the sight of her. Though some, say horses, weren't afraid of her because she did not travel in a pack. On her own, the chances of her successfully taking down a horse (unless it was young, or very old) were slim.

That's where lesson four comes in. Once you find your ideal prey, you stalk in order to get as close as you can. And when the time is right, you ambush them. Viph constantly scanned the area for prey, waiting patiently as she sniffed at the air. She could smell something; a herbivore. Many creatures of Earth were still unfamiliar to the feline alien, but the difference between herbivores and carnivores were obvious, their scent was different.

For a while, Viph feared that her patience was in vain befrore she spotted the shadowy figures of a couple of kangaroos appear onto the field, a good two or three hundred meters away. Knowing her legs gave her a running advantage, she had no doubts she'd be able to clear the distance easily. Even hunting alone, she had high expectations.

Viph never did enjoy working with the other hunters of her former hive. Hunting was about teamwork, but in her old hive, it was about competition and getting in the leaders good graces. Some were lazy when it came to doing the actual work, only pitching in once their prey was already down. A few only wanted to maul, and in their frenzy they would often bite the others. One would stoop to any means if it made herself look good and the others look foolish.

It had been so long since she hunted with another kut'lari that she almost forgot the rush it gave her. Hunting solo gave you a rush, but it just wasn't the way it should be. Having someone else around to help meant an easier meal. But working on your own, there was no one showing off, you got the job done and Viph liked that.

After deciding on the kangaroo being a good choice, she planned out her hunting strategy. With her long legs and tail built for running, she knew it wouldn't take long before she'd be able to make a pounce for one of the kangaroos. They were the grey variety, smaller than the dusty red kind, though had the means to cause a lot of damage if spooked.

If fleeing, they would rely on their speed and endurance to escape from predators. When threatened by other mammals, kangaroos would "box" using their front claws, and had great balance on their heavy tails, able to deliver a strong kick with their powerful hind legs, equipped with sharp claws.

Viph waited patiently for the marsupials to venture further into the meadow, giving herself the advantage of making sure they had less oppertunity to flee back into the trees. Realising her prey looked set to move on, Viph tensed her muscles, crouching low as she prepared to make a run at the creatures. Stealthfully, she slipped with natural grace past the mesh of bushes before creeping on all fours with the grass trailing along her belly, through the darkness towards the grey mob. Her eyes glowed dimly under the light provided by the twinkling starlight. There were five of them. One male, three females, and a young one, not quite fully grown.

Viph was almost 100 meters from the creatures now, when suddenly there was a change in wind direction, and to Viphs dread, the kangaroos turned to face her direction, fleeing not a few seconds later. With a feral snarl, Viph made her leap. The kangaroo mob moved fast in strong leaps, in a desperate attempt to survive. But Viph was easily clearing the distance, she was close on their heels. She moved her stiff tail side to side every now and then, maintaining her ballance as she ran in persuit of her escaping meal. Closing in, she leaped into the air with a vicious growl and leaped lightly onto one of the kangaroos back and dug her long claws into the creatures soft chest. The kangaroo cried out mournfully before crashing to the ground under Viph's weight. Once she had her prey pinned, she sunk her frightening canines into it's neck with a sickening crunch, finishing it off once and for all.

The cat looked down at her meal with a satisfied smirk playing upon her crimson stained lips, watching as blood slowly seeped into the grass. It was the youngest of the mob, not quite fully grown. Didn't matter, it was better than a rabbit. Viph's camp was not far from here; at least a half hour walk. It was a shallow, but surprisingly spacious cave she called her own. There she would skin her catch, eat some of it's meat, dry what was left, and use it's fur, claws, teeth and bones. None of the kangaroo would be wasted.

She was about to sling her meal over her shoulder to move it, but that thought was cut mid sentence as her vision was filled with a flash of bright, blinding golden light, and her ears were assulted with an otherwordly screeching sound that seemed to fill the whole sky. Shielding her face with an arm, Viph blinked away the echoes just in time to see a massive... thing... crash through the forest to her left, smashing trees out of it's way, and eventually skidding to a halt just feet away from her.

Viph remained crouched, not out of a desire to remain undetected, but because she was stunned. She stared at the seemingly mammoth sized objects, noting the absence of any fur, the spinning circular objects where its legs should be, the clear sheet of ice-like material where its head should be. She scoured the thing with her eyes, looking for any discernible way to gain entry.

Viph's muscles tensed as she gazed through the clear sheet at the innards of the objects as she realised, somehow, that there were humanoid things inside. As she looked closer, panic rose within her.

"Aliens." She muttered to herself.

The wind changed direction, bringing new scents for her to pick up on. Her heart raced in panic as the strong scent of the aliens filled her nostrils. She crouched even lower, intending now to gauge how many of them there were.

She remained forcibly motionless, uncertain if there were any alive in the object. Should she try to help? Her heart surged with anxiety. Two possibilities crossed her mind; the government might have seen the crash, they may come to retrieve the object and whatever inside. These beings may have a scouting party may come to search for them. She did not know if they were hostile or not. It was too risky to stay.

But... she wasn't sure why she even wanted to help. Her thoughts wondered back to the time very long ago now, where she had helped a young creature called Sasha to escape the facility in Miami. Viph helped then, regardless of whether it was 'too risky' or not. Sasha had an interesting hive. Although Viph had not seen them for such a very long time, she still thought of them from time to time. Before they were all sent here, to this place more suited to Viph's needs in regards to environment, they were told that it was 'paranormal' friendly and that they would be more accepted here. Regardless though, Viph eventually set out alone. She just looked too different. Sasha and her mother Xara were the most different of them all with their tails and their large ears. Still, they seemed to take anybody in. It was in their nature to help... but if Viph don't help these people, then all of that changed... she was not sure how many beings - paranormal or not - would still be alive if they worried about the risk first.

---------------------------------

The sounds of screams, and car horns blaring stung Viph's ears as she walked, hackles raised through the streets of Hobart. She had no clue where to search first. Hobart was a big city, and Viph was one very small being in comparison. People walking alone, in singles, or in groups all gave her a wide berth. She glanced around at all of the humans, aware and very alert of any possible dangers. So far she had the impression that she was percieved as the main danger dwelling the streets tonight.

Cars swerved or stopped right in front of her as she walked, forcing her to walk along the footpath. "Excuse me, kitty cat!" Viph glanced towards a young male, dressed in weird clothes the color of blue, with a shaved head, and a cautious gaze. She sniffed the air in his direction, and took a few steps towards him. Almost automatically, his hand hovered beside his belt, and Viph realised there was a holstered gun there. "Do you speak?"

Viph's eyes lingered upon the belt for a moment, before she looked directly at the male; he was a man of authority. "Yes," she nodded her head once. "I am searching for a human called Sasha. You are a man of..." what was the word? "... the "law", yes? You should be able to help me."

Obviously a little taken aback, the man looked hessitant. "I might be able to help," he said. "But in order to do that I need you to step off of the streets and let me take you to the station."

"What is "the station"?" Viph's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Where I work," he told her, unconcerned by the lingering passerbys who wished to eavesdrop into the strange conversation. "I have equipment there that I can use that might help you look for Sasha."

------

Viph stood in the middle of the busy station which the police officer, who called himself James Donovan had taken her to. He sat at a computer, tapping away at the keyboard as she waitied with baited patience for the information she seeked. But, as he had explained, going off simply a given name, without knowledge of a surname he was unsure how long it would take to track her down. Fortunately, records showed simply one Sasha living in Hobart, with the surname Malhotra. He took a phone, and dailed the number, glancing up at Viph as he did so.

Even from her place above the desk, Viph could hear the phone ringing within the earpiece; it rang six times before anyone responded. It was a makes voice on the other line. "Hello sir, my name is Officer James Donovan from the Hobart PD. I was wondering if a miss Sasha Malhotra was available? I have a friend of hers here called Viph. She's been very eager to find her."

[BassPosaune]

A young woman sat in the moonlight of her backyard, legs crossed, ears at ease, with a calm expression on her worry-worn features. She was the perfect silhouette of her mother from some bygone era, when the warrior princess was, herself, just a girl. Young, inexperienced, but with the gravity of her past and the prospect of an equally dark future pressing down on her like earth around coal these forces created a mature, collected mask.

Hadrian suggested something like meditation to keep her split personality, his make-believe childhood friend Vyrdt, from making regular appearances. Vyrdt only ever showed up in times or immense stress or fear—talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve. Sasha inhaled and exhaled in a measured manner and she soon lost herself in the movement of her diaphragm .The counting between breaths became automatic, more a feeling than a measured thing, and it soothed her. Her mind began to wander over the songs Vyrdt had taught her and the melodies served as a sort of a calming agent and Sasha began to sway to the pulse. Both her parents were working that evening, and the house was quiet. She could have her alone time to think and to meditate without her mother pressing her for information about her so-called “fragile emotional state”.

As she meditated, and the world seemed to slip steadily away from her, her mind wandered ever further. She had no control over where it went to. Blood filled her vision as she remembered Carmen’s birth, and the horror she’d felt when she witnessed, for the first time, Tara and Azure’s feeding ritual. Albeit, that time was an exception, for Tara was frantically in need of blood and the process was more messy and violent than usual. It was not so much that Sasha blamed her aunts for being the way they were and needing the things they needed. She was simply shocked, and the grizzly sight had stunned her into undeserved fear of the two women. Although the jarring effect had worn off, and Sasha was left with a new respect for her beloved aunts a respect which was, to Sasha, priceless. Her mind shifted to her mother, the war-weary warrior with red hair and dull green eyes. Once sharp with defiance, Xara’s eyes had grown dull from weary, practiced caution and a deep pain that never seemed to leave her. Something terrible, somewhere in her past, had happened to her and it had changed her. Her relationship with Dylan seemed to heal much of that pain, but it still was there, and Sasha loathed to think of what the woman hid behind those many carefully constructed walls in her link that concealed exactly what it was that made her so terribly sad…

The ringing of the phone made Sasha jump to her feet and she scampered into the living room to pluck it from its perch. “Hello?” she answered, her voice sounding far away and foreign to her as she spoke, still recovering from her session. Her brows furrowed as she listened to the man speak. “This is Sasha Malhotra…who is it that is looking for me?” she challenged slightly.

“She says her name is Viph.”

Sasha nearly dropped the phone. “V-Viph? Is she a big…cat lady?”

“Yeah that’s her. Do you know her? I found her wandering around the streets she looked a bit lost…”

“Where is she?” Sasha clung to the phone desperately. Was it real? Was this really Viph? It had to be.

“At the police station--”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Sasha hung up the phone and quickly threw on a pair of shoes. She scribbled a note for Candy or her parents to find in case someone was missing her, and within moments was speeding down the street on her bicycle, her tail waving in the wind like a red flag. Her mind was working so fast it felt like she was barely thinking at all. Viph… it was really Viph. That was the thought that stood out the most out of all her questions… that and the woman’s smiling, kind, protective eyes. She nearly hopped off the bicycle before it stopped moving once she reached the station. She climbed the stairs two at a time and shoved her way into the building. She didn’t see Viph right away, and with a sinking heart she thought she had been tricked. But then, as her frantic eyes searched, they landed on the golden furred angel—her protector, Viph.

Sasha was hard pressed not to fall to her knees. She took a few tentative steps toward Viph, then some faster, more confident ones, launching her into a squeezing embrace. “Viph…”she sighed into the woman’s fur, drinking in her scent greedily. She exhaled and balled some of Viph’s fur into her fists, grinning madly. “Oh Viph… I’ve missed you so much.” She muttered, “Voethe. Voethe! How did you find me? Where have you been?”

[Hadrian]

The whole phone call lasted a few minutes, at most. After the officer placed the phone back onto the reciever, he assured her that Sasha Malhotra would arive in ten minutes. Minutes were still an unfamiliar concept to Viph. As were seconds, and hours. While at the facility, there were no clocks, or people to educate her on the prospect of time. She only knew time depending on the possition of the sun, and moon cycles.

In the meantime, the policeman asked her about where she had been living, and cautioned her on wandering through the streets the way she had. She had been lucky enough as it was not to be hit by a car. Viph sat - rather awkwardly considering the lenth of her legs - in one of the hard, uncomfortable chairs as various phones went off around her, keys on keyboards clicked, printers whirring, and people chattered about things she did not find interesting.

The ten minutes dragged by for what felt like too long. It had been too long since Viph had seen Sasha that a few more minutes should have seemed like nothing. Perhaps not nothing, exactly. But more bareable then how it currently felt as she waited. Sometimes she would meet other law officials gazes, and she could see that their looks were more out of curiosity, then fear.

Then, a familiar and all but forgotten scent filled Viph's nostrils. Her heart skipped a beat, as a small red-haired girl, immediately recognisable and welcome, seemed to manifest herself from the other policemen and right into her plain sight. "Sasha!" Her lips rose into a cat-like smile, showing off her fangs. She was so focussed on Sasha that she barely paid any attention to anything else. Suddenly, all other sounds faded, and all that mattered was the sight in front of her. "You have been missed as well!"

"You have grown so much, little voethe!" She held Sasha in front of her to get a better view of her. She certainly wasn't the tiny little girl she had known just a couple of years ago. Did all beings of her species age so quickly? It wasn't long ago that she was just a little child, and now she looked almost fully mature. "If not for James Donovan I may not have found you so easily."

The officer had watched the reunion between the two friends in front of him with the interest of someone who hadn't dealt with too many paranormals before. He was a young guy, so probably still fairly new to the force. "Try to keep your friend off of the road," He cautioned Sasha lighty. "She was startling traffic."

"I have who I was looking for, thank you officer." Viph offered the man a grateful smile. She was learning official titles quickly. Placing a hand on Sasha's shoulder, she then proceeded to walk them out of the station and into the streets lit with car headlights, the electricity inside of buildings, and streetlights. The noise of the place made Viph's ears swivel this way and that, trying to make sense of everything she could hear.

"I am sorry that it took so long for to find you," She told Sasha, the conviction deep in her voice as she stepped into a spot which offered just a little more darkness. "I have been living in the forests, towards the mountain direction," She told her. "It is better than this city, I think. Quiet. I want your help," Viph admitted. "Something large fell from the sky. It appeared from nowhere, seemingly out of nothing but a bright flash of light. I think that there are beings in it. But I do not know how to get inside of it. I assume that it is a space ship. But I have no knowledge of them." In a human-like fashion, she chewed on the side of her lip. "Do you know anyone who has knowledge of them?"

[BassPosaune]

Sasha took Viph’s much larger hand in hers and swung them as they walked along the sidewalk. She was so happy to have Viph back in her life, although the ever-worrisome young girl was terrified of losing her again. She had all but forgotten Viph after they moved to Hobart. Starting a new school, getting used to a new country and, essentially, a new family, was more than enough to occupy her mind with. But with recent revelations in her family dynamics and the uncertainty of more facility drama in her life, Sasha had begun to miss her voethe dearer and dearer as the days dragged on and she found her thoughts wandering back to the comfort Viph had provided her. Part of the personality that made up Vyrdt, Sasha believed, was due to Viph’s influence, although nearly ninety-five percent of Vyrdt was Hadrian’s creation alone.

Sasha was elated to find out that Viph was back but, much to her pleasant surprise her second thought, aside from incredible joy, ran along the lines of recruitment. Her mother would certainly approve of Sasha’s train of thought, of course, since it showed forethought toward the group and planning for future battles. Viph was big. She was big, and she was lethal, and above all, she was loyal. Sasha could rely on Viph, and Viph could rely on Sasha for the little amount of protection the young girl could provide for the seven-foot warrior. Sasha would certainly try her best to help Viph in whatever ways she could, in any case.

Sasha took long, graceful strides under the faint lamplight beside her companion, although the other woman would always have a larger stride than her. Sasha tried to keep up as best she could without looking like she was trying, though she knew that if she were to walk at a comfortably brisk pace, Viph would likely need to shorten her pace substantially to match.

She twitched her shoulders at Viph’s story. A younger version of Sasha would have doubtlessly chattered Viph’s ears off, but this one was simply content with listening, thinking, and puzzling. She was becoming a fantastic troubleshooter, so she thought. She had taken an interest in politics and law, with the intent of one day becoming a lawyer or a politician. She frowned deeply for a moment.

“A space ship?” she murmured thoughtfully. Sasha looked up at Viph, “And you don’t think anyone else saw? We should probably get on that. Those poor people… well; we know what will happen to them. I know two people who could be able to help, but only one person who I know for sure knows spaceships. He’s a good guy, I think he’ll help.” She grinned.

- - -
Sasha rapped on the door to Hadrian’s home and waited for an answer. She and Viph had walked to Hadrian’s place from the police station. Hadrian was the only person Sasha knew for sure had a chance to help, though Dylan was a strong contender, nothing beat having actually worked on a spaceship.

“Uncle Hadrian! I need your help!” she called through the closed doors, “Please open up! I have a spaceship related problem that we need to deal with. People’s lives might be in danger! Uncle Hadrian!” she probed with her link, still pounding on the door. She flashed Viph a sly grin, “Be loud and obnoxious, then cute and cuddly. He cannot stand cute and cuddly, especially not when I do it. I’ve got him wrapped around my little finger pretty damn tight.” She winked. “Actually I think I’ve got all the boys in our family wrapped around my finger. And Azure and Tara…especially Tara, because, between you and me, I think she’s the ‘boy’ in the relationship. Which doesn’t really make sense actually… I’m still not sure why gay/lesbian is still a thing. How can it even be a thing? Also I don't see why people think they shouldn't have babies. There are tons of babies out there who need good parents! They tried to adopt and they were denied you know, isn’t that awful? I mean, if they can find it in them to love someone unconditionally despite their gender, or species, or any of that stuff… how does their love make them incapable of being parents? That kind of love is something obviously not a lot of people can muster, considering all the shit they get for being a lesbian couple. It makes me so angry! I just don’t get it.” She sighed heavily, “It’s just not right, y’know?”

Sasha, upon realizing she’d had time for a rant between her knocking and waiting for Hadrian to answer, frowned sharply and banged harder on the door. “UNCLE HADRIAN!”

[Hadrian]

Sasha had often been on Viph's mind. Since they had been forced to move to Hobart, Viph had been unsure of where to go. She did not want to have the public constantly scrutinize her; tonight had been a fine example of that when she had ventured into the city to search for the little kit she now held hands with, hurrying towards the house of the man she had assured would help them. She had missed Sasha terribly though. Now that she knew she could find her little friend, she would be able to see her more, surely, and hopefully without attracting too much attention next time. If it suited Sasha, then perhaps she could visit Viph in the forest sometime.

Viph took deliberate smaller steps as she attempted to walk at Sasha's smaller, slightly slower pace. In thanks to her longer strides, and running abilities, the trip to the city had not taken as long as she had originally anticipated. Walking at human pace however, the trip to Sasha's friends home felt longer then it should. Viph found that despite the situation, she did not mind so much. Every moment with Sasha felt precious. She could not fathom exactly why she felt so protective of the girl; but she knew that it all started at the facility, when she was a small, very helpless thing; like an infant. Now Sasha was older, taller, and stronger. Viph felt relief for that, but also a touch of sadness. Sasha was growing up.

When they finally arived at the home of Sasha's friend, Viph took in the sight, and scent of the new home which she now found herself approaching, memorizing for future refference. If she ever needed to find it, she would.

It took longer than anticipated for her friend to answer the door, and Viph felt impatient. She did not understand Sasha's method of approaching the matter of ensuring that Hadrian would answer the door though. If Viph had her own way, she would have barged in for herself. But she could also smell that there was a female, and a small kit inside. To wake them may risk their mission, but then again, Sasha was already risking this with her insistant knocking and calling out to him.

At long last, he did answer however, looking very tired, and disheveled for a human... or whatever he was. He wore a pair of pants, obviously worn for sleep which hung from his narrow hips, and was shirtless. Viph noticed for the first time, that he had strange black markings below his belly button, as well as the markings that covered his left arm. "Whassap'nin'?" he muttered a word she wasn't sure was English, and then looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Uhm... hi." He yawned after a moment.

Have you ever tried to ignore something regardless of the fact it was consistantly attempting to grab your attention? The sound of something firm rapping against the polished oak front door of the home he shared with Sage and Sirius woke Hadrian, but only enough that he'd thought he may have imagined it at first. But then it happened again, and again, and he disgarded his original hope very quickly. He rolled onto his back, covering his eyes with both palms as he attempted to rub the tiredness from his eyes. Upon opening them, he was forced to blink them several times, waiting for his vision to adjust again.

The sound of rapping on the oak door quickly became that of pounding and soon enough, a mild headache followed. 'Please open up! I have a spaceship related problem that we need to deal with. People’s lives might be in danger! Uncle Hadrian!' A familiar, disembodied voice drifted around his eardrums. Spaceships? Of all the times... what is the time? Glancing towards the digital clock on ths closest bedside table, the red numbers read: 9:13. It was fairly early for sleeping, yes, but some people had to work in the morning, and had a two-year-old tornado of a son to watch out for.

With Sirius in mind, knowing he was a light sleeper, Hadrian pulled back his side of the covers and rose from the matress... the warm, comfortable matress. Beds on Earth were nothing like the beds on his planet; they were more like hammocks. His weh'lay would make the material they were made from. It was a thread-like material; not large enough to be called string, but yet not so small as sewing thread either. To all appearances it was silk, except that it wasn't silk.

The material was unusual. Whatever it was, it was a very strong material. You could take it in two hands and try to snap it, but it wouldn't snap at all, unless cut, and the small fibre's could be taken apart. Nor did it have strands or fibers like silk thread would have. It was used to make, pillow's, shade cloth's, even clothes. The material made was porous. It couldn't hold any air, or water. The material was a fabric, made with minute hole's so that air or water could pass through it. You could try to blow air through it and it would go right through. You could try to burn it and it wont burn easily. The coveralls that Hadrian wore on the night he fell to Earth was made of this material too. He had left it in the farmlands with Ruby and Barty.

With disheveled hair sticking in odd angles, Hadrian yawned loudly as he tottered down the small hallway and towards the front door, muttering under his breath in Andromed. Unlocking the front door, he opened it, and peered out irritably. "Whassap'nin'?" he muttered, but as he realised what he was looking at, his eyes immediately opened wide in shock. Sasha, he had expected. But that cat-woman from Miami?

"Uhm... hi." He yawned again.

------------
Hadrian stared at the mess of trees which littered the forest ground; liturally uprooted from the very earth, and left splintered and broken where ever they lay. Viph walked ahead of both himself, and Sasha as they followed closely, Hadrian sniffing the air and scanning avidly. Logically, he knew he should be at ease, but he remained tense, staring with unease at the object before them, shivers running down his spine as he realised he knew he had seen things like this before.

Once things had been explained to him, and he had written a note for Sage in case she woke up, Hadrian had decided to drive the three of them here to save time; Viph looking very sullen in the front, with the seat right back in an attempt to give her more leg room. It was probably only a 15 minute drive, but he could only imagine just how long it had taken for Viph to walk to the cop station from there.

"This is it?" He asked as they got close enough that he was able to take a better look at the craft. It was disk-shaped, curved at the sides like a mushroom, and roughly about the length of a bus, so Hadrian estimated the circumfrance was roughly 125 ft in diameter. There were only five landing struts attached to the craft; one was absent. Hadrian assumed it had broken off on impact and would need to be found later. The remaining struts had a grayish-white inlay in the centre of them. Hadrian moved slowly, paying attention to the details. Closer to confirming his speculation, Hadrian noticed that the body of the craft itself had not appeared to have been too damaged, though scattered around, there was some sheets of what had fallen from it. The body itself appeared to be made from material not unlike metal and on the top of the craft, he could just see the circular shape of what he could only describe it as strongly resembling frozen ice. It appeared to have "windows" made from the same icey material too. Regardless of the fact that the craft had crashed, the underside of it continued to glow a deep azure.

Viph looked back at Hadrian, cocking her head as if in surprise. "Yes, it is." She replied firmly. She leapt gracefully over a small tree that separated them from the spacecraft. Hadrian stepped onto it, jumping off the other side. Viph made a beeline for what looked like a window, and then turned back to them, pointing at it. "This is where I stood to look into it."

Hadrian walked over to stand beside her - wary of her height - and peered into the thing. It was difficult to see what was happening on the inside, but every so often a small spark of elecrity would crackle inside of it, illuminating four figures for the briefest of a few seconds. With a pensive frown, he moved along the craft, trailing a hand over it's metal-like body. As he moved around, he saw a section of the exterior slightly open and ajar, and he peered into the thing. Almost immediately he retracted, stifling the cough that wanted to erupt out of him as he inhaled the smoke and fumes that slowly filled the thing's innards. "Keep Sasha busy for a moment," He told Viph, who had followed him out of curiosity. "I'm taking a quick look inside." Nodding once, the feline woman turned and headed back to where he assumed Sasha stood.

Hadrian managed to pull at the sheet of material which had been slightly hollowed enough so that he could slip through, and take a better look at the inside. The sheet did not bend, but it had been partially stripped away from the body of the craft itself already. Inside of the craft, everything that wasn't currently now dirtied from soot or debris was polished inside for brightness. He was sure that there would have been a light source somewhere, but it was currently absent. Save for the flickering light offered by electricity which sparked from time to time. Blue light glowed dimly around what looked a lot like control panels, and all around him he could see windows spaced about a meter apart from one another; through one he could see Sasha's and Viph's shadowy figures moving about.

Hadrian did not wish to focus so much on what was around him more than the beings he now stood amongst; as he had presumed, there were four. He looked at each of them with apprehension; none of them were moving. Walking purposefully towards one, he looked at the being closely. It was wearing coveralls. The color of the fabric was a mixture of blue and magenta in color and sewn into the fabric, over the right breast were two words; the first "letter" looked like two small circles on top of eachother, the second was a vertical line with what looked like half an upside-down triangle ballancing on top of that. The next letter was what looked like an "O" with a horizontal line inside of it, stopping in the middle. The next was a ">" shape, then another vertical line with what looked like half an upside-down triangle ballancing on top of that. The other was a what looked like a large "L" and a little one inside of it. The next was a half circle with a smaller circle inside of it.

He didn't need to read the next word. "Senweca" He muttered, reading it. This is an Andromed craft, his suboncious stated. You knew it was from the moment you saw the damn thing. These are Andromed people. Hadrian's eyes immediately shot back up into the face of the being in front of him. It was a male, he realised. The head lolled against the chest. Hadrian did not need to check for a pulse; the eyes were half-open and glazed. The one beside him was female, with long silvery blonde hair. Her neck hung at an unnatural angle. Blood soaked her face; she was also dead. He couldn't even bring himself to look at the next one. The harness which should have strapped the person in had broken. Hadrian could only see the lower half of the body. The rest of it lay in a mangled heap, the torso crushed by some fallen equipment.

Smoke and fumes continued to attempt to assult Hadrian's lungs as he cautiously approached the fourth person, his expectance being that the male would be dead also. Yet to his shock, he was breathing. He was dressed in the same coverall that the others wore, was bald, with a wiry build and the same pale skin as Hadrian's. He looked a little older then the others as well, the corners of his eyes showing early signs of crowsfeet.

Hadrian leant in close, inspecting the males face and torso for signs of injury. He could see that the back of the males head seeped bright red blood, but as he was about to start looking over his torso, the unconscious male inhaled a loud, shuddering gasp.

"Shit!" Hadrian shouted, jumping back in shock, his heart racing. The now-conscious male was looking around wildly, coughing, and talking a million miles an hour in Andromed.

"Hey, hey! Calm dow - ... er... lissa pana reon!" What the heck was he meant to say? First time he'd spoken with any adult of his own species in years and this is how it was turning out? "Su pana akkai sworan." You're not in danger. This wasn't exactly true. With the smoke, and fumes the guy must have inhaled, not to mention his bleeding... things were actually pretty grim.

The male wheezed, coughing harshly as he looked around with glazed, frantic eyes; one blue, and one grey. The bleeding male looked at the others with grief etched on his face, and Hadrian's eyes followed.

"Rayleoskey deo fiiri?" They are dead?

"Li," Hadrian nodded. "Kaah deo lanane su akkou ubb seira." I am helping you out of here.

"Xai deo su?" Who are you?

"Kaah deo Hadrian." They didn't have time to give out names. Hadrian was already unfastening the harness around the guys torso, ready to try and get him out into cleaner air. "Kaah deo commu Senweca akia." I am from Senweca too.[/i] He pointed at the words on the coveralls. "Xai deo su?" Who are you?

"Spar."

As quickly as he could, Hadrian dragged the much battered and vacant Spar to his feet and slung his right arm over his shoulder. The blood gushing from his head pooled onto his jumpsuit as quickly as understanding faded from his eyes. Although Spar was wiry, he was also very heavy, and Hadrian soon found that rather than helping the male walk, he was practically dragging him out of the spacecraft. Fresh air cooled Hadrian's face once he finally managed to get Spar out of the craft, his eyes immediately locking on Viph, who was looking at him in a wide-eyed stare. It annoyed Hadrian intensely; he knew his irritation was at the discomfort of having to lug the other Andromed out of the smokey spacecraft, but he didn't care anymore. "When you're quite finished gawking at us, maybe you could help me?" He growled in annoyance.

Viph pulled a face at him, which looked very much like a sneer, but told Sasha to stay where she was, and hurried forward none the less, scooped up Spar easily into her arms, and with a slightly smug look on her face, she walked to a clearer area, and laid the male down on the grass.

"He is a human?" She asked. Hadrian, swallowing hard as he tried to catch his breath again, shook his head.

"Andromed." At Viph's confused expression, he added; "I'm Andromed. We - we're the same species." Spar was inhaling short, painful-sounding breaths.

"Hadrian," Spar wheezed. Hadrian looked at the guy intently. Spar inhaled shakily, his eyes clouded. "Kalai noran?" What language?

"Korrbin Zuricmura." Planet Earth. "Noran cret English." Language is English.

"Puier cret juarkiik su seira?" There is only you here?

Hadrian's brow creased. "Li." He nodded. "Etro pana galli krafkaa." Do not speak now.

To Hadrian's relief, Spar listened, closed his eyes and relented. "Li," He nodded weakly.

"What do we do with him?" Viph asked. Hadrian looked mildly insulted. "I smell death in that thing," she looked back at the spacecraft. "We must do something with that. Him also. I do not want Sasha to see so much of this."

"I don't know," Hadrian rubbed at the back of his neck. "The only person who knows anything about Andromed anatomy is Dylan, and even he only knows basics, and isn't exactly available, either. He's probably got who knows how many other injuries," He nodded at Spar. "And as far as moving that thing," he jabbed a thumb at the spacecraft. "It will be almost impossible to hide or move."[/size][/color]

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx I didn't want to put any lengthy Andromed speech etc but there it is anyway! I hope it isn't too annoying! Not sure what to do with this Spar guy... don't wanna keep him, but I'm sure Haddy's just glad to have someone to talk to for a little bit. OH, and please please please feel free to RP Viph.

++ TAGS xx Sasha and Viph OH and happy Haddy! [/glow]

[BassPosaune]

“Are you okay?”
“Who are you?”
“A friend.”
“That’s doubtful…”
Xara frowned as she readjusted herself, picking herself up off the pavement to look up at the woman standing before her. She was small yet not short, mouse-like yet confident, and nervous, as if she didn’t like being out in the dark any more than Xara did. The woman extended her hand in a jerking movement to Xara, who brushed it away impatiently.

“Tcha! You should have stayed out of it.” She hissed, “You could have gotten hurt.” She said as she rose stiffly from the warm pavement.
“You did get hurt,” the woman countered a lot more bravely than Xara expected,

“If it wasn’t for me who knows what would have happened!”

Xara fixed her hair and adjusted her clothing so it all fit roughly as it had before, frowning at the other woman. “Well, thanks, but it’s my job.”

“They should have more than one person doing this at a time, it’s not safe!”

Xara rolled her eyes; if this woman only knew…! “Thank you for your concern but it’s not necessary. Goodnight.” She turned on her heel, shaking her head at the brown haired woman’s infuriating insistence. She could have taken those men on easily…eventually, once they allowed her to get up off the ground. She had been working on a solution when some meddling woman with pepper spray came in and scared them all off. Talk about poaching a kill, she thought glumly. Not to mention unintentionally insulting her pride. Xara stalked off down the road, angrily picking dried blades of grass off her coat. The woman followed her after a moment’s hesitation.

“You’re bleeding…are you okay? I’m a doctor; I can help.”

“I’m married to a doctor,” she explained tersely (it was easier to tell people she was married to him and, by her cultures standards, she was), “And I was a nurse for five years. I think I’m okay, thank you.”

The brown haired woman frowned dejectedly, “Oh.” She said, “Well… it’s too dangerous to be walking around alone at night in this neighborhood… I should really come with you, at least until the bus exchange.”

“Really, I’m fine.”

The brown haired woman cast a nervous glance over her shoulder, “Actually I mean for my protection… I don’t know how to defend myself properly like you can.”

Xara ground her teeth. Patience, Xara, she thought. Patience. “You did just fine a few moments ago. I think you will be alright. How do you even know we’re going in the same direction?”

She turned to give the woman a questioning glance, to which she replied, “I don’t know…which way are you going?”

“East.”

The woman spread her arms wide in triumph, “Hey! That’s where I’m going!”

“Actually I’m going North-West.” Xara smirked darkly. The other woman frowned, “Now you go East, and I’ll go North-West, and we’ll both be on our merry little ways. Sound good to you?”
“But what if they--”
“Lady: go home.”

Xara faced off with the other woman on the deserted sidewalk; swathed in the yellow light of streetlamps her eyes glowed a terrible light and she felt the woman shrink away slightly under their glare. The other woman frowned,

“You took a hard fall back there, you were out for like, a minute. You might have a concussion…at least let me make sure you get home? You did save my life, after all. I’m a nurse…I might be able to help you.”

Xara grunted and rubbed the bloody bump on the back of her head gently. It ached at the lightest touch of her fingertips. She had found the strange woman under siege by some disgruntled dance club customers and chased them off, not before one of them managed to smack her head into a metal pole and knock her to the ground, which was when the woman pulled out her pepper spray (Xara assumed) and chased them away. Unfortunately, Xara seemed to have gained a shadow in the odd woman and in her slightly frazzled state Xara threw her hands to her side in defeat and sighed.

“Alright, you can walk me to my house and then you go home. Yes?”

The woman grinned and bounded toward Xara happily, “Yes, okay, that’s great. Oh,” she held out her hand, “Name’s Delilah by the way. Delilah VanAlan.”

Xara gave the woman a skeptical look. Delilah –seemed- friendly and earnest enough. She was trying to be less of a pessimist: it was bad for her complexion. She shook her head and took Delilah’s hand in her own to give it a firm shake. “Xara,” she said, “Xara Hope.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sasha hung back, green eyes wide not with fear, but with fascination. She sensed Hadrian wanted her to stay back and, for once, she did as she was told. Hadrian was the expert on space ships and Sasha could only begin to imagine the terrible things that could and would go wrong with a ship as damaged as the one she beheld before her. ‘Oh, Uncle Hadrian, be careful!’ she thought to him as he disappeared into the wrecked ship. To lose him again would be unbearable.

She waited with Viph on the slope of the hill, gazing into the wreckage as she waited for her uncle to reappear. Her tail swayed gently behind her, fur tickled into motion by the stirring breeze. Her fox-ears remained erect and pointed to the ship and her muscles, toned by Xara’s lessons in self-defense, a family activity that involved primarily Sasha and Candy (although the good witch, Lily, joined in from time to time to even the sparring partners), remained coiled and ready to strike at the first whiff of trouble. The ship seemed so quiet. The surges of energy reminded her of the dying moans of an ill old man, vainly trying to hold on to the last sliver of life he had left to live. Although from what she could see the vessel was largely intact, and she wondered, with a surge of excitement, if it could even become functional. Perhaps she and Hadrian could work on it together. The thought was an exciting one. Even if it wasn’t a spacefaring vessel after the repairs there was a good chance they could hover in orbit if shit hit the fan, and even relocate themselves to some other country, like Africa, or maybe India or Egypt, where the paranormal laws, she heard, were more liberal and funding for testing facilities was severely lacking and reserved for medicinal purposes only. Dad could be one of those travelling doctors, she thought, and Hadrian could be an engineer! Mom could build houses, Mom and Sage could run a school even, and maybe Aunt Tara and Azure could have their own school, a dance school maybe? We could start over again, and maybe this time do it right. She fantasized, gazing into the smoke belching machine’s hazy glow with the glazed eyes of a dreamer. Everything could be perfect still… but, she was getting ahead of herself.

“Viph,” she said quietly, “While we’re waiting I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Viph gave her an attentive yet questioning look. “Yes?”

“Well,” Sasha shuffled her feet, eyes still trained on the ship in case Hadrian came, “I wanted to warn you about the facility. They’re here too. The feds in Miami didn’t send us anywhere safe. They sent us somewhere where it is harder to hide. We can’t hide on this little island forever, and they know that. I think the facility is trying to become, if it hasn’t already, a globalized organization. That means that one day they want to have several facilities in the major cities of each country. I also think that the…uh, the methods of this one are a lot more subtle. They do things much more elegantly here and I think--” she paused as there was a new sound coming from the ship, but when no one screamed for help, she continued, slowly “I think,” she said quietly, “That they already know we’re here, and they want to either finish where the Miami branch left off or start new projects on us of their own, or maybe both. I don’t know. But I just wanted to warn you, because…I don’t want to lose you.” She looked up at Viph for the first time with an earnest, sad look, “We’re organizing ourselves in case, you know, something happens and we need to fight back. I was wondering if maybe you would join us? I just think that, with—”

"When you're quite finished gawking at us, maybe you could help me?"
Sasha stopped mid-sentence and made a move to help but Viph was faster, so she simply followed at a close distance and gave Hadrian and Viph a wide berth as they helped the injured man out of the ship. She felt his link through Hadrian and the strange man’s eyes narrowed on Sasha in what she assumed to be confusion. Sasha knew her link had a shadow of Andromed coding in it by now, since part of her subconscious mind melded with Hadrian’s. It also had a tinge of Hustrian, which was potent enough on its own without the addition of her Mother’s Yarovitian blood, and the man’s brow managed to furrow as he somehow, in his state, achieved deep thought.

She broke her moment of contact with the man to look up at Hadrian and Viph, both of whom were taller than Sasha still and likely would remain that way, although her mother neared Hadrian’s height, ears excluded.


"What do we do with him? I smell death in that thing," Sasha followed Viph’s gaze to the spaceship and tried not to inhale the scents that wafted toward them on the wind. "We must do something with that. Him also. I do not want Sasha to see so much of this." Sasha pulled a face at this—she wasn’t a child anymore! But Viph was simply trying to be considerate, and Sasha was too shocked to argue.

"I don't know, The only person who knows anything about Andromed anatomy is Dylan, and even he only knows basics, and isn't exactly available, either. He's probably got who knows how many other injuries," Sasha narrowed her eyes at the new man once again, mind working a thousand miles a minute; she may just have a solution…
"And as far as moving that thing," Hadrian gestured toward the spacecraft with his thumb, and the sudden movement jerked Sasha’s attention toward it. It was big, "It will be almost impossible to hide or move." Sasha couldn’t really help them there, but she rubbed her nose thoughtfully.

“The ship doesn’t matter, so long as no one knows we were here.” She said with confidence, sounding more and more like her mother every day. She hummed, “Hm. As for medical attention, Hadrian,” she turned to her uncle and met his gaze steadily, “You say your species have something like a collective memory, yes? Maybe we can take him back to my house and mum can link to you and use your brain sorta like a search engine, like Google or something, and find out how to fix him. The ship… I dunno. We have to bury the dead people inside it though… we can’t just leave them here. If they’re found they’ll be dissected.” Although that might take the heat off Hadrian, it would be awful to have their bodies disgraced like that. She frowned. If only they could move it without actually having to move it… “Wait!” Sasha grinned and took Hadrian’s hands, “The transportilizer! Remember the hairdryer we used to get out of the facility back in Miami? Maybe we can transportilize the ship to the desert and try to fix it! Or at least hide it. We can rewire or modify it to move things on a large scale; maybe use a leaf blower or something? Then we’ll find some coordinates somewhere in the desert where no one ever goes, and dump it there. Assuming no one finds it between now and then.” She paused for a breath, “Well anyway we gotta get outta here fast! He doesn’t look so good.” The new alien had paled and was looking as if he wanted to vomit. Sasha gave him a few steps extra space. “Mum should be home in like, five minutes. Let’s hurry!”



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Delilah had been blessedly silent for the walk home, speaking only to ask how Xara was feeling, a question which warranted a terse “Fine,” from the weary alien. Despite her injuries Xara managed to outpace Delilah enough to make the woman scramble to catch up, and this made Xara smirk smugly.

They arrived at the bottom of the hill where Xara’s house sat yet Delilah was insistent on walking Xara up the hill, “It’s a big hill,” she explained. Xara didn’t think so, but there was no use arguing. She had been using the energy of whatever she could latch onto to help heal her head injury and her tiredness came, now, from the busy evening of work she had just had. She had arrived early in the morning and left late in the evening, just as the rush was beginning. She was glad for this for she did not know how long she would be able to hold on to her sanity if she had to deal with one more idiotic patron. Then Delilah came along, and she realized she probably could have done just fine with a few more hours in the club. But, alas, she missed Sasha and Candy, and Dylan, though she assumed he was working. She could never remember his schedule, nor could she rely on it to remain steady; he was always on call, unless he took days off. Tara and Azure had been good to Xara—very good to her—and were probably some of the only employers who threatened to fire her if she didn’t take time off. Well, Tara had, in any case. Xara wasn’t so sure Azure would approve of Tara firing managers whenever she felt like giving them time off. The thought of her quirky friends brought her to smile, and she almost forgot she was being followed by an obnoxious, lost-puppy of a woman who didn’t know the meaning of the word “no”.

“Well,” Xara said as they reached the door, “Here we are. Thank you for making sure I got home alright, I’m sure my husband will be glad to come home to a living spouse. Good night—“

“MOM!”

Headlights shone on Xara and she squinted into them until they flickered off again.

“Is that man alri—Jesus Christ.” Delilah whispered in awe as the three figures—four if you count the half-conscious man—walked toward them and she saw Viph in all her seven foot glory; her jaw dropped.

Xara balled a fist and ground her teeth even more. Patience? Would you be patient if injured, sick and insane people showed up at your door after a long night of work? She was looking forward to a bath, a movie, and a nice quiet dinner with Sasha and Candy, if the girl wasn’t already with Rasha. Now she had some psychotic human who thought she owed Xara a debt, an injured alien, and Viph, that bitch who Sasha adored like a surrogate mother.

Fantastic.

There was a tense silence. “Everyone get in the house.” She said quietly. When no one moved, she snarled, “NOW.”


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


“…and we were hoping maybe you could help him. Please, mom?”

Xara rubbed her temples. She’d arranged for Spar to be placed on the floor with a pillow supporting his head. “I’ll try, Tza’axa.” She snapped. Sasha shrunk back and frowned, blushed, and blinked rapidly to avoid tears. Xara sighed and forced her shoulders to relax. “I’m sorry. Yes,” she looked up at everyone, “I will try my best.”

Delilah, who was giving Viph wary looks, shook herself “Maybe I can help? I’m a doctor…”

“You said you were a nurse.” Xara replied flatly, “You stay back. Don’t touch anything, don’t talk to anyone… try not to even breath too much. Guys keep an eye on her, she stalked me home.”

Delilah frowned incredulously as she received a questioning look from Sasha, “Hey…well stalker’s a bit of a strong word… you’re really misrepresenting the situation here I--”

“Shut up!” Xara snarled. The room went silent again. She inhaled deeply, and then sighed. “Alright,” she said in a quiet, steady voice, “Hadrian I need you over here with me please. Everyone else stay back, be ready in case we need something—no one leaves.” She gave Delilah a stern look, then turned back to Spar. “Alright Hadrian,” she placed her hand on Spar’s head, and then one on Hadrian’s hand, “Shall we?”

((OOC: This was a long one: 2869 words So I hope it was alright and not too boring. You feel free to play any of my characters as well ^_^ ))

[Hadrian]

The male, Hadrian had seemed quite insistant that he explore the innards of the spaceship himself. To be honest, it wasn't a task Viph had been very keen on attempting herself. If Sasha was not incorrect in saying that he had knowledge of spaceships, she did not want to interfere. So intead, she stood with Sasha, waiting for the male to reappear from his little exploration.

Viph stood still, her green eyes, which glowed under the moonlight, watched for any movement inside of the craft with an intent stare, her ears swiveling around for any out of the ordinary sounds. Apart from the alien sounds; whirring and the sparks of what she could identify as electricity, everything else seemed fairly ordinary.

“Viph,” Sasha's familiar, albiet a little older-sounding voice broke Viph's concentration, focusing her attention towards the young girl instead. “While we’re waiting I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Viph gave her an attentive yet questioning look. “Yes?”

“Well,” Sasha begun as she shuffled her feet, but her eyes remained on the spaceship in front of them. She went on to tell Viph that the facility had not in fact sent them anywhere safe, and not any less infested with the scientists they had attempted to escape from in the first place. This place was an island, it was tiny. Viph may have escaped from civilisation, and had lived in what she had felt was safety in the cover and seclusion the forests offered. She had been wrong, and naive. It should not have come as a shock to the large cat-woman that such a thing would have happened. They would have been foolish to think that the facility would simply drop charges. "But I just wanted to warn you, because…I don’t want to lose you.” This sentance pulled at Viph's heart-strings. She looked at Sasha was a fond expression, placing a large, clawed hand upon the girls shoulder. Unsure of what to say - sentimentality had never been something which Viph indulged in - she smiled affectionately at the teenager. "You will not loose me, Sasha. I would be honored to join you, and your hive. You have my - " One ear swiveled towards the spaceship, and her head followed the sound of shuffling, and a few strained grunts as Sasha's uncle reappeared. But now he was not alone.

"When you're quite finished gawking at us, maybe you could help me?" Viph pulled a face at the male, and with swift strides, approached Hadrian, who supported what looked like another man over his shoulder. The next few moments were a flurry of unfamiliar words, terms, and suggestions. Viph was unsure of what to agree, dissagree, suggest, or just go along with. Whatever would happen next, she would simply need to put trust in the deisions which Sasha and Hadrian made.

Hadrian ran a pale hand through his long, disheveled hair as he stared at the Andromed laid out at his feet. He chewed on his bottom lip, mind working fruitlessly to come up with a solution to the dillema the three (four if you included Spar) of them were now involved in.

“The ship doesn’t matter, so long as no one knows we were here.” Hadrian turned his attention back towards his little niece as her voice broke the short silence. The fact that Viph's head turned did not escape his attention either. He could feel the cat-womans eyes on the both of them. “Hm. As for medical attention, Hadrian, you say your species have something like a collective memory, yes? Maybe we can take him back to my house and mum can link to you and use your brain sorta like a search engine, like Google or something, and find out how to fix him. The ship… I dunno. We have to bury the dead people inside it though… we can’t just leave them here. If they’re found they’ll be dissected.” It suddenly struck Hadrian just how much Sasha reminded him of her mother as she became assertive, voicing her own suggestions as to a possible course of action. Hadrian had been at a loss of what to do, and Viph remained mute for the time being.

"Yeah, we do have collective memory," he nodded with a puzzled expression, unsure of where his niece was heading at first, but as she continued to explain, the more it made sense. It could work! That was a lot of memory to sort through though. He would need to focus carefully so as not to overwealm his friend, providing Sasha's idea worked. But then again, Hadrian was no doctor. He knew that Xara had been a nurse, and she did have the ability to heal, just as he did. Spar would have the ability to accelerate his healing too, which also gave him an advantage. Perhaps he did stand a better chance then say, a human who had been put in a similar situation.

Burial though... When an Andromed died, the surviving relatives would perform a ceremony quite similar to a Norse funeral; they would build a pyre, and burn the corpse until they were cremated. Bon fires were often used in celebration there. They burnt the bodies of their dead to celebrate their life. Was it right of them to just decide how these people are laid to rest? No regard for their wishes? Better then leaving them for wild animals to feed on. He did not need to mention this just yet... focus on the living for now, he thought.

The spacecraft was still an issue though. At least he thought so, until Sasha decided to remind them of those transportilizer things which Dylan had created for them when they had needed a safe method of entering and escaping the facility when they'd gone to rescue Sasha. In a way, providing they still had access to those transportilizer things Dylan had made, Sasha may have hit two birds with one stone. They could use those things if need be, to escape the pesky scientists, providing they were still able to. "Yeah!" He smiled proudly at his niece. "We would need to find a way to push or pull in through though..." he spared the craft another glance, but the newfound hope remained with him. If they were able to hide the craft, Hadrian may also have a chance to study it himself, and fix it perhaps... assuming that no one finds it while they were gone. Possibilities ran through his mind, but he knew the only way of knowing if any of it was salvagable, was to take a better look at it. Now was not the time. Spar was the main focus right now.

Accelerated healing or not, if they wanted to ensure Spar healed then they'd need to get him some medical attention as quickly as possible.

----------------------------------------------------
It had rained while they drove away from the forests which surrounded the mountain. Vibility was poor, and the car felt slightly cramped. Viph sat in the front again, looking grumpier than ever now that they'd needed to shift the passanger seat forwards slightly to make a little extra room in the back for Spar and Sasha. Hadrian had been hessitant to have him sit beside his niece, seeing as he was a stranger, was injured, without any knowledge on how to speak English. Who knew how he would behave. Regardless though they hadn't really had much of a choice as they needed to take Viph's massive height into account. Every so often Hadrian would yawn. Now that they were not actively moving around, the warmth of the cars heating reminded Hadrian that he'd been woken up too soon after falling asleep. For good reason, he knew. But that still didn't make him feel any less tired about it.

The cars headlights gleamed upon Xara's front drive way, bathing the alien woman, and another stranger in the yellow light it cast.

“MOM!” Hadrian jumped in his seat, startled by Sasha's unexpected cry to get Xara's attention. She certainly had it. Turning off the ignition and shutting off the cars lights, Hadrian got out of the car as fast as he could, heading towards the side of the car which Spar sat in, and helped him out of it, slinging an arm across his shoulder once more.

The stranger; a woman, gawked at them as they walked by. If it were any other situation then Hadrian might have tried to be a little more friendlier, perhaps less... obviously a bit more than amused by her reaction. Despite everything, he smirked. Viph had managed to squeaze out of the car, still looking irritated as she rose to her full height and walked along side Sasha. The cat-woman looked cautious, and focused as her ears swivelled this way and that, her eyes flicking around. Her eyes then found Xara's, and her ears swivelled forwards, all attention and curiosity on the very confused woman in front of them.

“Everyone get in the house.” Hadrian wasn't sure whether to move until the others did, but as her tone changed and ordered that they get in the house NOW, he hurried (as quick as he could with an Andromed leaning against him) into the house, wary of Xara's wrath.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“…and we were hoping maybe you could help him. Please, mom?”

Spar had been conveniently placed upon the floor of Xara's recently cleaned and re-furnished lounge area; she had nice hardwood flooring now. A pillow rest under his head, and a rolled up towel had been possitioned on top of that. The wound on Spar's head had stanched, but they did not wish to risk it bleeding again.

Hadrian hovered close by, peering down at the other Andromed. Viph stood back, to give everyone space, and, Hadrian assumed, as an attempt to become as less noticed as possible. The fact that the new woman (Delilah, he'd been iformed) had been gawking at her had not gone unnoticed by the alien cat either. Every so often, Viph would catch glimpses of the woman glancing warily towards her. Hadrian could sympathize with the both of them on some level. Viph, for simply being the way she was, and for Delilah, who was obviously in a state of awe at the aliens appearance.

Xara did not seem to trust the woman at all. Hadrian glanced at her, giving himself a better look. As inconspicuously as possible, he tested his scent, memorizing her smell too. Appearances-wise, she looked harmless enough. She seemed to want to help, though Xara seemed insistant on turning down her offers. Later, he decided, he'd have to take Xara aside and ask her about the new stranger.

To say that the athmosphere of the room was tense was to underdefine the word. It was difficult to concentrate on the work which he and Xara would face shortly. To be frank, Hadrian wasn't sure what they'd expect. To his knowledge, a type of healing/search engine/transferral-whatever it was Sasha had suggested had not been attempted on his side of the family anyway.

“Alright, Hadrian I need you over here with me please. Everyone else stay back, be ready in case we need something—no one leaves.” Knowing that Xara's patience was wearing thin, Hadrian thought better of commenting on her tone, and complied immediately by stepping forwards and crouching beside his old friend. “Alright Hadrian,” he cast a long glance at Xara with his large one-green-and-one-blue eyes, then down at Spar again. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was harsh, and raspy. "Shall we?”

Hadrian nodded, "sure". Closing his eyes, he took one of Xara's hand and concentrated as hard as he could. Almost immediately his hand began to glow a faint pinkish tone, illuminating the blue veins inside of his hand and wrist. That light transferred into Xara's, creating the same effect for her. He "felt" with the link he now shared with Xara, exploring tentatively, attempting to ignore the mild headache he had grown to associate with the link he and Xara shared. There was another link there now, not as strong as the link Hadrian shared with Xara, but he grasped it, and held on.

Without realising he'd done so, Hadrian gasped, and scrunched up his nose at the increase of the link. He searched for the injuries using the string of a link he was using. What would Dylan call this? 'Xara? I'm sensing a prognosis is a concussion,' he muttered through the link. 'Smoke inhalation. One broken rib, two cracked. Fever?' he winced, unsure. 'I'm sensing a punctured lung too.' He went silent for a long moment as a flash of an unwelcome memory rose from his subconcious; hot metal tearing through flesh, a compulsive gasp. He almost let go of Xara's hand, like an electric shock, but held on. He grit his teeth, forcing the memory into the back of his mind. 'Sorry,' he muttered, apologetically, dreading the thought of accidently harming either Xara or Spar.

He began to think deeper into his memories of what he knew of Andromed anatomy. Brain is larger than a Humans, able to store not just their own memories but the memories of their forebears. They can recall knowledge learned by their ancestors, and under lucky circumstances, some can even remember their own evolution. The ability to pass on certain memories to another being was something they all already knew.

On Earth, an Andromeds bones are stronger in thanks to the increased gravity; so Spar must have recieved quite a bump. The heart is on the right side of the chest... not the left, and beat a little slower too. Two left kidneys, and one on the left. The intestines are the same size; neither larger or smaller than the other. Two livers. The abilities; memory, memory transfer, the revivification, they all originate in the cerebellum, they are lineage defined.

Hadrian focused on Spar's injuries; the punctured lung was obviously what was making it difficult for Spar to breathe; the broken, and cracked ribs would not be making it any easier either. The fever would probably make him delirious, and no doubtedly, on top of that, the male was probably either going into, or was in a state of shock too.

'I'll feed energy through you, too,' he told her. It wasn't a request, or a suggestion. He wanted to do it, and he fed the feeling of urgency through the link. Focusing his attention, Hadrian pooled some of his healing energy through Xara's hand, towards the link attached to the both of them. A few sensations came to Hadrian's attention; one was the fact that he could feel his body tingling; similar to the sensation you may experience if you lay on your arm, and you are waiting for the sensation to return. Another was a weak ache in his side, which steadily grew as he concentrated. See the downside to the healing, was that the person doing the healing would feel to perhaps a slightly lesser extent, the pain their patient felt, and aquire some if not most of the injury they were healing for themselves.

Hadrian could feel the weak ache increase until he grimaced wryly, the pain growing on one side of his torso. Attempting to ignore the ache, he funneled more energy into Xara's hand, holding on to the link they extended towards Spar. Regardless, Hadrian's breathing became a little strained, and laborious. He frowned a little deeper. 'Be wary of his lung,' Hadrian cautioned, the anxiety he felt was evident even through the link. Usually an injury such as that would have required a lot more attention; professional. Y'know a doctor, in a hospital. But, they really didn't have any idea what they were really dealing with here. It was risky enough with two people, regardless of skill, or experience, or the fact you were born with the ability. 'We're already eating more than we can chew.'

Hadrian grit his teeth, uttering a short yelp as he felt something snap. and shift under his skin. He became palid as he loosened his grip on Xara's hand for a second, slightly panicked as he began to feel out of breath. He fastened his grip again, frustrated with himself. He'd just transferred the broken rib didn't he? Yep, sure felt like it! Either that, or a cracked rib or two.

Looking down at Spar, it was difficult to tell what the male was feeling, or thinking. Hadrian closed his eyes, attempting to focus more on the link itself, and sent more energy towards Xara. 'Are you hurting?' He asked her, his inner-voice strained.

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx It's 1:37am! I think that this is as much as I can write right now.

++ TAGS xx Sasha and Viph OH and happy Haddy! [/glow]

[/quote]

[BassPosaune]

Delilah was in mad-scientist heaven. ‘What wouldn’t Citole give to bear witness to this?’ she wondered, adjusting the microscopic camera that lay nestled in the button of her blouse so the lenses pointed squarely at Xara and Hadrian. The two aliens sat linked physically and mentally, holding hands, eyes closed tightly as if in some sort of a trance. Xara seemed less animate than Hadrian. She seemed nonresponsive, presumably in a state of intense concentration. Not a muscle moved on her body, and Delilah desperately wanted to reach out and touch her to see if she was still alive or if she had turned to stone. The only indication, later on, that she was under any kind of strain was the beads of sweat that formed on her brow. If only she could get into their minds, Delilah thought wistfully, it would be more than incredible to witness the process from the inside.

The young girl and the taller alien stood on either side of Delilah. Naturally she was quite wary of Viph at first, and although Viph hadn’t proved it yet the young Doctor was sure that Viph had the ability to kill her like a bug. Although she did have to admit that the woman was quite beautiful, despite being covered in fur and looking a lot like a cat from some science fiction novel. Delilah wasn’t planning on running away and missing all the action but between her and Xara alone she knew that escape was effectively impossible. Even the young teen looked like she could be lethal in her own rights.

Delilah turned to look at the girl in more detail this time. She was a smaller, younger copy of her mother. Sasha’s eyes were the same shade of green—with a slight tint of brown around her iris’s—and her tail, her ears, the shape of her face, the length of her arms and legs all mirrored, almost perfectly, her mother’s form. But there were some differences. The shape of her eyes looked more human, taking on a rounder look than the sharp, slightly larger eyes of her mother. Her nose was a different shape, her mouth was slightly thicker in the lips than her mothers and even her teeth, Delilah noticed when the girl spoke, were less like daggers and more like the cutting/ grinding teeth found on most earth-born omnivores. Xara was technically an omnivore, in the sense that she could eat vegetables if she had to, but Delilah suspected that was a last ditch-effort to avoid starvation on her planet. Sasha, it seemed, ate vegetables on a regular basis because she had to. But there was something even more obvious, something less physical and more in the way the girl looked at you, that made you realize she was more than half-human. There was the killer’s glint in her eyes, much the same that Xara the warrior displayed, but having worked with many distressed beings in her day Delilah recognized that particular glint as something more. Something… wild, and if she hadn’t known already who provided the genetics for Sasha’s spawning Delilah would have come to the conclusion one way or another: Sasha was a demon.

But she didn’t look like a demon. No, right now she looked like a scared little kid watching two people she loves struggled for their lives as they fight to save the life of another. Delilah had always struggled with the emotional side of her job. Her heart nearly always bled for her patients and she was often crticsized for her soft approach. But that was what made them compliable, she had argued many a time in front of many a panel, if they think you care, they’ll do what you ask. How many projects more than any other scientist had Delilah completed because her subjects hadn’t run away or committed suicide? Not only that but the return rate of her subjects was impressively high, and the need for damage control when one did die was minimal at worst. When that evidence was brought forward the charges that had been laid on her were considered petty jealousy and were dismissed. Delilah, understandably, was very smug about this fact.

Sasha groaned and hid her face in her hands as Xara and Hadrian neared the end of their session. It had taken a full forty five minutes to heal the two worst wounds, and the process had been gruesome even for Delilah. She had to pretend to be disturbed by it enough to avert her eyes, which wasn’t difficult when Hadrian’s ribs suddenly absorbed the break and Xara’s sweat mixed with blood, a look that made her serene expression look terrible. Delilah turned to Sasha instead,

“Are you okay?”

“Don’t touch me.” Sasha muttered, “I’m fine.”

Delilah frowned, “Okay,” but she was ready for it when Sasha wobbled on her feet and pressed her palms to her temples, catching her before she fell any further. Sasha snarled at her and swatted Delilah’s arms away as she righted herself again.

“I said don’t touch me!”
“I think you should maybe sit down,” Delilah said quietly, “You don’t look very good. You look pale…”
Sasha cursed under her breath and stalked away from Delilah to sit on the floor next to Viph, leaning on the woman’s legs. The girl refused to take her eyes off her uncle and her mother, or maybe she couldn’t Delilah wondered, and that was admirable even for a girl of her physical age. Considering her actual age was only four or five years… well, Delilah could verily imagine the things that girl saw to allow her to witness something like this without even a sniffle.

Delilah turned back to Xara and Hadrian. The man on the floor looked like Hadrian—same body type, eyes and all—and this made Delilah suspect a spaceship crashed, likely not far from where they currently were. Since there were no sirens she could rule out any populated area’s the spaceship may have crashed in, which only left the outskirts. How typical, she thought. A spaceship crashing in a field, real original. Although she was relieved it crashed in a field and not, say, on a daycare center. She would have to put in a report as soon as she could manage one so the facility could get their hands on the ship first. There was no way only one man piloted the ship, and he must have been the only survivor, so that meant as many as a handful of dead bodies to dissect. They’d be happy to hear that, Delilah thought, not without a hint of bitterness. All in all though her mission was turning out to look like it could possibly be successful, despite Xara’s original concerns; the woman was possibly more intelligent than Delilah had originally anticipated, and if that was true, and Xara was actually one of the brains behind the Miami branch raid, then—

“Hrnf.”

Delilah’s eyes grew round at the sound of flesh hitting wood as Xara collapsed into a heap on the living room floor. For a tense moment, enough time for everyone to be shocked and then make moves to assist her, Xara lay still on the hardwood.

“Mom?” Sasha asked with a voice tense with fear. “Mom?” she squeaked again.

Delilah’s heart sank. The woman wasn’t breathing. She shot a worried glance at Sasha and nibbled her lip tensely. If there was anything Delilah hated about her job it was watching loved ones grieve over their family members, especially parents and children. She had taken two steps toward Xara when suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the woman shot right back up again, wide-eyed and bushy tailed and ready to go.

“Wow!” she said with a goofy grin, “Wow… that was intense! I’m shaking, I’m so energetic! Does anyone want to go for a run with me? I will race you, anyone? Anyone want to run? I feel like I can fly!” she hopped to her feet—then slipped on some blood and came crashing back down. She knocked over and destroyed what looked to be an expensive vase, and flinched. “Oops.” She said quietly, “Dylan loved that Vase…” she rose to a sitting position and began gathering the pieces. People stared on in bemusement as the warrior actually began to sob, as if grieving a loved one, and cradled the vase in her arms like a sick infant. “Someone please help me,” she begged, “help me fix it! Dylan loved this vase…”

“Mom,” Sasha smirked, “Dad hated that vase. He wanted to get rid of it remember?”
“But Tara gave it to us…”
Sasha giggled, “Yeah, ironically.”
“I don’t understand ironic gifts.” Xara pouted, still hugging the ugly vase, “I liked it.”

Sasha rose and walked to her mother’s side, making her put the vase pieces down. “We’ll get you a new vase.” She said kindly. “Maybe Tara’ll get you two for your birthday.”

“But she gives gifts ironically! I don’t want an ironic vase, I want a real one!” Xara sniffled. Sasha shook her head and rubbed her mother’s back comfortingly,

“Maybe you should take a lie-down on the couch.”

Xara nodded, “O-okay.”
“Viph can you please help me move mom to the couch?” Sasha asked, “Voethe?”

Delilah looked at Sasha and Xara, then Hadrian, then Viph, her expression comical. This family was insane!

Delilah approached Hadrian very carefully, “Sir?” she asked quietly, “Are you alright? Can I get you anything? Water, maybe? It looks like Xara is…” she looked over her shoulder as Xara began giggling madly again and then turned to Hadrian, “out of commission at the moment. My name is Delilah VanAlan, I’m a Doctor. Well right now I’m a nurse—I got both degrees in case one career fell through you know—so, maybe I can help?”


(( OOC: was thinking perhaps you may want to lead the Viph/ Sasha thing, or something? We could always do a time skip if you want, I'm pretty chill about where this is going, as you probably already know Your rear is firmly planted in the drivers seat on this one, I leave it in your capable hands *salutes* ^_^ ))

[Hadrian]

'Are you hurting?' Hadrian asked Xara, his inner-voice strained. He did not hear a reply, however, for as soon as the words drifted through the link he shared with his voethe friend, a burst of bright lights assulted his vision as his mind was yanked away from the link they'd shared in order to heal Spar. Xara's body collapsed onto the recently fitted hardwood floorboards as Sasha's distressed reiteration of "mom?" became the only sound to break the stunned silence. Beside Hadrian, Spar gasped as his eyes shot open, obviously dazed and looking for all the world like he had just fallen out of a tree.



Hadrian ignored him for now, and gawked at the still figure beside him, wincing as he leaned over to get a better look. From what Hadrian could see, there wasn't a breath in her; she was as still and silent as a puppet with her strings cut. Hadrian's stomach clenched. Was he responsible for this? Because he hadn't been able to control his memories? Thoughts of self deprication, and dread plagued his mind as the seconds dragged on. Nobody else dared to make a noise; they all seemed as shaken as he was.


Unable to simply stare at his friend much longer, he decided to reach over and check one of her wrists for a pulse; but as he leaned over to attempt to do so, Xara sat up, wide-eyed and very much animated. “Wow!” She exclaimed, grinning wildly. “Wow… that was intense! I’m shaking, I’m so energetic! Does anyone want to go for a run with me? I will race you, anyone? Anyone want to run? I feel like I can fly!”


Hadrian stared at his friend, watching her incredulously as she attempted to jump to her feet, only to trip over again and land on her backside, taking an expensive-looking vase down with her in at least a good dozen pieces. In an instant, Xara's mood switched, and she was suddenly in tears, picking up the vase pieces and clutching them to her as if they were precious.


Hadrian looked unusually unsettled as his eyes darted from person to person, as if one of them may have an answer to his silent question of what the hell was going on with her. This is one of those things where you have to see it to believe it, he thought. In all the years he'd known Xara, he had never ever seen her act this way before. There was something not right here…



Sasha, being her mothers usual caregiver in regards to small personal break-downs, decided to take charge and attempt to settle the woman down. She walked forwards, assuring Xara that they would get her a new vase... a real one, and not an ironic one. Maybe even one that Dylan might like as well. Viph stepped in, at Sasha's request, and as gently as a seven-foot alien cat could do, led the energetic-one-minute-gloomy-the-next Xara to the couch where Sasha insist that she lie down. She placed her large hand over Xara's back, and quietly led her to the couch, muttering soothing words as her tail swished left and right.


Closing his eyes in an attempt to ward off an inevitable dizzy spell, Hadrian grimaced as he eased himself back against the wall beside Spar, stifling a strained groan in his throat as he attempted to catch his breath. He kept his eyes closed, only opening them as he heard another voice, less familiar than the other ones. Sir? Hadrian almost crinckled his nose at the title. He knew that it was a title given to a man when you wished to address him in a polite way, but it still didn't sound right to his ears.


“Are you alright? Can I get you anything? Water, maybe? It looks like Xara is…” Hadrian followed Delilah's gaze, and looked across at Xara, who was giggling like a mad woman. Viph was standing in front of her, looking quite unimpressed. Whatever Xara thought was funny, Hadrian supposed that it may have been at the irritated cat-aliens expense. "...out of commission at the moment. My name is Delilah VanAlan, I’m a Doctor. Well right now I’m a nurse—I got both degrees in case one career fell through you know—so, maybe I can help?”


Ahh, the doctor thing made sense. Perhaps that one one of the reasons why this woman reminded him of Dylan. The doctors that Hadrian met in the past all seemed to have something in common; they each had rather analytical minds (which was probably why they became doctors), but there were times when that trait became very annoying. Especially when the "help" would actually prove to be a hindrance. "Call me Hadrian," he told her, attempting not to sound too rude about it as he attempted to focus on regulating his breathing, taking care not to jostle his ribs too much. In an attempt to assure her he wasn't trying to be discourtious, he offered her a wonky smile. "Look - it's hard to explain without going into unecessary detail, but I'll be fine. The bones," he shut his eyes briefly, and took a deep breath. "they'll move back into place on their own soon enough. It's not unusual... for me," he smiled wryly. "Trust me." He then spared a glance at Xara again. "You could watch over her for a minute? She's never acted like this before. Maybe she could use the water more than I do."


Hadrian could not understand why Xara, of all people, was acting so loopey. There was definately something really wrong. But he couldn't for the life of him figure out what.


"Hadrian?" A thin voice drew his attention towards the ailing Andromed on the floor.


"Spar. Cliip etro su hocol?"How do you feel? He spoke breathlessly, looking at the Andromed attentively.


"Pana ualida ubb obnefa krafkaa." Not lots of pain now.


"Zola."Good. He nodded approvingly.


"Su eilfotei?" Your friend?


Hadrian spared Xara an endearing, amused expression. "Sanei lissa trisskalope."Will be fine.


"Su avi kaah deo jooer Andromeds juar Murazuric?" You and I are only Andromeds on Earth?


"Li," Hadrian nodded, unsure of how to come across as reassuring in a time like this. Everything was madness. "Wutt cret pana mugen meral."It is not bad though. He nodded at the others. "Cheyy deo zola. Cheyy deo eilfoteida."They are good. They are friends.


Spar quietened down, peering at the others in silence for a long moment. Hadrian did the same.

The room had fallen into a semi-comfortable silence. Hadrian had decided to stretch himself out on Xara's couch, looking very drowzy as he practiced a meditative breathing. His ribs still caused him some pain, but each time someone offered to take a look, he would brush them off and remind them that it would only be a matter of time befrore the ribs fixed themselves. Viph sat in a lotus possition, making sure that she was close to Sasha, and it appeared that Xara had calmed down. From time to time, the cat woman would glance towards Delilah, sniffing the air as she memorized her scent. Spar seemed fairly quiet, but more comfortable as well.


Not much attempt had been made to teach him English yet. But Viph knew it was only a matter of time before he'd need to learn how to communicate with them. Viph was unsure what to think of him, for now. She was content in remaining close to her little kit friend, Sasha. Hadrian was the only one who would be able to communicate with him better than the others after all. But so far, he didn't appear all too interested to do so; which surprised Viph. Spar was the first Andromed he must have seen for quite some time now. Why was he lying there on the couch when he could be trying to communicate with the stranger? "Sasha?" She turned to look at the little girl. "How are you feeling? What are your thoughts? Hadrian," she looked over at the more familiar Andromed and watched him yawn widely. "Should he not be more interested in speaking with that Spar? It is strange. There are many... questions that could be answered. Why do you think that Spar is here?"

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx Hope it's all okay! Sorry that the Viph part's kinda short though!

++ TAGS xx Sasha, Xara and Viph OH and happy Haddy! [/glow]

[BassPosaune]

Sasha growled as Delilah approached her mother, giving her a warning that no one could mistake. She wasn’t going to let any stranger touch her mother, especially if Xara did not trust them. Delilah stayed a respectful distance from Xara, who seemed blissfully oblivious to everything going around her except for maybe the pattern of the paint on their roof. Sasha approached her mother cautiously and took the woman’s hand in her own, “Mom? Try to relax. Do you hurt?”

“Vaaaaaaaa…” Xara giggled, “Va, ta uchk ta cha waeya dih.” No, I think I feel just fine!
“Tey erwha?” you sure? Sasha responded. Xara gave her daughter the most loving of looks and took the young girl’s other hand in her own, smiling dumbly.
“Ta ruwerwha.” I am very sure, she assured Sasha. Xara placed her hand on her daughter’s cheek and shook her head slowly, “Tz’axa, qa ventu fa nient—ventu iarti.” Sasha, you worry too much-- worry less.

What a preposterous thing for her to say: worry less. Xara was the single largest source of concern for Sasha, even after Dylan came into their lives. That man’s mere presence in their household meant more and had done more for the two women than he could ever know. Sasha remembered when Dylan first came into her life. She was scared—not alone, but scared—and her mother was sick. She was sick, both physically and mentally, and Sasha could see how hard Xara was trying to get better for her. There was a point where Sasha almost gave up hope that her mother would make it through, and she had been preparing herself even at the young age in case she were to lose Xara. Dylan had taken care of Xara, though Sasha spent a lot of time between Sage and Hadrian, and Azure and Tara’s homes. After a while, when Xara recovered fully, she moved in with the kind Doctor (Xara’s home had been condemned). Some of the happiest moments of her life were spent with Xara and Dylan, and she knew that as long as Dylan was with her, Xara was safe. This was a huge weight lifted off the young girl’s shoulders. Sasha had always felt like a burden. Xara had never considered Sasha a burden, consciously or otherwise, but Sasha was well aware of the violent start to her life and she knew how it had scarred Xara. She had been a broken woman forced to keep moving, or die, dragging herself along while death watched with unfailing, emotionless, cold abyssal eyes. It was something short of a miracle that she had lived as long as she had, let alone through all the things she had been through. Xara’s hard life on Earth had damaged something inside her that Sasha felt, if even indirectly, responsible for and for a short time it was Sasha caring for Xara, emotionally anyway; until Dylan came into their lives.

I wish dad was here, Sasha thought miserably, though she smiled at her mother in any case. “Just rest.” She said simply, patting Xara on the shoulder. Xara smiled at her daughter again and then shut her eyes. Shortly, she began to snore.

It was then that Viph approached her. Sasha sighed and leaned on her voethe’s side, just below her mid bicep, and sighed heavily. “My thoughts?” Sasha repeated tiredly, “I don’t know what to think voethe. I’m glad Spar’s alright but I’m concerned about how mom is taking it. I think someone should examine her brain…maybe Aunty Azure can? Or Uncle Hadrian I guess, but he seems pretty beat too.” She sighed again and leaned even more of her weight on Viph, taking comfort in their closeness. “I’m not sure why Spar is here…I think Hadrian is waiting until Spar is better; he’ll be able to give us better answers then. Now everyone rests, and we wait I guess.”

“But how do you feel, little one?” Viph pressed. Sasha frowned and then shrugged,


“Kinda tired. Do you wanna stay over? I’m sure it’s okay. You can share my room with me or something. I would like it if you stayed… I missed you. And I’m kind of scared too…” Xara had begun to babble in her sleep, which unsettled Sasha even more. Sometimes when Xara spoke in her sleep, she did not spin a very pretty story. Sasha gave her a worried look, then looked back up to Viph, “Besides, maybe we can talk to aunty Azure tomorrow. I’ll have to tell her that mom is kinda outta commission for a bit anyway. Besides,” Sasha beamed and clapped her hands excitedly, “She just had a baby!—Well,” she corrected, “Her partner, Tara, did, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is a baby to be played with!” she giggled, “Carmen is so cute—you’ll love her.”

---

A note sat in the mailboxes of Malcolm Rollie and Citole Snare. Inside the sealed envelope was an official pad of reports:

Aug. 31,

Made first contact. Subject: Quam Gahver. He seems harmless—Unicorn species—has the mentality of a small child. Fast to trust and to include. Great first entrance. Met the Vampire, Tara Chan. She prefers to go by her partners surname. They have a daughter, Carmen. No observable anomalies; parents are unsure of the species of the baby.

Sept. 14,

Made contact with the alien Xara, was able to witness her using her powers. She shows no signs of obvious exertion. She used the brain of her friend, the Andromed Hadrian, as a search engine to heal another Andromed, perhaps a friend, who looked like he was in some sort of a vehicular crash. The details were vague. The girl Sasha was also present and in the company of a large feline-humanoid named Viph (case file enclosed). The healing of the new man appeared not to have an immediate effect on Hadrian and Xara, although Hadrian absorbs the wounds he heals and Xara appeared to lapse into a state of hysteria. Enclosed is video-diary footage from the “ButtonCam”. No family politics were discussed within hearing range, and the family appeared hyper-cautious. Continuing efforts and studies expected to yield more detailed results.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Delilah lay on her back on her bed in her large home, feeling a terrible knot forming in her gut. This was a terrible idea, every fiber of her being seemed to scream, it was going to end either in pain or death. But what choice did she have? She didn’t know if she had one. If it were up to her, she would have nothing to do with either Citole and Malcolm OR the paranormal gang. But she had signed the contract, and from now until the next eternity ends, she was to spy on the poor, terrified little family. She sighed and brought her pillow over her face with a huge sigh, as if to hide herself from the world. It was going to be a long few months.

((OOC: Hope this was alright! <3 Let me know if you need anything changed, okay? :3 ))

[Hadrian]

Viph felt more content as she sat beside her little friend, the kit called Sasha whom she had come to care for greatly. She had not realised until now, just how much she had missed the little ones company. Although she had grown, Sasha was still quite small and still reminded Viph of a time where she could scoop her into her arms and comfort her from the terrors which she had endured at the facility, where they'd first met. She doubted they'd have met under better circumstances. But she was very happy that they had.


Although Sasha was now probably too old now to want to sit in her lap, Viph enjoyed the subtle, close familiarity they shared simply by sitting in such close proximity.


“My thoughts?” Sasha's response sounded weary. She went on to say that she wasn't certain what to think of this whole situation. Spar was resting more soundly, and Xara was now sleeping quietly, with the exception of a few mumbled words in a language she was unable to identify. Hadrian was lying quite still, head tilted slightly to the side, facing the back of the couch, his mouth parted, breathing quietly; the evidence of this was the sight of his chest rising and falling gently. One of his arms had fallen off of the couch, his fingers touching the floor.


"Your Aunty Ahzoore is the female with hair of a few colors?" Viph had trouble pronouncing the name. "But she is no doctor. Hadrian can heal too, yes? But it drains him also. Your doctor, that Deelahn might help. He has healed your mother in the past."


They would all be unsure of why Spar is here, it seemed, until the morning once they were rested. "Hadrian must translate for us," she stated. "Then we must teach Spar to speak like humans."


But it was Sasha's well being which mattered most at this time. "Stay over?" Viph looked puzzled for a moment, but realised what Sasha meant shortly after. "Ah, you mean stay with you for the night." Should she? In a way Viph felt obligated; it would seem cruel not to. Especially while the little kit, her voethe was expressing fear. It appeared that Sasha would have a couple of people staying the night. Spar continued to rest quietly. Though it was not as if he could say much and have the others recognize anything he was saying anyway.


Hadrian was now snoring gently, mumbling incoherently, and moving his legs from time to time as if acting out some dream of his own. Viph gave him an odd look.


"Of course I will stay." It was late anyway, everyone who could drive were asleep anyway, and Viph was already apprehensive about roaming the streets on her own again. "Carmen is the kit's name? Her name is unusual. I like it." She approved. "But where would I rest? I enjoy my meditation in quiet, and your uncle Hadrian breathes too loudly." As if on cue, the Andromed snored. Viph narrowed her eyes slightly in dissaproval.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citole sat at her kitchen table, a cup of freshly brewed coffee sitting on a coaster in front of her as she sorted through the mail in front of her. A few bills, and... to her pleasant surprise, a sealed envelope with a manila folder containing reports on their cases, complete with dates, and well-written out, very informative information.


She read through both quite thoroughly, drinking half of her coffee in that time. By the time she was 2/3 finished with he coffee, she was rubbing her chin throughtfully. The being called Quam would pose as a fairly easy target, especially if Delilah was correct in assuming he "has the mentality of a small child". She began to write out her own reply, intending to forward it to the address given on the back of the sealed envelope.

The information gathered of Tara, and the baby Carmen was not new to her. She had been gathering the same information herself now that the other vampires, Azure had decided to ease off with the obvious mistrust she had been expressing as of late, which came as a surprise to Citole. The two vampiress' must had had words with eachother over the matter.


Xara was of particular interest; though the research performed upon her had always been regarded as profitable. To think that Delilah had been granted an oppertunity to witness the course of actions which Xara applied with her healing abilities; Citole felt a pang of envy. It was not an emotion she was very familiar with.

The method which Delilah briefly described however, was not something Citole was aware of; and she had read what records they were able to find on the alien in the past as well. The alien (or aliens in this case) appeared to have tried something new. But why, if it had caused Xara so much exertion? Vehicular crash. Hm. Why had this not been reported sooner?

Viph... Viph... Oh yes! She had been subject to some mild experimentation at the Miami facility, along with three others; another female, and two males. There had been hopes that a breeding program may have been arranged at the time. Alas, the other female died of a septic infection. One male killed the other, so the surviving male was destroyed, as decided by the team of scientists who had been in charge of the experiments performed on those beings at the time. Viph had been subjected to a series of experiments such as teaching her simple English. They were also intrigued with her displays of agility and speed, as well as the striking similarities to the Earth feline species, such as large cats. At some stage now, once samples of blood, and fur may be retrieved, perhaps cloning was a possibility.


But back to the healing. To Citole's delight, Delilah had indeed provided video footage of the event which took place, as both Hadrian, and Xara healed the other Andromed who Delilah assumed (undoubtedly with great accuracy) was involved in some space-vehicle crash. Perhaps there had been a malfunction with the flying craft. The sooner it could be retrieved, the better.

The footage sent to her had been transferred to a disk, which she promptly played through a laptop she had powered up in her living area and watched with fascination. Shame that no family politics were discussed openly, though seeing as the beings were obviously very "hyper-cautious" it came as no surprise.


So the Andromed being, Hadrian also harnessed the ability to heal. This was an interesting development. There were no complete files on him, save for the information provided by the Miami compound when the transfer of himself, and the others had been decided; at one stage, a brief oppertunity to dissect the male presented itself, but he, and the unicorn Quam escaped, with the help of a demon-male called Edison Sarlock.

Knowing it was unavoidable, in her own nature, Citole knew she'd be unable to keep herself from addressing a few ideas of her own. As impressed as she was by the research, she was not about to let someone upstage her. Finding a pen, and paper, Citole promptly began writing a reply to the Doctor Douglas.


Doctor Douglas,


I wish to express my thanks in regards to the reports which you have forwarded to myself.

I have found the information to be both insightful, and informative.

I also wish to praise you on the progress you have made with Mister Quam Ghaver. The more trust you gain from him, the closer we will find the oppertunity to further our research into the lives of Tara Chan, her partner Azure McKenna, and their offspring, Carmen. It came to my knowledge some while ago that he lives with them.

Xara Malhotra's daughter Sasha is of very high interest at the moment. I am also quite intrigued by the fresh information you have provided on Mister Hadrian Brenna. Perhaps a more thorough background check on both of them is required.

Do remember, it is of vital importance that we approach these tasks set out for us with as much caution as possible. If our activities were made public, there is a possibility we, and our company will face not only a media frenzy, but a public hullabaloo as well.

So far, there is a deficit of progress made with Mr Erik Chan, and Tara Chan. The other vampiress Azure appears to be cautious of my involvement in the group, as does the alien, Xara. I would suggest you exhibit caution when interacting with these two. It does appear that the others are a little more trusting of us, if not puzzled by the womens' paranoia.

As for the infant Carmen, she does not appear to possess the vampiric genes in which her mothers carry. It is not clearly evident what species she is, either. Blood tests samples have been taken; the details from the tests will be provided within a fortnight.

I would like to discuss with you, whether or not you would agree with the prospect of making use of the jewel wasp venom research, and perhaps assist me in the deciding of whom to utilize a test of the formula on, as another small experiment.

Regards,
Doctor Snare

Rain was drizzling down like mist as Hadrian sat at the kitchen table in Xara's home, resting his head in one palm as he tapped his fingers against an open book with the other.

It had rained so hard last night that when Hadrian woke from his sleep on the couch, he had half expected to see cows floating down rivers and birds resting on their bloated bodies. It was a half hour after sunrise when Hadrian surfaced from his slumber, awakening a stiff back, and neck as he surfaced back into awareness. It was still sprinkling; minute droplets of rain falling from the sky, running down the window glass, collecting on the leaves of trees and plants. And although the windows were closed, in thanks to his heightened sense of smell, Hadrian could smell the crisp scent of dawn.


The grass and garden outside was an oily wave of mud, debris and sludge, turning most of the lawn into a swimming pool. The pavement was washed by rain, driven sideways in sheets overnight and collected in the drains. There did not seem to be many people around except those who had decided to come out of their homes and sit under their patios, drinking a hot cup of coffee or making mad dashes for dryer spots in the streets.


Despite the low temperature outside, Xara's home was warmer on the inside. Somehow, Hadrian had figured out how to turn on the air conditioning so that it heated the room, but had not quite mastered the art of adjusting the temperature. So, he sat shirtless, wearing only his jeans and a pair of socks. He wasn't sure what the others would make of that, but he was comfortable here, and had always felt as welcome, as if it were a second home.


Actually, it had been a little while since Hadrian had appeared shirtless in front of the others (not that he had ever made a habit of doing such a thing anyway). Thing was, now he was unsure if it would make anyone feel uncomfortable, an unwanted reminder of past events which included a certain demon, himself, and a situation which he was not sure could have been avoided or not. Someone had been bound to get hurt sometime or another, but as fate had it, this time it had been him.


Despite evolution, and a really handy healing ability, Hadrian still wore the scars from the event; a small, circular scar below the right side of his chest, and a larger scar on the right side of his back, behind the smaller one. Right where the bullet entered his chest, through a lung, creating a larger exited wound in his back. It had happened a little time ago now; all in the past, is what they say. Still, the scars were an unwelcome reminder.


The poets in Ruby's old books would say that a bad event in someone's life can change them. You suddenly find a kind of beauty in yourself. Truth be told, Hadrian wasn't sure that was necessarily true. In his own opinion, after a big bad event, you only become more of a person you already were.


At the very beginning, Hadrian's opinion of Edison was that he was insane, reckless, and had no conscience about his own cruelty or the safety of those around him. His opinion had changed drastically since then. He had seen a very drastic change in the demon. At that time, Hadrian could not recall any other time where Edison had ever appeared to show any genuine concern for the well-being of anyone else. It was a side of the demon he hoped to see again.


Hadrian sighed loudly in annoyance. The plan had been he'd read one of Dylan's books on Human sickness', and memorize which sounded the most suitable for one who wanted to fake a sickness. Why? It was some plan that he and Edison were planning. Something about Hadrian pretending to be sick, distracting Citole, while Edison snoops around her house to see if he could find anything dodgy. Eddy's original idea was that they just cut to the chase and try and break in. Hadrian reminded him it was not only she who was trying to gain their trust, but they had to pretend she was gaining it.

It was Xara's idea. Well, to try and find info on Citole yes, and she wanted Hadrian and Edison to work together. Well, they were, but Hadrian supposed she probably had not anticipated they'd go about it the way they were planning. As of late, Hadrian was beginning to think that he was one of the very few people who were close to sane as a person of their exceptional situation could be. Or perhaps the case that was that he was the one out of his mind and out of the loop and it was natural for people to fall into emotional fits and paranoia when such...unique individuals such as themselves assembled.


As for assembling... they'd need to decide what to do with Spar, and the spacecraft. it was both daunting, and exciting to know that he was not the only Andromed on Earth anymore. Questions burned through his mind; Why was Spar here? What happened to the ship to make it malfunction so badly? Had Spar been piloting it? Was there any way to contact anyone on Senweca? And did anyone know they were still alive?


It wouldn't take long for the others to wake, surely. Hadrian had already called in "sick" for work (sounding quite convincing, in his own opinion), and knew that later on, he'd need to call Sage to let her know that he was safe. Chances were, she probably wasn't even awake yet. Give it another half hour or so.

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx I kinda finished that rather abruptly Got a bit stuck I guess. But I hope it gives ya something! ^_^

++ TAGS xx Tessssssss[/glow]

[BassPosaune]

“Xara kicked you out, did she?” Rasha grinned slyly, “I see. Might there be a chance of another little one running around soon?” he flicked Candy with the tip of his tail and crossed his leg over his knee, leaning back into the sofa with a glass of wine to share between them sitting in front of them on the coffee table. His apartment was a tasteful loft, one bedroom, renovated kitchen area, full bath, and an open floor plan which he adored. He had chosen it for its high ceilings and large lounge area. Where his dining room would have been was where he decided to have his workshop and a large bench table with different polishing machines and all sorts of tools and materials. He had a nice little nest set up for himself and was really excited to have Candy over to see it, as he was very proud of his ability to create an appropriate human living arrangement.

He poured a glass of wine for Candy and passed it to her. “Well,” he said, “it’s about time isn’t it? She’s been in heat you know. Women on my planet get a little crazy when they go into heat—as I’m sure you’ve discovered.” He chuckled, “I mean Earth-men have it easy compared to my species. Though I am really glad you decided to come visit finally! I hope you’re sleeping arrangements are alright? Just let me know if you need anything. I was thinking we could watch some movies and eat some snacks and drink some wine. Perhaps we can even play a few games? I have this one where you build a house and then take it apart as much as you can without it falling over—I think it is the best game! That and the one where you buy a lot of squares with names on them, but I just really like the figurines.” He picked up a Monopoly board piece and examined it thoroughly. “The top hat is so small and whimsical…I love it! Top hats in general are awesome, but I hear they do not work well with my skirts.”

He swirled his wine in his glass and gazed into it thoughtfully, “Do you wear skirts?”


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasha sat curled up against Viph, like she used to at the facility, and picked her teeth clean of the slain kangaroo she had helped catch and devour. Sasha was no stranger to butchering meat, since her mother insisted on butchering her own food and insisted on teaching Sasha as well. It was a good skill to have and Sasha felt very lucky to have a mother who could teach her these things. She grinned at the knowledge of what her mother was likely doing at that moment and what made it funny was how socially awkward both her parents were likely to be about the whole thing. She giggled at the thought and sighed happily as she snuggled under the sleeping bag and cuddled her voethe. She had brought a tent with her, being unaccustomed to sleeping under the stars and worried that she may get a little cold in the night. It was a family sized tent to accommodate Viph’s size, with a high roof and large doors. Sasha gazed thoughtfully up into the stars and wondered, not for the first time, what her mother’s home world must have been like? Was it anything like Viph’s? Was it warm, or cold? Was it green with blue skies, did it have oceans, were the trees anything like Earth’s trees? She knew a little bit from linking to both women but they were distant memories now, nothing like living the real thing.

“Viph,” she said dreamily, gazing up into the heavens with big, curious green eyes, “Do you believe in a god?”

Sasha had heard of the gods her mother’s people worshipped and they had frightened her. Blood rituals were big on her world and to this day Xara still bled herself in prayer now and again. “I just… I don’t know. Here people believe either God is with you or against you, and they say that if you’re not this, that or the other thing, then He’s against you. Is that really fair? Are all gods like that? I don’t know. I don’t like to think that some people are more perfect than others. I mean, you and mom and Azure were all tested on because people didn’t see you as equals and thought they could do whatever they wanted with you. Which isn’t true! How is one person better than another because…their eyes are blue, or something, do you know what I mean? I don’t know voethe,” she said quietly, leaning back into Viph with a thoughtful sigh, “It just worries me is all, you know? I don’t like you being out here all on your own either. I worry about you out here. What if they get you again?” she nuzzled her face into Viph’s fur, “And no one knew? That would be horrible. Please reconsider living in the city with us…please?”




-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Xara had been waiting for Dylan to come home. She had taken Sage’s advice and dressed up, made a nice dinner… she had everything set up perfectly, as far as she knew. She had even went and bought special condoms so he did not have to worry about conception. She had thought of pretty much everything, down to having washed the sheets with softener to make them…well, more soft. She had learned that certain things were supposed to make humans more willing to mate, such as certain foods, music, light, scents, sights, sounds…everything about it was a show. Her people were like that as well, but with her culture she would have to slay a dangerous beast and bathe in its blood, then mate while the blood was still warm. It was a gruesome yet…strangely arousing ritual, for Xara anyway, that the warrior had gladly given up in order to surprise, please, and spoil her mate.

When he came home she greeted him enthusiastically and forced him to sit at the supper table and they ate together, chatting about work and their lives. She found she was actually enjoying herself and was a little nervous, sure, but she was nto terrified. She was actually sort of excited. She hadn’t realized how badly she had wanted to get close to Dylan like this until her hormones had kicked in. Once she began a healthy mated relationship in which sex was relatively regular her hormonal disasters would subside substantially. But it would also strengthen her bond to him, if that was at all possible, and she was very excited to be able to take their relationship to the next level. Xara was appalled at how little something so significant meant on Earth. Even casual pairings on Xara’s world held some significance. Sometimes one would mate with their voethe and not blink twice about it, for it was a natural way of showing a deep level of empathy, tenderness, familiarity and trust between two (or more) people.

But it was no less nerve wracking, and Xara had been nothing but an awkward, giggly, nervous wreck. “I am glad you liked everything. I …you have probably noticed I have been acting strange lately…I have just been very nervous about asking this to you. I have never done this before.” She giggled, grinning and a bit flushed because of the wine, “um. I think our relationship is very good. I mean… I love you very, very much. You are the best mate for me, I do not remember a time I have ever been happier, even on my home world, than I am when I am with you and I would like very much if we were to, ah…how is a good way to ask this?” she muttered to herself, “Um.” She blushed deeply, “I think, if you also think this, that I am ready to...erm. Ehe.” She giggled again, chiding herself inwardly for being so cowardly! Just say it, she said harshly to herself, just ask him! But it was easier to think than to say, and Xara suddenly looked more and more like love-struck girl than the battle-weary woman she once was. The look was odd yet flattering on her, as it showed humility and that she was able to let her guard down around Dylan in such a way as to compromise her stone-faced reputation. She sighed and picked up her napkin to fiddle with it restlessly. “If you agree I think I would like to mate you.” She blurted, then blushed, and when she realized she couldn’t take it back and try the question again, simply waited sheepishly for his answer, expecting the worst.

((OOC: I hope this was okay :3 ))

[Hadrian]

Candy sat upon Rasha's sofa, already wearing a pair of blue flannel pyjamas as she sipped at a glass of expensive-looking wine. Actually, she wasn't sure what expensive wine looked like, but the bottle itself sure looked fancy.

"I think that she and Dylan are planning a night 'in' if you get what I mean," she giggled lightly, already feeling a litte giddy in thanks to two glasses. "Sasha's gone camping with her friend Viph, that big cat woman. I don't know if you've met her yet."

Rasha's appartment was quite modern-looking, possibly refurbished at some point, with a very open atmosphere. Rasha was very much the same. Open that is. He seemed so carefree, and innocent in many ways. His workshop was in a large area, with a few benches, tools and machines which she had no names for. Having a workshop where a lounge area probably could have been was very out of the norm, but then again, Rasha was very out of the norm. It was part of his charm.

"We've been avoiding her mood swings for a while actually," She added with an amused smile. "Women get cranky when they're going on their period, and we sync up and everything - which I've always thought was weird - but this has been an around the clock thing. I guess it's good to know why she's been acting so..." she waved her hands in the air, and pulled a strange face.

She took another sip of the wine, licking her bottom lip as a little escaped the corner of her mouth. She blushed slightly as he told her that she was really glad that she decided to come visit. Me too, she thought. Who cared if her sleeping arangements was the couch. She had taken a pillow from her own bedroom to bring with her, and the couch was cozy enough. As long as she was able to spend more time with Rasha, she was pleased. "Movies, snacks and wine sounds great!" She smiled at him, sitting as close as she could without fearing that she was being intrusive of his personal space. Though Rasha and personal space were not two things that went hand in hand. Candy doubted that he even knew what personal space was. Not that she cared... he could get as close as he wanted.

Perhaps the wine was beginning to go to her head.

"Not jenga, is it?" She grinned as he described a fame where you build a house and take it apart as much as you can without it falling over. She actually enjoyed that game too!

Does she wear skirts? Candy looked down at her baggy flannel jammies. "No," she shook her head. "I don't feel very comfortable wearing things that show off my legs," she admitted. "But you wear them great! For a guy." She added with an amused smirk. "By the way, if women on your planet act so crazy when they're in heat, what do the guys act like?" She asked curiously.

Viph purred in content (an act she would deny to anyone but Sasha) as she lay beside the little kit, her voethe, inside of a large, strange looking shelter build of nylon. The shelters which Viph was acustomed to living in were caves, or tents built out of waterproofed animals skins if the weather wasn't terrible. Because she rarely slept, Viph rarely made too many tents unless she needed shelter from the rain.

She had finished her share of the kangaroo which she and Sasha had caught, skinned, cooked, and eaten. Viph was able to eat meat in both raw and cooked form. Tonight it had been cooked, to accommodate Sasha's deity needs. She required cooked meat, and Viph was willing to adjust.

It had been nice to be able to have someone to hunt with. Just like she would have helped to teach the little kits on her own planet, Viph had listed off the lessons she had learnt while hunting; shut up, keep downwind, and know your strengths as well as the strength of your prey. Then once you found your ideal prey, you stalked it in order to get as close as you can. And when the time is right, you would ambush them.

It had been so long since she hunted with another kut'lari that she almost forgot the rush it gave her. Hunting solo gave you a rush, but it just wasn't the way it should be. Having someone else around to help meant and easier meal.

Sasha did very well for someone of her age. Or perhaps Viph still looked at the kit at though she was the age she'd been when they'd first met. It was going to take some getting used to to accept the fact that Sasha had grown up significantly since their first encounter.

Over the top of them both was a large "sleeping bag". It didn't feel quite natural... but it felt nice. Above them, some of the tent roof had been peeled back so that the duo could peer up at the starry night sky through mosquito netting. It wasn't the same as actually being outside, but it was enjoyable all the same. She wasn't even used to laying on the ground so much, but to her own surprise, she was enjoying it very much; hence the purring, she supposed.

“Viph,” Viph tilted her face to the side so that she was able to look at Sasha as she addressed her. “Do you believe in a god?”

Viph nodded. "Her name is Uba, and She represents protection. I hear tell that some humans believed in gods who had the heads of animals on their bodies. They had a god-dess like Uba, I think. It is rumor that the god's were kut'lari who were sent to Earth by other beings. Like I was sent here. The cat's in this place were worshiped" She made a noise of approval in her throat. "I have been curious as why there are so many cats here who look like kut'lari, but do not share the same amount of intel... smart-ness." Viph scowled at the fact she could not recall the word she was after.

"I miss my planet," She added with a wistful tone. "It is a place made of grassland and jungle. With three... I think humans call them cont-een-ahnts. Two are connected by a bridge made of land and they are called P'raa and Zelkt. The smaller one is called B'vrrp, and is just below. We have two oceans and one sea."

"My tribe - also called a hive - is only made of females. My many mothers taught me how to paint myself after I became mature. I miss using color. Kut'lari are well known to dye our fur in many bright colors. We are clever for making good dyes." She opened up.

She then listened as Sasha told her more about Xara's deity, and she frowned slightly. "God's are here to guide you. Much as your family does. I know of many who do not believe in a god. Faith makes things easier to understand, and accept. For some beings it is easier to believe in a god. Others are happier not believing in one."

She paused. "You are wise for your age Sasha. I expect great things from you. You are a strong woman. You have grown very much since we last met. It saddens me in a way, that I missed you grow into who you are right now. But I feel honored that I share these moments with you now. You do not need to worry, my kit. I do not think I can be easily found if I do not want to be," there was a hint of pride in her tone. "I still do not like the idea of living in that city. But I do like the thought of living close to you. I..." She realized she had stopped purring. "I will reconsider. But it is not a yes. Yet. I need freedom, Sasha. I need nature. It is not something that I can get in that city."

Dylan sighed as he shut the front door behind him, rubbing at his tired eyes with a free hand as he held the car keys limply in his other hand as he made his way into the kitchen. The lights had been dimmed, which struck him as odd, and the house was quiet... even stranger.

From experience with living in a house with three other females he'd noticed just how loud living with other people could be. Women seemed to be very good at annoying eachother. Dylan would often watch the lot of them, bemused. He'd catch snatches of conversation from time to time, that he could never be apart of: "...because I have an itchy fanny!" He had once heard Candy call to either Xara or Sasha on a Saturday afternoon.

It didn't take a genius to realize that the "kids" were out of the house, or long to find Xara was standing near the supper table, looking quite... ravishing in a short dress, and heels. Before he could even question what the special occasion was, she had ushered him in, and treated him to a dinner of steak, mashed potato, mushrooms, and corn. He smiled throughout the entire meal.

At the end of the meal, they left the dishes at the supper table, but continued to drink from two glasses as Dylan poured them wine, and continued to talk.

"Xara, this was a wonderful idea," He gushed, sipping more of the wine.

Listening intently to her, he nodded as she mentioned her recent strange behavior. "I love you too," he added in earnest, but there was a hint of confusion. Where was she going with this? A part of him wanted to smile in amusement, but she seemed to be having so much trouble with trying to say what she wanted to, so he composed himself. Yet, he was still unable to hide his curiosity... and hope?

“If you agree I think I would like to mate you.” If Dylan had taken another sip, he was sure he'd have spat it back into his glass out of surprise. Why surprise though? He had wanted this too, for a long while now.

"Xara, I-I've wanted to mate with you for so long now,"[/i] Dylan suddenly felt very shy. "You are everything that I have ever wanted... and.. and hoped for. Voethe, as you say," he smiled, putting his glass of wine down as he took her hand in his, and knotted his fingers with hers. "I would be honored to mate with you."


___________________________________________

Dylan stood in front of Xara in their bedroom, his chocolate brown eyes stared into hers, the color of fresh grass green. He chewed on his bottom lip, raising his arms, almost hesitantly, towards her face, where he let his fingers move into her hair, gently holding her in place. Amost hesitantly, he brushed his nose against hers, inhaling the scent of her skin, and fiery red hair. "Delicious," he muttered, almost shyly.

Placing his hands back on her waist, he took the hem of Xara's short dress in his fingers and slowly began to skim it upwards, towards her torso, and over her head, where he dropped it beside them. Then, hooking a finger under one of her bra straps, the doctor moved it aside, and placed a kiss on her shoulder. The did the same with the other strap, and proceeded to kiss the opposite shoulder before unhooking the clasp at the back with one hand.

"I want your world to begin, and end with me. Xara." He whispered into her ear with a breathy tone, placing small kisses along her jawline. He found himself at her mouth, kissing her tenderly at first, but as the kiss continued, the more adventurous he became, and he soon found his tongue working with hers in tandem. "I love you," he added, his voice husky in pent-up desire.

Soon enough, he found himself taking his own shirt off, dropping it beside them, and exposing his bare broad torso. His erection pressing against his jeans, Dylan grasped Xara's waist once more, lifting her so that she could straddle his own waist, and moved forward, gently dropping her onto the bed. He clutched the back of her head in one hand, hooking his thumb into the side of her underwear as he proceeded to slip them down her legs...[/size][/color]

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx *cue dim lights and sexy music*

++ TAGS xx Tessssssss[/glow]

[BassPosaune]

Rasha noticed Candy inching toward him and he grinned. There was no doubting that he found her attractive, both in personality and physically. He tilted his body in her direction so as to be closer to her as well, enjoying their proximity. He found her attractive of course, and he wished to be physically close, but he felt that way in a more platonic sense. At least until she signaled otherwise and invited something more than that but, even then, he would have a serious think about whether or not he wanted to strike up an amorous relationship.

Candy was his first real friend on Earth. He loved spending time with her, talking, laughing and theorizing about life with her. Everything about the time they spent together was bliss to him, and it was only the icing on the "finding the family" cake. He was not sure exactly how he would feel if the prospect of their becoming an amorous relationship, but it wasn't a terrible thought.

He flicked his tail at her and shrugged, "I think you would look lovely in a skirt." he said gently, "Why do you feel so badly about your legs? I do not understand. Has someone at school told you they are ugly? Because they would be very wrong. You are a beautiful, charming, intelligent woman and I think you should also feel that way and no one can make you feel otherwise. The treatment of people on this world--women especially!-- is appalling. Do not ever let anyone make you feel anything less than what you are and what you want to be. If someone tells you you are ugly it is because they do not know what true beauty is."

He picked up a handful of snacks and chewed on them thoughtfully. He was concerned about how self conscious Candy seemed about herself. To think that she did not see herself as being beautiful in every way made him angry, not at her, but at whatever it was that made her think that. He suspected that she was different, sure, but the difference never struck him as bad. It was just as it was-- different. Different was not bad, different was good. He liked it.

He swallowed his snacks and then took another sip of wine, "Well men don't really go through something quite so...extravagant. We usually just respond to our respective partners... the men are perpetually ready to reproduce, but we only get the wild desire from our females...it's like they pass it on in a way." That was as good a way to explain it as he could think of.

"Candy?" he held out a bowl of sweets to her, grinning charmingly.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Voethe." Sasha grinned and, if she could, she would be purring very loudly. She inched closer to Viph, as close as she could comfortably get, and rested her head on the other woman's stomach.

She was reminded of the facility. Viph was such a source of strength and protection for her back then. Sasha looked up to her as a role model much in the same way she looked up to Tara, Azure, Sage or Hadrian. When she was younger she also looked up to Edison...but things sometimes change, and your role models sometimes seem like less of a good idea than they did before. She frowned thoughtfully,

"You didn't miss anything though." she assured Viph, "That you're here now is...more than I could ever ask for. I thought I would never see you again...actually I thought you had been hurt or something. I don't know what i thought. I grew up really fast because of the tests they did to me at the facility. I don't really think I'll do as much as you say I will though...I mean...look at me, look at my family. We're all outcasts, we're all being hunted, we're all... unwanted. I don't see how I'm ever going to get the proper schooling I need to actually make a difference and if i do somehow, who will ever take me seriously? i don't know. I really want to be a social worker or something. I want to help people, thats all I want to do."

She fell silent and enjoyed being close to Viph, staring up at the stars as she contemplated what her life could be like if she could ever do all the things she wanted to do. There were so many things against her, so many limitations...she knew her parents, as well as Azure and Tara, Sage and Hadrian, and even Edison, Patrick, and Quam would do everything in their power to help her do whatever she wanted to do in life after she graduated from public high school. She had the best family. But she didn't want them to have to do anything for her, like pay for her school, or have to advocate for her, or something like that. She wanted to be able to do it on her own, to stop being...well, a burden. If she wasn't contributing, that is what she felt like. Even with the group...posse...gang...hive...tribe thing that they had going on she felt uttterly useless to help and she felt terribly guilty about it. If she was able to go somewhere in school in the future then maybe, just maybe, she could do at least some good.

She sighed and snuggled into Viph as a cool breeze disrupted her warm, fuzzy nest. "If you could have a job what do you think you would be? I think you'd be a great teacher. You were really good teaching me to hunt today." Sasha praised warmly, "Ever thought about working with kids?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Xara padded in to their bedroom with a tall glass of cool water and took a healthy swig from it before passing it to Dylan. She felt, looked, and acted much more relaxed. everything about this evening had felt right. Perhaps some things did not come naturally, and there had been a few clumsy moments that prompted them both to laughter, but then...well. They were mated; they were wed.

She sat on the edge of her side of the bed and her eyes wandered fondly across Dylan's body one more time and she memorized its shape. His body was precious, for it contained him, and she wanted to never forget what it looked like. Never. Not even when he had died and was long gone.

Mating rituals on her world were fine but they weren't this fun. there had been no ceremonial removal of clothing, no kisses, no flattering words... mating on her planet was very serious business, not much talking was needed. in fact, had they been on her world, Dylan would have come home, Xara would have asked permission to mate him and if he agreed she would slaughter an animal, bathe in its blood, and then mate Dylan quickly while it was still warm. This was an important ritual in her culture, she did not know why exactly, but the thrill of the kill and then of the sex was enough for the female, at least, to get a fair bit of satisfaction from it. Mating very rarely had anything to do with the male aside from him being their mate and...being a male. Equal lovers was not something practiced much on her world in any case, though she found pleasing Dylan was just as satisfying as being pleased herself.

she was glad that her sex organs were...roughly the same as a human female's. How everything fit together was slightly different but she and Dylan figured it out rather quickly. She smiled gently at how awkward they both had been at first, although she certainly felt Dylan had had a very good start. she deduced he had probably thought often about they day this finally took place.

Still grinning, and completely nude, Xara swung her legs onto the bed and intertwined them with Dylan's, snuggling in close to him and resting her head on his shoulder. her tail lay limp and relaxed behind her and she inhaled his scent deeply once more.

"You know," she said after a while of comfortable silence, "I was very sure you were going to say no. I know that it does not quite mean marriage here on Earth, but in my culture it does and, not that I am saying I believe we are wed, but I was worried it would...turn you off?" she looked up at him with a vulnerable, doting expression. "I suppose...I was wrong..." she grinned evilly and her hand trickled down his midsection, over his thigh and she teased and tickled him playfully. She giggled and brought her hand back up to cup his chin and kiss him once more. "I... I did do it alright, yes? you can tell me if I didn't. I will learn! I never mated anyone before now...so I was unsure... but with you, I will learn." she grinned shyly, looking almost embarrassed. "I guess you would not mind teaching me?"

She untangled herself from him and tossed her leg over his hips so as to lay on top of him again and leaned in for a kiss, when

"Xara--oh. Oh! God, I'm so sorry!"

Xara's eyes grew round as Tara averted her eyes and quickly backed out of the room,

"uhm...Xara I'm so sorry but I need to talk to you and Dylan about something really important and I think you need to know like, now, it's super important...and ah, um...oh my god. Okay...I'm just going to let you...yeah, finish up here and ah, er...yeah. yeah. Sorry." she scurried out of the bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Xara sighed and leaned her forehead on Dylan's chest, "Vurtka." she cursed. She was less embarrassed about Tara seeing them together like...well this, as she was disappointed. She had been hoping for another go, but now that was impossible.

"I suppose we should go out there..." she groaned and rolled away from Dylan, not without one more kiss for good measure. "Dylan," she said in all, dead honesty, "I love you so much." she grinned at him for a moment and then, with her hand-feet (which had proven useful that evening) picked up Dylan's pants and tossed them at him over her head at him, nearly hitting him in the face. She giggled as she began to redress herself, a bit begrudgingly, though she doubted anything could sour her mood this evening.

------------------------------------------------------------

Tara face-palmed and leaned her head on Azure's shoulder. "Ew ew ew ew!" she whined,"Azure they were...doing it. Like, it looked like they were right in the middle and I saw everything. I mean everything." she shuddered, "It was wrong. Just wrong. I think I need to boil my eyeballs now. Aren't you glad you weren't the one who did that? Urgh." she turned away from Azure and proceeded to bang her head on the wall, "So. Awkward."

Carmen giggled at her, as if she knew what had happened and understood it was perfectly fine to mock her mother for this. Tara glared at her,

"You laugh now," Tara cautioned, "but you just wait until you're older and you walk in on your mother and I. Then we'll see how much you're laughing. I've seen what we do. It's nasty." she arched an eyebrow at Carmen, who simply grinned and drooled up at Tara, making her grin. "Aww." Tara bent down and picked up her daughter, coddling her, "She's so cute. Must get it from your side." Tara winked at Azure.

She had gotten over at least half of her initial blinding anger when Azure told her what Citole was doing. She had agreed that if anyone should know first it was Xara and Dylan. They knew that Dylan was likely to perform a very thorough examination on Carmen to make sure nothing was very wrong with her and though Tara seemed to think Carmen was okay, she wanted to be one-hundred-percent sure, and Dylan was the only one she would trust with something so important and precious. She held Carmen close and kissed her little head. “We’re going to take care of you,” she cooed, “We’ll make it better. It’s going to be okay…”

But the truth was, Tara felt as if she had failed. She felt so guilty. So angry. So anxious. She had let some evil woman harm her child—willingly given her over to this maniac to be tested on, and she hadn’t even known. She should have known…she should have known. Tara knew Azure could probably sense this, and didn’t make eye contact with her fiancé because of it. She just couldn’t face her. She busied herself with grooming Carmen instead, sitting down on the couch and settling in for the infants evening feed.

(( I hope this is alright. We can omit Viph and Sasha if you want, i can't see anything more really happening with them except for more cuddles <333 ^_^ ))

[Hadrian]

Candy glanced down, a mildly forlorn expression crossing her face for a moment as she gazed down at her legs. But there was a hint of a blush to her cheeks at the same time as Rasha commented that he thought she'd look lovely in a skirt. Not only that, but he went on to tell her that she was a beautiful, charming, intelligent woman and that he thought she should also feel that way. She simply nodded, flattered by the praise and smiling shyly.

"I agree with you," Candy shared, the blush still evident in her cheeks. "Y'know Rasha," she spoke after another sip from her wine glass. "You're probably the sweetest, most caring, unique, and just... well, overall wonderful guy I've ever met. We need more people like you on Earth."

"So the lust is contagious?" She asked with a hint of amusement. Taking another sip of wine, she shook her head at the offer of candy, but smiled as she realised that he was probably deliberately saying the word candy because of the fact she shared the same name.

"Let me ask you something," Candy felt her heart rate pick up as a thought crossed her mind. "Xara told me once that things like burns and scars are considered attractive on your planet. What about severed limbs? On Earth it's very different. If you're obviously missing a limb, you're usually avoided, or stared at." Boldly, she rolled up one of her pyjama legs and exposed the prosthesis made of steel and blue plastic, where her leg should have been, but had been removed just below the knee. Without the prosthesis, all you could see was a strange-looking stump.

In her mind, Candy's tipsy subconscious was frantically shaking her head, with an Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' expression etched all over her face. "I'm glad, if that's the case. For some reason I'm starting to feel as though your opinion is beginning to matter allot to me."

Dylan lay on his back, perfectly sated, and smiling in a state of pure contentment. He was completely stark naked, resting on top of the bedsheets, while Xara lay on top of him, her head resting against his bare chest. If he had been born a cat, he was sure he'd be purring right about now. He was the cat who got the cream.

He ran his fingers through Xara's long red hair, while they both basked in the afterglow of their first sexual encounter. The first of many, Dylan certainly hoped. It had been everything he had hoped it would be and more, only he sorely wished that he'd have plucked up the courage to be the one to ask her first. Of course they were ready for this. They should have done it a long time ago. Still, it had all been planned out perfectly on Xara's behalf.

"You know, I was very sure you were going to say no." Xara shared after a few moments of silence. "I know that it does not quite mean marriage here on Earth, but in my culture it does and, not that I am saying I believe we are wed, but I was worried it would...turn you off?"[/b]

"I want to embrace your culture as much as you want to embrace fitting in by Earth standards, Xara." Dylan spoke into her hair, grinning as he felt her trail her finger down his chest, stomach, and one of his thighs, tickling the sensitive areas around his waist. Dylan could feel his erection begin to harden once more, and he tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Another round? He couldn't see a reason why Xara may object to that.

He kissed her tenderly, stroking the side of her face with a thumb. "Everything was just perfect, Xara," he nodded, and in an uncharacteristic act, he smiled quite playfully. "I'd be... uh, more than willing to offer you a few more lessons tonight if - well - if you'd like?" With his hands resting on her bare waist, Dylan helped pull Xara on top of him again, feeling his own erection press against her inner thigh. She leaned in for a kiss, their lips barely touching before he heard a yelp from the doorway.

One of the girls?!

Dylan gasped, and lift his head from the pillow to see Tara! Oh good God... in an instant the vampiress was gone, and Dylan's face was flushed in embarassment. He assumed that Tara had simply averted her eyes and stepped back into the hall, because her disembodied voice alert them of something really important. So important it couldn't wait till tomorrow? Of all the times... Dylan actually felt a pang of annoyance towards the vampiress, which had never happened before. Perhaos he was becoming more comfortable with the other than he'd originally assumed.

"Vurtka." Xara cursed, and Dylan nodded, clearly a little irritated. But of course it wasn't Tara's fault. It wasn't as though she had known what they had planned tonight.

"You can say that twice," he muttered.

"I suppose we should go out there..." Dylan moaned in dissapointment, as Xara rolled off of him, but knew that they had been given little choice. He kissed her, wanting to let it linger for much more than a moment.

"I love you too, Xara," he said with pure sincerity. "My world begins and ends with you."

A light chuckle escaped his lips as his pants were then thrown at him, landing on his chest, just under his chin. He watched her for a moment though as she got dressed, wishing so much that she would remain undressed instead. But still, she was a glorious sight.

Once dressed himself - Dylan had simply opted to pull his pants up - both he had Xara begrudgingly left their bedroom, and walked out into the kitchen area, where they wished to find Tara.

------------------------------------------------------------
Azure was chuckling. Actually, no, she was laughing at her fiance as she whined into her shoulder. "Tara, love. It's not like everyone doesn't do it."

Actually the thought of Xara and Dylan actually doing it was not something which Azure could picture. Dylan, being all awkward and bumbling, and Xara, shy and unsure.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Azure giggled, bouncing little Carmen on her knee as Tara beat her head against the wall opposite them. Carmen giggled and waved her hands at her other mother, which served to amuse Azure further as Tara spun around to chide their daughter.

Actually the thought of Carmen walking in on them wasn't such a pretty thought either. Not that they were into allot of kinky fuckery, but they had both become rather creative with their sexual endeavours since their relationship blossomed. But she certainky didn't want to have to explain the purpose of their toys to the poor tot. Azure's eyes sparkled michieviousness as a few memories floated around her thoughts. Tara plucked Carmen from her lap and cuddled her close to her breast.

It was late-evening, and dusk had settled. As soon as Azure had gathered up the courage to tell Tara of what Delilah had told her, they'd decided to rush over to inform Xara, and Dylan. The thought of how Tara would react had scared Azure enough, she could only imagine how Xara would take the news.


"We've got her now, Tara," Azure placed her hand on her fiance's thigh and looked at her with a concerned, loving expression. She watched with some interest as the other vampiress then settled down to feed their child. Little Carmen began to suckle greedily against Tara's exposed breast, and Azure smiled fondly at the sight.

There was a shuffle sound to her right, and Azure glanced up to see that Dylan and Xara were walking down the narrow staircase. Xara, with slightly disheveled red hair, was dressed, but Dylan adorned only a pair of jeans. Azure noted as well, that sex-hair suited him, and smiled cheekily. "Good night?" she grinned, and Dylan blushed.

Back to seriousness though. Azure and Tara soon went on to tell the couple of what Delilah had told them, of the twisted ideas they'd had planned for the others, of the tests carried out upon poor Carmen, and of how the other scientist wanted nothing to do with it all. By the end of it all, Azure noted that Dylan looked both mortified, and perhaps even a bit sick. "...she really seems to want to do a heel face turn, guys. Whatever's going on, I really think that Delilah wants to help us."[/size][/color]

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx I think I might leave Sasha/Viph out of this reply Can't think of what to do with them haha

++ TAGS xx Tessssssss[/glow]