[ one x one; adoraтιon and arabmorgan ]

[adoration]

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ＣＯ Ｌ Ｅ Ｔ Ｔ Ｅ Ｊ Ｓ Ｙ Ｌ Ｖ Ｅ Ｓ Ｔ Ｒ Ｅ
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cxcxＷｅ ａｒｅ ｍａｄｅ ｏｆ ｓｈａｔｔｅｒｅｄ ｐｉｅｃｅｓ.
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---------Colette shook her head, gripping onto the bottle of water while her useless gaze never wandered much, "I should be fine." Adjusting her hold on the small bottle, she soon took a quick sip of the luke warm liquid. Once she was done, she handed it back to Alex, not trying to put back on the cap since she'd surely fail at such a task without her eyesight.

---------She continued to press on behind him, somewhat unused to the sinking feeling of her feet with every step. It was strange how much more you realized when you were blind; apparently losing your eyesight opened your other senses up more, in a way. Though, she knew that in the city it wouldn't be as easy to find her way around. Too many voices and sounds in one place only made it bewildering for her; she'd lose track of which way was left and right, and north, east, south, and west all would get jumbled up. It was just a bit disconcerting for her, and could easily throw her off.

---------She couldn't help but give him a rather dubious look as she listened to him, a bit doubtful about his whole plan. How would they kidnap one of the scientists without getting kidnapped themselves? Maybe there was a chance of nobody recognizing her, at least, if she did something like cover half of her face with a scarf or something-- wear a hat or something too --but the chances of them successfully capturing somebody were hazardously low. It wasn't as if some blind girl with miraculous abilities and an unprepared boy made the greatest team.

---------"Yeah, if by 'great' you mean getting captured in a split second," she said, indecisively rolling her eyes just the slightest at his whole idea. Maybe it would've been better if she'd stayed back in the cave. "And I'm not too sure if people won't recognize me. The whole 'first perfect experiment' thing was some whole rave for all the wealthy people at first; broadcasts, interviews, and stupid things of the sort went on for what felt like forever."

---------She'd realized that Alex was the more garrulous of the two; though, he was always improvising. Still, it made him almost reliable in a way-- the habit was good for quick thinking, but not so much for in depth plans. "And I don't think so... At least, not in the public. Maybe the soldiers have some long list of wanted people-- that wouldn't be too much of a surprise."

---------When he switched topics over to the scorching heat, she couldn't help but glance over at him, as if she was actually going to be able to see him. That's right; what did he actually look like? She never actually had actually been able to see his face too clearly; when he'd helped her from the exiles, she'd only been able to tell that he had brown hair. Having seen a glimpse of his memories didn't help much, either.

---------"There's not much to cover up with..." she mumbled, almost disappointedly. All she wore was a simple gray T-shirt, which was a little bit loose for her figure, along with some shorts; some clothes rummaged from one of the exile towns. If she was wearing anything more, she would've been sweating to death. Reaching over, she prodded the cloth bag of his on his head to see what he had done, before cocking an eyebrow at him with the smallest amount of amusement in her blind eyes.

---------Once he exclaimed their arrival, she directed her head in the direction of the looming city. He was right-- she started to hear faint sounds coming from the horizon. Instead of being too excited, unlike him, it made an uneasy feeling bite in the pit of her stomach. There was no going back now; they had come this far, and she knew Alex wouldn't just let her turn around and head back to the cave if she wanted to.

---------Letting out a small, almost shaky breath, his laughter fazed by her ears. She couldn't help but wonder if he was a little bit anxious about this, but was just covering it up with laughter. Maybe he was just happy about not having to walk much longer.
---------Glancing over at Alex, she started to speak, "One of the ways we could get into the city would be through the rail lines, which they use to get from city to city. Though, I'm not sure we'd be able to pass through without any identification." She didn't know about him, but she didn't exactly want to have to mug some people for their ID. "Besides that, I'm not sure what we can do..."

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Ｗｅ ａｒｅ ｂｒｏｋｅｎ ｆｒｏｍ ｔｈｅ ｓｔａｒｔ.cxcxcx

[arabmorgan]

ｈｅ ｉｓ ｊｕｓｔ ａｌｅｘ
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Taking the bottle back from Colette and absent-mindedly screwing the cap back on, Alex scowled half-heartedly at her less-than-thrilled expression after hearing his half-baked plan. "Uhhh, well, that kind of put a wrench in our plans," he complained with a sigh, after hearing about her media exposure. Taking a good look at her again, he frowned; there wasn't really an effective way to disguise her, and her delicate, pale face was certainly easily recognizable. "Maybe we can stick to the poorer parts of the city?" he suggested questioningly, not really sure how safe such places would be.

She still didn't look very convinced, but there was nothing to be done; they were too close to the city to turn back now. Feeling the bag on his head suddenly unbalancing, he turned to see Colette poking at it curiously, and couldn't help but laugh. His mood had certainly lifted now that they were within sight of the walled city and its buildings; he was eager to finally take action and do something instead of just sitting around all day. The fact that it was dangerous was an added bonus in his mind; no one would ever say Alex wasn't a risk-taker!

"The rail lines?" By squinting a little, he could just make out the faint black trail that was the railway tracks snaking away in the distance, with the splash of colour wending its way swiftly towards the city. "That sounds great! Now, if we have some way to get on the train while it's travelling at top speed, and somehow get into the cabins, I'm sure we could find some good place to hide! Like the baggage racks or the toilet or something, or maybe we could tell people we're orphans being sent to the city to be cared for. They'll won't rat us out then, will they?" His eyes were gleaming with excitement as his suggestions gradually grew more preposterous, but his mind was all but set.

"Come on!" He grabbed Colette's hand, dragging her across the sand and closer to the tracks, craning his neck as if it would give him that much of a better view. "Once we're close enough, I can come up with a plan to get on the train. I'm just so full of good plans today." He smirked, full of good humour, mostly because he had been imagining spending weeks trying to dig a tunnel under the city walls, and instead had been presented with a much easier method of entering. He halted at a rocky outcropping that overlooked a part of the railway, clambering onto a large rock to get a better view. He stared thoughtfully as another train whizzed past, way too fast for anyone to grab or jump onto.

Returning to Colette, his eyes were narrowed slightly. "It's way too fast around here," he said, his tone serious. "We'll have to get on when it's stopping right outside the city for the security check. If we enter the last carriage when it's still slowing, we have a good chance of not being spotted...I think. You up for it?" He quietened a little as he tried to think forward to what they would be doing upon entering the city. "And do you remember where the poorer people of the city live? Like, which direction should we head in once we enter?" He cast an anxious glance at Colette, hoping she knew this much about her former home.

As they got nearer to the city gates, the nervousness that hadn't struck Alex quite yet began to descend. He wasn't wearing bright clothes, just a plain shirt and shorts, and neither was Colette, but he felt horribly conspicuous out in the open. He wished there were a few bushes or trees around, but the most cover they had was a scattered large rock or two here and there. He chose one fifty metres or so away from the gate, when the train would already be slowing to a hopefully manageable speed, yet not so close as to be spotted by the guards. "Get ready," he whispered, pushing Colette into a crouch as he stared into the distance, waiting for the next approaching train.

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ｌｏｓｔ ｉｎ ｈｉｓ ｏｗｎ ｍｉｎｄ.

[adoration]

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ＣＯ Ｌ Ｅ Ｔ Ｔ Ｅ Ｊ Ｓ Ｙ Ｌ Ｖ Ｅ Ｓ Ｔ Ｒ Ｅ
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cxcxＷｅ ａｒｅ ｍａｄｅ ｏｆ ｓｈａｔｔｅｒｅｄ ｐｉｅｃｅｓ.
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"It's not like I had a say in those types of things," Colette added as she crossed her arms, a few pieces of her hair coming loose from the ponytail and falling down to frame her face while Alex sighed. There would've no point in lying about the faults of his plan; the only way they were going to do this propitiously required cautious actions. Though, she almost wished that she could've been more confident like Alex-- it would've helped to get rid of the nauseous feeling gnawing at the sides of her stomach.

She let her arms fall back down to her side as she continued to listen to him and his eager ideas. She was almost absent-mindedly drifting off with her own thoughts as he spoke, as she wondered whether anything could put a damper to his spirits. Most people would view the city as a horrible place to return to; she had thought that the boy who had stated that he hated both sides would think the same.

Nethertheless, she tuned back in to what he was saying, as she tried to direct her face off in the direction of the railway tracks. What side of the city were they even entering? For what she could recall, there were two railways she knew of that entered the wall's of the city. It probably wouldn't matter which one they would be heading towards, though it would affect which section of the city they'd arrive in; segregation was, after all, one of the many things the huge buildings relied on.

As she listened to his ludicrous plans, they started to seem like the most appealing ones, "That might work. If we say we're orphans though, people might mistake us for slaves. That'd mean an instant meeting with an official..." She was almost surprised that he seemed to not know much about the poor lives of people in the city, even if he didn't have his memories. Had he ever been affiliated with the city? Or had he perhaps been born as an exile? "We should try to find some way to get in and out of the railway without being seen, or we could rummage through some bags for a few ID papers and disguises." Sheesh, now even she was starting to pick up on Alex's new habits.

She was a bit unprepared when he quickly grabbed her hand and practically dragged her closer to the tracks. With her blindness and rough awareness, it took her a few paces to regain her composure, but it came easily enough after a few steps. Gripping the small bag of supplies in one hand, she grew quieter as the whistles of trains filled the air, while a musty feel to the air greeted her. Ah, how familiar the change in atmosphere was. To think, she'd once called the place home. Though, she wasn't too sure if she still longed to call it that, even now.

A simple nod was all she gave in return to Alex's first question, along with a small, "Yeah. As long as he wasn't going to be doing something like pushing her out in front of the train, she'd manage. Somehow. "And it depends on what section we'll be arriving in. From what I knew, there are two railways; one entering the east side of the city, where most wealthy people live and the sun rises. The other enters the south side."

Once they got closer, and Alex pushed her down into a crouch behind a large rock, that uneasy feeling returned. Her stomach was churning and doing flips; it almost made her feel lightheaded as she pressed her hands up against the cold surface of the rock and listened. The next train didn't take too long to arrive; after around five minutes it made it's way toward's where they were positioned. But it was then that Colette started to doubt her decisions once again.

"You know, maybe this isn't the best idea..." she said, her tone starting to lose some of it's edge. Even when it would pass by them, the train would still be going quite quickly. And with her blindness, boarding it while the thing was moving seemed impossible. In the back of her head though, she still knew it was now or never.

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Ｗｅ ａｒｅ ｂｒｏｋｅｎ ｆｒｏｍ ｔｈｅ ｓｔａｒｔ.cxcxcx

[arabmorgan]

ｈｅ ｉｓ ｊｕｓｔ ａｌｅｘ
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Alex's eyes widened marginally as Colette effortlessly shot down his plans with a few words. "Slaves? The city has all sorts of insane technology and they still use slaves? I'm starting to see why I joined the exiles," he muttered dryly, shaking his head and rolling his eyes simultaneously. Amusement and surprise crept into his expression at her next words though, and he smirked, somewhat impressed at her daring suggestion. "Now that's one plan I approve of," he said, nodding his head in a half-serious manner. "IDs are always useful, even if they don't check them on the train. We could probably find clothes to replace these tattered things too." He plucked at his shirt, looking and sounding dissatisfied with his current clothing arrangements.

Narrowing his eyes as he glanced up into the sky, Alex breathed a sigh of relief to see that they were indeed to the south of the city. "We're good to go," he affirmed, privately thinking that it would probably take them the rest of the afternoon to travel a quarter of the way around the large city to the east entrance. Relaxing, he focused his gaze on the railway tracks snaking away in the distance, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the next train. It wasn't long before a small dot could be spotted, and his excitement increased as it drew closer, a spot of bright colour against the dull landscape.

Glancing down at Colette when he heard the uncertainty in her voice, he patted her back comfortingly. "Okay, this won't be easy for you, but I'll be beside you the whole time. You'll be on the train at practically the same time as me," he said reassuringly, his eyes still fixed on the quickly approaching train. "I'm going to point you in the right direction and when I say run, you run. Stay close so that when I jump on I can pull you on as well, because you wouldn't know how high or far to jump otherwise. Sound good?" He grinned, his anticipation quite at odds with her fading determination. "What's life without a little excitement right?" he coaxed encouragingly.

The ground was beginning to rumble under their feet, and the loud horn of the train was almost deafening. Grabbing Colette by the shoulders and turning her in the direction of the city, Alex waited till the nose of the train had shot past them, the squealing of the wheels already showing that it was slowing down, before shouting, "Let's go!" He took off, careful to stay by Colette's side, occasionally tapping her back if she strayed too far or too near to him. Chancing a quick look over his shoulder, he realised the second last carriage was alongside him already. With a final burst of speed, he leapt onto the small platform outside the doors, one hand holding tightly to one of the metal poles while the rest of his body swung outwards.

"Hand!" he yelled, thankful that she was still within reach. The moment he felt the weight of her hand in his, he swung himself back onto safe ground, pulling her up with a grunt of "watch your legs" before she bashed her knees on the protruding platform. Holding her steady and guiding her hand to one of the poles, he ascertained that the carriage door was locked before tiptoeing and leaning to the side to peer in the window. Thankfully, the carriage wasn't very crowded, and most of the passengers were either dozing or otherwise occupied in their seats, making them unlikely to turn around. If they had, though, they might have spotted two rather disheveled looking teens doing their best to be silent as they climbed in through the small window in the back of the carriage.

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ｌｏｓｔ ｉｎ ｈｉｓ ｏｗｎ ｍｉｎｄ.

[adoration]

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
ＣＯ Ｌ Ｅ Ｔ Ｔ Ｅ Ｊ Ｓ Ｙ Ｌ Ｖ Ｅ Ｓ Ｔ Ｒ Ｅ
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

cxcxＷｅ ａｒｅ ｍａｄｅ ｏｆ ｓｈａｔｔｅｒｅｄ ｐｉｅｃｅｓ.
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Softly sighing at his mutter, she kept her fingers spread out across the hot surface of the rock and turned her head off in the direction of the scorching sun. "It's the one reason why there are exiles in the first place," she mentioned. This was intrinsic information for anyone; was it really all unknown to him? "And usually I'd never suggest stealing anything, but it's the only option we have, I guess. Don't think that it's going to become a habit though." She was already caught up in enough catastrophic issues as it was.

His consent didn't help at all-- that seemed to be a trait he lacked, or she just couldn't bring herself to rid the delirium swirling around in her chest. Did this whole intrepid risk faze him at all? She doubted jumping into moving trains was anything casual for him, since he hadn't even known there were railways leading into the city, but he didn't have much trepidation about it all. Clearing her throat, she couldn't help but let a small, querulous mumble slide out past her lips, "Excitement doesn't necessarily mean jumping into moving trains, though... It's more frightening than appealing."

The whistle of the train and the rumbling of the ground was no ease to her growing turbulence, especially as Alex tugged her to her feet and set off towards the tracks. The temptation of digging her heels into the ground to make him come to a stop was great, but there was no other choice they had other than this, as daunting as it was. Maybe I shouldn't have suggested it in the first place.

Her hair was wildly spurring out to the side from the wild breeze created by the moving hunk of metal, and her quick footsteps were no where near neat as she ambled after him. None of that mattered to her though, especially when she felt Alex's presence leave the ground beside her. Caught off guard by his sudden speed and jump, her mind almost entered a state of slight panic. "Alex--!" She didn't have time to say much, as she took note of his command and outstretched her hand, before being pulled up onto the scraggly metal surface.

She would've fallen face first, if it wasn't for her hands meeting the bitter ground first before her head had time to collide with it. If it wasn't for the lack of her calm breath, she would've been telling Alex off for jumping without even so much of a word of warning. Had he forgotten that he had someone else along with him, who couldn't see the train. Curling her fingers up against the cold platform, she caught her breath before squinting her eyes and mumbling, "Jerk." A word of warning would've been nice.

After catching her breath, she reached up and grabbed one of the metal poles before pulling herself to her feet. It was nicer now that they were actually on the train, and she was more tranquil, too. Now they'd only have to focus on getting in, getting the supplies they needed, and then getting out. But that would lead onto a whole different problem; finding a way to keep a low profile in the city. And she'd have her father to think about.

While Colette listened to Alex trying to find a way in through the window, the train continued to slow down, until it fully came to a halt. Seeing a new sudden urgency arise, she went next to Alex and slid her hand across the door before finding the handle and starting to tug on it. "Officials will be checking the carriages soon, so unless you have any other ideas, this door isn't going to open itself."

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Ｗｅ ａｒｅ ｂｒｏｋｅｎ ｆｒｏｍ ｔｈｅ ｓｔａｒｔ.cxcxcx

[arabmorgan]

ｈｅ ｉｓ ｊｕｓｔ ａｌｅｘ
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Alex couldn't help grinning at Colette's rather disheveled, disgruntled expression. "I would be more of a jerk if I left you behind," he reminded her cheerfully. Seeing that she was standing steadily on the moving train, he turned to the window beside the sliding door of the carriage, trying to work it open, his motions becoming gradually more frantic as the train began to slow even more, its brakes screeching slightly. From the corner of his eye, he could see Colette ineffectually trying to pull on the door as well, but he tried to ignore her movements.

"I know," he muttered irritably. "And that door's locked, by the way, so don't bother." Did she think he wasn't aware that the city officials would be along at any moment? With a last tug, something small and metallic whizzed past Alex's face, almost cutting his nose, and he shrank back instinctively with his eyes closed. After a second, he blinked and stared at the broken lock on the window, a small smirk slowly growing on his face. "Awesome, come on," he hissed over his shoulder, sticking his head into the carriage and looking around warily. Thankfully, most of the passengers were beginning were busy retrieving their bags or rummaging through their things busily.

This was pretty much their only chance to get into the train undetected, although what they would do after that was still debatable. Pushing himself through the window, Alex immediately slid unobtrusively to the floor, glancing around with a slightly nervous air as he tried to keep his lower body from thumping down loudly. Breathing a sigh of relief at his successful entrance, he stood, back hunched slightly, and peered out of the window. "Colette, over here," he whispered, sticking his hand out of the window and grabbing her wrist when she had wandered close enough. Step by step, he guided her over the windowsill, grabbing her waist tightly so she wouldn't fall and thanking the gods that she wasn't ticklish at all.

For what seemed like hours, the two of them stood awkwardly by the window, Alex looking around and furiously wondering what exactly they were going to do now. His plan, which had sounded so effective just half and hour before, now seemed completely foolish. Pushing down the uncomfortable feeling of unpreparedness, he sank to a crouch on the floor, placing his head so low that his ear was all but touching the rather unclean floor of the train as he took a quick, sweeping glance of the view beneath the seats. "Perfect," he muttered to himself, spotting a few unwatched bags placed casually under the seats, only to be retrieved as their owners were leaving the train.

"Wait here, okay?" Patting Colette's arm reassuringly, Alex crept up to the nearest seat, its occupant's tuft of hair just visible over the top of the dull velvet. Reaching his arm under the seat, he quietly dragged the man's expensive-looking leather bag over to him, hoping the scuffing sounds weren't too loud in the quiet carriage. Holding back a curse when the strap got caught on a jutting nail, he bent all the way over to work it free, before standing and hurrying backwards with quick steps. Grabbing Colette's arm with a whispered, "It's me!" he led them to the toilets between the two carriages, shoving her in before shutting the door carefully.

"Okay, so I have this bag," he said, pleased, closing the lid of the toilet bowl so she could take a seat. With fumbling fingers, he unzipped the bag, eyes widening when he struck gold immediately. The man's identification card was laid clearly on top of his other items, obviously for easy access during the checks. They had gotten lucky - there was quite a bit of money in the wallet, although the rest of it seemed to be merely business papers. Stuffing the wallet in Colette's hands, he said, "Wait here, I'll take the card and return the bag, or else they'll raise the alarm. I'll see if I can get another card too. Only open the door if I knock like this, get it?" Demonstrating quietly on the wall, he unlocked the toilet door and slipped out.

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ｌｏｓｔ ｉｎ ｈｉｓ ｏｗｎ ｍｉｎｄ.

[adoration]

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
ＣＯ Ｌ Ｅ Ｔ Ｔ Ｅ Ｊ Ｓ Ｙ Ｌ Ｖ Ｅ Ｓ Ｔ Ｒ Ｅ
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

cxcxＷｅ ａｒｅ ｍａｄｅ ｏｆ ｓｈａｔｔｅｒｅｄ ｐｉｅｃｅｓ.
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It was true, he hadn't left her behind in the end. At least that was a reassuring thought. Standing all alone, blind, to the side of a railway leading into the city she was basically on the run from was a raunchy picture; it burned in the corners of her mind like the sting of a bee. If it had actually happened, it would've been worse. Almost grateful now for her disgruntled board onto the platform, she glanced off to the side in defeat: "You have a point."

Pitifully, her hand fell from the polished handle while the train came to it's stop. Lifted sand caught up in the wheels sifted out, as the engine creaked from exhaust. And while she couldn't help but listen in wonder to the overlooked sounds, the clink of the broken lock snapped her out of her stupor. The lock on the window was broken? "How'd you manage to do that?" she breathed, redrawing her hand from grasping the metallic clasp.

Her fingers lined the now open window as Alex climbed through it. The hushed voices of population-- she'd almost missed it --whirled from the front of the carriage. They were busy with their own problems; none of them could care less about the two runaway teenagers slinking into the train, not like they noticed. Eluding both the city and the exiles wasn't a worry for them. The only matter they had to bear was rounding up their relatives and ushering them through the security check; this easily felt like carrying the world on their shoulders to them. If only they understood having to sleep in a cave while scavenging and stealing for food. But she was tolerant enough to know that her issues were not theirs.

She kept her mouth clamped shut as she ascended into the train, her arms and legs stiff as she was hauled down by her brown haired guide. Once inside, she could easily feel the change in the air; it was stuffy in the carriage-- she could only guess the conductor got a million complaints about this by people up to their eyes in wealth. And if she was one of them, she would've complained too, for it only made her more uncomfortable in this predicament.

The brunette gave Alex a taut nod, and stayed hammered in place as he crept off to rummage around in the carriage. With no use of the hazy winter blue orbs that adorned her face, it felt as if every other person in the small compartment was focused on her, disregarding their distance from her. She could've sworn at least one little kid tugged on his mother's jacket before asking 'what's with those girl's eyes?'

By the time he returned, her breath was hitched in her throat. For some odd reason, it was something she was just compelled to do; it felt as if it would somehow help in this situation, perhaps for being as still as possible. Not that being still mattered as she was tugged to the back by Alex when he returned with a bag. Especially as he led her into the cramped space of the restrooms.

"What'd you get?" Almost immediately, her eyes flickered towards where she assumed the bag was, before returning to his face. Guilt for taking some stranger's ID would hit her later; for now, she was pecking with curiosity directed at the leather bag in his hands. Not that she got much of an answer, for a wallet was shoved into her hand before he exited the narrow space.

Taking a moment to exhale, she took the chance to sit down on the lid of the toilet bowl before returning her attention to the wallet. Her curiosity was almost like a child's; as one, she'd always heard rumors of wealthy with bags overflowing with currency. She'd once gotten caught as a young worker peeking a glance at her payer's closet, to see if they were true. They had accused her of thievery at first, until her father somehow managed to smooth out the scuffle-- she still wondered how he'd done that even today.

She pulled out a few bills, fumbled with the small papers in her hands for a while. It felt like a lot, but she couldn't be sure-- for all she knew without her eyesight, they could've all only been worth a dollar each. There weren't too many coins either; the man must've been one of those people who had some strange grievance with spare change, many people nowadays did. She wasn't one of them. As a child, she had used to love listening to the jingle of coins in her pocket, a relief to the glum around her.

As she pressed the money back into the wallet, the whine of the train sounded. Her head jerked up, and she shoved the wallet into the pocket of her shorts. They were almost ready to leave? The security checks must've gotten more efficient lately. But where was Alex? People'd definitely be sorting out into their separate seats in the course of the next minutes. Straightening up, she pressed her ear to the door of the restroom, before silently listening for the rhythmic knocking to signal his return.

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Ｗｅ ａｒｅ ｂｒｏｋｅｎ ｆｒｏｍ ｔｈｅ ｓｔａｒｔ.cxcxcx

[arabmorgan]

ｈｅ ｉｓ ｊｕｓｔ ａｌｅｘ
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Slipping out of the toilet and shutting it behind him in what he hoped looked like a casual manner, Alex hurried back to the back of the seat he had taken the bag from. He placed it back not a moment too soon, and the portly-looking occupant of the seat reached down to pull the bag out from under the seat and onto his lap. Not wanting to be discovered hanging around suspiciously when the theft was discovered, he turned right back around, walked past the toilet Colette was hopefully still hiding safely in, and strode into the last carriage. Most of the passengers were streaming past him, shoving him left and right as they tried to make their way out of the train.

Silently frustrated, both because he was being pushed around like he didn't exist and because he was at a complete loss regarding what to do, Alex glanced down at all the bags the passengers were holding in their hands. Some had their identification cards in their hands, others sticking out of their pockets, and some were just nowhere to be seen. Honestly, Alex had very little faith in his pick-pocketing skills, but he didn't seem like he had a choice now; he couldn't take the risk of either him or Colette not having an identification card, especially as badly dressed as they were now from their journey. Now that businessman he had stolen from, he would probably get away with saying he'd left his at home, so he had nothing to fear.

The first few times he intentionally pushed a little harder against the people thronging against him, he couldn't quite bring himself to snatch the cards sticking out of their pockets; he just felt so exposed, and how could the other people around him not notice him stealing blatantly like that? As the crowd began to thin, though, his sense of urgency increased. Taking a quick breath to steel himself, he intentionally stumbled into a slighter woman coming towards him as if the man on his left had shoved him, sending her shoulder slamming into the side of the train. Shame-faced and apologizing profusely, Alex grabbed the lady by her shoulders to make sure she was alright before pushing past her with his shoulder at the same time he plucked the card out of her jeans pocket with bated breath.

Turning, he watched as the last person filed out of the carriage and breathed a low sigh of relief. The train engine started up again then, but he paid it no mind; he could still clearly see the passengers waiting to leave the train up ahead. Returning quickly to the toilet, he gave the knocking signal he had demonstrated earlier, slightly surprised to see the vaguely panicked look on Colette's face when she opened the door. "Don't worry, the passengers haven't even started boarding for the return trip," he assured her, his tone slightly bemused. "Come on, we have to catch up with the crowd or we'll be way too noticeable as stragglers." Grabbing her wrist, he led her between the now-empty seats, walking with brisk steps till they caught up with the last few people.

His grip tightened nervously on her wrist as they neared the city officials, but they seemed rather bored after scanning the cards of hundreds of people who had gone before them. His worry wasn't justified at all, as the guard merely scanned the two cards, checking they were genuine, before waving them on. His partner shot an odd look at their worn clothes, but they didn't look too malnourished or suspicious, so he remained silent as they passed. Alex led them both right down the nearest path, acting as if he knew where he was going, and only coming to a stop two streets away from the station. "Okay, now we have to find a place to stay, and I'll find out where you used to be kept. That's where the scientists will be, right?" He got right down to business, his lips pursed as he considered everything they needed to do.

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ｌｏｓｔ ｉｎ ｈｉｓ ｏｗｎ ｍｉｎｄ.

[adoration]

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ＣＯ Ｌ Ｅ Ｔ Ｔ Ｅ Ｊ Ｓ Ｙ Ｌ Ｖ Ｅ Ｓ Ｔ Ｒ Ｅ
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

cxcxＷｅ ａｒｅ ｍａｄｅ ｏｆ ｓｈａｔｔｅｒｅｄ ｐｉｅｃｅｓ.
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Her nonexistent gaze remained dormant and locked on the door of the restroom, until Alex came back like rain in a desert. That was right, they didn't belong here. For him the thought was definite, but she wasn't quite sure where she belonged now. Did she belong nowhere? The wavering thought of her returning to some place as if it was a desert and she was it's tumbleweed seemed pretty preposterous by now, even if she had returned to the very place she'd taken her primary breath.

Standing up almost instantly, her voice had etched itself in a new tone. She had become quiet, in almost a faint way. It made it as if one had to follow her voice up and down, like every word was a note that'd never be repeated in such a way again: "Maybe it would be better to try and sneak past the guards?" This was the last time she'd let her anguish shine through once again-- after this, she'd have to squeeze herself free, out of regret's clutches. But her idea was a mere illusion; of course there was no consideration, seeing how far they'd come by now.

Like a moth to a light, her reticent attitude returned. She complied with following Alex, but she still held her doubts fresh in her mind. And to think, even if her hair had grown the smallest amount, and her milky soft skin had started to grow durable with light calluses, this was the same girl that had been clutching a gun to a man's face only a week or two again.

The smell, the steamy air, the clanking of iron and metal tools; they all were promises held within the city's air as she followed Alex down the streets. She'd sunken so far into ambiguity that she had forgotten which side of the city they had entered. Was she surrounded by the rich, or the poor? The notorious, or the sequential? Her mind was too fuzzy; she almost fell like giving out right there and then.

"We'll have to be careful," she breathed, with a sense of recollection. She felt as conspicuous as a galaxy among the stars-- like tear drops leaking into a sunny day. "I'll be unable to tell who could recognize me, and who couldn't, seeing my eyes are of no use now. Well, at least, they seem to be. And as for finding the scientists, barging into the laboratory would be foolish-- unless you want to die, it'd be better to target one of them in their home."

She could definitely consider herself foolish by this point-- the stupidity of this 'plan' they had made and put into action made her as incredulous as a fish jumping out of water, not to reach the shore, but the moon. Actually, not even a fish would be that ludicrous. While she allowed her apprehension to freely roam the every corner of her mind, there was no room to stop and clearly say 'this is pointless' in the real world. They had created this fallacy, and crafted it into a situation; empty-handed and clear-minded was no option.

After short discussion, she continued following after him. Though she was almost reluctant to, she firmly kept hold of Alex's hand. He must've had no experience with any girls whatsoever; being dragged around by her wrist was distressing-- especially with her current condition --and it looked awfully unrefined to those that inhabited the wild streets of the city.

Once again, her shoulder bumped into that of another. Brushing off the gruff comment the passerby made, she kept her head faced ahead with a perplexed look. Did Alex know what he was doing? "I doubt it'd be easy to find some place to stay if we're in the lower part of the city... They don't just keep hotels around every corner for the poor," she stated to him, keeping a cap on what she said out of weariness of eavesdroppers. "If you're set on staying in someplace of the sort, it's most likely impossible. Staying with anyone I used to know... That'd be a rough option as well." As much as she hated to admit it, anyone she knew would be eager to turn her in for quite a bounty. The discrimination between poor and rich in the city was enough to corrupt anyone's mind with the promises of fortune.

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Ｗｅ ａｒｅ ｂｒｏｋｅｎ ｆｒｏｍ ｔｈｅ ｓｔａｒｔ.cxcxcx

[arabmorgan]

{ i was thinking, when they find out about colette's father (not sure when that is but we'll just go along and see :3), he could be sentenced to death for causing a commotion at some important rich guy's house and demanding to know where his daughter is - they're just taking the chance to off him because he's useless to them. }

ｈｅ ｉｓ ｊｕｓｔ ａｌｅｘ
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As they left the city guards far behind, travelling down wending alleys and sparsely-populated streets, Alex bent his head slightly to better hear Colette's whisper-soft voice. He shot her a soft, amused smile that she couldn't see, squeezing her wrist reassuringly. "Don't worry, there aren't many people around here, and everyone's far too busy to pay any attention to us." His eyes widened slightly at her admittedly much more sensible plan and he nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds good, but you still have to tell me who they are so I can tail them home from the lab or something. I wasn't going to just crash in! I'm not that crazy." He smirked, feeling like a load had been lifted off his shoulders now that they were in the city itself.

Sure, they were probably surrounded by enemies and civilians who wouldn't hesitate to turn them in for a handsome sum, but his sense of accomplishment still outweighed his caution at the present moment. He glanced down in surprise as she abruptly wriggled her wrist gently out of his, unsure what she was about to do. For a terrible moment, he thought that he had misjudged her - that she had been lying about losing her sight, that she was about to disappear into the depths of the city that she knew so much better than him. The hand that had been holding her shook involuntarily as he stared at her; it only lasted a moment, but to him it seemed to span an eternity.

The spell was broken when she slipped her hand into his instead, and he was even more confused than before. He silently stared at their interlocked hands, feeling both uncomfortable and embarrassed, although certainly not in a bad way, as the slight uncharacteristic colour in his cheeks made apparent. Again, her reasoning made much more sense than his - he certainly wouldn't want to be mistaken for some sort of kidnapper-of-girls or something ridiculous like that - and he was far from against their current means of keeping track of each other.

Once again, for the millionth time since he had saved Colette from the rebel camp, he had to remind himself that she was, first and foremost, a weapon, a means to an end. It vaguely frustrated him how attached he was becoming to her, but he supposed it was inevitable given he knew and remembered no one from his past or present. He shot the passerby who bumped into her an irritable glare that the man probably didn't notice, pulling her slight frame closer to her in a protective manner. "I'm sure they have seedy motels around here though. It certainly looks like the kind of place for them," he mused, glancing around at the somewhat dilapidated stone houses, with broken glass and bricks littered around the weed-filled gardens. The living conditions couldn't be compared to the rebels' camps, but at least most of the rebels kept their living spaces neat.

Shooting her a quick sideways glance, Alex asked, "You have the wallet, right? We have more than enough money for whatever terrible motel we find here, but we don't want to use too much anyway. Who knows when we'll be as rich as this again?" His voice was faintly bitter and darkly amused. Indeed, it didn't take long for them to walk past a few motels, and as Alex had guessed they were indeed seedy. In fact, the first two were looked so dubious and shady that he bypassed them altogether; he wasn't going to leave Colette alone in that sort of place when he went out looking for the scientists as well as any clue of his past. The third looked slightly rundown but much more reputable, without suspicious figures loitering around the alleys of the building, and Alex led the way into the building.

They paid for two days in a single room - shabby, but passably clean, and the bed was neatly-made. "So," Alex started, flopping down on the floor since he was way too dirty to touch the bed at the moment, "shall I go out and get lunch? Or dinner or whatever time it is now." He peered out of the window, noting how the buildings gradually grew taller and more stately in the distance, toward the middle of the city.

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ｌｏｓｔ ｉｎ ｈｉｓ ｏｗｎ ｍｉｎｄ.