Maximum Ride |★|

[tavros.]

ᴅɪʀᴋ ᴍᴀᴄʜɪɴᴀ
ᴀɢᴇ - 16
ʜᴇɪɢʜᴛ - 5' 9"
#ᴛᴡ: #ᴄᴀsᴘɪᴀɴ, #2ʟᴀᴢʏ4ᴛʜɪs
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Dirk couldn't help but notice Caspian's impossibly blue eyes flickering about when he glanced up at them, seeming to follow even the slightest movement made by him. It made him more than a little paranoid, but he guessed he could understand. After all, he was really just some bird kid with a bunch of debilitating injuries; if anyone were to see him, even if they didn't see the wings, they'd want to take him to the hospital for his general roughed up appearance. He curled his fingers into fists as the other spoke, telling him things that he simultaneously rejoiced about in his mind and never wanted to hear. His heart was racing, faster than its already abnormally rapid pace. By now it was practically counting off milliseconds.

Ren... had he really tried to go back for him? It wasn't too unbelievable, considering all that had happened, but he didn't think he'd try to run through a burning building to find him. Caspian's next question caught him off guard, and he had to force himself not to just blurt out an answer and think about this. That last statement was true, he'd pretended to betray the flock in hopes of aiding in their escape, but ultimately he had failed. He gathered his thoughts like handfuls of weeds and tried to spell out his meaning.

"Yeah, we're close. They're my fam'ly, I guess ya could say. At least, they're close 's I'll ever get to one. I'm glad t'know ya bought it though, I was freakin' out the whole time I was there. I was plannin' on helpin' e'eryone get outta there by gettin' in good with the whitecoats, but I freaked and couldn't do nothin'. Got some good dirt though, I guess. What're you plannin' to do? How 'm I gonna find the flock? Where do we even find some food, god I could go for a burger right 'bout now. Well, I could go for anythin' really." Dirk rambled on, distracted from his original train of thought by daydreams of two day old dumpster food and stolen snacks. What a loser.

[bee]

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Ｃａｓｐｉａｎ
leopard ♛ eighteen ♛ 6'0 ♛ tagged; Dirk has risen the beast
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Off in the distance, there is resistance
Bubbling up and festering
Hey Mr Motion, make me a potion
Shake it all up with your mystery

How come I've never seen your face 'round here
I know every single face 'round here
A man on a mission, changing the vision
I was never welcome here

We don't have a choice to stay
We'd rather die than do it your way

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Caspian had figured these kids formed a little family of their own. winged mutants looking out for each other. he was tempted to ask more, and it'd probably come up sooner or later. the avians were fascinating. and he was particularly interested in Jinx, and if she'd escaped safely. the ground had been flying away, all together, so he'd convinced himself that she was 100% a-okay. maybe that's why he wanted to save Dirk, he was close to Jinx, and he didn't want to take something away from her.

the leopard boy stood in the middle of the redhead's rambling and grabbed his dirt jacket off the ground, brushing off as much filth as he could. if they were to be going out in public, something would be necessary to cover those bandages. Dirk's shirt was much too torn to be normal-looking, so giving the tinier boy his windbreaker would have to do. the burns on his legs were unavoidable. Caspian himself didn't mind walking around shirtless at all, so this wasn't a huge disappointment. sitting back down, he tossed the article of clothing at Dirk, crossing his legs. "we'll find 'em. they went north, so...what, Canada? too far. wait 'till we hear something on the news, they're bound to be found by some human's eye." rubbing the back of his neck again, that damn kink refusing to be worked out, Cas wondered how they'd get food. he had no money, Sebastian the crab over here probably didn't. they'd have to come to pickpocketing. Caspian was admittedly good at it, he'd done it many-a-time when he was broke and wanted to grab lunch. here in Seattle, with everyone bustling about and not paying attention to their purses, it'd be...hopefully easy. "I'll buy you something. you have to put that on though," with that, a nod towards the jacket now in Dirk's lap, "i'm not going anywhere with you while you're wearing that thing. looks like you got thrown in a blender."

[.:Kira:.]

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Keeping Alpha secure in her jacket and staying close to Hiro, Athena eyed the boy, trying to figure out how he knew so much about them. Sure Alpha was a bulge in her jacket, but how on Earth could he know it was a cat or that it belonged to Jinx?! The more information the kid rattled off, the more pissed off Athena became. How could he know so much?! Her wings ached from the long flight, but she still got them ready to take off once again. Just in case this kid meant harm.

She was just about ready to silently signal the others to take to the sky when she heard Hiro. She glanced down at him in confusion. "What?" She whispered in the small boy's direction, not really expecting him to reply but wanting an explanation.

[tavros.]

ᴅɪʀᴋ ᴍᴀᴄʜɪɴᴀ
ᴀɢᴇ - 16
ʜᴇɪɢʜᴛ - 5' 9"
#ᴛᴡ: #ᴄᴀsᴘɪᴀɴ, #2ʟᴀᴢʏ4ᴛʜɪs
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Dirk sighed and looked up at Caspian as he rose. They probably had gone to Canada, but he didn't think that was too far away. He bet he could make it, even with his injuries. His wings were relatively unharmed aside from a chunk of singed feathers and a lot of sore muscle—how long had he even been in the air anyway?—so he knew he could probably make it, if not without a little perseverance and a lot of determination. He also doubted that the flock would be seen by any humans, but he decided not to say this. He wasn't about to complain about being in the care of someone who would actually look after him and his various contusions. Not to mention he was great eye candy.

He wondered how this guy planned to get money though. He was pretty sure the cat hybrid was totally broke—it's not like he had many places to get money at the School—and he knew for a fact that he didn't have a dime to his own name. He picked up the bulky, dirty, and not to mention unfashionable windbreaker in his lap, surveying it with mild revulsion as he listened. He sighed, lifting the jacket higher and scrutinized his own body. His clothes were mostly tattered in ribbons, and covered in more blood than he had previously thought, although the provisional bandages did make it look a tiny bit better. "I can't disagree with ya there," he said with a dry laugh, "but I gotta wonder how this jacket'll help with this," he motioned to his legs. "Dunno where we're gonna get the money for a meal. How d'you plan on keepin' them kitty ears hidden anyway?" he asked as he pulled his arms through the sleeves of the jacket, the cool fabric feeling like heaven against the burns and scrapes on his torso and arms.

[[i'll post for hiro soonish maybe, idk]]

[Water~Wing]

【~ℂ .Ａ.Ｒ.Ｉ.Ｓ.Ａ.~】

Canine-Avian Recombinant Integration, Specimen Alpha

This was ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous, actually, and with each passing day, hour, minute, the ridiculousness of this whole situation continued to intensify. Life turns on a dime, they say, and turn it had.

It had been two or three weeks or so – Carisa had lost count – since the whole mishap at the School, when this chaotic turn of events had happened. Before then, things had been simple – at least, simple in a relative sense.

Carisa had been “born” – the proper term would probably be “engineered” – at a place called The School, a top-secret lab facility in the middle of a desert in California. She was a genetic experiment, a result of The School’s research with recombinant-DNA life forms.

Carisa was an Eraser; this is a nickname given to the successful group of experiments that had been grafted with lupine DNA. In addition to enhanced senses and dexterity, the Erasers, normally appearing human, have the ability to shift their bodies into a human-wolf hybrid creature, sporting fur, fangs, tail and all. There were few exceptions that could shift into a wolf entirely, though Carisa was not one of them.

Technically speaking, Carisa was about two years old. But like most other Erasers, her body aged much more quickly than normal, giving her the appearance of a girl of about nine or ten. In about a year, she would likely resemble a teenager. A year after that, a woman in her early twenties. It was probable that she would die before reaching age ten, as did most of her kind. There were special cases of a wolf-hybrid aging normally, but once again, this did not apply to the little black-haired female.

What made Carisa different from most Erasers, however, was that in addition to her lupine genes, she had also been spliced with the DNA of a harpy eagle, giving her silvery wings reminiscent of that particular bird of prey. Unlike Carisa’s canine features, which could be removed at any time, her wings remained permanently attached to her shoulder blades. Spanning about nine feet, these wings were capable of flight but more often than not they got in the way, knocking things off of shelves and making back-sleeping impossible.

Carisa was awful at flying, anyway. Often she would mentally curse at those scientists for giving her huge wings in the first place. Being part wolf, though? Not a bad deal at all. Except for the whole die-in-a-few-years part.

The young Eraser, in fact one of the only female Erasers at The School, had been living at the facility for her entire short life, where she had been training in combat as well as various other skills. It was assumed that she, like many other Erasers, would later work for The School, as local security, external intelligence, or otherwise. It wasn’t exactly a glamorous lifestyle by any means, but it had been relatively comfortable. There was a place for everyone, and everyone knew their place. Ideally.

Carisa had never been outside the School’s walls, either, until now.

Two or three weeks ago – however long it had been – there had been some sort of accident at The School. An explosion – or series of explosions – destroyed most of the building, throwing everything into chaos. There was fire, panic… everything seemed to blur together into one vague memory in Carisa’s mind. She’d been with Damon, the white-haired Eraser that she’d formed a bond with when it all started happening. At some point they managed to get out together – well, more like Damon dragging a hysterical, panicked girl out of a burning building. At some point they’d met up with some members of the flock; those were the avian experiments that Damon had told Carisa about. At some point they’d also found Storm, another Eraser with whom Damon had been planning an escape all along.

At some point, Damon’s biological sister Jinx died. Carisa had not seen this happen.

Like they say, life turns on a dime, and in hours Carisa's life had turned from that of a test subject to that of a refugee. That was where the ridiculous part had set in.

Canada. It had to be Canada, of all the places in the world the little ragtag band of mutants could have fled to. The USA’s northerly neighbor where the people were overly friendly and words such as “house” and “about” and “sorry” were spoken with a zesty twang. Why were they headed there? According to Renni, the raven boy who was also the flock’s self-proclaimed leader, it was something about how they’d be safest there because it was isolated and not a lot of people and blah-blah-blah.

In Carisa’s opinion, they could have been just as safe in Miami.

But nope. Instead, the group’s intended destination was north of the border. And they say that the fun is in the journey, not the destination; this did not prove true by any means. Sleeping in trees and caves and eating out of trash cans is not fun. Carisa had learned that from experience.

At least Carisa wasn’t travelling alone, though, and it seemed like a few of the flock members had lived like this before, making things slightly more bearable. Storm and Damon were the only other wolf-hybrids besides Carisa who were along for the ride; the rest had wings. There was Ren, the flock leader with the black wings. There was Athena, the brown-haired falcon girl with the kitten who apparently used to belong to Jinx. There was Vlad, the blue-haired blue jay with his black swan sister Rayvn – those two had a seriously odd sibling relationship. Lastly, there was Hiro, the little blond macaw boy who could control the weather. Carisa thought he was really neat.

The flock had been flying pretty much the entire way, while the Erasers, without wings, were bound to the ground. On occasion, Carisa would soar up and join the bird hybrids, being part bird herself, but for the most part she preferred to stay with her wolf-hybrid brethren. Her flying was awkward and uncoordinated at best; plus, it was much easier and more gratifying to ride on the back of a wolfified Damon. Something had changed quite a bit with the older Eraser, though, obviously a result of his biological sister’s death.

It was late morning, or possibly early afternoon, it was hard to tell. Carisa had to admit, despite all of her misgivings about coming to Canada, it was impossible to deny that it was actually really pretty up here. She was walking alongside her Eraser companions Damon and Storm, the rest flying overhead. They were in the mountains now, the Canadian Rockies, apparently. Lakes and streams streaked their way through the heavily forested landscape, which the bird kids had said provided really good cover. It could have been warmer, though. And – Carisa couldn’t quite put her finger on it – something seemed… weird. She’d been picking up on an odd scent that, as far a she knew, belonged to none of the flock, and it definitely wasn’t human… Not to mention that eerie feeling one gets when they’re being followed. However faint, it had remained constant as they travelled, though it was easy to forget about and Carisa never spoke of it.

In the air, Carisa could hear the birds saying stuff before they all swooped down ahead for a landing. After hiking (and flying) for God-knew how long, this was probably a good sign. Finally a legitimate place to stay, hopefully? As the young Eraser girl picked up her pace in the direction of the bird kids, it had appeared her prayers had been answered. Reaching a clearing among trees, she immediately spotted a small, dilapidated log cabin, obviously abandoned quite some time ago, with the flock inspecting the entrance. “Hey, guys! I think they found a place to stay!” the young Eraser squealed back at Damon and Storm as she now let her wings carry her the rest of the way to their new home.

Landing a few metres (‘cause they’re in Canada, heh) from the cabin’s porch, Carisa was greeted by several really wary-looking avian hybrids, resulting in a really confused Eraser girl. “What’s going on-“ she began to ask, but then her question was answered by the sight of an unknown individual lurking in the small cabin’s doorway.

He looked about Damon’s age, with pale skin that contrasted the pitch-black hair. He and Ren had been talking, arguing, maybe? Ren had that distrustful glare that seemed to be oh-so-Ren of him, while this new guy had this cocky air about him that was, in some way, quite charismatic. As the young girl came closer she saw his fangs, longer and sharper than her own, reminding her somewhat of a cobra. He also reeked of cigarette smoke, made obvious by the smoldering cigarette on the wooden floor beneath him.

That wasn’t all, however. Beneath the scent of tobacco, she could faintly make out a subtle yet familiar musk, reminding her of the one she’d been noticing for a while. The same scent she’d so easily dismissed as no big deal.

She walked up right as Ren was demanding answers from this dude. There was something about him being able to read souls or something like that – had she picked up on that right?

“He’s been following us for a while. Probably not long after we left, I think,” Carisa spoke up, answering Ren’s question. “At least since we got into the mountains.”

[tavros.]

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▀▄▀▄▀▄ｈｉｒｏ ｒｈｅａ▄▀▄▀▄▀
7 ☁ 4' 6" ☁ self-assured ☁ #: athena, adam, alpha
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If the rain comes they run and hide their heads
They might as well be dead
If the rain comes, if the rain comes

When the sun shines they slip into the shade
And drink their lemonade
When the sun shines, when the sun shines

Rain, I don't mind
Shine, the weather's fine

I can show you that when it starts to rain
Everything's the same
I can show you, I can show you
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Hiro looked at Athena in his peripherals when she acknowledged his words. She had to be just as outraged as he was, maybe not necessarily for the same reasons, but she still seemed angry. "Said he's not lying," he murmured softly, turning his head slightly toward her. "He really can see our souls, or whatever," he mumbled, trailing off at the end. He wasn't sure where all this talkativeness was coming from, but at the same time he knew it was true. He didn't know how he knew this, per se, but the knowledge was there all the same.

He kept his eyes on the snake mutant the whole time, but inspected Athena's form out of the corner of his eye. She was tensed, ready to take to the skies and flee. He idly wondered where they would even go if not here, and how they would lose this guy. If Carisa was right, then this guy knew how to track them anyways. The lump in her jacket didn't seem to be moving, Alpha was probably asleep.

Looking at the small lump of kitten, Hiro made a conscious effort to change the chilled aura around him. He closed his eyes for a moment to try and channel the more positive emotions. It was difficult, trying to be happy when he was so sad, but me made himself think of the silver lining to all of this. Most of the flock and its add-ons were all still here with the group. There were only two missing, and it was very likely that both of them were dead, so they weren't suffering. The ones that were with the group were a little roughed up, but fine overall. His fingertips tingled and reddened slightly as the temperature increased, and he opened his eyes again. He was getting better at this; this time he'd only had to close his eyes for a few seconds, and now the air around him was warmer than usual. But he did have a motive for this, however trivial.

He finally turned his eyes away from Adam and up to meet Athena's. He could see her hair moving ever so slightly with the wind, but the air around him was calm and still. He looked at Alpha cradled in her jacket, then back up at her face. He extended one arm upward slightly and pointed to the bulge in her arms, raising his eyebrows in a silent question.

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▌│█║▌║▌║ｄｉｒｋ ｍａｃｈｉｎａ║▌║▌║█│▌
16 ✘ 5' 9" ✘ mood ✘ #: ppl
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Drawn together
Painters brush stroke
Sleight of hand we,
We won't go up in smoke
Fates colliding
Love undying

Like the rising tide
Beating hearts grow but never die
To simplify
I'll stand by your side
Close my eyes
Hope will never die
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Words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words "Words words words words words words words," words words words words. Words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words.

Words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words. Words words words words words words words words words.

[Water~Wing]

【~ℝＥＧＩ~】

The interior of the FBI office building was a stark contrast to what the lion hybrid had been previously staring at on the outside. While the building was no doubt decades old, everything in the office’s main lobby looked state of the art. Such was to be expected, though, of perhaps the most refined law enforcement agency in the entire world. It didn’t seem like any expense had been spared. The space itself was built into a large, modern atrium that exuded sophistication with that touch of government stiffness. It was complete with tall ceilings, polished, frosted glass walls, a chic marble floor that caused an echoing click with every step, especially those wearing high heels. Engraved high on the wall in the back of the lobby was the official seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, about a meter in diameter. A branch of the U.S. Department of Justice. All in all, the space was clean, professional, official… It was obvious that this was the right place.

As Regi entered, he practically shuddered in the brisk temperature of the room, likely no more than seventy degrees. What struck him more, however, was the faint smell of a chemical sterilizer, which caused his nose to tingle ever so slightly upon entering. In a way, the cleanliness of this place was almost eerily reminiscent of the same lab facility that the lion hybrid had escaped from, uncomfortably so. It was a coincidence worth casting aside, however, and it was indeed possible that the smell of an antiseptic had seeped its way into Regi’s paranoia.

He stood there for a moment, hood still drawn, still clutching the manila envelope that housed his earlier project. He hadn’t been thinking about it, but Regulus probably looked like a total mess by now. He’d been sporting the same outfit for probably around twenty-four hours now, which no doubt reeked of dirt and sweat from wandering around in the desert the night before. His golden hair was filthy, now falling in sweaty clumps to either side of his face. He was exhausted, which probably showed in his now-pale face, dark streaks taking shape around his bloodshot eyes.

He thought about this. To the FBI, Regi probably just looked like another homeless person roaming the streets of the “City by the Bay”. And homeless people don’t usually have any business with the FBI, at least not that Regi was aware of. He was, technically speaking, homeless by the commonly accepted definition of the word. Why would anyone here take him seriously?

That was another dilemma that Regulus had not been planning for. All of his efforts had been focused on reaching this destination, but no contingencies had been made for when he actually got here.

Plainly put, he had absolutely no idea what to do now that he was here. What was the best way to go about explaining to the FBI that he was a mutant held illegally at a top-secret lab? Was there even a best solution? There were too many windows of uncertainty; worst-case scenario, they’d call Regulus crazy and throw him out. Or, probably worse yet, the FBI would be utterly fascinated and get the US government experimenting on him instead. Which, like he’d thought about earlier, it was possible that The School was, in fact, a government-run agency itself, and revealing himself to the FBI could get him sent back to that place. THAT was probably the worst-case scenario, when Regi truly thought about it.

All doubts and misgivings aside, however, it would be stupid to back out now. What else could he possibly do, anyway? Live as a bum for the rest of his life, hiding his mutations from the world? That couldn’t work forever, and Regi didn’t want it to. He’d always desired a life more high-class than that, at least.

Quickly, the lion hybrid attempted to formulate a plan on how to go about describing his dilemma to the FBI. He had written documentation – that was what the hours in the library were intended for, after all – and, of course, if that wasn’t enough, he had the physical proof in his mutations to back up his story. They’d probably want to see, anyway. So, ideally, the FBI wouldn’t throw him in a mental facility.

That wasn’t the first obstacle, though. After consideration, it probably wasn’t wise to show off his ears and tail and simply waltz up to the reception counter. Sure, even the receptionists for the FBI probably were under some sort of oath of confidentiality, but it would probably be best to speak to someone in charge before spilling everything. And, preferably, in a more private location. As Regi looked around, there were indeed other civilians inside the main lobby, going about whatever business they had with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Finally, Regulus approached the back of the lobby, the part of the space that housed the reception counter. As the building was closing in less than thirty minutes, there was luckily no line to meet with an attendant. Regi was summoned forward by a silent wave of an employee at a desk.

He was a younger man, no more than thirty. Clean-shaven, dark, buzz-cutted hair. He wore a black suit with an official looking FBI badge on his left lapel. He, like the other employees in the lobby, sat behind an individual desk which was separated from the rest of the lobby by a sheet of glass. Most likely bulletproof. Underneath the counter on Regi’s side was a slot for trading documents, and communication was managed by a two-way speaker in the glass.

The attendant was typing something on his computer, then after a moment finally made eye contact with Regi. The lion hybrid kept his hood pulled tight, making sure his ears would remain unnoticed at this close proximity to the man. His gray eyes were piercing, though not totally apathetic.

“How can I help you?” The attendant’s voice was slightly muffled through the speaker, though easily heard nonetheless. He was calm, professional, though not exactly warm and friendly like the lady at the library.

Regi, finding it hard to maintain his nervous focus on the man, leaned in close to the speaker that separated them. He was taking slow, shallow breaths while, for a moment, considering what to say. Eventually, after a few seconds of silence, he spoke. “I need to speak with an agent, please. Preferably the special agent in charge. Privately. It’s urgent.” Better to get to the point and make his demand, Regi figured.

The attendant’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if confused by Regi’s request. “And… what is this in regards to?”

“Unfortunately I cannot say.” Regi, despite his dilapidated appearance, tried to at least sound diplomatic and professional. “But this is a very urgent matter. I need to speak with someone immediately.”

His eyes narrowed again. “I’m sorry sir, but unfortunately I cannot authorize you to speak with an agent without prior approval or an appointment.”

Regi should have known better than to think that this would be easy. He’d been trying to phrase everything delicately, but to an FBI associate behind a desk, he was simply a delusional, dirty teenager making some outrageous request to personally speak with an FBI agent with no prior notice. Regulus had been arguing with the associate for several minutes now, getting more and more flustered. He feared that after much longer, the Federal Bureau of Investigation would have him thrown out of the building. He probably looked more suspicious given that he refused to pull down his hood.

“If I could please speak with someone in private; you don’t understand, this is very important!” Regi continued to plead with the associate, whom he could tell was getting frustrated.

“I’m sorry sir, there’s absolutely nothing I can do. And our office is now closed, so I will have to ask you to lea-”

“All right.”Regi finally raised a hand, taking a deep sigh. He’d reached his limit of pleading with this guy. Looking around, it seemed that the office was, in fact, closed, and he was alone in the lobby. Not a bad thing, actually. “I am going to tell you why I’m here, and this will probably sound absolutely crazy,” he spoke clearly through the speaker. The associate at the window did not look amused. He hadn’t wanted to do this, but he felt as if he had no other choice at this point. Not breaking eye contact with the associate behind the desk, he brought one hand up to his jacket’s emerald-green hood and pulled it down, showing off his dust and sweat-caked golden ears. Wanting to make it known that they were, in fact, real, Regi twitched and folded both of his fuzzy features.

The associate lifted his head for a better look, eyes widening briefly before settling into confusion once again.

Feeling like he’d finally gotten somewhere, Regi leaned forward some more, closing the distance between himself and the microphone. “I was part of an experiment at a top-secret lab facility in Death Valley.” Hopefully the lion ears would be explanation of that enough. “I was being held against my will, and I’ve come here to make a statement. I have it right here.” Regi motioned to the manila envelope he’d been cradling. The associate seemed speechless.

“One moment, please,” the man murmured. Then, the associate rose from his seat and walked away, disappearing from view. Regi wasn’t sure what to make of this; had he just been ditched? He could hear murmuring behind the window, but he couldn’t make out what was being said.

After a couple minutes, Regi heard the click of a door opening to his left; from behind it a Latina woman in a black dress suit emerged. She also wore an FBI badge upon her lapel.

“I’m terribly sorry for the confusion,” she spoke in a soft tone. “Please follow me this way. I'm going to need to ask you some questions.” Taking this as a good sign, Regi followed this woman through the door, grateful to have surpassed at least one barrier.

[bee]

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Ｃａｓｐｉａｎ
leopard ♛ eighteen ♛ 6'0 ♛ tagged; Dirk has risen the beast
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Off in the distance, there is resistance
Bubbling up and festering
Hey Mr Motion, make me a potion
Shake it all up with your mystery

How come I've never seen your face 'round here
I know every single face 'round here
A man on a mission, changing the vision
I was never welcome here

We don't have a choice to stay
We'd rather die than do it your way

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now was not the time to be picky in the fashion area of life. he could tell by Dirk's sour expression that the jacket was hardly his style—hell, it wasn't even Caspian's style—and he picked up the article of clothing like it was a rotting corpse. it was mildly amusing, seeing a kid be so judgmental of a jacket that'd safe him from strange stares at his injuries. wasn't Cas's fault he'd gotten himself battered, that was all on the redhead. the filthy windbreaker would have to do, until they got in a store and were able to grab some new things with some pickpocketed money.

the leopard boy reached up and mussed up his hair with both hands, an act often made out of frustration. he peered up with those currently vibrant blue hues, eyeing Dirk in an almost teasing way. "well i'm not giving you my pants so you're gonna have to deal with it." he mused, shoving himself off the ground roughly and rising to his feet. that spotted tail waved a bit to help him with his balance, sweeping over the ground as support. his brows furrowed in an unhappy way as he tucked his tail back into the leg of his jeans, huffing something about his spine starting to cramp because of his constant hiding of the appendage.

brushing blades of grass from his legs, he gave a little shiver-shake and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. "i've got an idea for the money, don't worry 'bout it. as for these pesky things," Cas gave a flick of his ears for effect, "i'm a cosplayer or some weirdo like that. i dunno, people won't care. it's a cute teenage thing, kitty ears. when we hit up a store i'll grab a beanie or something to cover 'em." he found it disgusting and stupid that people would place fake cat ears on their head and fake being part feline. it was offensive. humans were honestly confusing creatures. he'd just have to keep his fluffy figures still, he supposed, to make it as convincing as possible. or people wouldn't even notice, his golden hair covered them up partially. Caspian turned on his heel, starting off in the opposite direction and abandoning their makeshift cuddle den. "c'mon, kid."

//nothing against cosplayers caspian's just a priiiiick//

[.:Kira:.]

Ｔ є ѕ ℓ α

Tesla hadn’t slept very well that night. Even with a stomach full of food, a nice refreshing shower, and a safe place to stay the night, she couldn’t seem to drift off to the realm of dreams. The school would more than likely go searching for any escaped experiments, she included, to bring them back for more experimentation. She managed to get a few hours of sleep in total, just enough to reenergize herself for the new day.

She had been staring at the little clock beside her bed for over an hour, watching the numbers change each minute. Once it hit 5:30am, Tesla sat up and hopped out of her bed, sick of lying there doing nothing, something she often did at The School. She opened the door to her room and walked out, wondering what she could do to pass the time until Lewis woke up. She couldn’t see very much from outside her room. She looked all around, left and right, searching for anyone that might see her. When she was convinced that no one was around, she let out tail, tore off the make-shift bandana to reveal her ears, and jumped up to grab the side of the wall and scaled it all the way to the roof. She grabbed onto the gutter and flung herself over so she landed on her feet in a squatted position on the roof.

She kicked back on the roof, hands resting behind her head as a pillow, and letting her tail twitch every here and there. From where she was she could see everything! It may have been dark but her night vision allowed her to see beauty of the land at such an early hour. The remainder of the stars twinkled lightly and bats seemed to dance across the sky with ease. The dark navy sky soon gave way to a little glimmer of light far off beyond the mountains and light hues of pinks, oranges, reds, and yellows started to fill the sky with the announcement of the sunrise.

At this point Tesla decided to hop down from the room. ‘Light means time to get up right?’ she mentally asked herself. This assumption lead her to the fact that Lewis would should be up in an hour or so, unless he decided to sleep in. She stood up and stretched every limb of her body, a few joints popping here and there in the process. Once content, she tucked her tail away, tied her bandana back on and jumped off the roof to land on her feet, right back in front of her room. She straightened her clothed back up then proceeded to Lewis’s room to see if he was up yet.

She casually walked his way until she saw that he was already up and leaning against the balcony outside his room facing the sunrise. Tesla froze for a moment, thinking. Had he been up the whole time she was out? Did he see her tail, or ears? Did he see her jump off the balcony and land perfectly? She thought about these for a moment and decided that he hadn’t seen a thing because he didn’t react. She shrugged off the questions and concerns and continued his way.

“G’morning Lewis.” She announced as she approached him. Lewis swiveled his head until she was in his line of sight. A soft smile, different from the day before, grew on his face. Almost like he was trying to say ‘Sorry’ for some strange reason.

“Good morning Tesla. I didn’t expect you to be up so early.” Wait? Was she not supposed to be up yet? Are normal people her age not up at such a time?

“Oh, well I wanted to see the sunrise.” She glanced off to see the colors in the sky and the bats slowly being replaced with birds. “So, you said we’re going to the Bay Area, right?” She had no idea where that was, so she would just roll with it.

“Right. To be specific, we’re heading to San Francisco. And there is a very nice beach called Stinson Beach. If you’re still planning on going there that is.” Tesla’s eyes widened when he mentioned the beach. She had completely forgotten where she had even requested to go. She smiled and nodded her head excitedly. Lewis Keller smiled in return to seeing her excitement.

Tesla and Lewis had grabbed breakfast from the hotel lobby then hopped in his nice looking car. They were on their journey to San Francisco, driving through various places and having friendly conversation along the way. But Tesla was sure never to say anything even remotely related to The School.

Eventually they made it into a city with lots of small one-way streets, tall buildings, lots of cars, and even more people. The city life was a little over whelming for poor Tesla who had spent her entire life in a box, teaching herself parkour, and never having a social life…ever. “Welcome to San Francisco.” Lewis excitedly announced to her. But Tesla had her face pressed against the window with wide eyes looking at every little thing around her and scaring people on the street with her oddly over exaggerated facial expressions. The city was such a new thing and she had to make sure she saw every little detail! Lewis laughed a little once he noticed how exited she was to be in the city. “I’m glad to see you’re enjoying it here. I actually to make a stop up here then we can be on our way. Is that alright with you?” Tesla tuned in just enough to understand what he said, nodded her head, then continued gazing out the window.