for grav and me.

[glassea]

[ hey lu. so, honestly i don't know when i'll be able to get a response in. my muse is rubbish and stuff and i don't want to give you a totally horrid post. so hopefully i'll get something up soon. if not, know i'm banging my muse with a hammer. sorry for the incovinience! ]

[{belle}]

[[ occ; i honestly don't mind, grav. take all the time you need, because i have plenty i want to do over this side of things. seriously, don't bother yourself. c:

[glassea]

p ı ɹ ʇ s ɐ
two months,
four days

astrid looked at aurora with something close to horror. "we're taking off our rings? like, now?" she wasn't used tot hat. it was nice, having her own little sensor on her at all times. but then she revised her sentence, thinking out loud. "well, i guess we'll have to take them off at some point. best to get used to it now. and i assume it would look weird if we showed up inside a warehouse days before we ran away." duh, now she sounded like a total idiot. obviously that was what aurora had been thinking when she'd made her statement. "so, yeah. warehouse. right." she mounted her board, feeling the familiar rush as she settled into place and rose off the ground. this was her element. astrid spun back to face aurora, using the nose of her board to flick in the direction of the warehouse in a universal signal for move it, slowpoke!

the warehouse wasn't far away. the sun shone and the wind whipped astrid's still-wet hair in her face, stinging it with a million little needle-like pricks. in other words it was a perfect day. that is, it was perfect. then astrid remembered where she was going - a warehouse to steal travelling equipment. and if she got caught she'd never become a pretty. that sobered astrid up a little, making her drop the goofy grin she'd been wearing. did aurora suspect her of being overeager? was she playing it too hard? astrid didn't know. and not knowing terrified her. the once-gorgeous day seemed a lot bleaker by the time they got to the warehouse. truth be told, astrid was glad to have arrived. the silence that sat awkwardly between her and aurora during the board ride was punctured by the urgency of what needed to be done. they had to get in and out, fast. but that might be easier said than done. this warehouse certainly looked impenetrable, all corrugated tin roof and concrete walls. so rusty technology, but effective. "how're we gonna get inside?" and why hadn't she thought about this issue sooner? obviously the doors wouldn't be wide open. they couldn't just waltz in and take the boards. or could they? astrid didn't really see any security. besides slow-moving cameras, the only thing that stood between them and boards were a few locks.

astrid hopped off her board, having removed her ring earlier. she remembered aurora's warning about them tracking the boards, though she couldn't quite believe the government would do something like that. some people just gobbled up conspiracy theories. these thoughts on her mind, astrid moved towards the warehouse at a tiptoe, although that was useless. no one inside would be able to hear her through those walls anyway. she glanced back, not wanting to be left alone in her endeavor. "come on, let's go." not wanting to seem scared, she whipped back around and continued forwards, only to almost get flattened by an incoming truck. astrid yelped and leapt back, watching in horror as the red light scanned the barcode painted on the asphalt. thank god these trucks had no driver, and were automated, guided by the barcodes on the streets. but that had been a close call.

her eagerness much abated, astrid looked back more cautiously, noting aurora's progress. she really didn't want to go forwards anymore, but the truck was headed straight for the warehouse they wanted to go to. a door opened slowly to admit it, and astrid assumed it would close just as slowly. this was their chance to get inside.

[{belle}]

sorry this took so long, i was gone for three days, and wound up sick. this will have to do.

⊰ ａｕｒｏｒａ . ｌｙｎｎ . ｇｒｅｙ
two months, four days.

aurora stared at astrid in disbelief. she was only think of her ring now? and holding onto it as well? sure aurora had forgotten to take hers off until she arrived, but at least she understood the weight of what they were going into. if the operation didn't require two people, astrid would be...

aurora shook the thoughts out of her head. the whole government might be against the human race, here. what was the point of getting into fights within the only group of people who had the ability to stop them? not like aurora thought she had the ability to stop them, but it was nice to think about. plus she still had to make it to the smoke to confirm all this. if it turned out to be a no-go, then she would give away their position, and join all the bubbliest cliques because of her ugly adventures. but what if it was real? that, she told herself, would have to wait until she got their. in the rusty saying, she would "cross that bridge when she got to it".

leaning forward, aurora built speed and zipped towards the warehouse after astrid, who had just taken off her beloved ring. the breeze flowing through her hair, and flapping her loose shirt back, it was heaven, and almost made her forget every trouble that bombarded her, but as soon as the large grey building rose up above her, all good feelings that she had just had evaporated.

"how're we gonna get inside?" astrid said, shattering aurora's wall of fear. this was the same question that had kept her up many a night, but before all her friends turned pretty, she had found the solution. but it didn't seem to be coming at this moment. aurora kept her beard still, ignoring astrid's growing impatience. were they too late? she would have asked her ring the time, but this was a strictly no-ring mission. cold sweat dripped down her back. she scanned the road, but still it did not come. aurora's gaze fell to her feet, as she began to accept that they wouldn't get in today. "come on, lets go." astrid said to her, and just as she looked up, the girl was getting hit by just what they were looking for. "you found it!" aurora squealed, ecstatic that her plan hadn't failed. to her, a failed plan was one of the worst thing that could happen to someone besides being taken in by the guards. in her world, though, they were usually one and the same.

aurora stepped off her board and motioned for astrid to do the same. she hid it in some decorative bushes nearby, and ran quickly and quietly towards the now open warehouse. the doors were now slipping shut. she estimated at most they had four seconds, and it would take her around three seconds to get there. she was sprinting as fast as she could, but she wasn't as fit as astrid, and so was behind her. there was only two feet of open door left. one... aurora turned sideways and slid in just as the doors clanked shut behind her. they had made it.

[glassea]

p ı ɹ ʇ s ɐ
two months,
four days

astrid ran for the door, ran as fast as she could until her lungs were burning and her thighs ached. her board was safely hidden beneath a clump of bushes close to aurora's. but now she had to hurry. she wasn't used to running, not at all. she needed to do more physical activity than riding a board. boards might be exercise, but astrid remembered when she was a littlie and this run would have been no problem. when she was a pretty, though, she'd never have to worry about her physical fitness again. that was just one more plus of being pretty. she'd never get to expose the smoke if she didn't get through these doors, though. although the huge doors were sliding shut slowly she and aurora had been rather far away when they had opened. it seemed a lot longer than it had looked from back there. but she slid through the doors, aurora behind her making it in just the nick of time. for a moment the warehouse echoed with their panting breaths, and astrid feverishly hoped there was no one inside. the truck was gone, lost in the vast blackness that was the inside of the corrugated tin building. but they'd made it. they were in. "okay," wheezed astrid as she fought for a breath that wasn't coming. "there's got to be lights here somewhere..." but at the sound of her voice, lights flickered on overhead. astrid loved technology. that had been easier then expected, especially considering all the hardship they'd gone through so far. taking off her ring had been especially difficult for astrid. it was a reminder - she was actually going through with this. she was going to the smoke.

astrid looked around the vast interior. there were stacks and stacks of plastic-wrapped survival things, mainly boards, but also a few backpacks and a case of spagbol for some reason. perhaps it'd been dropped off at the wrong warehouse. astrid began to move forward, but carefully, like the ground itself might explode if she trod on it too hard. coming to the nearest stack of boards, astrid grinned. the label read "long-distance boards". easy-peasy. she turned to aurora and called out to the other ugly. "here they are!" after a cursory search for wires or sensors, astrid attmepted to lift one of the boards on top of the pile. oof. these were heavy. and it didn't help that her head barely reached the top of the monstruous stack. astid tried once more, but it was no use. those board's weren't going anywhere under only her manpower. "come on," she called to aurora. perhaps together they'd ahve more luck lifting the boards. "help me out a little."

as astrid waited for aurora's assistance, her foot tapped the ground incessantly. nerves. now they'd broken into a warehouse, been caught by a guard for sneaking over to new prettytown, and associated with smokies. how could she dig herself out of this hole? the way astrid saw it, she had no choice but to follow through and betray both aurora and the smoke. it was a shame, but the only way now for astrid to get pretty. she liked aurora. the girl had put up with her for a while now. astrid knew she was not the easiest person to get along with, so that was a feat in itself. but she and aurora would probably bond more during their travel to the smoke. and then astrid would have to betray a real friend.

[{belle}]

sorry for literacy drop, just got back from a sleepover and this is my first day back on the cs job.

⊰ ａｕｒｏｒａ . ｌｙｎｎ . ｇｒｅｙ
two months, four days.

aurora the boards were long, at least four-and-a-half feet. they were slightly thicker than her everyday board, and looked sturdier. when she moved to help astrid with lifting a few down, she found that they were much heavier than she had expected. small beads of sweat formed on her her face as the weight lowered on her shoulder. already being tired from her late night, and with her recent dash for the door, it was a struggle to budge the long board.

"how - do these - fly?" aurora gasped between puffs of air. lowering the first board to the floor she started for the next one. glancing at astrids face, she caught determination, with a flash of something she couldn't quite recognize. she had no time to ponder this, though, for the end of the board bonked her head. "sorry." aurora mumbled as she lowered the board.

as the second board hit the ground, aurora drew in a long breath of relief. her head throbbed a little, but it was a small bruise, and it didn't hurt as much as her fingers, which had gotten trapped beneath the first board.

"what's that noise...?" aurora asked. a small buzzing noise was coming closer. she couldn't quite place it, but as she thought, it slowly came to her that they sounded like the small carts the warehouse workers rode around in to get from one end of the building to the other quickly. she had only heard the noise once before, and shuddered at the remembrance. she had been persuaded by her friends to break into a warehouse similar to this one a few years ago, when she had been twelve. hearing the noise, and seeing the workers in the small golf-cart looking car, she had panicked and run back to her dorm. she promised herself she wouln't run this time, but not to hide would be foolish.

"quickly, hide!" she hissed at astrid and without stopping to see if the girl obeyed turned as put her back into pushing the boards underneath the giant warehouse rack they stored the goods on. they just fit, but she had lost a lot of time. the cart was just turning the corner to her aisle as the jumped onto the rack herself and slipped behind a crate. the cart slowed down as it entered the aisle.

"i know when i hear ugly voices, and i heard one! they were right here!" the first middle pretty snarled, he lened out of the frame and scanned the boxes with seemingly x-ray vision. i won't give us away this time, i'll stay hidden... aurora kept thinking, and hoped that astrid had hidden herself well. the second worker leaned back in his seat, snorting. it's nothing." he said. "c'mon, i'm missing my nice, warm, sandwich. who would try to stael a board, anyway? anyone can get one." the first looked at the other with a mischievous grin on his face. "you've heard the roomers..." he was cut off by the first's slap over the head at the seemingly absurd idea, and they sped away.

[glassea]

you're back! yay! and uhmm screw formatting


xxxxxxxeven with both their manpower, that board wasn't going to go anywhere. the two of them pushed and shoved, trying to move it from all possible angles, but failed to budge it even an inch. "how do these things fly?" puffed aurora between attempts. it was a rhetorical question, obviously, and astrid felt little to no need to answer it with anything beyond a huff and small shrug. finally, aurora managed to get a shoulder under it and lift it off the stack. astrid quickly went to help support it, grabbing the other end just as aurora hit her head with the heavy board. ouch. astrid had no air left to waste on trivalities like head wounds, though. she was out of shape, incredibly so. the smoke, she reflected, would be a challenge. a small part of her relished it. but most of her complained incessantly. suddenly, aurora's head perked upwards as they lowered board number two to the ground. "what's that noise?" astrid couldn't hear anything, though that wasn't saying much, as her heart pounded in her ears, pumping blood through her flushed face. but as the phantom noise drew closer, astrid tol was able to hear the motorized buzz of a cart. it was likely to be bearing workers. her eyes widened in panic as she realized just how loudly their actions must have echoed through the warehouse. they should have been more careful, should have planned ahead. there were no exits that would not take them into the path of the rapidly approaching cart. they were trapped like mice in a maze, only this time there were no smokies around to save their sorry behinds. "quick, hide!" aurora hissed to astrid. what did aurora think she was going to do, give herself up without a fight? astrid had too much riding on this to be defeated by some mere security guards. looking around for a corner in which she could hide, astrid saw out of the corner of her eye aurora slipping behind a rack of boards. astrid noted that the rack was raised, something like a foot off the floor. she slid like a baseball player to base and got herself beneath the rack just as the cart came around the corner. it was dusty down there, making astrid's nose itch, but she slid back further into the shadows anyway.

"i know when i hear ugly voices, and i heard one!" said the first middle pretty. he looked to be almost a crumbly, not quite yet, but close. his nose was cruel and hooked, eyes narrowing to points as he scanned the area. "they were right here!" he said excitedly in a rather nasally voice. astrid shuddered at the sound and instantly regretted it. any movements she made stirred up even more dust. she had to sneeze, now. but she pinched her nose and held her breath and tried not to make a single sound. the cart pulled forward, stopping right between the hiding places of aurora and astrid. she thought the other pretty said something, but then the urge to sneeze overwhelmed her, making tears form in her eyes from the effort of not sneezing. she heard the sound of a palm colliding with something, presumably the other pretty's head, and then the engine revved up. they were gone and the two of them were safe. it was lucky they hadn't seen the boards, astrid thought as she waited for the sound of the motor to fade into the distance. as she deemed it to be far enough away, she slipped gratefully out of the dust's embrace. they'd still need to keep quiet, but at least she didn't have to sneeze anymore.

"they're gone," she whispered loudly, stating the obvious as aurora emerged from behind the racks. she scanned the room and pointed firmly to a door that from the inside said fire escape. it might have an alarm, but any normal ugly knew how to disable one of those. that was hacking one-oh-one for ya. "we'll each have to get one board," astrid said, heading over to her board and poking it gingerly with a toe. she slid her hands beneath its lip and pulled. it slid across the floor with barely a sound made on the polished surface. at ñeast getting them out would be easier than getting them down. she began heading towards the door, walking backwards as she went, looking back over her shoulder to gauge whether she was about to encounter any obstacles.

[{belle}]

[
[

sorry, i won't bee able to post as much as before, unless you want 300
words. i'll post maybe once every other day/three days. i'm only in one
other role play, and only intend to be, so overload shouldn't be a problem.
it's just school. hope you're not too angry.

[glassea]

ahh, it's fine. no worries. i'm also in school so i totally get it!

[{belle}]

"yay" is rights, now you get to put up with my sucky formatting and terrible literacy again! better run while you still can.

aurora lynn grey... two months four days
██████████████ ❋ ██████████████

aurora slowly edged out of her hiding spot. over the crate, she had only been able to see the top
of the cart, but she had been that her careless hiding job of the boards had almost cost them
their mission. not only that, if their mission had been busted, so would their entire plan. and
besides the humiliation of a ruined plan, they would have to face punishment. that only good
this about that was they would find out if the specials were real. something aurora was
okay keeping a mystery.
she breathed a sigh of relif as the buzzing sound of the small engine died into the distance, and
somewhere on the other side of the building stopped for breakfast [aparently hot sandwiches,
in this case...].
"they're gone" aurora heard astrid whisper as loudly as she could have stated it. aurora turned
back to the boards without responding. astrid picked on up and started lugging it towards the
door. aurora shook her head. "hey" she said to get the girl's attention. she turned back to the
boarda and flipped a few keys under a slideaway panel of the board, and the board silently rose.
"we can turn them on, now that we can reach the control panel..." aurora hinted, until she saw
recognition in astrid's face. turning back to the board she started bumping it along -- without her
ring it didn't see her. the world was so reliant on the rings, when you were suddnely robbed of one,
you were practically rusty again.
she remembered back to her childhood, when stealing a ring was the most unspeakable crime
one could commit. if you ever dared, you would get grounded for at least a month, depending
on your parents. aurora had always guarded her ring well, no one had ever pulled the trick on her,
but once she saw someone robbed of thiers, and instead of fighting to get it back, the child had
simply broken down into tears. she knew that that was probably something she would do if her ring
was ever taken from her, but she still saw it as weak.
remembering her ring, lying in the grass probably starting to look suspicious, she gave her board a
hard shove. "let's get out of here. the boards probably have a tracking device on them, but i can
search them while you get the door... you can get the door, right?" getting used to a new partner
was strange, she had been with the same group her whole life, up until a few years ago.