Post by dexter on Sept 30, 2009 22:46:14 GMT -5
Dean:
Dean sat in the beautiful statue garden of a rediculosly huge manison, a plail of water by his side and his coat in his hands. " Stupid sewer", he grumbled," not only was there a whole new rainbow of smells opened up to me, but also it all got painted onto my freaking coat." He scrubbed furriously, trying to rid at least the smell from one of his only real peices of home.
It's stupid realy, the way this little thing is bothering me, thought Dean. I mean, its not like it hasn't seen worse days. It's just that...Its seen me through alot and i feel like i need to take care of it/
He glanced at the buccet of water. "Doesnt mean I'm going to enjoy it though", said Dean out loud with a flat look,returning to his tedious cleaning.
Antione:
Antione was outside taking a walk. He needed to vent out some issues from the war. He had a terrible control of emotion and walking was the only thing that helped. Staring at each step as he took, he counted as high as he could before getting bored. He did this occasionaly to try and get to a higher number. This to him signified how many years left he had left to live. He stopped because he heard a voice in the distance.
A new guy was washing his clothes with a bucket of water, and Antione couldn't help but smile. It seemed like only yesterday that he was the new guy in the house, or mansion to be more percise. Antione walked over to the new guy, and sat beside him.
"Hey. My name is Antione. What's yours? I'm guessing you need help?" Antione asked with a helping hand held out and a smile in his face.
Dean:
Dean had is gun drawn and aimed before he could think. The past few years on the run had given him an acute case of paranoia, and Dean seemed to think to always err on the side of cation. The day's earlier festivities didn't help much either.
When he saw the outstretched hand though, he set it down on the garden steps gingerly. " Sorry", he said with a wince, "still getting used to being around people- real people I mean." Dean took a look at his coat, gave a defeated sigh and threw it on. "The name's Archer. Dean Archer," he said to the stranger, standing and shaking the still extended limb.
Melanie:
Melanie loped up behind Antoine, her wolf's eyes trained on the newcomer and the gun. It'd been hard not to miss the new scent in the air during her turn on patrol. She was nervous, but saw him lay the gun down and she adopted a relaxed but alert posture, watching for signs of trouble but not looking too threatening. They could always use more members, that was for sure. This one seemed already a bit broken in so to speak as to the burdens and realities, just looking at his eyes and body language.
<I don't think he means any harm. I never know when it's okay to reveal though> she told Antoine privately. <I hope I'm making the right choice here.,>
She fixed her eyes on Dean. <Relax, I won't hurt you. At least as long as you don't hurt anyone. I'm Melanie.> she said. She didn't smell any aggression on him at the moment, just maybe a little fear scent, which was natural.
Dean:
A few days ago Dean would have been shaken by a wolf starring intently at him, let alone one talking to him, but not anymore. Not after a few hours ago when he got saved by a freaking tiger. But eh, that was life as of late.
Dean turned from Antione to the newcomer, smirking. "Ah so if who I met earlyer was Tigger, then you must be Wyle E. Cyote." The wolf didn't look amused. But , of course, that didn't stop Dean. "I know,I know, but 'Big Band Wolf' was just too obvious."
Dean waited for a response, but got none.
"Ok, I give up." Dean sighed, defeated. He wasnt going to get any laughes out of the wolf. Check. With a flourish of his right hand and a bow he said, "Dean Archer at your service Melaine. "
Antione:
Antione raised an eyebrow at Archer. Archer seemed to be trying to hard to make Mel laugh, and that bugged Antione. He would rather perfer a guy to try and make someone laugh the first time, instead of trying to change the joke every so often. Archer began to annoy Antione a bit, but he let the feeling passed. What he couldn't seem to get past was the smell from the clothes.
"Your not going to get the smell off just by water. You need soap, and lots of perfume." Antione said to Archer with a small chuckle. Looking at Mel, he asked, "Do we have any of those stuff back in the mansion?"
Dean:
Dean held up his hands, " whoa there cowboy. This is leather. No soap."
Antione:
"Fine, and don't call me cowboy. I hate nicknames. The name is Antione and you better remember that, Dean." Antione said with the emphasis on his and Dean's name. He didn't like to sound bossy, but it really got to his nerves when someone dared call him by something else. He was also annoyed that he interupted his question toward Melanie. A part of Antione was truly starting to get annoyed by Dean, and this worried him. He needed to work well with all of them, and having troubles with one member will cause problems with others. He shook the feeling off and stood up.
"Hurry up on the cleaning. I think your wasting time though. It smells as if you got into a fight with a skunk and epically lost."
Dean:
Dean shrugged, looking at the beat up old coat. "Probably, but its been with me since before the war...It seems kinda stupid to ditch it now....Its kinda hard to explain." He let the quip go. These people had taken him in- at least for the time being- and they deserved a bit of leeway. It probably wouldn't help though, Dean's people skills had became almost non-existent from the years of traveling alone. He kept that in mind when replying.
Archer decided to give talking to the wolf(Melaine was it?), another shot. "So where're you from..." He looked around awkwardly, " originally?.
Melanie:
Melanie started to say something but then Archer interrupted and Mel didn't get the thought out. What really surprised her though was Antione's response to the nickname. <Yes sir> she said, sort of instinctively. She didn't like to make anyone mad either. She did have a better reply though to the soap question. <Well I think we did pick up soap on one of our shopping trips. Don't know about perfume though.> She wrinkled her nose. <You think he smells> she said only to Antione <Imagine how I feel. But I'm reluctant to demorph until I know he's not going to try anything. >
<I know the feeling. Didn't mange to keep a lot of my own things either. I'd hate to lose the few I do have. Anyway I'm a Midwest girl, from Chicago. Kinda wish I was still fighting there, maybe finding my sister, but I gotta go where the war needs me most, I guess. I'm not going to complain much about working here, it's not as rainy and cold as Vancouver.>
Dean:
Dean had to stop himself from slaping his palm onto his face. Good job asshole, he thought bitterly, bring up the worst possible thing. Think of something else- NOW!
Dean flondered, trying desprately to find the right thing to say. Jezze, I used to be good at this. He rubbed the back of his head lamely."I'm sorry... I've lost some good people too...and for the record"-he smiled-" i cant stand the cold either. Born and raised Texan."
Antione:
Antione listened to Archer's and Melanie's conversation. From the looks of it, Archer seemed to be horrible around people. Antione couldn't help but laugh a little. He stopped himself and apologized for his rude out burst. Antione began to mess with his hair, thinking it was too clean. Hearing that Archer was from Texas made Antione smile.
"Texas? I have never been there. Must be a nice place, or at least, it must have been. I don't think the Yeerks actually left it looking like the Garden of Eden."
Melanie:
<Yeah, sadly. Just another reason to kick their butts. I hate thinking of all the places they've probably destroyed already. They aren't happy just to take over us, they have to mess up the whole world in the process. > Melanie agreed. <Anyway, I don't really like the cold either. Chicago climate is nasty because it's either scorching hot or freezing cold most of the time. And the humidity, yech.>
<By the way, don't stress about it too much. I'm a bit awkward myself, even now. I either have no idea what to say or I ramble too much if I'm nervous.>
Mel let the wolf start licking its fur, probably influened by Antoine messing with his hair. <How in the world do wolves and cats stay clean this way their whole lives? Yuck.>
Dean:
Dean laughed. It was the first one he had since he'd been back. It felt good. He'd forgotten how good it felt just to laugh for no good reason.
Dean wiped a tear from his eye, his laughing fit coming to an end all to quickly. "Yeah, well,at least you've got that. i don't know what I'm gonna do about this thing",chuckled Dean, gesturing to his coat. "I guess I'll have to air it out or something"
He paused for a heartbeat. "...And thanks Melaine, Antonie, for the hospitality." he smiled, " I'm much appreciative."
Antione:
"Your welcome Dean. It was my pleasure to welcome you to our quiet home, well as quiet as a mansion filled with kids that can turn into animals can get." Antione said with a serious look on his face. This was one of those times that Antione didn't feel like joking around.
"Chicago has hot and cold days? I just thought it was windy all the time. Man, I really need to get out more. The only two places I had ever been to were my house and school," Antione told Mel. Looking over at Archer, he continued, "We are outside, so the airing out thing was already happening before you even stated it. Plus, we'll get used to the smell, I hope."
Melanie:
<Yeah, you're welcome. It's always nice to get newcomers. > Mel said. She was conflicted herelf at the moment. She did see how jokes could help at times but she didn't feel much like it now etiher. At least until Antione talked about the Chicago weather.
<I actually meant from winter to summer. You wouldn't believe the difference from one season to the next. Heck sometimes it's like a winter to summer skip and back again. There's a joke, Chicago only has three seasons. Summer, winter and construction. Or, well it used to. I doubt the Yeerks are building much except what they can use to destroy more. That's the second worst thng beyond what's happening to humanity, the fact they're turning this planet into a giant sluge and dirt thing.>
<Sheesh, we can't go a whole conversation without drifting back to buisness, understandably. I wish we could have days when we could just have some fun and forget for a few hours, but that isn't happening.> she made the wolf sigh. She would have demorphed, but she wanted to be able to keep ears and nose open for trouble while they were outside. She'd do it though once they got ready to go inside.
Dean:
A whipser of a smirk touched Dean's lips as his face slipped into solmness. "That's the thing though, " he stated to no one in particular, "It's the jokes, the memories, hell even the stupid things like laughing that remind us. It keeps us sane- human." Dean paused for a second, looking down at his worn converse. " It reminds us that no matter what they do, they can never take away who we are. Were we come form."He looked up ar the pair, "What we are fighting for." Archer smiled at his new comrades, bending down to pick up his gun. "If for nothing else, to remind ourselves that there are some things that havent changed yet", He finnished, sliding the weapon back into its holster as a period.
Melanie:
<Yeah I guess you're right. > said Melanie. <It definately helps to have a focus, something you're fighting to accomplish or uphold. Like finding and protecting my sister in my case. It makes it easier to dig inside yourself and find more stregnth when you feel like giving up. Which is most of the time anymore. I don't think I totally grasped the full. total impact until that brawl where we lost Lukas. It was just like adults must feel when they go into a battle, and I'm surprised we didn't lose more people.>
Mel's eyes were fixed on the gun as he picked it up and hosltered it, and only then did she relax a little. <I just keep hoping we're making change for the better, even if we don't always see it. Which like I said is most of the time. So that whoever dies, their death has some meaning. That's what would be the hardest thing to cope with, if it turned out we died or whatever and things weren't any better than when we started fighting."
Dean:
Dean stuck his hands in his blue jean pockets, turning his head to the evening sun. "Every life has meaning, death has nothing to do with it. A soul impacts other souls and lives on in those around it. The world ebbs and flows on its own, Its just our jobs to keep the balance." He stayed that way for a while, looking up at the sky like used to back before. A small smrik found its way into his features, and he closed his eyes, shaking his head as if someone had said a stupid joke.
He finally realised that there were other people (and non-people) around him. He looked up, scratching the back of his head. " So whats this I hear about getting locked up?"
Melanie:
Melanie listened, impressed by Dean's statements. He really was saying some deep things. <Well spoken.> she said. <At least you said it a lot better than I could. It's wierd, somtimes I write good, but I don't know what to say around other people. Maybe I'm just better at listening like some people are. > She stopped there because she didn't want to get into her habit of tearing herself down and being so hard since she hadn't done anything worth doing it over. <Or maybe I'm just too hard on myself sometimes. I've gotten better but it still pops out sometimes.>
Archer asked about being locked up. <It's just something we all have to go through when we arrive. Yeerks need to feed every three days, so everyone has to go through a three day waiting period just to make sure. No one's saying you are one or anything, but nobody can be too careful. I think all the factions do it. At least this place has ways to keep busy. I got really board waiting through my three days in Vancouver.>
Dean:
Dean smiled, " yeah, I know I gotta...doesnt mean im gonna looking forward for it though." He laughed, "cant be any worse then my last three days imprisoned. I still find the random scar" Archer realised that Mel wouldnt have any clue what he was talking about.
He held up a hand, " Long story."
Antione:
Antione smiled at Archer. He had to go through the three day waiting period, and Antione couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. Waiting that long was brutal, and entirely boring. Trust didn't seem to exist once a person joins a faction, but it begins to form at the end of the three days. Still, this didn't stop Antione from having fun with Archer.
"Yeah, the three days are brutal. Being alone, with nothing to eat but oatmeal. You almost lose your mind." Antione said. Then he added, "I'm just kidding. You will get so bored though, which may cause you to go slightly mad." Antione stood there as Archer showed them his scar. Antione's eyes grew as he saw the scar. He was about to ask what had happened, when Archer told them it was a long story.
"We have time, really we do. How did you get the scar?"
Dean:
Dean smiled, pointing at his collar bone first. "Well, this one- among most my scars- I got from a squad of Blue Band Hork-Bajir on my way out of Tanic. A going away party of sorts." He got a wicked grin on his face, "I brought the fireworks. I barely got out alive."
Archer pointed to his chin, a jagged horizontal gash running under it. " I got this from a very suspicious and disgruntled African refugee. Suspicious because they didn't know me, so they imprisoned me for three days. Disgruntled because every time he tried to intimidate me and beat me, I laughed at him. I occasionally made fun of his mother." Dean laughed at the memory, his jaw hurting in phantom pain.
He looked down at the rest of him, " And the rest I don't really remember, honestly. there are too many to count or remember. you get used to them though." He shrugged, kinda feeling awkward talking about himself. He never much liked it, it always felt too self-service-y. He felt, though, that he needed to show some faith, even though it felt as if he were talking himself up a bit.
Antione:
Not wanting to be out done, Antione held up his index finger with a scar running across it. "Paper cut, from a science project I had to do. I know it's not as climatic as yours, but I really didn't do much. I was the geek of the house.My sisters, Lauren and Lucy, were the crazy children. The most exiting thing to happen to me, prior all this, was I got lost in Disneyland. Not exactly climatic, but whatever." Antione said to Archer after he had shown them all his scars.
"Now I really need to be more active. I feel as if my life has seriously gone to the dull end of the pool. No idea how I can say this with a war going on. I guess I wanted to see more action that what I'm seeing right now. Eh, at least I'm safe here." Antione finished, with a slight sense of annoyance.
Dean:
Dean held up a hand, "Don't get me wrong, I only did what I had to do to stay alive. I would have much rather done the less adventerous route...be that never seemed to be in the cards. Some dullness would be great, more scars just mean that you're more stupid." He looked down at himself with a flat look, "You do the math." Maybe trying a joke at my own expense will get through, Dean thought with a smirk.
Melanie:
<I didn't really mind the waiting period too much...but then I've never minded being alone. At least if I have a TV, computer and plenty of books. Not that we had any of those things in Vancouver, except maybe a couple books. But I managed. I spent enough time on my own during my school days because it was better than getting teased. I can find ways to pass the time if I have to. I like to write and draw too. Or just let my mind wander or sleep. Although obviously sleep isn't easy to come by these days.>
<You won't have those scars anymore aftr you morph the first time. It can be a little wierd if you have big scars and then suddenly they aren't there anymore. I'm glad injuries can be fixed that way, we definately get enough of them when we go into battle. And it can be handy even for regular life...I mean, I don't know if it'll fix illness but it's nice to just morph away the problem when I get hurt.>
Dean:
Dean didn't quite know what to think about that. The scars had been there for so long, reminding him that the past was real. They were a part of him now, it was strange to think about them not being there.
What he said outloud was, "Cool...well I guess we better get this over with." Dean took both of his Glocks out of their holsters, ejecting the clips from both, then pumping the bullets out of the chambers in turn. He laid the empty guns on the ground. "As a sign of faith, " Dean explained in regards to the weapons. "Were too?"
Melanie:
< You can probably have them back later on...I mean, you won't use t hem much in morph but you can't be too careful when you're yourself. I've thought about getting one to carry, but I'm nervous around them. It does stand to reason though that we could grab a dracon beam now and then when we fight> she glanced at Antione. <Regular guns are nasty but dracons are nastier.>
Melanie wasn' t really sure where too, actually. She demorphed becuase she was close to the 2hrs. "'Scuse me, my time was about up" she said. "The wine cellar again?" she asked Antione. That was where the last newbie had been put. "Or I guess ther are other places, this house is full of them. We probably need to go find Matt first though. Let him know what's up." She glanced at ARcher "He's the leader."
Dean:
Dean nodded at the girl, " yeah, we met earlyer. He seems like a good guy."
He took stock of the person standing in front of him. Short and mostly average build, dirty blonde hair, but striking blue eyes. Thats were Dean could see the resemblance between her and the wolf. Her eyes were kind, calculating, and mostly catious. He couldnt blame her, at least she didn't draw a gun on the first person to intoduce themselfs to him. Archer stuck his hands back into his jeans, heading into the mansion.
"I guess I should go and find him, the sooner I get these three days over with, the better. "
Matt:
"Actually," said Matt as he approached the trio, "I was thinking we take him to one of the mansion's many bathrooms first. Just because we're locking the guy up for three days doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to get a well needed shower. No offense, but I'm under the impression being on the run wouldn't have given you much chance for that."
He'd just come out of the mansion. The shirt he wore was still the black, sleeveless top with the crowned, winged "A" logo on the back. Despite that no one still in the L.A. faction had the uniforms Jullian and Ember had made for the original group, Matt almost always wore his. He was still barefoot, but wore a pair of worn jeans, one knee sporting a large hole. The slight outfit change and Matt's own wet hair indicated he'd been up in his room recently after arriving back with Dean.
He grinned as he approached and jokingly added, "Unless of course you're used to being dirty and don't want to take advantage of living somewhere with running water." Yeah, they were living in hiding and fighting the yeerks. That didn't mean their hideout had to be void of all of the comforts of home.
"As far as where to lock him up, I was thinking he could go in the storage room on the third floor. That's got a window that's nailed shut, so at least it's not eternally dark like the cellar is. Plus, if he manages to break out he's got to get past two floors of occupied rooms and whoever is guarding the exterior in morph. Not that I think he's going to try since he was perfectly fine out here in the garden." He gave a glance around the group before his gaze settled on Dean. "All set then?"
Dean sat in the beautiful statue garden of a rediculosly huge manison, a plail of water by his side and his coat in his hands. " Stupid sewer", he grumbled," not only was there a whole new rainbow of smells opened up to me, but also it all got painted onto my freaking coat." He scrubbed furriously, trying to rid at least the smell from one of his only real peices of home.
It's stupid realy, the way this little thing is bothering me, thought Dean. I mean, its not like it hasn't seen worse days. It's just that...Its seen me through alot and i feel like i need to take care of it/
He glanced at the buccet of water. "Doesnt mean I'm going to enjoy it though", said Dean out loud with a flat look,returning to his tedious cleaning.
Antione:
Antione was outside taking a walk. He needed to vent out some issues from the war. He had a terrible control of emotion and walking was the only thing that helped. Staring at each step as he took, he counted as high as he could before getting bored. He did this occasionaly to try and get to a higher number. This to him signified how many years left he had left to live. He stopped because he heard a voice in the distance.
A new guy was washing his clothes with a bucket of water, and Antione couldn't help but smile. It seemed like only yesterday that he was the new guy in the house, or mansion to be more percise. Antione walked over to the new guy, and sat beside him.
"Hey. My name is Antione. What's yours? I'm guessing you need help?" Antione asked with a helping hand held out and a smile in his face.
Dean:
Dean had is gun drawn and aimed before he could think. The past few years on the run had given him an acute case of paranoia, and Dean seemed to think to always err on the side of cation. The day's earlier festivities didn't help much either.
When he saw the outstretched hand though, he set it down on the garden steps gingerly. " Sorry", he said with a wince, "still getting used to being around people- real people I mean." Dean took a look at his coat, gave a defeated sigh and threw it on. "The name's Archer. Dean Archer," he said to the stranger, standing and shaking the still extended limb.
Melanie:
Melanie loped up behind Antoine, her wolf's eyes trained on the newcomer and the gun. It'd been hard not to miss the new scent in the air during her turn on patrol. She was nervous, but saw him lay the gun down and she adopted a relaxed but alert posture, watching for signs of trouble but not looking too threatening. They could always use more members, that was for sure. This one seemed already a bit broken in so to speak as to the burdens and realities, just looking at his eyes and body language.
<I don't think he means any harm. I never know when it's okay to reveal though> she told Antoine privately. <I hope I'm making the right choice here.,>
She fixed her eyes on Dean. <Relax, I won't hurt you. At least as long as you don't hurt anyone. I'm Melanie.> she said. She didn't smell any aggression on him at the moment, just maybe a little fear scent, which was natural.
Dean:
A few days ago Dean would have been shaken by a wolf starring intently at him, let alone one talking to him, but not anymore. Not after a few hours ago when he got saved by a freaking tiger. But eh, that was life as of late.
Dean turned from Antione to the newcomer, smirking. "Ah so if who I met earlyer was Tigger, then you must be Wyle E. Cyote." The wolf didn't look amused. But , of course, that didn't stop Dean. "I know,I know, but 'Big Band Wolf' was just too obvious."
Dean waited for a response, but got none.
"Ok, I give up." Dean sighed, defeated. He wasnt going to get any laughes out of the wolf. Check. With a flourish of his right hand and a bow he said, "Dean Archer at your service Melaine. "
Antione:
Antione raised an eyebrow at Archer. Archer seemed to be trying to hard to make Mel laugh, and that bugged Antione. He would rather perfer a guy to try and make someone laugh the first time, instead of trying to change the joke every so often. Archer began to annoy Antione a bit, but he let the feeling passed. What he couldn't seem to get past was the smell from the clothes.
"Your not going to get the smell off just by water. You need soap, and lots of perfume." Antione said to Archer with a small chuckle. Looking at Mel, he asked, "Do we have any of those stuff back in the mansion?"
Dean:
Dean held up his hands, " whoa there cowboy. This is leather. No soap."
Antione:
"Fine, and don't call me cowboy. I hate nicknames. The name is Antione and you better remember that, Dean." Antione said with the emphasis on his and Dean's name. He didn't like to sound bossy, but it really got to his nerves when someone dared call him by something else. He was also annoyed that he interupted his question toward Melanie. A part of Antione was truly starting to get annoyed by Dean, and this worried him. He needed to work well with all of them, and having troubles with one member will cause problems with others. He shook the feeling off and stood up.
"Hurry up on the cleaning. I think your wasting time though. It smells as if you got into a fight with a skunk and epically lost."
Dean:
Dean shrugged, looking at the beat up old coat. "Probably, but its been with me since before the war...It seems kinda stupid to ditch it now....Its kinda hard to explain." He let the quip go. These people had taken him in- at least for the time being- and they deserved a bit of leeway. It probably wouldn't help though, Dean's people skills had became almost non-existent from the years of traveling alone. He kept that in mind when replying.
Archer decided to give talking to the wolf(Melaine was it?), another shot. "So where're you from..." He looked around awkwardly, " originally?.
Melanie:
Melanie started to say something but then Archer interrupted and Mel didn't get the thought out. What really surprised her though was Antione's response to the nickname. <Yes sir> she said, sort of instinctively. She didn't like to make anyone mad either. She did have a better reply though to the soap question. <Well I think we did pick up soap on one of our shopping trips. Don't know about perfume though.> She wrinkled her nose. <You think he smells> she said only to Antione <Imagine how I feel. But I'm reluctant to demorph until I know he's not going to try anything. >
<I know the feeling. Didn't mange to keep a lot of my own things either. I'd hate to lose the few I do have. Anyway I'm a Midwest girl, from Chicago. Kinda wish I was still fighting there, maybe finding my sister, but I gotta go where the war needs me most, I guess. I'm not going to complain much about working here, it's not as rainy and cold as Vancouver.>
Dean:
Dean had to stop himself from slaping his palm onto his face. Good job asshole, he thought bitterly, bring up the worst possible thing. Think of something else- NOW!
Dean flondered, trying desprately to find the right thing to say. Jezze, I used to be good at this. He rubbed the back of his head lamely."I'm sorry... I've lost some good people too...and for the record"-he smiled-" i cant stand the cold either. Born and raised Texan."
Antione:
Antione listened to Archer's and Melanie's conversation. From the looks of it, Archer seemed to be horrible around people. Antione couldn't help but laugh a little. He stopped himself and apologized for his rude out burst. Antione began to mess with his hair, thinking it was too clean. Hearing that Archer was from Texas made Antione smile.
"Texas? I have never been there. Must be a nice place, or at least, it must have been. I don't think the Yeerks actually left it looking like the Garden of Eden."
Melanie:
<Yeah, sadly. Just another reason to kick their butts. I hate thinking of all the places they've probably destroyed already. They aren't happy just to take over us, they have to mess up the whole world in the process. > Melanie agreed. <Anyway, I don't really like the cold either. Chicago climate is nasty because it's either scorching hot or freezing cold most of the time. And the humidity, yech.>
<By the way, don't stress about it too much. I'm a bit awkward myself, even now. I either have no idea what to say or I ramble too much if I'm nervous.>
Mel let the wolf start licking its fur, probably influened by Antoine messing with his hair. <How in the world do wolves and cats stay clean this way their whole lives? Yuck.>
Dean:
Dean laughed. It was the first one he had since he'd been back. It felt good. He'd forgotten how good it felt just to laugh for no good reason.
Dean wiped a tear from his eye, his laughing fit coming to an end all to quickly. "Yeah, well,at least you've got that. i don't know what I'm gonna do about this thing",chuckled Dean, gesturing to his coat. "I guess I'll have to air it out or something"
He paused for a heartbeat. "...And thanks Melaine, Antonie, for the hospitality." he smiled, " I'm much appreciative."
Antione:
"Your welcome Dean. It was my pleasure to welcome you to our quiet home, well as quiet as a mansion filled with kids that can turn into animals can get." Antione said with a serious look on his face. This was one of those times that Antione didn't feel like joking around.
"Chicago has hot and cold days? I just thought it was windy all the time. Man, I really need to get out more. The only two places I had ever been to were my house and school," Antione told Mel. Looking over at Archer, he continued, "We are outside, so the airing out thing was already happening before you even stated it. Plus, we'll get used to the smell, I hope."
Melanie:
<Yeah, you're welcome. It's always nice to get newcomers. > Mel said. She was conflicted herelf at the moment. She did see how jokes could help at times but she didn't feel much like it now etiher. At least until Antione talked about the Chicago weather.
<I actually meant from winter to summer. You wouldn't believe the difference from one season to the next. Heck sometimes it's like a winter to summer skip and back again. There's a joke, Chicago only has three seasons. Summer, winter and construction. Or, well it used to. I doubt the Yeerks are building much except what they can use to destroy more. That's the second worst thng beyond what's happening to humanity, the fact they're turning this planet into a giant sluge and dirt thing.>
<Sheesh, we can't go a whole conversation without drifting back to buisness, understandably. I wish we could have days when we could just have some fun and forget for a few hours, but that isn't happening.> she made the wolf sigh. She would have demorphed, but she wanted to be able to keep ears and nose open for trouble while they were outside. She'd do it though once they got ready to go inside.
Dean:
A whipser of a smirk touched Dean's lips as his face slipped into solmness. "That's the thing though, " he stated to no one in particular, "It's the jokes, the memories, hell even the stupid things like laughing that remind us. It keeps us sane- human." Dean paused for a second, looking down at his worn converse. " It reminds us that no matter what they do, they can never take away who we are. Were we come form."He looked up ar the pair, "What we are fighting for." Archer smiled at his new comrades, bending down to pick up his gun. "If for nothing else, to remind ourselves that there are some things that havent changed yet", He finnished, sliding the weapon back into its holster as a period.
Melanie:
<Yeah I guess you're right. > said Melanie. <It definately helps to have a focus, something you're fighting to accomplish or uphold. Like finding and protecting my sister in my case. It makes it easier to dig inside yourself and find more stregnth when you feel like giving up. Which is most of the time anymore. I don't think I totally grasped the full. total impact until that brawl where we lost Lukas. It was just like adults must feel when they go into a battle, and I'm surprised we didn't lose more people.>
Mel's eyes were fixed on the gun as he picked it up and hosltered it, and only then did she relax a little. <I just keep hoping we're making change for the better, even if we don't always see it. Which like I said is most of the time. So that whoever dies, their death has some meaning. That's what would be the hardest thing to cope with, if it turned out we died or whatever and things weren't any better than when we started fighting."
Dean:
Dean stuck his hands in his blue jean pockets, turning his head to the evening sun. "Every life has meaning, death has nothing to do with it. A soul impacts other souls and lives on in those around it. The world ebbs and flows on its own, Its just our jobs to keep the balance." He stayed that way for a while, looking up at the sky like used to back before. A small smrik found its way into his features, and he closed his eyes, shaking his head as if someone had said a stupid joke.
He finally realised that there were other people (and non-people) around him. He looked up, scratching the back of his head. " So whats this I hear about getting locked up?"
Melanie:
Melanie listened, impressed by Dean's statements. He really was saying some deep things. <Well spoken.> she said. <At least you said it a lot better than I could. It's wierd, somtimes I write good, but I don't know what to say around other people. Maybe I'm just better at listening like some people are. > She stopped there because she didn't want to get into her habit of tearing herself down and being so hard since she hadn't done anything worth doing it over. <Or maybe I'm just too hard on myself sometimes. I've gotten better but it still pops out sometimes.>
Archer asked about being locked up. <It's just something we all have to go through when we arrive. Yeerks need to feed every three days, so everyone has to go through a three day waiting period just to make sure. No one's saying you are one or anything, but nobody can be too careful. I think all the factions do it. At least this place has ways to keep busy. I got really board waiting through my three days in Vancouver.>
Dean:
Dean smiled, " yeah, I know I gotta...doesnt mean im gonna looking forward for it though." He laughed, "cant be any worse then my last three days imprisoned. I still find the random scar" Archer realised that Mel wouldnt have any clue what he was talking about.
He held up a hand, " Long story."
Antione:
Antione smiled at Archer. He had to go through the three day waiting period, and Antione couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. Waiting that long was brutal, and entirely boring. Trust didn't seem to exist once a person joins a faction, but it begins to form at the end of the three days. Still, this didn't stop Antione from having fun with Archer.
"Yeah, the three days are brutal. Being alone, with nothing to eat but oatmeal. You almost lose your mind." Antione said. Then he added, "I'm just kidding. You will get so bored though, which may cause you to go slightly mad." Antione stood there as Archer showed them his scar. Antione's eyes grew as he saw the scar. He was about to ask what had happened, when Archer told them it was a long story.
"We have time, really we do. How did you get the scar?"
Dean:
Dean smiled, pointing at his collar bone first. "Well, this one- among most my scars- I got from a squad of Blue Band Hork-Bajir on my way out of Tanic. A going away party of sorts." He got a wicked grin on his face, "I brought the fireworks. I barely got out alive."
Archer pointed to his chin, a jagged horizontal gash running under it. " I got this from a very suspicious and disgruntled African refugee. Suspicious because they didn't know me, so they imprisoned me for three days. Disgruntled because every time he tried to intimidate me and beat me, I laughed at him. I occasionally made fun of his mother." Dean laughed at the memory, his jaw hurting in phantom pain.
He looked down at the rest of him, " And the rest I don't really remember, honestly. there are too many to count or remember. you get used to them though." He shrugged, kinda feeling awkward talking about himself. He never much liked it, it always felt too self-service-y. He felt, though, that he needed to show some faith, even though it felt as if he were talking himself up a bit.
Antione:
Not wanting to be out done, Antione held up his index finger with a scar running across it. "Paper cut, from a science project I had to do. I know it's not as climatic as yours, but I really didn't do much. I was the geek of the house.My sisters, Lauren and Lucy, were the crazy children. The most exiting thing to happen to me, prior all this, was I got lost in Disneyland. Not exactly climatic, but whatever." Antione said to Archer after he had shown them all his scars.
"Now I really need to be more active. I feel as if my life has seriously gone to the dull end of the pool. No idea how I can say this with a war going on. I guess I wanted to see more action that what I'm seeing right now. Eh, at least I'm safe here." Antione finished, with a slight sense of annoyance.
Dean:
Dean held up a hand, "Don't get me wrong, I only did what I had to do to stay alive. I would have much rather done the less adventerous route...be that never seemed to be in the cards. Some dullness would be great, more scars just mean that you're more stupid." He looked down at himself with a flat look, "You do the math." Maybe trying a joke at my own expense will get through, Dean thought with a smirk.
Melanie:
<I didn't really mind the waiting period too much...but then I've never minded being alone. At least if I have a TV, computer and plenty of books. Not that we had any of those things in Vancouver, except maybe a couple books. But I managed. I spent enough time on my own during my school days because it was better than getting teased. I can find ways to pass the time if I have to. I like to write and draw too. Or just let my mind wander or sleep. Although obviously sleep isn't easy to come by these days.>
<You won't have those scars anymore aftr you morph the first time. It can be a little wierd if you have big scars and then suddenly they aren't there anymore. I'm glad injuries can be fixed that way, we definately get enough of them when we go into battle. And it can be handy even for regular life...I mean, I don't know if it'll fix illness but it's nice to just morph away the problem when I get hurt.>
Dean:
Dean didn't quite know what to think about that. The scars had been there for so long, reminding him that the past was real. They were a part of him now, it was strange to think about them not being there.
What he said outloud was, "Cool...well I guess we better get this over with." Dean took both of his Glocks out of their holsters, ejecting the clips from both, then pumping the bullets out of the chambers in turn. He laid the empty guns on the ground. "As a sign of faith, " Dean explained in regards to the weapons. "Were too?"
Melanie:
< You can probably have them back later on...I mean, you won't use t hem much in morph but you can't be too careful when you're yourself. I've thought about getting one to carry, but I'm nervous around them. It does stand to reason though that we could grab a dracon beam now and then when we fight> she glanced at Antione. <Regular guns are nasty but dracons are nastier.>
Melanie wasn' t really sure where too, actually. She demorphed becuase she was close to the 2hrs. "'Scuse me, my time was about up" she said. "The wine cellar again?" she asked Antione. That was where the last newbie had been put. "Or I guess ther are other places, this house is full of them. We probably need to go find Matt first though. Let him know what's up." She glanced at ARcher "He's the leader."
Dean:
Dean nodded at the girl, " yeah, we met earlyer. He seems like a good guy."
He took stock of the person standing in front of him. Short and mostly average build, dirty blonde hair, but striking blue eyes. Thats were Dean could see the resemblance between her and the wolf. Her eyes were kind, calculating, and mostly catious. He couldnt blame her, at least she didn't draw a gun on the first person to intoduce themselfs to him. Archer stuck his hands back into his jeans, heading into the mansion.
"I guess I should go and find him, the sooner I get these three days over with, the better. "
Matt:
"Actually," said Matt as he approached the trio, "I was thinking we take him to one of the mansion's many bathrooms first. Just because we're locking the guy up for three days doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to get a well needed shower. No offense, but I'm under the impression being on the run wouldn't have given you much chance for that."
He'd just come out of the mansion. The shirt he wore was still the black, sleeveless top with the crowned, winged "A" logo on the back. Despite that no one still in the L.A. faction had the uniforms Jullian and Ember had made for the original group, Matt almost always wore his. He was still barefoot, but wore a pair of worn jeans, one knee sporting a large hole. The slight outfit change and Matt's own wet hair indicated he'd been up in his room recently after arriving back with Dean.
He grinned as he approached and jokingly added, "Unless of course you're used to being dirty and don't want to take advantage of living somewhere with running water." Yeah, they were living in hiding and fighting the yeerks. That didn't mean their hideout had to be void of all of the comforts of home.
"As far as where to lock him up, I was thinking he could go in the storage room on the third floor. That's got a window that's nailed shut, so at least it's not eternally dark like the cellar is. Plus, if he manages to break out he's got to get past two floors of occupied rooms and whoever is guarding the exterior in morph. Not that I think he's going to try since he was perfectly fine out here in the garden." He gave a glance around the group before his gaze settled on Dean. "All set then?"