When the World Weighs You Down

[Willy]

Willy flew like a sheet of glass through water. Out of place. Invisible. All too fragile.

It was daytime, but it was raining. Hard. Willy was in his owl morph and it was not happy. His instincts were telling him to go hole up in a tree somewhere, to stay dry and weather the storm. But he knew the Miami faction was nearby and he would only have to endure for a little bit longer.

The rain pounded down, threatening to make his wings too heavy to fly with. A gust of wind blew his tiny body off course. He flapped hard to correct his trajectory so as not to crash into any of the orange trees below. A flash of lightning lit up the horizon and he was momentarily blinded by the bright light. He slowed down and pictured what his surroundings looked like until his vision cleared once more.

If this kept up much longer, he would be forced to land and travel by ground. The only problem with that was that he would have next to no chance of finding his destination. A bird's eye-view would be needed. At least for this first time.

<<Ah ha!>> Willy exclaimed to himself as he spotted a roof among the foliage. That had to be it. If not, hopefully he could at least rest there while he waited for the storm to subside a little.

Quickly but carefully, Willy navigated around the house until he located the front porch. He gratefully glided under the overhang and landed on the back of a busted old porch swing. He shook the water from his feathered body now that he had found a (mostly) dry location.

Willy turned his head 180 degrees and looked at the house behind him, considering. He wasn't sure how he should proceed. This task was still new to him.

He had been sent, by Cassie no less, to visit this faction and make sure things were still running smoothly. Apparently one of their members had died and Cassie felt he could act as a sort of grief counselor or something. Why she thought that was still a mystery to him.

Sure, Willy had been a faction leader once, but that was hardly a qualification. Besides, that was a while ago. His faction in Ottawa was disbanded and he was taken on as an advisor of sorts. Cassie would occasionally ask his opinion on matters, or send him out to relay orders. It wasn't much fun, but at least he wasn't directly responsible for an entire house full of young rebels.

Much like what he expected to find inside of this place, unfortunately.

<<You have a guest demorphing on your front porch,>> Willy finally said in public though speech. <<Don't be alarmed, but open the door please.>> Willy flitted down to the floor in front of the door and concentrated on his human form.

[Richard]

The rain outside made it nearly impossible for Richard to do any patrolling of the woods as none of his morphs were fabulous in the rain, so he was inside trying to figure out what part of the area he was going to look through for some supplies and what not. It was getting rather boring around the base ever since the civilians had stumbled upon the area, which had led to Dustin’s death. It wasn’t a happy experience for him to remember, but it was the last bit of action that he had seen.

“We need to look into finding the major Yeerk locations in the area, and then we can make a plan on how to remove them from play during a feeding period.” They hadn’t done that much in the area, and Richard personally wanted to mix it up with some Yeerks before he met his end by some means.

He wrote it down on his to-do list which wasn’t very long yet, so he was trying to expand it some and then mark each item via level of importance. “We might as well track down where that group of people came from and try to make sure that they stay as far away from the Yeerks as possible.”

<<You have a guest demorphing on your front porch,>>

The thought speak entered his mind, and Richard was immediately on his feet and looking for something to use as a weapon. One would think that he would remember where the weapons were in this place, but Richard wasn’t really sure if they had been told if they had a weapons stash. After all his training, he still hadn’t learned the lesson of taking notes when important things were being said.

“Perfect. We need more members to this team to pick up the slack since we lost Dustin.”

While it was true that there number count had not changed that day since someone else had shown up during the confrontation where Dustin had met his end, Richard still thought that the group needed more people to accomplish anything in this war. His mind was becoming distracted from the visitor that was apparently demorphing on the front porch.

<<Don't be alarmed, but open the door please.>>

“Like that is meant to reassure anyone.” Someone who was setting a trap wasn’t going to announce that he or she was about to spring a trap on them. Richard still wasn’t sure that this was a trap, but then again who knew that they were out here besides someone that was involved in the Animorphs program. He opened the door to see an owl person on the porch. “And who exactly are you?”

[Willy]

As he demorphed in front of the door, Willy's mostly owl ears picked up the sounds of someone moving around inside. He thought he heard talking too, but it was difficult to tell with the sounds of rain and thunder close behind him. But the door opened and Willy looked up to see someone ask him, "And who exactly are you?"

Willy would have responded, but he was too far demorphed to use thought speech, and he couldn't talk while he still had a beak. Instead he opted to finish demorphing before saying anything. He steadily became taller and more human-like as he stood in front of his greeter.

Before long he was standing barefoot, wearing a two piece black wetsuit. His hair was damp despite having just demorphed. A chill breeze swept across the porch and Willy shivered involuntarily before straightening himself out again. This other guy was about the same size as him, and probably much more buff, but Willy showed no signs of intimidation. "My name is William Thompson," he finally said. "I was sent here by Cassie. If Miss Suji Clarke is here, I wish to speak with her. May I come in?"

[Richard]

Watching someone else demorph back to his or her human form was not something that Richard wanted to do anymore than he really had to, and in this one instance there was no other choice but to stick it out and hope that he didn't lose the food that he had eaten a couple of hours ago.

When the guy was back to be an actual guy, Richard noted that he looked like he was cold, which probably meant that he should let the guy into the house before he turned into a Popsicle. He should have, but Richard didn't know the guy, so he couldn't be sure that he wasn't a former Animorph who had been captured and turned into a potential saboteur or some sort of spy. One couldn't be too careful in this day and age.

The guy made his introduction as well as stating his business at their headquarters, which was of course meant that he needed to talk to the leader of the group. Of course, Richard was completely unaware of where Suji was at the moment, so he couldn't rightly say that William could talk to her. "Yes to you request to enter, but I am afraid that I cannot say whether Suji is here or not." Richard took a few steps back so that the other man could enter the room.

[Melanie Martin]

Mel had taken on the job of patrol, even though she hated it. Her wolf could handle the rain, but she was soggy and cold and the scents in the area were very diluted by now. She picked up on the visitor by sight and his thought-speech rather than by scent and made her way over to the hideout as fast as she could. He was morph-capable, but no one could be trusted until it was established they were free.

<I'm here. I'm not the leader... Suji, yeah, though, sorry.> she said, shaking off some of the rain as she came in behind the now-human William. Her wolf ears made it easy to catch what was being said. Going semi-private, she added <I'll stay morphed a little longer, just in case something goes wrong. I've got the time. Of course, I'm screwed if he morphs something big, but even then, it'll take him a minute, so I've still got the advantage.>

Back to public < I'd behave...you can probably guess what will happen if anything goes bad.> It would have to be her fight if it came to it,Richard's morphs were smaller, even his dog morph.

[Willy]

Willy was almost disappointed that he was invited inside so quickly. He knew that the chances of him being a controller would be low, but still, there was a chance. His concerns for their lack of concern were soon alleviated though, when another group member strolled up in a wolf morph. The corner of his mouth raised in a half smile before he turned and walked through the doorway, past the guy who had invited him in.

"So do you two have names?" he asked the guy and the wolf without looking to see if they were listening. "It would help to know names if I'm going to explain to you why I'm here." He took a few moments to look at the layout of the room he was in. It was a living room, with a kitchen off the back. There was a spiral staircase and two hallways leading off of it.

Willy let the rough floorboards creak between his toes as he walked over and flopped down on an armchair. He wasn't usually the "flopping" type, but he had had a long day. And it would probably only get longer.

[Richard]

The thought speak of Melanie gave Richard a little breathing room when talking to this William guy as it meant that he wouldn’t have to completely worry about the guy attacking him the moment that his back was turned. He placed his hands behind his back, but made a thumbs-up sign that would only be visible to Melanie to signal that he understood. Hopefully, the guy was on the level, and they wouldn’t need to defend themselves but it was good to have a contingency plan just in case.

Richard watched as the guy made himself at home in their base, but it did bring a couple of things to mind when William relaxed himself on their chair. It could mean that he believed that he was among allies, or that he wasn’t worried about being killed by the two of them. This was definitely turning into an interesting day, and it was probably only going to get even more interesting as they progressed farther into this conversation.

“My name is Smith.” Richard didn’t figure that it would really matter if he told the guy his first name or not, but just giving his last name was a good way of finding out if this guy was an Animorph sent by Cassie. He should have been briefed on who was actually at the base, so William should already know their full names.

[Melanie Martin]

She saw the brief signal, and was reassured that Richard had heard her. Mel hoped he wasn't lying-she still hadn't seen Suki around, and they'd lost what seemed to be the only other member right as Melanie was arriving. They needed more people down here in order to be effective, both in dealing with the Yeerks and figuring out what to do with the free humans wandering around. She'd love to try and recruit some, but had no idea how to go about it while still keeping alive.

William asked their names, and Mel noticed that Richard give only his last name. It stood to reason that if he was on the level, he'd already have been briefed about the faction before coming, so it wouldn't matter if they gave first or last, unless he was lying.
<Melanie.> she replied, finally, then waited to see if there were any indicators of trouble.

[Willy]

"Smith and Melanie, huh?" Willy had an eyebrow raised as he straightened up his sitting position. "Not even a Mr. to go in front of that? Or what was it?" Willy snapped his fingers as he tried to recall a memory. "Ricky? Richie? Rico? Something like that, right?" Willy was pretty sure it was Richard, Ricardo, or maybe even Martin for some reason. But he purposefully didn't say any of those. Not because he was afraid of being wrong, but because the guy still seemed tense. He hoped it would help lighten the situation a little. As for Melanie, it was hard to tell what a wolf was feeling, and he couldn't remember her last name anyway.

Willy made sure not to act intimidated by the presence of a wolf, although internally it was making him a little uneasy. And it smelled like wet dog. "So it is just the two of you here, huh? And, Dustin was it? The one who recently passed?" Willy tried to remain as casual as possible, but still felt a little bad about broaching the subject so abruptly. His goal was to get everything on the table as soon as possible. He thought it might help, in the long run.

[Richard]

Melanie had followed his example by only giving a part of her name to this William person just to see if he was on the level. It would have been very bad if she had given her full name, and it would have been even worse if she had finished his off. Now all they need was some verbal proof that the guy was who he said he was as physical proof was pretty much impossible since Will had shown up as a bird, which mean that all he had on him was a morphing suit.

The guy made a rudimentary attempt at trying to guess his first name, and Richard was debating whether or the fact that the guy was pretty close to getting his name right was a good sign that the guy was legit. Then, William brought up the subject of Dustin who had recently died while trying to lead some humans away from the area. This made him wonder if the Yeerks were capable of finding that sort of information out, and he looked over at Melanie to see what they should do. Letting on that there were only two of them there might be a dangerous risk, so Richard figured it was best to ignore it.

“Exactly what was it you wanted to talk to Suji about?” Richard wanted to know what the main mission was for this guy, so he could complete it if possible and get this guy out of here. He just wanted to get back to the fight that he had signed up for and hoped that no one else that he knew had to die in order to win.

[Melanie Martin]

Melanie shared Richard's reservations about letting on how small they were. True, if he was from Cassie, Willy would probably be telling them they'd get more help soon, or that they'd have to travel somewhere else, but if he was a controller, he'd be ready to go tell his friends to come crush the resistance, and she didn't want to take any chances.

Willy came close to guessing Richard's name, but since he didn't acknowledge which it was, Mel kept quiet as well. If she'd been human, she actually might have chuckled at him just a little-she could see the slight grimace that was likely due to the wet dog smell she gave off.

Richard gave her a look, and she couldn't return an expression, but fortunately, he took the lead, and did what she thought was the right thing. Find out what Willy wanted to talk to Suji about and not let on yet that she was gone. She tried to catch Richard's eye and gave a slight nod of agreement.

[Willy]

"What exactly do I want to talk to Suji about?" Willy asked, restating Richard's question. "She is the faction leader here, right? The one in charge? If you guys had a mutiny and overthrew her, please tell me. I think that is something Cassie would like to know." He was using a mock-serious tone since he really doubted they would have overthrown their faction leader. He hadn't even considered the possibility until just now.

"Anyway," he continued, assuming there had been no overthrow of power. "I wanted to tell Suji that I have arrived. I was sent by Cassie to... how should I put it?" Willy put a thoughtful finger to the side of his face as he chose his words carefully. "I was sent to offer support as your faction deals with the loss of a member." He specifically avoided the term "grief counselor" since that would have implied he knew what he was doing.

"I am here to talk to if either of you need some support." Willy managed to keep a straight face, but mentally he was cringing at his own words. Why did Cassie think he was the right person for this job?

[Richard]

Melanie’s slight nod reassured Richard that he was choosing the right path in asking for some clarification on what Willy’s real business was here. It was nice to know that in such a short amount of time the two of them knew each other well enough to know what the other was thinking. It was sort of weird to have such a bond with someone that he knew little about.

The response to his question was definitely not one he had expected to hear from someone who was in the position that he was in. “Mutiny is a messy process that requires us to take out like a third of our workforce, which would be counterproductive.” It seemed like more of a joke than a serious accusation, but Richard figured that he should say something about it.

His thoughts gained some credibility when Willy began explaining that he was a grief counselor that was coming to talk to them after Dustin’s death. Melanie was probably not going to need any one to talk to since she had barely known Dustin, and Richard did not feel like he needed to talk to anyone about it. “I think the only support that we need around here is bodies to assist in looking for trouble.”

[Willy]

It did not surprise Willy that Richard wasn't interested in sharing his feelings with some guy he just met. Willy himself wasn't too keen on the idea either. He didn't even know the guy who died, but he was supposed to help people cope?

"Well, it's up to you guys wether you want to talk or not," Willy finally said. "I'll be sticking around for a couple weeks or so, so let me know if you ever change your mind. Anything discussed would be confidential, of course."

"There is one other thing though, and it has to do with your 'help looking for trouble' issue. We aren't sure, but the yeerks may be building something." Willy shifted uneasily in his seat. Thunder rolled in from somewhere in the distance as he tried to find the right words to explain what little he knew. "It is probably just hearsay, picked up from eavesdropping in New York, but we can't be too careful. The rumors say there is a yeerk kendrona project at Cape Canaveral. Cassie is afraid they may be building technology that would make ground-level generators no longer required."

[Melanie Martin]

Melanie was understanding as well about not opening up right away. Trust was something that had to be earned. After the three day waiting period, they might be more inclined to talk to him. Really, she did hope he'd be legit and stay for a time-two Animorphs and no faction leader wasn't a good position to be in. They needed help. Mel replied to Willy about speaking to him, but said nothing about the other part.

<We might, after a few days' time. I'm sure you'll understand having to be so careful.>

He started talking about trouble with the Yeerks at Cape Canaveral. And she really didn't like the sound of it.

< That really ticks me off, I always liked the space program.> she said. But she felt the fear rising at Willy's last comment. <So...they'd never have to leave their hosts? I really don't like the sound of that.> She traded a glance with Richard.