Out in the Wilds (IC)

[Lord Tully]

Archer slowly walked through the cave high in the Ural Mountains where he and the others lived, he stopped for a moment at Raja's bed, he was fond of her and would do anything to protect her. Not that he didn't feel the same about the other 2 but he was exceptionally protective of Raja. It was almost dawn and the older girls were starting to wake up a little, he zipped to his own area of the cave and grabbed the makeshift bow he had made, "I'm going hunting, I'll be back before noon." he told them as he headed for the entrance.

[bluemoon]

Raven peered out from her sleeping bag watching as Archer stood over Raja. He was their protector, and she was his favorite. She waited until he was at the entrance before unzipping her bag. Sitting up, she rubbed at her eyes and stretched, her wings flapping lazily behind her. She dressed quickly, her wings folding tightly against her back, hardly noticeable beneath the sweater.

Squatting in front of the cold fire, she set fresh tinder and wood into the round pit. She pulled an old red lighter from her pocket, and lit the small pile of tinder. Fanning the small flames until the wood caught, she then got up and walked to the entrance of the cave. The cool air hit her face and she breathed in deeply, enjoying the scent of pine in the air. She leaned against the rock face and looked out on the place they called home. A small smile formed on her lips. She loved the quiet of the early morning. She hoped Archer would be back soon. She was famished.

[Fireleap]

Raja watched Archer leave, trying her best to suppress a giggle or two. He hadn't realised it but she had not been in her bed. Quite the contrary, she had been outside, sitting behind a snow pillar, watching the pretty snow fall down from the sky. Naturally, she had concealed herself when Archer passed by, on his way to hunt. He'd be mad, very mad, to find her outside, in nothing but her old clothes, the worn jeans and her t-shirt. He'd probably claim something like she'd catch a cold, or something and ban her from going outside ever again.

And frankly, Raja didn't feel cold. Must be something to do with the whole tiger thing, like invisible, non-existent fur. Her tiger ears twitched, as she presently grinned to herself,, her fangs looking more creepy than ever. Why not follow Archer? He never actually talked about his hunting a lot, this would be a good time to see if he really did go hunting and if so, how did he do it. With one last glance at their cave-now-home, Raja scampered off, after Archer, vigilantly, tiger tail flicking off bits of snow everywhere.

[Lord Tully]

Archer blew into his hands, adding a little fire to his breath to keep them warm, scanning everywhere for signs of prey. The Urals were full of animals this time of year, deer, moose, wolves even the occasional bear if you're lucky enough (Or unlucky depending on your point of view). Archer also scanned had to watch for humans, ever since they had escaped they needed to be super careful of humans who might tell the scientists. He was so focused on what was infront of him he was startled to hear something behind him. He jumped a bit and notched an arrow in his bow, "Hello, is someone there?" he asked, as if a wolf sneaking behind him could answer. Archer stepped slowly towards the source of the noise keeping the bow trained forward.

[Fireleap]

Raja, upon noticing that Archer had seemed to sense her presence, quickly drew back behind the pillar, as to not get seen. It wasn't as though she was afraid of Archer and his skills as an archer, it was as though she didn't want to get caught, because Archer would probably make her go home. "Not while I've gotten this far..." She thought, waiting until Archer had supposedly gone past her snow pillar before jumping, silently, behind another pillar in the opposite direction. Carefully planning each of her jumps and timing each one cautiously, she managed to put some distance of about seven meters between Archer and herself. The best part? Archer's back was now facing her. There would be no way for him to see her now, Raja smiled and then, looked around. Apart from snow pillars and the occasional boulder, there wasn't a lot of things to look for for shelter. She should be more careful...

[Lord Tully]

After looking for a few minutes and finding nothing Archer decided to go back to his hunt turning back to his trail, not knowing that Raja was what was following him. He continued through the mountains leaving marks in the trees to find his way back, after a few miles of tracking something he heard a pair of voices and stopped dead immediately. He notched and arrow and headed toward the voices and came upon two humans, a man with a hunting rifle, and an unarmed woman. Thinking ~They're yoo close to our home~ Archer stayed out of sight and moved behind them, without a second thought he shot the man in the back with an arrow, causing the woman to scream. At the harsh sound Archer ran out at her, pushing her against a tree and clapped his hand over her mouth. "Now you need to be quiet, or I won't make this easy for you." Drawing a knife from his pocket Archer raised his hand to stab the woman regardless of her muffled crys.

[Fireleap]

When Archer had ventured out of sight, Raja turned around to start heading back. The older girls might have noticed her absence and tell Archer about it later, plus that near encounter was just too close for comfort... Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the silence, outscreaming the cold, winter winds. Ears pricked up, Raja turned her head. The scream belonged to a woman.. but came from the direction Archer had been headed in. He might be in trouble! With amazing tiger reflexes, Raja began to run after him. She arrived onto the crime scene, only to find Archer threatening a young, unarmed lady with a knife, and a guy keeling about in the snow, an arrow in his back. The snow underneath the poor dude was already starting to turn crimson. "ARCHER!" Raja cried. "What are you doing?!" Without any consideration of the fact that any action taken by her might cause Archer to hurt the couple even more, Raja leaped forward and pushed Archer away, baring her fangs. Her tail flicked from side to side, almost frantically. "Why are you hurting innocents?!" She yelled at him.

[Lord Tully]

Archer looked up in surprise when he was pushed to the ground, "Raja, what the hell are you doing here?" Archer got to his feet and quickly took in the situation, the woman he was about to kill was frozen and stood against the tree, with Raja standing in front of her "They were too close to our home, I couldn't take the chance that they'd find us!" He hastely threw a fireball past Raja at the woman blasting her back against the tree hard enough to knock her out. "Humans can't be trusted not to tell others, if I let them see us we'd be swarmed with people and dragged back to the laboratory and caged again. Or worse hauled to a different one and dissected!!" Archer was obviously frustrated with Raja, "You shouldn't even be out here Raja."

[nonangelic92]

Charlene wondered the words, looking for anything to eat. She hadn't eaten in days and her stomach growled. She heard voices from where she stood. She looked through out behind a beech tree and saw a yound man and little girl talking to eachother. She wondered if they had food but thought not to risk it and bagan heading back the way she came, covering her tracks. Charlene had gotten a few feet away when she stepped down and a twig snapped under her wieght, she froze too dumbfounded to do anything let alone even breath.

[bluemoon]

Raven watched the snow flakes falling to the ground, enjoying their unique beauty. The rock face was covered in a blanket of white and all traces of the others footsteps were now gone. Each one had ventured out alone. She wondered if they were meeting up somewhere without her... realizing at the same time, that she really didn't care.

Returning to the empty cave, she sat before the fire, warming her hands over the hot flames. Enjoying the solitude, she leaned back and rested on her elbows. Memories of her life back at the facility crowded her mind. Always so much pain and suffering--the needles and scapel blades. Her body was criss-crossed with their marks. Only the hope of revenge kept her going--allowed her to wake up every morning. She was making new memories now, good ones, and soon she could forget her past and move on.

[Higurashi]

Number Six was sitting on top of a rocky ridge when he heard the scream. It was shrill and from far off. He looked around and sniffed. He sniffed some more and located the scent. It was a man, and two women. He smiled to himself as he prepared to begin the hunt. He launched of the ridge with ease and landed on all fours on the forest floor. He smelled blood aswell. This drove him into a frenzy and he ran off insanely towards the smell. He ran through the trees. He just ran and ran, never stopping, never tiring, until he came upon the clearing. He smiled to himself. He had found his prey so easily. It was indeed an man and two women. Of course, there was another man, dead, on the ground. But that was where the smell of blood was coming from. It was then that he caught another smell, of another woman. (thats you blue) He decided to deal with these later, the man was armed after all. He slipped away and headed towards the new smell.

[Fireleap]

Raja glared at Archer. "It was just a chance, Archer, that they would find us. They hadn't even done anything to us. You could've waited until they actually posed a threat, before taking action. Now, the humans HAVE reasons to dissect us, or even kill us!" She said, her cat-eyes growing narrow. "Do you WANT that? I don't WANT to move away again..." Her face grew forlorn, and she looked down at the snow. Most of the time, doing this would cause Archer to do anything she said, but this time, it was real. "If any one's a threat here, Archer, it's you.." She turned towards the injured man and bent down. He was already good as dead, if he kept bleeding like that, but chances were, if the bleeding somehow stopped, he would survive.

The young girl tore off two pieces of her already-worn jeans, one small and one large, and using the smaller piece, she grabbed the arrow. "Please.. stay... calm!" On the word 'calm', she pulled the arrow out and wrapped up his wound with the larger piece of cloth. Getting up, she glared at Archer. "Give me your dagger, arrow and bow, and we can go home." She said, darkly.

[Lord Tully]

Raja's words hit Archer hard, "No I don't want us to move, I just want us to be safe." He still looked at her sternly, "I still don't understand how you can look at them kindly after everything they did to us, but fine. I will take them back." He went over to the man he had shot and used his fire to seal the wound, "I look the most human they won't suspect me, take this back home we can use most of it." He tossed the man's pack to Raja, which was full of hunting gear, food, and bedding, before hoisting the man over one shoulder, and the woman over the other. he also dropped his own weapons for Raja to take before heading towards the nearest town, which was over 50 miles away, "I'll be back by tomorrow, if I don't come back do not come after me, I want you and Charlene and Raven to keep living here safe, that's all I ever wanted for you 3." and with that he walked off into the forest.

[bluemoon]

Boredom and hunger finally getting the best of her, Raven strapped her hunting knife to her leg and put on her white furred jacket. She was not the best hunter, but was tired of waiting for the others to return. Heading outside, she looked around for any sign of Archer, Raja or Charlene. Seeing nothing but the blinding snow, she made her way carefully down the slope.

Hoping to find some berries or even nuts, Raven stopped near some blackberry bushes and began searching their depths for any missed fruit from the last season. The thorns cut into her hands and she cursed silently. Finding some dried remnants, she popped the morsels in her mouth and began chewing. They were frozen and tasteless, but hunger won out and she swallowed them anyway.

'I'll go a little further.' She thought.

[Higurashi]

Number 6 growled in delight at the hunt. He loved it even more than life itself. He bownded through the forest at top speed. Thsi target was harder to find, because it was moving. He realized this when he came to a set of foot prints that carried the scent. He then slowed down his progress, he didn't want to alert his prey of his prescence. He climbed up a rock and sighted the girl... He crept up slowly behind her, then tackled and forced her to the ground.

[Fireleap]

"I look at them, differently.. because everybody is different. Just because you hate them all, doesn't mean I do too. Just because some treated us like dirt, doesn't mean they all will." Raja murmured, but Archer was already gone. The nine-year-old sighed, and bent down, to scoop up the objects Archer had passed up, and to pick up his weapons. She stuffed them into the bag and watched the disappearing Archer, as he bravely ventured away. Humming to herself a song she once heard, she hugged herself and looked around. Now that she realised it, Archer never actually told her directly, to go back, though he implied it. And implying meant solely suggesting... "Hmm..." Raja glanced in the direction where their cave was. Grinning cheekily to herself, she began to walk in the opposite direction. She came out to go exploring and that was what she was going to do.

It was then when she remembered one small detail. The snow was still covered with the man's blood. That would not be good. Raja began to turn around and run back. That was when she ran, straight into Charlene. "Oof! What on- Charlene!"

[bluemoon]

Raven had the oddest sensation that she was being followed. Before she even had a chance to turn around, she was hit from behind and pushed to the ground. Her breath was knocked out of her when she impacted the hard rock. Fighting to get free of her attacker, she twisted her body around, finding herself facing a being not unlike herself. She pulled deeply at the air trying to get a breath, panic filling her senses. She tried to cry out for Archer, but could not get enough breath to make more than a pitiful whisper.

Pushing her hands against the stranger's chest, she shook her head as if in denial. Finally, with a gasp, she was able to breathe, and she began screaming. It came out weakly at first, then the sound began building and echoing off the face of the rocks.

[Higurashi]

Number six struggles with the girl as she tries to free herself. He licks his lips in anticipation. He would eat well tonight. But would he rape her first? No, he decided. He was supposed to bring back anything he found fitting his targets descriptions. This girl was the perfect match of the one called 'Raven'. He pinned her down and was about to tell her that she might as well give up her struggle when she began to scream. It was quiet at first but became loud and shrill quickly. He clamped his hand over her mouth and shook his head to indicate not to bite him. "I'm not going to hurt you okay?" he said in his gruff voice.

[bluemoon]

Overpowered and pinned to the ground by the wolf-like creature, Raven stopped struggling. She was helpless, and couldn't scream with his hand clamped over her mouth. She stared into his eyes. Her brown eyes pleaded for mercy, the beginning of tears forming on the edges. Shaking his head, he spoke to her in a strange deep voice, promising not to hurt her. Nodding, she pretended to agree, and began to push with her mind to make him let her go. Despite the cold, sweat began to gather on her forehead as she tried to force him to her will. The effort was weakening her-- he was very strong minded--and she felt the first drop of blood drip from her nose.

[Higurashi]

The girl finally gives up and stop struggling. Number Six looks into her eyes and sees them beg for mercy. She looks like shes about to cry. Somewhere deep inside of Number Six, a shred of pity and mercy blossoms. It is small at first but soon grows like a wonderful shining flower in his soul. He then felt something pushing his mind to let the girl go. He got a confused look on his face but didn't give into the urge. He grimaced and finally loosened his grip and let the girl go, sitting back on his hind legs.

[Fireleap]

Upon hearing a scream that sounded very familiar, Raja turned around a second time. It was Raven..? Raja wasn't sure, having never heard Raven scream before. The scream was followed by a "I'm not gonna hurt you, okay?", which sounded similar to Archer's voice. Hmm... Better not mention that to any one... With that very thought, Raja began to run in the direction of the source of the two voices. "I seem to be saving a lot of people today.." Raja thought, as she dropped onto all fours, giving herself an excellent speed boost. Wordlessly, she stumbled onto the scene of the crime, where a wolf-like beast was struggling to keep a now-silent Raven subdued. Without another consideration that she might make the situation worse, Raja leaped into action.. literally. She leaped onto Number Six's back, biting into his shoulder with her tiger fangs.

[Higurashi]

Number Six was about to offer the girl named Raven a hand up when he was tackled by Raja. He toppled over into the snow and struggled to get up under the weight. When she bit into him he roared, reared up, and slammed her into the snow. He then reached back, tore the girl off of him, then put her into a restraining grasp. "Subject 35" He said calmly. "You are to return to your pin at once or face the consequences."

[Lord Tully]

Archer was too far away at that point to hear the new mutant scream, but he didn't actually intend of reaching the town anyway. He dropped the now dead man, into the snow where he knew wolves gathered sometimes, they would take care of the body, but he set the unconsious woman down in a safer location. He let her alone, Raja's protests still fresh in his mind he could bring himself to kill her, but he did loot the man's rifle and slung it over his back before heading back towards the cave.

[bluemoon]

Raven was confused, the effort to subdue the man had drained her. She sat up slowly, her head pounding, and wiped the blood from her nose. The blood was flowing freely now and splattered the white snow with crimson. The wolf creature was battling with Raja and she moved forward to try to pull him off her. With his roar echoing in her head, she put her hands over her ears to quiet the sound instead.

When he had Raja in his grasp, she lunged at the beast to help her friend. She wrapped her arms about his waist, shoving her feet into the snow, and pulled backwards. Hearing the words, 'subject 35', his intentions became clear. She freed one hand and grabbed the knife at her thigh. Raising it high over her head, she prepared to plunge it into his back.

[Higurashi]

Number Six had tried to be nice, they were women after all, but when Raven plunged the knife into his back he went beserk. His eyes dialated, his muscles tensed, and his blood boiled with rage. He picked up both girls by their necks and bashed their heads together hard enough to knock them out. He then pulled the knife out of his back and put it through his belt. He picked up both girls by the cuffs of their shirts and dragged them off towards the town, but he made damn well sure to tie them up with some of his ultra strength nylon cord first.

[Fireleap]

Upon quickly awakening, Raja hissed, vehemently, at Number Six, despite being subdued and tied up. Her fangs dripped with the despicable beast's blood and she spat it out. "What do you want with us?" She cried. All the meanwhile, she was chanting ugly, little brute, stupid, useless beast and other words she had learned from her previous masters that ought not be repeated should this story be retold in front of youngsters, over and over in her mind. If any adult were to test her intelligence one day in the future, they would find that the nine-year-old had a very advanced vocabulary. And this colourful language was currently waiting on the tip of her tongue, ready to be released on the slightest trigger of her temper.

[Higurashi]

Number Six sat, watching the two of them as they slept, unconcious. He wondered if he should take just the two of them or if he should go out looking for the male. He decided against it. The females were wanted more than the males in the Labratory anyways. The smaller one named Raja wakes up and asks, "What do you want with us?" before continueing to mutter curses, blasphemies, and other names that she more than likely had been called in her time. Number Six sits for awhile staring before answering with a simple, "You are to be returned to your pen as instructed." before falling silent again.

[Lord Tully]

Archer was able to find his way back to the cave fairly easily and by sheer luch passed by Subject 6 by only 100 or so feet and found Charlene alone, "Charlene? What are you doing here all alone where are Raja and Raven?" He checked everywhere in the cave and didn't see either of them, "Did Raven tell you where she went?" he asked almost panicking over the fact that two of his family might be lost in the mountains.

[nonangelic92]

Charlene cocked her head to the side , "Oh Archer, I didn't know you were here. I have no idea last time I saw them, Raven went off to be alone I think and Raja followed you." She gathered a sowrd and her bow and arrow, "Do you think someone may have taken them and is taking them back to the lab as we speak?" she asked with concern in her eyes.

[bluemoon]

Raven moaned and slowly opened her eyes. The wolf hybrid sat silently watching her and Raja. She tried to move her wrists in the tight bindings. Her wrists felt chaffed, her fingers numb. Lifting her head slightly, she noticed the blood on her white jacket. Her nose must of bled for a while for there to be so much blood. She looked at her captor, seeing her knife in his belt. Any chance she had of reasoning with him was lost. She remembered driving the blade into his back, then there was a sharp pain in her head, and then nothing. Her head still ached.

"I'm thirsty." She said in a quiet voice. She tried to twist herself so she could sit up, but the bindings held her too tightly. "My hands are numb. Could you loosen the ropes?" She knew she was asking too much, but hoped for the best.

[Higurashi]

(I call Meta-gamning Non....)

Subject Six's mind had wandered off for awhile and he had fallen asleep. He dreamed about wheen he was little. A nice lady scientist who's name he never learned had been his surrogate mother. She had taken care of him and he had felt safe with her. The first time he had ever retaliated against a scientist they had brought her in to calm him down. He had instantly become like a small puppy and had curled up aginst her. He was smarter than that now... He woke up when Raven spoke. He took out his water container and brought it to her mouth until she had drank enough. He shook his head about loosening the bonds though.

[Fireleap]

I got us into this mess... By the time Raven had woken up, Raja had calmed herself down, and she had begun to think strategically, about escape. And now, I have to get us out. This is all my fault... Raja attempted to test her strength against the ropes that bound her and Raven together. Must to her delight, it was possible for her to break them... However, she daren't try it while their assailant was right there, in front of them... drifting half-asleep. She needed a distraction. Then, remembering Raven's powers to plant suggestions into minds, she smiled to herself. Raven! She hissed. A plan was beginning to form in her mind... If Raven could somehow project something into the wolf-creature's mind and put him to sleep, they'd be free and far away before he even woke up, and perhaps they might even reach home before Archer noticed their absence... Archer! That's it, we HAVE to go home now! Archer's gonna be very mad with me, otherwise.. She poked Raven, frantically. Raven! She whispered again.

[bluemoon]

Lost in her own thoughts, Raven didn't notice Raja poking her. Her body felt numb where it lay against the cold snow and she was stiff and uncomfortable. She was feeling angry at herself for allowing this man to get the upper hand. When Raja whispered her name the second time, she finally responded by reaching her hand over to the girl and squeezing her softly. By shifting her weight, she had been able to relieve some of the pressure of the ropes on her wrists. Although her hands were cold, they didn't feel as numb as before.

She snuck a glance at the man. He was drifting in and out of sleep. She couldn't understand why he was doing this to them. If he was a hybrid, then he should be rejoicing in his freedom, not dragging them back to the facility. She thought of trying to use reason, then remembered her actions against him. Sighing, she twisted her wrists against the ropes again. There was no way she would be able to work herself free. Raja was their only hope.

[Fireleap]

I've got a plan to get us out of here... The tiger-girl whispered, softly, in reply. The guy needs to fall asleep, though... Can you do that? As she asked the question, she was already testing the strengths of the ropes, loosening them slowly. With unusual flexibility, she also managed to loosen the ropes around Raven's wrists. She turned her head back. Try something like going back to his family or eating his favourite food, or something.That just might do the trick... She bit her lip nervously. Or it could utterly fail and we'd be doomed.. She didn't want to back to 'that place'... It had been a nightmare for her, and she would rather die than go back to the place of those bad memories... No, she was going to escape, with Raven. They would go back, and best of all, Archer would never need to know all about this!