Alpha Sector

Frankie drifted in and out of sleep, sitting propped up in a booth next to the small confectionary stand. The booth, strategically located in the back corner of the shops seating area, was the most concealed area he could find. Still bleary from the sedatives and weak from the surgery, he basked in short window of solitude he had. Taking a deep breath, he felt a twinge of dulled pain come from several places. Not helping was the unfamiliar way Frank was having to position himself with the bewildering changes to his frame and fresh incisions from recent surgeries.
With both hands, he reached for the empty teacup in front of him. Just as he was taught, he raised it to his muzzle and made a sipping sound. Even if he knew there was no liquid in the cup, which was up for debate, the action itself seemed to have a calming effect. His mind was a jumble of questions he couldn’t even ask at the moment, feelings of unease brought on by some of the other patients and doctors.

With only one eye, it was hard to gauge how close or far away any given one was. Even with that being the case, his current position nestled into the seat of this current booth, out of sight and mind gave him some comfort. Plus, having no doctor giving him constant attention at least helped him make one friend. He made the slightly annoying sipping sound again, a bit louder this time.

Frankie played the role of quiet observer, watching as other expirements filed into the area. At least one thing can be said, it was certainly more entertaining and exciting than the holding cell they had him in. This being his first outing, he did have a subliminal instinct and urge to roam buried under the drugs. His friend had actually suggested they take a walk, but poor Frankie just didn’t quite feel up to it. Just the mental stimulation alone was starting to give him a headache. Or maybe that was the sedatives wearing off. He took another deep breath, pads gripping the porcelain cup a bit tighter.

Shifting his weight again, he found another position which wasn’t putting weight on his back. He put down the cup, closing his eyes and laying his head down on the table. Facing his gaze outward, he continued to watch the surrounding area, wondering if all of them had been put through what he had, and if they could remember back before a few days ago, like he couldn’t.

Tyler entered the alpha sector with the rest of the non-violent subjects. He was in his original human form at the moment and watched the room with a quiet discontentment. He was glad to no longer be chased by the government officials, but at the same time he wasn't too keen on the idea of being paraded around like a circus freak for the pleasure of whatever high-security group of people came down here for the tour of the facility. Unfortunately for Tyler, this was the only interaction he was given with the outside world anymore. He had only been down here for about a year, at least he thought it had been a year, he had given up on keeping track of time as he assumed he would be in here for the rest of his life.

Tyler went to the confectionery stand, as he usually did, and got a huge bag of jelly beans. He had a love for candy, but jelly beans were his favorite. He took the bag and went to his usual booth. He wasn't quite ready to interact with the other subjects yet. As he sat down, he noticed there was a fox sitting in the booth at the corner of the stand. He found it a little odd the way he was sitting in a bipedal position.

"Must be one of the newest test subjects." He mumbled as he ate his candy. He could see the fox was still sore and he felt sorry for him, but at the same time it seemed like he didn't wish to interact with the others here either so he didn't approach the fox. It wouldn't surprise Tyler in the least if the scientists had found a way to bring sentience to animals and the way the emotions were so plain on his face he assumed this was something they had done.

Tabitha yawned and stretched her arms over her head feeling a satisfying crunch as she did so. She slowly disentangled herself from the nest she had made of her blankets and stretched again. She had no idea what time it was, there wasn't much need for time in the facility, and didn't much care. She slept without any particular schedule simply sleeping when she was tired. Her room was dark, it had no windows, with only a sliver of light from under the door to see by. But Tabitha wasn't bothered by this, she could see just fine. She yawned again and debated whether or not to go back to bed, it wasn't as if she had anything important to do, but she decided against it. She changed out of the cotton trousers and t shirt into a frilly green maxi dress and colourful kimono over her shoulders before looking at one of the cameras in the room.
"Y'all gonna let me out today?"

The answer was an electronic beeping sound and Tabitha grinned and nodded to the camera. "You guys are such darlins today."

She wandered down the corridor to the rec area where there was shops and seats and where the other Alpha patients gathered. Tabitha had done her time in the more secure wings, especially when she'd first arrived, and was reminded again how good it was not to be stuck in her room all day. She hated her room, simply because she knew she was locked in, and spent as much time as she could out of it.

There wasn't many patients there and Tabitha sighed, so much for some entertainment. Damn this place was so boring, there was only so much playing with wool and hunting stuff she could stand. She sniffed the air picking up some new scents, one was distinctly animal and she zeroed in on the fox sitting in a booth.
He was well hidden and if she hadn't smelled him, an odd mix of fur, chemicals and...death. She felt an urge to stalk him, he wasn't likely to hear her approach, but she pushed the urge down. She was all too aware of what would happen if she behaved like that and wasn't keen on losing the relative freedom she had.

There was only one other patient in the room who looked human but smelled odd, but then everyone there smelled odd so that was nothing new. She walked into the room without hesitation feeling no insecurity about meeting new people. She was fully confident in herself.

"Morning y'all. Welcome to dullsville." She sat near the human looking guy but also not far from the fox, she wanted to watch him.

Tyler continued to chow down on his jelly beans when the woman walked in.

"Morning." He replied to the woman through a mouthful of candy, oddly his powers allowed him to talk around the candy without muffling his words. He swallowed the candy before turning to the lady. She seemed a little different from the other experiments in here, but then none of the experiments were the same. Technically Tyler wasn't even an experiment, at least not one from Deep 17 scientists. He was someone else's experiment and, as a result of being on the run for most of his life, he didn't have a lot in the way of social skills. He found it hard to make friends when he knew he was just going to end up leaving them. Right now he was fighting the urge to go pet the fox like a child petting a puppy. He wasn't able to have pets on the run.

"I'm amazed there aren't more subjects in here, there's usually quite a few of us in here. They're probably just running a little late." He said as he turned and smiled at the girl. He stretched an arm across the room to offer to shake her hand.

"My name's Tyler, but the doctors around here call me Plasma, I'm a shape-shifting blob-like thing, or at least I am now. So what's your deal? What kind of freak are you?" Tyler chuckled.

Tabitha grinned at Tyler and took his hand and shook it firmly but not too firmly. She had taken a long time to learn how to control her enhanced strength and could now do most mundane things without breaking anything. Though for all she knew this man, who was apparently actually a blob like thing, might not have any actual bones to break.

"Well now." She drawled. "I ain't seen one of you here before an I have seen most. Been here years an seen all sorts but don't think I've ever seen a blob man."

She leaned back in her chair, the position looked precarious but she wasn't worried about falling, and grinned again.

"You mean you haven't guessed, well damn thats another first." She pointed to her eyes that although a normal colour had vertical pupils and looked identical to that of a cats.

"Some genius thought it was a good idea to mix cat and human together, see what happened I guess. They got me." She shrugged her eyes returning to the Fox in the corner. "Pretty normal if you see some of the others in here, if I knew who made me guess I oughta thank them for not doing sumethin worse."

She laughed then a playful sound. "Though its hell on a girls nails, you wouldn't believe how many scratching posts I go through in a month. Must cost em a fortune. Oh I forgot, i'm Tabitha but you can call me Tabby if you like. Its sorta a running joke around here."

She cocked her head to one side and watched the Fox unblinking, damn she really wanted to chase him. "You know there's a kind of dead, not dead Fox over there right? "

Alex sat in his room, his branches furled out soaking in the light from the sun lamps hanging overhead. It wasn't as good as the real thing but the lights filled him with a sort of warmth. He hummed a jaunty little tune as he trimmed and pruned a small tree placed in a simply pot.As he trimmed his ears were filled with a voice only he was privy to. Or maybe it was all in his head? He wasn't always so sure. "Stop your whining. I'm almost done." After a few more seconds of trimming he put down the scissors and smiled."There. Isn't that better?"

AS he got up to place the little bonsai next to the other myriad varieties of plants and flowers his eyes lingered on the door. It's been weeks since he had actually left his room for anything other than mandatory testing, and appointments with doctors and psychologists all claiming they could cure or help him. Not that he wasn't allowed to leave of course, he was lucky to be get such freedoms like roaming free among the halls, but lately leaving the safety of his room, the comforts of his plants had seemed far to exhausting and tiring. But today oddly enough felt different. He felt energized, cheerful even. Alex looked down at the bonsai in his hands and smiled. "Why don't we go get some fresh air huh?"

As he entered the recreation area, his branches now firmly retracted back into dormant positions he noticed there were quite a few others here engaging in conversation. One he recognized, during all his time here he had noticed the girl here and there though he had never spoken to her much. The other two though were new. He walked up to the small group feeling social today he spoke up. "Good morning everyone"

Frankie warily eyed the lady. He may be of a smaller caliper but a predator knows when he sees another. A flight instinct from deep within his brain tried to kick start, but failed. He couldn't very well run away anyways. Hearing the conversation begin to happen between Tabitha and Tyler, he could swear he could almost understand them. He could even see them
gesturing at him and using the same sound each time. "Fox." Hm. Fox. He mouthed the word to himself, having difficulty with the X sound. He slowly got the hang of it.

"Fox!" He said to himself, probably audible to the nearby. He propped himself up, fighting against some of the dull pain. He didn't realize how hungry he had been until he saw Tyler beginning to eat his jellybeans. When was the last time he had needed to chew anything? Or even swallow? He couldn't remember. But he wanted to. Even through the sedatives, which
were wearing off quickly, a mammal knows when its hungry.

He hesitated while the conversation continued before mulling up the courage to slide out of his booth. As his feet hit the floor, he wobbly fought for his balance. He swayed back and fourth for a second, grabbing onto the table as he reached for his teacup. He grabbed it and brought it with him, his only possession in this world. Bipedal walking
was still very new to him, despite the therapy session even just this morning. The balance of his weight upon his haunches wasn't quite right, and his tail had less of a balancing action than one would think it would. One foot, then the other... then again...

He made his progressed at the speed of smell across the slick tile to where the two were conversing. A pronounced limp showed that at the moment, making it evident he preferred his right leg for weight placement. As he walked up to the two, he felt the pang of fear run through him, realizing just how much taller and faster the two probably were. But there
also... Were the jellybeans.

He looked at the two, ears back slightly as his eye scanned them for sympathy. Then, still looking up at both of them, body language tensed up and ready to at least attempt to run if someone lunged at him. He bent down as best he could and picked up the couple jellybeans that were missed and strewn on the floor. He devoured them hungrily. They had little taste, but it
could have been more due to the muddled state of Frankie's senses. They were still the best food he could remember ever having. He began to pant, looking a little more relaxed.

"Fox!" He suddenly and loudly said, more of a bark than a word. He held up his empty cup to his lips, making a sipping sound at the brim. He then held the cup right up in Tyler's face.

"Fox!" He said again, obviously wanting him to fill it up. It was a tall bargain to try something so bold, but hopefully it would work out. He still kept an eye on Tabitha, knowing her eyes had been on him for quite a long time. Frankie let a small but excited boof escape his lips as he patiently waited to see if Jellybeans lay in his future.

Tyler grinned a little. "I've actually been here a couple of years myself. It was just recently that I was deemed safe enough to be out and about with the general population here. Probably because I had the government chasing after me before Deep 17 caught me. Unlike most of the experiments I wasn't made here, so the scientists here took quite a bit of time studying me." He explained.

It was right about then that another person came into the rec area. He was a taller guy and his brown hair had a greenish hue to it. His forearms were covered in bark, the air seemed to be fresher as he walked in and there was a distinct smell of moss. It didn't take Tyler long to realize there was some plant based stuff going on with this guy. He was smiling, though, and he seemed to be friendly so Tyler did his best to be friendly in return.

"Mornin'" Tyler replied before he was once again distracted by the fox in the booth. He seemed to be trying to figure out how to speak and he was able to get the word "fox" out after practicing it a few times. He kept watching, hoping that he wasn't making the poor guy self-conscious, as he slid out of his booth and struggled a little bit as he tried to walk in a bipedal fashion. He turned to look at Tabby who seemed to be watching him as intently as Tyler was, but no doubt her watching was more out of primal instinct. The fox came over and picked up a few of the jelly beans that had fallen on the floor in Tyler's haste for eating his sweets. Tyler turned away for a second, about to burst from the level of cuteness this little guy had.

"Fox!" He suddenly heard the little guy speak up. Tyler turned to see him make the sipping sound at the cup's brim before holding it up to his face and repeating "Fox!"

It took all of Tyler's will power not to morph into a chibi version of himself and squeal at how cute the fox was being. But he didn't want to scare the guy away. Still his pupils were huge like that of an anime character. He understood exactly what the fox was asking for.

Tyler had a big sweet tooth so he also had a big bag of the jelly beans. He gently took the cup that he was being handed and dipped it into the bag like a scoop and pulled it out filled with jellybeans. He handed it back to the fox and as he did he pointed at the jelly beans in the cup and slowly and deliberately pronounced the word "Food." Tyler couldn't keep the smile off his face and he scooted over in the booth before patting the spot next to him for the fox to take a seat. He hoped the fox would understand what he meant, but it was clear that he was still learning how things worked and it must be scary being in a place like this.

The large elevator descends with a brief ringing tone, opening itself to the front of the foyer of the Alpha Sector, decorated rather lavishly in small gardens and soft flooring. Out from its doors the first massive step out is made by the giant manlike form of Mr. Grimms, with his arms folded behind his back. He was followed shortly by his daughter, who scans the area with wide eyes, allowing an impressed whistle to escape from her lips.

"Would you expect anything less, my dear?" He says to her softly, event still, his voice was no less baritone than before. Scanning briefly he scanned the area, noting in particular a small gathering of subjects. He pauses, his daughter briefly continuing on without him, before he reaches over placing his massive hands on each side of her, maneuvering her gently towards them, her face blanking for a moment. "Ah, do you see, pumpkin? An opportunity to mingle presents itself. Why not go and talk to them? Daddy has business to attend to with the good doctor."

"Um," she utters, her eyes shifting around rapidly between the group, before tilting her head back to look up at her father, a timid gaze like that of a little girl. In turn, he looks down at her, his blazing yellow eyes meeting with her wide ones. "Where's the rabbits..?" she asks, nearly a whisper.

"Oh? Now, I remember I said there would be a rabbit when we got here." he responds, slightly amused. He then shoves her forward. "And now you're here."

Stumbling forward before catching her footing, she stiffens up and takes a moment to process, pouting her lips before snapping back with a somewhat angry expression. "Hey! Da-," but before she could retort, Papa Grimms had already made his way towards the staff zone, her face shifting to one resigned, sighing and looking down.

She steps up to the small gathering, in the rec area. She stood there for a moment, huffing awkwardly and blowing her hair from her face, before putting on a big grin as she throws her head up to face them, and waves her hand, which is thoroughly engulfed by sleeve. "Heyyyy, mornin'~! Nice to meetcha, I'm Saiph! Which sounds like the thing you put valuables away in, but is actually spelt S-A-I-P-H," she suddenly blurts out, in an absolutely cheery tone. She begins to shift her view around the group. "How about you all? Y'see, I'm new here and-," she stops abruptly on the fox, her expression blanking. "...fox?"

Tabitha nodded a greeting at the tree guy and the girl but her attention was on the fox. She had gone very still as the Fox approached, clearly uncertain and unsteady, and she watched with unblinking eyes as it held out its cup to Tyler. Once she saw it was not a threat and was actually small and injured she felt an almost maternal instinct show itself. This creature would be no fun to hunt and she was not starving and did not need to prey on a weaker animal. She wanted to show the Fox that she wasn't a threat but wasn't sure how. She wasn't great at human interaction and had no idea how Foxes greeted each other.

She decided to greet him as if he were a cat, hopefully he would recognise what she was trying to do. She lowered herself gracefully into a crouch, the movement fluid but slow, and did her best not to loom over the fox. She slowly leaned forward and sniffed his nose, a cat version of "hello new cat" and then after several moments of scent investigation she very gently rubbed her face against his. Mixing their scent and telling the Fox that she was friendly. She then leaned back and waited hoping she hadn't frightened him away. The truth was she was lonely, Though there were plenty of beings in the facility she had met none like herself, more animal than human, and though not a cat this Fox was the next best thing.

Frankie hurriedly took back his cup, not wanting it out of his possession for too long. But to say he wasn't grateful would be an
understatement. He shoved his muzzle into the cup and took a mouthful. Through the chewing, getting a few pieces on the floor, he repeated Tylers word. "FFFffffood." Taking another huge mouthful of jellybeans his eye closed as he swallowed, repeating again with elation. "Foood!!!" He made quick work of the rest, eating even faster than he thought he was capable of. It felt like heaven to have something in his belly again, after who knows how many days without solid food. As he finished the last of the jellybeans he saw Tyler patting the seat beside him with a friendly smile. Frankie mirrored his actions exactly. He scooted away from Tyler, still standing up however. he then reached out and patted the seat where Tyler had. "Food!" He said, patting the seat again for good measure but remaining standing. His tongue lolled out as he panted, the excitement of meeting people beginning to rule out his most basic flight instincts.

"FooooOOOOOOOOOooooood!" He howled, not particularly asking for more, just expressing his happiness
to any with ears to hear.

Abruptly he stopped as the Tabitha crouched on the ground. He froze, little cup still in his hand. He tensed up, wondering exactly what her intention was. As he went to put the cup to his mouth and sip, he leaned foreward and touched his nose with hers, then rubbed her face against his. He remained staring at her, the expression on his face a strange one indeed. He looked paralyzed, face contorted into an unnatural expression.


Frankie let out a succession of three sneezes in a row, each one a little more dramatic than the last. He focused his gaze back on Tabitha, and patted her on the head like he did with the seat next to Tyler. "Fox." He said in reference to her. He heard the door slam shut, and saw the new arrival standing there beginning to speak words he once again could almost understand. But the last word, slung out across the room in confusion in reference to him he did understand. His ears perked up as he hobbled up to Saiph. "Fox!" He said, lifting his arm upward and pointing down at himself, showing her as well his cup. But he stopped in his tracks once more, giving her ankles and general aura a good sniff. He let out a small hyena like laugh and continued to circle her, before stopping in front of her. "Food!" He said, pointing at her and laughing. "Food!" He said again, pushing his cup against her leg before sipping again and walking out into the middle of the three, temporarily distracted by Alex, but focusing his attention back on the people so kind to give him theirs in return.

Tyler smiled and laughed as the fox mimicked his movements and got overjoyed with the attention he was receiving. It dawned on Tyler that this fox had the right idea, find happiness anywhere you can, because it could end up being in short supply around here. The way he sneezed was adorable when Tabby greeted him then called her a fox.

"Well I guess that's a matter of opinion." Tyler joked at the comment.

It was right about then that another person decided to join them, the young girl introducing herself as Saiph. She seemed to exhibit signs ADHD, but he was no doctor and for all he knew she was the result of an experiment herself. She seemed a little freaked out by the fox or maybe excited to see him, it was hard to tell. But Tyler couldn't help but chuckle when the fox started circling her and calling her food and laughing.

He listened as Alex introduced himself to her and then spoke to the fox as well. He had a point, they couldn't just go calling him fox. As Alex offered the fox some fruit from his branches, Tyler took a look to see if the scientists had given him any kind of tags for identification, but he didn't see any.

"Hmmm, he's probably microchiped." Tyler mumbled. "Guess I'll try the old fashioned way"

Tyler knelt down and tried to get the fox's attention. When he did he spoke slowly to make sure he would understand.

Tyler placed his hand on his chest and spoke. "Tyler. My name is Tyler." He then pointed to each of the others and introduced them in the same fashion before he pointed at the fox and asked "And what is your name?"

He waited to see if the fox understood what was being said, if he even knew his own name or even had one.

As Alex began to bloom, Frank took a startled step back, completely not expecting the fruit to grow so quickly. As kind as the
gesture of good will was, the meaning of it was lost to Frank. He found himself politely standing his ground, a little skittish
as he wasn't exactly sure that trees could talk and move. He avoided eye contact for a brief moment, before turning back and nervously gripping his cup, repeating his name back to him in a small voice. Then, the more confidence he gained, he ended up taking a single berry in his deformed paw and shoveling it into his mouth. He smacked the morsel rather annoyingly before deciding the tree person was alright. He began to pant shallowly and took another few grapes, placing them in his cup. He then hobbled back around, looking to everyone he had already met for attention. Tyler was more than happy to oblige.

He watched Tyler as he motioned and spoke. Looking to his chest and back up to his face, he turned away for a second, obviously in thought. He then reached out and thumped Tyler on his chest with his free paw. "Tyler!" He exclaimed. He tried "Tabitha" as her name came up, but it proved to hard. He uttered out a few different versions of her name. " Taffifa. Tabiba!"

He gave a frustrated huff and tried once more, with gusto. "Bababa!" He gave up and resorted to calling her a "fox" again. After all, she was the closest thing to him that he could tell. He smiled at her, hoping she knew he tried.

"And what is your name?" Tyler asked. Frank may not fully have comprehended the words but he knew what he was asking. He assumed his name was fox, but something told him that might not be the case. he suddenly jerked his head down to look at his left foot.He had a small white bracelet, a medical style affair with dot matrix printed information. It must have slipped off as he scurried around the room. He frantically looked for it, working himself up for a second before realizing it was on the floor. He excitedly pointed to it and began to walk to get it, his body taking a little longer than he expected to follow his brain. Picking up the tiny bracelet he began to run excitedly back to Tyler. But the overexitement and novice balancing skills got the better of him as he ran, arms outstretched with cup in one paw and bracelet in the other.

Frank slipped, falling arms outstretched onto his chest and muzzle. A deep racking pain that can only come from recent surgery being agitated in a quick and forceful way shot through his whole body. He lay temporarily paralyzed, cup sliding loudly across the floor but not breaking. The bracelet lay at tylers feet, labeled in large capital letters:

D17-ID: RGN-O1F

CLR: ALPHA

S:MALE

SP: VULPUS BURRUS//GNS (R)

ALG: CHOC

"FRANKIE"


Frank began to shakily collect himself. It appeared he might have popped a few of his stitches out of his left shoulder scar, and
a small amount of blood began to ooze from the bald spot, bringing with it a slightly foul odor of rotten meat. As he teetered to his feet he looked back around the room, he was clearly embarassed and in a good amount of pain. He slowly turned his back on everyone and instinctively began to creep towards his safe spot in the well hidden booth, forgetting his cup and the bracelet. A few drops of blood appeared on the floor behind him as he walked away. He hopped up onto the booth bench and nestled into the back as far as he could, wanting yet again to be invisible.

Tabitha instantly recognised and understood the Fox's behaviour, most animals retreated to hide when injured and although this creature was certainly not just a Fox, enough instinct remained for it to seek a hiding place. She bent and picked up the bracelet looking at it briefly before picking up the cup and carefully putting the sweets and fruit back in from where they had spilt on the floor. She wrinkled her nose at the pervading smell of rotten meat that had hit the air mixed with the scent of blood, if anything was guaranteed to get her to avoid hunting the Fox that was it. She wasn't a dog to be eating carrion. It didn't occur to her to question how a Fox smelling of dead meat was up and walking around, things just happened like that at Deep 17.

"Frankie huh." She said aloud. "Cool name."

She walked over to the booth and careful to not accidentally touch Frankie she placed the cup on the table in front of him and put the bracelet next to it. She placed a crumpled piece of tissue that she'd found on the floor, humans liked to wipe their blood with them she remembered, next to the other things and cocked her head. Sometimes trying to think like a human and an animal was hard, should she do something else? Or leave him alone? She decided on the latter remembering how she always wanted to be alone to lick her wounds, literally, when she was injured.

"Frankie."She said quietly pointing at him and then pointing at her own chest. "Tabby." As she figured that was easier for him to pronounce.
"You come back on over when you feel like it. Don't be worrying yourself about anythin."

She then walked back over to the group. "I think maybe leave him alone for a few, that's what I'd want anyhow. So we have Tree man, Blob man, Cat Woman and..." She looked at Saiph. "what about you hon? I'm guessing you're not here cause you like the food. Though I guess someone's gotta like it."

Saiph watches wide eyed at the hyperactive fox, who introduced himself as "Frankie," before falling to the floor, clearly in pain. Then watches as he quietly slinks away, noting, specifically the drops of blood. Raising a brow she looks to the others and scratches her cheek, looking disconcerted.

"Uh, is he alright?" she asks, before regaining her composure and grins when addressed by Tabitha, turning attention to her. "Hey, yeah, I just arrived! So, I'm Saiph Grimms, ah... oh wait, I already said that, didn't I..? Anyways, I... uh," she says, stuttering a bit, before pausing briefly, rubbing her chin, visibly pondering deeply for a moment. "So I can take two places, and sorta stitch them together in this timey... spacey thing. Is really technical so uh... I'll just call them Rabbit Holes, for now. You know, like the one in the story of Wonderland! I love that one~! Like um," she looks around the room for something, spotting the cup and bracelet that Frankie dropped, and with a flash in her eyes, and a snap of her fingers, and with a strange quiet whoosh, both items fall into a distortion of space, reappearing elsewhere, landing on a table not far from Frankie, the cup even landing upright. The distortions close immediately afterwards.

"And that's pretty much how it works in a nutshell," she says, her eyes fluttering briefly, before turning back with a grin. "But, I'm sure ya'll got something cooler than that, right?" She then folds one of her arms and rests her chin on her other arm. "And... ehhhh? Food's bad here, huh? Maybe I should tell my dad about that one, he kinda owns the place."

She then glanced out, watching as Mr. Grimms was making his way to, and stepping into the elevator, causing her to rush to the door, waving as she does, watching only as he leaves up through the elevator. Propped against the glass, she hangs her head bonking it against the glass lightly. "Aw, poo, didn't even say g'bye..." A few lights around the sector dim and flicker briefly. "Ah well, I'll just call later!"

Tyler felt awful for causing Frankie to get too excited and trip. The smell did do one thing, though. It made it clear that not only had the scientists got a fox to walk bipedal and made him smart enough to talk, but they had actually brought him back from the dead. He would wait until Frankie was ready to come back then he'd apologize for that.

Tyler watched as Saiph demonstrated her powers.

"Hmm, that's kinda cool. Seems like you would be the one person who wouldn't be stuck here, being able to basically teleport out." Though he figured there was probably some sort of dampening field that kept her from using her powers to get out.

"Yeah the food ain't great, but the candy is good." He chuckled.

"Tabby." Frankie repeated quietly with a small chatter. He bared his teeth at her, but anger
or malice didn't seem to be in the expression. In reality he was trying to mimic a smile. A little
almost inaudible "Eee" sound escaped his muzzle as he did so.


Taking the tissue with his little hand and instinctively put it on his wound. Whether
he had been taught this or if it was just a creatures natural intuition was up to the observer.
His body ached still from the fall, but the sharpness and the bite of the pain had subsided. Frankie
had decided, however, that no one in the room was a threat. But the newfound emotion of embarassment
was the main cause of him slinking away. He watched, a little less amazed than he should have been as
the cup came floating back to him, along with his bracelet. He didn't bother at all with the band
and instead gingerly pulled the cup towards him, taking another grape and chewing on it, less loud
and obnoxious this time.

He let out a sigh as he laid his head back down on the table, feeling a slight murmer in his chest,
that throbbed out to his open wound on the back of his shoulder. He remained at a distance, watching
everyone else interact. He wanted to go play, he couldn't lie to himself. Tabby and Tyler seemed so nice,
nice as the scientists who had let him out this morning. And Mr. Branches was obviously Magic!
Saiph however, was slightly different. Something about her triggered a primal instinct in him, one
of hunting and the chase, the very animal instincts that still slept within his cranium. He wanted
to follow those instincts, but decided against it for now, he was too sore. And there would be other
oppurtunities.

Frankie started, as if alerted to something the others couldn't see before beginning to happily pant.
He took his cup and poured the remaining jellybeans and grapes onto the table. His ears perked up and he
held out the cup as if it was being filled with tea from an imaginary kettle. He chattered nonsensically
to himself, letting out a few hyena like laughs, much quieter this time. He sipped at the brim of his empty
cup and gingerly ate more candy, more self control showing through than when he was shoveling them down
his maw earlier. He looked around to the people, back to the empty seat across from him, and nodded. He
raised a finger and pointed to each member respectively. "Tyler, Tabby, Branches..." He looked over to
Saiph with a finger point. "Food." He said again with a chortle, as if it were an inside joke.

He continued like this, chattering away, talking to no one, spirits seeming to improve greatly.

Tyler heard Frankie chattering to the invisible person who he seemed to be in the seat across from him. He smiled a little as he looked like he was feeling a little better, but he let him be for a little bit. It wasn't until he heard Frankie introduce everyone to the invisible person that Tyler let out a chuckle, mostly because he introduced Saiph as Food. Tyler moved over to the booth, in a very fluid-like movement, before sitting across from Frankie and next to the invisible person. For all Tyler knew there actually was an invisible person there the way the scientists did things around here.

"Hey there, Frankie, sorry for getting you all excited. I didn't think you'd get hurt." Tyler apologized. He looked down at the food scattered all over the table in front of Frankie and stretched his arm across the room to get a paper bowl thing used for nachos and and his arm snapped back like a rubber band with the bowl. He scooped the food up and put it in the bowl for Frankie.

"There you go. Now your stuff won't go rolling off the table." He said as he slid the bowl in front of him.

"So did you want to get some real food, or did you want to keep eating the candy and fruit? You're a carnivore right? You want to get some meat? I think they got some jerky around here somewhere."

"Why would I want to get out?" Saiph asks, mussing her hair while scratching her head. "I mean, father brought me here, so I'm staying until he says otherwise," she continues, before twisting her mouth and folding her arms, rolling her eyes around and shifting her hand under chin and nervously tapping, tapping her feet on the floor with a rhythm. "Ughh... so uh, is it bad here or something? I mean if it is I c-."

She glanced over at Frankie as he chattered away at seemingly nothing, her right eye visibly fluttering briefly. "Tea would be lovely," she muttered, nearly a quiet whisper, her eyes glazed over, before Frankie began to move again. She visibly winced as he worked with his wound, shuddering a bit, her smile cracking slightly. She returned to silently observing him, as he began to name the others. She cracked out in laughter as she referred to Alexander as Branches. "Branches!? Hah! I like th-," she began to say before he pointed directly at her and referred to her as food. With a perplexed look, she shrugs her shoulders. "Yeah, I'm... not quite sure how to interpret that one."

Walking over to the counter she took a cup, looking over a beverage fountain machine, and huffing after a moment. "What, no Earl Grey? Tch!" With outstretched hand she opened a portal briefly, dropping a tea bag into her cup, and moving over to start boiling some water, propping her head on her hands over the counter.

The staff nearby looked slightly perturbed, talking quietly among each other before one deciding to walk up, a rather short woman in a lab coat, holding a tablet computer. There was this slight different in how they approached Saiph than they did the other subjects. There was an odd bit of hesitation.

"So, Miss Grimms, are you adjusting well, no... problems?" she asks, her tone oddly careful.

"Pshhhh! Miss Grimms? Just Saiph will do, miss makes me sound like a school teacher or something," she says, placing her hands on her hip and rolling her eyes. "But ughhh... I guess? These guys seem cool n' all! But... the food here is a bit, I dunno... bland?"

The scientist stared at her blankly for a moment nodding her head, before tapping away something on her tablet. "I suppose you are right, the food is designed to meet dietary needs, candy aside, but um... I suppose you are used to something more, um, sublime," she says, before finishing, glancing over her shoulder at the tea brewing in her cup, pointing to it with her stylus. "Uhm... did you... get that from off-site? Er, nevermind, just, ask next time if you want or need something."

"It is just tea, but um... sure?" she says, looking perplexed.

"Thanks, and welcome to Deep 17, I hope you enjoy yourself here Mi- er, Saiph, hah!" the woman responds, forcing a bit of a laugh, before walking out and to the others, talking amongst them and showing them the tablet.

"Heh, yeah... ugh," Saiph mutters, slouching over, her smile drops for a moment looking somewhat agitated. The lights flicker momentarily again. "I don't need this here."

Looking back to the others, her eyes shift between them and her tea. "Oh! how rude of me! Anyone else want some? My friend actually loves the stuff, basically lives on it, really. Heh, a real card that one..."

Tyler went about trying to find some real food instead of the junk food he had been eating. He didn't really need to eat, but he actually enjoyed tasting the food. He watched and listened to Saiph as she interacted with the doctor. He finally found a bag of beef jerky, it wasn't the most healthy thing, but it was better than candy. He went back to the table and opened the bag so that everyone could share it if they wanted.

He wondered who it was that Saiph was referring to as her friend. Was the person even real? Was this girl crazy? He didn't know and it wasn't exactly like sanity was a uniform term around here.

"Here ya go buddy." He smiled as he gave Frankie a piece of the Jerky.

"So, who's your friend?" He asked as he turned to Saiph.

When Saiph asked the question about whether the facility was bad or not he opened his mouth to speak in the negative. The facility was a godsend as far as he was concerned. At least the upper level was. Filled with food, with friendly enough faces, and all his needs were met. For someone like him it was as normal a life as he could ever wish for. Soon however a frown formed on his face as he thought about the other levels of Deep 17. He had heard stories during his time here, none of them were pleasent especially not the stories about Gamma and Delta. Even the Beta sector filled with limits and restrictions sent a wave of dread through Alex's veins. The frown only grew larger as he the fact that he would someday be destined to be confined with the most dangerous of creatures struck him abruptly.

He shook his head slightly trying to banish the thoughts from his mind. Today was a good day, best not to ruin it with grim truths. So Alex watched quietly as Frankie started to liven up a bit more, his early behavior subsiding as his spirits seemed to lighten up. Once Frankie began to name off the others in the room and the fox pointed towards Alexander himself calling him Branches. A confused look stood on his face as he tested the name on his lips. His tone was one of bewilderment but there was an unmistakable smile there making quick work of his previous frown.

Alex sat there as Saiph spoke with the scientist, when the lights flickered he gave another confused look. Odd that didn't happen very often. The thoughts left his mind as Saiph returned offering tea and Tyler showed up with a bag of jerky seemingly offering it up to share. Alex shook his head at Saiph's suggestion, as he reached for a bit of jerky. "No thanks. tea is basically just leaf water right? I can't even eat that stuff anymore. I have certain dietary needs nowadays." When he finished speaking he took a bite of the jerky. He looked at Saiph in anticipation of her answer to Tyler's question more than a littel curious to hear of stories from the outside.