Ebony *Jetta* Keneson's Story

Ebony awake with a start to the sound of metal on metal. It was the sound of cage doors being slammed shut. She buried her head back into her arms with a groan.
Are you kidding me, I missed my free time... ugh.
Despite her disappointment, Ebony knew it was practice time, then the zoo would open and she would be expected to preform for the small trickle of people that came her way. Even though her cage was among the center, it was also a disadvantage, as when there were way more interesting mutants around, why watch a girl bend past human capabilities, and crawl up walls? It would be better if she was like Ridley, with her webs. She was interesting and graceful at least. Ebony's own crawling style was awkward, as she scrambled incredibly fast on her hands and feet.

She cast away her thoughts, yawned, and dropped from the corner of the ceiling where she slept. She didn't ask for much in her cage, just as long at it was dark. The Owner had taken the liberty to add a hoop, a pole on either side, and a chain stretching just inside the bars, for her act. She preferred sleeping up in the shadows were no one could see her, but sometimes that meant she missed the wake up call. Hopefully she wouldn't get in trouble again.

She ran her routine in head as she started stretch, going through her twists and flips mentally. Ebony pulled her leg into a perfect Needle, resting a free hand on the wall to help pull her foot farther up. There was a voice from the bars.

"Sup. Name's Avarella Lee. But I don't like that name, so you could refer to me as Nixon. I like that name. I'm going to be your vet from on in, so you really can't complain too much. It's my first day officially, so go easy on me. What's your name?"

Ebony narrowed her eyes. The woman seemed too nice. Nothing she or any of the others were exactly used to. of course, then there was that certain word she had just used.
The raven haired teen flipped onto her hands walking out of the shadows and springing onto the chain just in front of the bars. It hung tightly from the ceiling, and Ebony's adhesive feet stuck to it easily. She swiped her devils point tail behind her nervously, clearly visible as she was in her show wear
Well, it was supposed to just be her show clothes, but Ebony took to wearing the spandex hot pants and shimmery blue crop top a lot of the time. She wondered how this doctors first impression of her would be, her slim form easily hanging, eyes narrowed and probably quite bright from recently using her night vision. Her hair was jet black and hung in a braid behind her, like a second scorpions tail. Her skin itself was probably set by her dark cage, extremely pale and tinged blue.
First impressions were everything. Hopefully this Nixon character could handle her unique appearance, considering some of the others were.... well more extreme.

"Vet? Eso no es una buena palabra mujer. You are not dealing with animals. True, we may be a bit different from you, mutated maybe. But we're people. Somos humanos. Aprender buenos modales."

She couldn't help slipping into Spanish at the words, as she always did when she thought a staff member might take offence. They couldn't understand and wouldn't bother to punish her. Ebony considered translating, but figured that would dampen her point, hoping the woman would get the idea from the English bit.
Ebony dropped from the chain, landing in a crouch to glare at the woman. It was surely a miscommunication, though, since Nixon was new. She knew they were considered animals to everyone. That didn't change her own opinion. Hopefully the good doctor wasn't set on the mindset of them being animals.

"They call me Jetta, but my name is Ebony. I have lagartija... er, lizard 'mutations'... at least to some effect I suppose."

(1. That's not good word choice woman. 2)We're human. Learn some manners.)

Avarella stared at the female from within the cage, the sudden Spanish coming into effect, and the nostalgic twang in her mind from hearing the language again, but kept silent as she was lectured by the lizard-mutated Ebony. She kept her small smile, but her facial expression shifted to that of more of an ashamed child. Would you look at that. Messed up already. ".. Sorry." She took another pause, gathering her thoughts, still trying to maintain the freely easy-going tone. "But I can't change what's on my diploma. I am a certified veterinarian, after all." She can't remember the last time where she's been so.. quiet and ashamed of whatever it was that she said. Running a hand through her blond hair, the locks short and slightly oily in her dirt covered touch, Avarella exhaled from her nose.

She placed her white coat, messily folded, neatly onto the dirty ground first, slowly. "But, if you'd like that I'd be your doctor instead, then I hope 'ta be able to patch up some rough first impressions here." Placing her hands on her hips, she looked past through the bars where Ebony was in the vast darkness of the cage, leaning in a bit more. "It's nice to meet you Ebony." She wouldn't put it pass the other if the girl was still more than wary of her by now, and with the way that this zoo seemed to be set up, she highly doubted that the freaks here would really trust her, being the way that she was. Well, I suppose that they're going to have to get used to my behavior. I'm going to get along with them, over time at the very least.

Picking up the white lab coat off the ground, she dusted it barely and lightly before wrapping it around her hips in a knot. "Well, as your apparent doctor," she paused to let it settle on her mind. "I hope to be able to serve to your needs and interests as best that I can. I hope to be able to gain your trust over time." Speaking all professional-like feels so incredibly.. weird. She found it that it would be unwise to try to enter any of the cages if this environment was going to be the way it was, but she hoped that they would at least slightly clean up a little. The only reason that she got the job was that she offered to do it in the first place, because of the horrid living conditions. Perhaps that I would be able to influence it to change to better conditions. Avarella doubted that it'll be very soon, but it was certainly something to try to look forward to.

Ebony watched as Nixons face turned slightly ashamed, and she apologized. "But I can't change what's on my diploma. I am a certified veterinarian, after all. But, if you'd like that I'd be your doctor instead, then I hope 'ta be able to patch up some rough first impressions here."

The dark haired teen stood, immediately changing her glare into a small smile. She liked this woman. She knew how to fix her mistakes. As long as she was willing to see Ebony's side of it, the teen couldn't care less.

"It's alright, lo siento for my hostility. It's true we're all animals of some sort, so I won't criticize you on your title again."
"I hope to be able to serve to your needs and interests as best that I can"

"I'll let you know medico. For now though, I think you'll do just fine as long as you don't get to close or enter anyone's jaula." Ebony was now perfectly bubbly, as she was with the other mutants. The only people she was hostile with was the staff, and Nixon seemed okay so she was an exception.
She slinked up to the bars and stuck out a hand, smiling happily.
"It's nice to meet you!"
With practiced ease, she rendered her adhesive hand, well, non-adhesive for the moment. She them pulled back with a wink and a wave of her tail.

"I really have to start going through my routine before another one of the staff comes around or the zoo opens. I'll get in trouble, even if I'm talking to you."
She jumped easily onto the hoop swinging in the center of her cage. Beginning her twists, she gave Nixon a last wave goodbye, signaling 'Leave me alone' not in a rude way, Ebony just wasn't in the mood to get in trouble.

"Oi! Senora! Voy a hablar con usted más tarde! Tal vez mañana por la mañana, durante mi tiempo social."
(I'll talk to you later! Maybe tomorrow morning for my social time.)

With the doctor out of the picture, Ebony got through one complete run of her routine, which consisted of some advanced tricks on the hoop, swinging onto the group and doing some Acro-Ballet, twisting up around one of the poles, swinging on it, walking across the ceiling then finishing on the chain near the bars. Then it was time for the quests to arrive.

As always, routine went to, well routine. Ebony never really had to change it much, as no one ever came to see her twice, and the owner never seemed to notice. As she finished her twirl, leaping and crawling into the darkness of the wall towards her chain, Some of her few onlookers, three young teens, clapped, looking delighted.

"Milly, she's like a ballerina." One with bright blonde hair cooed to her friend.
"I wish I could bend like that. I'm sure Miss Abby would have lover her in our class... If she wasn't a freak of course."
"That's rude!" The third girl scolded, though by her expression she agreed.

Ebony pouted, immediately put off from the happy feeling she had had from the praise. She uncurled suddenly from the chain, hanging by her feet and crossing her arms specifically at the girls, who squealed in surprise. Letting her adhesive feet drop, she did an in air summersalt, landing in a lunge, arms still crossed.
"Ta-da." She said dryly to the girls, who, looking uneasy, quickly moved away.

Then she smiled, stood and bowed, perfectly happy again to the others who clapped for her, flicking her tail about. The applause from the small audiences who gathered to watch her was one of the few things Ebony liked about the zoo. The owner was cruel, but the staff was alright and the other 'freaks' were nice to talk to. She was better off in the Zoo than anywhere else in her mind anyway, as from experience she didn't get on too well in the outside world.

She danced over to the hoop, lightly slipping into it and swinging as the small crowd drifted away. No one really came to see her, with more exciting acts around, but she was alright with that. Though Ebony was at heart a very social person, she managed when she was alone fine. Sure, maybe she wished she was better friends with some of the other 'acts' but she got distracted so easily she often missed her chance.

Speaking of distractions... Some of the others seemed to be having actual conversations with some of their onlookers. Ebony smiled wistfully. She wished her watchers wanted to speak to her, but in all her time at the zoo, they had just watched her graceful show then moved on.
Oh well... Ooooh! She has cotton candy! Me gusta mucho eso...abuela brought it home for me once, I remember! ..... I wonder how she's doing...

Becoming lost in her thoughts, Ebony lost her hold on the ring she was perched in at some point, falling backwards with a squeak. Not expecting the fall, she barely had time to throw a handout, doing something of a lopsided twist on her hand and landing hard on her side.
"Joder..." She swore lightly. "Ese tipo de hacerme daño...ouch."

She gave a small frown and perhaps pouted her lips upward in slight confusion. Why would it be interesting that I trust his word? He hasn't hurt her, so why fear? Avarella blinked, her pout dropping and her brow smoothing out to a more neutral position. Her eyes traced to its corners where some spectators seem to be watching cautiously, but turned her head back forward quickly, hands easily finding the pockets at the side of her thighs. Her brow couldn't help but quirk up a bit, and other joined as he insisted - at least, from what she thought that she heard - as he showed her his hands. Avarella failed to see why, until her eyes focused on just what was on his hands. Mouths. On each one. By dear god that's just.. She blinked multiple times, and leaned closer, staring at it as she processed this bit of information further. Her own hand slipped out from its pocket and slowly reached out towards it without even thinking. ".. Goddamn cool." She whispered, ending her train of thought in words, slightly entranced by it. It reminded her of that one cartoon where it had that character with hands on their hands, though she had trouble remembering what that was. She's met quite a few people who had to explain to her that the cartoon was something like a .. Annie? Whatever. Cartoons were cartoons to her either way.

She couldn't help the suddenness of her gut dropping as soon as she saw the hands, but she'd be lying if she couldn't help but admit that this was cool and incredibly unheard of to her at the same time. Her fingers were slightly reaching towards it, but she stopped mid air as if in a pause. Avarella was tempted to ask if he could lick anything, or rather, taste anything with those hands. Sneaking food would be fabulous, if he could eat from those hands. .. But he'd need something to connect that with his stomach. She frowned, seriously thinking hard on the matter. Wouldn't he? She couldn't help but just stare, her mind on a roll with countless questions that she could ask without being too rude.

Though, her head stopped when the red-haired girl spoke, her voice easily catching her attention from her own long silence. Turning her eyes towards her and then leaning back, an apologetic look on her expression for staring for so long. Though, it would seem the young girl was much more nervous than she was, and Avarella couldn't help but feel concerned. "What-"

Her attention was quickly diverted when there seemed to be some sort of a commotion that was rising about behind her, some distances away from where this cage stood. There were a few shouts going around, and she frowned further. Struggling to listen properly, she stilled, and heard some flashes of What's wrong? or Hey! She just fell! or Get up!. It was faint, and she pieced whatever it was that seemed to make sense to her, seeing as it seemed to repeat itself like an echo. Though, seeing as the context seemed to be of great concern, she turned her worried look towards the two in her company. "I-I'm sorry, but I think that I may have to go." Aren't they surrounding Ebony's cage? She visibly tensed, a bit more anxious. Did something happen? "There's seems to be a sort of commotion by Ebony's cage," she kept switching her glances between the crowd and Herrick's cage, unsure as to what to do. "I-I will be right back. I'm sorry. There might be.. " She quickly ran before hearing either of the two's responses. "Really sorry!" She yelled over her shoulder, though her legs kept running. It took her some minutes to try to see what was wrong. There was probably a cagekeeper in the front, and she quickly maneuvered through the crowd, excusing her way through. There was a decent amount of a crowd, though she suspected that it was for the wrong reasons. Avarella caught some snippets of oh, she fell or something along those lines, and as she got the front, yelling louder as she kept excusing herself through, she got the front, and try to process just what is happening currently. "What's going on?"

The girl slowly stood, rubbing the side of her rib cage tenderly, before gingerly circling her wrist. Her wrist wasn't sprained, thank God. Jack would have killed her if she couldn't do her tricks. Her ribs however, felt bruised.
Ebony often got herself into injuries from falls. Though she would be the least expected to fall off of something, that was sometimes her downfall. She was so used to balancing and climbing anything and everything, she sometimes forgot it was only her hands and feet with adhesive pads.
In surprise she realized a small crowd had gathered in front of her cage, excitedly talking about how she had fallen. She scowled mentally, knowing the excitment of an injury had brought these people, the idea of a freak hurting themselves, not real concern.

Ebony took a deep breath, twisting a bit to test her ribs, wincing. Okay, I'm sure they're sprained or- ow, that's not supposed to poke there!
She breathed evenly for a moment, refusing to look at her ribs to see the bruise, ignoring the crowd, and the pain with every breath, forcing herself to do a one handed cartwheel towards the front of the cage.
She put most of her weight on her unjarred hand, hoping distributing the weight on that side would lessen the hurt on her ribs.
She was wrong of course, and nearly missed her landing, barely managing to pass it off as another pose of sorts.

"Lo siento folks, I got a little distracted." She grimaced out.

Her rib cage, and all her other bones, were naturally more flexible than a normal human, so she could bend in ways considered impossible. However, they were also a bit weaker, so any kind of hard contact bruised and sprained them easily. That's why Ebony in particular tried to stay out of trouble, to avoid beatings.

"Sorry for the panic," She bowed, putting down her hands and doing a painful front walkover, which received light applause. "Would you like to see the show?"
They're were a few rude mumbled of 'Yeah." 'Why else would I have paid?' among other things.
Damn, these people...

"What's going on?"
Ebony looked up, seeing Nixon shove her way through the crowd and managed a little smile.
"Just a little fall doc, I wasn't paying attention." She leaned a little closer. "Don't tell Jack mujer. y orar he doesn't hear." She gestured towards her side. "Hurt my ribs, and my wrist is weird. Should be fine by tomorrow, just not right now. He can't know. He'll be beyond mad."
She watched Nixon's face, hoping her reaction might signal how bad the bruise was. If Ebony looked, she knew she'd be sick. Bruises and cuts on other people? Sure whatever. Her own skin? Well, she'd be sick.
However bad her ribs might be(and really, the couldn't be THAT bad, c'mon) the girl did not want to face the wrath of the owner for missing a show, or for getting injured. That'd be even worse. Ebony leaned away from the cage twirling to the center.
"I'm Jetta!" She said with a bow, walking easily into a front aerial. She then proceeded to grab the hoop she had fallen off of and do a few tricks, then moved to the pole, coiling like a snake, bending strangely and showing off.
Then with a grimace, she jumped off and landed in the splits. It wasn't part of the routine. But she was in real pain now.
Ebony heard a few gasps from the audience as she got clearer in the light.
Despite her smart mind telling her not to, she looked down. One small white bone pushed up against discolored greeny blue, the color her skin turned when bruised.
Ebony fought the urge to vomit.
"Sorry guys, that might be the show for today."
She got up and calmly limped slightly over to where Nixon still stood collapsing into a seated position.
"Hey doc, I think I broke something."
Qué suerte enferma...joder.

Avarella watched with a careful expression, clearly concerned and even more so winced a bit as Ebony explained her situation. A fall? She did nod though abeit silently as Ebony asked her to not tell The Owner, her boss, of what happened. She didn't quite understand as to why exactly per say he'd be mad, though the bad vibes and generally not very agreeable attitude didn't allow her to think that he'd be mad for her general wellfare. Looking quickly over Ebony's general condition, she stared at what seemed to be wrong with her general rib area, frowning deeply. "I don't think that you're all as okay as you say.." She quietly said, but wasn't able to get another word as the girl that was casuing her worry had stepped away and went back to her performance.

Avarella didn't leave though, planted firmly in her spot, and stepped a bit to the side as the crowd that had gathered watched on with curious eyes and various expressions alike. Knowing full well that if she decided to make a scene, The Owner may not appreciate that, and would probably get all in her face about it. While it went against her own doctor instincts, she had to see how Ebony would fare currently, hoping that she wouldn't have to need her in any case of severe injury. She muttered a profanity to herself, crossing her arms as she watched 'Jetta's movements with caution. Her eyes widened as something went wrong with the routine, Ebony's face becoming wildly uncomfortable. Behind her, the audience seemed as surprised as she was feeling even more worried. Goddamnit, I don't think that allowing her to strain on that now confirmed injury was a good decision.

As Ebony apologized that there will have to be no performance this time around, Avarella watched as the audience groaned and muttered under their breaths as they began to break up and go their own separate ways, not bothering to stick if there wasn't going to be a show. Why I oughta - Her attention was brought to Ebony sitting beside her as she could in the cage, and Avarella quickly forgot about setting their cars on fire. That'd be a bit extreme. Saved for more special occasions.

Focusing on the situation at hand, she kept her frown, looking over to where bone began to poke out of her skin while Ebony admitted that she may have broken a rib, leading Avarella out of her silence. "I'm going to have to take a better look at that to determine whether it's bad or not." She silently thanked the gods that she decided to take some medical classes that involved human structure as well, as she'd at least have some sort of basic knowledge towards situations like these. Especially towards situations like these. Staring hard at the spot where the pain was sure to be coming from (obviously), Avarella looked from it to Ebony. "I'm pretty sure that I don't have an office, and it's not a good idea to have you continue to be moving around. So I'll have to be coming in there, if that's alright with you." She glanced towards some doors to the far side. "That would be the entrance to finding your cage's inner door, right?"

Distinctively, she recalled having recieved a pair of keys from Jack- er, The Owner which should be in her pocket - yup, still there. Avarella did remember having gone over her having to check up on the.. 'freaks' during her first conversation with him, and the talk had ended up involving the matter. Though she doubted that he would've expected her to using the keys, but he probably didn't trust her enough to give a key to their cages. Just in case she'd try to set them free. She frowned, quickly noticing his presence some distance away, near Ridley's cage. All of this commotion.. "If there is any case that I'm unable to get in due to lack of access, we're probably going to have to do it in an uncomfortable way. .. Unless you can open it to the best of your ability?" The underlying statement unsaid. I don't want you to hurt yourself any further unless absolutely necessary.

"Come on in Nixy, though I can't promise it's roomy."
Ebony listened to the doctor/vet explain she might have door problems and Ebony chuckled while still looking pointedly away from her rib. As long as she though about something else ans stayed perfectly still, something she was good at, she hardly felt it.
"I can get out easily on a good day without even using the door, despite what Jack, excuse me The master of infierno , thinks." She gestured mildly towards the bottom of the bars, where they widened from age just enough that her head would be able to get through. With her bones able to press in slightly and bend, squeezing through the bars would be no problem, not that she let anyone know that.
"The doors don't exactly open from the inside, or at least mine doesn't, I don't know if it's just old or made like that. Si viene peor en peor, I'll just slip through no biggie, kay?"
Though Ebony supposed she could jimmie open her door if she really tried... on the topic of her door, she made a mental note to ask some of the others if their doors opened on the inside or not. Her cage was one of the older ones after all, belonging first to one of the... nonpresent original 'acts'.
Risking a glance at her side and finding herself not on the verge to puke, Ebony gently poked at the bulge. Immediately she resisted the urge to squeal, jerking her hand away.
"Hardly even hurts, Nixy. It's all good, take your time." She said through gritted teeth. It wasn't exactly sarcastic, more playful, though Ebony doubted it had sounded that way. She breathed deeply resettling in her still unmoving mode. Her eyes wandered briefly across the other attractions, lingering at Ridley's cage where the Owner was harassing her again, undoubtedly.
"Poor Ridley, She's nice enough, that man es un engendro de Satanás, ese hijo de puta de mierda madre..." Ebony said to herself, smirking a little at her curses. Poor abuela would have a heart attack if she heard the way Ebony had learned to curse.
Then she glanced at Nixy, giggling in her head. She liked the nickname. She thought it was cute, and more girly than the president name, and since the doctor did look a bit fairy like in appearance-(well she had short hair, and Ebony knew the style as a pixie-cut, so it made sense to her...the tattoos made her into kind of a rogue fairy- Ooh, a rogue fairy queen, how dramatic!)- the teen found it suited her. A word and she would cease calling her that with no hard feelings. A bit of fun never hurt anyone.
Well, unless that fun in getting distracted on a hoop and slamming into concrete ground, but you know.
Anyway, she glanced at the doctor, awaiting orders. Despite her squeamish nature when it came to self injuries, she could bare pain well enough if she needed to.

Ara hadn’t been waiting long when she discovered the conversation going in front of Herrick’s cage. It amused her until she heard yells coming from Ebony’s cage. “Lilith, do you hear that?” Ara asked her sister while jumping up to bars of their cage dragging Lilith along behind her.

Lilith would have yelled out in protest at being dragged behind her sister but she also wanted to know what was happening with Ebony. Of course though she knew they couldn’t see what was happening from their cage. Though she did catch a glimpse of Nixon running off towards the commotion. “Ara would you calm down, you know we aren’t going to be able to see anything anyway.”

Ara listened to her sister before giving her an irritated look, that was not something she cared to hear right now. “Dawn, can you see what is going on?” Ara asked to their neighbor choosing to ignore Lilith’s comment. She waited barely a moment before deciding to find another source. “Zero! Can you see what is going on with Ebony?” Ara yelled hoping he would hear her from across the wide path separating their cages. Ara started tapping her foot impatiently, she hated being in the cage for the simple reason of never knowing what was going on outside. Not that there was ever much to really know anyway, until now of course.

Lilith, while she was worried about Ebony, deep down somewhere - the girl was a little bit to bright and outgoing her tastes - was already resigned to the fact that her and Ara couldn’t do anything about it anyway. She let her eyes wander around while her sister yelled out, no doubt annoying people with her need for more information. Her eyes landed on The Owner standing outside Ridley’s cage. She took a glance at her sister and decided not to let Ara know what she planned to do. No point she already knew Ara would agree with her completely, it was one of the only thing they actually agreed on. “Oi, Jack!” Lilith hissed out a the man. Unlike most of the others she actually hated calling The Owner by his first name, she hated the familiarity of it. She would never in her life wish to be familiar with a man like that. Lilith opened her mouth and felt her fangs protrude threateningly, sure they weren’t all that impressive but they were better than none. Lilith didn’t say anything else, she wasn’t much for words and well, she knew Ara would jump in at any moment now.

Ara heard her sister and immediately looked to see what Lilith had seen and found The Owner yelling at Ridley who was hiding in the darkness of her cage. Of course Ara had seen the men who attacked Ridley, and it wasn’t the first time, she glared with pure hatred towards The Owner. “Piss off. Leave Ridley the hell alone, she doesn’t deserve your shit!” Ara yelled putting emphasis on calling Ridley by her correct name. She continued from Lilith’s original comment knowing that was where she was meant to jump in. They semiconsciously finished each other’s sentences around The Owner, like it made them closer and feeling closer to each other made them mentally stronger and feel safer. They didn’t mind the threat of isolation either since they weren’t actually isolated, luckily enough for them.

Ridley swung quietly from her web, picking at her nails. Her foot dangled over the edge, as she watched people peer into her cage. They stared in, wondering where she was before moving onto the next cage. She could hear a commotion coming from Ebony's cage next to hers. She was very close with Ebony, considering they both liked the dark and had a tendency to spend more time crawling on walls, than actually walking.

As much as she cared for the other girl, Ridley couldn't bring herself to come down from her web. She wanted to be left alone, in the quiet. But that wasn't allowed. Not with Jack constantly checking up on them. He had come to her cage, probably after someone had complained, and was banging on the bars. He threatened her with isolation, like he always did.

She glared down at him, even though he couldn't see her. "Come on, Black Widow. We just want to see your act..."

Ridley felt shivers climb up her spine, as he used the same voice those horrendous comic book nerds used. She sat up straight and quickly shot a web covering the entirety of the front of her cage. No one could reach in, no one could see her even if she came out of the shadows. She was alone. She heard Jack start yelling profanities. She knew, the moment the zoo closed, she would get a beating a probably a few days in isolation with no food.

She would take gladly, if it meant she could get away from those people. She could still feel their hands on her, as they rubbed her body in every wrong way. They were lucky she didn't bite them. It would've been easy. One bite to their wrist, shooting venom up to their heart, and they would've been dead. She had killed enough people to know exactly how it worked.

Ridley heard as Lilith and Arabella began yelling profanities at Jack. Trying to get him to leave her alone. She couldn't help but smile, thankful for the kindness they showed towards her, but was overwhelmingly sad. They would definitely be getting a beating from Jack. They might even end up isolation as well. Although, it was never really isolation, so they were conjoined.

Ridley jumped down from her web, and sat in the center of her cage. Waiting patiently for the zoo to close, and one of the bodyguards to carry her out. To come face to face with Jack and the beating she would most definitely get.

Nixy? Well, that's certainly a first. Avarella smiled briefly, but concentrated on the other's injury as soon as Ebony has demontrated the ability to be able to slip through the cage bars and explained to her how exactly the doors don't really work from the inside, but she could try. Avarella's face turned into that of a bit of confusion for only a few seconds and Ebony slipped into Spanish again, speaking about The Owner with that she could recognize were a few curse words, and briefly glanced towards where the Owner was. He seemed rather cross-faced, if she had to admit. She should work fast before he came by here, remembering that Ebony had asked to not tell him of her condition. I guess that I'll find out later how he treats these guys. Not too well, by the looks of it. Of course it wouldn't, she should've seen it coming. But she had to focus on the matter at hand right now, and think carefully about what she'd have to do next after this. I knew I should've taken some lock-picking lessons from Trevor. .. Even if he turned out to be serial killer in the end. She wasn't too sure if that doors needed a key exactly per say, but it was very likely that it would. Not card key confirmations or anything like that; it sounded rather expensive anyhow.

"Don't worry. Wait for me by the door, and I'll find you." She held the bars of the cage, looking at Ebony with a firm expression. "Then, we'll try to open that door, and see how you're faring. I think that it can't too good if we leave it broken like that for a while. Might need stitches." Her eyes flickered between the injury and Ebony's face. "Don't strain yourself, and take your time towards moving to the door. I repeat myself. Don't. Strain. It." With that, she went for the door that she supposed was to the where they'd have to feed them and possibly having to clean out the cages every now and then. If they weren't she'd probably do it herself, seeing the way that she was already attaching herself to these guys. The door said "DO NOT ENTER" and she only hesitated for a few moments before pushing in a key shoved into by her and turning it to hear a click before entering, as it unlocked and she looked around. These were hallways. Corridors of a dimly lit place where it wasn't as a clean as one would hope it would be but it had no strong smell, and as you'd walk down, you could find the cage doors looking less like what it appeared on the outside where the audience would line to see what were in these cages.

Trying to find Ebony's door, she peered through what there were probably a sort of window of the doors that peered into the rooms of the cages, and walking quickly and searching almost frantically, rattling an occasional door here or there, until noticing that the doors were marked with names. Probably to keep track. Despite the fact that they were by stage names, she looked over the cage door until she stumbled upon to Ebony's, 'JETTA' marking her door in crude writing. "Ebony? Let's look at that ribcage." She called out.

Timothy slumped out of his trailer with a grimace on his face, as usual. It was time to take care of the freaks. Every day he had to check the status of their health as best he could, what with some having cold blood and constant fleas. He half dragged his heavy medical supply kit as he dragged himself to the cages to find the cage he was supposed to unlock had a visitor: Avarella.

"God dammit, Nixon," he grumbled and fumbled for his keys to the cage. "I'm the doctor here, girly. Well, the nurse. But regardless, my job is to keep these freaks healthy, not yours. Move aside." He unlocked the cage door and closed it behind him.

Tim sat next to Ebony and smirked. "What's the matter Lizzy Godzilla, cat got your ribs?" He cackled at his own bad joke as he pulled out a rib brace and pain soothing gel from his kit. He rubbed the gel on her rib cage. "This oughta sting quite a bit Lizzy, but try not to move, okay?" After applying the gel, he fastened the fabric part of the brace around her ribs before fastening the metal clasps at the back.

"You're gonna be okay as long as you don't move excessively, lizard brains. But since you managed to injure yourself, that means I gotta tell the boss. And boy, he'll be miiiighty pissed off that you can't do major work in shows. He might even make you clean up after the dog brains! Hah, won't that be fun?" He laughed again and closed up his kit.

Avarella's eyes turned over to the older man, Timothy was it? Her eyes narrowed, despite the obvious naivety and concern she possessed that every respectable (human-specialized) doctor should not have. "It is my job. I should be in there!" Technically, it was to oversee the general health and diets of all of the.. mutants, and to keep records on that. Paperwork and check-ups that eventually would be processed over to the nurse, apparently. Real hospital-like. Avarella wasn't going to look forward to that, but she had a small decent pay and the job seemed interesting anyhow so she couldn't really complain. Her worry towards Ebony's condition was still crossing her mind, creasing her forehead with a frown. She supposed that being there as someone to rely on wasn't part of her job description nor in her payroll, but she was willing to do that since she first laid eyes on the depressing and dark nature that seemed to surround this traveling zoo. Nevertheless, she had stepped aside, and allowed the older, more experienced man to do his job, listening carefully and refusing to leave at all. The man knew what he was doing, unlike her. She didn't want to admit it, but he had much more experience in dealing with medical situations of human beings. She was only lucky those times during her travels, mostly dealing with animals. Avarella cursed under her breath out of frustration.

She liked Timothy, at least he called her Nixon like she had politely asked, unlike the Owner who found her strange and kept distance. He seemed to have no complaints about calling her by the name, though Ridley's comment on the nickname came up a again, and it made her smile, but had to force her mind to be brought back properly to the current situation at hand here. Despite the fact that she had only met the male nurse once or twice throughout the entire paperwork and job processing progress, so they had at least been on acquainted terms. She didn't care much for his bad attitude, with a stick that seemed permanently up his ass. There were other staff members, she was aware, though she had yet to meet all of them. She should probably do so when she finds time to after visiting everyone else. Crap, I still gotta do that. What time is it? She glanced at her watch, it was about a little halfway there to noon. Shit.

Catching snippets on the conversation inside, she hoped that at least when the guy was done, that he'd allow her in and at least let her see Ebony up close and over see anything that she could be useful for. Though, by the looks of it, he seemed to be trying to provoke Ebony. She sighed. "Hey, Mr. Cross." She knocked on the door. "Allow me in when you're done. I should see over it so I could.. record it. That's definitely in my job description, just so you know." Avarella huffed. She should make a request for her own copy of the keys, just so this wouldn't be so inconvenient. The blond ran her fingers through her hand again, ruffling it up, fluffing the short locks and making it seem even more untidy and messy than before.

"All right, you can come in, hold your horses. I'm just finishing up." After packing his things back into the kit, Timothy opened the cage door and gestured her to come inside. Once she was in, he unlooped the key to the lizard girl's cage off of his keyring and handed it to Avarella. "Here you go Nix. Be sure to lock up when you leave. And don't forget to give that key back! You'll get your own from the Boss man if you ask." Tim pointed to his key ring before putting it back on his belt. "Speaking of the Boss, I'm off to talk to him now. I'll see you around." He turned on his heel and left the cage.

Timothy headed to the performance area through the back entrance and froze when he got there; he could see that creepy spider chick there. His boss looked impatient as she stood face to face with him. Looked like Spidey was about to get squashed. Heh. He smiled at his cruel thoughts.

"Boss!" He waved as he walked into the performance area. "Before you smack Spidey around, there's a bit of a problem. Little Lizzy Godzilla bruised a few ribs. She won't be able to perform for a while." He scratched the back of his head. "She can still move a little though. What do you plan on doing with her until she heals?"

Boos!

Ridley recognized the sound of Timothy Cross's voice. That man was as cruel as Jack and had a medical degree! She did find great happiness in the fact that he was deathly afraid of spiders and strongly disliked being anywhere near Ridley. Which was wonderful, since she didn't want to be anywhere near him.

"Before you smack Spidey around, there's a bit of a problem." Ridley winced at his words, but scooted closer to her web covered bars to hear better. "Little Lizzy Godzilla bruised a few ribs. She won't be able to perform for a while. She can still move a little thought. What do you plan on doing with her until she heals?"

Ridley hated the stupid names he gave to the others here. Each one had their own special name, meant to demean and ridicule them. She couldn't help but feel extreme concern for Ebony though. If she was out of commission for a while...well Jack definitely wouldn't be happy about that.

"Commotion, commotion! Do these people ever calm down? I suppose not, we are in a freak show..." Katerina thinks as she, once again, heads to the bars of her cage, trying to see what was going on. Again, she didn't dare speak. But she could still listen. No harm in that.

This time, she stretched her arm out of the bars, flicking it around to see if she could grab anything. No? Nothing? She sighs. Katerina studies the bars and sees that she can slip her feet out and sit on the edge, still inside the cage, but able to take part in the outside world. She pushes her feet out so they dangle on the edge and grasps the bars in front of her as if it were a swing. She sits, listening to the yelling. She could hear Timothy's voice.
"Well he sounds like fun..." this she says aloud, but quiet enough so only she could hear.

Ebony moved over to the door at a speed that didn't hurt, stretching herself to the side a bit so her ribs didn't hurt as much. However, as the door opened she stumbled back in shock as Timothy walked in, hoisting along the medical kit he carried everywhere. Ebony's mouth dropped a bit at the surprise, then she scowled.
She didn't like Tim. True to his name, he was Cross all the time, and belittled the 'acts'. At least he knew what he was doing though, but he helped injuries in painful ways and found it amusing.
"What's the matter Lizzy Godzilla, cat got your ribs?" He burst out laughing and Ebony resisted the urge to hit him in several vital pressure points, and see who was laughing then. "This oughta sting quite a bit Lizzy, but try not to move, okay?"
"That's not my name, hijo de puta ignorante." She growled, but broke out into a little squeak.
He slathered some gel on her bruise and she stifled another squeak as a horrid stinging ran up her entire side, not to mention the pain of his not-so-gentle handling of her bruise. He clasped a brace around her ribs and she stared at it in surprise, immediately not liking the way it restricted some of her movement.

"You're gonna be okay as long as you don't move excessively, lizard brains. But since you managed to injure yourself, that means I gotta tell the boss. And boy, he'll be miiiighty pissed off that you can't do major work in shows. He might even make you clean up after the dog brains! Hah, won't that be fun?"

She glowered and spat at the ground in front of him, breaking into rapid fire spanish. "Usted no será la risa cuando me escapo una noche y los frenos se cortan misteriosamente. O tal vez debería poner en un aparato ortopédico. Un cemento de uno, y luego te meten en un estanque."
(You wont be the one laughing when I escape one night and your brakes are mysteriously cut. Or maybe I should put you in a brace. A cement one, then throw you in a pond.)

Luckily, Ebony heard Nixy from the hallway.
Hey, Mr. Cross. Allow me in when you're done. I should see over it so I could.. record it. That's definitely in my job description, just so you know."

She smirked at him as he assured Nixon she could come in and left. However, her smirk dropped as he said he was off to tell the Owner of her injury.
Seeing as she was already injured, he probably wouldn't beat her. And depending on how bad the others had pissed him off, she might get isolation.
Ebony shivered. She wasn't one of the ones who could deal well with isolation. It was the worst, and always had her in a panicked frenzy when she was let out.
Hopefully, Jack was feeling forgiving.

Once she gotten inside, her worried look turned that to a blank stare, slightly surprised as Timothy gave her the key, and held a small smile. ".. Thanks for the key." Avarella murmured, and glanced back to see him left before turning back over to see how Ebony was faring currently in this situation. She seemed rather distressed, putting the creased frown on her face again, and she walked over to where the lizard mutated girl was, crouching down on her own knees, realizing that she may be slightly taller than Ebony, but minded not the state of the cage. Her eyes darted over the brace where it held the injury in place. Watching carefully and not saying anything for a few moments, she allowed her hands to slowly reach out for Ebony's, softly and hesitantly before grasping firmly to bring them outstretched towards her.

"Ebony," her eyes watched the younger with more attention, trying to find whatever it was that was bothering the quick-tempered girl by merely looking alone. "Could you tell me how you feel currently? Your injury, has it numbed by now? Would there be anywhere else that could be hurting?" She spoke softly, like that of talking to a child and walking around matters like adults did. It made her pause, and frown slightly, before casually asking in a concerned manner like she would with any friend of hers, whether she just made them today or not. ".. What's on your mind?"

Avarella was tempted to ask about how The Owner may feel about this, and question why she didn't want him to know. But nevertheless, she sat herself more comfortably on the ground, her legs pulled close together as her feet branched out, gently having a hold on Ebony's hand, slightly distracted how different they felt to her own, not caring if it this cage had dimmer light than she would've expected, as it was much darker than she had thought. Avarella smiled nevertheless, although sheepish, she hoped that perhaps talking this out will help Ebony calm down just a little. After this, she will have to go back to her task, and go visit all of the acts, and then familiarize with them before taking down all of the notes later in her makeshift office. She'll request for a set of keys from The Owner in the early morning by then.

"Could you tell me how you feel currently? Your injury, has it numbed by now? Would there be anywhere else that could be hurting? What's on your mind?" Ebony glanced up at Nixy as she took her hands, automatically deactivating her adhesive pads so the doctors hands wouldn't get stuck.
"I'm fine. It's not exactly numb but it doesn't hurt, this brace is just really stupid." Ebony rolled her wrist a few times before answering the next question. "No where else hurts."
Then she considered telling Nixy what was really on her mind. The woman would figure out eventually that the Owner had cruel tendencies, and if she wanted to keep her job she would have to accept that. So it was probably best to let her know.

"Well, it's just, Tim just went off to tell Jack I'm injured. The Owner is fascinated with us freaks, but he likes making money too. When we don't do something right we could get beaten, and he get especially mad when we can't preform, because it causes people to not want to come see us again. Now that I'm injured, I can't preform, and he'll probably stick me in isolation. It's a punishment he's come up with. Da miedo. It's scary. A dark room, by yourself, you lose most of your inhumane enhancements through magic or science of some sort." Ebony shook her head. "It's not that bad I guess, I just don't like it. He'll probably out me in it, or punish me in some way, not to mention he'll be punishing Ridley probably for stopping her act, and Ara and Lilith for back talking and.... wow, we've really caused some trouble today...."

Ebony sighed, and her pale blue skin turned a shade darker in her cheeks. She had just talked a lot. whoops.
She hoped Nixon would reconsider her job with this new information. Ebony didn't want her to quit of course, just think about who she was working for.

"Vous parlez francais? Qu'est-ce une charmante jeune femme vouse."

Ridley smiled, glad someone appreciated her knowledge of different languages. "Oui. Je me suis appris quand j'étais plus jeune. J'ai passé beaucoup de temps à l'hôpital, avant que je transforme en cela, bien sûr." She gestured to herself, referring to her mutation.

A young kid can put their mind to anything when they're bored, and have no friends. Including, learning an entirely different language. "Il a été un moment depuis que je parlais français dernière. Désolé si c'est mauvais."

I'm used to explaining what's wrong with me, once I realize I'm staring too long, or doing something else strange. Je suis désolé. Mon nom est Sébastien. Et vous?"

She nodded her head in understanding. She'd been locked up in the zoo for some time now, so she never really had to explain her condition to anyone. She could only imagine what it was life for those who grew up having to explain to people why they were different.

"My name is Ridley. It's wonderful to meet you Sebastian." She said with a smile. Glancing past the boy to where Jack and Timothy were standing, she noticed them yelling about something. Ridley knew there was noway she was going to save herself from a beating, or maybe isolation, but she could see a crowd gathering over where Ebony's cage was. Waiting for a show.

She had heard from Timothy that Ebony's injury would put her out of commission for a while, and with several people looking to see a wall crawling, acrobatic, freak. She figured she could help Ebony out.

Sighing, she stood from her spot and began removing her web. "I hope you got all the pictures you wanted." She said to Sebastian. Letting the sunshine hit her black exoskeleton, Ridley sighed into the warmth. She gave Jack a wave with her hand. "Since Ebony's out of commission, do some crowd control. Send them over here, I'll entertain them as best as I can."

She hated speaking to Jack in a civilized tone, especially since he never seemed to have a civilized tone to anyone else, but she did her best. It was hard to not say harsh words to the man who was going to beat her later in the evening.

"Sorry to cut our conversation short, Sebastian." She said to the photographer. "But, duty calls."

She did a back flip and then shot a web pulling herself up towards the ceiling. She waited for more crowd to gather to start her routine, hoping this would reduce her isolation setting.

(1. Yes. I learned when I was younger. I spent a lot of time in hospital, before I turned into this, of course. 2. It's been a while since I last spoke French. Sorry if it's bad.)