~7:30 AM~

Brisk movements swept outside the glass. Tall men in blinding white lab coats casually traipsed among themselves. Their verbal communication between one another was furry behind the glass. A slim figure studied the men and women as they went about their business. His eyes were half lidded; somnolent looking. His attire? Dark and dull. The figures' body stood upon a somewhat tall perch that protruded in the center of his capsule. A long tail snaked its way down the perch and lazily resting on the bottom was a rattler that ended the length of the tail.

Farai was motionless. No movement could be distinguished from the hybrids body except the constant heaving of his chest, the occasional flick of a black tongue here and there, and the ripples inside the glass of rich red wine in his hands. Farai wasn't of legal age to start drinking, but who was there to tell him to stop? Much to the professors surprise, he never abused alcohol and if he was caught consuming just a little too much, he handled the aftermath extremely well. Plus, Farai found wine not only delectable but beautiful as well. The way the liquid shone in the light, glistening it's blood red goodness into his amber iris's...However, it was once in a full moon he received such a drink as this. SAPH has deemed red wine a treat for the snake. Something to be given to him after a hard and successful mission. He's had more than he could count, but SAPH was the boss. They gave the irresistible drink to him whenever they felt it-

A movement in the corner of his eye interrupted the hybrids thoughts and his eyes glance right. A younger man had left the group of scientists and was now dawdling with a small nob that connected to Farai's chamber. In one swift movement, the nub on the nob was pointed downward instead of its previous upward position. The dark hybrid began to wander what on earth that nob had control of before the entire capsule began to cool down. Immensely. Quickly enough to where it awoke the drowsy snake from his half slumber. The warm temperature added along the after effects of the tranquilizer had left the mutant dreary and lifeless. But after such an abrupt temperature change, it was like an inner fire in him had been reignited.

The hybrid uncoiled his thick tail around the perch and wrapped around some of his body. "Brr...Could they have made it any colder?" Farai hisses in agitation. When he realizes nobody can hear him, he lets out a small 'hmph' to those walking outside before he pensively lifted the cup up to his lips for a sip. Once the red liquid streamed over his tongue and down his gullet, he remembered just how he got into this predicament....
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

~11:00 PM~

A man made his way through the lonesome corridors and into a room. The extent was an exact replication of the mountains in which Crotalus Oreganus Cerberus lived. The mans green eyes traced the foliage...The chert and the slate...Across the artificial river...Up the steep incline...Finally resting on a small overhang. The huge rocks formed a cave specialized for the mutant they preserved. Almost on command, a pair of amber eyes shone through the darkness. In return, the man nodded respectively, "Farai..." He calls out to the distance. The iris's study the being carefully before a teenager strode out of the confines of the small cave to where he, and the older being, were a good few meters apart. "Sssskylar......" Farai says with utmost delight. His tongue curled over and lightly flicked at his chin before retreating into his mouth.

Skylar just watches the mutant as Farai's tail curls toward the two a bit more. His rattler swooshed in the air excitedly as he, not only awaited a'job-well-done' from his boss, but those delectable rats that he usually gives the snake as a treat. And just like always, Skylar brings out one of his hands exposing two plump rats which struggled to break loose from the mans grip. "I was really impressed with your mission today..." He says before throwing both of the rats on the ground. Farai grins menacingly. He scrunches his body together and slowly lowers his human body just to where his skin brushed the dirt. His hands were positioned behind him and his rattler began it's unrelenting discord. The rats had no time to move before the racket had begun and their eyes were fixated into the fiery gaze of the serpent. His tongue flicked out of his mouth and in an instant, he began to hiss venomously. Venom polluted saliva dripped from his maw as he opened his mouth a bit wider. Two sharp, elongated teeth folded out and two...three...four seconds passed by before-a piercing squeak could be heard as the hybrid digs his fangs in the small animals inserting his potent venom into the rats' bloodstream.

Within seconds, the pair were lifeless. As Farai engorged himself, Skylar cleared his throat and continued, "As I was saying...I was well impressed with your performance and I wanted to say a congratulations to a job well done..." He finishes his last statement just as Farai was finishing up with the rats. "Unfortunately, we got a call from the government saying that hybrids such as yourself, are being relocated to Econ Prison for a...special treat..." Farai's eyes perk up with curiosity as he stands up on his human legs. "What kinda tre-" No delay was held as Skylar abruptly took hold of Farai's arm and inserting a large needle through his skin. The snakes mind had little to no time processing what was happening in front of him before everything was engulfed in darkness.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
~7:55 AM~

Farai shudders at the remembrance of his acquaintances betrayal. "Sssso, Out deccceiving the deccceiver eh? *Sigh* Well played Sssskylar. Well played..." Farai mumbled to himself. From what it looked like, he was in that Econ Prison place. His mind was foggy, but he remembered sneaking around the sanctum when he was smaller, looking for that 'secret' vault where they kept all the plumpest rats. Eventually, he not only stumbled upon the vault but some interesting conversations as well. If he reminisced one of the conversations correctly, Econ Prison was a place where all the failed experiments go. A place where they not only reside, but get destroyed additionally. So...Was this his end? Was Grim finally going to rear his lustrous scythe, only to be brought down on the flesh of his neck? It seemed so...

His eyes look toward the ceiling as he took another sip of his drink. "What a pity...." He says in the swelling silence. But...Didn't Skylar say there were going to be other hybrids? He couldn't quite remember all the faces, and it discouraged him that the silence would be ruined soon. However, it would probably be for the best. A little fun wouldn't hurt before death now would it? Farai closes his eyes. A grin playing along his lips.

Farai once again, became motionless. No movement could be distinguished from the hybrids body except the constant heaving of his chest, the occasional flick of a black tongue here and there, and the ripples inside the glass of rich red wine in his hands as he awaited the arrival of many...

08:00 AM
Kira started to slowly open her eyes, at first she didn't understand why she was in that place but after she remembered what happened to her, she was captured.

Then she jumped, immediately she felt dizzy so she leaned against the wall and saw mans with white coats, and when she looked around she understood were she was, the Eco Prison.
"Shit!Does that mean, they are going to kill me? I'm a failed experiment? But I didn't do anything wrong, I followed every orders!" she whispered with a angry voice.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11:59 PM
Kira had just finished her mission successfully, she had to kill a man. Kira didn't know the reasons, they never told her the reasons, she just had to do what they told her to. It was a tough fight because the man was quite strong, but she was the winner. And then she saw the mans in black, she tried to escape but they still reached her and then...They shot her in her right leg, she fell and they injected her with some drug that made her fall asleep
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Immediately she looked at her right leg, she had a bandage on the injury, luckily it was a minor injury and so she can still run. But it doesn't change the fact that it's a bit painful to deal with.

After she calmed down, she got up from the floor "Damn it! I'm going to stay in this tiny place?!" Kira yelled angrily doing some noise, she couldn't roar but it was a similar sound, almost like she growled.

Suddenly the temperature drooped and the mans in white coats leaved, she didn't give a damn about them so she just ignored that. "They must plan to kill all of us, but why? Are they scared or we aren't needed anymore?" she whispered. She sighed and tried to stop thinking about all of that weird situation.

When she looked in front she saw other hybrids.

12:45AM
“I promise to protect you.”
Yeah right.
“Do not fret, once you finish this mission, I promise your freedom.”
Spot watched the man who had the fake smile that was plastered onto his robotic face; her piercing blue eyes examining her. “That’s what you said. Now, why am I still here?” She growled as she crossed her arms while she alertly watched him.

“Don’t tell me your sending me to that shithole where you get rid of failed experiments; is that what you meant by saying all of this?” She snarled, watching him as he started to approach her.

His expression seemed almost shocked. “Why, how do you know about that place?” He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm and cold tint; his speech where so thick with his sick and twisted words, that it made her want to vomit up whatever was in her stomach.

“I’m a mutant; not an idiot.” She growled, her voice becoming aggressive and warning as he now became only a few feet from her. “I will kill you if you take another step closer.” She warned, bearing her teeth at him.

Without another warning, Spot bounced backwards; the man’s hand flinging towards her with the needle. She wasn’t going to die, not today and definitely not by his hand; she let out a leopard like snarl as he grabbed her hand, pulling her near him. Despite his efforts, Spot twisted and twirled herself enough to free herself from his grasp, only to back into another man- one whom was much larger than the other.

“Grab her!” With the commands of the scientist, Spot was clutched from behind, his strength nearly knocking the breath out of her. She jerked her body but it was all useless to fight him with her body- so why not with her teeth? Spot let out another leopard snarl before biting down onto the man’s arm, causing him to yell before she fell to the ground, only to look up and see the larger man’s elbow coming down onto her forehead.

If she wasn’t freaking out then, now she was. Spot’s entire body was crushed by the scientist as she tried to buck him off; she looked similar to a wild horse than a leopard now. She let out snarls as blood started to drip down her face and before she knew it, Spot felt a large needle hit her neck; the pain caused her to yelp loudly as she stopped in all one motion. It wasn’t long in her pause that she fell to the ground; having subdued to the tranquilizer.

---

“Shit…” A low growl came from her slightly parted lips as she lied on the cold floor; her head pounding an unbelievable pain that ricocheted off of her forehead and bounced down her spine. The small girl whose body was spread out against the floor moved her slim legs together as she carried her heavy arm up to her head; her dark auburn hair was a mess as she teased the knots out of it with her petite fingers. The teen had a slight gash that went across her forehead as well as a small cut against her bottom lip- not to mention the swollen up bruise on her neck where they managed to stick the tranquilizer into her.

Spot slowly sat up, her blue eyes glaring through the glass solemnly, watching the men and women walk past her silently, their words muffled by the glass. Her hair fell from her shoulders as she leaned forward, trying to stand while, at the same time, trying to ease her migraine. She stretched out her sore arms and stretched them in the air as their state gradually improved. Spot looked around in her small and round room, wondering what she had done to deserve this- oh wait, she already knew the answer. She’s known for a while now that they were going to destroy her and the others; how? Let’s just call it instinct.

It was only logical to destroy those which you created, right? If you play God in a world like this, then you must also clean up your mess. What being would want to create something stronger than itself without having a way to terminate them once they finished the job and become a bit too powerful? Despite the human’s attempts in playing God, Spot was determined not to be destroyed by them; it was one of the reasons she put up such a fight to get away from them- as much as it failed.

“At least they had enough decency to clean up the wounds…” She whispered, her hands now tracing down to her full, and now swollen lip. Spot released a loud and aggravated sigh as she watched one of the scientist frolicked over towards her chamber to mess with the knob; changing it to make it point down. He watched her as he did so, or at least until she bore her teeth at him; causing him to quickly look downward at the knob.

Spot could feel the temperature drop, but it wasn’t her biggest concern; what was on her mind more than anything was food. She was lucky that she had eaten before she came here because if she hadn’t she would’ve fainted the instant she awoken. Despite her luck, she knew it was running on low as she heard her stomach growl slightly, watching the man walk off; though, wouldn’t it be better to be asleep when your time of death comes?

Spot looked around her, examining everything before she spotted something in the rooms next to her; a figure? The figure was easy to miss, but luckily, she caught it just in time before she did anything that would embarrass herself. The figure was quite dead looking, and instantly, she knew whom it belonged to; Farai. If it hadn’t been the angle she was at, or the constant flicker of that tongue, she would’ve missed it entirely. Spot’s eyes now flicked to the other rooms, looking around at them as she tried to keep in mind of her situation and count the heads of who was with her; at the moment, she could only find one more besides the ones she's already counted, that mutant's name was, who she believed was Kira.

Despite her alertness of the other rooms; she still had one thing in mind- it was to stay alive. Perhaps she could make a deal with the Econ Prison to keep her life, right? Perhaps being a guard or an escort wouldn’t be so bad; though, Spot didn’t like the idea of escorting her fellow mutants to death or protecting those who were originally going to kill her- but hey, it was survival of the fittest, right?

2:00 PM

Then, more men came. Bleu was in training, and her instructors ran in fear when red lights flashed, and alarms shrilled through the air. Men busted through the door, and Bleu fled. She ran in search of Dr. Mae, and did find her. The Doctor was lying in a pool of blood outside the observatory room. Bleu checked her pulse, but found nothing. A single tear slipped out of the corner of Bleu's eye, and she left. She fuse was lit, and she was on a rampage. She burst back into the training room, ripping the head off a man. She fought many men, ripping off limbs, sending the bone in their noses into their brains. She killed almost all of the men when when more arrived. These men wore black, and were not afraid of her. Bleu approached one, and kicked up her right foot to smash his head, when his hand whipped out at lighting speed and gripped her ankle. He snapped it on sight, and sent her sprawling to the floor. Bleu jumped up, ready to fight when something pricked her arm. She felt instantly weak, but raged on. She fought men and broke several of their bones, but never succeeded in killing one. Eventually her flame blew out, and she collapsed onto the floor. She fought to breath, and felt as if air was leaving her lungs. A short man in a suit approached with a sinister smile on his face. "Look at yourself," he spoke. "You're a mess." He held up a mirror, and Bleu saw. She was drenched in blood, and her eyes were as bright as ever. Her eyes drooped, and she tried to kick the man in his sweet spot. "Look at you, all broken yet still trying to fight," he laughed. "She's gone, honey. It's over." She attempted to spit in his face, but failed. He hit her, breaking her jaw. She mumbled something unintelligible, and the man laughed. He leaned in close. "I win," he sneered, as he closed her drooping eyes, sending Bleu into the darkness.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

9:00 AM

Squirming, Bleu let out a small whimper. Pain filled her mind, momentarily distracting her from the horrible dream that once occupied it. A terrible tragedy had happened, and somehow Bleu was involved in the event, yet she didn't seem to remember it. She had killed many, and had been killed herself. She shuddered slightly at the memory, but deemed her reaction irrelevant since it was all just a dream. None of that had been real. All of those men were safe in bed, and she wasn't dead.

The pain shoved away the thoughts of the dream again. Bleu gritted her teeth, her large canines showing. Her hand formed a fist, her knuckles white. The pain was intense, and barely tolerable. Slowly, Bleu opened her eyes. The bright cobalt glowed in the dimly light space. The girl was in a glass tube of some sorts. She sat up quickly, a bad choice. Her head ached terribly, and she found that she was very weak. She leaned against the glass, and gazed at her other wounds. Her right ankle was bound in thick bandages, and Bleu was afraid to move it. She lifted a quivering hand, and traced a long scratch on her jaw. The bone was sore, and Bleu vaguely remembers it being broken.

She froze. The dream. In the dream, Bleu had fought against many men, had broken an ankle, had gotten scraped and bruised pretty badly, and had gotten her jaw broken. Bleu shook her head. It had to be real. That was the last thing she remembered, and here she was now. Her breathing had increased rapidly, and her head started spinning again. Fearing that she would faint, she closed her eyes.

The face of the man who shut her eyes appeared in her mind. He smiled evilly, the same way he was the last time Bleu saw his face. He frightened Bleu, but Bleu knew that there was no way he should. She was superior. She had the power. She was a hybrid,after all. A great and mighty white tiger hid behind her eyes, and it was about to be unleashed.

Bleu stood up quickly. She stared at the men gazing into other tubes like hers, studying other hybrids. It disgusted Bleu, seeing creatures locked up and studied. Bleu made a decision. She walked briskly forward and punched the glass with all of her might. The scientists looked at her now, curious. She did the same thing, creating a loud booming sound. The scientists walked over to her tube, gazing at her in wonder. She let out a roar, one as loud as she could muster. It left a ringing in her ears, but apparently none of the men heard it. She swore. The tube must also be sound proof.

Taking a deep breath, Bleu stepped back. She stood at the far corner of the tube,feeling cold air flow in the room, and took and another deep breath. Then, suddenly, she ran forward and jumped into the air. While airborne, Bleu struck the glass with her right heel. The glass cracked and Bleu landed silently on two feet. Her mouth formed a sinister smile as she gazed at the astounded and frightened scientists. She wound her bleeding, broken, and terribly painful right foot up again, prepared to strike again.

Just then, Bleu sensed a gas flowing from the vents above her. Quickly, she flattened herself onto her stomach. She held her breath, and looked around. The scientists were the ones smiling now. Getting angry Bleu jumped up and punched the glass. The glass shattered, and Bleu breathed in fresh air. Suddenly, she felt weak. She swore. She must have breathed in the gas. Staggering, she stepped around the broken glass. She grabbed for the scientists, but the gas slowed her down. She missed them by a mile, and didn't even anticipate the iron arms wrapping around her waist and pinning her arms down. She jumped upward, hitting the nose of her attacker. He groaned, and struck Bleu upside the head.

The girl roared, a pathetic sound. She went limp, the gas and head wound finally getting to her. She was thrown to the floor and whimpered. Cuffs were placed on her wrists and ankles, and her mind briefly flashed back to the time when this same thing happened to her as a child. She was four then, and thirteen years later in was happening again.

Bleu sighed. It was over. They would surely kill her first, now. She caused enough trouble. Keeping her around would cost more than she was worth. Her body grew even weaker, and her eyes fluttered shut. She was picked up, and carried somewhere off into the distance. Her mind drifted, recalling old memories, none of which were particularly fond. She finally made the conclusion, "Hey, I'm going to Hell," and let herself get encased in the darkness.

"... the last mission was almost alarmingly successfu—ah, he's awake."

He found himself unable to rub the sleep from his eyes because he was chained in some sort of enclosure with the door open; even his talons were strapped together, and he could barely move the wings on his back. Did he sleep through all of this? A pain in his shoulder implied he was sedated after returning from his most recent murder. Two workers in lab coats were in the room with him, and one was leaving.

"Hey, Dax. Welcome to the Econ Prison."

"'The Econ Prison'? / Why did you tranquilize me? / Am I obsolete?"

"The problem isn't that you're obsolete at all. If anything, your last assignment was accomplished flawlessly. You even made the target paranoid of you to boot; I don't know how you did it, but it added a nice touch. Can't wait to see the reports about holes in the roof of his friend's car."

"What's the problem then? / Is my breath too repulsive? / My feathers molting?"

"I gotta say," he chuckled, "I'm gonna miss your sense of humor, Dax." The bird-boy looked around the pod he was in again, finding little of interest before he turned back to the scrappy-looking man, tapping away on a tablet.

"Where will you send me?"

"I can't tell you — however, I can say that the big wigs in their comfy chairs think you're getting too dangerous for them; they don't think they'll be able to control you anymore if you get any better."

"Do they plan to kill me, sir?"

"I guess I don't have a reason to dodge the question when you already hit the nail on the head. They want you — and some more hybrids with a similar 'danger factor' — dead." The coated man sent away a file on his tablet and turned it off before closing the pod door. After he left, Dax was moved to another room, where he managed to see a few other hybrids given different treatments for the same issue. Some of them were even injured; were they rebellious people? His door stayed shut, probably to keep him from trying to break out like them, but his shackles at least let him move his limbs and wings a foot or so, so he's not going to go numb any time soon.

How many are here? he wondered.

"*Tap tap tap*" A man in a long white lab coat tapped on the window at the poor hybrid. "Wakey, wakey. You can't sleep all day." He said in a raspy, exhausted voice. As he said this, the creature in the capsules eyes fluttered open. The hybrid looked down, she wasn't wearing the dress she usually wears. She was wearing a pure white dress and wasn't sure how this got on her. She checked her tail, still there. She checked her feet, one, two, three, four toes all there. She checked her hands, one, two, three, four fingers. She had a few scraps and scratches, but nothing too bad. She had a very small and mysterious bruise. She tilted her head as she looked at it. It was a dark purple color in the middle with a dark red surrounding it. It hurt a little, but not too much. She watched the guy in the long lab coat. She could read the top of the pad he was tapping on. It read:

Subject: Nikki Dimmidiatus - Human/Hairless Rat
Homo Sapien: 40%
Animalia: 60% BE Self Hairless Buck


That's all the Nikki could make out. When the guy in the lab coat noticed her looking at him, he gave a small smile. It wasn't the type of smile someone would give you if you were scared and try to comfort you. No, it was a rather jokingly smile that sent chills down Nikki's back and to the end of her long tail. It was the type of smile you would give you friend if they did something stupid and didn't even realize it. It was also the type of smile everyone would find creepy, like the smile an old wrinklely guy gives a young hot girl. It was the nastiest thing you'd ever seen. "Don't you fret now, you hear? There's other's like you here too." The lab coat guy said. He had the slightest bit of a country accent in his voice along with the raspyness of a young jazz player. Yet he had the looks of a young white math or science teacher with his light brown hair wet down and combed over to the left of his head and with copper rimmed round glasses and a mustache that looked like Ned Flanders mustache from the Simpsons.

The guy then turned to leave. As he left, Nikki watched him. The tag on his lab coat was sticking out. Nikki could see the words on it. "ECoN PRISoN" And Nikki know exactly what that meant. She was at Econ Prison, she was most likely going to die, and she couldn't do anything about it. Nikki sat back in the capsule that was just covered in windows. She had her legs folded under her and her tail wrapped around to in front of her. She looked out the windows and could see others. Other hybrids, she assumed. All in a capsule like she was. Now, it appeared to her that they were going to die too and she couldn't do a thing about it.

Marne sat in her cell and nibbled on a cracker, happy as ever that they had given her not only someplace warm to sleep, but more food than she'd ever expected. When she had woken up a few days back, she had been rather willing to work with the scientists without resistance, so one of the kinder scientists had given her a few extra blankets for her to nest in and peanut butter with crackers for her to eat outside of meal times. As she ate, she looked around her cell and how she could escape. They'd been smart enough to make sure she was always on camera no matter how much she looked like she was willing to stay, so she she was smart enough to not act as if she was going to escape. She already knew she couldn't fight her way out even if she'd wanted, and they'd been sure to sterilize her upon her entry into the facility, so as to keep any viruses she was carrying as a defense out. So that left her to the only way she wanted to use anyways: deception. She'd already been at work on this task, having memorized the entire layout of the facility from a guidemap she'd seen and when she had gotten "lost" to verify it. She'd also used subliminal messages to make the scientists feel as if they should take it easy on her. Her packrat tendencies had gotten her a cardkey for travel throughout the facility, and she already knew of several ventilation shafts she could fit through. All she had to do know was wait for the perfect moment, but until then, she was more than happy to live in comfort, since she was a sucker for peanut butter. Another cracker, and she was thinking of who to rescue first, going through the list of hybrids that she'd heard of in passing. The lion hybrid, whatever his name was, would have to be first, he would make a good meatshield, and the others would probably listen more to him than her. Next would be the hawk hybrid, his wings could come in handy later. After him would come the leopard girl, and then the tiger girl, then the cheetah person if there was one, if only so Marne could say the Thundercats motto. The snake hybrid was definitely coming last, she didn't trust him. Monkey girl would come after the potential cheetah hybrid, she liked the cut of that girl's jib. After those, she'd probably either escape with them or pick up a few more if there were others, she was only making conjectures. Regardless, she was interrupted from her plotting by one of the scientists entering her cell, a woman who seemed to be in her early 30's.
"I need a quick blood sample, Marne, is that okay?" Marne nodded and smiled in response.
"Of course! Don't take too much, though, I need it!" They both giggled at that, and as the needle poked Marne, she slightly exaggerated her wince to make herself look even more fragile. The woman's brow creased in concern for the rather cute-in-the-way-you-call-a-child-cute girl in front of her, and Marne smiled again to calm her. "Don't worry, it's only a poke, I can handle it!" With that, the woman nodded, finished up, and left, smiling to Marne, who gave her a quick wave and nestled herself in her blankets, getting ready for another snooze.

10:37 p.m.
“Micah, go!” Lovi yelled. Micah was pulling a sleeping Jeremy onto his back. The tranquilizer had started working instantly, seeing it was raised to the potency to knock out a lion.

“I won’t leave you Lovi,” Micah said to him, gritting his teeth and digging his foot into the ground as if to prove his point. “Just like you wouldn’t abandon Jer, I won’t abandon you. Kellan and Xander and come get Jer. They’ll all be fine. If you—“

“No! I said no. I’m the one who lead you guys into this. I should have listened to Xander. He doubted the legitimacy of..” Lovi trailed off and closed his eyes, trying to fight off the regret. He didn’t have time to think about this right now.

Micah shook his head and put his hand on Lovi’s shoulder, only to be shaken off. Micah sighed. “Listen, no one believed Xander. You know him, always paranoid. You can’t blame yourself for this. It was a mistake,” Micah said. He pulled Jeremy’s arm down further, so her lay more comfortably on his back.

“Mistake. That’s the problem. They put me in my position because I don’t make mistakes. You need to go. If you don’t, all three of us will die,” Lovi said, his eyes still shut. A pained expression crossed his face. A faint beeping noise made his ears twitch in Micah’s direction. “Leave!” He roared. Micah’s face went pale. “That’s an order.” With that, Micah turned and ran off with Jeremy on his back.

9:15 a.m.
Lovi clenched his jaw and bared his teeth at the memory. His eyes were still shut tight, but he could see the light shining through his lids. He heard the shuffle of people walking by and he could hear many other noises. Still keeping his tired eyes shut, he stretched out his arms and legs, only to be able to straighten them half way. Cool glass met the pads of his feet and palms of his hands. Glass? Lovi’s eyes flew open and he was up on his feet in an instant. What the hell is this? He thought as his mouth fell open slightly. His yellow eyes were wide open as he took in his surroundings. He was in a clear glass tube. There were humans in lab coats milling around. There were other glass tubes with people inside. Wait… It can’t be… He recognized everyone there. Despite his 13 years being away from them, his memory served him well. Granted, he couldn’t remember but one name, he still knew these people. They were his family, his friends. They were like him.

He remembered Nikki very well. Even as a kid, he as fascinated by how different she looked. Of course, they all looked weird, but Lovi couldn’t help but stare at her back then. She was sitting with her tail curled around her. He shook his head. Remembering shouldn’t be his prime objective now. He took a deep breath and tried to find any clue as to wear he was. Then he saw it, a clipboard sitting on a table about 15 feet away from him had Econ prison written on it. Before he could process why he was here, a scientist came up to his capsule. She had her hair back in a tight bun, and glasses covering dull blue eyes. She told him the fate of his unit and he became infuriated. He pounded at the glass wall and growled at the woman. She simply just walked away. Lovi continued scratching and hitting the wall, eventually he was able to put a crack in it. He stopped, wondering how far they would let him go before they put more sedatives into him.

His capsule was so small, he could hardly move. His tail was flicking back and forth as he ran his hands through his mane. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening. Econ Prison was for criminals. He wasn’t a criminal. Okay, he killed those three agents, but how was he supposed to know they were SAPH? They were attacking him and his team! Was he here because he killed those agents? Then what did all the other hybrids do? That couldn’t be the reason. They were coming after him anyway. They were all her for a reason.

They were going to be killed. He had been told in his training the Econ Prison was the only place that even remotely had the means to destroy the hybrids, and even that was questionable. Even if he hadn’t seen the others in 13 years, he felt like he had to save them. I have to save them for Micah. For Jeremy, and Kellan and Xander. He shook the thought away. Saving these people wouldn’t make up for signing his friend’s death sentences by killing the agents. But he still had to do it. Any more guilt and he might want to die. After all, they were his friends; at least they used to be. They had all grown up so much, he even wondered if they remembered each other, let alone that they were family. Once again, he shook his thoughts away and began devising a plan to leave.

He would need a distraction, and then he could break free and help some of the others out. He would get the tiger first; he thought she might be strong. Between the two of them, they might be able to get the others out in a timely fashion. As he glanced in her way, he noticed that she was being cuffed and put into a new capsule. She had broken her. Well he was right about her being strong, but that wouldn’t help him considering she was asleep. Sedatives. Next was finding out if any of them knew the lay out, and how to get out of this prison. Before he could plan anymore, loud sirens came bursting through the silence. Lovi’s first instinct was to crouch down and cover his ears. He looked around and could see a few of the other big cat-hybrids were doing the same thing. One of the mice hybrids was looking around, confused, with a hint of fear in her eyes, while Nikki was crouched down even lower with her hands over her sensitive ears. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. The hawk hybrid was looking around and rustling with the chains on him, trying to break free. The monkey hybrid looked quite frightened and she was jumping around in her capsule, trying to break free. Despite his nonchalant appearance, Lovi could tell there was just a slight hint of curiosity in the snake hybrids eyes. He was just sitting there sipping his wine, but the increased breathing and sipping revealed his sense of heightened urgency to get out of here.

The flashing red lights weren’t as bad as they would have been had they been white, but Lovi was still a bit disoriented. He closed his eyes and fought off that feeling. When he opened them, he was trying his best not to focus on the pulsating red. His pupils dilated all the way, making his golden eyes a fierce black color. He mind was racing on what to do next. This of course was the perfect distraction, but he wouldn’t have time to figure out the rest of his plan. He was just going to have to wing it. As his black eyes darted around the room full of bustling scientists, he saw a dark figure. With his incredible vision, he should have been able to make out a face right away, but he couldn’t because of the crimson lights flashing in his eyes. He rammed his shoulder up against the wall where the first crack was. As he was trying to get out, his capsule began to tremble. He noticed a scientist had pulled a big silver lever with the word “EJECT” written over it in large bold letters. His tail dropped and his ears perked up. The capsules all dropped at the same time, and the last thing Lovi saw was the dark figure pull the lever up again then run to the hole and watch as the capsules fell.

--------------------------------------------------------------------~~~~~~~~~~~~~---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lovi woke up with a pounding in his head. He couldn’t see because of the bright sunlight blinding him. He blinked a few times before he became accustomed to the sun. He stood up and realized that his capsule had been shattered. He lazily stepped through the glass, ignoring any cuts he might be getting. Blood was running down the side of his face and into his mouth. There were scrapes all over his arms from the glass cutting him. He looked around and he saw that every other capsule was there. He counted to make sure. Yep, there were eight of them. He could see that most were cracked open, and the hybrid inside was able to get out. They were all moving in some sort of way, and he was greatly relieved by that. He saw the hawk hybrid’s capsule was open, but his chains weren’t broken.

“Hey, guys, is everyone alright?” Lovi called out. As he looked around, he noticed they were in a large grassy field. On one side of them was a mass of trees. Tropical birds were flying from limb to limb; singing their songs to one another. On the other end was more trees, but beyond there were mountains. Finally there was a shore, but Lovi couldn’t tell if it was an ocean or a lake. It could possibly even be a wide river, the glare on the water made it impossible to tell.

Lovi stretched his arms and looked around for Nikki’s capsule. Since she was the only name he remembered, he decided to ask her if she remembered anyone else. He walked over and noticed her capsule wasn’t completely broken. With a few hits, he figured she might be able to get herself out, but he could do it much quicker. He told her to guard her face, and he punched it, causing the glass to shatter. He held out a hand to help her out of the tiny space. “Hi Nikki,” he said, hoping that she would remember.

Kira couldn't in believe what was happening, in one moment she was being observed by the mans in white coats and another the sirens rang and then...then all the capsules dropped at the same time!

Kira closed her eyes during that time, she was still recovering from the loud noises from the sirens. When she opened her eyes she was in a grassy field, with all the other hybrids in there too. The capsules were almost open so they could escape. She remembered all of them, at least their faces, they were her family once and her closest friends, and now after so long they are all together again. She remembered all the moments they had together, the good ones and the bad ones, and how painful their separation was.

She looked at her capsule, it was almost broken so she could easily get out. Her clothes were all messy because of the pieces of glass, she started to get up when she felt a painful throbbing in her leg, her right leg, the one that had an injury from when she was caught. When she looked at her, it was all bloody, Kira wanted to complain but she knew it wasn't the time to do something like that. Now was the time to be strong and help the others that were in the same miserable situation.

She got out from the capsule with her leg drenched in blood. Kira looked around and saw that the lion was helping one of the hybrids. "Hey lion! I'm gonna help the hawk!" she yelled at him and approached the capsule of the hawk. He was still with cuffs, so she had to take them of, she started to breaking them but it was damn hard! "Crap! This is hard, what are they made of?!" she said angrily, Kira finally was able to take them off.

She got up and looked around, the other one that was cuffed was the tiger girl and she was also injured. "Damn, we are all miserable!" she said.

Farai scorned the hybrids who tried to escape. Their feeble attempts were useless! If anything, they were putting those who were doing nothing at risk of getting tortured. Farai watched the tigress do her damage on the glass only to get caught by the scientists. He scolded in her direction, "Hmph! Pathetic..." He growls. Once everything seemed to calm down, Farai takes this time to save up on his wine by taking out a thin silver vial and pouring the red liquid inside. When the glass was empty, he clicks the serpent entwined top closed and drops the pristine glass onto the metallic floor. Flinching slightly as the transparent glass shatters upon impact.

Farai's thin black tongue licks at that air as he takes a few more sips from the vial. It was in this instant that the entire room flashed a bright crimson red, staining the metallic structures inside the lab red with it's carnelian rays. Farai stayed completely still, unsure of what was happening. It was as if time froze...The brilliant display the alarm was pulling off unnerved the snake and his eyes darted frantically among his surroundings. Soon after the blazing lights, an ear piercing siren screamed through the halls, and with no fabric to absorb the noise, the sound seemed to amplify once it reached inside his capsule.

Farai lets out what sounded like a cross between a human scream and a hiss from a snake, as he doubles over and covers his ears. The flesh of his hands did little to block the noise which left the hybrid defenseless against the merciless roar. In his agony, his eyes pinch open and he could have sworn on his life, that behind all the frantic scientists was the silhouette of someone completely unknown to him.

Everything was gone suddenly...The noise...The alarm...Farai slowly opened his eyes only to see the bright blue sky. His breath faltered a bit as his stomach began to churn. Then, it hit him...His pupils dilated to very thin reptilian slits in fear as he turned around. His eyes come in contact with the approaching earth. And as he was approaching his last seconds in the air, he muttered one statement, "Well, braccce for impact..."

~

He couldn't quite grasp what happened in the thirty or so seconds he came in contact with the rocky earth. All that he could reminisce was the huge rock his capsule collided with, sending the tubular structure a few good meters into the air before landing in the thick foliage of an oak tree.

~

Farai's eyes flickered open. Lifting a hand to his head, he groaned as he forces his spine upward and straightening it. It wasn't til after a few more seconds that an extremely agonizing pain rippled across his body making him almost want to puke. His breathing became hysterical as he searched for the source. That was when his eyes rested on a most gruesome sight. The perch that he used earlier, had penetrated deep into his tail. He tries his all to hiss or do some sort of calm noise but all was futile. All he could make out was a groan of distress.

Over time, the pain only seemed to get worse and Farai had had enough of it. With a loud cry, he pulled the heavy post out of his flesh, breaking the perch off of the capsule before angrily throwing it to the side. Farai gasps as a wave of relief flows through his body. The snake immediately gets the hint to leave this godforsaken death machine. With a sigh, the hybrid calmly makes his way out of the open capsule.

Even though there was an aching pain emanating from his tail, his movements were still slow, liquid like. He moved his body in a way a serpent would, as he snaked his way down the tree, head first. Once he was within a foot or two of the earth, he places his hands on the soft clay and the rest of his human body follows until his feet hit the ground. He fixes his long black trench coat, during the time that all of his tail was planted firmly on the earth.

Farai twitches at the voices of others and he turns his head toward the lion guy; Lovi, he thinks. He hisses to himself in aggravation. He would have thought that the arrogant lion would've died during training but apparently, some wishes don't come true. Farai growls and keeps his calm composure in no time. Amber iris's then fixate themselves on the capsules that littered the clearing. He gives a disinterested huff before walking off toward the forest line. He wasn't about to get his scales dirty just yet. Especially for them. His eyes traced every feature of the forest and sky until he came upon an unsettling sight.

The snake droops his shoulders a bit. Should he...help them? As much as he despised every single one of them, he had to keep them alive. As much as it would kill him inside... They were his protection, and he was theirs too. So really, it was a lose-lose situation. "Ugh...I guessss I'll have too..." He states simply before he trudges over to the group.

As he nears them, he opens his arms invitingly. "...Greetingsss former friendsss and alliess...!" He says loud enough for everyone to hear. "Now...! Asss much asss I would love to sstay here and heal from our exhilarating ride...it sseemss that we are running out of time to fasst to bargain with...!" He calls with a chuckle before pointing toward the sky. What he pointed at were long cloud like streaks that pointed straight toward them. Ah, the scientists thought of everything didn't they? Inserting an exhaust machine to lead them toward the group if this ever happened... ingenious!

"Now...If I had to essstimate...! We have about 30 minutesss before the military catchess up to usss and we are done for...!" His voice was like molasses dripping off his tongue and down a gentle slope. He began to chuckle, "...I am not trying to rush you all...But we have preciousss time sslipping out of our grasspss...If we can sstart our trek now...then by the time the jetss and tanksss get here...we will already be some good clicksss away...!"

His eyes flicker among the group. Realizing he forgot to address Lovi, he speaks, "I don't mean to be demanding, in fact, I'm not forcccing you all into doing anything...! I'm just giving out a warning...! We need to be well alert in thisss new land...! And remember, preciousss time...! Preciouss time...!" With that said , he folds his hands into his pockets and turns toward the forest line.

He felt free in this new land, but an unfaltering anxiety was all it took to make the snake tremble. Now that they were free, they will be hunted. Especially since they were all alive...Heh, they were all lucky that they were sent to Econ Prison rather than being shot to death by their own colleagues. Farai was extremely grateful that his boss made his betrayal quick and painless...But now...He would rather take a gunshot to the head...

As each mutant began to wake, Spot watched them quietly as she sat back down onto the cold, glass floor. The most interesting mutant that had awoken was the Tiger; whose name she had long forgotten. Spot wasn’t very interactive with them when she was younger; the most she’d ever do with them would be having little competitions with them- of course, all of them where to prove that she was the best. They were young then, but now everything was different; thirteen years where a lot, and a lot has changed.

Spot closed her eyes, laying her head back as she tried to relax, putting her hands behind her; it wasn’t long though, that her attempts to relax was interrupted. Bright lights could be seen beneath her eyelids, causing her to open them. The flashing red lights sent horrifying pains up to her head as she looked around, all she could see was chaos. Spot stood up, to only be knocked back onto her ass by an ear piercing siren.

Her hands went to her ears, and she bore her teeth in pain; Spot’s nose wrinkled as she looked up, her bright blue eyes widening as she saw a figure- that was it. Everything was gone. She was ejected.

Spot’s body flew against the glass walls as the noise and disorder had gotten further away until it disappeared fully. It was within those seconds of being airborne that really got to Spot; as if she was in a fantasy that she could escape and fly away- but reality hit her, hard. Her body went from twirling in air to slamming into the end of the capsule as she began to plummet.

“Damn it!” She snarled, trying to break free quickly from the containment- too late. Like the others, her capsule shot towards earth like a bullet through a body; it shattered instantly, sending shards around her as her body knocked against the ground. Grass and dirt flew in all directions, following the shards of glass, nothing protecting her head except for her hands.

---

Was ten minutes? Perhaps it was even twenty. Spot didn’t know how long she lied on the ground, trying to calm the pain that was violently jerking her body upwards. Her hands closed tightly into fists, becoming white as an equally violent cough escaped her lips, spewing blood across the dirt ground. Her eyes opened slightly as her vision gradually became blurry, before clearing up; the grass flowed peacefully as she heard muffled sounds of the other mutants helping each other.

It took her a while, but after about five minutes, Spot pushed herself off of the ground; the pain still coursing through every inch of her small body. She stood up, falling forwards before she caught herself as she stumbled towards the right- looking as if she was highly intoxicated. Spot reached for her head and gripped it hard, a scowl planted on her face as she slowly raised her blue eyes towards the others to find Farai babbling about something and the bossy ass lion already barfing out orders; or so she assumed.

She stopped about a few feet from where she crashed, taking in her surroundings as her hearing slowly came to. “And remember, preciousss time...! Preciouss time...!"

“What?” She whispered, looking up and behind her, to see a streak of white smoke that would lead the scientist to where they were. “Ah.” She simply said, the scowl now slowly fading as the pain began to ease. Spot began to walk forward, the pain now returning as she tried to make her way forward.

Just ignore it… She thought, making her way forward and ignoring everyone whom had needed help; in fact, she looked similar to a drunk zombie. Spot made her way towards the tree line; in a similar direction as Farai, but she wasn’t following him. Her eyes glazed over the forest, examining every tree as she suddenly came to stop, looking behind her.

Should Spot help them? Nah, in the end, they’d be more of a burden than a plus; half of them where injured- like herself. In fact, it was then that Spot looked down at herself; her tights that she wore underneath her shorts where ripped completely apart, exposing her scratched, bruised and bleeding skin.

The white, collared button up shirt was also ripped, and the colour wasn’t even white anymore; more a dirty egg colour from the dirt and her predicament that had just occurred. The shirt was ripped upwards, exposing her shoulders and leopard-spotted stomach; her sweater suffering the least amount of damaged of her wardrobe.

Spot could feel bruises pulsating on her forehead, and the now open gash she had gotten before was bleeding. Could she really make it out alone without them? Once again, Spot looked back and quickly made a decision. She will follow them; but if they aren’t leaving within ten minutes, she will leave them behind.

Despite her plan, she still continued forward, now mastering the art of ignoring her pain. Her eyes gazed from the group over towards Farai, whom was injured, yet facing towards the forest line; even though she wanted to comment one something, no, more like everything, she stayed quiet and quickened her pace a little, allowing some distance form between her and him as she began to impatiently wait for the others, walking slower as the distance between her and the group increase.

Soon, Spot stopped once again and waited.

Slowly, Bleu became aware. Once, her world was dark, dull. It was like that for a while, but all too quickly it changed. Light flooded into her closed eyes. The darkness of her previous stae was quickly replaced with blinding hues of yellow and gold. The brightness was too much, and it sent her head spinning. She squeezed her eyes shut harder, trying to make the light go away.
Movement of air sounded, and then horrible crashing sounds. The noises were boomings, like that of thunder. There were many, and each one sent shivers down her spine. Splintering sounds followed, and next came sounds of distress; moans and groans. Bleu was not sure where they were coming from, but they were bothering her, and she wanted them to stop.

All of the blackness had gone away. The numbness that encased her limbs had vanished. At first, all she experienced were pins and needles throughout her body. She compared te feeling to the sensation when either your arm or leg falls asleep. It became worse over time. Her head felt as if if was wrapped in layers of bubblewrap - tight and inflamed. Daggers dug into her scalp and areas all over. Her body overall felt like she had been in a boxing match-bruised and cut- but much worse.

What hurt most of all was her right leg. She vaguely remember breaking her ankle previously, but that pain was nothing compared to what she felt now. Her knee felt like mush, and something dug into her thigh. She couldn't take it. All she wanted was to escape back into dark world she awoke from, but going there again was irrelevent.

Instead, she was slammed into a bright and hot world. "I'm in Hell. Heaven doesn't hurt this much," she said. Slowly she opened her eyes, but was momentarily blinded by the light. After all of the spots in her vision had gone away, she gazed at herself, astounded by what she saw.

She was no longer in the lab where she last remembered being. She was laying in a grassy field, surrounded by glass and blood. Her thigh had a long piece of glass sticking out, and blood slowly flowed from the wound. Scratched covered every area of her body. Her white shorts were stained, and her white blouse was also ripped and stained. The long blonde braid fell over her shoulder and into a small pool of blood. Seeing the situation made her feel even worse.

She gritted her teeth, and squeezed her eyes shut. Her knuckles were white, her hands curled into fists. Flinging her head back, she let out a roar. It was full of pain and distress. She fell back onto the glass covered dirt. Her mind screamed stop, just make the pain all go away, but deep in her heart - despite the daggers she felt plunging into it - she knew she had to stay. Her fists angriliy hit the earth, and her long claws dug into the ground.

Again she roared, louder this time. She laid flat on her back, her right leg twisted painfully in the dirt and glass. Her head was spinning, and she feared that she would faint, returning to the dark world that once seemed so peaceful. Now, it was the one thing she feared most.

Nikki had been sitting there, watching the others and realizing she knew them. All of them. Form when she was little. They were her best friends, her family. That word seemed so…odd at these circumstances. She studied the others. They were all grown up and different then when they were younger. It's been so long…

"*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*" Nikki's train of thought was cut off by loud sirens and flashing lights. The sirens were loud and piercing. They shot the eardrums of Nikki's sensitive ears like a bullet would shoot a thin glass making it burst into a million tiny little pieces. Nikki's hands went up over her ears and she fell to the ground of her glass capsule, hands fisted over her ears, eyes forced shut in pain, teeth clamped together. Her tail was wrapped up around her to her head lightly touching her forehead as she curled up as much as she could. She could see the red flashing lights through her eyelids and could her everyone. It all bled together in the chaos of the sirens. People screaming and yelling at each other about what to take and what to leave. In the mix of it all, she heard the horrible laughter of someone evil. As she forced her eyes to crack open to search for who ever the force was coming from, her capsule was shoot up and out of the prison.

She didn't move, she just kept her eyes opened and watched as the capsule flue through the sky. Nikki thought it was amazing and would love to just stay like this for ever in the peaceful air. Sadly, what goes up must come down. Nikki closed her eyes and braced for impact as she noticed the capsule starting to head downward. As she braced herself, she could feel the capsule starting to spin and spiral out of control. It felt like a downward spin drop on a very crazy roller-coaster. Just as the capsule was getting ready to impact on the earth, Nikki opened one of her eyes. It was the scariest thing ever. Her life flashed before her eyes and the capsule hit the ground with a loud bang and small cracking noise.

Once the capsule was safely on the ground, Nikki started crawling around her small capsule as she looked at the others. Theirs were mostly broken, unlike hers that only had a crack in it at the moment. Just then she looked around and saw a familiar sight coming her way. "Lovi!" Nikki said happily. She hadn't even notice the bruises and scratches she had gotten from the fall. She smiled happily at the lion but jumped a little when Lovi hit the glass and shattered it. Nikki climbed out of the capsule and gave Lovi a hug. "Hey Lovi!" She said happily with a smile and looked around at the others.

Marne had woken up in a glass chamber, and judging from her apparent weightlessness, was falling pretty fast. She took the blankets she had essentially shrouded herself with and made a cushioned barrier to help her with the landing. Upon impact, she heard the glass shatter, counting the blankets protecting her from the shards as a small blessing. As she unwrapped herself, she pushed herself up and took a look around, getting a view of her enviornment. Well, they were on the ground, so she thankfully didn't have to break everyone out. The downside to this was that the snake-guy was here, and that just made her feel uncomfortable. She dusted herself off, did a secondary once-over, and went over to the nearest other, Bleu she believed her name was, like the cheese. Poor girl had a shard of glass where her thigh was, and it was bleeding something awful. She grabbed her blankets, and walked over to the girl.
"I'm going to ask you to hold still for a bit, this will hurt, and I don't want to lose an ear, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she pulled out the shard out the same way it had come in and bound the leg with some fabric torn from her one-night bedding, the stuff that hadn't caught any glass shards. "There. Now, Bleu. Is there anywhere else it hurts?" She looked at Bleu with concern in her eyes, she may have been a hybrid of her predator, but she was a hybrid just the same.

Trying to break out of his chains for a moment, he came to the realization that his left arm was broken from the impact. The glass in his door shattered over him, too, leaving his legs cut up — especially the right. At least everything was still intact, though he stopped struggling.

"Hey lion! I'm gonna help the hawk!" When the girl tried to break Dax's chains, she was met with plenty of resistance, too. She even exclaimed about the difficulty before they finally got weak enough for Dax to help break them off. Right arm; left; the legs, then the wings. He was able to get his feet out after that. When he stood up, getting the support he could from Kira, he found that everyone was in various degrees of health, but at least no one was killed in the impact, it seemed.

"Our deaths were postponed," he muttered, looking at Farai making remarks about their state through his lisp.

"We have about 30 minutesss before the military catchess up to usss..." He suggested they get moving soon, too.

"The army is not slow, snake." They would have to confirm the deaths — they had to send someone to follow the pods, probably a helicopter. It's the only thing that would be able to follow the exhaust trails Farai pointed out, without speeding ahead like a jet would. "I will watch for them." Getting himself in the air and shaking broken glass from his wings, he tried to make sure everyone knew they needed to get moving. When he got high enough, the wind felt nice, and he was able to clearly see the trail the pods left behind.

Dax looked down at everyone, noticing that his pant legs were soaked with burgundy — the crimson of an open wound. He wouldn't be able to bandage the injuries when they were spread about the way they were, so he hoped the increasing pressure as he rose higher would help stop the flow of blood. For now, he didn't worry as long as he could curl his toes; instead, he took care of his arm, ripping off a part of his pant leg that wasn't dyed red and tying the fractured wrist in place. It'll need real medical attention soon, but this'll have to do at the moment.

Lovi smiled when he heard Nikki say his name. She remembered! AS he helped her out, he was surprised at the hug she gave him. He tensed up at first, but then he returned the hug with a slight squeeze. She smiled at him and his smile only widened. She looked around at the others, and Lovi followed suit.

"Now...If I had to essstimate...! We have about 30 minutesss before the military catchess up to usss and we are done for...!" His voice was like molasses dripping off his tongue and down a gentle slope. He began to chuckle, "...I am not trying to rush you all...But we have preciousss time sslipping out of our grasspss...If we can sstart our trek now...then by the time the jetss and tanksss get here...we will already be some good clicksss away...!" Lovi glanced over at Farai. Hearing his voice helped him to remember his name. They were never the best of friends as children, well no one really was close with Farai that he could remember, be he had to agree.

Just as he was about he agree, Farai continued. "I don't mean to be demanding, in fact, I'm not forcccing you all into doing anything...! I'm just giving out a warning...! We need to be well alert in thisss new land...! And remember, preciousss time...! Preciouss time...!" Despite his seemingly good intentions, and decline of telling people what to do, Lovi still felt uncomfortable with him.

"Farai's right. We need to get moving now. We're all a bit banged up, some worse than others," He glanced over at Bleu and Marne. He was going to help her but the mouse girl seemed to be taking good enough care of her for now. He saw the hawk boy stretch his wings and take off. As everyone was standing up and moving around, the smell of blood was filling the air ever so pleasantly. Lovi hadn't realized how hungry he was. He closed his eyes and let out a low growl, fighting it off. He would have to hunt later. Just as he was opening his eyes, blood from the hawk fell onto his nose. He could have almost laughed at the irony. He angrily wiped it off as his eyes went black. He growled again, then looked around the group. He saw Spot out further than Farai was and he sighed. He knew that most of the other cats were solitary, but they would just have to let that go. They all needed each other, at least right now they did. He glanced over at Kira and then to Nikki. He took a deep breath to gather his thoughts and control the hunger.

“We need to split up for now. Staying within a click of one another, but we can't stay as a big group. We'll meet up again at night fall. " He let out a small roar, demanding attention from everyone. He hoped the boy up in the sky could hear him. "You, cheetah, Kiara or Kira.. Sorry. Come over here. You’re with the hawk and Monkey.” He pointed to the sky, then turned to face Bleu. “Bleu and mouse, not you Nikki, you’re with me. Nikki and Farai, you two are with jaguar.” He pointed out to Spot, “Everyone understand? We’ll enter the forest in a straight line. Myself, Bleu and Mouse in the center, Farai, Nikki and Jaguar on the east and Hawk and Kira on the west. While you’re moving, be careful to count your steps. Try to stay at the same pace. Make sure you’re going straight or else we’ll lose each other. After every 200 steps, stop and wait 30 seconds. Listen and see if you can here the others moving, if you can, you know we’re off pace. Listen to whether they are ahead or behind you. This should help us stay together somewhat. At dusk, head inward. From there we’ll figure out what to do.”

He looked around the group one more time. Right now, they were covered in blood, limping, grimacing and distrustful. But he knew that they could all do this.

He roared once more, signaling for the groups to leave. He gave Nikki another smile before he jogged over to Bleu. “I saw your leg. It looks pretty bad. Mouse fixed it okay. Can you run? If not I’m sure I could carry you,” Lovi offered. At this point he wasn’t sure if he would wait for an answer. She looked like she was in loads of pain. There was blood all over her. Another wave of hunger coursed through him. He growled slightly, baring his canines. “Nevermind, come on.” He said and put his hands on her waist. He lifted her up, then turned so she was leaning on his back. He pulled her up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Mouse, let’s go. Hold on Bleu, this is going to hurt, but it’s better than you running.” He kicked off at a light jog and progressed into a run towards the forest.


((I included Mia, but if she doesn't show up, just ignore that part. ))

As his iris's trace the foliage of the trees, he took notice that the leaves had a brownish or yellowish hue to them, instead of the bright green. Along with the golden rays of the morning sun casting down on the horizon, added on the brown leaves, gave an almost caramel appearance to the foliage. It was the beginning of Autumn from what it looked like......Such a breathtaking sight to behold. He knew that the real thing had to be better than the murals in his habitat, but he never knew it was this good......

.....You know that feeling where you finally conquer that long video game, and the credits rolled down the screen? That feeling of, I can't believe it's finally over? Yeah, that's what Farai was experiencing. It was as if a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders only to be replaced by a new one. He felt, relieved, confused, astounded, scared...Just about anything in that category.

Farai exhales and catches a small glimpse of the leopard girl. So far, he seemed to favor her more than anyone else here. She was actually smart. Not only did she not fight back when the scientists captured them, but she pushed through the pain to leave the line of capture.......What was her name again? All Farai could reminisce was that her name began with an S...

Samantha? Nah, not even close.

Sally? Nope.

Spit? Close...But what?

Spot?...Spot! Yes! It's Spot!.....Wow, how original.

Farai watches her limp away then stopping to look back at the group. Her clothes were torn and bloody. Miserable looking. Of course, they all looked miserable. He did too...Well...What did he look like? After the incident, the hybrid had paid more attention to the gaping hole in his flesh rather than the shards of glass stuck in the crevices of his scales. Farai whimpered as his eyes gazed down at the black button up shirt. Instead of its pristine obsidian color, it had patches of dirty brown mud mixed in with his sweat and blood. darker streaks traveled up and down his shirt from where the shards of glass punctured his skin. From what it seemed, his shirt and pants took the most damage. His leather trench coat looked the same besides the small blood stains. Farai shakily lifted his hands only to see that they had been protected as well, because of his fingerless gloves. Only small cuts could be seen up and down his fingers. No missing digits. Farai pulls out the silver vial of wine from his coat pocket and used the smooth surface as a mirror. He had a few small cuts on his ears, forehead, and lip. Nothing bad. A particular cut that stood out the most was a long one which extended from the end of his right eye, down his cheek.

He stuffs the vial into his pocket and gives a sigh of relief, glad to know he didn't sustain any more severe wounds, although, all of it will be felt in the morning...Taking one last look at his shirt, Farai realizes the shirt wouldn't be of better use staying on his body, but rather as a bandage. With that thought in mind, he takes off his trench coat and lays it on the soft grass, before ripping off his black shirt. The cool blast of air hit the trickling blood sending a wave of frigidness along the burning cuts. Farai sits down and bites off the dark buttons, as to not cause any discomfort, in the process of grabbing his own tail and pulling it onto his lap. Once everything was situated, he wraps the shirt around the open wound and roughly ties it tight against his tail making his own bandage. Once the knot was tied, he gently applied direct pressure to the wound to help with the bleeding. Farai breathes sharply in through his teeth as he applied the pressure, soon though, his body adjusted.

Once the bleeding began to clot, he lets go. Farai grabs his coat and pulls out a small knife and begins to cut some of the shards out of his skin, and out from in between his scales. Flinching as each shard inflicted tiny, yet powerful, burning, and discomforting stings. As the minutes ensued, the discomfort was finally appeased and the pain faded away. Because the impact with the rock and tree happened more toward his tail, he didn't have to worry as much about his human body having bits of glass underneath his skin.

Farai grunted as he stood up and stretched toward the never ending blue sky. A chilly breeze traced its icy fingers down his bare back making him shudder. Almost immediately, he could feel the temperature inside his body decrease. Although he was cold blooded, and with Autumn just reaching its summit, he could bear the cold nights that follow. In fact, as long as the temperature stayed above -15 degrees Celsius, he should be fine. Another shiver shook his body before he put on his coat and secured the straps. It was in this moment that Lovi began speaking.

“We need to split up for now. Staying within a click of one another, but we can't stay as a big group. We'll meet up again at night fall. ""You, cheetah, Kiara or Kira.. Sorry. Come over here. You’re with the hawk and Monkey.” “Bleu and mouse, not you Nikki, you’re with me. Nikki and Farai, you two are with jaguar.”“Everyone understand? We’ll enter the forest in a straight line. Myself, Bleu and Mouse in the center, Farai, Nikki and Jaguar on the east and Hawk and Kira on the west. While you’re moving, be careful to count your steps. Try to stay at the same pace. Make sure you’re going straight or else we’ll lose each other. After every 200 steps, stop and wait 30 seconds. Listen and see if you can here the others moving, if you can, you know we’re off pace. Listen to whether they are ahead or behind you. This should help us stay together somewhat. At dusk, head inward. From there we’ll figure out what to do.”

Farai's tongue flicks in the air and he takes another glance at Spots. He remembered her as a child. Usually, he was seen alone, sleeping or eating. He could reminisce the play fights she got into with Bleu and the others. It enlightened him beyond belief that he was with his favorite. Didn't know what to think about Nikki though...He never really knew her. Anyways, he was very very VERY glad that he wasn't with the lion guy. He mentally thanked Lovi and headed toward Spots. "Heheh, sssee you all at dusssk..." He mutters to no one in particular as he passed Spots and headed toward the forest in the desired direction Lovi wanted them to go.

Kira heard what the snake dude said and agreed, but the way he said it made her feel uneasy. She whispered "I guess he hasn't change, even after so long he still continues to be like that" she sighed and let a out a small smile.

She saw the hawk take off, he was bleeding and that made a lot of hybrids hungry, because of that weird events they were without eating for a while. And then she heard Lovi talking with them. Immediately she looked at him and got annoyed when he called her Kiara, she growled and said "It' Kira! I hope you don't call me the wrong way again".

The the lion gave his orders, she didn't like it very much and she liked to be left alone, after all that was her nature, but right now wasn't the time to complain so she just quickly said "I don't like being bossed around, but right now, I really don't have a chance do I?" Kira glanced at the hawk that was up in the sky and yelled at him "Hey, I'm gonna try to keep up with you, I mean, I don't think I can run the way I normally do, so that will be easy, I guess" and glanced at her injured leg. Kira ripped a piece of her shirt and put it on her leg, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Well now, should we go?" she finished saying that and started to run towards the forest in the direction Lovi said. She did her best in keeping up with the hawk, she was counting the steps and at the same time looking at were the hawk was.

Spot’s eyes slightly closed as she waited for the others to hurry; the autumn breeze teasing each strain of her dark auburn hair. Boy, didn’t it feel good? She’s experienced the seasons, yet they were vague due to how quickly she finished the missions she was given; it was nothing like this. The missions were always dark and gruesome; each season. Summer, Spring, Fall, and Winter where all seasons that had meant for a new victim the government wants dead. Not now, though, this was nice, enjoyable.

Without her realizing it herself, Spot began to slowly fall asleep; her heavy body begging for it to curl up onto the floor; she felt at peace. As if she was actually dead and in heaven; of course, this all ended when that bossy lion started to speak.
“We need to split up for now. Staying within a click of one another, but we can't stay as a big group. We'll meet up again at night fall. You, cheetah, Kiara or Kira.. Sorry. Come over here. You’re with the hawk and Monkey. Bleu and mouse, not you Nikki, you’re with me. Nikki and Farai, you two are with jaguar. Everyone understand? We’ll enter the forest in a straight line. Myself, Bleu and Mouse in the center, Farai, Nikki and Jaguar on the east and Hawk and Kira on the west. While you’re moving, be careful to count your steps. Try to stay at the same pace. Make sure you’re going straight or else we’ll lose each other. After every 200 steps, stop and wait 30 seconds. Listen and see if you can here the others moving, if you can, you know we’re off pace. Listen to whether they are ahead or behind you. This should help us stay together somewhat. At dusk, head inward. From there we’ll figure out what to do.”

Spot’s ear twitched slightly at the word, jaguar. By no means was she a jaguar; despite how much it hurt her ‘leopard’ pride, she let it go due to the fact that she was just happy that her group had the least amount of people. Yet, it slightly bothered her that she was actually listening to Lovi; the lion she had done everything in her will power to avoid when she was younger. Despite her dislike for following orders from him, she kept quiet as her blue eyes followed towards Nikki, before Farai.

To be completely honest, Nikki was someone who Spot thought of as a meal; she knew very well that she couldn’t eat her- it’s just that Nikki looked very similar to a mouse, something that Spot loves to snack on. It amplified more now that she was hungry; yet, she tried to control herself- no, she can control herself, yet, it didn’t mean that Spot couldn’t think. So she thought; thought of the mouse being served on a silver platter in front of her.

Luckily, Farai interrupted her thoughts; she watched him walk ahead of her before she looked back behind her, making sure that Nikki was following them. Within a few seconds, Spot also began to walk, slightly hearing something escape from Farai’s lips, yet, she didn’t quite hear what he said. Spot followed him, at a distance. She was alert as she watched around, every so often looking behind her to make sure Nikki was following; even if she wasn’t, Spot continued to look back.

Marne saw his hunger right away, and wrapped Bleu in the rest of her blankets to help against shock.
"Don't even think about it. We need you to lead the group, and that'll kind of go bust if you end up eating people." As she spoke, she kept pace with Lovi in terms of speed, her meal from the previous night giving her more than enough energy. She then climbed into the trees,once they reached the forest, using her height to scope out where it would and wouldn't be safe. With each area that was, she motioned them on, keeping this up until she felt like coming down, at which point she dropped straight from the branches and made a three-point landing.
"And before I forget, my name isn't Mouse, it's Marne. Like how you'd pronounce Barney if it started with an "M"~!" She said with a little lilt to her voice, as if her mind was running in several directions, and his existence only laid on one of those paths.

Bleu's eyes had been closed, trying to hide from the pain. She felt as if she was close to the blackness, but it stubbornly remained in the back pit of her mind. How desperately she tried to venture to the vortex, the pit. Eventually she reduced to pleaded, begging the blackness to suck her into it's abyss. Nothing had worked, and Bleu remained in her own personal painful reality.

A small, gentle but desperate voice coaxed her out of her pathetic trance. Cracking opening her eyes, she gazed at a girl she remembered vaguely. Marne, she believed her name was. The girl spoke softly, but sternly. In between slight moans, Bleu made out something had sounded like Marne was going to remove the glass from her thigh. Before she even had time to protest, she felt a tugging in her leg, and bit back a roar. The glass was gone, and she was close to reaming Marne out. Bleu wasn't mad, in fact she was relieved. She was very thankful for what Marne had did, and didn't want to damage her acute hearing.

Her fingers reached out, trying to feel the wound, but her hand was lightly pushed away. Marne tied a blanket around her leg, securing it as to stop the bleeding. Bleu growled slightly as the blanket was pulled tighter. The pain was lessened, but still there. Her knee still felt wrong, and she greatly doubted that it was okay. Marne then asked if anything else hurt.

"Thank you, Marne." Bleu smiled sweetly. This smile was genuine, and Marne deserved that. "The pain isn't as bad anymore. Can you fetch me a-." Bleu dropped the end of her sentence when a dark shadow fell across her face.

Looking up, she met the gaze of a familiar lion. Lovi. She remembered him from her childhood days, always tugging on her braids. "I saw your leg. It looks pretty bad. Mouse fixed it okay. Can you run? I'm not sure I could carry you," he asked. Bleu looked at her broken limb, and began to speak when Lovi cut her off. "Never mind. Come on."

His hands wrapped around her waist, and he scooped her into his arms. Marne then wrapped blankets around Bleu. She growled slightly, but wasn't mad at the hybrids. She wasn't used to being taken care of. Being independent was part of her nature. The tiger was always alone.

“Mouse, let’s go. Hold on Bleu, this is going to hurt, but it’s better than you running.” She gritted her teeth as Lovi broke off into a run. It was painful. She became light-headed again, and rested her head on Lovi's chest, and closed her eyes. She knew that they wouldn't let her run in her condition, so bit her lip and refrained from complaining.

Nikki watched the others as Lovi spoke. It was a slightly odd, sad, and, furthermore, miserable sight. Everyone was all gory. Large bruises and gashes from glass and the ground from the fall. Their clothes all ripped and stained with grass and blood. Some people even had large open wounds and broken limbs. It was a very miserable sight. Nikki even looked down at her own self. Her white dress stained with small but very noticeable blood stains and ripped at the rim. Her feet cut and bruised from standing on the sharp broken glass of the capsules.

She looked up when she heard Lovi explaining witch way the were going and everything else about meeting back up and pausing every two hundred steps. She understood it, all of it, but didn't understand much why they had to split up. She liked being in large groups so that they could make sure everyone was safe, but if everyone likes this idea better, Nikki wasn't going to be the one to question it.

Nikki, being the human mouse/rat hybrid she is, was a little weary about being put in a group with a leopard and a snake. It's not that she didn't like Spot or Farai. In fact, she did like them like she would like family. She liked everyone of the hybrids out here in this empty field that way because that what they are to her even if their "animal side" is a natural born predator of hers.

Before looking towards her small group mates, Nikki looked up at the hawk boy. The blood dripping down played no emotional part in Nikki's person. It didn't make her squirm in sickness of such an act nor did it make her anymore hungry than she already was. She just watched a drop of blood fall. If was so odd it seemed that a hybrid bleeds the same as anyone and anything. Nikki wondered as she watched the drop of blood fall what it would say in a hybrids DNA. Would it say they were human? Or may it say their an animal? It was and still is rather confusing. It's like a werewolf, in sort. They must chose between being wolf and take part in their Wolf Pride or weather they shall stay human and take part in everyday living such as newspaper reading or watching television.

The drop of blood fell, and Nikki watched, counting the seconds it took to hit the ground. One. It falls. Two. it falls into the path of the sun. Three. It glistens in the sun shingling a very red-red color or dark amber. Four It falls in front of Nikki's face. Five Not wanting to leave another drop of blood to add to the already growing trail of blood, Nikki's hand shoots out and catches the small drop of blood in he hand. Six. Such an unlucky number. Nikki then looks over toward Farai and Spot. She could remember then all and loved it. She smiled to her self as she ran, rather fast i might add to catch up with the twos reaching the woods, sticks began to stab her feet, so Nikki then jumped on a tree trunk grabbing it like a mouse would grab a pole when climbing. She then jumped to the next tree and the next like a jumping mouse, standing on the ground and running then flinging to a tree root. As she maneuvered herself through the trees with Farai and Spot close by Nikki smiled to herself then broke into a run and looked towards the two. "So…you guys happy the gangs back together?" She asked with a smile on her face like she was talking to good friends shed just seen not so long ago.

While he headed away and his blood clotted up, Dax started thinking. What would they send to finish the job? If they knew the hybrids were injured, they could probably do with infantries for the mice, but leaving them all together like this would make it difficult. The hybrids had multiple felines and a bird, so it'd be hard for ground troops not to get picked off like the prey they were. Even a tank would have trouble holding its own. They wouldn't drop a bomb — too high-powered. No doubt the news would get involved, and the government wouldn't be able to cover it up as a test. Helicopters? All they had to do was disable Dax's wings and they wouldn't have a way to fight back. That was going to be their option; they needed a place to hide.

He started flying backwards — gliding against the wind and being pushed back a few inches per second — a short ways out, making sure he could still see everyone. They were all still in Dax's field of view, but were he and Kira in theirs? He lowered down to the latter, hoping her sense of sight was more comparable to the groups'.

"Can you still see them?" he asked. "My sight is stronger than theirs; / a hawk's is acute."

Kira kept on running, then she heard the hawk asking her if she saw the others. He's called Dax, right? she asked herself. She started to look and saw the snake group a good distance further, and the lion group a bit behind them.

"Yeah; the snake group is further out, and the lion is closer," she answered, "probably because the lion is carrying someone."

Her leg really hurt, so she tried to just think about running, the thing she loved the most. She thought, I can't be selfish here, all the others are like me or even worse; even Dax is badly injured and he just keeps on flying without any complaint! She sighed and kept on running, hoping the pain would get... less painful.

All the hybrids were grown up, and all of them had become beautiful, in a unique way that humans can't be. The lion guy really got on her nerves, she just hoped he wouldn't made the same stupid mistake twice. If I weren't in this situation I would have slapped him!

Then she looked to Dax and asked him, "Do you want me to run faster?"

"It's fine; we should slow," he answered. "They'll think we're going too fast. / At least at this speed." He and Kira were the farthest out, even leaving behind monkey-girl.

"Then let's wait here," she answered while trying to recount her steps — paying attention to Dax made her lose track. "Maybe Lovi will have new orders to bark for us."

As Lovi held onto Bleu, Marne scolded him on his hunger. He scowled at the small girl. She was in no place to tell him to control his hunger. He could rip her apart before she even knew what happened. "Alright." He said with a roll of his eyes. He was a bit flattered that she had said they "needed" him to lead the group. Clearly, he was the only one up for it. Most of the cats were solo creatures. Nikki was too sweet to lead, and Farai.. well not everyone trusted him. Not that everyone trusted Lovi, but apparently he was less of a threat than the snake. He considered Marne as he glanced up at her, pointing them in the best directions. Marne was feisty, but Lovi imagined she would crack under the pressure after too long of being in control. He looked down at the girl in his arms. She was covered in blood, but her face looked somewhat peaceful, rested against his heaving chest. Peaceful compared to how she looked before, letting out roars that even Lovi cringe. Lovi mentally tried to take a step back and consider himself, and his downfalls. Before he could get too in depth, Marne dropped in front of him. He halted and Bleu flinched in his arms from the sudden stop. She was still biting back a roar, he could tell.

"And before I forget, my name isn't Mouse, it's Marne. Like how you'd pronounce Barney if it started with an "M"~!" She said to him, although she seemed like she was absorbed in a million other things. She began moving again.

"Alright, Marne," Lovi said, rolling his eyes at the girl once more, but his voice sounded serious. He was itching to run on all fours. Because of his lion legs, it was more natural to run that way, and he was faster as well. He stole another glance at Bleu. She looked like she was in pain. The thought ran across his brain that he hadn't inspected himself for injuries. No one looked at him funny, so he assumed that he was alright. He kept running, figuring he could check it in a few paces. He had been subconsciously counting in his head. This technique was something he had learned in his training. If done properly, it worked flawlessly. He, Xander, Micah, Jer and Kellan had mastered it between the five of them. Whenever they would head inward, they were always within at the most 5 steps of one another. His heart sank at the thought of his friends. Despite the other hybrids, they were his only friends. They were his family. He realized now that he was just surrounded by strangers, masked by familiar faces. Voices coming from these strangers reminded him of the cubs he would play with in the yard, the mice he would stalk in the grass, the snake he liked to tease and the bird he would race down the street. These people now were.. different. Back then they showed signs of being loners, but everyone does. They all ate meals together, the girls had bath time together, and so did he and the boys. They fought like a family, but they lived and loved like a family, too. There was no such thing as a misfit in the group, because they were all misfits, but they didn't know the difference. These people now though.. they're hard, and cold. He could see the looks he got when he was separating them into groups. Lovi was not ignorant of that, but they were. They were ignorant to the fact that he was trying to save them. He clenched his jaw and tried his best to push these thoughts away. It hurt him so bad that his family was acting this way. The "every man for himself" mentality was projecting off of them like a females scent fills the air in heat. He let out a low noise, to signal to Marne to stop.

"Shh.. Do you hear the others?" Lovi could hear moving in the distance, but it seemed to come from all sides. He shook his head, but his hearing wasn't right. He gently set Bleu down and inspected himself. Glass shards were everywhere. He groaned. He began picking out the biggest ones and throwing them safely behind them. When he bent down to scoop up the tiger girl again, a pain shot across his back that resulted in a roar from him. He ripped off his t shirt, only to discover it was already ripped. He peered over his shoulder and saw a huge red line starting from his shoulder, that extended to the opposite side of his lower back. His jeans were covered in blood in the back and he was shocked at how he couldn't feel this before. He figured when he fell, his capsule broke into a big piece and jammed him in the back. Adrenaline was the only thing he could think of that kept the pain away. He would be fine just running on his own and dealing with the pain, but he couldn't carry Bleu anymore. Already, his entire back was throbbing. He felt like the pain was sinking into him, and the cut would soon find it's way through to his torso. He winced just thinking about it and searched around for something sharp. The only way he could go on was to get another rush of adrenaline.

"Marne, please don't ask questions, but either I'm going to need to to bite me, or find some way to double the pain in this," he said and turned around, showing her his back. "I can't carry Bleu anymore if I don't have some adrenaline. You can't carry her and she definitely can't run. So just pick something and hurry up. Once you do, I can get Bleu and we'll be on our way again." Lovi said. his pain was growing, but he knew more pain was the only way.

Farai hisses under his breath when he realized he had to run the ten or so hours until dusk. He of course, didn't have a choice. He either ran, or get captured or roared at by a very obnoxious lion. His eyes flickered over the foliage as he watched Nikki jump from tree to tree. Such grace no one could match. He didn't think anyone was capable of doing what Nikki was good at most, except that other rat girl. As Nikki began to trek deeper and deeper into the woods, his uneasiness of losing his group got the best of him and Farai willingly began his pace.

Farai hastily caught up with both of the girls, already out of breath. Stamina nor speed were some things he wasn't well compatible with. Especially now...The shirt/bandage threatened to slip off if he kept his tail dragging at the ground. To fix this, he had to lift his 100 pound tail off the ground consistently so the wound would stay clean. Because of this minor problem, he was using more energy than what his body could produce. Not only this but...Farai wasn't very coordinated. He would trip over just about any branch or root that came within an inch of his foot. And there were plenty of those.

His head cocked toward Nikki as she suddenly spoke. "So…you guys happy the gangs back together?" Her friendliness toward the two after so long, annoyed the snake, but he played it off seeing that it was so far, the least annoying thing he had to deal with at the moment. Right now, he had to pay attention to those stupid roots!

Speaking seconds after Nikki spoke, Farai responded in between greedy intakes of oxygen, "Ah dearesssst!*Huff* I. Am. Over*Huff*joyed. The gang isss*huff*back together." He finally manages to choke out just as his foot collides with a loose root sending the snake stumbling forward, only just able to catch his barrings with the support of the tree in which the root belonged to. His lungs stung from the now, frigid air, doing nothing but making the snake crave more oxygen as he leaned his back up against the tree. "H-How many minutesss hasss it been?" He asks prior to turning his head up to the sky to examine the suns position. To his disappointment and utter frustration, the sun was almost in its exact position from when they started. Letting out a groan of irritation, Farai turns toward the two girls. A calm expression masking his true emotions underneath. "You two may go on without me. It would be quite horrid if the military caught two preciousss young ladiess assss yoursselvess..." He chuckles.

"I'll jusssst sstay behind..." He speaks with a calm demeanor as his breath returned to his lungs.