Spot Willow.'s Story

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In silence, Spot kept up well with Nikki, her eyes wondering throughout the forest as she fought the urge to climb into a tree and take a slight nap. It wasn’t like she was tired or anything, it was just the big cat coming out of her; similar to the lion, Spot was more active at night. Luckily, thanks to Nikki’s question, Spot’s mind was taken off of that matter for a few minutes or so. "So…you guys happy the gangs back together?"

Her eyebrows raised at the word gang. For a second, Spot had to roll the word in her mouth, listening to Farai as he answered; nearly out of breath. "Ah dearesssst!*Huff* I. Am. Over*Huff*joyed. The gang isss*huff*back together.”

Once again, Spot raised her eyebrows, this time, it was at Farai rather than the word; she allowed her eyes to trail up and down his body as she ran. The snake was obviously injured, not to mention out of breath; it was odd seeing the calm and refine snake so out of breath like this. It may have been heartless to do so, but Spot secretly began to bet on how long he’d last while running like this.

“Ah…” She seeped out, remembering the question that Nikki had asked. “I have no opinion what so ever about the ‘gang’ thing,” she began, putting emphasis on the word ‘gang’. “But I will say that the predicament is quite interesting and it would be fun watching how everyone reacts.” Her answer was blunt and a bit cold; yet, had some kind of fluff to it that would make someone who was oblivious think that she was actually happy.

Suddenly, with a slight stop; Farai was down. Wow, he went quicker than I thought… She thought in silence, stopping soon after he stopped. [b]"You two may go on without me. It would be quite horrid if the military caught two preciousss young ladiess assss yoursselvess..."[/i]

Oh how it was a pitiful sight, to see the snake lean against the tree all broken down and such; like a toy that has been thrown out. Spot watched him for a second, her eyes trailing down towards his tail where the wound had been inflicted. “We’re not leaving you.” She finally said, after a long while of staring. It was as if something had struck Spot’s inner self that made her seem like she truly cared for him.

“I’m not getting my ass chewed off by that narcissistic lion.” Or it could’ve been her trying to save her hide as usual. Spot crossed her arms, looking at him with a ‘move it’ type look; as if she was warning him to get going- yet, even if she was, Spot knew she couldn’t do much to threaten a venomous snake. “We can take it easy for now on; if they so happen to actually spot us, then we will leave you.” She said, now uncrossing her arms as she leaned on her hip.

“Come on.” Her voice sounded as if she was scolding a child. Spot looked at him, waiting for him to get going as well as waited for Nikki to come over to help as well- already knowing that Nikki was going to do so.

Lovi growled at her when she called him 'kitty'. That was one way to get on his bad side. And that was hard to do. Of course, she probably wouldn't care. She hated him anyway. As she looked around for God knows what, she began tearing her clothes apart, only a bit. Lovi's lips quirked up as he caught a glimpse of her side. She was too focused on what she was doing to notice. Lovi closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Marne was gone. Just as he was about to turn around, he sensed her behind him. She stopped his back with whatever she had found, and she kept stabbing him. As the pain seeped into him, he could feel the endorphins fighting off the pain, and a rush of energy took it's place.

"Not bad, Mouse." He said to her with a smile as he peeked over his shoulder, inspecting her work. He couldn't see that well, but half of the gash was closed up, well, more closed than the first half. He knew she wouldn't like that he called her mouse, but it was payback for calling him kitty. Also, he didn't think Tiger would like being called cheese. Especially coming from a mouse. He was surprised that she could lift Bleu. "I underestimated you," He admitted. What he didn't say was that he didn't think she'd last for very long. And, on top of that, she said no running, and he was fine now. He figured she might be able to carry her, but not run at that same time. Considering the size difference it was only a matter of time.

After a few hours, Lovi's back was killing him, but walking was fine. They covered more ground than he thought they might just walking, and Marne was constantly telling him about how far the others were because his hearing was still wrong. He concluded that he had a concussion. He could tell that Marne was getting just a bit tired, although he assumed she was hiding most of it. Carrying Bleu would take a toll on her. He silently touched her shoulder and gestured to Bleu. He took Bleu adjusted her so she might be comfortable. They walked until the sun started fading, and Lovi asked Marne to climb to the top of the trees and confirm is was sunset. Once she did, he told her it was time to stop and wait for the others. When he could see Farai in the distance, with Nikki and Leopard I called her jaguar earlier... Shit. he thought as the realization hit him. Well, anyhow, Nikki and the other girl were helping Farai along, and Lovi smirked. The others weren't in sight, so he figured they should wait a minute or two and see if they could hear them.

He set Bleu down and pulled her hurt thigh onto his own lap. He pulled off the bandage Marne had tied on there and inspected the wound. The thought of the bacteria festering there sickened him, and he would hate to deal with an infection. He crinkled his nose before bending down and cleaning the wound by licking it, just how any lion would do it. His unit mates never minded him taking care of their wounds this way, so it didn't even cross his mind to think that Bleu would mind.

"We're not leaving you." Came a very surprising response out of the leopard girls mouth. So surprising, that during the droned out silence which followed, the snake actually lifted an eyebrow toward the girl. He had no time to question his own thoughts, before Spots spoke once more. “I’m not getting my ass chewed off by that narcissistic lion.” This statement led Farai to chuckle and nod in understanding.

His eyes drifted up toward Spots face as she gave him a 'Get a move on' sort of look in which woman typically give other woman lower than them or men who got on their nerves. Farai rolled his eyes before reluctantly getting up and walking out deeper into the woods. Another comment leaving the leopard hybrids mouth, "We can take it easy for now on; if they so happen to actually spot us, then we will leave you."

Farai smirked and as response, he spoke politely, "Of courssse dearessst..." Letting Spots take the lead in front of him. Never get onto bad terms with a woman. Nobody wins...This thought caused a chuckle to arouse out of his throat and through his mouth. (Too)Happy remarks, comments, and jokes annoyed the snake beyond belief; but when it came to Spots' behavior...It amused the serpent. The way she would scold them as if they were children...The way she would speak in ways in which obnoxious and utterly joyful people would only see her as equally happy when really, she was cold and sour. Ah, they had so much in common. Spots just showed her annoyance verbally and/or physically with little hesitation. Farai on the other hand, would most likely play it off as if it didn't affect him at all. Despite his cleverly played acts, inside he was cold just as she.

~

Farais eyes watched over the golden canopy. Rays of light shimmered in between the spaces of leaves, and because it was Autumn, there were more cavities in the canopy resulting in bigger and extra bars of light. A heavenly sight to behold. It certainly created a calmly silence between the former allies. It was serene and comfortable. Silences in which little traces of awkwardness stood out between the allies. Farai enjoyed the hush while it lasted, but as day began shifting into night, and the golden orb in the sky receded more toward the horizon, the temperature began to drop. His insides rapidly decreased along with the colder weather making his physical and mental attributes increase. This wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't made the snake a bit more hyper.

Farai shifted his weight from foot to foot and sometimes his tail would rattle abruptly before stopping just as quickly as it started. After hours upon hours of silence, farai was itching for a conversation. More time passes and Farai has literally opened his mouth to speak but no words would come out. This happened several more times before his body finally won and he spoke in a jumble of words, "Wonderfulweatherwearehaving!' He suddenly bursts out. After a couple of seconds, he regained his composure and spoke once more. This time though, in a much calmer fashion. "Sssso...Wonderful weather we are having...Wouldn't you two agree?" He asks.

His voice was a bit shaky due to the cold weather and his eyes traced the ground. His iris's seemed to shift from the ground to the two girls in front of him. Grasping the days in which they were family...Was difficult. SAPH had trained Farai to feel any such 'loving' emotions toward people like...Them. But ever since the capturing, small bits of his past showed their faces and the image in the mirror, the image in which SAPH controlled, looked different. From what he could reminisce so far, was that he was much friendlier...Much much MUCH friendlier. In fact,, he could remember his friends eating lunch together and him suddenly 'disappearing' from the scientists view to slither outside and chase butterflies and play with bunnies...Literally. The very thought of his child self made Farai shudder and although he kept his fun to himself, he had a slight suspicion that Lovi caught sight of him playing with mice and other furry creatures during their free time. Farai believes this is partly due to the reason why the lion cub would constantly tease him.

~

The group reached the clearing by dusk and spotted some familiar faces. Farai grins and approaches the lions group. "Well, we are here. Exactly on time..." He was cut off when he sees the lion licking the Bleu girls thigh. "Ehem...I sssee that your busssy...I'll jusst go get sssome fire wood..." He speaks awkwardly before heading toward he edge of the forest.

As soon as Farai started to walk, Spot took a step as well, and within a few seconds, she was a head of him; her eyes followed Nikki as she climbed through the trees with amazement. To be completely honest with herself, Spot was partially glad to have Nikki with her- no matter how much her stomach deceived her eyes. Nikki had good speed and was limber enough to move throughout the canopy, able to see what’s coming as well as lead the way; it was nice- in an annoying and obnoxious way.

They walked continuously, and after so long, Spot would lose her bet with herself; surprisingly, Farai kept up without much stopping. After a couple of yards or so, she would change the position to where she thought he’d collapsed to a new and further position; before losing once more and repeating the game. It kept her entertained as well as her mind off of her growing hunger and fatigue; which lurked in her stomach and clawed at her abdomen, begging to be fed. Every once and a while, Spot would pick up the pace, hoping to keep the two from hearing her stomach growl.

---

Even though it seemed like hours of walking, the silence that lied between the three was nice; each time they’d slow down, Spot was able to doze off once and while and awaken when they’d pick up the pace. The cool, fall breeze would dance against her cheeks, and for a moment, she felt at ease as well as feeling as if she was by herself. Yet, it would all disappear when Farai would occasionally trip on a root or when Nikki would occasionally slow down enough to the point to make the trees rattle; still, even though she wasn’t by herself, it was nice.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the least expected person to break it; Farai. "Wonderfulweatherwearehaving! He spoke so instantly, randomly and loudly, that it caused Spot to perk her ears and nearly fall over; obviously startling her. She had to fight the urge to cut off his tail and leave him stranded at the moment, but that feeling soon drained out of her body at his follow up sentence. "Sssso...Wonderful weather we are having...Wouldn't you two agree?" She could sense the slight tremble in his voice; he was cold.

Her brows rose at him before she silently turned back around; for now, letting him go without giving him a ‘scolding’. Spot released a slight sigh as she looked up, through the trees and at the clear beautiful sky, which was now stained by the colors of dusk approaching; she couldn’t stop herself from breathing into the air, taking in the scent of autumn. Spot’s mind began to go through various things, memories, and emotions; every single one of them conflicting with each other. Finally, after what seemed a while of being emerged in deep thought, one thing came to mind and floated at the top of her head for nearly the rest of the time they walked; was there a point to life if you could never be free?

Perhaps, maybe it was the fact that she’d be hunted until she died; either way, she will die at the hands of those who made her- right? Either die from them or die trying to get away from them. Don’t get Spot wrong, she’d love to live another day; but what is there left to live? Her eyes trailed over towards Farai and Nikki, eying them both for a while before returning them to ahead of her. There they were, a bunch of rag tag mutants that will never get accepted into society; and yet, they fight for their lives. What will they be able to do if they somehow become free from the government’s grasp? Live in the forest? Or interact with the animals?

Her thoughts rolled in her head, causing her to slow down a bit, but still keep up with everyone. Spot wanted to live; but for what reason or benefit that would bring her, was a question, she could not answer. Not just her, but she doubt that anyone knew the answer.

---

After what seemed like a few more hours, they finally stopped and reached to where Lovi’s group was. Spot had fell to the end of the three, her thoughts still circulating within her head; luckily, the group’s voices that she had heard, brought her back to earth. "Ehem...I sssee that your busssy...I'll jusst go get sssome fire wood...” The voice of Farai speaking the lines made her wonder what was going on to make him leave; she watched him head to the edge of the forest before seeing the same sight as he did.

Lovi was licking Bleu’s leg; or, more like thigh. Still, Spot could not understand what had made Farai leave, but she didn’t care much. He was already odd and solitary, so she didn’t bother much about him. Spot leaned against the tree, stretching out her sore and rusty limbs that popped with each stretched. A shiver ran down her back as she lifted her arms, her ears perking up at Bleu’s words. "I need a long, wide, and flat piece of bark."

For a few seconds, Spot said nothing, but after a few more seconds, she finally raised her hand in the air. “I’ll go get it.” She said bluntly, her hand midway in the air. Of course, to anyone who hadn’t known Spot would’ve thought it was a gesture of kindness, but to those who knew her, knew she was scheming something- and she was.

Before anyone could reply, Spot turned on her heels, holding her hands up in the air as she spoke, “I’m going to get it. I won’t go any further than a few yards.” With that, she bounced out of sight, on her fours as she weaved through the trees. Once she was out of sight, hidden from all of the trees, she growled slightly; her eyes catching every amount of movement there was.

Spot suddenly fell onto the ground, her arms spread out as she took a slight rest; she was hoping that since they thought that she was out running an errand to get Bleu her bark, they’d keep her from doing any other strenuous and annoying chores- as long as she took her time. Though, after about five minutes of doing nothing but lying on the ground, Spot got up and walked over towards a tree, feeling the grooves with her hands.

She even had the odd urge to smell it; which she did before she ripped it off of the tree. The bark was flat and almost perfect for Bleu to use as a cast; though, it wasn’t long before something else caught her eyes- a squirrel. Spot looked carefully in the trees, staring the brown, plump squirrel as it ate its nuts, unknowing that it was being eyed at. Oh how tasty it looked.

Before Spot could think about another thing, she instantly dropped the bark and lunged her body up and into the tree; the squirrel paused before dropping his nut and ran along the tree branches. The tree branches rattled, as the squirrel jumped from branch to branch, following Spot as she charged after it. Finally, Spot extended her hands out in front of her and thwaked the squirrel from the branches, soon pouncing on it before it could hit the ground.

Within seconds, the squirrel was hers; it hung in her mouth before she dropped it into her hands, walking towards the flat bark that was going to be used for Bleu’s leg. She stood still, ripping the fur off and spitting it onto the ground with her mouth until the squirrel looked more like a rat than a squirrel. The body was still warm and she could feel the blood still pulsating inside the small, lifeless body; ah, how wonderful it smelt.

Should she take it to the others so they can split it? With that thought soon exiting her mind, Spot took a bite of the small body; the meat was nice and soft and tasted simply wonderful. She started to walk back, the squirrel nearly gone as she made her sight within the camp. “I found food!” She bluntly said, raising the nearly gone carcass up in the air.

Marne grimaced at the sight of the squirrel corpse being waved about. It wasn't a pleasant thought for her to see another rodent being waved about on a stick.
"Ah... I'll pass. And Bleu, I know what you're thinking. No, we aren't letting you walk. You can cast up your leg, but you aren't walking on it. If you try to walk on one leg, you ARE going to slow us down, and quite frankly, we can't afford a slower pace." Marne's voice was firm, and it almost had a commanding tone to it, not enough to sound bossy, but just to the point where you felt compelled to listen. She then turned to he rest of the group.
"Speaking of, we need to get our hierarchy of command settled. I nominate Lovi for lead, Bleu for second-in-command, and myself in third. Any objections?" She questioned why she had put Bleu before herself on the hierarchy. Probably to make Marne look like she WASN'T trying to be a puppet master.

Farai walked around, his reptilian eyes scanned his surroundings. Last thing he heard from the group was deciding on their ranks. To be completely honest, he didn't really care who was voted leader, and he was especially glad that it wasn't him. It would just mean more work. Plus, he didn't particularly care for this group all to much either. Dusk was transforming to night and the temperature only dropped further. He didn't mind really...In fact, he went on this little stroll to, not only get away from Lovi and his new girlfriend, but to just be more active. Also, to find some fire wood as well. He sorta needed the warmth if he was going to sleep tonight...

Farai easily found some dry bark, sticks and roots. After a while, he dropped the pile onto the cold ground and sat down for a small break. What were they thinking...He now wished they chose that wolf instead of him. The only reason why they chose him was for his venom and...because he was a snake. It was a first impression sorta thing. They come in and see Farai and they immediately begin asking questions like, "Is he stealthy? Mean? Or(the most frequently asked one) Venomous?" Farai's eyes shot open when he caught a familiar smell. Okay, so his smelling abilities weren't that good. But, he could have sworn he smelt the delicious smell of...Hot dogs? Driven by curiosity(And his stomach) Farai gets up and heads through the brush toward the smell. His trek however, was short lived. He ended up coming to a dead end on the top of a small monadnock. Although his stomach was disappointed, his mind sure wasn't. The view was spectacular. The moon cast a silver glow over the horizon and the stars glimmered brightly. The glorious sight clicked his mind into thinking about death. He was certainly not considering suicide. Heavens no! He was just thinking of...How death felt...Was it quick like falling asleep? Or was it torturous? The snake has certainly succeeded in many missions. Each one with at least, one or two(Maybe more) deaths. Did these people...that he killed, witness such beauty? If not, then were they flying through the streets of Heaven, looking down on Earths grace? He was sure that Heaven was much more beautiful than Earth...But still, earth had its perks.

Farai smiles as his eyes grazed the trees and the ground only to stop and look back a couple of paces. A shimmer of light out in the distance caught his attention. It glistened brightly through the trees and at first, Farai questioned his sanity, until he realized it was a fire he was gazing at. Like a camp fire...Farai wasn't the least bit worried. He knew that the military would never use a camp fire unless they wanted to get themselves killed. But why would humans be all the way out here? Didn't they have jobs? His mind changed subject and instead, he began to think what it would be like to meet these...Humans. Were they cold and stern like the military? Curious such as the scientists? Were they mysterious and tricky, like the men in which he had to kill? Or did they act completely different? He knew, from what the scientists told him, that they were extremely judge mental. So blending in with society was definitely going to be a challenge, if not, impossible.

The snake hybrid sighs, deciding now would be a good time to head back. Grabbing the pile of sticks, he makes his way toward the group. He makes it back in no time and lays the branches down on the soft earth. Carefully, he places the smaller branches over some dry grass in a hut-like style before taking out his flint and steel set. Why he had them? Well, he usually carried them around if he had to light a stick of dynamite. A bit old school, but it was so fun. Placing the steel firmly on the flint and jerking his hand with the steel forward, sent sparks of light shooting toward the grass. It though, didn't start a flame. After a few more attempts, the kindle harnessed the flame. Farai sighs contently as the heat radiated off the blaze, warming his insides, causing the snake to instantly become a bit drowsy.

He places his hands behind his head and rests his back on the ground close to the fire. "You know...I think thisss whole...Getting lossst thing isssn't ssso bad...At leasst we get a break from all the asssssignments..." He speaks. A yawn followed after. His tail staying consistently near the fire. His eyes traced the faces of each of the group members before he realized something, "Hey...What ever happened to that hawk and cheetah girl?"

Lovi lifted his head up at the mention of his name and he looked at Bleu, she said she needed a piece of bark. Lovi nodded and set her leg on the ground. He stood up and just as he was about to start looking, Spot Spot! That's her name!{/i] offered to go find the bark. Lovi nodded and crouched down and finished cleaning Bleu's wound. It looked a bit better with some of the blood gone. It was still bleeding, but only a little bit. He was going to give her a new bandage, but he had thrown his shirt away in the middle of the day. [i] It's going to be a hella cold night. The though brushed past his mind and he grunted a bit. "It looks much better Bleu. I'm going to put the blanket back on." As he was finished tying it, he inspected the rest of her, only half looking for wounds. She was beautiful, she would make a good long term mate. He wondered whether tigers were mates for life. A lion had a lifetime mate, with many other short term ones on the side, but there was always a favorite lioness in the pride. If only she were a lion... His thoughts about this girl were interrupted as Marne said something about who should lead. Lovi smiled when she said he should be in charge. Despite her attitude towards him, she did believe in him, like everyone should.

"Thanks Marne, I agree with everything, if that's alright with everyone else?" He asked. He was thinking about Bleu. He had known her as a child, bold and sweet at the same time. She would make a good right hand man-woman-hybrid-mate.... Just as he had thought earlier. When Spot returned, she was holding what was left of her dinner. Lovi was going to say something sarcastic, but he had a feeling the whole "jaguar" thing was still fresh in her mind. "Good, there's food. Were you not able to find a piece of bark for Bleu? We were just discussing a leader.." He trailed off slightly when Farai returned. He made a fire and commented that it was nice being lost, being away from the assignments. Lovi agreed with him, but the next thing he said made his face pale slightly. He had been consumed in cleaning up Bleu, he forgot to wait for the other group. "I will go search for them.. I'll try to find some more food too." He said shortly and stretched out. "Does anyone want to make shelter? I don't think the weather is going to change, but we don't want to take chances, and it will help some of us keep warm. Also, Spot, did you want to keep looking for that piece of bark for Bleu?" He warmed his arms up by the fire quicky before taking off into the forest. He would have argued about the fire, but they needed it to stay warm during the night. Nighttime, his time. He smiled as his golden eyes scanned around. He searched around for a good 20 minutes before giving up. They weren't going to show. They would just have to find each other in the morning. For now, he was hungry. After a few failed attempts, he managed to catch a large rabbit, and a small one. As he was making his way back to camp, he caught two squirrels as well. It was pretty brutal, because he found them in their tree, sleeping. He was starving. He began working on the large rabbit, pulling her skin and fur back and revealing the savory red meat. He came back, his hands full of rodents and his mouth and lips tinted red. "Farai, Bleu squirrel or rabbit?" He asked them, holding up the dinner for them. "Marne, sorry you're going to have to fend for yourself. I don't know what mice eat. Cheese? Or do you prefer more human food? We could cook one of these for you," He offered. He was really at a loss with her.

Spot was so in tuned with the squirrel; that she had forgotten about Bleu and her bark- oops. Though, it didn’t need Lovi’s taunting voice to remind her; her glare tracing towards him before it disappeared with a slight scowl. Spot turned on her heels, finishing the squirrel; her stomach settling as she walked back to where she had found the bark, picking it up and returning.

By the time she returned with the bark, Farai was back and making a fire; with the news that the snake was back, she placed the bark by Bleu’s side, walking towards the fire. Instead of conversing with the others, or listening for that matter, Spot stayed silent as she watched the flames preform a pretty dance; they spun and swirled around like ballerinas who were dancing their last dance.

The fire was so warm and friendly feeling; as if it was inviting her to come closer. As time flew by, Spot found herself dozing off, her eyes locked on the fire as they grew heavier before Lovi pulled her out of her doze. "Marne, sorry you're going to have to fend for yourself. I don't know what mice eat. Cheese? Or do you prefer more human food? We could cook one of these for you.”

Even though it was not intended for Spot, her attention was still caught; she watched him hold the animals as he spoke, her eyes soon falling back onto the fire. Though, it wasn’t long before Spot’s eyes began to count the heads; not entirely sure whether that the group knew that there was two missing. It wasn’t like she cared; though, Spot had the urge to comment on Lovi’s leading skills- what leader loses two of their comrades behind?

A bad one, that’s for sure. Despite the growing urge to get back at him for calling her jaguar earlier, she refrained herself from playing the childish game and just continued to stare aimlessly at the fire. Once again, her mind wandered onto the two lost ones; whether they are alive or dead never went through Spot’s mind, but instead, it was their weakness. In her mind, one that can’t follow rules and dilly around, deserve whatever conflict they run into- including getting lost.

They were lucky that they didn’t have her in their group; otherwise she would’ve bit the cheetah girl and left the hawk. Well, it didn’t matter now. Spot pulled her legs up to her chest, running her fingers up and down her tights, which was littered with holes while bruises and scratches decorated underneath them. Despite her growing fatigue within her, she wasn’t tired; it was as if she wouldn’t get any sleep tonight- and she knew it for a fact.

Perhaps she’d hunt a little at night; or chase the small nocturnal rodents that roamed the night. It would get a lot of things off of her mind; if only Spot was friendlier and more down to earth, she would’ve asked another to accompany her to a fight- but it wasn’t Spot. She’d rather be stabbed in the chest than to subdue to any of those before her. It was just her personality; the leopard and the government’s training that came out in her.

"Does anyone want to make shelter? I don't think the weather is going to change, but we don't want to take chances, and it will help some of us keep warm. Also, Spot, did you want to keep looking for that piece of bark for Bleu?" Ignoring the Bleu part of his sentences, Farai looked toward the trees. From what he has read in the past, he could more likey build a nice cozy shelter...For one. All of the books usually talked about a single person getting stranded in the woods. Despite this notion, he believed that being snuggled together wouldn't be to bad. It would definitely provide some warmth and he didn't feel awkward about the situation at all either. They were just trying to survive. Though, he might have to separate Love Paws over there from the girls. However, they were all part animal. All of them could easily fend for themselves. Plus, he doubted Spots would sleep on the ground let alone cuddle with him or the others. Farai huffs and moves on his side. His tail curling over his body which provided a little extra warmth over the snake.

His eyes caught sight of Lovi once more as he returned with a handful of rodents. It was then that the snake realized how hungry he was. Most would believe that because he was a snake, he would be due for another meal in about a months time. However, he wasn't a 42 inch rattlesnake. He was part human with a 30 meter tail packed full of muscles and organs. Yeah, he has an extremely high metabolism. Farai sat up immediately and licked his lips with his flimsy black tongue before pondering over which animal to choose. Rabbits were definitely the tastiest, so, in one swift movement, his tail, which was located just in front of Lovi, lunged forward and swiped the largest rabbit before swooshing back toward Farai. In the blink of an eye, the rabbit was laying in front of the snake. A bit disappointed that the fur was missing and the animal was nothing but a mere corpse, he would just have to cope though. Farai would also swallow the entire rabbit whole if it hadn't been for the peering eyes around him. Instead, the snake tore off chunks of meat to swallow. When he was finished, he lays down and curls on his side. His tail wrapping around half of his body as he let the warmth of the fire consume him into the depths of sleep.