Sparis stood on the edge of the forest. He was almost there. Almost to a place he could call a new home, somewhere he wouldn't have to slaughter innocents just to survive. A land of plenty.

He couldn't have dreamed the sight would be any more beautiful. He had walked a small path leading to an overlook that was marked on his map as "The place" It must have been a sort of meeting place for the men he acquired the map from.



The view was amazing, and it was quite simple for him to acquire his bearings. He headed into the woods, staying to the cover of small bush, doing his best not to startle any animals. Several of the trees were scarred, either from claw or blade, but it didn't matter which. His journey would take him approximately one more day of travel, and the sun was getting low. He would need to set up camp, somewhere he would be able to have a fire without burning the entire forest down.

A small clearing was about 25 feet to his left, so he decided on bunking out there for the night. He set up his camp, and decided to go hunting. He was running fairly low on meat, and didn't want to waste the last of it before he reached TonDC, in case they expected some kind of payment.

After nearly two hours of stalking the woods, and marking trees, he came upon a deer. He inched towards it, and delivered a killing blow through is front shoulder into the heart. He heard a sound from the bush behind him as he shouldered the deer, but paid no mind to it. it continued as he headed back to his camp, and he began to get curious. He dropped the deer beside his firepit, and drew his sword. A large black panther leaped towards him.

He rolled to the side, but the panther was clearly more interested in his deer, and began eating the moment Sparis was no longer in the panthers' sight. Sparis, once again, drew his sword, and shoved it through the clearly malnourished panthers skull. It wouldn't come out to be much, but he figured it'd be worth the meat. He chopped and gutted both animals, and started a fire. He cooked a good sized deer steak, and ate as though he was as hungry as the panther.

This would prove to be a good camp, he thought of expanding it in the morning, perhaps instead of joining the ranks of Trikru, he would stay on his own, live by his own ways instead of those he couldn't respect.

Her room was quiet, her entire body ached from where she was handcuffed on the floor, in the corner, to her bed. This was where they put her when she wasn't allowed out of her sky box. They didn't trust that she would stay put, that she would open the her door and escape. Far from being too dangerous. Just too un-containable.

Heather stared at her ceiling, there was a window there, a window looking out into the starry sky, the sky where her mother was.

There was a pounding at her door and then two guards came in.

"Prisoner 418, you're coming with us."

"What are you doing here?" She asked, Heather wasn't really one to demand, but questions were her way of communicating a lot of times.

"Un-cuff her," one guard said. The other obeyed, they weren't saying anything.

"It's not time for a meal," Heather reminded the two. They still ignored her. The guard that unlocked her handcuffs held one of her arms securely behind her back and the other one out.

"What are you doing?" her voice became a little louder, "I'm fifteen!"

"Hold her still." The guard's grip tightened till her bones started to hurt. Heather squirmed even more, but couldn't break out free. The guard who was barking orders had a single cuff in his hand.

"What is that?"

No response.

"I asked you a question, the polite thing to do would be to respond. What is that?" The guard shoved it on her exposed wrist and Heather felt needles sink into her skin. Immediately when the single cuff was on, they handcuffed her wrists together in front of her.

"Take her away."

"Away? Away where? I'm fifteen, I've got three years!" The guard locked his arm through her behind her back and pushed her forward. Heather tried to resist, but there was only so much she could do. When she was outside she looked around. Every single person of the 100 teenagers who were under 18 but convicted of a crime, was being taken out of their cells. Heather was at a loss of words, no, that's wrong, it was the opposite. There were so many questions in head, so many possibilities as to what was happening that crowding her thoughts that she couldn't voice anything. So she remained silent as the guard pushed her down the line towards the mysterious end point.

The end point was a space ship, Heather silently watched as all the other prisoners were being strapped in then herself harshly being thrown in a seat in the middle and strapped in. They left her handcuffs on and walked away.

---

---

It happened in what felt like a flash, one minute Novalee was sprawled out on her cell floor, half asleep, as a couple guards bursted through the door. The sudden rush sent Nova flying up as one of the guard hooked their arms through hers dragging her out the door, "Where we heading to now boys? I was kind of in the middle of something if you couldn't tell." Nova laughed as she continued being escorted through the halls. The guards refusing to acknowledge her, as they usually told her to 'shut up' or something along the lines of it. Nova began to worry as they carried her past the usual doors and towards one she's never been through, "Hey my birthday's not until a few months, I still have time. Why are we going this way?" She began to kick her legs off the ground in fear that this next door would lead her to her inescapable death, if they finally decided to float her early for her actions.

Instead of answering once again, one of the guards reached into their pocket pulling out a large silver bracelet and quickly attached it to her right wrist, sending needles into her as it locked down. "Ow. What the hell is this? Why won't one of you answer me!" She yelled this time, just wanting answers as she twisted and yanked attempting to get out of their grasps, almost succeeding, until she felt a shock wave burn through her as one of the guard pressed a stun gun to her back. She then stopped moving, and let the guards drag her in fear of being electrocuted again, as millions of thoughts raced through her mind. Nova finally took the time to look around a saw that every delinquent in the sky box was being dragged out and her mind automatically assumed that everyone was getting floated, they must have finally deemed us useless and just a waste of space and finally took action on it, she thought.

The guards then walked Nova into another part of a ship, sat her in a seat against the wall, and strapped her down. Nova was confused though she still believed it was the end, she looked around and seen other teens strapped in as well. "Will someone just please tell me what the hell is happening?" Nova screamed out in frustration causing some of the teens to stare at her though she didn't care. "We're going to the ground!" One of them yelled and many responses came back some consisting of Yeah right, or I told you so's. A few more people were carried in and Nova looked over to the see some familiar faces.

Echo Eva Lee

Echo lied on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she twirled her long hair in between her thin fingers. She inhaled, exhaled. The Korean teenager sat up out of her bed and nibbled on her lower lip.

Something isn't right.

, she thought.

They don't normally have us in our cells at this hour, something must be going on.

Echo paced in her cell and twiddled her thumbs, she was clearly nervous. These days, she seemed to think too much into simple things and she knew that, but this something just wasn't right. In a quick moment, her door was swung open and she spun around quickly to see what was happening.

Echo's eyes widened at the sight of her father.

Appa?

She asked in Korean with a large smile spreading across her features. He smiled back at her and they exchanged a tight hug, her father didn't visit her that often. Let alone inside her cell.

What are you doing here, daddy?

Echo asked in English this time, not wanting the other guards with him to get hostile and racist.

Echo, there's been a change of plans... There's no easy way to say this.

There was a hint of nervousness and excitement in his voice as he smiled down at his tiny daughter.

You're being sent to the ground.

Jack finished.

Echo blinked at him and furrowed her eyebrows.

I... What?

She switched back to Korean, not caring what the guards thought.

Dad, the ground is poisoned with radiation, are you trying to kill me?! And how am I going to survive down there alone?

Echo was completely baffled at her father's stupid idea. He shook his head and lead her out of the cell, his hand on the small of her back. The guards followed.

No, Echo, you and one hundred others are being sent to the ground. We're running out of oxygen on the Ark and we need to see if the ground is safe. We have reason to believe that it is and we've had scientists doing tests, you'll be fine.

Jack spoke in their mother tongue and he stopped, then grabbed Echo by the shoulders. He gave her a reassuring smile and shoulder squeeze.

You're brave, fearless. I know you'll survive. Besides, we'll be in contact through radio and we'll send you down all the supplies you need. We just need to see if the ground is survivable.

He continued and Echo stayed silent, looking up at her father uneasily.

You'll be fine, my love.

Suddenly, he let her go and the guards grabbed her quickly. Echo's initial reaction was to freak out and shove them off.

Get the hell off of- OW!

There was a sharp, sudden pain in her wrist and she examined it.

What did you do to me? What is this?!

Echo was panicking, she was scared of being sent to the ground with a hundred strangers. Her father held her in his arms to comfort her and said nothing for half a minute. Echo found it comforting to be held by her father once more, but knew that he was doing this because he was scared that she might not survived. She just knew it. To reassure her father, Echo inhaled, exhaled and composed herself. The short teenager pulled herself away from the loving arms of her dear father and smiled up at him.

I'm good, I'm calm. Take me to the pod.

She said with a hard nod and got shoved forward by one of the guards.

WATCH IT. That's my daughter, Baimes.

Jack addressed the man of lower authority by his last name disrespectfully. The guard scowled but mumbled an apology. The council member and father rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around his daughter, then planted a loving kiss on her forehead. They escorted Echo to the drop ship and the two family members shared a silent, loving gaze between each other. Jack hugged her once more in a strong hug.

I love you, Echo. Be safe, okay?

Echo smiled up at her father and grabbed his hands.

May we meet again, Appa.

Those were Echo's final words to her father before she willingly got inside the drop ship. As soon as she buckled herself in, a guard came by to double check that she was strapped in safely. When the guard left, she put her head down and tried to blink away the tears that were filling her eyes.

André Bellerose

André was being lead down the hallway by Officer Carter and they hastily made their way down. He readjusted the heavy back pack on his back, readjusted his dress hat and shifted his eyes to the Officer.

So, tell me again how we're pulling this off?

The long haired boy asked his superior.

I'm sneaking you in right after the guards do a final sweep on the drop ship. About five minutes after, there will be the rest of the one hundred coming on after you. It's simple, really, just go to the top floor and tuck your bag under your seat when the drop ship takes off. And strap yourself in, you don't want to die.

Officer Carter explained and the rest of the walk to the drop ship was silent. Both were proud men and though Officer Carter sympathized with André and his brother, he didn't want to get too touchy feely with the younger male. When they arrived, Carter squeezed André's shoulder.

Listen, kid. You need to be seriously careful, we don't know for sure what's going on down there. You should be fine, but there's no way to know for sure. Take care of your brother.

Before André could even reply, the Officer gave his shoulder a smack and left the scene. André simply shrugged and looked up at the tall drop ship. He couldn't help but feel excited to finally get away from the shitty government that exists on the Ark. Tearing apart families because of siblings. The vengeful teenagers scowled at the law that was enforced years ago, which got his mother killed. He shook this thought away and walked inside the drop ship. André didn't observe any of his surroundings until he got to the top level of the drop ship. There were seats lined up along the walls, a few screens on the walls and some speakers as well, but nothing else that really stood out. André tucked his bag underneath his chosen seat, like Officer Carter told him to and he strapped himself in. André looked around and impatiently waited for the rest of the kids to pile in.

Adrian Bellerose

Adrian was taking a nap in his bed, since there really wasn't anything else to do because the juveniles were all locked up in their cells. It's fair to say he wasn't expecting it at all when the guards came charging in through his doors loudly. He shot up and blinked multiple times at the hostile guards.

Get up, prisoner!

Adrian gulped and looked around his cell. Is it Unity Day already? He thought to himself, fearing where they were taking him as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. The guards didn't even give him the time to get up before one came up to him and grabbed his skinny arm, throwing him out of bed.

We said get the fuck up, kid!

Adrian weakly pushed himself up to his feet, fearing the guards. He was almost certain that treating him that way was a violation of his rights as a human and a minor, but the Ark isn't exactly known for mercy. He nodded and started making his way out the door and despite this, the guards still felt the need to grip his skinny arms and yank him along. One of the guards grabbed Adrian by the arm and snapped a metal bracelet on his wrist, many needles poking in his skin. The skin on his wrist being obviously sensitive, he sucked in air through his teeth to express his pain. The guards continued pushing him along.

They pushed him along the hall and when they turned a corner, he saw a lineup of kids (most around his age and some younger) all in line with guards everywhere. The guards pushed him to the back of the line and stood behind him, probably to make sure he didn't try and escape. Adrian was taller than most of the people in front of him so he got a glance ahead and saw that kids were being piled into a ship. He was too scared to ask the guards anything, so he decided he'd settle for fearfully sticking it out and seeing what his fate would be.

After only a few minutes, he was finally in the drop ship and being forced into a seat. The guards strapped him in and double checked to make sure that that straps were on him tightly. He gulped and his heart began pounding really fast. Around him were shouting kids, some with excitement, others with fear. Adrian felt a headache coming on and began massaging his temples, when he heard some kid scream that they're going to the ground. Most were skeptical, but Adrian could see that being a possibility. He supposed he'd just have to wait it out and see what happened.

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It was early in the morning and Sky had once again snuck away before the rest of her clan woke up. The young huntress always found bliss in the darkened forest before the dawn of a new day and this morning was no different. She was heading towards a favorite spot of hers, a place a few cared to venture to but a location Sky felt was very much worth the nearly hour-long trek.

By the time her favorite getaway spot came into view It was well into Dawn and sweat had built up on top of Sky's pale skin, but nevertheless the young blonde was smiling at the beautiful waterfall in front of her. 
"Finally."
She'd instantly drop her weapon and begin to strip out of her hand-made leather and feather crop-top, skirt, and boots until all that was left was a dream-catcher necklace her mother gave to her as a child.
The temperature was mild but the humidity was awful, so as Sky slipped into the water the relief was immediate and as she immersed her whole body her long thick hair would float up to the surface and spread out atop the water.
Sky slowly made her way over to the waterfall and once there she'd pull herself up onto a rock that was directly in front of the falling water, sit down, cross her legs Indian style, and split her wet hair over both shoulders so that her long thick locks covered both of her bare breast.


The passive blonde would spend a few minutes observing the wildlife around the lake before closing her eyes and falling deep into meditation as the falling water behind her periodically splashed against her skin.

Sky could have stayed there for hours on end, with the beauty of the waterfall behind her and the wonders of nature all around, but in reality she had responsibilities back home that made such an outing unrealistic.

As she stood up on the rock Sky would begin to sing an old song from decades before she was ever born, but as she fell backwards into the water she'd go from singing to laughing - something people rarely heard from her, if ever.

It took Sky nearly five minutes to step back on dry land beside her clothing and bow & arrows. After several twist and squeezes of her hair Sky would get dressed, strap her bow & arrows on her back again, and make sure everything was still in her skirt's leather pockets before pulling her entire head of hair over her left shoulder and heading back towards camp.

The world is waking up, that's what Kari's mother used to tell her as a child when it was time to wake up. She still says it to herself every morning. She let out a sigh before moving to wake her mother from her slumber. "Mother, it's time to wake up. We both have a busy day, you have garments to make and I must go hunting. I will get the bath water ready." She said shaking her mother until she had sat up from her laying position. Kari went out to get water and came back. She helped her mother bathe then bathed herself before getting her mother dressed. She took her time dressing herself since she wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere.

When she was ready she made sure her mother had eaten before kissing her on the cheek "I will be back mother. If you need anything just call for someone." Her mother waved her off annoyed, Kari ma like caring for her mother but her mother hated it. Kari chuckled and left the camp, the first thing on her agenda was hunting. She strapped her hatchet and a couple of knives to her waist and went off into the woods alone as usual.

Sparis finished eating quickly. He would need to find a reliable source of water if he was to make his camp here for the night. According to his map, Southeast was his best bet. He started off in that direction, making sure to be quiet in case he happened to pass by another panther.

He was quite pleased as he reached the riverbank of what looked like a 5 foot wide slow moving river. He drank excitedly, and filled up his two canteens. As he finished, he heard a deer cry out. He drew his sword, and slid himself closer to where he heard the cry. A young girl was in the process of pulling a hatchet out of the animal. She was clearly an accomplished hunter, considering even Sparis didn't hear her until the deer was already dead. He didn't think her to be a threat, but figured he should adress her as one all the same.

"Speak your name, Huntress." Sparis spoke with authority, as he pointed one of his swords in her direction.

"Kari, and yours?" She sounded sincere, turning towards him for a moment before drawing a knife out, and skinning the animal.

"Sparis." He knew his name was known well.

"You were a pit fighter." She spoke with a tinge of disgust on her voice. She knew the story, everyone from the desert did.

"No longer."

She placed the hatchet on her back, making it clear she had no intention of fighting.

And in that moment, he remembered her from days passed. She was the girl who always came to him, trading meat for herbs, during his time as a raider. She was a good woman, careful, honest.

"Come, my camp isn't too far from here. We can sit. I have an excess of meat, and nobody to share it with." Sparis did his best to drain emotion from his words, but he knew he had spoke kindly. Perhaps a grave mistake.

The walk through the woods, her regular routine, took longer this time. She usually made an effort to hunt quickly, tread lightly, and avoid other people at all costs. She usually never had any trouble, living in the middle of the woods and away from anyone even left on Earth. But occasionally, there were others in the woods, others like her laughing and talking and eating with each other like they were a family, close-knit, happy. Jun hasn't had that in a long time and she knows she never will. She'll never be able to fully trust someone again and she knows it.

Her feet tread lightly through the foliage in the thick woods. Even though she travels this way every day, there isn't a worn path to mark her presence or anyone else's. But as she walked down the path that day, she heard voices. A man and a woman, speaking to each other about going to camp. As she got closer, she could see them: an older brunette and a boy. It seemed like they had just become allies and she couldn't decide whether that was a good idea or not. It certainly hadn't worked out for her a few months back when she had allied with a younger girl named Hope. She was too young, too unsuspecting, too trusting. Now, Jun was alone again and she wanted it to stay that way. Though it was quiet, it was easier to hear and stay hidden. No one knew about her or where she was, which was a comforting thought.

Should she go with him? He seemed nice enough and if she needed to she could protect herself however he is a former pit fighter. She wrapped the skin of the deer and stuffed it in her satchel for safe keeping. "I can not, I must get back to my mother. I do not like to leave her alone so long." She said and removed rope from her bag. She began to tie the deer's legs together, it made it easier for her to drag home. "I am sure you could use the extra meat on your journey." She added once she finished her work on the deer.

The ground?

That's what they said.

We are heading to the ground.

Heather wanted to scream out. Going to Earth was the last thing she wanted to do...well that and die from being floated and those were her only options.

"The lesser of two evils, I suppose," Heather mumbled to herself. She tried her best to grip the straps that held her in, but the handcuffs that were still on her made it awkward and hurt her wrists. 'I don't want to leave,' she thought, 'I don't want to be forced away from the stars, forced to leave mãe.' She took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, letting the teal curls of her hair cover her face as fellow lawbreakers started to get strapped in as well. She vaguely saw Adrian pass by, but he got put on another level. Only those strange and yet face she'd seen before were surrounding her, all seeming to buzz in rhythm together. Whether they were scared or excited. They murmured to each other or yelled across the room.

Then the doors closed, the depth of everyone's silence, of everyone's noise made Heather want to bury her head. It was beginning and all she could think about were the facts she spent her years memorizing. Facts about the stars.

"The Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon but is 400 times further away from Earth making them appear the same size."

"There are as many oxygen atoms in a breath as breaths of air in the atmosphere."

"The pistol star is the most luminous star known 10 million times the brightness of the Sun."

"8000 stars are visible with naked eye from Earth. 4000 in each hemisphere, 2000 at daylight and 2000 at night," Heather whispered these facts to herself, hoping nobody would take notice in her. Hoping that while she clung onto what she knew, she would be drowned out of others' perceptions by the noise and rumbling of the drop ship as it pulled away from the Ark. A video of the chancellor came on, he was talking, but Heather ignored him and just kept whispering her facts to herself. The bones in her wrists hurting the more she tried to fight the handcuffs and hold onto the straps that held her in.

OOC: since there hasn't been much progression, I'm gonna go ahead and post all my characters reactions to the drop ship landing. :)
Echo Eva Lee

As Echo watched bodies being piled in to the drop ship, she heard a small voice next to her and wasn't sure if it was directed at her or someone else. So, she looked over and realized that it was Heather Torrez. Not someone she knew particularly well, but she had seen her around before. Thus, she decided to spark up a conversation but not before letting the girl finish. However, the chancellor started speaking on the screen and she thought she should listen instead. The chancellor started explaining the situation to all the scared and excited kids.

Basically, the kids were being sent to the ground to see if it's safe. The fact that they were sending down juvenile kids confused and scared her to no end, she felt like they were being sent down to earth to die, but why? Although it's against the law, if they wanted to just get rid of people, they could just kill all of them without all the trouble of sending the kids to earth. So, maybe there really is something on the ground? She wasn't sure. It was mentioned that the wristbands were there to make sure that the kids were still alive, as the band tracked pulse and other things. The chancellor then went on to say that all of the kids were specifically hand chosen because of their talents and where they come from. Echo wasn't sure if she believed that part.

The final thing the chancellor talked about was supplies. He said that they will shoot down extra supplies to earth when needed but to go inside Mount Weather for good supplies. The supplies in Mount Weather was meant to last years and years and it was inhabited. The chancellor said that even if there were people in there before, they'd likely be dead by then. Echo sighed and chewed on her lip, blocking out the chancellor saying his goodbyes and whatnot. She realized that there was a big chance that people would die down there and she wasn't prepared to deal with anymore death in her life.

Pushing back all these emotions, she looked over at Heather again and noticed she was trying to get out of the cuff they put on her.

H-Heather Torrez, right?

She asked with a slight nervous tone in her voice as she painfully watched the girl fiddle with the wristband.

Hi, if you don't recognize me, I'm Echo Lee. I used to see you sneaking around past curfew, but you were pretty young then, so I wouldn't be surprised if you don't recognize me.

Echo added with a friendly smile.

Oh and if you weren't listening, that band is so they can make sure we're still alive and safe... So you might want to keep that on.

She suggested, not losing her friendly tone.

A few minutes later, she felt the ship start to rumble and a loud noise was emitting from the engine of the ship.

Oh god, oh god...

Echo muttered and looked around at all the faces of the kids. Some of the kids who were previously excited were now expressing the same nervousness that Echo was feeling. In a matter of seconds, there was a huge, rough drop and her head smacked back roughly on the wall behind her, giving her an instant headache.

Fuck!

The teenager cursed and bit her lip painfully as her body continued to get swung around.

Echo held her head in her hand and when the parachute was released, the exact same thing happened and her head swung back into the wall on the exact same spot on her head. The ride down was much less rough and she assumed they were now on earth, but couldn't tell as her thinking was foggy. Tears escaped her eyes and she sniffled. She really was trying not to cry, but the impact hurt like hell. The drop ship landed and immediately, everyone was unbuckling themselves and gathering around the front door. She slowly unbuckled herself and got up, waiting to head towards the door with Heather. There was a lot of yelling and commotion at the door, which didn't quite help her head situation.

That was a really rough ride, I hope nothing on the ship got damaged...

She said while wiping away her stubborn tears.

Loup Natblida

Kick harder! There's no way you're going to knock anyone back with that weak kick. Try again!

Loup shouted in Trigedasleng to all his students and exhaled heavily once they went back to sparring. He wondered where his dear friend and brother (not by blood) had been. The younger man was at almost every single practice, even if he had a busy day. Perhaps he forgot? Loup rubbed his temples and quite honestly, didn't want to deal with his students, since most of them were clearly goofing off.

Class is over for today. If you come in tomorrow as hyper as you were today, try to direct that hyper energy towards beating your opponent and not towards wasting my time, alright?

He said with a snarky tone in his voice and everyone gulped and nodded in response.

Dismissed.

He muttered before turning around and grabbing his his weapons, tucking them in various compartments and other places on his body. Loup didn't know why, but he had a horrible feeling in his gut and felt as if something bad was going to happen. He thought that something bad had happened to Quinn and decided to go out in the forest looking for the boy, without checking their house first.

After a while on his walk through the forest, he heard a waterfall nearby, telling him that he had gone in the wrong direction. However, he decided to advance it as Quinn could've very well gone to wash himself off. When Loup stepped out from behind the trees, his eyes widened at the sight and he blinked a few times before composing himself. There was a beautiful, unique looking woman sitting nude underneath the falling water. He hadn't seen the pale woman around before so he assumed she lived in the other village nearby, but didn't jump to any conclusions. Although Loup was normally fine with nudity, he found himself blushing and hid behind a tree, refusing to look at her. I feel so creepy. He thought as he regained his breath.

Loup wanted to ask the woman if she'd seen a tall blond kid anywhere, but didn't want to be a creep and leer at her while she bathed in the nude. So, he waited. He wasn't sure why he waited and for how long, but he waited. When she suddenly began singing, he couldn't help but peek from the other side of the tree. She switched from singing to laughing and he smiled softly, feeling a bit less afraid. He felt more comfortable watching her swim around for the next few minutes, as her body wasn't exposed to him. He hid behind the tree again when she stated changing and simply sat there.

As he sat there behind the tree, he heard a low rumbling noise that sounded like it came from far away. He slowly stood up and furrowed his brows, wondering what the hell that noise was. However, he was snapped out of it when the pale lady walked past the tree he was standing by and his heart sank down to his ass. He held his breath and hoped she hadn't seen him at the corner of her eye, although she probably had. He wasn't sneaky in the slightest and was a very tall man. All of a sudden, there was a loud booming noise and something was falling from the sky; he wasn't thinking about his strange little crush at this point and he was staring up into the sky at the unknown object soaring down.

My god...

He mumbled to himself. Suddenly, the potential danger of his village came to mind and he bolted past the woman and towards where the object was falling.

After running through the forest for a while, he finally arrived at where the strange object had landed and walked right up to it, inspecting the sides. He didn't know what the hell was going on and didn't know what or who would come out, so he figured that he might as well get a glimpse of what he's dealing with. After a little bit, nothing happened but he did find what appeared to be the front door or gate, so he planted himself in front of it. Not directly, as it would crush him when it opened if he did, but he stood a few feet away. He unsheathed his large sword and kept one arm on his thigh, where a knife was strapped. Loup was prepared for whatever events may happen.

André Bellerose

While André sat in his spot and waited for the ship to drop from space, he heard a feminine voice beside him. He wasn't even paying attention to anyone around him and instead thought of what his brother and he would do once they got to the ground. André really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone until he actually got a good look of the voice that spoke to him. She wasn't the best he's ever seen, but she was pretty. And not to mention, her body was nice too. He'd scanned all of her silently in a time period of about ten seconds and grinned.

Hey, cutie. I'm André.

He held out his hand to her, expecting her to shake it.

What'd a sweet thing like you do to get yourself caught up in this situation?

André was of course implying how she managed to get locked up, but he figured she knew what he meant anyways. At this point, the televisions and speakers had been turned on, but he didn't care for what the chancellor had to say at all, so he just continued to pay attention to McKaine. He decided that he would sleep with this girl, at some point or another. A few minutes after the chancellor had stopped talking about pointless bullshit, the ship started to rumble and growl. His seat started vibrating and the lights dimmed a bit in the ship.

Damn loud in here, huh?!

André shouted over the noise to the girl beside him and all of a sudden there was a huge drop and his body slammed back against the wall.

André wasn't hurt, just surprised. There was a lot of shaking and pressure and he couldn't help but wonder if that meant there was something wrong with the ship. He gulped and looked all around at the rest of the teens who's bodies were being shaken around as well. He noticed that some of the teens had actually hurt a shoulder or some other body parts and considered himself lucky to have not been hurt in any way. André was quietly wondering if Adrian or McKaine had been injured as well. The second huge "bump" occurred when the parachute was released, except André was prepared this time and had his back pressed hard up against the wall so the impact wasn't as bad as before.

After a few more minutes of falling down, there was the final landing and most kids got out of their seats immediately including André. He unbuckled himself as quickly as he could and pulled himself out of his seat, brushing off his coat. The teenage boy couldn't contain the excitement of seeing his brother again for the first time in forever, but of course he wouldn't tell him that. He picked up his heavy bag from underneath the seat and was about to go, but found himself frozen in place. Although André was excited to see Adrian again, he was the reason they hadn't seen each other in so long. It was his choice to stop visiting him and it was his choice to be an asshole. André gripped his back pack straps with sweaty palms and watched as the other kids made their way to the front gate. All of a sudden, a familiar voice was heard.

André?

Adrian Bellerose

Adrian sat patiently in his seat and tapped his fingers on his knees. Most people were interacting with each other, but Adrian decided to just stay quiet. Well, it was less of a decision and more his shy side blocking him from interacting with anyone. So, the teen was left alone with his thoughts. At this point, he just decided to accept that they were going to Earth. To be quite honest, it was a genius plan on the council's part. Get rid of useless oxygen by sending juveniles to their death. These kids weren't going to go anywhere in life anyways, they'd either work as a lowly janitor for the rest of their lives or get floated when they're of age. Including himself.

All of a sudden, the chancellor's voice boomed through the speakers and his face was on the television. Adrian humored the man (though the chancellor would never know) and listened to what he had to say. There was an explanation of what was happening, there were safety precautions and survival information. The chancellor was really trying to give these kids false hope, making Adrian sigh loudly. Why not just tell the truth and get it over with? We're not gonna die any faster. He pessimistically thought to himself, as he normally would. While he was caught up in his pessimistic thoughts, Adrian hadn't noticed how much time had passed by and didn't even notice the deafening sounds of the ship getting ready to drop into space; he wasn't expecting the impact that would occur with this drop.

Adrian's head was whipped forward in a sudden movement, causing him to pull something at the back of his neck painfully.

Merde!

He cursed in French, trying to keep his neck still throughout the movement of the ship. Every time his head swung even a the slightest bit, it felt like someone was trying to twist his head right off his neck. He was thankfully expecting another huge wave to hit the ship when the parachutes were released and although it did swing his head around, he managed to keep it more still than if he weren't expecting it. Wouldn't be surprised if someone died on this ride down... I wonder if something's wrong with the ship? Maybe it's meant to kill us so the council can explain our "accident". Adrian pondered this until landing, to which he slowly but surely unbuckled himself.

Adrian tried keeping his neck straight and stiff while he stood up, but managed to feel the pain of it anyways.

Screw this...

He grumbled as he walked like a robot towards the ladder and made his way down to the first floor. When he finally got to the bottom and looked around, his eyes landed on someone. Someone who looked exactly like him. His twin.

André?

He asked, wide eyed and ecstatic, yet sad that they'd soon both be dead from radiation poisoning.

Sparis was gathering his bearings, when a rumbling began to come from the sky. Something was coming. Sent from the gods, perhaps? Hard to tell. It hit the ground hard, and close. His world exploded with dead branches flying towards him. The smell of burned wood and smoke lingered in the air. Was this from the gods? Or perhaps from the mountain? Sparis feared the worst.

He drew a weapon, and walked towards where he thought it came from. Slowly, he made his way towards what looked like something out of the desert. It was big, and metallic, along with a Nightblood standing next to it. Not only that, an Ice Nation nightblood. Better not to start a fight right now. They were standing in front of something that could very well be a weapon of war from the mountain, or worse, from the gods themselves.

Sparis took position across from The Nightblood, waiting a few feet beside him, and nodding his head. "You are of Ice Nation, Natblida." Sparis spoke with a slight tone of disrespect in his voice, but made sure to clear it when he arrived at the mans name. He almost felt like interrogation, but there was no point. Besides, the man was a Nightblood, taken from his home at a young age. He would have no knowledge of the man who attempted to end the legacy of the Leodinos clan. And this was definetely not the time for such minor differences. They were standing in front of something that may very well be the end of them.

---

---

Nova, out of nervousness and just pure excitement with the idea they may be actually going to the ground, gripped the bars of the seat that held her in place as she looked next to her to the boy looking as if he was trying to study her. It had took her a moment to recognize the face but seconds later it clicked. His name was Brendan, Brendan Miller. She had always seen him around but never exactly spoke to him, atleast not as much as she did with his sister, McKaine. "Welcome to the party." Nova sighed while the boy was quickly being strapped in by a guard.

Nova began to look her around as most of the guards started to rush out as the doors closed, Nova was about to say more to the boy until the tvs and speakers kicked on. They showed the chancellor as he explained the current situation, Nova tried to focus on the chancellors words but her mind was racing. Before she could force herself the focus she felt a sudden jolt as the ship detached from the ark, she wasn't exactly sure that was why but that was her assumption. Her head hit against the sides of the seats to the point where her vision blurred, she believe bonked heads with Brendan at one point too due to the movement.

Everyone on the ship was either yelling, laughing, or even crying as it was a huge mix of emotions. The second impact was due to the parachutes flying open and Nova hit her head once more. "Damn it." she muttered to herself as her sight wavered due to the impact once again. She blacked out for a what felt like a second before regaining consciousness, she open her eyes to see most kids hopping out of their seats, as they had finally hit the ground. She flung up to get out of hers, but to her surprise, it was jammed. Of course this would happen to me, Nova thought to herself as she squirmed in the seat just trying to get out and get a better understanding on everything that was happening. "Can I get a little help here?" She yelled out to some of the kids, waiting for someone to at least help.

"H-Heather Torrez, right?"

Heather momentarily paused her incessant fact mumbling and looked to a girl sitting next to her through her teal curls.

"Hi, if you don't recognize me, I'm Echo Lee. I used to see you sneaking around past curfew, but you were pretty young then, so I wouldn't be surprised if you don't recognize me." She didn't say anything, just thought back to when she wasn't handcuffed all the time. There may had been another girl she would see in the shadows from time to time, but it had always been so dark that there wasn't really a face that she could pull out of her memory for this girl.

"I suppose," was all Heather said.

"Oh and if you weren't listening, that band is so they can make sure we're still alive and safe... So you might want to keep that on."

"You don't have to tell me," Heather whispered, more to herself than Echo as she remembered the reason why she had been locked up in the first place, that she uncovered a secret about the Ark, a secret that now motivated them being sent to the ground, "But that wasn't what I was fighting against." She held up her handcuffed wrists to show off the thing that was entrapping her wrists. They were not so big so Heather could understand them going unnoticed next to the shiny bracelet they put on everyone. "It seems like them to send me down to the ground still handcuffed, as if I can escape the ground and get back to the Ark again. They hardly think things like this through enough and it's hardly ever about anyone but themselves. Like the fact that it seems to not have crossed their mind I would need my arms free to actually survive if the ground radiation levels don't kill everyone on this ship first." She was rambling again, something that she hardly ever noticed anymore as it was just how she talked, however a few of the other kids around them seem to take her composed tone with what she was saying about survival and radiation as a fact and that they were all going to die the minute they landed.

The ship began to shake more uncontrollably and people started to yell a bit more. "Oh god, oh god..." Echo was saying. "Entering the Earth's atmosphere," Heather said. She pushed herself back, further into her chair and stiffly sat. Others' heads were starting to bang against whatever was nearby, but the stiffness held Heather's body. Her hands clutched her knees as that was the only area they could reach in their handcuffs. Another sharp and rattly movement of the ship. "Fuck!"

"And that would be the parachute releasing." She only said these things to keep her mind on what was happening and not let her mind wander to her being forced to leave her stars and her parents, though one was in a metal can that was running out of air while the other sailed among the stars.

People started to let themselves out of the chairs once they landed, Heather finally let her body relax. She looked down at the problematic situation of her arms being pinned down and her wrists being connected. 'How am I supposed to get out now?' She bent her elbows and wriggled her way down her seat allowing a little more room for her arms to reach up. After a very awkward moment of movements such as these she finally squirmed her way free of her seat. She stood up and blew a particularly large curl from out of her view." That was a really rough ride, I hope nothing on the ship got damaged..."

"That ride was too rough for the ship to have been built properly in the first place, there's no way that something this harshly made would have survived this, there was little chance that it would have actually stayed together long enough for us to get here." With that Heather walked with the crowd that was heading to the doors. Heather stood with them breathing deeply, she figured that Echo wasn't far behind as the girl had waited for her to try and get out of her seat, rather ungracefully.

Then with the sound of air releasing and the pressure of the inside of the makeshift ship dispensing, the door to the outside opened and a rush of wind blew in.

"We're here," Heather said, her fingers intertwining and twisting together. She could feel her nerves beginning to escalate and shake her body.

Sparis watched the doors open, and looked on, fully expecting soldiers of the mountain. He swung his blade towards the first who exited, but stopped just short of a killstroke.

"Another step and I won't be so kind." Sparis spoke with authority. His biggest question was, where did they come from? Those from the mountain couldn't have their skin open in the radiation. However, the followers didn't feel pain like regular humans.

He slid his blade to her arm, and sliced. He smiled when she reacted negatively.

"Good. Now, if you want to keep your fucking heads, you'll tell me where you came from."

Their response was exactly what he was afraid of. They had no knowledge of this world, or what existed within it. They would all be dead within a week, if the reapers didn't get them first. Or the woods clan, this was technically an act of war on the clan. Not that the sky people had much of a say.

As much as he didn't trust any of them, or, quite frankly, care if they lived, their bodies would bring predators. and questions he didn't want to be involved in answering. He'd say the night, just to make sure they survived, give them enough knowledge for the strong to survive. Maybe not though. Maybe he should slaughter them where they stand. They were meaningless. However, they were unarmed, and clearly had no understanding of how to defend themselves. He couldn't, not in good conscious.

He finally lowered his blade, motioning for the blue-haired girl to follow him.

He whispered to her.

"Most of your' people here will die tonight. There's no way around that. But some can survive. Find weapons, put them in capable hands. Build yourselves a camp. I have some food I can give, but only enough to feed for a night. You will have to learn the ways of the ground."

Sparis walked away from the sky people calmly, confident they wouldn't follow. He ran, once out of eyesight, getting the panther, mounting it to his shoulders, and bringing it back. Conveniently, their drop ship fell just a short walk from his camp. This might prove to be convenient if the reapers show up tonight.

"Here, find a way to divide it amongst yourselves."

He smiled at the bule haired girl, hoping to bring thoughts of peace. He didn't want to end up killing the only sky people they would ever see.

Everyone stood at the door, gazing, open mouthed, no one moving to step outside. Heather looked around at them thinking, 'What are you all waiting for, the chance of dying from radiation will be the same in here as they are out there now that the door is open.' She, being a bit smaller than everyone else, made her way to the front. She was tired of waiting, her curiosity to see what was on the ground brimming in her chest.

When she finally shoved passed the last row of people she stumbled out, her boots crunching on the dirt. The air was plentiful and filled her lungs completely. She stared at the ground for a minute, examining dirt that she had never seen before, then slowly her eyes raised upward to the green, all the green. She had seen plenty of pictures, of trees and knew about their biological components, but seeing them in person, made her briefly forget her homesickness for the stars.

Then out of the forest around them came a man with a blade, running to attack her. Heather's heart momentarily stopped, her eyes widened, and she stumbled back, falling to the ground. He stopped short and stared at her then the others.

"Another step and I won't be so kind." He stood above Heather, then took her arms, cutting into one. Heather tried to pull away, wincing, her breath catching. 'What is he doing?' she thought, 'Is he going to have me bleed out, why not kill me quickly?'

"Good. Now, if you want to keep your fucking heads, you'll tell me where you came from." It wasn't a question, but Heather's voice was caught in her throat, she was hoping someone else would speak up before he took it out on her again. When he lowered his weapon, Heather allowed herself to breathe, she scooted away from the man before standing up, he then leaned close her, she stiffened up and went to take a step back.

"Most of your' people here will die tonight. There's no way around that. But some can survive. Find weapons, put them in capable hands. Build yourselves a camp. I have some food I can give, but only enough to feed for a night. You will have to learn the ways of the ground."

"I don't understand," said Heather, "you go to attack me, cut my arm, and now you're trying to help us? What is it that you want? Do you truly want to help us or are you just lulling us so we don't see when you will next attack?" Heather asked. He walked away at this moment and came back with a dead panther.

"Here, find a way to divide it amongst yourselves."

Heather scrutinized him, just staring, "Well if you're truly here to help," she said hesitantly, "then maybe you could repair the damage you've done." She held up her handcuffed arms presenting the cut he had inflicted on her, "After all we don't really have any supplies let alone anti-viral or anti-bacterial medicine that could seal the wound up before it becomes infected. Our bodies aren't accustomed to your bacteria."

She could feel the eyes of everyone else on her, she had been singled out by this person, they didn't even know there were people living on Earth still, they had been taught that everyone who wasn't sent to the stars had died and that Earth was desolate of humans. Heather could feel a hundred questions bubbling up, her own amazement having been suppressed for the moment, there were other things to worry about. Such as her cut, such as food and shelter, there was no logical time at the present for her to give into her wonder and questions now.

"Well if you're truly here to help," she said hesitantly, "then maybe you could repair the damage you've done." She held up her handcuffed arms presenting the cut he had inflicted on her, "After all we don't really have any supplies let alone anti-viral or anti-bacterial medicine that could seal the wound up before it becomes infected. Our bodies aren't accustomed to your bacteria."

Sparis was by no means a doctor, but he had cut her deeper than intended. He reached into a small cloth pocket that he carried his valuables in, and pulled out several long leaf strands, and a small piece of twine. He licked the first leaf, placing it directly over the cut, and layered the other two on top of it, then tied the small twine around her arm.

"There, you'll be fine." He said as he placed the other few leaf strands back into his pocket.

A shout came from a short distance away. There couldn't be.... not now.

"I'll be back" Sparis said as he began running towards the noise.

"Hide."

He could hear her start to move behind him, but it sounded as though she was following. Fuck.

He arrived at a small group of Reapers, faces distorted, and they looked hungry. Only three, he could slay them easily enough. First one took his blade through the forehead before he had time to notice he was being attacked, the second took a swipe with his axe, sparis parry'd left, making sure to line up a good strike on the two. He stabbed two in the heart, and the third took a large incision in his stomach, enough to drop him. He could clearly tell these ones were under-developed, they were slow, thank god.

He began searching them, looking for something on the mountain men, but all they had was a book. Sparis couldn't read, but he decided to keep it.