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random_nanorimo_stuff2012-11-27 09:18 pm
random_xtras) wrote in random_nanorimo_stuff2012-11-27 09:18 pm
Entry tags:
Other Trails Chapter 16
(warning: non-graphic blood reference. Safe for work)
Shade wasn't very impressed with her first view of the Earth Defense Force prince. The powerfully muscled, deeply tanned man was just too shiny and too lumpy. And much too bare.
[That's not even his clothes,] said Starfighter's avatar as he rested his forehead against the decorative mesh of the viewing balcony. [When he came on board last night he was just wearing this leather and brass bikini thing. According to the news file the computer let me see he got offended when Captain Johnson told him about the decency laws and got all snotty when the Captain offered him something better.]
Shade eyed the sleeveless black, knee-length tunic that the guy was wearing and snorted softly. [He acts like he thinks he's pretty to look at, but Captain Johnson and Joel are much much prettier than him.]
[Yes. Much much prettier,] agreed a shifter woman who was sitting to one side of the gallery without taking her eyes off what was going on below. [They're real.]
[You don't think Captain TP's pretty?] Joel threw a smirk to the shifter woman, but then looked to Shade for her reply.
[No. He walks wrong for pretty. He doesn't want to be pretty. The way he walks says "Rust pretty!"] The black-furred girl grinned slightly, but then stamped softly and fluffed her fur slightly as she spotted the creatures held on chains by two of the Earth Defense Force prince's attendants. [I'm glad Mist stayed with your main body to do her language learning test. Those things would scare her bad.]
[Yeuch.] The eyes of Starfighter's avatar blanked slightly, showing that he was doing a search of the information web for the identity of the two creatures on the floor below. [The one looks like some kind of raptor dinosaur, only with feathers and a beak. The other one looks like a giant scorpion.]
[Land shrimp,] said the shifter woman. Then she turned blue. [Yes, Joel is very pretty.]
Starfighter waved her off and put a hand on Shade's lower back as the JD captain began to speak. Adonis soon replied, his grin wide and full of the invitation to bow at his altar to self.
[My translator's not translating those words good.] Shade frowned with disappointment.
[Mine either.] Starfighter's avatar shifted slightly on his feet, then settled down to couch.
[Tired?] Shade turned the frown toward him.
[A bit. I'll be alright.] He smiled up at her, then turned his attention back to the proceedings below.
Shade moved a little closer to him, feeling uneasy with having her ailing herd member here in the same room as those two bound monsters. The grill that separated the gallery from the lower floor comforted her in no way, nor did the chains by which both beasts were held. [I've got your back trail.]
[I know.] He reached down and patted her nearer front foot, then focused on Joel as the furry man began to speak.
As the first half hour passed Shade was soon deeply engrossed in the discussion and debate happening between Joel, Captain TP, and Adonis, her mind absently letting out a prayer to the World Weaver to help the talking be resolved in the best possible way for all parties.
Then a movement below the gallery caught her attention, and she leapt up to the top of the railing, hooked her front legs over it, and then set her back feet in two of the squares of the mesh so that she could lean forward and see what was going on down there. A soft snort escaped her as she realized that the big raptor bird thing's handler had brought it to a spot directly beneath her and Starfighter's avatar. And then she frowned as she tried to work out what the blank-faced, androgynous man was doing with the monster.
As she watched the handler unlocked the metal straps that surrounded the creature's beak, and then slowly and silently removed them. This done, the handler pointed toward the group of men speaking in the circle of seats and gave a soft command that Shade didn't catch because of the damage her eardrums had taken from Starfighter's cry of pain two days before. But she quickly realized that the handler had told the bird thing to go to where the talking was happening, and that the creature was not going to say hello to Prince Adonis. Beak agape and powerful neck outstretched, the monster was aimed directly for Joel's back.
"No!" The dark-furred girl reacted without thinking, her legs propelling her up and over the railing as Starfighter shouted with surprise and dismay behind her. She landed in front of the creature, one front leg buckling for a moment as pain shot up it. Then she was rearing and striking out as the monster leapt to meet her with the razor sharp bronze spurs on each foot thrust forward to slash. There was the shock of impact, a searing fire of pain across her neck and upper chest, and a light that threw the monster into sharp relief for a moment as voices shouted and screamed behind her.
And then she was on the floor, and everything was warm and wet and smelled like blood. But she couldn't turn her head to see if Joel and the others were alright because something- some weakness- was keeping her from moving at all. She could feel her hearts pounding, though they seemed to be moving more slowly than they should after the exertion she'd just put out. And she seemed to be getting wetter...
Joel appeared, and she felt arms around her.
"Hold her, Starfighter. Let me concentrate," said the golden-furred man as he transferred her to the silver, white, and blue avatar.
"Save her," said the avatar, and Shade could feel him trembling as he cradled her upper body and smoothed her mane back.
Joel made no reply, but there was a strange sensation like ants crawling around inside Shade's throat that made her try to wriggle away. Strong hands and arms held her still, and she felt her hearts speeding up.
Then pain lanced through her throat and chest, and she cried out.
"You're alright. You're okay," Joel told her, and then fell on top of her like a dead weight.
"Oh rust!" she heard Starfighter shout.
"Here are the medics!" called Captain Johnson from somewhere, and hands were suddenly pulling Joel away from her and taking her away from Starfighter's avatar. "TP, what did you do?"
"Stomped the pug ugly thing afore they could turn it loose too! And I'll do the same to Slimy Steroid Boy if he tries anythin' else!" came the sharp reply.
"Just take it easy," said the shifter chief medical officer gently. "You're going to be just fine, not even a scar."
Shade turned her eyes to his face, wondering how she was still awake after the shock she'd taken. "Joel. Starfighter."
"They're both fine too." He lifted her carefully onto a stretcher, ignoring Prince Adonis as the human man haughtily declared the actions of the assembled people to be an act of war against the Earth Defense Force.
Shade snorted and came half off the stretcher as something Adonis said hit her in a protective nerve, but the doctor exclaimed and caught her, then put her back on the stretcher and strapped her down. "None of that. Arresting him is one thing. Trying to explain why someone kicked his head off is entirely another. Now be still!"
"He's not going to hurt the rad babies!" She snorted again and struggled.
"No, he won't. But if you don't hold still I'll sedate you!" The doctor grabbed her chin between two fingers and gave it a little shake as he looked at her sternly. "Starfighter, get over here where she can see you."
"I'm here. I'm right here." The avatar's eyes were wide and his fur comically puffed up all over his body. "Rust, Shade, just hold still so I can keep an eye on the walking rug too."
"Joel fell." Shade couldn't keep herself from wibbling at him beseechingly.
"Yeah, he wore himself out healing you." Starfighter put a hand on her chest, and then winced and made a small sound as though he was going to be sick.
"Don't worry. We'll get her cleaned up as soon as I've finished putting her back together." The doctor darkened his skin in a scowl and set the scanner down, then pulled another tool out of his pocket and aimed it at Shade's chest. "Your friend took care of the arteries and her jugular, and got everything lined up properly. I just need to take care of her lungs and get the muscles knit back together. But she will be alright."
"...Jugular?" Shade blinked at him, her eyes going wide with shock as she glanced from him to Starfighter's avatar.
"Shhh. Don't worry. The rug got you back together, and we'll wash all this stuff off just as soon as you lay still and let the doctor repair the rest." Starfighter gave her a grin that was shocked and shaky, and which held more than a trace of chin tremble. "He saved your life."
Shade lay back, feeling her vision grey around the edges as the world seemed to dip sickeningly. "Urrrrk ugh. So he doesn't owe me his life anymore?"
"Um. Heh. No dice. You just saved his again." Starfighter laughed, then glanced at what the doctor was doing and smoothed her mane again. "I'll get you a honey milkshake after this."
"Earth belongs to us!" came a last parting roar from Prince Adonis as he was carried from the room by a grim-faced shifter security officer.
Shade scowled and tried to make Starfighter's game buzzer sound, but then snorted soft surprise as a hideous furry face was suddenly thrust into hers.
"Whoa, what the rust?" Starfighter tried to push the animal away, but stopped as it whined softly with concern.
"It's one of the security bats," said the doctor absently. "It won't hurt her."
"It's a scar," Shade realized as the black and tan creature perked huge pointed ears and made soft encouraging sounds to her. "Something cut his face and made him lose an eye."
"Yes." The doctor paused to actually look at the hundred pound bat. "That's Gunsmoke. He got that scar as a souvenir of the day that he ate a small Infection unit for dinner."
"Whoa, a flitter?" Starfighter's avatar stared at the bat as it gently licked Shade's cheek before trotting back to its handler.
"Is that what those smallest ones are called? I guess so," said the doctor, then shut off the tool and put it away. "Now I'm going to have you brought to your quarters, and I want you to stay in bed till I tell you that you can get up. If you don't stay in bed I'll bring this stretcher and tie you to it again. Do you understand?"
"I stay in bed, or you tie me to a bed," said Shade, her eyes wide and her fur standing up. "Yes, sir."
"Hey, don't be rough on her. She doesn't get up like an idiot." Starfighter's avatar scowled at the doctor.
"I have to make sure." The shifter man turned and glanced to one side, then nodded. "My assistant will give you a bath before you go to bed. And Joel, that offer to tie people down applies to you, too."
"Just let me see if the kid's alright," came a gruff growl that made both Shade and Starfighter grin behind their hands.
The doctor's colour darkened. "Fine. Uke-O, help him."
"Yes, Doctor," said the soft voice of one of the medical mechadroids, then there was a shuffle and a quiet grunt, and the golden-furred man was kneeling next to Starfighter's avatar with a hand on Shade's chest.
"I'm alright," she told him, smiling despite her concern at the pinched look of exhaustion in his eyes.
"Yeah." He turned his head to scowl at something somewhere in the direction of Shade's back feet. "Thanks."
"The monster?" She lifted her head, snorting softly, then grumbled as Starfighter pushed her back down.
"It's dead," said Joel. "The convertor captain got it with some kind of energy beam weapon."
Shade let out a shaky sigh and lowered her face as things suddenly caught up with her in a rush.
"Oh rust. She's crying," fretted Starfighter, who was in about the same state that she was.
"Easy. Everyone's alright." Joel touched Shade's cheek, and then gave Starfighter's avatar a gruff one-armed hug. "Let's get cleaned up and get Shade to bed."
"And you," said the doctor sternly.
"Yeah. And me." Joel sighed, and then quirked a tired smile as Starfighter suddenly remembered himself enough to make a rug comment. "Stick a sock in it, rustbucket."
"You want a sock, furball? Hey, she's falling asleep."
"Yeah. Let's get back to quarters."
Shade wasn't very impressed with her first view of the Earth Defense Force prince. The powerfully muscled, deeply tanned man was just too shiny and too lumpy. And much too bare.
[That's not even his clothes,] said Starfighter's avatar as he rested his forehead against the decorative mesh of the viewing balcony. [When he came on board last night he was just wearing this leather and brass bikini thing. According to the news file the computer let me see he got offended when Captain Johnson told him about the decency laws and got all snotty when the Captain offered him something better.]
Shade eyed the sleeveless black, knee-length tunic that the guy was wearing and snorted softly. [He acts like he thinks he's pretty to look at, but Captain Johnson and Joel are much much prettier than him.]
[Yes. Much much prettier,] agreed a shifter woman who was sitting to one side of the gallery without taking her eyes off what was going on below. [They're real.]
[You don't think Captain TP's pretty?] Joel threw a smirk to the shifter woman, but then looked to Shade for her reply.
[No. He walks wrong for pretty. He doesn't want to be pretty. The way he walks says "Rust pretty!"] The black-furred girl grinned slightly, but then stamped softly and fluffed her fur slightly as she spotted the creatures held on chains by two of the Earth Defense Force prince's attendants. [I'm glad Mist stayed with your main body to do her language learning test. Those things would scare her bad.]
[Yeuch.] The eyes of Starfighter's avatar blanked slightly, showing that he was doing a search of the information web for the identity of the two creatures on the floor below. [The one looks like some kind of raptor dinosaur, only with feathers and a beak. The other one looks like a giant scorpion.]
[Land shrimp,] said the shifter woman. Then she turned blue. [Yes, Joel is very pretty.]
Starfighter waved her off and put a hand on Shade's lower back as the JD captain began to speak. Adonis soon replied, his grin wide and full of the invitation to bow at his altar to self.
[My translator's not translating those words good.] Shade frowned with disappointment.
[Mine either.] Starfighter's avatar shifted slightly on his feet, then settled down to couch.
[Tired?] Shade turned the frown toward him.
[A bit. I'll be alright.] He smiled up at her, then turned his attention back to the proceedings below.
Shade moved a little closer to him, feeling uneasy with having her ailing herd member here in the same room as those two bound monsters. The grill that separated the gallery from the lower floor comforted her in no way, nor did the chains by which both beasts were held. [I've got your back trail.]
[I know.] He reached down and patted her nearer front foot, then focused on Joel as the furry man began to speak.
As the first half hour passed Shade was soon deeply engrossed in the discussion and debate happening between Joel, Captain TP, and Adonis, her mind absently letting out a prayer to the World Weaver to help the talking be resolved in the best possible way for all parties.
Then a movement below the gallery caught her attention, and she leapt up to the top of the railing, hooked her front legs over it, and then set her back feet in two of the squares of the mesh so that she could lean forward and see what was going on down there. A soft snort escaped her as she realized that the big raptor bird thing's handler had brought it to a spot directly beneath her and Starfighter's avatar. And then she frowned as she tried to work out what the blank-faced, androgynous man was doing with the monster.
As she watched the handler unlocked the metal straps that surrounded the creature's beak, and then slowly and silently removed them. This done, the handler pointed toward the group of men speaking in the circle of seats and gave a soft command that Shade didn't catch because of the damage her eardrums had taken from Starfighter's cry of pain two days before. But she quickly realized that the handler had told the bird thing to go to where the talking was happening, and that the creature was not going to say hello to Prince Adonis. Beak agape and powerful neck outstretched, the monster was aimed directly for Joel's back.
"No!" The dark-furred girl reacted without thinking, her legs propelling her up and over the railing as Starfighter shouted with surprise and dismay behind her. She landed in front of the creature, one front leg buckling for a moment as pain shot up it. Then she was rearing and striking out as the monster leapt to meet her with the razor sharp bronze spurs on each foot thrust forward to slash. There was the shock of impact, a searing fire of pain across her neck and upper chest, and a light that threw the monster into sharp relief for a moment as voices shouted and screamed behind her.
And then she was on the floor, and everything was warm and wet and smelled like blood. But she couldn't turn her head to see if Joel and the others were alright because something- some weakness- was keeping her from moving at all. She could feel her hearts pounding, though they seemed to be moving more slowly than they should after the exertion she'd just put out. And she seemed to be getting wetter...
Joel appeared, and she felt arms around her.
"Hold her, Starfighter. Let me concentrate," said the golden-furred man as he transferred her to the silver, white, and blue avatar.
"Save her," said the avatar, and Shade could feel him trembling as he cradled her upper body and smoothed her mane back.
Joel made no reply, but there was a strange sensation like ants crawling around inside Shade's throat that made her try to wriggle away. Strong hands and arms held her still, and she felt her hearts speeding up.
Then pain lanced through her throat and chest, and she cried out.
"You're alright. You're okay," Joel told her, and then fell on top of her like a dead weight.
"Oh rust!" she heard Starfighter shout.
"Here are the medics!" called Captain Johnson from somewhere, and hands were suddenly pulling Joel away from her and taking her away from Starfighter's avatar. "TP, what did you do?"
"Stomped the pug ugly thing afore they could turn it loose too! And I'll do the same to Slimy Steroid Boy if he tries anythin' else!" came the sharp reply.
"Just take it easy," said the shifter chief medical officer gently. "You're going to be just fine, not even a scar."
Shade turned her eyes to his face, wondering how she was still awake after the shock she'd taken. "Joel. Starfighter."
"They're both fine too." He lifted her carefully onto a stretcher, ignoring Prince Adonis as the human man haughtily declared the actions of the assembled people to be an act of war against the Earth Defense Force.
Shade snorted and came half off the stretcher as something Adonis said hit her in a protective nerve, but the doctor exclaimed and caught her, then put her back on the stretcher and strapped her down. "None of that. Arresting him is one thing. Trying to explain why someone kicked his head off is entirely another. Now be still!"
"He's not going to hurt the rad babies!" She snorted again and struggled.
"No, he won't. But if you don't hold still I'll sedate you!" The doctor grabbed her chin between two fingers and gave it a little shake as he looked at her sternly. "Starfighter, get over here where she can see you."
"I'm here. I'm right here." The avatar's eyes were wide and his fur comically puffed up all over his body. "Rust, Shade, just hold still so I can keep an eye on the walking rug too."
"Joel fell." Shade couldn't keep herself from wibbling at him beseechingly.
"Yeah, he wore himself out healing you." Starfighter put a hand on her chest, and then winced and made a small sound as though he was going to be sick.
"Don't worry. We'll get her cleaned up as soon as I've finished putting her back together." The doctor darkened his skin in a scowl and set the scanner down, then pulled another tool out of his pocket and aimed it at Shade's chest. "Your friend took care of the arteries and her jugular, and got everything lined up properly. I just need to take care of her lungs and get the muscles knit back together. But she will be alright."
"...Jugular?" Shade blinked at him, her eyes going wide with shock as she glanced from him to Starfighter's avatar.
"Shhh. Don't worry. The rug got you back together, and we'll wash all this stuff off just as soon as you lay still and let the doctor repair the rest." Starfighter gave her a grin that was shocked and shaky, and which held more than a trace of chin tremble. "He saved your life."
Shade lay back, feeling her vision grey around the edges as the world seemed to dip sickeningly. "Urrrrk ugh. So he doesn't owe me his life anymore?"
"Um. Heh. No dice. You just saved his again." Starfighter laughed, then glanced at what the doctor was doing and smoothed her mane again. "I'll get you a honey milkshake after this."
"Earth belongs to us!" came a last parting roar from Prince Adonis as he was carried from the room by a grim-faced shifter security officer.
Shade scowled and tried to make Starfighter's game buzzer sound, but then snorted soft surprise as a hideous furry face was suddenly thrust into hers.
"Whoa, what the rust?" Starfighter tried to push the animal away, but stopped as it whined softly with concern.
"It's one of the security bats," said the doctor absently. "It won't hurt her."
"It's a scar," Shade realized as the black and tan creature perked huge pointed ears and made soft encouraging sounds to her. "Something cut his face and made him lose an eye."
"Yes." The doctor paused to actually look at the hundred pound bat. "That's Gunsmoke. He got that scar as a souvenir of the day that he ate a small Infection unit for dinner."
"Whoa, a flitter?" Starfighter's avatar stared at the bat as it gently licked Shade's cheek before trotting back to its handler.
"Is that what those smallest ones are called? I guess so," said the doctor, then shut off the tool and put it away. "Now I'm going to have you brought to your quarters, and I want you to stay in bed till I tell you that you can get up. If you don't stay in bed I'll bring this stretcher and tie you to it again. Do you understand?"
"I stay in bed, or you tie me to a bed," said Shade, her eyes wide and her fur standing up. "Yes, sir."
"Hey, don't be rough on her. She doesn't get up like an idiot." Starfighter's avatar scowled at the doctor.
"I have to make sure." The shifter man turned and glanced to one side, then nodded. "My assistant will give you a bath before you go to bed. And Joel, that offer to tie people down applies to you, too."
"Just let me see if the kid's alright," came a gruff growl that made both Shade and Starfighter grin behind their hands.
The doctor's colour darkened. "Fine. Uke-O, help him."
"Yes, Doctor," said the soft voice of one of the medical mechadroids, then there was a shuffle and a quiet grunt, and the golden-furred man was kneeling next to Starfighter's avatar with a hand on Shade's chest.
"I'm alright," she told him, smiling despite her concern at the pinched look of exhaustion in his eyes.
"Yeah." He turned his head to scowl at something somewhere in the direction of Shade's back feet. "Thanks."
"The monster?" She lifted her head, snorting softly, then grumbled as Starfighter pushed her back down.
"It's dead," said Joel. "The convertor captain got it with some kind of energy beam weapon."
Shade let out a shaky sigh and lowered her face as things suddenly caught up with her in a rush.
"Oh rust. She's crying," fretted Starfighter, who was in about the same state that she was.
"Easy. Everyone's alright." Joel touched Shade's cheek, and then gave Starfighter's avatar a gruff one-armed hug. "Let's get cleaned up and get Shade to bed."
"And you," said the doctor sternly.
"Yeah. And me." Joel sighed, and then quirked a tired smile as Starfighter suddenly remembered himself enough to make a rug comment. "Stick a sock in it, rustbucket."
"You want a sock, furball? Hey, she's falling asleep."
"Yeah. Let's get back to quarters."