T - Lauryn, Bee, Xenon - Complete

[Nathalia]

Lachlan woke up in a small room over a bar in the Outer Bazaar.
Unable to remember the night before and feeling terribly sore, he stumbles out into the thick, spicy air and strangely empty streets.
People seem to be...unable to see him, how incredibly weird. There must be some reason behind this!
Stumbling off in search of help, he happens upon Catastrophe skulking around the place. Her unnerving attitude and actions are up to the two of you.
In their wanderings they come across a boy named Sergei and Zhenya both of whom stumbled across one another by accident when Sergei became lost and belligerent toward most people.
Once they find each other, Lachlan begins to sicken, quickly and horribly. Once they have decided what it is they are going to do about the whole thing...your next goal will be given.

[carcinoGeneticist]

This place was a strange dream-world.

Catastrophe prowled the streets, a thin pale shadow that never quite looked anyone in the eyes. She was following the visions, had been following them for days. She'd not-woken a few nights ago, curled in the midst of her siblings in a warm pile. Their presence had almost been enough to pull her out of it, but none of them were awake, and they seemed less-real during times like those. So she'd started walking, her eyes not focusing on her surroundings. She'd walked through day and night, a slow, lazy, meandering path through the world. Without her siblings, nothing was real. And, more surprisingly, that wasn't such a bad thing.

Eventually, her feet had taken her to the Capital. It had seemed quiet, like a ghost-town, and had she been in her right mind Catastrophe might have been frightened. As it was, she just kept putting one foot in front of the other, her head raised high to take in the spicy smell.

It was nice. It made her hungry. Hungry. When had she last eaten? It had been a long time... hadn't it?

Her stomach gave a too-loud growl and she growled right back at it. Where was she, anyway? Right. A dream, this was what this was.

Meanwhile, someone else was lost in the city. Sergei had become separated from his siblings while they visited the city together, and he'd not noticed until he'd walked off on his own quite some way. When he'd tried to retrace his steps to locate them once more, he'd only managed to make himself more lost. Now, he was completely lost. There was just no denying it.

That had been the start of it, a simple nervous feeling gnawing at his gut. Little hands clenched tightly at his sides, the boy wandered. They couldn't have gone far, he was sure of it. Right?

There was more than being lost, though. There was a weird feeling to the air, a smell that stuck to his nose and masked the normal scents of the city. That just added to the general way he felt, and very soon, Sergei was grumpy. He rubbed at his nose with the back of a paw, bringing it up to rub his eyes as well. No, no! He wasn't lost, he wasn't scared! Someone noticed, and said something to him (he really wasn't sure what, he didn't want to listen), and in return he bared his teeth and growled.

They quickly backed off, but that didn't make him feel any better. Feeling the starts of a meltdown welling up inside of him, the hybrid quickly tried to find a place with less people. He didn't want them to look at him!!

[Bee]

There was no way Zhenya was going to stay in the house on a day like this. It was the sort of day he could write about. He streets beyond his window were curiously thin with people. There was a scent on the air, as he opened his window, that he couldn't define beyond spicy. Milena was already telling horror stories to Coralie about what was going to happen to all of them, which made him even more excited to get out, to experience it.

And, most importantly, to document it.

And so it was that Zhenya shuffled his awkward little form out of the apartment, out of the complex, and into the streets, wandering to the weirdest part of town he could find. He assumed that it would be the nexus of whatever oddness was happening. He was already formulating the opening paragraphs of he story in his head, about his detective, venturing out--

It still needed a plot, though. Which was somewhat hampered by the fact that he had no idea what was going on, so neither could his detective. But it could involve--

A boy? Looking angry and lost, a mysterious child stormed the streets. A Solandrian and a bipedal, had this child been an adult, he could have torn the throat from anyone who annoyed him. Maybe even the detective himself. His frustration seemed all the more palpable against such a background of strange silence.

This must have been the way the story was meant to go. He toddled up to the boy, pleased as punch to have found his lead. "Hi," he said, and again, "Hi!"

[carcinoGeneticist]

A place with less people had turned out to be the side of a building, where Sergei had all but collapsed into a heap and tried not to sniffle. Why had his siblings left him like that?! He knew in his heart that it hadn't been intentional, but still! That didn't do anything to help him feel less frightened and upset right now!

In fact, the boy was just starting to think nothing at all would help when there came the sound of someone else wandering right up to him. Probably to help. How could they possibly help? They had no idea what was going on, and --!

When the hybrid lifted his head to growl at the whoever-it-was, however, the angry sound caught in his throat. Unlike before, he didn't feel any anger at this boy. Out of instinct, his eyes first flickered to the marking on his chest, taking it in. They were both Clubs, of similar rank. Good. The next place his eyes went was to the leaf-shaped nose at the end of the boy's long snout. His own nose twitched thoughtfully.

Were they related, perhaps?

Happy for a momentary respite from the angry that had grabbed him so firmly in its claws, Sergei let himself relax. "Hi," he responded, then again: "Hi. I like your nose."

[Bee]

Zhenya didn't think anything in particular about his own nose but then he remembered that it was bat nose, and that this (previously!) angry boy was also a bat, and by the looks of it, more bat than Zhenya. At the very least, his wings weren't all stunted and useless.

"Thanks!" he said, happily. "I get it from my dad. He's a detective. I like your mohawk. It is very impressive." He settled in next to the boy and thought again about the Plot and how the boy functioned in it. Obviously, he had to know something about what was going on. Perhaps he knew the people responsible, and was fleeing from them! That seemed plausible. It followed logically that the people responsible for the strange atmosphere would want to stop him from getting the secret out.

They would be desperate to try anything. Kidnapping, murder, torture--who knew what this boy was in for if they caught him?

Whoever "they" were. He hadn't decided yet. "I'm Zhenya," he added. "And I'll protect you!"

[carcinoGeneticist]

When his mohawk was mentioned, Sergei's lips pulled away from his tusks in a happy smile. He liked his mohawk, too, even if it didn't stand up quite properly in the front. It did in the back, and down along his neck, and that was enough to make him feel like a Proper Solandrian. Some of his other siblings had them, sure, but he didn't see Hadrian very often and Yuri's mohawk was not of the proper coloring. Arkady's was impressive enough, but it was just barely enough to make up for Laika's flop.

"That's pretty cool, I got mine from my dad, too! He died when I was born." There was no sadness with the statement, just a simple assertion of truth. After all, even if they hadn't been able to meet their other parent directly, Sergei at least had the memories of him! A quick boot-scoot made a little extra room for the other boy, the biped identifying each of his features with an approving eye. The floppy ears were a little funny, sure, but his own mohawk more than made up for it. Then there was the feathering on his legs! It was smoother than Solandrian feathers, sure, but the colors were perfect! And then...

There was the tail. Sergei's eyes went wide. "Your tail! Your tail has a knife on it!!" That was just the coolest thing he'd EVER seen, even if it didn't look all that sharp! Maybe he wasn't sure what the boy - Zhenya, had he said? - was going to protect him from, but with this newest piece of information, the Solandrian felt more than confident that he was completely secure. "I'm Sergei, and you're awesome."

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

Lachlan groaned and rolled onto his stomach. The small movement made the Josiggy Tiger wince in pain. Suits, but he was sore! What had happened last night?

His eyes took quite a few minutes to adjust to the light of the room, but when he could finally see Lachlan blinked a few times in surprise. Where the hell was he? The room was sparse on furnishings. A bed, A nightstand and some light drapes on the windows. A distant recollection of a similar room came to his mind, but no - it wasn't the same place.

The Tiger quickly looked around the room and not finding any of his belongings - had he brought any with him in the first place? - made his way downstairs. Downstairs, he discovered, was a Bar. A bar he had never been to before and still didn't recognize now. Normally when the Tiger had a few too many drinks he at least had a vague collection of memories for the night before. But when he tried to concentrate on the last thing he remembered..... nothing. Not a damn thing!

He passed no one as he made his way out of the Bar. Looking from left to right he realized he was in a section of the Outer Bazaar. He'd been here enough times to at least have a small bearing now of where he was. It was a start. Lachlan rubbed the back of his paw against his face. Suits, but he wasn't feeling quite right. Thinking that fresh air was just what he needed right now, Lachlan exited through the front door and stepped out onto the streets.

Strange, he thought. Many things were strange, but the first thing he noticed was the smell. Spices like he'd never smelled before hung in the air, making his eyes water at the slight sting. Wiping the tears away, Lachlan took another look at the nearby streets and noticed another thing out of the ordinary. No matter the time of day, the Outer Bazaar always had quite a few patrons skulking about. So where the hell was everyone?

The Tiger saw a Card turn out of an alley and walk in his direction. Taking a few painful steps forward - what had he been doing the night before to merrit such pain? - Lachlan waved at the oncoming BiPed.

"Oiy!" he shouted, "Where is everyone, and what is that god awful stench?"

The Card didn't look up, didn't stop and didn't acknowledge that Lachlan was even there. Just kept on walking, right past the Tiger and down the street. "Hey! Thanks for all the help, you jack-wagon!"
Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease settle over him, bristling his fur, Lachlan padded swiftly down the street until he found another Card in Animal form. "Hey, there. Could you tell me what's going on? Why ain't there nobody around? And what's with the smell?" he questioned again. And yet again, the Avian proceeded on her way without even taking notice of the swiftly-growing-irate Tiger.

"What in the name of the Suits is GOING ON HERE?" he shouted, hoping someone nearby would hear him and have something to say. There wasn't such a thing as being invisible; Lachlan was sure of it. But why was entire body sore, and not the same kind of sore that came from having a very good night. Where was everyone? And what was that spicy smell in the air?

[carcinoGeneticist]

On her search for food, Catastrophe was unknowingly making her way closer to the pair of Bat-nosed hybrids, and even closer to the (mostly) invisible Tiger. She had started to talk to herself on the way, her own voice a useful tool when it came to keeping herself company in this unfamiliar dream-scape.

A dream-scape that was feeling less and less dream-like as she walked, her stomach's growling becoming even more difficult to ignore. It was most hurting than just noisy, now, but she'd felt worse. Much, much worse. This was only slightly peckish, for the creepy little cannibal!

...All the same, it would be nice to find something to eat. She stumbled down another alleyway, her ears catching the sound of shouting. Perhaps it would lead her to food? There had been a time or two when she'd heard fights on the outskirts of Tulgey, and investigated to find someone dead or dying left behind. A perfect meal. The best kind, even if she still never quite felt full after eating. This time, though, there was no food to be found. Just an angry cat-man who was screaming at nobody. Well. Maybe he was screaming at her? He seemed confused.

"You ask Cat?" She queried, taking a step forward and blinking those glassy eyes at him. "'cause she not know. She is hungry, though. You have food-meat for her?"

[Bee]

Zhenya wiggled happily at the compliment, tail thumping on the ground. No one had ever called him awesome before. Most people meeting the set reserved their praise for Coralie's prettiness. Actually most people meeting the set ran away from Milena. But the people who stayed.

"That's from my mama! All of us got one, except for poor Kaz, but he goes really fast so that's cool too." He paused. "You know, I think us running into each other was fate. I mean, it makes sense, right? We're both bats and Solandrians and just happen to be about! There are no coincidences in detective stories." He nodded firmly at this. No object nor person could be introduced without it becoming in some way significant. "I think powerful Plot forces are at work. You don't happen to know what's going on, do you? I think you're important to the Plot." He dropped his voice a few notches. "You can say it as quiet as you want if you're afraid. I can hear anything!"

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

Lachlan had been considering the thought of breaking into the nearby buildings in search of someone who knew what the hell was going on in the Capitol. There was hardly anyone around, and that odor.... The Tiger fought the urge to sneeze though his nose burned from the smell.

"You ask Cat?"

Lachlan swiveled around, but whatever he was about to say caught in his throat. His eyes widened at the sight of the Card in front of him. What in the name of the Suits was that thing? He barely suppressed a shudder after gazing into her -for the voice suggested it was a she- glazed over eyes. Was she blind? No, she seemed to be staring right at him. More unnerving, that.

He couldn't bring himself to take a step towards her, and gave her a confused face. He stared at her for what seemed like a minute before realizing she was referring to herself in the third person. Weirdo...

"I don't have any food on me. I think there is a butcher shop just down this road. The prices are cheap, on account of how many time the owner has failed health inspections," he answered and pointed down the street (where, unknowingly, the two Solandrian children were).

Shit, he thought. I shouldn't have said that. That's the way I'm going. Oh well, too late to take it back now.

"I'm headed that way now, actually..." Lachlan let his sentence trail off as he slowly turned and went to make his way down the road. Hopefully she didn't want to go to that particular meat shop. The little thing creeped him out.