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Post by Touj on Jul 27, 2021 18:27:32 GMT -6
“Well, shit.”
Fable was never quite sure how he ended up in these situations. He said his ‘please’s and ‘thank you’s. He held up his perhaps-too-small umbrella when he saw soaked strangers running in the rain. He made sure Touj did the right math leaving a tip before they left a restaurant. So why was he running again from a Mammalian shopkeeper, yelling and chasing him down the road brandishing a formidable wood cane?
Looking into the bright blue eyes of his friend, grinning as they ran ragged through the street, he remembered exactly how he ended up in these situations.
“Why didn’t you at least wait until it got dark?” Fable hissed at him between gasps for air. Zeto just smirked. Fable knew that on some level, he brought this on himself: the other harachiu was always trouble, yet here he was still beside him.
This time, like many times before, he had been caught in the act. Using a makeshift funnel for a spraypaint can so Zeto could fly and hold its stream worked much better than expected, up until the point when a passing Vulticus knocked Fable, holding down the valve, and the can over. Zeto was whipped into the wall with a yelp, the remnants of the black ink spraying over passersby.
When the shopkeeper came outside to investigate the commotion, he was not happy to see the phrase “BIG” painted onto the brick exterior of his establishment. Fable thought it could be worse: ‘big’ was better than ‘bigot,’ which is what Zeto was trying to write. Their pursuer did not appear to care that the vandalism was not as mean as it was meant to be.
Fable wanted to take to the sky, and flee the confrontation; but Zeto couldn’t fly yet. He wasn’t willing to abandon his friend, but each bound the larger person took toward them, he felt nerves taking more control of his decisions. His purple wings fluttered neurotically.
He was about to take off and hoped he was strong enough to carry his friend along when Zeto pressed a hand to his chest, stopping their run forward. With a chalk white hand, he pointed up: a window into one of the buildings on the street was cracked open, big enough for them to slip through and close. Fable looked behind him: the Mammalian was a block away, arguing with a human man they had bumped into in their chase. He lifted Zeto up and helped him climb to the windowsill, where he in kind gave Fable a helping hand pulling himself up.
“Wait, aren’t we breaking and entering again?” Fable asked, struck by a sudden realization.
“There’s no time for that,” Zeto scolded. He didn’t sound too concerned. “Come on, before they see us.”
Not waiting for an answer, he pushed Fable past the window’s precipice inside, jumping in after him with a laugh.
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Post by Linyü on Jul 27, 2021 19:16:31 GMT -6
Rei peered out from her hiding place in San's satchel as he made his way through the market district, his arms laden with groceries. It was one of his few days off, but running the household errands kept him occupied. Even so, Rei had opted to come with him, just in case he ran into trouble. Though maybe that was more of an excuse now than it used to be. After everything had settled down, San had done an admirable job of living the cover identity he had constructed for himself. He wasn't fine, not exactly, but the seams only came undone in private, away from prying eyes. Nevertheless, he seemed glad for the company. That was enough, she thought. Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout, and she turned to see a Mammalian running down the street, chasing... two tiny figures. She glanced up; San was frowning ever so slightly, and when he caught her gaze, he inclined his head incrementally in a wordless question. She gave an almost imperceptible nod, then slipped out from the satchel, wings fluttering just enough to slow her fall. San subtly adjusted his trajectory, and deliberately turned his head as if something else had caught his attention. "Wah!" "Get back here, you little winged r-- oof." She glanced back to see San tripping over something, knocking into the Mammalian and sending them both sprawling across the street. Fruits and vegetables rolled every which way, and the Mammalian slipped on one as they tried to right themselves, prompting a bout of curses. San held up his hands in an attempt to mollify the them, though what he said only seemed to make the them angrier. Satisfied that he had the situation well in hand, Rei darted off in the direction of the two fleeing Harachiu. She caught sight of one just as he slipped through a window. His companion must have been the first one through. She paused a moment, considering whether it was worth following them past it when it was obvious they didn't want to be found, but judging from the commotion earlier, they weren't necessarily skilled at staying out of trouble. From her place in the shadow of an old crate, she scanned her surroundings for any sign that someone might be watching before flying through the window after them.
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Post by Touj on Jul 28, 2021 12:58:05 GMT -6
Fable's fall was broken by burlap, scratchy material that squished against abdomen and thigh. It was fruit, he determined: some liquid from the sugary, bright fruits that he hit already seeping through the brown bags, making his arm sticky. He tried to wipe himself off but just made a filmy, purple-red mess on his grey skin. Sighing, he gave up on cleaning himself and looked at where they were.
It was a warehouse of some kind, perhaps the back-area of a grocery store or restaurant, he wasn't sure. The crate of fruit he fell into was one of many, lined up against the wall; breads and pasta were stacked on shelves on the South-facing wall, while the North held tables with spices and kitchen supplies. Two doors faced opposite the window he came through, one closed and the other open leading down - what he assumed was a pantry. The air coming from it was cool, and a fan was quickly drying the syrup on his skin and clothes. They'd get chilly if they stayed here too long, but might have no choice. He wasn't sure how long the Mammalian would be searching for them before they could make it out, and he didn't trust Zeto to not get them right back into the fray upon leaving. Fable sighed.
"Made a mess already, huh?" Fable jumped: Zeto was beside him, and licked his fingers as he spoke. He tried to help Fable clean up, but ended up smearing more fruit juice than he could remove. Fable batted his hand away.
"You're the one who pushed me down here! What if it was a far drop or something? I could have got hurt!" Fable snapped. Zeto looked away sheepishly at his words, and Fable softened. For all the problems his friend caused him, he genuinely was not trying to get the other hurt and apologized when it did happen. "Look, never mind. It's okay, but help me up."
Zeto nodded and gave him a hand, lifting him out of the crate and onto his feet. The breeze from the pantry was stronger on the cement ground than in the pallet box. His companion helped him straighten out his shirt, using his own clothes to dab at some of the stains.
"Well, it looks like we're hiding out here for a little bit then, huh?" Zeto said, chipper as ever. "To pass the time, how about we - Ah!"
Fable followed Zeto's eyes, turning around to see another harachiu enter through the window. She made a much more graceful entrance than he had, Fable noted: flying in on black and green wings with purpose. While he had no reason to think she was dangerous, he also was wary that she would follow them in here: was she with the Mammalian? Zeto evidently had the same idea, pushing Fable behind him while keeping eyes on the newcomer. While he couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth at Zeto's movement, he pulled his companion's hand down, stepping closer. If this person was here to get them, he'd stand side-by-side with Zeto.
"Hey you! What's the deal?" Zeto called up. Fable sighed. "Here to turn us in?"
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Post by Linyü on Aug 1, 2021 20:33:19 GMT -6
Rei didn't know what she expected to find.
The interior of the room was fine. It was good, even. A little chilly, but there were plenty of places to hide, and she had waited through worse before. She paused a moment to listen and get her bearings, but there was no sound aside from the fan, and the movement of something small -- the other Harachiu.
They seemed to tense as one as they noticed her presence. Faintly she felt something like a tugging in her chest as the one with a mop of orange hair interposed himself between her and the other. When he spoke, she flinched, and involuntarily she took a step back. She hadn't meant to; consciously she knew he couldn't hurt her. But she had never -- Her job had always been to stay hidden, to keep an eye out. She didn't talk to people, didn't fight, didn't engage at all if she could help it. She didn't have San's skill with pretense, or even Roku's self-satisfied indifference. And she hadn't had to talk to anyone but San and Seveth for so long that she had forgotten how hard it was to talk to anyone else.
But the redhead's question needed to be answered, and she knew, at least, that things would get no better until she did. And it was easier to push through the urge to retreat into herself than it had been before. She shook her head, looked down, so that what she read in their faces couldn't distract her. "You... seemed like you needed help," she said. The words came slowly, and it was frustrating to feel like she had to reach down such a long way to find them. "My friend is keeping your pursuer busy. I thought..." She stalled another moment, but no more words came. She hadn't really had a plan when she came in here, and now it felt like a foolish thing to have done.
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Post by Touj on Aug 4, 2021 18:15:40 GMT -6
Zeto instantly relaxed at the other harachiu’s words. Fable barely stifled an eyeroll: his friend was either oblivious or detached from the reactions his aggresive tone brought. Either way, it usually meant that he was the one playing mediator. He was about the respond, clear the air and hopefully put the woman at ease but -
“Oh, sorry! I was just worried,” Zeto said with a smile. He got up and dusted himself off before he crossed the span between them and then newcomer, leaving Fable alone at a distance. “In that case, thank you!”
He extended a pale hand to the new girl, sporting a lopsided grin.
This was why, despite all the trouble, Zeto was much more popular with new people than Fable was. Although Fable was just cringing at Zeto’s attitude toward the newcomer, he also wanted to snap at his friend, tell him that she could be lying: he shouldn’t be so easy to trust, if he was actually suspicious.
But he held his tongue. The harachiu before him, with white hair like his and green eyes, was obviously uncomfortable. He didn’t want to make anything worse. Instead, he sighed, took a moment to collect himself and walked up to stand by the pair.
“We didn’t mean to accuse you of anything,” Fable tried to explain. “But sincerely, thank you for the help.”
He smiled, shy. She was obviously spooked, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t still be a friend. Zeto obviously saw her as someone new to befriend; an interesting person they could talk to as they waited through their hiding; an ally. He didn’t disagree with his friend, but didn’t have the optimism about others’ acceptance. He didn’t know why this woman had helped them, if she expected anything from them in return, if she had other reasons for following them.
But Fable knew it was better to give others the benefit of the doubt rather than assume they had bad intentions. If anything, her downcast expression at Zeto’s outburst further endeared her to him. He wanted to show that he was willing to make a leap of faith for her as well, extend an olive branch. Leaning slightly against Zeto, he too grinned at the pale girl.
“I’m Fable. This is Zeto,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you. It seems we’re already in your and your friend’s debt.”
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Post by Linyü on Aug 15, 2021 22:51:31 GMT -6
Rei's gaze stayed on the floor, but the tense line of her shoulders eased a fraction. She didn't quite trust the about face that the redhead's -- Zeto's -- attitude had taken, but this was still easier to deal with than active hostility.
She didn't hold it against them. If she had been in their shoes, she wouldn't have trusted a stranger either. And there was no way to prove, here in this warehouse, that she or San had really helped them at all.
It had been a mistake to come.
Still, she was already here. Rei closed her eyes, breathed, and counted to three like San had taught her, years and years ago. The air smelled of fruit, sweet and a little cloying. She nodded, stiffly, and after a moment she reached out and took the offered hand, clasping it for just a moment before letting go.
The breath had steadied her enough to look back up at the two of them again, though she did so almost mechanically, and their features didn't come into meaningful focus right away. She had learned, over the years, where to direct her gaze; here were the shadows of their eyes, and she could look between them, or just a little above, and be safe.
"I'm Echo," she said. "Why..." were you being chased, she had meant to ask, but something -- A slight crease formed between her brows and she blinked. For a moment, Fable had looked like someone else, someone --
"Do you," she began, without quite meaning to. "Do you know someone... named Iustus?" There was nothing in Fable's coloring that resembled the father she remembered, but something in the shape of his features... She shifted her focus to Zeto for a moment, half believing that she was imagining it, that she was seeing a ghost in the face of every Harachiu she met, few enough as they had been. But no, there was nothing familiar there, only the bright and troubling smile of a stranger.
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