Remnants of the Earth
TEINAR => Teinar => Topic started by: Anonymous on July 28, 2008, 08:18:45 am
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Why the hell was she back here?
Outside a café in the Lower City, a red headed woman glanced lazily at passers by. The night she left she swore she was never coming back. Yet here she was again, at least anyone who bothered to notice her probably wouldn’t recognise her. And she doubted even the person she wanted to avoid would. She was just afraid that one slip up and her bastard of a grandfather would discover she had returned. And she doubted the old fogey was dead. He was the type to live forever.
Wait….’afraid’? She was not afraid! She was Raichou Fenix, wanted criminal and shape-shifter extraordinaire. Not that she looked it. Instead of her silver hair and blue eyes, today she had red hair and brown eyes. Instead of being her sexy nineteen year old self she looked like a world-weary thirty year old. Normally Raichou hated turning into un-glamorous people but it was necessary so she wasn’t noticed.
She wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for her last target. She worked as a bounty hunter on occasion and her previous target, which had now been dealt with, lived of all places in Teinar Lower City. When she discovered this she had been tempted to refuse but the money was too good and she never passed up a challenge.
Killing him had been easy enough, he hadn’t put up much of a fight. Now she had to get out of Teinar without anyone realising who she was. She wasn’t even sure why she was so nervous, she had snuck into Haviah and Tynova before and gotten out alive and that was much harder than escaping Teinar. She was just being paranoid.
Raichou rose from her seat and threw a few coins on the table for her drink. She just had to sit out tonight and then tomorrow she could leave. Maybe she would cause a bit of havoc tonight to take her mind of being paranoid. She loved havoc.
After checking no-one was watching her, she slipped into an alley. Even if she didn’t look like herself it was still best to make sure as few people saw her as possible. Some people tended to notice outsiders, the gossiping busy-body type. She could have shown off and turned into something non-human but she had gone with a human because they attracted a lot less attention.
As she passed under a streetlight she noticed a shadow a few feet behind her. Was someone following her? She doubted it was her grandfather he was more direct and she would more than likely have a set of fangs in her chest by now. And since it was Teinar it wasn’t her usual enemies. So it was either someone with a death wish or a bounty hunter. Those she could deal with, she was a shifter and hadn’t lived this long solely by luck.
Without turning round she stopped, “You have exactly 8 seconds to tell me why you’re following me or face the consequences.”
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((OOC: Here goes nothing!))
IC:
Sian squeaked a little at the woman's comment. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. She didn't even know this woman and yet there she was going after her. Maybe she should have spoken. Called out. But she was afraid someone she knew would hear her and she didn't want anyone listening to what she wanted to ask.
The girl hadn't even planned on it. She just came to the cafe to relax and avoid her rather smothering loved ones. That was when she saw the woman. There was really nothing special about her. So why couldn't Sian stop staring at her? Instinct? Vibes? Feelings? Sian didn't know but she just had to talk to her. So she followed, hoping to get her someplace private. But it didn't work out entirely.
"I-I'm sorry." Sian blurted out, looking apologetic even if she wasn't being looked at. "It's just... I wanted to talk to you alone and didn't wanna say anything in there in case someone I knew as around..." Sian paused. "Could... could I ask you something? You're not from here, are you?"
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Raichou kept her back to the girl as she talked.
"I-I'm sorry. It's just... I wanted to talk to you alone and didn't wanna say anything in there in case someone I knew as around... Could... could I ask you something? You're not from here, are you?"
“No,” she replied.
That was a blatant lie, she was born and raised in Teinar but she didn’t consider it her home anymore. Her real home was open space. Four years ago she had realised she wasn’t going to become a better shifter unless she escaped. Shortly afterwards she did and never regretted the decision.
“But why is that any business of yours?”
She turned to look at the girl. She wasn’t very interesting looking. Rather plain except for the camel lashes. The same colouration as her current form though, that was mildly interesting. Only mildly.
“The answer better be good. I don’t take kindly to stalkers. They usually end up dead.”
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Sian had a look of almost horror. Stalker?? This lady accused her of being a stalker? Oh that was just mean! Bristling, the girl was about to really make a fuss but bit her cheek. If she wanted this to go smoothly, she had to be nice and not say much. Even if she wanted to. And she really wanted to.
Well, she wanted an answer pretty quick, right? Best to get to the point.
"That means you'll be leaving soon, then? Since you don't really live here." A pause. "When you go... I was wondering if I could go with you."
There it was.
"I don't have to be with you or live with you or anything. Just... so I can leave this place for once."
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This girl wanted her to help escape? Did she have a habit of asking complete strangers for favours?
“Yes I am leaving soon, tomorrow as it happens,” Raichou replied, “But as for helping you. That isn’t going to happen and I’ll tell you why. Firstly, you can’t get out of Teinar unnoticed unless you’re a mage of some kind or at the very least, real lucky. Second I’m a loner and I never help anyone, ever, unless it has some benefit to myself. And lastly, helping you would be too risky. You’re clearly an idiot since you asked a complete stranger for help. How do you know I’m not some kind of bounty hunter or serial killer?”
Actually she was both of those things. She wasn’t going to tell this girl that unless she had to. She did not need Teinar’s authority down her neck right now. Not that they were any threat to her but it might catch the attention of a certain someone.
The girl had guts but they were nothing unless you had the skills and intelligence to back them up. And so far Raichou was unimpressed.
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Sian was completely quiet now but there was a veing twitching a little bit above her eye. Whether or it was noticeable depended on how keen into details you were. Her hope had just been brought up and crashed down all in a few seconds. Why the hell did she approach this lady? Why did she think of approaching anyone at all?! She should just go back home and forget this ever happened... An inaudible sigh escaped. But that wasn't going to happen. Because she knew why she was doing this. She was desperate. And if that meant dealing with a total ***** then so be it.
"It just so happens I am a mage." She responded, sweetly. "So I don't think I have to worry about that."
Okay... that wasn't entirely true. Not exactly. She wasn't a full blown mage. But she was training to become one so that could work right? Either way, this lady here didn't need to know that.
"As for benefits, well..." Sian paused. "Surely there's something you want. I mean, if you were completely happy, it'd show don't you think?"
She didn't bother dignifying the serial killer or bounty hunter comment with a response. After all, it was obviously an attempt to scare her. A silly one too. Why would she worry about bounty hunters? Hell, she knew a few. And serial killers? Homegirl was mistaken if she thought Sian was defenseless. Maybe it was foolish... but she didn't see a reason to be afraid.
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It seemed she had annoyed the girl now. She was trying to hide it but Raichou prided herself in her own acting skills, she knew to look out for little details. The fact she was a mage sparked her interest however.
“So you are a mage? Interesting, what kind? Varied, elemental or specific?”
There might actually be some benefit to this. Raichou didn’t really want anything except to be entertained and not bored. If the girl was a mage she might alleviate her boredom for a while. Mages with varied magic were the ones who commanded all the elements and were always full of surprises, elementals were rather dull. Specific however could be very interesting depending on what they could manipulate. Raichou was one such mage, she could manipulate her form.
“What’s your name anyway?”
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Sian smiled, relaxing a little. She always hated lying and now she could be a bit more honest now.
"Specific." The girl answered, as she looked up at the sky. "I can manipulate gravity."
Gravity was a particularly interesting source of power and not many people could do it. Hell, she still had problems now and then which was why she hadn't officially made mage status like others her age who chose the easier things to control. But that was really only a minor obstacle. She wouldn't believe any differently.
"My name is Sian." She responded again to another question. "And you are?"
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Gravity? That was very interesting, Raichou had never met a Gravity Mage before. And that power just might come in handy for escaping, if ‘Sian’ could control it well enough. They could increase the gravity around the entrance area making anyone, except them of course, unable to move. This should be very interesting.
“I’m Rachel, Rachel Langser.”
Telling the girl her real name would be stupid. She might consider telling Sian eventually but for now, she would use one of her many aliases.
“So you want to leave Teinar? Alright then but I’m only taking you are far as the nearest settlement. I’m leaving tomorrow, if that’s too soon, tough.”
If the girl was running from something, which was possible then Raichou supposed she could let the girl stay with her for the night. She’d have to stop Sian coming in her room though; she liked to sleep in her real form where possible.
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Sian was feeling much better now. She'd been worried her plan would fail miserably because this woman--Rachel--was being so terribly uncooperative. But it turned out she had nothing to worry about! Thank goodness for small favors!
In spite of Rachel's still present rudeness, the girl nodded happily with the brightest of grins. Tomorrow would work out fine. She'd make due.
"No problem... and thank you!"
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[OOC Short o.O]
“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome,” Raichou replied, “You running from someone? If so I guess you can always stay at my place tonight. If not I’ll see you on the edge of the city at dawn tomorrow.”
The girl probably guessed without it needing to be said that if she was late then Raichou would leave without her.
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((OOC: No biggie.))
Sian didn't say anything but she did tense up a little. She supposed it would be sort of obvious. After all, the desperation was probably pretty noticeable. But... she felt a little bad when hearing it put that way.
It was true though, right? She was running. Running away from home...
Her attention drew back to Rachel. Stay at her place tonight? Would she dare...?
"I'll take your invite." Sian said before she could think about it.
Besides, it's the best way to make sure she wasn't late because maybe they'd leave at the same time...
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So the girl accepted her invite, well she would have to enforce some rules; like not entering her private space for example. She didn’t want Sian knowing she was Raichou Fenix, serial killed and wanted criminal, not yet anyway. Revealing who she was usually led to a lot of screaming, running or sneaking off to contact the authorities. Like she was afraid of the so-called law enforcers. Both the Mordecai and the Pilots were yet to catch her. She was untouchable.
“If you’re coming now then follow me, if you want to get some things first then I’ll tell you the address.”
Either way Raichou would have to walk to her place. If she shifted someone might see and follow her. So far tonight she hadn’t revealed anything to suggest who she truly was. Even Sian only knew her by a fake name and didn’t realise she was a shifter. Raichou was curious as to whether Sian wondered what kind of mage she was. She’d find out soon enough.
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Sian started to replay but decided it wasn't worth the effort. Hell, Rachel was already heading off! Keeping a protest out of the way, the girl hurried to catch up with the other person.
She did wonder about having to walk. Not many people walked in Teinar. But then Rachel wasn't from here, right? So naturally she wouldn't know that. Shrugging her shoulders, she just focused on picking up the pace lest she be left behind.
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Raichou slowed her pace a little when the girl started following her. She was naturally taller than the girl and her current form was as well, Sian was struggling to keep up.
The apartment she was staying at wasn’t far from where they were so catching some form of transport was pointless; besides Raichou didn’t mind walking. The apartment had been provided by her contractor. As part of the deal Raichou had negotiated its use since sleeping on the streets was a sure way of getting noticed and if she stayed at a hotel there was a good chance one of the staff might come in and see she was a shifter. And it had two bedrooms so Sian wouldn’t have to come into her’s.
It didn’t take them long to reach it. Raichou headed up to the front door and placed her hand on the panel. It let in residents whose hand prints matched the stored ones. For the average criminal, this would cause a problem especially if the authorities had your hand print. But in the case of a shifter it was no problem at all. ‘Rachel’s’ hand print was stored since she was supposed to be renting the apartment. The panel beeped in recognition and the doors slid open.
As Raichou entered she started talking to Sian again, “If you’re staying at the apartment there’s one main rule; don’t come in my room. The spare one is your’s to do whatever you want in for tonight but my room is totally out of bounds.”
There might be more rules added later but that one rule should do for now. Raichou pressed the button on the elevator and waited for it to come down.
“Any questions?”
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Of course there were questions. Well, actually only one question. But of course it'd be there. It was simple. Why couldn't she go into Rachel's room? That was the question. And a good one too. But... Sian was afraid Rachel wouldn't be willing to have a guest if she tried to pry the info from her. So instead, she decided to keep it to herself.
"No... no questions." Sian told Rachel.
The elevator came down and she slipped into it, finding a nice position in one of the corners. I wonder what it'll look like... She thought as she waited for Rachel to join her.
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Raichou followed Sian into the elevator and leant against the opposite corner from Sian. After a second’s pause the doors closed and it started going up. The apartment was on the fourth floor so the elevator quickly reached it, not having to stop on the other floors. Raichou then headed out of the elevator and walked up to the first door to the right. She keyed her combination in and the door slid open.
As soon as she entered she threw her jacket onto the sofa and flopped onto it. The apartment wasn’t exactly luxurious but it wasn’t dilapidated either it. It was comfortable and functional and the lounge was painted in a rather pleasant light blue. Raichou liked blue, it was her favourite colour.
She then looked at Sian before pointing to the door next to the kitchenette.
“That’s your room.”
Both the bedrooms were the same size so Sian couldn’t complain that Raichou was giving her the smaller room. Not that she’d get to see the inside of the shifter’s room, it was a no go zone for Sian.
“If you’re hungry there’s food in the kitchen. It’s not my apartment so eat what you want.”
Sian knew she wasn’t from Teinar so saying that wouldn’t be suspicious. And there was too much food for Raichou to eat. Some of the things she couldn’t have anyway. Being a shifter was good but it gave you weaknesses to certain things such as alcohol and caffeine. It wouldn’t kill her but her powers went really out of whack when she had them.
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Sian managed to keep up with Rachel all the way to the apartment. Though that was probably because she made it a point to pay attention. She'd only known Rachel for a little bit and already she was getting the vibe that this girl liked to move fast. And if you took your eyes off her, she'd be gone just like that.
When they got inside, Sian started taking her time as she leisurely looked around the place. It didn't look that bad. And the walls were such a pretty color.
The girl listened as Rachel told her everything she needed to know. Where her room was. And the fact that she could eat what she pleased. That got a grin out of her.
"Okay!" She said brightly, heading straight for the mini kitchen. "And thanks again!"
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[OOC Short and not too great o.O]
When Sian headed into the kitchen Raichou turned on the TV. Teinar’s programs were generally not the best, especially at this time of the night but it was better than making small talk with Sian. And if push came to shove she could always go to bed early. Maybe practice a few transformations before she went to sleep.
As it happened she was in luck show wise, it was a documentary on the mutants in the wastelands. These kinds of shows were useful for shifters who were too lazy to pick up a book. Not that she was…well maybe a little.
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((This is gonna be short too, actually. Because I can think of nothing except going to the forbidden room. And I don't wanna do that...))
Sian had managed to fix her plate and ended up making her way to the livingroom. For a second, she hesitated. Now that they were here, things were feeling particularly awkward. Though that shouldn't be so surprising. It wasn't like they were friends. On the other hand... Sian didn't wanna spend the day avoiding her because that would suck.
"Um... Rachel?" She started. "Mind if I join you?"
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“Yeah, I guess,” Raichou replied to Sian’s question.
As long as the mage was silent and didn’t snitch on her she really didn’t give a damn what she did.
[OOC: Time skip]
When the show finally finished Raichou yawned and stretched before rising from the couch.
“I’m going to turn in,” she said to Sian, “You can stay up all night for all I care but if you can’t wake yourself up in the morning in time then I’m just going to leave you here.”
With that, the shifter headed into her room, shutting the door behind her. It wasn’t the most glamorous of rooms, but it suited it’s purpose. In it was just a bed a dresser and wardrobe and there was a small adjoining bathroom.
Raichou slumped onto the bed, transforming back to her normal form as she did and was asleep even before her head hit the pillow.
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Sian was feeling a tiny bit uncomfortable because of the silence. She'd kinda hoped that maybe Rachel would wanna talk. Obviously that wasn't gonna happen. She supposed she could try and start of conversation but she was worried she'd be given a cold response. So instead, she remained quiet, the only sound being the TV.
When the show ended and Rachel decided to head off to bed, Sian actually felt a little relieved. There was no more awkward silence to deal with! Now that she was alone though, she didn't feel very happy though. But still... it was better than staying here in this... whatever.
Question now was what she'd do. Sian wasn't sleepy at all. Not even a little. But going to bed would be a good idea because she'd kick herself forever if she missed going with Rachel off of this place. With a sigh, Sian got to her feet and went to the bedroom and lied down. As she stared up at the ceiling, she hoped for herself to suddenly black out.
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((Double post... hope that's okay))
Sian stared at the ceiling for the umpteenth time. Here she was again. Wide awake. Did she even fall alseep in the first place? She couldn't remember. With a frustrated growl, the girl hopped out of bed and left the room. With a long sigh, she stared at the living quarters where the lights were off. Now that she thought about it... she kinda had to use the bathroom!
Frowning, she looked around again. Where was the bathroom again? She didn't remember that either! Did Rachel tell her? If so, this was totally embarrassing if she forgot. Well, she had no choice. She just had to find a random door and hope that was it. There was the risk that she'd wake up Rachel if she accidentally opened her door... but surely the other female would be pissed if she peed on the floor, right?
With that thought in mind, Sian went to the first door she could find and pushed it open. Blinded by the darkness, she fumbled for the light switch and gave it a click to look around the room... where she froze. Her first reaction was that this wasn't the bathroom. It must have been the other bedroom where Rachel was sleeping. Only the person in the bed wasn't Rachel. At least, it didn't look like Rachel.
But in that case, who was this person? A sudden instinct to back out of the room came over Sian, but for some reason, she just couldn't budge.
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Raichou had been having a rather odd dream about catching a fairy in a bottle and shaking it violently when she was suddenly awoken by the light being turned on.
“Uh, turn that light off…” she mumbled before rolling over and covering her head with a pillow.
Who was that idiot anyway?...Wait…It started to come back to her, a mage had come home with her last night and she was helping her sneak out of Teinar. Oh shit, she wasn’t ‘Rachel’ anymore!
Grudgingly she pulled her head from underneath the pillow and looked up at Sian.
“What did I say about coming in my room?”
Well it wasn’t as if she could erase memories; that would be handy. She’d just have
to make sure Sian didn’t snitch on her, even if that meant killing the nosey mage.
Raichou sighed and sat up, “I can explain. As you can see I’m not Rachel. In fact she doesn’t even exist…The name’s Raichou Fenix….You might have heard of me, I’m a shifter.”
Hopefully Sian wouldn’t run off, Raichou was not a morning person and chasing after her would be a pain.
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Sian kinda stood there for a long second, not entirely registering the person's voice who was in the bed. Not until she was scolded for breaking the main rule in the house anyway...
At that, Sian began blushing sheepishly. Well, it was no wonder that rule was there! She listened as Rachel...Raichou explained herself and waited for her reaction. Sian shifted nervously and guiltily for a moment before speaking.
"I-I'm sorry!" The girl managed to squeak out. "I didn't mean to come in here. I just had to go to the bathroom and I didn't know where it was and it was too dark so I could't see anything..." She trailed off. "Um... so your name's Raichou? I... don't think I've heard of you before."
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So Sian hadn’t heard of her, well that made things easier…in theory anyway. Maybe if Sian knew of her reputation she might be more inclined to follow the rules. When Raichou was coherent she tended to get stabby when people didn’t do what she said…or gougey. But she was not going to explain to Sian that she was a wanted killer in two countries as well Libra and Cancer. And being wanted on the Cancer meant you were certainly in the murdering psychopath category. She was very proud of that.
Raichou rubbed her eyes sleepily, “The bathroom’s the door on the left.”
She glanced momentarily at the clock on her bedside table, three minutes past four. Earlier than she would have liked to have been woken up but there really was no need on going back to sleep now. Well setting off early wasn’t a bad thing.
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Sian nodded rapidly. "Okay. Thanks! Night!"
And she left the room closing the door gently behind her. It wasn't until she got to the bathroom that she let out a sigh.
Holy crap!! She had no idea what she was getting into, did she? No, she had no idea who Raichou Fenix was. But the fact that Raichou asked that question made her wonder... should she know?
Shaking her head, she washed her hands and went back to her room. She still wasn't blacking out any time soon but it'd help to get her bearings back in order.
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Raichou rolled out bed and stretched. As nervous Sian had been she suspected that the young mage didn’t know who she was. Maybe she could make something up to explain why she might have heard of the shifter but it was probably best not to tell Sian though. Her reaction could be entertaining but it would be reckless of Raichou to reveal herself, at least whilst she was in Teinar.
Raichou shifted herself back to Rachel again and exited her room. The form would still be needed if she wanted to get out of Teinar uninterrupted.
She knocked on Sian’s door, “If you’re not asleep are you okay to leave in ten minutes?”
Usually she would have just left and if the mage was asleep then too bad. The authorities would find her when she was forced to break her way out.
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"10 minutes is fine!" Sian called back.
As she'd predicted, she was wide awake and not able to black out no matter how much she wanted to. She supposed it was just as well, considering that Rachel... Raichou... was already up. Sian let out a sigh. She'd have to figure out what to really call her. Nodding her head, she opted that depending on the form she chose would be how she'd decide.
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‘Rachel’ looked out across at the elevator that went to the surface. It was still dark but that would come in handy for cloaking them for now. There weren’t too many guards, just 3 which she could easily dispatch. Humans were no match for a full-grown dragon.
She turned to Sian, “Right, I’m going to transform into a bat and fly across to the elevator. I’ll hack into the mechanism to put the combination in. Then I’ll turn into a dragon and make lots of noise and cause lots of havoc. Your job is to during that time retrieve a key from one of the dead guards then get to the elevator before reinforcements arrive. Think you can do that?”
It was a fairly simply and potentially enjoyable plan. And if Sian wussed out then Raichou could just kill her.
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Sian looked at Rachel--that's the form she chose-- and tried not to lose track of her. It was pretty dark now and Sian wasn't entirely sure of her eyesight. She'd hate to get separated and all that. Because that would be a terrible thing to happen. Especially here of all places. The exit out of Teinar.
When Rachel turned towards her, Sian pretty much sat at attention because the serious expression on the other woman's face was a little intimidating. In any case, she was able to listen relatively well and had to cram down the urge to balk at the plan. Dead? Someone was going to have to die?
Gritting her teeth, Sian brushed it off. She chose to leave this way and hook up with this woman. Now there was no turning back.
"Yeah." Sian responded, nodding. "Won't be a problem!"
-
Raichou was a little surprised when Sian accepted the plan, she didn’t seem very happy about it though.
A shadow engulfed Raichou and gradually formed into the shape of bat, when it lifted there was the shifter in all her bat-like glory. She flew across to the elevator, over the heads of the guards below who as expected didn’t even notice her.
Once she was inside the elevator she ducked inside slightly, just out of sight and transformed back into ‘Rachel’ she would need fingers for hacking. After pressing a few keys the panel lit up, all they needed now was a key. Hopefully Sian wouldn’t screw up.
“Now for the distraction,” Raichou thought.
She stepped out of the elevator in full view of the guards and for a second they would have seen a normal human woman. But after that second had passed standing in its place was a fully-grown organic silver scaled dragon. Not surprisingly the guards were terrified.
They started shooting at her but dragon scales were one of the strongest things in the universe and they had no effect on her at all. She snarled at them before attacking, using her gigantic claws and the spikes on the end of her tail easily dispatching them. Now it was up to Sian.
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For the briefest of moments, Sian took in slightly gobsmacked horror when she witnessed Raichou at work. She was calling her that now that the lady was getting into her shifting mode right now. Her eyes closed seeing one guard get taken out and she winced. Jeez... no hesitation there, huh?
When the last one was out of the way, the girl stood blinking a few more times before shaking her head rapidly and even smacking a cheek a little bit. This was her cue! She had to snap out of it!!
Now Sian had no way of knowing which guard had the key at all. And time was of the essence. In more ways than one. With those thoughts in mind, Sian took a breath and tapped into her powers. Her hand shot out for a second and suddenly the area around the guards and herself was plunged into zero gravity. The bodies began floating haphazardly and even turning a little. And just as she hoped, the little key was drifting away from the pocket it had been in.
She'd only been floating a little bit in that time. Now she pushed herself off and snagged the key as she glided by. A mere second later, the gravity wore off and Sian plus the guards abruptly dropped to the ground. With a squeak, the girl managed to catch herself and merely skidded. Damn! She still couldn't make the gravity she inflicted last for much more than 15 minutes. But at least she got the key! Now she had to move!
Regaining her balance, Sian sprinted towards the elevator where Raichou was waiting. She was afraid to turn around because she could swear she heard voices somewhere back there. In the end, she literally threw herself into the elevator and plastered herself against the wall, away from the door.