Your New Bestest Friend Evar! <3 [( Open )]

[Anonymous]

Imperial. The name alone made him fairly giddy. The brand new Imperial. He liked the first three letters best out of the entire word, figured they suited him better than the other ones. Xiconocatzin couldn’t just be the Imp though, oh no, he had to be the Imperial. Xico was almost positive he was the best thing to grace these halls as Imperial. At least the best thing since Soren. Soren was a horrible Imperial, then there was that one who just up and disappeared.

Perhaps being here since the current batch of Pilot Royals were candidates would help him run this great country. Well, appear he was running it. Trust was the brains behind his brawn and apperance, he was what really got elected as Imperial dragon. Xico looked around his new office and tapped a long claw like finger against the old fashioned wood of the desk once before pressing an odd foot to the ground. The last Imperial had been a cripple. The one before that had just failed as Imperial entirely, a war, then no war, then just... Annoying.

Pressing his normal hand to his chin, Xico walked towards his new shiny window and looked out, the view was interesting, he could see just about anything. Trust was flying around outside and Xico leered in the general direction of his gray-green dragon. ‘I see you.’ Trust stopped and hovered, his great wings beating the air to keep his body from plummiting to the ground and he turned his glowing red eyes towards the window. The voice rumbled back into his head, a comforting noise, being with his dragon for other twenty years had that effect. The addiction to his dragon was a pulsing sensation in his head, but the soothing voice overcame it and he closed his own odd blue eyes before he left his new office. ‘And I know where you are, Ducky.’ Xico took a moment to roll his eyes, and throw his hands in the air slightly, his candidate nickname still haunted him.

Having always looked the most odd out of the other pilots, at least from what he can recall, they generally all had something in common. Xiconocatzin on the other had was almost their complete opposite. His skin was a dark blue, his iris’ glowed, his hair was lavender. Sharp teeth to put a wild animal to shame, his limbs were odd all on their own, and he enjoyed having some of the younger candidates stare at him when he walked around the ATC when he was still training them. Darien had been his last candidate, and it was still interesting to watch him grow up.

His footsteps sounded like soft-soled shoes against the ground despite the fact that they looked like they were made of darkened bone , the hell clicked with a soft thud when he took a step and he could feel the ties of his clothing brush against the exposed skin. Because of his body and its spikes, all of Xicos clothing was basically tied on. His pants were tied on to the sides, exposing his hips and thighs about an inch all the way down, the bottoms hooked against the larger spike on his heel to create some version of pants.  

Of course important things were going on, people to see, traitors to kill, papers to read, but first Xico wanted to view the citadel through the eyes of the King Snake. He’d take the stairs today, all the way to the bottom, it would take forever, but that meant he had more time to not do important things. He could have spent the day barking orders and making himself seem important...

Xico knew he was important, he’d climbed the ranks like any good Pilot. Doing a good job, following orders with little mess-up and little clean up. A pleased grin climbed on his face when he found himself having wandered to the floor where the Pilots lived. He wish he’d had a stick. Smack peoples doors with.

That would have been fun.

[shinigamikitsune]

Trance was waiting just inside an alcove. Euphoric had told him that sombody would be coming past soon and that this person needed a hug in the worst way. His dragon was always helpful like that. After all, just because they were pilots, didn't mean that they didn't need hugs too.

His kitty ears perked as he heard foot steps approaching, and he prepared to pounce. He wriggled his bum a little, and his tail swished slowly. Waiting until the oppertune moment he pounced at the person, glomping onto their left arm. "Hello!" He smiled brightly up at the person.

Something seemed off for a second. Arms weren't normally this spikey right. He opened his eyes and looked up at the person.... Oh dear. It was the new Imperial Xico. That explained the spikes, and the blush now creeping across his cheeks.

Yes. Our dear sweet little Trance had a major crush on this man. Now he knew why Euphoric had insisted that he pounce him. The steel grey and ash colored dragon was well aware of his crush, but he'd never done anything about it before. It would seem that he thought it would be amusing to have his mischief focus on his pilot today. Silly dragon.

[Anonymous]

Far from stupid, Xico had kept a steady wave of his psychic energy floating around his body in a good ten foot radias. Just to make sure no one sneaked up on him, he’d sensed the little pilot, a small blip, hardly something to worry about. Being attacked made his eyes go wide and he bared his teeth and let out an inhuman snarl before he noticed what had happened. It took every ounce of self-restraint to not rip his arm out of the little cat-boys grip and push him to the ground. Pouncing. An eyebrow twitched and he stopped walking to look down at him.

Hm. A quick flick to Trust asking for the desired information and his dragon rumbled it to him, ‘Pilot Trance, Rank Echo.’ once the information had been transferd he felt the usual wall go up that meant ‘ I don’t want to deal with your humanoid shit.’ Rolling his eyes towards the ceiling, Xico gently, but forcefully put his claw like hand to Trance’s forehead and tried to pry him off. How inappropriate. Why was he blushing now?

Embarrassment? That had to be it. Glomping the new imperial. Hello. While Xico didn’t enjoy everyone being so high-strung around him, being glomped by such a low ranking pilot he didn’t really remember irritated him a little. After prying Trance off of his left arm he lifted it up and examined the spikes to make sure they didn’t hook or snag onto anything. Leaning down to leer at the short cat-like man, he blinked his eyes, the glow from them casting a blue colour over Trance’s face. From a quick probe from his mind to Trance’s he knew his dragon had given him the tip that Xico was coming this way.

He’d ask Trust to question that dragon. Didn’t seem normal for a dragon, perhaps it was defective. Could the dragons reboot one another when they’ve gone defective? Xico, while staring at Trance’s face, let his mind wander onto less interesting things before he snapped back and resumed his glare. “Why did you do that?” His voice was gravelly, a low purr to it when he spoke, it suited his image perfectly. Something that could sooth someone to sleep as easily as it could make them bounce up in bed and scream about a monster.

[shinigamikitsune]

Trance blinks as he's pushed off of Xico's arm. It wasn't the best reaction he's received, though it was far from the worst. Honestly, by now word should have gotten around that there was a seriel pouncer around. After all, there was so many grumpy and cranky people around, all they really needed was a hug! And it was so nice of Euphoric to let him know who and where they were.

He looks up at Xico and tilts his head a little, the blush having gone away. "Because there are so many grumpy and cranky people around who all need a hug. Euphoric is nice enough to let me know who and where they are for when they need one.... Though he didn't let me know it was you this time." Silly dragon had left that detail out.

[Anonymous]

How did this boy make Echo rank? Hugs? The pilots let out their stress in other ways. By shooting kittens or some evil beast or something. Xico simply leered at the young Pilot and then shook his head for a moment before standing up to his full 6'4" height, his lavender hair had fallen into his eyes and the blue glow tinted them that colour.

Euphoric was nice enough to tell him where the other Pilots were. Again, Xico needed to inform Trust there was a dragon who had enough free time to help his Pilot terrorize others. Pressing the fingers of his left hand to his face, his odd one still handing down in a loose fist, read to smack at anything else that glomped him. “ We are Pilots. While most of us appreciate contact with other people, it is hardly needed nor required.” He cast a glance down at Trance before he moved his hand to his hip and blinking.

Grumpy. Cranky. “They seem grumpy and cranky because a Pilots life is full of work and addiction.” Maybe this boy wasn’t really a pilot. A friend? Someone had managed to sneak in? Though Trust had given him the information, so, it seemed that they held a blind spot. What an odd pilot. “ You seem too happy, Pilot Trance. I’ll have more work for you to do by next week.” Xico gave the younger pilot a pat on the cheek before he began to walk again, his stride easy and long, foot steps quiet as they always were, and he kept his mind open to sense any other people around him.

Trance was there. He was interesting, Xico sighed softly and looked over his shoulder before bringing a hand up to run down the spikes that lined the top-middle of his skull. He’d tell Trust later, if he talked to his dragon anymore he’d probably be forced to go back to work.

Who liked work, anyway?

[shinigamikitsune]

He'd heard that speach many times before, though always in different words. Just because he was happy doesn't mean he wasn't working or anything.... Really it doesn't. Nor does it mean he wasn't a pilot. He'd fought hard to be able to maintain a positive attitude during his training. The more they tried to beat him down, the more he fought to keep smiling. It was just like back at the orphange where they found home, only to a higher extreme. Of course his mentor had been nice as well, which was a big help. He was even tougher then he was happy. Just thank the gods that Trance doesn't like coffee.

He brought his hand up to where Xico had pat his cheek, unable to help purring softly from the contact. His ears perked up at the promise of more work. Perhaps it would be in the forms of missions. He really hated being cooped up or sent on menial errands. He was a cat for goodness sakes! A natural born hunter.

"Does that mean I finally get to kill things again?" Those words spoken with almost a little too much enthusiasm. He looks to Xico expeectantly, though refrains from glomping onto his arm again.... For now.

[Anonymous]

Eyebrows drew together and Xico stopped walking to turn slowly and stare down at Trance and blink. Does that mean he’d get to kill things again.  What were the mentors creating now? The newest batch had the most odd pilots he’d ever seen. Sadistic creatures were created instead of conditioned humans with a tolerance for the things they had to do. From what he’d see of the last batch of pilots, few of the mentors had succeeded in creating the perfect blend of pilot and human. Xico himself had been partially mentally broken while in his candidacy, had barely been able to pick up the shards of his lost self and build it back up before they’d beaten cruelty and death into him.  He’d let them. He wanted to prove something.

Moving back to Trance, Xico gently placed both of his hands  - if his right one could be called that - onto the younger males shoulders and stared at him in the eye, his face serious. If his eyes were readable, the fact they glowed a vibrant blue didn’t help, those would have been serious too. Not a hint of irony. His blue lips pulled down into a slight frown and he took a breath before thinking of what to say.

“Trance. Do you enjoy doing what you have to do, to be labelled as a good Pilot?”  Xico knew his own answer to that question, he opened his mind and let the tendrils of his extra talent slip out to taste the air around Trance, his emotions. Usually the pilots had a wide variety, the ones  who excelled in defensive mind tactics gave off no hint to what they were feeling, and Xico usually left them alone. He could pry and disturb them, but he didn’t want to lose their trust if he even had it in the first place.

Trust was a heavy thing with Pilots. It was also the name of his very heavy dragon.

'I heard that.'

 He resisted the urge to smirk at his dragon's eavesdropping but his expression stayed serious and he tilted his head. Xico could feel Trance’s current emotions, mild embarrassment, nervous at being so close to his crush. The excitement made him frown.

[shinigamikitsune]

Trance couldn't help but blink as Xico came back to him. The seriousness in his Imperial's eyes was enough to make him forget about being nervous. His own mako green eyes meeting the taller man's gaze. The question he posed seemed simple enough, but the answer to it was far from simple. A small little frowning pout formed on his lips, Trance seeming to be oblivious as to how adorable it made him look. He was putting some serious thought into this question.

"I enjoy being a pilot, and I enjoy most of what I do as a pilot. There are somethings that I enjoy less then others, but I do them anyways because it's expected of me to be a good pilot. I am not just a mindless drone, and have my individuality. Like most pilots, I am unique in my own ways, and use my natural strengths to my advantage. I know I am an oddity among the other pilots, considering my bubbly personality, but it was something that I fought to be able to keep. It's been a part of who I am since my days at the orphanage I was found at, however it has taken a fair amount of time for me to piece most of it back together. Being a pilot had given me a sense of purpose and a direction that I have never had in my life before, and so I strive to be the best that I can possibley be. In my own individual way of course."

Trance nods to himself as though confirming everything he said to be correct and true. This place was his home and these people were his family. His past was just that, his past. A blur of faces in a place that didn't really want him.

He watched Xico, curious as to what his reaction would be to his lengthy answer. His tail swaying calmly behind him. Actually, aside from missions, this was probably the mot docile anybody has ever seen Trance.

[Anonymous]

The pout made Xico raise an eyebrow. A pout. Pilots didn’t pout. At least, not normal pilots. Well, not in a serious conversation, and certainly not when face to face with the Imperial, close enough to feel one anothers breath on their faces. The glow his blue eyes cast tinted Trance’s face blue once again and his frown drew deeper on his dark blue face.

Quietly he listened, yes, Trance liked being a pilot. He does what he has to because it’s expected of him, yes, all the pilots did that. Used natural strength, something that should be ingrained in him. Xico smiled softly when Trance mentioned that he had to fight to keep his bubbly exterior, all the pilots had to do that, though some came out a little hardened, a little more broken. Be the best he could be in his own special way.

It was a great answer. Xico licked his lower lip, his tongue an off-blue colour before it slipped back into his mouth, behind his sharp teeth. He squeezed Trance’s shoulders gently and blinked before he spoke again, “It was a wonderful answer, unfortunately, it did not answer the question I asked you. I didn’t ask you if you enjoyed being a pilot.” Xico stood up again and looked down at Trance, removing his hands from the younger mans shoulders before standing up and moving his left hand to gently clasp Trances chin in his hand.

He gently drew his thumb across Trance’s lower lip before he asked his question again. “I asked you if you enjoyed doing what you had to do in order to be a good pilot.” He removed his hand and pressed it to his leg, standing at his full height before looking at the wall beside them. “ For instance, do you enjoy executing traitors? Do you enjoy terrorising the candidates simply because you’re stronger than them? That,” He turned his blue gaze back to Trance and gentle tapped the cat boy on the nose with his left-hand index finger, “is the question that I am asking.”

[shinigamikitsune]

Trance's big aqua green eyes watched Xico as he spoke. His flesh heating up where his crush was touching him. Somehow he managed to refrain from blushing all over the place, but he knew that as soon as he was back in his room he'd be various shades of red. For now though, he was focusing on the question, now that it had been defined a little better. He can't help but wrinkle his nose when Xico bops it, and he almost giggles.

"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it. It's in my nature as a cat to hunt down and kill the rodents. To harass and terrorize the younger and weaker so that they can become stronger for it." He licks his lips to moisten them before continuing. "Before becoming a cadidate, I was never in an enviroment that encouraged me to repress my natural cat instincts. Then as a candidate I was encouraged to draw and them and embrace them fully as part of my strengths. So yes, I do enjoy doing what I had to do to become a good pilot, and still do."

He pauses to make sure that he has expressed himself fully, then gives a little nod again.

Trance might be an odd pilot compared to the others, but nobody could say that he wasn't good at what he did. There was also no doubt where his loyalties laid. This was his family now, and to become a traitor was to betray family. After having lived for so long without one, he was going to make damned sure that he kept this one. These were the only people who had shown interest in him as well, even if it was for his phsycic abilities.

Though there was still something that he was curious about. Many people wondered just how he managed to become a pilot. He thought that it would be rather obvious considering that he has successfully pounced everbody from the hit list Euphoric had given him.

[Anonymous]

Carefully he listened, silently willing Trance to answer in the desired way. The answer he got however baffled him, and it showed up on his face. One eye brow was high up on his forehead, the other was down flat against his eye and his mouth was pulled off to the side in a sort of ‘huh’. Really? Someone so bubbly and happy enjoyed that? Got pleasure from it? Felt fulfilled? Xico turned his head away for a moment before he looked back, his usual expression becomming a mask to hide his disappointment.

Pity.

Xico took a moment to point out the obvious, “Of course you’re not lying, I’d have noticed and you would have gotten punished for lying to your Imperial.” His own eyes bore into the aqua green ones before he lift his head and turned away calmly, his hands at his side. He couldn’t completely ignore Trance, he could frown about the answer, about his state of mind, but he couldn’t change anything. Not at this point.

Sighing quietly, he looked over his shoulder and motioned with his hand. “Come for a walk with me, Little Pilot.” It wasn’t a request, it was a demand. Trance would feel a telekinetic tug at his waist to get him moving in the direction that Xico was walking, slowly than normal, waiting for the boy to catch up.  “Tell me about yourself while we walk.” He could ask Trust questions like that and get a detailed background. But he could see it better when the person who experienced it it told him about it.

[shinigamikitsune]

No matter how long Trance lived, he would never forget the look on his Imperial's face in that moment. He had honestly thought that Xico could be caught off guard like that, and he heard Euphoric snickering in his mind over it. No doubt that his dragon would tease Trust about it at some point.

He took note how Xico turned his head away to school his emotions. No doubt wanting to hide whatever emotion would flash while he did. He was curious as to what it was, though knew better then to vocalize that curiousness.

Xico didn't need to use the little tug, he had already started following as soon as he was asked. Though he couldn't restrain himself anymore, and once he caught up with his Imperial he glomped onto his left arm, hugging it and doesn't let go. "I'm sorry... I just can't help myself." Even if he was being poked his tail was swaying happily behind him.

"When I was young my parents died and I was sent to an orphanage. Well that's what I was told, but the bastards that ran the place would lie to us kids all the time about things. So for all I know I could have been some mutated freak that my parents didn't want anymore and abandoned me there... or I could have been a failed science experiement thrown out with the trash, and some random homeless person found me and took me there." It could be true. He'd seen the caretakers falsify birth certificates once he was older and could sneak around.

"Life at the orphanage sucked. Since I wasn't a baby when I was sent there, it was hopeless that I'd ever be adopted out. I hated that place. We were given barely enough food to survive, and I swear they never turned the heat on in the winter. We'd have to huddle in groups for heat with a thin little blankets. Our cloths were rags, though we each had a single good pair. Those were saved for days when outsiders would come for a look through, either to adopt or for an inspection.

"As I grew older the caretakers stopped paying as much attention to me. I pretty much had to teach myself from the crappy books they had, and I'd take time to teach the younger kids as well. I took a lot of flack for it when the caretakers discovered what I was doing. They'd beat me on a regular basis, demanding that I tell them where I hid the books." He shrugs a little bit at this. Sure it had been traumatic while he was going through it, but he'd always known that it could only last for so long. All he had to do was survive and keep smiling.

"Thinking back, I'm fairly certain that I was the only non-human there. I think it's why the caretakers didn't like me all that much. I know that some of the kids didn't know what to think of me when they first saw me, while others took to me like a stuffed animal." A faint smile forms across his lips. "I think that's the only thing I have left from that place. A stuffed panda named Pandy. One of the younger kids had given it to me when they were adopted. Said that I needed my own friend to hug since they all had me."

Trance paused to think if there was anything he was leaving out, aside from eating ants and chasing mice. He didn't think that Xico wanted to hear about that. "When I was thirteen I was collected to be placed into the candidate program. I think it pissed the caretakers off because they didn't have a choice in the matter and couldn't demand money for me. Not that I cared. I was just happy to be out of that place. Sure I was going to miss the kids, but that place was a dead end for me. I was just floating around aimlessly with nothing to look forward to other then being cast out once I hit 18 and be forced to make my way in a world that I wasn't prepared to handle. Being in the program was the best thing that happened to me, as far as I'm concerned. It gave me a direction and a sense of purpose.

"It was hell, plain and simple, and there were times when I thought I'd never come out alive or sane. Then I'd remember one of the caretakers sneering that I'd never be able to make it, and it would just piss me off and I'd force myself back up and fight harder."

[Anonymous]

A smooth eyebrow twitched and Xico stared ahead, the urge to rip his arm out of the cat boys grasp was overwhelming. Would it still be traitorious of him to ‘accidentally’ wound someone just by pulling his arm out of someones grasp? The spikes went the right way for wounds. Did he really want to though?

Winter. He knew that word, Xico looked down at Trance, flexed his fingers and resisted the urge again and thought about winter. That meant Trance was from somewhere else, it would be too inconvienent to play at seasons in the dome. Xico eyed Trance and blinked at him, wondering where he was from. Winter. The space stations didn’t have winter, did Edanith? A frown clouded his features as he fell into thought. Okay, so Trance must have been from Edanith. No where else had winter.

At least no where else nearby.

Unless the lower level was where he was from. Almost the bottom. Though it would have always been cold then. Xico looked down again and sighed, his arm still in Trance’s grasp. Obviously pulling it away wasn’t a strong enough indication that no, Xico didn’t enjoy being snuggled. Well, not randomly and certinally not on an defective dragon’s orders. Keeping his expression blank he listened to the rest of Trance’s tale of woe and then just offered him a simple smile.

There were few Pilots who could say that being a candidate was better than home. He knew that a great many candidates had changed radically before and after they got out of the program. In as innocent children, out as hardened soldiers. Puppets. They were all simple puppets. The only thing that was missing was the hand to make them talk. No, instead they had a leash, tether where they were constantly connected and only the Dragon could cut it.

And if the Dragon cut it, they were fucked.

“The strongest people are the ones that crawl their way from dead ends.” Xico gently pried Trance off of his arm agan and he placed his hand on the shorter mans head, fingers scratching absently. “ While you suffered greatly in that orphanage, you got an easy ticket out. Food, shelter, something to do for sure if you survived candidacy.” He moved his hand and brushed a finger over Trance’s ear as he spoke, his voice a purr. “Do you help them at all? Surely you make enough credit’s you don’t use to donate them to the orphanage, or start your own.”

While Xico hated having people cling to him, he always tended to absent mindedly pet the person he was talking to, tap their nose, rub their cheek, their hair, their shoulders.

All of this was still better than paper work.

[shinigamikitsune]

Trance couldn't help but purr and lean into the petting, it felt so good. Plus adding the feeling up of an ear only made it better. He probably could be convinced to do just about anything for a good petting and ear scratch. Of course he wasn't going to tell anybody that fact.

"I went back after I graduated, only to find that the place had burned down shortly after I had left for my candidancey. The old caretakers didn't bother rebuilding. They took the insurance money and shipped the kids who had survived to other orphanages." His ears lowered as he remembered the condition that some of them were in when he'd gone to visit them, their bodies covered with burn scars.

"I bought the land and had a new orphange built. I even hand chose the people who'd look after the place for me. In the back part of the property I had a memorial built for the kids who'd died in the fire... figured it was the least I could do since there was nobody before to make them one."

Trance had also set it up so that a certain amount of his credits would be sent to the account for the Orphanage on a regular basis. He also made sure to drop by there now and then to check up on things.