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Ginny drew in a shuddering breath as the tension slowly deflated, her shoulders dropping out of their defensive set as the sudden adrenaline from being threatened with a gun faded away. She had just raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose—an old habit she'd picked up from her mother—when a voice spoke up behind her, and she whirled.

"I'm fine, just f—" She paused in the middle of a well-rehearsed response, face blank for a moment, before her eyes widened. "Richard!" Genevieve lunged forward, pulling the boy she'd known as a child into a lightning-quick hug before stepping back. She smiled, unable to feel awkward about her response when it was just so good to see an even distantly familiar face that wasn't screaming violence.

"R-Ryker, I mean—and Emerson—I'm so glad to see you. Well, not—not glad, because you're here, but—you know what I mean." Her smile was a bit shaky around the edges, but the sentiment was genuine.

Ginny glanced around, and the group seemed to be organizing to leave and head north. She frowned, shifting from foot to foot before she looked back at Ryker. "I'm going to stay here," she said as she came to a decision, tracing the seam on the first aid kit still in her hands. "Get things organized, try and keep people together for now, get a better idea of what we have. You're welcome to help if you don't want to head out with them."

There's something more terrifying than a psychopath with a gun and that's a silent psychopath with a gun. As each of the three factions she had done damage on took turns, like clockwork, dismissing her as a crazy person who was also a hypocrite, Athena remained deadly quiet. To anyone watching, her body language gave away everything - she was very, very pissed off and that didn't look very good but as Rae turned and walked off, something strange happened that would throw off anyone who even mildly suspected they had Athena pinned down. She turned, cocked her head to the side and blatantly allowed her eyes to fall to that tight little Inqusitior butt. The very girl who just openly invited her to try to kill her and there she was, like a horny teenage boy, the only difference being she wasn't a boy.

The rest came and went - Brains wasn't very good at it and she at least thought he would realise what she was doing. Pretty Boy was different though. He didn't just issue a threat, he practically exiled her from the group. That alone pissed her off - she was the centre of the universe, not some basic bitch that he could throw aside. Her smile broke when he spoke to her and without realising it, she subconsciously let her fingers dance upon the trigger of her weapon.

And after that, although it was a byproduct of her intentions, the group fell into place. Those who hadn't already formed their own factions joined Pretty Boy and Brains, united under a single fear of being led by someone who was crazy enough to start people killing each other when they had barely even been on the ground for an hour. Athena stood, humoured slightly before she bent down and picked up the knife at her feet. Testing it's edge, she cut a slice in her index finger and, apparently impressed with it, she slipped it through her belt and moved to where she had thrown the rifle. Lifting it, her blood dripped down onto the barrel of the weapon. She inspected it momentarily before throwing it back onto the position on her back that it had been in previously. Now she had to figure out where exactly she fitted into. Athena had no power when she was by herself but when she had people to influence, she became a figure of power. The only problem was after the outburst, people had either dubbed her as the crazy bitch or the enemy of the group. Turning in a wide circle, she watched what was originally fifty teenagers split up into various groups. The only people that seemed to stand still were her and another boy. He was cute but he didn't look very useful to Athena but given her current situation she had no other choice. His eyes seemed locked on her so she dipped into a low bow. "As you from crimes would pardoned be, let your indulgence set me free." She called to him in an almost teasing voice. Most of these people wouldn't get what she was talking about, they had grown up in poor families that couldn't have possibly afforded to have a classic smuggled for them.

The other group was readying to leave but Athena was still on the fence to what she deemed was a good idea. She could bow down and go with them but rise later on or steer clear and have them come crawling back when they realised they were being led by idiots who could only do what was right, not what was necessary.

A noise disturbed them. The ship had crashed at the cusp of a valley with a long view down into the lowlands of the scarred land. Stopping, the teenagers seemed to shift to capture views of a massive purple cloud shifting and moving, edging towards them. After a while, what was a cloud split into a massive swarm. Teenagers began to back off but they were moving much too fast towards them for that to make a difference. The swarm danced closer and closer until finally, with not much distance between them, the swarm took on some individualism - brightly coloured birds flying in a massive cohort. They ducked and swerved and the entire land was consumed by them. Dipping down, they flew between the wreck of the Ardent Liberty, dodging past the giddy teenagers who burst out with excited laughter. The birds seemed to not bother them, flying off quickly and as soon as it begun, the swarm ended with the youngsters' eyes following the exotic birds.

The smartist of the bunch quickly realised that their movement was too directional, too skittery and fast to be a normal movement. Their fears were confirmed when from the valley floor, a colossal roar filled the air and almost in a second, the chirping silenced and a number of smaller yelps and howls sounded from below. The ground itself began to tremble as Athena slowly turned towards the origin of the sound. Turning towards the opposite direction, she began walking which became a very pacey walk which became a very jaunty jog. Whatever the hell had made such a noise was a lot bigger than a puny pulse rifle could deal with and unfortunately, survival demanded she go in the direct opposite of whatever the hell it was. "You wanna live kid? Let's go!" She called back to the one she had teased earlier. He was taller than her but still.

@Ceta de Cloyes
[@basicallyeveryoneomgrun]

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Kaleb raised a curious eyebrow, having never heard the saying before, though he suspected that might be because it was a reference and not a saying. He was a bit disconcerted the gun-totting girl had focused on him, but he let it go, deciding to just go with it. "I dunno if I-" He paused, trailing off as he noticed the huge fog rising up and approaching them. For a moment he thought it was gas, some kind of toxic poison. He freaked out a little, taking a nervous step back and in the direction of the ship. He wasn't sure what safety that would provide, but maybe he could wait out the gas in the pod?

The gas moved strangely though, and finally thought to activate his implants. He blue eyes were suddenly burning a brilliant gold and his vision zoomed into the distance, bringing the huge flock of birds into a more clear picture. Of course that didn't calm him at all, what if they were carnivorous man-eating birds? "Fucking hell," he muttered to himself, tensing as they came closer. Then the swarm engulfed them, a tide of feathers surging all around them and Kaleb quickly shielded his face with his forearms and stayed like that, half crouched and his eyes returning to a normal color.

He hesitantly stood straighter as the flock passed, relaxing marginally, though he rather violently smacked a couple feathers from his person, quick to do away with whatever bacteria or diseases might be on them. "If that's normal it's going to get old quick." He grumbled unhappily.

Luckily- or rather, unluckily - the commotion did not seem normal at all. Horrific sounds called out from the valley, something he more expected to hear on a vid than in real life. A silence he wasn't familiar with flooded the area- or more accurately the background noises ceased instead. There had always been background noise; the hum of electricity, the movement of machines in the floor, conversation in the background; even here there had been the birds, but now there was near deathly silence. It was thoroughly freaky and he took another step back, tension and adrenaline making a hasty return.

He turned at hearing the girl talk again- and then realized she was getting quite far away and was rapidly speeding up in what was probably a run for her life scenario. Her apparent fear increased his own enough to make him follow her example, it was probably smart to get away from Angor McRoar as soon as possible. There was no hesitation as he started sprinting after her, "Fucking hell!" He cursed, the words just about the only thing he'd said since gaining freedom. "Where the fuck are we suppose to go?" He called to her, starting to gain on her with his longer legs.

@NarcissisticPotato

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Ian's head snapped towards the sound of the voice. Bingo. He had been right about the silent observer. Of course he had been right. His eyes scanned the bushes and trees, but for now his companion remained hidden. Maybe they had moved. Maybe they were a ghost. Maybe they were Steven. Probably Steven. Little bastard always was good at hiding. He cocked his head to the side as if seriously contemplating their statement about predators and bacteria. In reality he hadn't the faintest care in the world about it. He talked out loud to the person in the bushes, but it almost seemed like he was directing it to himself. "Fuck the predators, I'm a damn predator. I'll fight them. With- with my teeth!" His teeth bared as the water, daring something to jump out.

Grabbing his spear from the land he held it mid length with one hand and began gesturing about with it. Turning full circle as if to show the mysterious person his creation, he called out, "See, Steven, perfectly fucking safe. There's nothing in the water, but-" His words were cut off as his head shot down beneath the cold blue waters. Splashed covered the surface and bubbles of air rose up out of his mouth in silent scream. A single hand resurfaced briefly before shooting down again under the surface. Ian's eyes stared up at the bottom of the surface. The trees and skies were distorted by the water. They waved back and forth as the water slowly settle from the splashing and resumed its regular gurgling.

Velvet watched Ian's every move with the same detachment as a Scientist watched a mold experiment curious how strong his bravado was after he made the claim of being a predator. She sighed softly as she remembered a truly strong an brutal Quizzy who had begged for his life when she'd bled the air from a sealed corridor suffocating him to death.

*Even the most powerful beast watches it's back as it stalks it's prey* she she thought as he reached for his spear.

Then the boy was suddenly struggling with something in the water or at least appeared to be just before he went under. She watched as the little drama went on witnessing his hand grasping at the air before disappearing for the final time.

Velvet knew that perhaps she should feel something for his loss and maybe even try to go to his rescue but she remained hidden for two reasons. First she didn't know how to swim and second the water predator had made quick work of a boy twice her size meaning she'd have been a bonus desert.

*Well I guess the question of his intelligence has been answered; I did try an warn him and he made the wrong decision* she thought as she moved back from the water slowly to a vantage point to watch for the next person or persons.

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Violet had packed everything she could find and fit into her bag. She even took a gun and had found some kind of hunting knife. As much as it troubled her to have it, Violet felt safer carrying something she could defend herself with. No one knew what was on this planet and if there was some kind of threat, they would need to be able to protect themselves. And Violet hoped that a "threat" wouldn't be someone from the ship but there were a few loose cannons, she could tell. There was no telling who might freak out on the group.

After she was done filling her bag with as many supplies as she could, Violet found Avery and they both exited the ship once again. The group of delinquents that had originally landed seemed much more scarce now. She could see, in the distance, that a few kids had already left but she noticed that a sizable amount of people were waiting on Tobi and Charlie. The excitement from arriving on a planet as beautiful as this one had left Violet completely, quickly replaced by anxiety and fear. She had always been good at hiding her emotions, but she couldn't help the worried frown that fell upon her face as she surveyed their surroundings. What was beyond this area their ship had crash landed in? It scared her to know that really, she didn't know anything at all. None of them did. And they were expected to just go off into unknown territory like it was no big deal?

It was this anxious fear that caused her to rethink leaving. All Violet wanted to do was be back somewhere familiar, back home. But she didn't really have a home anymore did she now? There was no other option but to leave. She glanced at Avery who had been her best friend since becoming cell mates in prison. In all honesty, Avery was probably the only best friend Violet had. There was Tobi, too, and as much as she hated him, she was almost glad that someone as intelligent as him was around.

"Alright. Let's get going. Stay close, we don't know what could be out here," she heard Charlie say. Violet took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as they all began walking. But they didn't get too far before a commotion could be heard behind them.

She turned around to see a great mass of purple coming towards them. It was huge and looked almost like a cloud before eventually, it split up as it came closer. Clearly birds, strange looking birds. They flew past them, going around and between everyone and amusing or annoying many. A couple went right past Violet's head causing her hair to fly back a little from the movement. Everyone's gaze followed them as the birds flew away from the group rather quickly. Violet would have laughed if she wasn't so baffled by what had just occurred. And then a loud roar broke through the air as the ground began to shake.

Violet's heart rate sped up as fear gripped her. Everyone seemed to freeze until someone, Athena, began to quickly walk away from the direction the sound had come until breaking out into a full on run. Violet broke out of her trance and quickly kicked into survival mode. This was bad. This was very, very bad, and though she still couldn't see the source of the noise, she had a hunch that it had to be very big and very scary.

She whipped her head towards Avery, who's wide eyes were filled with terror.

"We need to go," she said, and then looked at everyone else before she began shouting. "We all need to go! Everyone needs to run."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Violet started booking it. Her heart was pounding vigorously against her chest but she didn't care. She hadn't seen the beast yet, but she wasn't going to stick around to get a glimpse.

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Emerson raised her middle finger to her lips and blew Tobi a kiss in return. Her lips quirked up into a smile; seemed like he hadn't changed at all since they last saw each other. For better or for worse, she was sort of glad there were so many familiar faces among the fifty or so of them that crash-landed in this planet. Made things more fun, first of all. A group of screwed up delinquents left to their own devices as they explore an unknown planet? She'd watch the hell out of that show. And second, she didn't think any of them deserved to rot in that hellhole anyway.

Not even fucking Athena.

"Nah, I have a better idea." As much as she wanted to bother Charlie and Val, she didn't feel like stepping foot in that ship again. So instead she waved her hand and shooed Tobi away. "I'll see you later with my food."

Right next to her, Ryker was being his usual dorky self (times five because this was Genevieve). He heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing she was unhurt, only to quickly suck in his breath in surprise after he was pulled forward into a brief hug. He'll have you know, he gives the best hugs, but the recipients have only ever been his family, children, or the elderly. Genevieve had her arms around him for probably less than a second, but even then, he was so certain he had frozen completely.

A nervous chuckle bubbled out of his throat despite his attempts to quell it. "No, I-- uh, yeah-- I mean, I understand." He nudged Emerson with his foot when he heard her snorting at his sorry attempt at talking. Her teasing spurred his bruised ego to do better, though. Ryker smiled coyly, and this time he was able to form a coherent sentence. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Hey, if fucking Athena goes near you again, call me, 'kay? I'll tell her to play with me instead~" Emerson flashed her a mischievous grin. Raising a hand to her forehead in a playful salute, she sauntered away after spotting Charlie and Val's little group of followers emerging from the ship.

Ryker called for her to be careful before turning back to Genevieve. "S-so what do you think we should do? I remember that voice, that person over the intercom. J, right? Didn't he say to go north? Maybe we—"

"I'm going to stay here. Get things organized, try and keep people together for now, get a better idea of what we have. You're welcome to help if you don't want to head out with them."

His heart sank. Although he shared her sentiments, there was no way his cousin would stay put and that meant he couldn't, either. And as much as he would have loved for her to accompany them, he had no right to persuade her to come. Especially since there was no way of knowing where it would be safer.

"I don't want to leave you here alone, but I, uh, Emmy's not going to want to stay. If we find shelter along the way, would you… would you come then? I'll run back and get you as fast as I can."

While Ryker chatted with his first ever doomed love, Emerson intercepted Charlie and Val's group. The first one to come out of the ship was a boy nearly two heads taller than her and slung on either of his shoulders were two different backpack straps. From the way it bulged, both looked perfectly stocked. Jackpot! Emerson blocked him right at the entrance and smiled up sweetly, her hands trailing along the length of his arm as he regarded her with a mix of confusion and giddiness.

"Thanks for this," she stood on her tiptoes, stretching up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. Then she yanked both straps down until the backpack tumbled into her arms. "You're totally my hero."

Emerson scampered away just as the boy came to his senses, hands balling in angry fists and upper lip raised in a snarl. He would have easily gotten hold of her if it hadn't been for the huge distraction that came swooping down (and the bedlam that followed).

A massive purple cloud that filled the horizon dispersed and turned into a cluster of colorful fluffballs instead, zooming past them frantically. They left as abruptly as they arrived, and in their wake was a deep roar that pierced the air. One blue and purple straggler flew directly at her in its haste, sending her sprawling to the ground just as it started to tremble ominously.

Everyone started running then, past her and away from the source of the sound. Only stupid Ryker didn't seem to get the message. He ran back to help her up, then ran toward the ship, toward the scary roaring sound. Because he was an idiot.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Genevieve! I went to look for you when the purple birds came and now I don't know where she is. She said she was going to stay. I thought she might have gone to the ship to get supplies and—"

"I didn't see her there." Emerson tugged at his arm and used all her might to pull him along. The trembling was getting stronger and they need to get the fuck out. "Get over yourself. Gen doesn't need you to save her. She's ridiculously smart and she probably ran off before everyone else did. Now, come on! I'll knock you out and drag you if I have to."

Only then did Ryker relent. The two of them sprinted away before they could glimpse the source of the roar, trailing after the last of the delinquents.

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They hadn't been walking for that long when the swarm of birds came. He heard some kids in his group talking about it and spun around to see what all the commotion was about. He stopped and stared at the aviary swarm, awestruck by the color. When the swarm came upon his group of survivors he smiled. It was then that the shock of where they were finally hit him. This was unexplored territory. They were they first humans to see those birds. They were the first humans to walk on this planet, to breathe this air. The smile was quickly wiped off his face.

As the ground rumbled, Charlie's head went directly towards the sound of whatever animal had made the noise. It was coming from the south, which was good. Hopefully they'd be able to outrun it and get to wherever they needed to be. He saw Athena and another kid take off, while Violet and Avery ran ahead of the group. Emmy, and the boy she was with caught up to them as well and it wasn't long before his legs were moving, arms pumping, and waving the slower kids in front of him. Whatever had made that noise, it sounded pissed, and he didn't want to be around to run into it.

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Avery had gotten a decent amount of supplies from the ship. Her own backpack, some food and bandages, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and a knife. When Charlie and Tobi had announced that they were leaving she knew there wasn't any question about it. She and Violet couldn't stay here with Athena and the others. She knew Violet and Tobi were complicated, but luckily that hadn't gotten in the way of things.

When the swarm of purple had overtaken the group of delinquents, Avery had begun to laugh. She couldn't help it. Breathing the fresh air and feeling the grass tickle her exposed ankles, and the light touch of feathers brushing against her face, it all culminated into a fit of laughter. A fit which was quickly put to a halt as the ground trembled and some sort of beast began to roar.

She saw Athena and another boy begin to make their way towards their group, followed by Emmy and some boy she was with. Her eyes were wide with fear as her mind began to draw horrible pictures of what beast could be waiting for them. Violet turned to her and said the exact thing that had been on Avery's mind. "We need to go." Avery didn't need to be asked twice. Once Violet began to run, Avery followed, her feet slapping against the soft earth as she trailed behind her friend, her red hair coming out of the bun she'd had it in earlier and whipping around behind her.

Dee-Dee and her band of murderers had made it some distance from the rest of the survivors. It would be much easier to look after a small group like the one she had now and supplies would last longer. To hell with the others, they could rot in that wreck of a ship for all she cared. Lucy, who was taking point, stopped the group for a moment, just as the sound of some large animal boomed across the landscape. "Let's keep moving. Better them than us." The whole group started to run through the endless forest of trees, confident that they would be relatively safe so long as they stayed mobile.

A few hundred meters non-stop and suddenly Lucy fell down a steep decline into a strange hole. Dee-Dee stopped the rest of the group just short of following her down. Looking down to where Lucy had fallen Dee-Dee could see that she was alright if a little shocked.
Virgil: "You're supposed to be the lookout, so maybe try to fuckin' look out?"
Lucy: "Bite me, kiss-ass."
Virgil: "You-"
Dee-Dee: "Cut the shit, we keep moving for now."
Before Dee-Dee had time to add anything else what had first appeared to be a bunch of oddly shaped rocks emerged to reveal that it was actually an enormous creature. It was easily the size of a horse from earth but it stood using only it's rear legs. It turned it's head toward Lucy and sniffed her a few times. No one moved although the others had raised their weapons just in case. Lucy reached toward the lumbering beast trying to touch it's nose and instead was greeated by a long tounge that smacked her in the face. That seemed to satisfy it's curiosity as the beast went to lay down again, effectively ignoring them.

Lucy spent the next few minutes wiping her face of alien drool but this encounter went extremely well. Dee-Dee noted that these creatures seemed docile so they could probably be domesticated somehow. Still they had to find a good place to camp that was far enough north to give them a head start from the larger group of survivors. It was best for them if they got a hold of whatever was waiting for them up north before everyone else. Assuming whatever was waiting for them was enough to satisfy all the survivors, she could only imagine how much that would mean for just her group of six. There were a lot of assumptions going around but really she had nothing else to go on and the best way to stay alive was to be a step ahead of everyone else.

Velvet heard the birds before she saw them and shortly after them the sound of a large creature that set off the primitive portion of her brain that controlled her fight or flight mode urging flight. She chose then to allow instinct to control a portion of her mind an refusing to abandon logic.

*Panic is the weapon of failure* she said in her thoughts as she tucked the pipe into the webbing on the back of her pack. Then she unfolded the crash axe twisting it in her grip to use the spike as her attack choice in deployment.

Once a armed by the formidable tool she headed upstream avoiding the potential predators that took Ian knowing it held the potential of a shallow crossing closer to it's headwaters an granting her a safer fording opportunity. Her movements were more in the open as she made her way silently north-northwest.

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Rae moved through the ship's hull, making her way back to the pod she'd emerged from. At least, the one she thought she had. Probably. Or maybe it was this other one? No, that one for sure. It was an old class of ship, that was for sure. Aside from the part where it'd gone barreling into the planet's crust, and how the outside was black and scorched after burning through the atmosphere though, it was in astonishingly good condition.

Poking and prodding around the ship, Rae soon found one of the many weapons stashes hidden in a forgotten corner.

"Oooh," she cooed. "Hello, there." Her slender hands curled around a rifle. It was an older model, bolt action with a scope, black and clean. Rae brought the butt against her shoulder and lined up her eye to the sight. She hadn't used one of these since before her arrest. "Yup, I think we're gonna get along fine," she said to her new friend. Her mouth skewed though as she relaxed and looked down at it. Rae had used guns before, sure. But she'd never had to use one to survive.

She'd never been stranded on an alien planet before. Then again, not many had. At least, not many who went on to tell stories. For a brief moment Rae let the reality of the situation wash over her. Then she shoved it down.

A small bag was pushed into the corner where it'd been hidden, and Rae bent to inspect it. Inside were several boxes of ammo for the rifle, along with two packets of dried rations (who even knew how old those were), an empty water canteen, and… six unopened packs of dental floss? Rae's eyebrows furrowed together.

Who the hell had packed this bag?

Her confusion was interrupted when sounds of excitement breached the ship from outside. Rae immediately stood at attention, trying to make out what the commotion was about. Setting her jaw, she came to a decision and swung the strap of her bag over her shoulder. Her grip was familiar on the rifle as she moved back towards the door. She poked her head out.

People were starting to run. Rae scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. Then she noticed the rumbling. Eyes widening, Rae snapped her head around to see the shaking tree line.

"Shit."

In one quick motion, Rae pulled the rifle's sling across her chest and took off after her fellow inmates.

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It was silent for a while as the group trudged North. There was so much to talk about but it seemed like no one was in the mood. Tobi figured that it was just sinking in for people that they were stranded on an unknown planet. How fucking crazy was that? On top of that they were the first humans to ever experience this world. They were literally the founders of a whole freaking planet. A bunch of juvenile delinquents were a part of something so huge but most didn't care. It was almost annoying to Tobi, they should enjoy moments like these. Finally Charlie spoke up, so Tobi moved so he was walking in stride with his friend.

"We're gonna have to figure out a way to get Athena on our side. She's to chaotic to leave alone. Eventually she'll convince some of the other crazies to join up with her and I don't know how well that'll go for us," he said, looking off into the distance.

Tobi pondered this briefly, and was just about to respond when something else grabbed everyone's attention. Valade watched a cloud of violet/blue birds swarm through the air. Tobi was in awe at first but then questioned why they were flying in such a hurry. Just as it clicked in his brain, a ear-piercing roar echoed through the valley they were in. In a heartbeat, everyone around him was sprinting. Adrenaline shot through Tobi's body, his muscles tensed and he went into high alert.

Violet's words kicked Tobi into motion. "We need to go," she said, and then looked at everyone else before she began shouting. "We all need to go! Everyone needs to run."

Valade knew he could easily outsprint the group so he focused on helping the slower kids. He noticed a particularly smaller girl who looked around 12 to 14 who was struggling to keep up with the group. The girl stumbled and was unable to regain here balance. Tobi made it there quick enough to scoop her up before she ate shit. Valade threw her over her shoulder like she was lightweight and continued to run with the group. It must have been an uncomfortable ride for the poor girl, shifting about on Tobi's not so soft shoulder. Oh well, it was better than being a snack for whatever the hell was on their asses.

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It was the work of moments to shove everything Genevieve had gathered into a pack she'd found, but even then, it was moments too long. When the birds had come and Ryker had scurried off to find his cousin in the mess, Ginny had taken shelter in the ship, along with a handful of other people. She'd gotten to work immediately, scouting the ship for useful supplies, but she hadn't ignored the chatter at the hatch. A few of the beasts had fluttered in, and she'd smiled to see them, but right on their heels was a roar that would star in her nightmares for weeks to come.

She should have figured nothing beautiful would happen without a price.

Screams rippled through the assembled teens as the ground rumbled, and Genevieve's face went white. She had an instant to decide—stay and hide, or run with the rest. Fight or flight; scatter or solidarity.

Ginny's choice was pretty obvious when she came tearing out of the ship a few heart-stopping seconds later, backpack bouncing on her back as she sprinted to catch up with the others—and hand fastened around the wrist of a crying twelve year old. Her lungs were burning as she dragged her charge in her wake, and oh, she wished she'd kept herself in better shape—there had just never seemed much point, locked up in a 10x10 cell and the only anticipated absence would be her execution date. A conversation she'd overheard years ago on the rare day at the track with the other inmates floated through her head.

You don't have to be the fastest, you just can't be the slowest.

She'd always hated gym class.

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Ian's eyes focused under the water. His vision was blurred, but even then he could still make out shapes. Only moments after he disappeared under the water, something began to move. A figure came out of the bushes, moving slightly towards the river. It took him only a brief moment to convince himself it was a human, though who he had no idea. Maybe it was the girl he had chased into the woods. Unless this world wasn't as alien as he presumed. It was entirely possible that they had crash landed on a planet that was inhabited. He hoped not. This was his planet now. King Ian. It had a nice ring to it.

Ian stayed under water until the person passed by. Slowly without disturbing the surface of the water, his head broke surface just in time to see the girl moving away. So it was her. He nearly called out to her, before realizing that would've ruined the entire plan of tricking her into thinking that he was eaten. He hadn't really planned that all out, but it worked rather well now that he thought of it. Really he just wanted to pull her into the river with him. Unfortunetly she hadn't come close enough for him to do that. What a party pooper, people these days didn't know how to have fun.

He was about to get out of the river, when a splash near caused him to freeze. Slowly he stood up out of the water. He was up to his waist in water and much too far to make a run for it if that splash was some sort of animal. He continued to look around through the water, searching for a sign of what had caused the noise. After several moments he was about to put it off as his imagination, when he caught sight of a shadow in the water out of the corner of his eyes. As soon as he saw it, it disappeared with a much more clear splash. Every muscle in Ian's body tensed, his eyes darting back and forth. His hands clenched onto the spear. He had no idea what the beast in the water was.

For a moment everything seemed to go silent. Seconds dragged by without a sign of movement. Then suddenly he was back under again, yanked down by his foot. Ian's eyes initially closed upon reentering the water, shot up, looking straight at his attacker. The beast look very much like a shark, with long teeth and an eel like body. The majority of its body was wrapped around his lower leg, and its teeth were snapping at his leg. His mouth yelled out in pain as the dagger like teeth sunk into his leg. Thankfully they didn't seem to have gone too deep. Ian shook himself out of the shock and stabbed out with his spear. In that moment the beast pulled off of his leg, readying itself to dart forward for another bite. The spear sunk into its open mouth, preventing it from closing its jaws around his leg again.

With his now free hands, Ian grabbed the scaley shark and began yanking it off of his leg. The skin was rough, cutting into his fingers. Quickly the river with filling with the blood of the beast and his own. In his hands the beast struggled back and forth, twisting and shaking, jaws snapping around the spear stabbed into his mouth. With a final yank, he pulled it free of his leg and pulled it out of water. His lungs were burning at the time. Mustering all of his strength Ian through it onto shore. It landed with a sickening thump, and his spear bounced away. Quickly moving through the water, Ian climbed onto the shore next to the shark. It wasn't moving, though it was trying to breathe. It's body shook as water couldn't enter its gills. He edge closer to it still cautious that it would still attack. The instant that he was near enough the shark flipped it's body off the ground at him, just as he expected.

He caught it at its throat teeth mashing in front of his face. The momentum of the shark caused him to fall to the forest floor wrestling with the slippery beast in his hands. He had to find a way to kill the thing, but his spear was much too far away for him to grab. If he let go of it with even one hand it's teeth would be mashing on his face. He rather liked his face. Someone water loving giant coy wasn't going to take that away from him. Using all of his strength Ian lifted the thing above his head and pulled it down. Slowly his teeth punctured the beast's neck ripping out the soft white flesh. Standing up he threw down the defeated shark he watched as it quickly died blood pouring out onto the ground. Spitting, a large chunk of flesh landed next to it. A crazy look entered his eyes as Ian fell into a sitting position laughing. "Stupid fish!"

After resting momentarily to get his strength back, Ian fetched his spear and set to cleaning the shark. He had watched how the Inquisitors chefs had done it before, but only with fish. His fingers were bleeding heavily by the time he was done. Which reminded him of his leg. Going back over to where he left his clothes he dressed and began ripping up the shirt. One piece he tied around his leg, another two around his sore hands. When he was done he looked at the dead shark and wondered how he would carry it as he traveled. It was big, too big to carry in his hands, but if he engineered some sort of thing to carry of his shoulders. Quickly going to work using vines and cloth from his shirt Ian threaded the meat and hung it over his shoulder.

Looking in the direction that the girl walked, Ian set off at a quick pace. She had a large head start on him, but he hoped he could make up for it by moving quickly. As he moved Ian maneuvered the shark in front of him and began pulling teeth out of its still attached head. He pocketed those, thinking that they would be useful later. At least for some cool necklace. Oooh he was so going to start the latest fashion trend of the new world. "As the discoverer of this species of shark I declare that I get to name you." He talked softly to the beast, watching it like it might still be alive. "But what to call you..." His forehead creased in thought. As he studied its features for ideas. "The Hammer Eel? The Grey Serpent? Steven?" Ian's eyes lit up at the sound of the name. "Perfect! I declare the name of your species to be Steven. Everybody will now know to be careful of the legendary Steven. And I will be known as Ian the Steven Slayer!"

At this point he had moved quite a ways. In front of him a clearing next to the river, and walking there the girl he had been following. It was amazing watching her move, barely a sound was made. No wonder he hadn't seen her when he first go into the river. Repositioning the Steven onto his back, Ian gripped his spear, aiming it towards her. Now that he was faced with his target he didn't know what to say first. "You really just ditched me back there? I could've been eaten! I mean not immediately like when you left, I was still alive then, but later I could've been."

@Wintergrey



Velvet had made good time when she heard noises behind her an again she sought to define the source as animal or human which required that she pause in some nearby bushes.

It didn't take long before what was clearly a member of genus Cervus a Ruminantia or Herbivore that had little interest in her. It was a beautiful animal and though she was tempted to reveal herself to it so she could judge it's reaction to her as a predator she declined due to it's size and horns. She knew from reading that such creatures could be dangerous even if they didn't see her as a food source simply as a territorial intruder; she refused to die in such a manner.

She had to wait several minutes before the creature moved off an was out of sight so she could continue once more to parallel the river which was now flowing from the north almost directly.

She was now more careful after her chance encounter with the.....; what the hell should she call it?
"Bichro deer, Blaneg deer" she said softly to herself using merged descriptor as it's name an decided she didn't really care what it was called only curious if she could eat them.

Shrugging Vel laughed silently to herself an resumed her retreat to the north.

Her ears had become hyper sensitive to every sound when she heard noises behind her an used the next rise in the terrain to hide behind a tree an see what was following her, it was him. She fought the urge to take off running an instead formulated a plan. She had to move slower after encountering the Bichro and that was why she was overtaken by the noisy boy who should be being digested but perhaps she could use him as her safety margin.

His rash actions at the river and an obvious need to take risks could be useful if she were clever so she paced herself to be overtaken by him in a narrow clearing. Sure he had a makeshift spear but she was certain he lacked much if any skill in it's use as a ranged weapon.

"You really just ditched me back there? I could've been eaten! I mean not immediately like when you left, I was still alive then, but later I could've been." he said from behind her.

Velvet stopped and turned towards him with a feral smile an answered
" If you'll think back I did warn you about entering unknown waters an the potential of ppredators she paused to survey him for wounds and saw he did actually have what appeared to be a bad one on his leg.
"I see I was right about the predator; just what did you expect me to do? Jump in an save you?

You out mass me by at least 30 kilos and it took you under so logic dictated that I would have at best barely escaped or offered it myself as a dietary replacement. "

Velvet's thoughts spun quickly as she weighed her options an found she didn't like her best choice but had to give into the logic of
" Now I'm forced by logic to point out that your first aid technique is lacking either thought or supplies. These are unknown environs we are in and the bacteria I warned you of before could be presently infecting your wound. Lucky for you I have one of the ship's first aid kits in my pack an it has broad spectrum antibiotic powder an sterile bandages.

If you want to form an alliance with me I will be happy to see to it that you stand a better chance of keeping that leg. Together we can survive better than alone.

What Say You?"

She ran, seemingly for hours on end in her mind but in reality, it was just a few minutes of adrenaline-fueled sprinting. They all ran, she guessed, from the sounds of feet breaking the soft ground behind her. She trusted J, strangely, and she reckoned that heading North was their best chance but in that moment, their direction didn't matter. What mattered was that they put as much distance as physically possible between themselves and the source of that ear-piercing roar. Those brave enough to turn around would catch occassional glimpses of it breaking the treeline before fading right back into it. It was slow and lumbering but its massive strides made up for its lack of speed. What worried Athena from her fleeting glimpses back was that it wasn't focused on the group of teenagers darting amongst the trees; its gaze was focused on something ahead. Which meant that it wasn't planning on eating them and was probably just a herbivore or that there was something bigger it was hunting. Something which they probably didn't want to run into.

It was becoming painfully obvious just how alien this planet was and how the odds were stacked dreadfully against them. They had food and other provisions but if this was the ecosystem of the planet, they didn't stand a chance. Screeches to the right of her woke her from her running daydream and she glimpsed over to find nothing. The screeches seemed to be coming from further into the forest but they too seemed to be advancing towards them. She pushed onward.

After more than enough time in a gruelling uphill sprint, they reached the cusp of the valley where the trees seemed to tighten together, huddling as if some dark predator stalked the edges of them. Almost as soon as it had began, the tremors stopped and they lost all sight of the massive creature trailing behind them. Athena kept running but slowed and turned, her dark eyes scanning the treeline for any sign of movement. After about a minute, she was certain that the thing had given up. Perhaps the trees were too thick for it to get through? It was then that her body chose to remind her how dreadfully unfit she had gotten in prison. Her legs burned and her shins felt like they were about to pack-up shop and move on to greener pastures. It took her a good minute or two before her breathing returned to normal so she spent that time assessing their small group. Around thirty or so were present and as for the others, she didn't really care. They chose to leave so their deaths were on them.

The group had paused to rest, taking a few moments to dig into the rations which they had so carefully gathered. Rationing wasn't her care - being the one with the big guns, she got food whether anyone liked it or not. Unfortunately, Brains would have to work out how he would tell a bunch of terrified juvies that they had to stop eating. A pale beam of sunlight somehow found its way between the gathered trees and from the corner of her eye, she found something glinting. Looking around, she made sure she wasn't being watched before she took slow steps towards the object. As she drew closer, she realised that something was buried in the dirt. Taking another cautious look, she dipped down into a low squat as she reached forward with her free hand and dug away at the dirt surrounding it. Her eyes darkened, eyebrows forming a deep frown as slender figures lifted a small, cylindrical piece of metal from the ground. The bottom was a cylinder, of sorts, with a notch cut from it and as it continued, the cylinder tightened down into a sharp tip. It was old, very old but it looked... human.

She took another glance back towards the group and stood, analysing her newfound-relic. Pocketing it, she swung her rapid pulser round onto her side and walked a small distance away from the group, not particularly looking for anything. She knew it wasn't exactly safe but she was armed to the teeth so if anything stopped her, she stood a decent chance. After a few seconds of walking, she caught sight of the blinding sun blinking through the trees, marking the edge of their tight formation. Blinded, she moved forward, glad to get out of the darkness of the trees but as her eyes adjusted to the light, they went wide. "Brains! Get the fuck up here!" She called out, her voice loud and alarmed as she turned back.

As the trees gave way, they revealed that they were on top of a hill and as they faded, the ground sloped downwards into a large valley, mountains tearing up on each side. That wasn't what alarmed her, however. What alarmed her was the massive tower of metal sitting right in the middle with long legs gripping the ground viciously. It seemed as if the ground itself had birthed it but faintly, on the side of the large structure, a faded logo could be seen.

---

Being part of the group that had followed the guy who spoke up earlier whom she had learnt was called Tobi Valade had led the group of them who had made the call to join up with him and Charlie Arcadian. The trip had mostly been silent so far when it came to conversations. The only sounds were the ones made the group of teenagers whose feet were clad in boots and shoes alike, trudging through the undergrowth of the forested areas of the unknown planet they had crashed in. There was no way of knowing what planet they were in, or if there were even civilisation here at all. The thought of them being the only humans in the entire planet send shivers down her spine. It was so incredibly exciting yet frightening, both at the same time.

Finally the silence was broken as Charlie initiated a conversation with his friend and co-leader of this expedition of theirs about something regarding the crazy psycho girl with the guns earlier. Poppy did thought that the girl could have a screw loose, but then again, maybe not. The girl did seem a little too controlled and calm to have gone bonkers. Her thoughts were then interrupted as a flock of purple-coloured birds began swarming towards them, in the air, their wings flapping about as they made their way past them. This was the first time in her life that Poppy had seen anything like these, and it was safe to say that she was like a deer in the headlights. She didn't know whether to be in awe, afraid or maybe it was just a combination of the two.

Poppy had read about birds on the ancient books that her parents used to own. They spoke of a vast variety of birds in a wide array of colours and were definitely a sight to see. These birds looked alot larger than the ones in the pictures found in the books, but they were no less spectacular when it came to the richness in the colours. These birds had clearly been fleeing from something, and this something made its presence known soon enough with a ear-piercing roar that got everyone running. When everyone started running, Poppy followed suit. She stopped several steps ahead, and looked back to see Tobi helping a helpless younger girl who seemed to have been rooted to the spot. She saw him scoop the girl in his arms and onto his back and as he started to run, so did she. Whatever that thing was, it certainly wasn't good.

Kaleb dropped to lay on his back the moment the group finally stopped. Every little noise in the forest had made him run faster, but the truth was he wasn't nearly fit enough for the sprinting he'd just forced himself to do. A prison sentence didn't lend itself to a satisfactory workout routine. His arms were thrown out in hopes exposing more of himself to the air might cool him down, and he sucked in deep breaths of too-rich air. The air on the station was clearly lacking something, every breath here felt like a drug.

He took that moment to himself to catch his breath and let the burn in his limbs dissipate a bit, but then he remembered where he was. Right. Dirtiest floor in existence, because it's a planet, and also probably infected with numerous diseases and or infested with who knows what kind of creepy crawlies. He sat up quickly, brushing himself off as he rose to his feet.

"Brains! Get the fuck up here!"

The girl was shouting again, and Kaleb was pretty sure it wasn't to him, but he wanted to know what was up all the same- and why the girl was yelling when they'd just run for their lives and might still be within the fanged-sloth-from-hell's hearing range. He moved to stand beside her, getting a glimpse at the valley and doing a double-take. It wasn't that surprising that humans were here, or had been at least, why else would their ship be headed here? He assumed they were heading here anyway. "Damn," he commented, unsure what else to say. He glanced at the girl, he still didn't know her name, and wondered what their next move would be.

---

---

"If you'll think back I did warn you about entering unknown waters and the potential of predators. I see I was right about the predator; just what did you expect me to do? Jump in and save you?"

Ian stopped moving towards her, standing, staring. It was quite. "YES! That's a normal human thing to do! Even for me!" He ignored her next words, instead saying, "We could have fought it off together. Team Crazy, back to back, fighting off evil Stevens!" Realizing that the girl might not know what a Steven was he held it up as he said it's name. "He's a bit nasty on the surface, but really once you get to know him, past the rough scales and serrated teeth, he really is a passionate lover."

Glancing down at his leg, Ian once more looked insulted. "Really? My leg too? Do you really have to insult everything I do? First you ditch me with the fish, now you're insulting my medical work and survival skills. What's next? Am I too tall also? Actually, on second thought, I've heard that one before. You're going to have to think of something more original. Like my ears. Say something about my ears." He smiled for a second having thought of the perfect insult, before realizing it was about him. "Nevermind, don't. That would be just mean. You would be a mean person. Not a good person. A bad... mean... evil... ugly person. Sorry, that was a bit mean of me. See! Now you're rubbing off on me! God, you're great. Great at being terrible. Not great at being great. That's me. I'm great at being great. You're great at being terrible. Still great, but terrible at the same time. And as for my medical aid, me and my leg will be taking our services elsewhere. We feel we have been insulted enough. Good day mam!"

Ian turned his body, properly sticking out his hurt leg and putting his full weight onto it. Immediately it collapsed beneath his body. Support missing, the rest of him crashed down, faceplanting straight into the soft dirt. Raising his head Ian's eyes locked onto the girl. Begrudgingly he stuck out his leg. "This, does not mean I've forgiven you."

@Wintergrey



Velvet moved forward quickly and efficiently her pack open before she was kneeling beside Ian left hand gripping his wounded leg gently as if to reassure him but was in fact a part of her exit strategy were should the potentially unstable boy make a move she could gouge the wound.

Once in position Velvet rid him of the makeshift with a smooth stroke of the 3 1/2 inch razor sharp knife in the handle of the multitool. Them she performed the steps suggested by the idiot's manual in first aid to clean, pack and finally bandage his wound she moved back pulling herself to stand.

She moved back silently three paces her expression relaxed, almost bored. She studied him without emotion which her cell members said made her seem almost alien to the human race if not in form but in thought. She didn't even hide her attention being focused on his wounded leg.

"I am Velvet call sign Eris my family were the Moons. For brevity in conversation call me either Velvet or Eris.

I am aware of your feelings of betrayal but should point out that the implied partnership because we are both human was based on false data. We have no prior agreement of cooperative action and your fate not my concern. I am not foolish enough to intervene in any form of action till I know if the person or persons I aid are beneficial to my continued survival.

So beyond using your presence to satisfy my human need companionship how could you be useful enough to warrant any farther association and support by my person?" said the small brunette in a soft monotone usually heard from automated systems.

*I am the void, empty of all intention, a blank slate* focused Velvet emptying her body language making her difficult to read an freezing her position.

Meanwhile in another layer of thought Eris studied Ian adding up data of approximately how tall, reach, weight, general health and his resistance to pain as evidenced by her knowledge of wound.

She wasn't liking the weight of his words because even at it's best appraisal they demonstrated recklessness, verbal trolling and an inherent connection to spurious logic.

Velvet took into account his recklessness as a plus after watching two brightly colored male birds as they danced for a drab Female that blended almost invisibly into the local flora.

*Of course he could perform the position of herd guide* she concluded as she reset her position socially.