[hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/jtw2VGJ.jpeg[/img][/center] [COLOR=tan][indent][sub][B]Location:[/B] [COLOR=SILVER][I]Senior Dance, ARC Center[/I] - [I]PRCU[/I][/COLOR][/sub][sup][right][b] Dance Monkey: #4.080 [/B][COLOR=SILVER][I]A Cuckoo in the Nest[/I][/COLOR][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][B]Interaction(s):[/B] [COLOR=SILVER][I]Rory, [@webboysurf], That Thing is Not My Son, [@Lord Wraith][/I][/COLOR][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][b]Previously:[/b] [COLOR=SILVER][I]The Catbird Seat[/I][/COLOR][/right][/SUP][/INDENT][/COLOR] [indent][color=gray] [indent][Color=04cf3a]"No, no... I was just getting some fresh air... had a talk with my sister, and she really let me have it."[/color][/indent] Sister. Her smile faltered, corners of her lips twitching as she forced it back onto her face before he could see it had happened. [Color=04cf3a]"Sorry, did I miss something?"[/color] She couldn't answer him as her mind whirled. [center][color=tan][i]Harper’s my sister- Her dad had an affair with my mom. He didn’t want me. [sub][color=#fb0207]I was a mistake.[/color][/sub] He knew I was in the system. Knew I was in the home, didn’t want me, left me there, I was so [sub]alone.[/sub] [sup]Harper’s my sister-[/sup] Her parents died. My father is [b]dead[/b], and [sub]I don’t even know where my mom is-[/sub] [sup]Did she ever want me back?[/sup] Would she want me now? She loved me, right? Harper's my [b]sister.[/b] [sub]Does she want me?[/sub][/i][/color][/center] All of it threatened to pour out of her throat like vomit. Her lips parted, taking a breath before she would attempt to gloss over the last twenty minutes, but the sound of something heavy hitting the roof of the ARC Centre drew her attention up. [color=tan]”Rory-”[/color] She was interrupted by the roar that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand tall. An instinct within her triggered, telling her that whatever made that kind of sound was a predator. Screeching metal filled her ears a moment later, it’s whine causing instant discomfort to her sensitive drums. She cringed and pressed her hands to her ears as her wings twitched behind her. Desperate to reach for him, to run, to hide, but helpless until the last tear in the metal was made and silence fell over the dance. Her heart beat in her chest like the thumping of a ruffed grouse’s wings. Building in pace as the roof fell into the centre and she caught a brief glimpse of the monster that crouched above until Rory blocked her view. Her body tucked into his embrace, grateful that he sacrificed his own protection for hers, every muscle of their bodies tense as they expected to be crushed beneath the debris. She buried her face into his suit jacket until the sound of falling metal stopped. When the chaos ended, her head turned to peek out of Rory’s embrace, desperate to see what threat had come to their little island. The monster was huge. She’d never seen anything like it. Her eyes tracked it’s movements as it dropped itself down, down, until its large wings- they were so [i]strong[/i], they made her feathery limbs appear weak- caught the weight of its body and allowed it to land on the dance floor with little damage considering how far it had fallen inside. She couldn’t stop staring at it as it towered above them, growling at them in warning, its red eyes searching the crowd. Until those eyes locked with hers and she felt her heart stop. Her hands dug into Rory’s dress shirt, eyes wide like a doe caught in headlights, and her breath hitching in her throat. Her wings tucked in tighter to her back as fear crawled up her spine. She wanted to shrink away from those eyes and hope they never looked her away again. Why was it looking at her like that? What did it want? Her pulse returned, fast and intense, when it dragged its gaze away and she found herself taking a shaky breath as she tried to fight against the panic. She followed its gaze, and when it stopped once more she felt her stomach turn as the creature looked upon the pale skin adorned in ink and scars and raven hair that belonged to none other than Amma Cahors. There was only one reason the two were connected. Only one person that could have made a monster like this, with its imposing figure and icy breath. [color=#ffffff]“Hello, mothers.”[/color] [i]No.[/i] [color=#ffffff]”The father is expecting you both.”[/color] She felt like her heart was going to burst from her chest. Her fear only grew as she watched Cassander Charon fail to land a blow to it. Her mind reeling as Torres stepped in to save him, body flinching with the name the Foundation rep uttered. [b]Daedalus.[/b] [color=tan][i]They are dead. They aredead. Theyaredeadtheyaredeadthey’redead.[/i][/color] Her body began to tremble as she stared in blank terror at the gashes left along Torres’s abdomen. [i]He[/i] was back for her. She could see the twisted smile on his face now. Daedalus had sent his newest creation to steal them back. And it was addressing her again, the monster's threat curdling her blood as its eyes rested on the man she clung to. The man that was looking at her now, at her aching wings, her only option of escape hindered by the damage done to them. [i]As if she could fly faster than the monster could...[/i] She could see the cogs turning behind those sky blue eyes, but all she could do was stare back at him with nothing but panic behind her own. Staring at him as he searched the crowd for someone, as he pulled his phone from his pocket and dropped it on the ground by her feet. He slipped from her touch easily, and before she knew it he was walking away from her. Her feet wouldn’t move no matter how desperately she wanted to follow him. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. All of the exits were blocked, frozen in a wall of ice. Students suspended within it, and she wasn’t even sure if they were alive. Could they breathe? Was she breathing? She wasn’t. She couldn’t take a breath. The weight on her chest was crushing her lungs. She choked as the monster froze Rory’s legs in place, flinching as the monster threatened her wings. [i]Finally[/i] she found the will to take a step forwards, to get to Rory, only to be pushed backwards by the wind those powerful wings created. Her own wings spread open to beat against the wind, managing to stay on her feet while many others were knocked onto the ground. She needed to get to Rory before – [color=#ffffff]“Like this.”[/color] Her heart leapt into her throat, panic bubbling its way out into a horrified scream as the monster lunged for him. [indent][h3][color=tan][b]“NO![/b]”[/color][/h3][/indent] The crack shattered her heart, left her knees weak so that when she lurched forwards all she managed was to collapse onto them. Her wings flared behind her as she caught herself, her plumage standing tall for the second time that night but she didn’t even feel it. The arm that didn’t catch her fall reached for her chest, clawing at the place where her broken heart felt suffering and despair consuming it whole. Tears blurred her vision, building on her gold and green irises until they spilled over onto her cheeks and down to her chin. Her wails joined his pained screaming as she saw Rory then. The bloodied white bone jutted out of his thighs like a fallen tree. Her wings went limp behind her as she began to sob as he succumbed to shock and laid limp on the glitching floor. [color=tan]“[i]Ror-y[/i]?”[/color] Her voice cracked as she called for him. [color=tan]“Rory!”[/color] The monster’s grey tail smashed the phone in front of her, but she hardly registered it. Her entire being was focused on the broken body of her best friend. Her ears listened for his shallow breath, eyes tracking the movements of his chest to make sure she was hearing it right. A shuddered breath escaped her when she confirmed that he was still alive. Her relief was felt only momentarily, lasting one precious second before she heard the gargoyle call her by her favorite name. The name Rory had given her out of love. Her face twisted into an anguished grimace before she looked up at the monster once more. Puffy and red-rimmed eyes beheld the terror she felt looking into his eyes, but within the gold and green there blazed a hatred for it. A hatred for the man that made it and sent it here to cause this pain. Who had stolen her from beside her lover and took her blood. The blood that likely gave this creature its wings. Though that hate was not enough to keep her from uttering her next, defeated words... [color=FCE205]"[i]No one[/i] is coming with you."[/color] The words left her lips in a whoosh of air instead. Her eyes flitted to the Gils now where they stood between the monster and Amma. Her best friend still broken and unconscious behind them. She wanted to feel brave with him, to gather the courage to also stand against the monster, to fight for their freedom, but… All she felt was fear for what the monster might do to him for speaking up. There was still one other who had a chance against it. Another whose partner had also put himself in harm's way to keep her safe. [color=tan]“Amma… [i]Ammaranthe![/i]” [/color] She pleaded, hoping that the French woman’s true name would wake her from the strange state she was in. [color=tan]“[i]Please.[/i]”[/color] [/color][/indent]