thedman

Gloomy Skies and Kids Who Fly

Rook rubbed his forehead, managing a smile at Crash. "I'm fine...I just need to stop getting lost in thought." He was going to ask about hunting, until Mal interjected. He listened to her in silence, then watched her fly off.

He stood there for a bit, processing what she said. She has a point, he thought to himself. Flick did say they needed to get to the city early, before everyone woke up. But Crash was right, too-there was no guarantee they could find food in the city, and they knew how to find food here. He looked between Crash and towards Mal in the sky, before opening his mouth. "She...has a point. If we are going to go into the city today, we need to go now." He paused, before looking at Crash. "I'm going to make sure she doesn't do anything rash, foolish. We will hunt soon, unless there is food in the city, as she says."

Looking up, he took a deep breath, spread his wings, and flew. "Join me, if you want to! He yelled down at Crash and the rest of the group, before taking off in Mal's direction, intent on making sure she didn't get herself killed.

Gloomy Skies and Kids Who Fly

Rook was nervous, to say the least. While he was still iffy on the idea of leaving the forest, he could understand the benefits from an objective point of view. It offered far more opportunities-more food, plus access to advanced components, which he could use to build a myriad of useful items. However, the fearful side of him was wary of the risks, especially the possibility of capture. But he understood that it was the best way forward, that they couldn't sustain themselves on nuts and berries forever.

Breaking out of his trance, he looked up and heard Dizzy talking about food. "I...suppose I can join you, help you. It's a shame we haven't seen any deer so far...then again, I need some kind of rope. For my bow. Maybe a vine?" If he had his bow and arrow complete, hunting would be easier. He didn't know if it would be enough to be self-sufficient in the forest, but it would help. For the point, he could use any small rock, and finding feathers was trivial when you had wings. He admired the bow-such a simple, yet complex and beautiful design. Surely it would help them hunt-and maybe defend themselves if their captors sent a search party.

He shook his head. "Never mind. We don't need it right now." They could use other means. Get food, eat breakfast, and head to the city. It should be easy. Should be easy. But nothing is easy, is it? There were so many possibilities. They needed to prepare. His mind raced. Maybe they could-

Thunk.

Not looking where he was going, he wandered off and proceeded to slam face-first into a tree trunk. "Ow..."

He turned back to face the rest of the group, rubbing his head. "Uh...what were we talking about?"

Gloomy Skies and Kids Who Fly

Rook turned his head to face Mal, and then looked at his own clothing. His white uniform, formerly pristine, was torn up and covered in stains from mud, grass, and sweat. His shoes had been heavily torn up by the running, not built for the harsh terrain of the forest. He looked back up. "You make a good point..." Seeing that a few people were up and outside, he stood up, stretched his arms and wings, and walked outside.

Walking towards the group, he went over the options in his head. When the city was discovered, he had argued in favor of staying in the forest. They would be far safer in the wild than in the city, where their captors could have hidden agents around every corner. However, the rumbling of his stomach reminded him of why he was reconsidering his argument-they were starving. He had planned to make a bow and arrow to hunt deer, but he hadn't seen any. While the forest seemed safer, the city had more opportunities...and more food.

Standing near the group, he began to speak. "I've been thinking, thinking about it. I'm not...not sure we can survive here. Even if we could hunt, kill, we...we can't skin the carcasses." He began to fidget, twiddling his thumbs. "If we go in the city, we could find, have food, but we need to be careful, watchful. We'll need a place to sleep, too, unless we were to return to the forest to sleep." He looked up at the rest of the group, offering a shrug. "What do all of you think?"

Gloomy Skies and Kids Who Fly

Rook couldn't remember the last time he was outside.

For so long, all he knew was the box and the voice. The voice would ask him questions, and he would answer them, and answer them, and answer them, until the voice was happy. Sometimes he answered a question wrong, and the voice would yell at him, saying that he was going to be a failure. Other times, the voice would congratulate him, saying he did a good job. Sometimes he would ask the voice something, and it would stop talking to him. After a while, the voice would ask him more questions, like nothing happened.

He hated the voice, he realized. But he couldn't do anything about it. He would go to sleep, and he would wake up, and he would be-

...not in the box. He looked up, confused, until the memories came back to him. Waking up to the door opening. Flying, for the first time in so long, away from the hated place. The running and the rain, never ending.

He looked up, and he could see the others were still asleep. He saw Flick sitting at the edge of their cave...and he saw the sunlight. Finally, he thought. The endless rain was over, and he saw sunlight for the first time in years. For a while, he sat there, lying down, taking in the beauty of the sun. He finally sat up a bit, and went over what they learned last night in his head.

A city, he said. There was a city nearby. It was dangerous, but there was food there. And they needed the food. Maybe there was a way to sustain the group in the forest, he thought to himself, as Flick left the cave. He'd have to bring it up, he thought, as he sat up, looking at the rest of the group.

Good ol' mad scientists, back at it again!

Well, looks like we only need one more person if anyone's interested.

XCOM: Retaliation

@HachiRoku discord.gg/8QftxY6

Gloomy Skies and Kids Who Fly

Well, looking good so far.

hiya

Hello, and welcome!

Gloomy Skies and Kids Who Fly

Name: Rook
Age: 17
Gender: Male
DNA: Common raven (Corvus corax)

Personality: He comes off as somewhat socially awkward. He tends to talk to himself unknowingly, and has some trouble starting conversations with others. His speech pattern is off, and he has a tendency to repeat himself. Above all, he is a mostly rational and logic-based person, who sometimes has trouble expressing his feelings. He's a hard person to get to know, but you can tell he appreciates you none the less.

Appearance: He's tall, standing at 6'2", and extremely thin. His hair is a very short brown, almost a buzzcut, and his eyes are a pale blue. His skin is extremely pale, due to lack of sunlight. His wings are that of a raven, and are a solid black, contrasting his skin tone rather distinctly. He is usually seen wearing a light grey t-shirt, and similarly colored sweatpants, along with a pair of dark grey sneakers.

Other: He has a habit of fidgeting, and has trouble staying still. He suffers from mild claustrophobia.

History: Compared to his peers, he scored lower in physical trials, and it was believed that he would probably make a poor soldier. However, he scored highly in all his academic classes, always getting perfect grades. The scientists quickly realized that he had a great intellect, believed to be a result of his raven DNA (After all, ravens are exceptionally intelligent birds). Starting at the age of 13, he was slowly participating in less physical activities and more mentally challenging ones. At the same time, his contact with the other experiments was limited, to the point where he spent most of his time in a box, listening to a voice give him increasingly advanced problems to solve, in order to test his intellect. This had a crippling impact on his social skills, and he grew to hate the confinement and isolation. When the escape happened, he was more than happy to be free of the cage which had become his home.

Gloomy Skies and Kids Who Fly

Name: Rook
Age: 17
Gender: Male
DNA: Common raven (Corvus corax)

Personality: He comes off as somewhat socially awkward. He tends to talk to himself unknowingly, and has some trouble starting conversations with others. His speech pattern is off, and he has a tendency to repeat himself. Above all, he is a mostly rational and logic-based person, who sometimes has trouble expressing his feelings. He's a hard person to get to know, but you can tell he appreciates you none the less.

Appearance: He's tall, standing at 6'2", and extremely thin. His hair is a very short brown, almost a buzzcut, and his eyes are a pale blue. His skin is extremely pale, due to lack of sunlight. His wings are that of a raven, and are a solid black, contrasting his skin tone rather distinctly. He is usually seen wearing a light grey t-shirt, and similarly colored sweatpants, along with a pair of dark grey sneakers.

Other: He has a habit of fidgeting, and has trouble staying still. He suffers from mild claustrophobia.

History: Compared to his peers, he scored lower in physical trials, and it was believed that he would probably make a poor soldier. However, he scored highly in all his academic classes, always getting perfect grades. The scientists quickly realized that he had a great intellect, believed to be a result of his raven DNA (After all, ravens are exceptionally intelligent birds). Starting at the age of 13, he was slowly participating in less physical activities and more mentally challenging ones. At the same time, his contact with the other experiments was limited, to the point where he spent most of his time in a box, listening to a voice give him increasingly advanced problems to solve, in order to test his intellect. This had a crippling impact on his social skills, and he grew to hate the confinement and isolation. When the escape happened, he was more than happy to be free of the cage which had become his home.