[CLOSED] 50/50 Fugitive

[Yoki]

Lilyah almost threw her pillow when she heard the alarm go off, really? It was morning already? They...hadn't even sorted anything out last night. In fact, she was pretty sure they'd managed to drive a wedge even further between the group. She just hoped that the after effects wouldn't be too bad. They needed some level of trust for today's task. 


"Guys... It's too early..." The girl mumbled, rolling out of her bed and putting a hand through her light hair, "Not right now..." Her eyes would hardly open, but she knew that they had to get up now...otherwise they'd be late. They had to meet up at seven...without breakfast. Amazing. This was going to be a great trip, who knew when they'd actually get to eat again. 


The only person who didn't look somewhat exhausted was Vinn, either he'd been up before that alarm, or he woke up very quickly. Already fully on his feet, and by the looks of things fully awake, he'd scribbled something onto a piece of paper and put it into his pocket, before getting his clothes out. Then he sat back down to wait, considering the girls seemed to be going in the bathroom first. 


Still not a word huh? That was a shame. 


"Hm?" Lilyah's attention was brought away from the boy and towards Edel, "Oh! Right!" The harpy girl perked up, letting a wide smile cross her mouth as she nodded shuffled around to find her clothes, "Yeah, I'll come." It would save them time, plus it wasn't like she minded, they needed to be as quick as possible. 

 

[yaint]

"Just watch your wings on the ceiling," Edel warned as Oscar watched her twirl past the door, fingers drumming against the heavy wood in wait. "The low damn thing keeps catching out that guy next door. There are feathers all up in the tiles." Seconds later she vanished into the morning light, wearing nothing but a scrap of blanket draped over her torso. The scratching of her claws on the floor echoed back to the room.


*


The soldiers of the eleventh cabin were not the first to arrive for briefing. Soft mud swirled around Edel's ankles, sucking her feet into the ground with every step. Already her platinum-blonde fur was losing its sheen. But only when Oscar bristled on her left shoulder did one of her eyebrows disappear up into her fringe.


"What's up, little guy?" the girl chirped, but the tiny soldier had fluttered out of view. He grabbed to Edel's hair, climbed up to sit between her ears, all the while staring with his mouth open at the people waiting for them.


"There's... Just three of them."


As far as anyone could see, some recent acquaintances were readily waiting for them to arrive. But their team was incomplete; those members from the blue team, all present but for the nervous, stuttering girl who Oscar thought wasn't a bad shot.


An imp waited for them with her arms crossed. "Barely on time," she scolded the newcomers. Oscar would have challenged the tone in her voice, had Edel not grabbed him from the top of her head and set him on her shoulder again. The instructor carried on, "Spend less time in the showers next time, girls. It don't matter how clean you are now! 'Cause each and every one of you is gonna come out of this wet, muddy and not necessarily in one piece. Now, if everyone's gonna line up without further ado, you can all finally know what environment's going to be your home for the next few days."

 

[Yoki]

"Gotcha!" Lilyah called, bouncing after Edel into the bathroom. This was going to be a hard day, might as well start off feeling good!


*


Whilst Lilyah didn't mind mud, she didn't particularly like it on clean clothes when she had just gotten a shower... Then again, she'd decided to get a shower when they were about to go into a survival dome...it wasn't the smartest of ideas, sure, but clean was too, even if you were just going to get muddy again afterwards. 


"Hm. You're right." Coming up behind Edel and Oscar, Lilyah nudged the lycanthrope's shoulder, looking over to the other team. "Where's Becca?" Her eyebrows furrowed at the lack of a fourth member for that other seemingly rather experienced group. Had something happened? Was she okay? Lilyah sure hoped so...Becca was too sweet, maybe she could ask before they started the dome. All she needed was a minute.


The girl jumped as someone approached the group, scolding them for being 'barely' on time, whatever that meant... They were there, and they'd made it when they were meant to, so why was it a problem? She decided not to question it, it was always better when you didn't. Instead the girl just went to line up, sighed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.


Vinn seemed to have decided to line up next to her, and away from Oscar, his gaze focusing forwards as always. She never understood that...how did he act so...perfectly all the time? Did he never question any of it? Or get annoyed at any of it? From what she'd seen the next before the boy was anything but stupid... It was just strange how he was able to follow every rule completely and without hesitation, it was almost...robot-like. Though, she supposed instructors would say he was setting a good example. He was always on task.


Today Vinn wasn't just looking to the front because he was following orders though, instead he was trying to avoid looking towards Jason, who was staring as him from down the line, trying to get his attention. Why did he have to act so irritatingly, was he trying to get them both into trouble? Well...it wasn't going to happen, he wasn't even going to get a glance. 


Despite Vinn refusing to look at Jason, Jason was still making an effort to get his attention. He even threw a rock towards the boy at one point. However, that wasn't all he was doing, he kept turning around as if he was talking to someone...but...who? His other two teammates were on the other side, so...what was he doing? 

 

[yaint]

Sometimes, instructors were familiar faces that often returned to camp for repeat exercises or follow-up sessions. A lot of the time they were workless soldiers pulled in from their posts to pass on notable knowledge. It didn't matter which kind arrived to escort the groups away, though. Jason's name was widely known, often mentioned in fleeting thoughts spoken aloud as the 'difficult' one whose actions could never quite be predicted. The imp watched him closely as he strived for Vinn's attention, and cleared her throat when he threw a stone.


"Boys," the instructor said when Jason did not cease to annoy his friend from the opposing group. The look on her face was unsavoury, to say the least. "How about we all grow old waitin' for you to finish, huh? Behave yourselves, we've got things to do. And Tiny, get in line already."


Oscar spent a moment trying to decide whether or not he should bother dropping to the ground before he realised that 'Tiny' had not meant him. Someone else, someone much smaller than Becca, inched into view from behind one of Jason's legs. He seemed to hide beneath a mop of hair already thick with mud, but two dark, beady eyes blinked up at the instructor. "Yes, Ma'am," he squeaked as loudly as he could manage, and then went to stand by Jason's side.


"Well, that explains the missing member," Edel said through the corner of her mouth, her body stiffly and obediently remaining in position. "But I dunno. Hey, cheer up, Lil - I'm sure she's fine. They'll take care of her if something happened."


Meanwhile, Oscar stood with his hands wrapped firmly around his antennae, almost like he was trying to pull them out. His mouth was agape. "You are actually shitting down my leg," he muttered under his breath, and then looked to the side in hope of exchanging a bewildered glance with Edel. Unfortunately, the girl was just facing forwards, Lilyah seemed busy, and Vinn - oh! Little Mister Perfect was being his usual stuck-up self again, as usual. Just great.


With another long string of griping and grumbling, the little moth soldier leapt unnoticed from Edel's shoulder and took his own position on the ground. Warren tried to wave to him from across the pitch, but he froze and awkwardly dropped his arms by his sides again when Oscar just pouted to himself.


*


"Alright," the instructor began once everyone was ready. "You guys are the first to go in, and you're either very lucky or very unlucky because you get your environment in its ripest form. Both teams get four red flares. If you set them off, a supervisor will enter the dome and collect you, whatever state you may be in. You'll also fail the mission, so only use them when you have to."


"Yes, Ma'am," came another chorus from the campers. Oscar said the taught necessity through gritted teeth.


"Now, your goal is to find the token, a key, and take it to the centre of the dome. There will be a crate containing two more flares in the area, yellow and purple. The first team to open that crate with the token and set off their flare wins the match. Am I understood?"

 

[Yoki]

Upon hearing the instructor speak again, Jason's head shot forwards to look at them, standing straight in line. He was a pain for many of the instructors, always trying to do something or other that just didn't make sense, and he was way too confident for their liking by the looks of things. He'd be a leader yet, he knew he would. 


Still, he obliged and stopped, glancing over to Vinn once more, just to catch the other boy's eyes practically scowling at him. Jason grinned, the only time Vinn looked over to him was when he was dragging the boy into unnecessary drama with instructors, he didn't want any part in Jason's shenanigans, that much was obvious. 


"Oh?" Lilyah bent backwards to look at the new member of the team over from them, they had a homonculous now? Oh... Her brows furrowed and her lips turned down in a frown, she really hoped that nothing bad had happened to Becca... That would be just awful. She'd have to try and find the girl later to make sure. "Yeah...I hope you're right..." The girl mumbled to Edel, turning to face the front again, half listening, half thinking about Becca's safety. 


Once everyone was listening, the rules of the dome were explained simply and quickly. It wasn't hard to grasp, find the key, fire the flares, simple enough...though the theory was always easier than the practical. They were going to have problems, that was for sure, and...the other team... They had a lot of intelligence and speed.... This was going to be tricky if the other four couldn't pull themselves together from the night before... Lilyah had seen Jason lead, and it seemed like he wouldn't just give up that job. He was good at it, his team was organised. They needed that. 


"Yes ma'am." The chorus of voices rang out again as the instructor asked if she was understood, they weren't going to get this repeated...if they hadn't listened it was their problem... Whether they liked it or not, they were going into that dome and they were fending for themselves. 


Vinn moved his hands behind his back, rubbing at his wrist, survival domes were standard...survival dome with Jason were also standard...survival domes with Jason on the opposite team were not standard and he hated it. That boy was relentless, he wouldn't stop, not even in an important training exercise like this. Vinn knew what was coming, because Vinn knew Jason...as much as he hated to admit it. He just hoped he'd give it a rest for once, some people actually wanted to focus.

 

[yaint]

The instructor slammed one foot against the ground, which produced a wet, sloppy noise upon the soft mud. Edel had to suck on her own lips to stop herself from snorting with laughter; she thought that she had gotten away with it, too, until her suppressed shaking was caught in the imp's dark eye.


After pulling herself together, Edel finally achieved her instructor's ignorance. She let her shoulders roll forwards and drop for a moment, much to Oscar's annoyance - although the older woman at the front did rather spitefully call for 'Attention!' to straighten her soldiers' backs. Edel did not need to voice her discomfort for one to easily guess what the dropping of her jaw meant.


Most of the waiting soldiers responded almost flawlessly. "Ma'am!" they yelled in unison, Oscar and Warren's tiny voices lost among their teammates'. Both of them had to leap out of range of the mud splashed up by the others' heavy feet, but there was little time to waste stumbling about on the uneven terrain; already, the instructor was snapping her fingers together and barking out commands.


"Everyone get over here and pick a red flare out of the box. As Jason and Vinn were so rude earlier, they've automatically volunteered themselves to carry the little bugs' for them."


"Hey!" Oscar yelled. He was silenced when Edel waved a leg around, threatening to kick him into a puddle.


The imp carried on, "Well? What on Earth are you waiting for? We're losing daylight here, and I'm told the dragons in that forest like to hunt at night."

 

[Yoki]

"Whoa, I didn't volunt-" Jason started, but gave up half way through and sighed, "Eh, it's all cool." He shrugged, walking to grab a flare and anything else needed. He supposed that he couldn't complain too much about it right now, nothing was going to change, it just meant it would take more time to get in. Plus he couldn't stop grinning due to the death glare he was getting from Vinn, that boy really didn't like being in trouble. 


With a nod, Lilyah had moved forwards to grab a flare, but she didn't stop there, she grabbed one for Edel too, spinning around and waving it towards the other girl with a bright smile. They were a team, so surely grabbing each other's stuff and giving it to their teammates was expected. 


"Here." She held out the item, still smiling, "I suppose we should get Oscar's too right?" She didn't know how exactly gear worked for homonculi, having never worked with one before, did they get smaller stuff? Or did teammates just have to carry it for them? She didn't mind carrying his flare, she just wanted to know if she had to. 


Vinn had moved forwards to grab his equipment without so much as looking at his allies, instead he was taking the time to stare at Jason with the most murderous look he could manage. It was only irritating when the other started to grin and laugh like it was nothing. In the end, he gave up, turning his back on the older teenager and reluctantly walking back over to his team. Already he knew they were going to be a disorganised mess, it wasn't going to be fun or pretty... He'd be surprised if they didn't fail due to someone's idiotic mistake. 

 

[yaint]

As they often tended to do, those bright yellow discs on Edel's freckled face slid in the direction of that small, mysterious soldier with the perpetually blank expression. Vinn was a strange one. Whilst Oscar's chubby figure pummelled the air with his tiny fists and spat tiny curses in the instructor's direction, he never seemed to argue. No objections, no complaints... The kid might as well have been a robot.


It took a little while for the girl to stop staring, and when she did, she had to scratch at her huge ears to hide the way they were flushing pink. "Huh? Oh, no, I think we're okay, honey," she said with a little twitch of a smile, just before her voice lowered to a whisper and she finally took her own flare from Lilyah's hand. "We don't wanna get Vinn in more trouble than he already is. He should be okay carrying it on his own for a while, or at least until we're out of sight."


"You guys talking about me?" Oscar suddenly demanded. Edel had not even noticed him approaching, but when he suddenly appeared in the space before her eyes, flapping in clumsy circles, she almost lost her footing. The look on the soldier's face was dark, even for somebody with inky-black eyes. "Someone said my name."


"Oh, uh, we were just talking about the, um..." The girl pouted and clicked her fingers until the word came to her. "Flares."


Somehow, Oscar managed to cross both his arms and his legs simultaneously. "Yeah, 'course you were. Just don't set them off, and make sure Fishdrips doesn't do anything stupid with mine, 'kay?"


"Fish- wh-..." Admittedly, it took Edel more than a moment to link the unflattering nickname to its owner, but eventually her face lit up with understanding. "Ah. You mean Vinn, right?"


"Probably..."


"Oh, don't lose your hair! He'll be fine. Right, Lil?"


*


"I'm not a bug..." Warren let a sigh hiss through his teeth. This was far from the first time he had heard that word, and hearing it again never hurt less. But here, next to people he quite literally could not hold a candle to, it was even somewhat true. He was less than a speck of dust in Becca's footprint, a blight on her shadow. What was he to this group, really?


Nevermind. Whether he was an asset or a liability, they had work to do. Warren kicked some of the mud from his feet, combed some flaky dirt from his hair and started to hop around Jason's ankles. Everyone was meant to be getting their flare now, but the instructor had ruled so fiercely that this boy would be carrying his - oh, how embarrassing... He could not help the way his skin turned pink, and even that little flush of colour was humiliating on its own.


This mission was going to be a disaster.

 

[Yoki]

"Oh...yeah, I forgot." Lilyah nodded when Edel brought up leaving Oscar's flare to Vinn, she felt bad for the boy, getting in trouble like that when it was obviously something he tried to avoid, but...at the same time she couldn't help but smile about it. That Jason boy definitely was a character, and a troublemaker... It looked like this wasn't the first time he'd dragged Vinn into trouble after he'd been messing around, nothing major, it seemed like playful teasing at the most, but...she guessed it was something. 


Hearing Oscar's voice caused the girl to turn her head and smile, she was going to say something to the small male, but he'd started arguing with Edel before she could even get a word in. Oscar really disliked Vinn... Lilyah's face scrunched up at the names he called him and the attitude he took, how were they meant to be a team acting like this? They had to work together, it was going to be critical inside the dome, whether they liked it or not. 


"Yeah," She nodded, backing Edel up, "He'll be fine with it. No need to worry." With that she crossed her arms and smiled, all she wanted was for them to all get along. 


Vinn was the last to join them, he looked up at the three likes he'd heard the conversation, emotionless golden eyes systematically scanning each of them, but he said nothing about it...there really was no point. Once seemingly content with whatever he was thinking, the boy sighed to himself and moved past his group. They had to get into the dome, there was no time to waste, and everyone was stalling, he didn't do well with people stalling. They just needed to get on with it, if they weren't going to cooperate properly then he'd just do this whole thing alone. 


* 


"Geeze, someone woke up on the wrong side o' the bed today." Jason snorted, picking up the two flares he needed and returning to his team. It was strange not having Becca around, they'd all gotten to know each other pretty well, even if it had been quick, however, Warren was their new teammate now and no one was trying to outcast him. "Two flares, all for me?" A large grin crossed the male's face as he put a hand to his heart, "You shouldn't have." With that, he placed the flares on clips attached to his belt. 


"Better be careful Jason." Gabe trotted up, arms crossed, "She'll have you carrying Harriet next." 


"Nah." The smaller female hopped up beside the centaur cross, patting his back, "That's your job." 


"You'd think you don't have legs or something." 


"Can't help being lazy." She yawned, shrugging her shoulders and placing a hand over her mouth, "Ready to beat these losers?" 


"You bet." Jason's grin widened, his gaze flickering back to the smaller imp boy in the opposite team, "It's time to teach 'oh so serious' over that to lighten up." 


"Didn't you say he'll kill you if he loses?" 


"Well, yes, but he'd only metaphorically kill me. He loves me really." Jason held his head up, closing his eyes for a second. 


"Strange kinda love." Gabe muttered under his breath, exchanging a glance with Harriet, who simply kicked at his hoof. 


"What about you huh?" Looking down to his ankles, Jason's gaze landed on the newest member of their group. Without warning, he'd bent down and grabbed the back of the boy's shirt, picking him up and standing straight again. "Think you'll be able to keep up with us? As you know, we're pretty fast, coordinated too." He looked up to his fellow team members, before back at Warren, "We'll just have to learn to incorporate you into our team dynamic, don't worry if it takes awhile, we can still win this shit easy." 

 

[yaint]

His own unit's chitchat and team talk was all but white noise to Warren, for something on the other side had stolen his attention. Beady little eyes squinted to make out the shape of Oscar, floating down to the mud-slicked ground in slips and dips. The boy's face was dark with distaste, Warren could notice when he strained, and he was staring right back.


'Just my luck,' said the arms-up shrug which Warren had seen too many times to count. Oscar stabbed a thumb in Vinn's direction without looking. Warren blushed behind his freckles and nodded in sheepish agreement, but froze when he saw the other soldier suddenly drowned in the towering shadow of their looming instructor.


"Oscar, look-"


The breath was stolen from Warren's chest. He did not get to see the aftermath of his friend's poor behaviour because the ground seemed to fall away beneath his feet, and suddenly he was twisting from side to side in the air, unable to move because... Who had picked him up?


An enormous face slid into view when his struggling turned him around. Wings fluttered madly in shock, but Warren locked his jaw in place until his heart rate slowed. Jason, he realised. Just Jason. He kicked himself physically, one tiny leg into the other, for being quite so silly. 


The spiritual leader of the group began to talk at Warren, and it took the boy a moment to phase out from Oscar's signing and tune in to the noise that he had been ignoring. Open-mouthed and stupid, he swallowed hard and answered the question with a long, "Uh... Huh?" followed by a more frantic, "Oh! Sorry, I didn't catch-"


"Quiet." The instructor slammed a foot against the ground again. Her single order was a gentle word, but the voice that spoke it was jarring. Warren suddenly wished very much that he could be back on the ground, and the dread in his stomach was not eased by the sight of Oscar somewhere below. The white-haired soldier was stiff as a board, stood in line with Edel and straining not to cast Vinn more dirty looks. What kind of punishment had he been threatened with?


"Jason," Warren hissed, treading so lightly on thin ice that he barely made a sound. Lucky. The instructor's face did not look forgiving to interruption.


She carried on, "You'll have plenty of time to talk when you're in the dome, so save it. The escorts will be here any minute. They'll take you through to your starting points, and your time begins when the doors close behind you. Clear?"


"Yes, Ma'am," Warren squeaked.


"Crystal," muttered Oscar before straightening up like someone had dropped ice cubes down his pants. Then, begrudgingly, he corrected himself. "...Ma'am."

 

[Yoki]

"I mean...of all groups..." Lilyah shook her head, crossing her arms and sighing as she looked around the vast exapanse of land they'd been dropped off and left in. An explanation had been given to them, and now they were simply waiting for that one noise, the noise that mean they were allowed to move out.

For the last few minutes she'd been talking about the opposing team, whether anyone was listening she wasn't sure, but...she just wanted them to come together more...the silence was awkward.

"He's cute though." She giggled, "Cheeky, but cute. Hey Vinn," Turning her light eyes to the boy standing slightly further away from their group paying absolutely zero attention, she smiled, maybe this was a way to get him to talk. "He's your friend right? I bet you hear that a lot from people, is he popular?"

The blank stare she got from the smaller individual sent a shiver running up Lilyah's spine, why did he always look so threatening? She didn't think she'd asked anything that bad...

There was a grunt, before he turned away, taking a few steps to the right and kneeling down to mess around with the lacing on his boots. Not interested. As always.

"Okay then..." The girl sigh in disappointment, stretching her wings and turning her head to look for Edel, a friendly face would be nice right now... They were about to complete a mission together after all, and she wanted to feel some team spirit. "Are we-"

As she started to speak, a shrill shriek sounded throughout the forest, sending animals flying into the air, squeaking and chirping.

"And there is it..."

*

"Don't throw this Jason." Gabriel chuckled, scuffing the ground with his hoof, "You know, you might just be the best and the worst teammate I've ever had."

"Oh," Jason clasped his hands together and span around, grinning at his four legged friend, "Well, you sir have plenty to learn," He made a clicking noise with his tongue, simultaneously pointing a finger towards the older male and winking, "I'll be the best thing that's ever happened to you, just watch."

"Aye. Sure." Harriet trotted forwards, eyes scanning their surroundings, "Listen to Mr Cocky over here Gabe, how many notches do you think I could take him down?" She grabbed the imp boy by the back of his best and started to adjust the thing.

"At least twenty."

"Hm? You think?" She raised an eyebrow, letting go and walking over to the centaur, "I'm better twenty-two."

"Well then I'm going thirty." Jason butted in, earning a snigger from both of his two teammates, "Whatever." He shrugged, "We'll find out after this."

"You betcha."

"Anyway..." The mood changed almost instantly as Jason calmed down, "We've gotta find some shit, haven't we? And before that other group of misfits."

"Mhm." Gabe nodded, "You reckon we can do it."

"Dunno. Vincent's one hell of a shot." The smaller of the two sighed, "And that girl isn't too bad either, y'know, the pretty one with the feathery wings? Though, I reckon we could take her, and Vinny if we get to him. No experience with the other two...but, really, how hard could it be?"

 

[yaint]

The doors were closed. The locks were fastened. The morning sun had cranked itself into a gap between clouds, and beneath the leaves and branches things were getting hot. Oscar could feel the moisture forming a thin film over his skin. Gross. But refreshing... Now that they were here, their competition had officially begun. Oh, yes. He was ready, muscles tensed, wings poised and senses heightened.

The game was on.

"Okay, everyone: strat talk!" Oscar demanded as soon as the whistle sounded. He clapped his hands together and beckoned for the group to stand around him. Naturally, Edel felt antsy in the woods. She carried her energy up and down with her in a strange, bouncing dance through burrs and brambles that clung to her already-muddy legs. Anyone would have been right to think that the environment had awakened something within her, but what the hell made a girl squat and leap repeatedly like she needed to pee? Oscar thought that it looked ridiculous.

Nevermind... Today they were survivalists, not soldiers. It would just be nice if some people could take this mission seriously.

Edel, her voice somehow steady despite the fact that she could not keep still, began. "We're going out to find the key, right? I can get on that, I've got a good nose."

"Wait! Hold your damn horses," Oscar interrupted, fluttering irritably for emphasis. This wasn't promising. "We've got to assess everyone individually, because someone wasted time showering this morning when we could have been discussing ideas. But guess what? Now we're behind the others! Just shut up for a sec and let me do the talking. I've got a plan."

"Plan me, bucko."

"Don't call me that," he grumbled.

"Sorry. Oi, Lilyah? Honey, I think you and Vinn ought to get over here. Oscar sounds like he's got something ready for us!"

"Jeez, she's actually right for once. Alright, listen up. Lilyah! Vinn, fish guts, whatever your name is! Plan goes like this. We go straight to the middle of the dome, set up base and send a couple guys at a time out searching, hunting, whatever. The others stay at camp and keep watch over the box in case someone else appears with the key. That way, when they appear we've got the element of surprise and a line of defence if they find it first. Understood?"

There was a moment of silence. Edel, still uncontrollably fidgeting, raised a hand. "Wait. I don't get it."

"Hah? Oh, come on! Were you not listening to me!?" He straightened up. It took every effort not to flutter up to that girl's face and pinch her enormous, inattentive nose. "I literally just explained."

"So we... No, wait, I think I do get it. We steal the box and bring it to camp, right?"

"No! No, no, no! Ugh, just - Lilyah, come with me. We're going to make base. You other guys just start hunting or some shit! We'll find you later."

*

Warren could wonder all day how Jason did it. He talked and talked about the other team forever, like they were a puppet show rather than a threat to their victory, and still took everything so seriously. Ohh, he could almost see himself turning green with envy. It wasn't fair, but... Maybe it was enough for him just to watch, to admire.

Yeah. The more Warren listened to his new team chattering and chirping at one another, the more he remembered that he was just a watcher on the side. He let them finish their jokes, only daring to meet eyes with the others when strategy became the centre of discussion. The other team? Lilyah, Vinn, the other girl and... Oscar! This was his moment, the first thing he could actually help with!

"Uhm... Hey! Guys!" Warren tried a little hop forwards, and called out too hoarsely. It wasn't good enough. He and his voice were too small, and oh God, he was going to have to catch their attention. So very reluctantly, the boy soldier hopped again, height-assisted by a flutter of the wings until he was quite clearly hovering in front of Gabriel's face. 'Excuse me' would sound too weird now. They were teammates. Teammates! "I'm familiar with Oscar, the other guy who looks like me. You shouldn't worry too much about him, he... He's got a really good eye, but he'll probably be on his own. I can maybe find him to break apart their team..?"

 

[Yoki]

Because she too wanted to get this team moving on the right track, Lilyah had immediately started paying attention to what Oscar had to say, the only person who seemed a little more distant was Vinn. He stayed where he was, standing and watching, but quite obviously not really caring what the guy had to say. If Lilyah remembered right, Vinn had had a whole plan with different ideas laid out already, if anything, he probably knew exactly where he wanted to go...and he believed he didn't need them to do it.

The girl sighed, when were they all going to be able to work together? Even Oscar was doing it. Leaving things to just the two of them wasn't going to help! She wanted them all to get along, not split them up even further.

"Hey Edel." She called, walking over to stand with Oscar, "You said you've got a good nose right?" So maybe she wasn't as smart as the rest of them, but she was quick, and she was full of energy right now. It made Lilyah smile. "Like Oscar said, you could hunt? And then when you've got something you could bring it back to us? You're the fastest after all, and probably the most likely to be able to find us all again. How's that sound?" Now she looked between both Oscar and Edel, as if seeing if it was alright with the both of them. Hopefully getting confirmation from everyone would bring them closer as a team, something they really needed.

"And Vinn," Turning her head, Lilyah carried on, "Why don't you-" She'd looked to the position the boy had been in just moments ago...but...he was already gone. Disappeared. "Oh." Well...that couldn't be good. Maybe she didn't know him, maybe out of everyone in their group they knew the least about that kid, but...she had an add feeling she knew exactly where he would be going. "So, as you were saying about the centre?" She turned back to Oscar, "We should probably get going."

*

Everyone heard Warren loud and clear the first time and he'd quickly gained their attention as he fluttered up to meet them at head height. They all seemed to be listening to him as he explained how he knew Oscar and could deal with him, in fact they really did seem to be taking it into account.

"Oh yeah..." Jason nodded and looked up, "You guys're buddies right?" He smiled, moving to pace slightly in thought, "Well, as long as you know whose side you're on, and you think you can deal with it, he's all yours." The boy shot Warren a rather enthusiastic look and proceeded to turn to the rest of their team, "Any objections?"

"Nah." Gabe shrugged, "Let the little guy live a little."

"I agree with Mr Muscle over here." Harriet slapped the centaur on the shoulder, before grabbing something off of her belt and placing it on the ground. "You know...we're standing here...and the other team will already be prepping, maybe we should be doing that too."

"Holy shit, you're right." Jason's voice sounded just that little bit too sarcastic to come across as even slightly genuine, gaining a small roll of the eyes from the kneeling female. "Honestly, I doubt it. " He continued, "Their coordination isn't exactly...we good."

"Seconded." Gabriel stepped forwards, "But we should still get going. How about we set up, have someone scout the area, and grab some resources so that we're ready for this trek."

"Oh yeah, we're going to be moving a lot. Ha! I guess you're carrying?"

"Naturally."

"Alright, cool. Ey, Harriet, help me make something Gabe can carry stuff in, we'll pick stuff up on the way." Already the team had dispersed to gather the materials they needed, it didn't look like they were gong to be settling down any time soon. "Warren! Take a walk for me, check the area, no sneak attacks allow in this zone, y'know?" After smiling at the small, winged male, Jason fluttered his own wings and made off in the other direction to help the satyr cross carrying wood.

 

[yaint]

"Hey, you'd be faster if there was any space around here for you to stretch your wings. But actually, you're right. The boys aren't going to get this done by themselves... Well, Oscar isn't, anyway. Vinn looks like he knows what to do."

"That's one way of describing it," Oscar muttered. He was already on his way, without need for guidance from Lilyah. As far as he was aware, or at least concerned, everyone was doing as they were told. If Vinn died with a unicorn's horn through his heart then that was his problem for lone-wolfing the mission. "Now hurry up or we'll miss our opening. The others won't stay put for long."

"Aye aye!" Edel yipped. Finally, she got a chance to stretch her legs. She bounced up and down, left to right, warmed up those bulky muscles and flexed her paws, and then she was off. Good nose was an understatement... She would have no trouble finding those guys, and those big ears of hers were already picking up the squeaks and twitches of life in the undergrowth.

Without waiting, Oscar carried on. "They said the crate should be in the centre of the dome, but if they're even trying at all then it's gonna be well-hidden. We'll have trouble finding it. Oh! Lilyah, grab that branch. We need stuff to make a base with, alright? Heh... When the others get back, they'll have no idea what they're even looking for. It's gonna be camo, hear?"

*

"Their coordination is terrible..." Warren sighed. "Oscar doesn't listen to other people. It's not that he's not nice, but... This isn't going to work with them. Is - is that a good thing?" The thought of that boy soldier amidst a group of strangers made Warren want to rip the antennae from his scalp. The guy was an impossible teammate. Someone would rip him to shreds if he didn't walk away first, and that was going to make it hard to follow the enemy team at all. Should they stay together? Would it be better if they split up? Oh... That's right. It wasn't Warren's job to decide; he was just the messenger, the little fly on the wall to eavesdrop on plans and report back without making a fuss.

The boy kicked himself into shape. They would make a bag with their enormous hands and undeniable strength, and he was going to keep watch. "G-got it!" he yipped, and disappeared into the treetops for a birds-eye view.

The opposing team, huh... This dome was big. It would take a while to get to the other side, where the enemies probably were, but even from here Warren could see some movement beneath the leaves. That had to be one of the larger members. That wolf-girl, maybe? Or the other one who never seemed to speak?

 

[Yoki]

"Bye Edel!" Lilyah waved, turning back to Oscar almost immediately. She had to be quick if she wanted to keep up! It didn't look like he was going to wait around for her. Jogging up beside the male and crossing her arms, she looked around, "Make a base here?" She questioned, furrowing her brow, "Oscar...isn't it a little far out?" Whilst she didn't want to be rude, she also didn't want to lose to the other team...making a base so close to their starting position seemed...well...silly.

A moment of silence went by before Lilyah felt she should speak again, "I mean...we want to be closer to the centre surely?" She smiled, knowing Oscar's personality a little better than before, she decided that questions were the best way to proceed with him, "Like you said, they'll make the crate hard to find, so...wouldn't we want to get as close to it as possible so that we're not having to make a trek every time? Going camo there might work better for us all, we'd even see if the other team passed by!"

*

A burden, people were a burden. One Vinn was not willing to carry. Breaking away from that group was the best thing he'd done all week, he felt much more on his element on his own, and who needed them anyway? This mission would be so much easier on his own. It was simple enough. Nothing to it. He just had to get to the centre before Jason and his annoying teammates.

What was it with that guy anyway? He wouldn't leave him alone. Did he not understand that they were meant to be in training? Not messing around like idiots. What a mess of a soldier. He'd learn eventually, they hadn't even gotten to the hard parts yet...and surely Jason wouldn't be able to pass with that attitude. It...just wasn't possible, he didn't take anything seriously.

The boy shot through the shrubbery like a bullet, bright eyes darting left and right as he moved. He was trying his best to stay under cover, there were plenty of creatures out there that would happily have him for breakfast if he didn't watch his back. It was the same for the others, not that they cared, they were too busy worry about each other. Whatever. Let them get eaten... It didn't even matter.

Breaking through a fence of sharp, thorny shrubbery, Vinn froze. His dark wings hugged his back as he dropped to one knee to listen, keeping himself as hidden as possible by the berry bushes. He could hear a noise that sounded out of place, something wasn't right... Something was there... Was it a person? Had he travelled far enough to bump into the other team? Or...was it something else? Checking could be dangerous, but he had to get around it somehow.

After taking another second to lock onto the noise, Vinn backed himself up as silently as possible. He should go around it. If it were the other team he was outnumbered, if it wasn't.... Who knew. Taking the stealth approach seemed the most logical decision he could make. After all, they could be anywhere.
*


"A very good thing!" Jason called with a laugh, "'Cause Vinny hates people." He seemed to find the misfortune of the other team to be highly amusing, "Oh damn, I can only imagine what's going down over there. Whew." After smacking his leg and shaking his head, the boy moved out to help a rather annoyed Harriet trying to mould a basket to attach to Gabriel. She was having more than one problem, but it was nothing that Jason wasn't able to help with.

The two worked quickly, fashioning makeshift ties attaching materials together, making sure it was the right size for their four legged friend. For a team that had been put together quite recently, they worked extremely efficiently, even with Jason's constant joking and teasing. Their goal was simple, they knew where they wanted to be, they knew what they wanted to do, and they were determined to achieve, even if it seemed like they were casual and laid back about the situation.

"Oi." Gabe turned to their silently elected leader, meeting the other boy's eyes as Harriet tied something around his torso, "You're getting jittery."

"Hm?" Jason looked up, casual as ever, how Gabriel could even tell something was wrong would be beyond most people, "Ah, I'm good." He shook it off, looking out into the wilderness, "It shouldn't be a problem."

"Sure?"

"Positive." The imp boy shot the centaur a cheeky grin and went to help their friend, "We've just gotta get moving... All clear Warren?!"

 

[yaint]

Oscar's exaggerated snort ruffled the leaves that he buzzed through, leaving a little trail of turbulence in his wake. Oh, how he longed to just zip into the undergrowth and disappear from that girl's annoying voice. It was all wrong. She got everything wrong, wrong, wrong. Her one saving grace was that she at least tried to listen, but there was nothing inside that skull to stop the instructions coming straight out of her other ear.

Calm.

"Lilyah," the boy called back through tightly clenched teeth, forcing himself to stay not too far ahead, "You understand the whole point of this mission, right? They picked us out, chucked us in their little death dome and told us to survive or go to bloody rat-infested hell. You see that roof up there? Yeah, me neither. We haven't got shit for shelter in here unless we make it ourselves, and I don't particularly feel like sleeping with centipedes because some chick with a feather-filled head couldn't be assed to pick up sticks until nightfall-"

A nearby rustling stopped Oscar mid-sentence, and he jumped back so abruptly that he nearly dropped out of the air. In a blur, a small, probably young jackalope darted across their path.

"Damn rabbits," said Oscar. "Kill the next one if you see one again, 'kay? We can use its antlers for... Something. But pick up those branches already, and any more you see lying around. We start building as soon as we hit the middle, understand?"

*

Too often, Warren cast a watchful eye back down on his teammates and opened his ears to their words. He grew sick of himself for it. His nerves needed the comfort of company, but to be so sluggish by oneself... Disgraceful. Come on, man - if Oscar were here, he would have pinched, grabbed or bruised Warren into self-dependence by now.

After overhearing a few somewhat discouraging words from below, the boy finally shook some sense into himself. He unstuck himself from a strangely warm, pleasant-feeling tree and flitted up to the top. Sunlight rained upon him when he burst through the canopy. It was bright, but wonderfully so. His eyes could finally see without straining.

'All clear Warren?!' Jason called from below. The moth-soldier caught himself before he could turn to look again.

Quick check. "I'll just be a second..!"

The movement from before was gone, or faded amongst the sly steps of dragons, birds and rodents. To the left and right, nobody else appeared to be resting on the treetops; Warren's's heart sank somewhat when he realised that Oscar must not have taken the lookout job for his team. Nevermind. He shouldn't have expected a natural-born leader to be doing something this unskilled.

Finally, Warren raised his head, opened his eyes to the sky and prayed for a dry and cloudless night... But he saw something unusual within that endless ocean of blue. Two specks in the distance, growing ever larger until their metal wings broke from their sides and glinted with the light of the sun.

"Planes?" the boy whispered to himself. He raised one arm, shielding his eyes but peering out past his chubby fingers to watch. These planes didn't look like the average passenger models that sometimes zipped overhead. Their shape was too sleek, too refined and not nearly as friendly-looking as the consumer jets plastered with advertisements and bright-coloured branding. And, worst of all, they weren't peacefully passing by. They went, and then they came back, over and over again and each time closer than the last.

Dumbed by curiosity, Warren stared with his mouth agape and then saw a hatch on the bottom of each plane open. Something dropped out, and suddenly he understood.

No way.
This wasn't part of the training.

Panic flooded through his veins and lent him strength. He broke his gaze away from the planes, folded his wings and shot down through the leaves and branches without wasting time to check where he was going. A few bumps and scratches weren't going to hurt as much as this, whatever the hell this was supposed to be... He just had to get back, and he hoped to God that this was just some incredibly elaborate drill.

"Guys! Guys!" he cried as he stumbled through the brambles, kicking a path down in his way. More planes were appearing above them now. The first bombs had fallen beyond sight. Warren dived at the ground, clawed at the damp mud underfoot and screamed, "Heads down, heads down now!"

 

[Yoki]

A muffled boom resounded throughout the dome, shaking it slightly. If that hadn't been enough, there was another boom, closer, louder... Then another...then another.

No one knew what was going on, but everyone knew it couldn't be good. Again and again those booms sounded loud, randomly, each louder than the last, then fading away again, then loud, quiet, loud, quiet, loud...and then...

Bang. Shatter. Crash.

As Jason heard Warren's voice and looked up, shards of glass rained down towards the ground, causing them to cover their heads with their arms and dip down to the floor.

"YOU HEARD HIM! GET DOWN!" Jason yelled, suddenly very commanding without a hint of sarcasm. Gabriel and Harriet were down in seconds, the panicked looks on their faces matching his, "WARREN! GET OVER HERE!" His heart pounded in his chest, that...wasn't normal... Some earsplitting bang had just gone off next to them and now there was glass falling on their heads...this wasn't training, they needed to get out of there.

After a second or so of listening to those bangs, which were now happening a lot more frequently, shaking the very group their stood upon, Jason popped his head up and swiftly looked around. Right. Get everyone out. That was the priority.

Looking to his teammates, he stood up and ushered them to their feet, eyes scanning for the small homonculous that was also on their team. "Screw the mission." He demanded, looking towards the sky, "What the fuck was that..." For a few more seconds he stood there, looking up, seeing if he could make out anything above...but the sound gave it away enough. Planes...and bangs... Well...shit. "Holy fuck..." He mumbled, jaw dropping open for a moment. This was bad.

"Jason? The hell's going on." Gabe slapped the guy on the back to break him out of his trance, Harriet's was behind the taller male, scanning the horizon.

"Bombs." Jason replied, "They're...They're dropping bombs..."

"What?" Harriet breathed, moving forwards, she didn't look like she could quite believe what was going on.

"Who?" Gabriel questioned.

"I don't know." Snapping slightly, Jason shook his head, "I don't fucking know I just know we need to get the hell out of here."

"And go where?"

"Someone out there must have a plan, maybe they're doing evacuation."

"They have to be."

"Hell..." Jason ran a hand through his hair, taking in a deep breath, "Who gives a shit? All I know is we need to get out of this dome."

"Okay. Which way?"

"The glass cracked right? We gotta go there."

"They dropped a bloody bomb there! It's not safe!"

"It's as safe as any other direction! They're dropping them everywhere." Already Jason was starting to back up, "Follow me or don't, I'm going. We can find a way out of this, but we have to move now."

There was hesitation from his other teammates, but the piercing sound of another bang spurred them into action.

"We're coming." Gabe nodded, "Just tell us what you need us to do."

"Go towards the opening." Jason replied, slamming another flare gun into the male's hands, "Don't stop running, get out. If there's a way to get away, take it. Don't wait up."

"What?" He didn't seem to understand why Jason started to walk in the opposite direction after he'd just told them to follow him, "And what about you?"

"Don't worry about it." Jason waved a hand at the male, "I can't leave yet."

"Jason you goddamn idiot! You'll get yourself killed if you stick around!" Harriet tried walking towards the boy, but was swiftly pulled back.

"Yeah...maybe." Turning to face the other's, Jason gave them his signature smirk, "But if that's how this ends then so be it. Gabe." He turned his attention to the centaur who seemed more than willing to listen, "Take Warren, take Harriet, take anyone you find along the way, but do not stop... You get out of here you here me?"

"I hear you."

"Good. Now go."

*

"Well if we only-" Lilyah started, but she didn't have time to finish before a deafening crash sounded and the girl was practically forced to the ground, "What the..." Slightly panicked and very confused, she scrambled back to her feet, looking around for her companion. "Oscar? Oscar! Did you hear that?" It didn't occur to her until a few moments afterwards that those bangs were still occurring in the distance.

As she looked around she could see more than one disturbing thing, to their left the dome seemed to have cracked...but not only that...something had fallen down nearby. It wasn't on top of them, but it was quite low, hanging down... Netting? "Oh god..." This didn't seem normal, this wasn't normal... What had happened out there?

The sound of zooming in the sky caught her attention and Lilyah rapidly turned her gaze upwards, trying to catch whatever it was going overhead... She wasn't quick enough... All she heard was another, slightly quieter, crash. This wasn't good. "Oscar...I think...we might be in trouble..."

 

[yaint]

The earth shuddered beneath their hands and knees, claws of fire ripped up from the horizon, and the sky itself warped inwards as Warren lay still on the ground, white and rigid as marble stone. He couldn't move. For as long as he could see the bindings of wire and scaffolds unravelling above him, he was paralysed by the fear churning within his own stomach. None of this had been part of the plan.

"The dome... N-no," the boy gasped. "What is this..?" Another shock wave drove his elbows deeper into the mud; his wings saved him from drowning in the stuff like it were quicksand. When he wiped the dirt from his eyes, he saw Jason - and for a second, his heart rested. What with splinters of bark whirling past at breakneck speed, the guy's attention could have saved everyone's hides. If they hadn't all been alerted... Oh, Warren shuddered to think.

Among the smog of ash and dust, a garish red rocket shot up into the sky. Someone's flare. The colour didn't last long, because within seconds another bomb had torn it into nothingness.

Then there was Jason. A second ago, that leader of theirs had been kicking everyone into their evacuation stances, and now he was leaving? No.

"Wait!" Warren cried into the ground as his body finally started to gear up. Where was his strength!? It took him far too long to stand up, to totter lopsided against one of Gabe's forelegs. He didn't think twice about wrapping his arms around the guy's ankle, and by then Jason was out of reach. Warren pressed his face into Gabe's fur. "Oh, oh, he's already gone," he whispered. "That's... H-hey-hey-hey, uhm, we need to get out of here too. Gabriel, will you please pick me up? I can't..."

*

"What, you mean the bone-shattering explosions coming from every conceivable direction? Yes, Lilyah, I heard it," Oscar spat. He would have to be deaf to have missed the noise which almost burst his eardrums, and even then the shaking of the ground beneath them both wasn't exactly subtle. He almost flew into a ditch. "The hell is this, anyway? What the fuck is happening to the dome..!?"

It was the curling of the wire net which sent the boy into a spiral of deep, rapid thought. When their restraints collapsed around them, any hope that this was some kind of surprise training exercise went out of the window. Yeah, this definitely wasn't some douchebag playing tricks on them from their hidden control room. Someone double-douchebag had decided to drop real, live impact bombs onto Ellisay.

Dicks.

Oscar clapped his hands together. This was bad. He kept his face cool and stony, but inside something had shifted. This could actually kill them. It could actually kill them all, it could kill him and Warren and he'd gone and sent everyone off to do jobs by themselves.

"Oh, we're in trouble alright. Bombs - real ones! Lil, this isn't good. Forget the damn branches, turn around and go unless you feel like dying." He kicked at the girl's shoulders from behind, ushering her to move. "We need to get back to that steel arch by the entrance, hopefully without getting our asses blown to chum along the way. The others want to be there too if they got any sense in them... Hey, keep your eyes open for them. It'll be a pain if anyone's dead." If one were to listen carefully, they would have heard the boy's voice break at the very end. He hid it quite well.