Fight No More Never–– Day 5 (February 6, 2317)

[Cytherea]

"Well, if you really want to. I admit, I do want to know more about... what I am." she looked down at herself. "But just to let you know, I can be really hard to teach sometimes. I can be... stubborn." Olivia said. She bent down to grab her purse, and then noticed Archer's coat.

"Oh, and you left your coat behind yesterday." she said. She walked over to him and held it out for him to take with a smile.

[Lithium]

Archer shrugged his shoulders. "It's fine. I'll need it now, though. We've got a little bit of a walk ahead. Can we borrow some umbrellas, Cam-- I mean, Sol?"

Shrugging, Sol replied, "Sure. I don't need to go out today."

He smiled, then placed a brotherly kiss against the top of her head. "Just relax. They'll be fine. Camri's a tough girl. I can't say as much for Sydny, since I don't really know him, but I do know Cam, and she'll get him through it all right."

Sol nodded and Archer turned and walked to Olivia, then brushed past her towards the door. He grabbed some umbrellas out of their stand and said roughly, "Come on. Let's hope we don't have to use these." He opened the door, walked outside and headed towards the stairs.

[Cytherea]

Olivia

Olivia quickly said good-bye to Sol, and rushed down the stairs. By 'rushing' she almost flipped down the steps. She caught herself and reached the bottom gracefully. She prayed a silent prayer of relief that she hadn't broke her nose falling the down the stairs.

I really need to be taught about being an I.S. Really bad. I keep forgetting and almost end up hurting myself!

Sydny

Sydny came into consciousness slowly. He heard the doctors speaking about him and his condition. He didn't open his eyes; no, for he was afraid he might see surgery equipment surrounding him. Once the doctors had left, Sydny cautiously opened one eye.

Immediately, a sigh of relief escaped his lips.

He was in a perfectly normal hospital room. There was not surgical equipment and masks everywhere. He opened both eyes, now that the room didn't hold so much foreboding.

What? This is... weird. Did they not have to do surgery on me?

Some nurses and doctors came back in, and Sydny closed his eyes quickly.

"He's doing fine. The surgery went really well, and he should be feeling better after a few days." there was a pause as a faraway nurse asked a question. "No, no; he had someone with him. A girl."

Camri!

Another mumbled question from the nurse.

"No insurance. From his records, his parents died when he was young."

[Anwen]

Will yawned and stretched in bed and and then froze. I kissed a girl...

He jumped out of bed and ran into the kitchen. Sure enough, the hot cocoa cups were still in the sink, and Tucker's note was still on the coffee table, he confirmed, racing into the living room. And, there on the couch, was a girl's scarf.

Endosi...

What had come over him! He was a serious, logical man. Things like l-l-love didn't just happen overnight!

But her beautiful green eyes...

"No! I must be serious. I can't like her that much. She's a Royale!" Will told himself firmly. This could never work. There is no such thing as love at first sight. I-I just have to face that fact. And I kissed her! What must her parents think of me?

The sweetest girl in the world...

That did it. He had to see her again. He dressed quickly, picked up the scarf, and raced out the door toward The Fence, allowing himself one last chance to dream.

Attachments:

[Lithium]

Archer

Archer inhaled quickly as his first instinct to protect this girl who was temporarily his charge began to take over. He shook his head. She needs to learn her own strength. And there's always band-aides for scraped knees.

He adjusted his coat and looked back at her. "Are you coming?" he asked roughly. Looking at her face, he felt his cheeks get a little hot and he turned straight back around and crushed the feelings. She's your student. Not just some girl you can... she's not... just shut up, Archer.

Camri

Camri clutched her knees as she sat in the chair outside Sydny's hospital room. The nurses eyed her with suspicion and there were many whispers as they thought they got out of earshot from her. She didn't look up as a doctor approached her.

"Miss Brightson, right?"

"Brighton," Camri said, keeping her head down and putting her hands on her neck. "It's Brighton."

He coughed lightly and she looked up. His green scrubs were especially pale against his dark skin. "We have some news on your friend."

She nodded, and fought back some tears she insisted were from over-tiredness or from being hormonal.

"He's going to be fine. He'll never be as strong as he was before. But he'll live."

Camri nodded, biting her lower lip. Poor Sydny... he seems so energetic...

The doctor stood up all the way and said to her off-handedly, "This could be a good thing for your friend."

"How?" Camri demanded, anger blazing inside of her. "He's... he's going to be... almost crippled, isn't he?"

The doctor smiled wryly. "Not quite crippled. Just... not as strong as before."

"Either way, how does that help him?"

"He's no longer eligible to be drafted," the doctor said flatly, before murmuring, "Good day, Miss Brighton," and walking away.

[Cytherea]

Olivia

Olivia quickly walked outside and felt her breath stolen from her. She had forgotten how beautiful and cold the world was outside of warm, temperature controlled houses. Her breath caught in the air and hung as a small cloud around her face. Laughing, she spun around in the chilly air, arms raised, and head lifted skywards.

"This is beautiful!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with merriment. "Oh, doesn't it just make you feel alive, Archer?"

Sydny

The nurses had run even more tests and declared again and again that he was going to make it just fine.

So why won't they leave me be and let me see Camri? he wondered over and over. He had asked for Camri many times, but they either didn't hear him, or didn't care what he thought. Finally, he seemed to reach an understanding with one of the nurses. Hesitantly, she finished with her check-up and walked to the door. She walked out, and Sydny could hear muffled words through the door.

[Lithium]

Archer

Archer smiled a bit at her innocence and just nodded in agreement. "Sure." Different things made him come alive than this frigid city street that was coated in the grime of nearly one century. The feel of being in a fight. The feel of a victory over an especially difficult opponent. The smile of a beautiful girl, enjoying her space in the world.

"We'd better keep moving. Don't want to freeze to death," he said before picking up his pace.

[Cytherea]

Olivia quickly stepped into Archer's strong stride. If she had not been an I.S., she knew that she would have been toting along behind. Feeling glad that she could keep up the pace, she glanced over at Archer. He was tall, rugged... and very rough, she remembered. As she considered his face, she could see the confidence in his eyes. With a smile, she took her eyes off of him and gazed around at the passing scenery.

[Lithium]

Camri

The nurse lead her into the room and her heart rate picked up with nervousness. "Hey... Syd? You hanging in there?" she murmured, taking a seat at the foot of his hospital bed. "Looks like you're gonna pull through right quick enough." She smiled faintly, the stares the various hospital staff were giving her making her body chill quickly.

Archer

He continued on, occasionally pausing to make sure that Olivia was still by his side. He'd only have to turn a little ways before he saw her, striding along resiliently beside him. She looked away just as he was turning his head to check on her whereabouts again.

"We're almost there," he said. "Just a couple more blocks."

[Cytherea]

Sydny

Once Camri had come in, he immediately felt some of his tenseness dissipate. He wanted to sit up to greet her, but he knew well enough that to do so would make the nurses go into a frenzy. And, frankly, he didn't really want to either. He smiled, and a light caught in his eyes.

"Well I may pull through it, and I do love all the attention; but I wish I was able to get attention without being dragged to the hospital. Not exactly my fun idea of getting people to notice me. But," he said dramatically, attempting to raise one of his arms as he did so, "My spirits are not effected. I am still my silly, uncontrollable self, who usually manages to get into trouble, and am also the cause of many people's hatred." He frowned. "Well, Jubin's at least."

Olivia

"So what's it like?" Olivia asked bluntly after they walked in silence for a few moments. "I mean, what's it like being an I.S.?" She put her hands into her coat pockets. "Like, how do you survive? And when that crazy lady turned Camri and I into I.S.'s, why didn't we feel pain? Was it... was what she used maybe a different type of medicine? It seems like she'd be the type to purposefully make the procedure as painful as possible! I guess she's just a poor, old, sick woman." Olivia's voice became soft. "She'd probably lost it a long while back... I- I actually feel sorry for her. She's all alone, with only her corrupted occupation to keep her alive. That's not living." She thought for a moment. "There's always some good in people. Some universal truth by which they unconsciously live in. A murderer can kill and kill almost his whole life, but something should; something would hinder him from killing a child sometime in his life, even if he'd killed children before! Something would change in him. Something would flip around, finally making sense, and fitting into his mind and way of thinking, perfectly." Olivia's eyes suddenly got wide, and she grabbed Archer's arm. She spun him around to face her. Excitement shone in her face, and her eyes sparkled. "I've got it! I'll make some... cookies! Yes, cookies, and bring them over to her house. I'd write a little note: Someone cares about you. I would not let her know that it was me. Something may change inside her! She may realize the wrong she's been doing, and fix her ways!" Olivia smiled and then let go of his arm with an excited giggle. "And then it would be up to God to do the rest. And of course He will."

[Lithium]

Camri

She stifled a laugh. "Who's Jubin? Is he your brother? And, I doubt anybody really hates you. I bet they just don't understand or mistake your clumsiness for being difficult."

"Miss Brighton? We have someone here who wants to speak with you," a nurse said from the doorway. "I hate to interrupt you, but it's urgent."

Camri sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Be right back, Syd."

She stood up and followed the nurse who lead her out of the door and down the hall into an office area.

"This is Dr. Michaelson. He's an expert in... well, you'll find out. Please don't be alarmed by his appearance." The nurse opened the door and pushed her inside.

A man with slits for pupils and pale blue-green scales covering his body sat behind the desk. She gasped and turned to rush out the door, but it had closed and locked behind her. The man finally looked up from his work, then back down and murmured, "Please take a seat when you're ready."

Camri swallowed and delicately picked her way over to the chair and scooted it back as far as she could. "You... you wanted to––"

"Many of the staff here have informed me that you have the beginnings of gills and–– oh dear. Webbed fingers? They didn't mention those."

Camri looked at her hands and held back a scream. "Oh my.... oh...." She felt light headed, but held on to consciousness.

He stood up and walked to her and held out his hands. "Please allow me to feel your gills. I need to see how developed they are. I promise, I won't hurt you."

She pulled the little bit of hair that covered her neck away and he touched the slits by her neck. He pulled away one of the flaps and peeked inside. She gasped for breath, feeling like she was suffocating. He quickly let it glide shut. It plastered itself back against her neck, sealing the entrance.

"They're pretty advanced. You're lucky. You might have had to live in a lake for the rest of your life," he murmured. "I'd assume you weren't born like this. I can practically see the webbing growing in between your fingers and the––" he paused. "You've got some scales around your scalp line. I'd assume you're not going to go full-scale, if you'll excuse the pun, like I am."

"Who... who are you?" Camri demanded. "I'm... You're not..."

"No, you're not in trouble. We just need to register you. We've been having more problems with this recently. I'm an expert in Reptilian, Amphibious and Aquatic I.S.es. My wife is an expert in Mammalian and Avian varieties. We're still trying to find someone to head the crustaceans and insect department..."

Camri's head spun with all the information he was giving her. "O-Okay..."

Archer

Archer's eyebrows went up as she talked. She just kept talking and talking and talking and talking. It was okay. Not cute but... he didn't actually mind. He tried to keep track of her questions and thoughts.

"I don't think we'll be able to find her. She'll have reported to her higher ups that her location was found and she would have been withdrawn and someone else placed in another area of the city."

He shrugged. "Good idea, though. We're almost there. It's this building right here." He gestured to a large, dilapidated metal gym. "It's not much, but it has what we need."

[Cytherea]

Sydny

Camri had been called away, and the nurses quickly ran a few more tests and told him to get some good rest.

Hard to do with them always coming in...

Olivia

"Oh yeah... she probably will." Olivia said, with the beginning of a pout forming on her face. "Bother."

She looked up at the building.

"It looks nice." she said as she considered the gym. "Do you come here often?" she asked as she gently touched the wall of the building. "It looks old..."

[Lithium]

Archer

Archer smiled. "Yes. This is where I make my living. Either by fighting in the ring here, or by teaching. Teaching is fun. I enjoy it. I've considered taking night classes and becoming a school teacher but... well... I've never had the courage, to be honest."

He ran his fingers through his hair and opened the door for her. "After you."

[Cytherea]

Olivia walked inside the gym. It was fairly large, and it contained good-looking equipment. One part of the gym held usual gym-like stuff. She stifled a laugh.

I'm horrible at gyms. I can never settle for one thing. It happened last time, too... oh! Wow!

She ran towards a pile of weights. She lifted a few and tried to lift some of the heavier ones, before she caught sight of the treadmills. Quickly, and while laughing, she ran for them and jumped on one. She started it up and ran with ease.

Forgot I was part cheetah...oh my! They have bouncy balls!

She got off the treadmill and started bouncing on the balance balls.

"This is fun!" she laughed. "But I'm sorry; probably not why you brought me here."

[Lithium]

Archer

Archer mock-frowned. "Most decidedly NOT, my young padawan. Get over here and we're only going to be serious and have no more of this "fun" nonsense. You hear me?" He broke into a grin, unable to hold on to his expression.

"Hey, Arch," said a heavily muscled and tattooed man as he wiped away sweat with a grimy towel. "You finally got a girlfriend worth bringing to meet the boys?"

[Cytherea]

"Oh no;" Olivia was quick to reply. "He's just a friend that happens to be a boy, and I'm just a friend who happens to be a girl."

It is true. He said it himself. Why do I feel... whatever.

She walked up to Archer's side. She didn't particularly care for the guy's hygiene, but she still managed a smile.

[Lithium]

Archer

Archer smiled. "Yup. She's Camri's friend. I'm just helping her out with some... new strengths she's found."

The man's eyes widened. "She like us?"

"Would a bring a reg into the gym?" he turned to Olivia. "Kellogg here is part rhino."

"Yup. Anyways, how's Camri?"

"She's good. She's with a friend in the hospital. Poor sod got stabbed a couple days ago. Started bleeding internally this morning. Sol was ripped up. It comes at an even worse time, too, since Gage just got drafted."

"Oh, jeeze. Some people have all the luck," Kellogg said sarcastically. "Are they postponing the marriage until after he gets back or...?"

"It's at the end of the week."

Kellogg nodded, then turned to Olivia. "What animal you got?"

(You can control Kellogg if you want. He's not an official character so...)

[Cytherea]

Olivia felt more relaxed once Archer and Kellogg began their conversation. Kellogg asked her question, and she quickly smiled and turned to him.

"Part cheetah." she answered. "I really like it, but I keep almost running into walls." she blushed slightly.

[Lithium]

Kellogg laughed. "I'll bet. You got lucky. I've got the build of a gorilla, thanks to my rhino genes. It's kind of ironic, actually."

"It makes you rough to beat in the ring," Archer said, smiling. "Well, we'd better get started. Why don't we start you on the treadmill? We've got a special one we... borrowed... from an Ambian dealer. It goes up to almost one hundred miles an hour."

[Cytherea]

"Really?!" Olivia asked. "100 mph?" she laughed and smiled with excitement. "Does it... I can use it? I feel really full of energy!"

[Lithium]

Archer shrugged. "Sure! I don't mind. Just don't burn out. We need to get a handle on your speed anyways."

He walked over to the tredmill in question, which wasn't in use and turned it on. "Let's start you out on the ten. Ten is rough for regular humans."

[Cytherea]

"Okay!" Olivia said quickly. Her heart was racing excitedly. "I shall try my best." she said confidently.

She stepped onto the treadmill, and started going at 10 mph. It was exhilarating. It wasn't really work to go that fast, but she could feel some of her tension leaving as she ran. Deftly and while still keeping the good pace, she tied her hair up in a ponytail, with a little head shake. She smiled, an absolutely adorable, hug-me smile, and then looked over the settings.

[Hwin]

Tucker let a grin loose as Rosie managed to hum the Sonata, her cheeks glowing. "You actually did pretty well with your humming!" Tucker encouraged her, "I figured that was the one you meant." Absent mindedly, Tucker's fingers began going through the song on the table as he spoke. "Hmm, I remember learning it awhile back and it really is a beautiful piece. You name a time and I'll play it for you, whenever you'd like!"

Clover:

Mhm, it feels so wonderful to have clean hair. Clean everything really! Clover thought as she stepped out of the steamy bathroom. Running a towel through her wet blond hair, Clover made her way down the hallway. Humming and giggling could be heard from the kitchen, as well as Tucker's cheerful voice. "It's nice to see Rosie having a pleasant time." She whispered to herself as she looked over the corner at the two. "I suppose I better not interrupt. I might come around when they're confessing love or something..." Clover laughed aloud at herself, slamming her hand over her mouth the moment it burst out.

[Cytherea]

Rosie was about to say that once Clover could join them again, he could play, when all of a sudden, a laugh came from the hallway. Rosie, with a smile, stood up and walked towards where the laugh had come from.

"Clover!" she said, delightedly. "I am so happy. Tucker has agreed to play for us again! And I so wanted to wait for you, so that you could hear it too! Would you like to?"

[Deleted]

The brunette teen yawned, idly cracking his knuckles as his cerulean blue eyes lazily scanned the unfamiliar gym before him. Although he did acknowledge that Subterria was more or less a desolate wasteland, he had to admit that the gym, with its corroded metal and trash strewn all around, was in a state of severe disrepair. However, there was no other place in town with exercise equipment, and Ethan, with nothing better to do, decided that he needed to work out more and get stronger. Some gang members have been particularly volatile lately and would often pick fights for no reason at all. Well, it wasn't like he had anything to worry about - he could take care of himself finely, thank you very much. Still, there was no harm in training, right? Besides, it wasn't as if he had anything better to do; his parents and sister were out of town and he just finished work a few hours ago.

"Right," he mumbled, pulling the hood of his jacket down. "It's not like there's anything better to do anyways."

And with that, he took one hesitant step after another towards the entrance, until he entered the worn down gym. Inside, a gust of warm air hit in, thawing his frozen, stiff limbs from the outside. His eyes flickered across the area, inspecting everything with meticulous detail.