Katheeri

[Zaphyr Stone]

Antoine narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the newcomer. Just how many people had been listening in on this increasing group conversation? Was there anyone else who had yet to come out of the woodwork?

"If you're not in it for the spoils, then what are you here for?"

"Woah! Those are cool! What are they?" Zefran looked over the skates in awe, "Don't listen to him. Everyone else is coming along, so why not?"

Antoine growled in frustration.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Can we just --- " said Bohdan annoyed, but then regained his composure. "Can we leave now?"

"Woah, woah, slow your roll, Atya," said Sandor. "These peasants don't even know who we are. Let's introduce ourselves. I am Sandor, that is Bohdan, that is Erzsebet, and that is Korben. Now let's search for Aiolius --- together!" Sandor smiled, somewhat wickedly.

[Renardfrost]

Ren chuckled. " Just a Set of G Diffusers in my boots that are activated by my various abilities.. beats gravity magic cause it takes a fraction of the effort. Once we're on the ship, I'll show you a closer look, if you want.." He sated simply, crossing his arms as he turned them off,  alighting on the ground as if he were light as a feather.

He turned to Antoine. " I'm looking for my Father... He's an Axian, Like me. Folks call him the Blossom Knight. I have reason to believe he may be on Aiolius as it's self appointed protector..  He takes it upon himself to guard strange, mythological, powerful, or just rich places and treasures.. I'm mainly after him to beat the stuffing out of him and drag him home soIi can get him to answer some very important questions. He's not Evil.. but he's stupidly strong.

I figured Aiolius was my best bet of finding him.. Most of the time he either knocks me out and sends me packing, or i get him on the ropes, he runs off, i take a look at whatever he's guarding and leave, unless the treasure's dangerous, then I usually figure out something to do with it, be it moving it, sealing it away, or just destroying it so no one can misuse it... So once again, I'm not in it for the fame or money.. though if I make some money, I won't complain.. Wandering is an expensive life."

He shrugged. he was at once stating his intentions and showing his usefulness to the group.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Daddy issues?" commented Sandor mockingly. He smirked. Elizabeth punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

"Shut it, Alex," scolded she through her teeth.

[Sylono]

The cerinian nodded in the dragon's direction (ignoring the antics of his little entourage, as pop culture was still something she wasn't privvy to, especially the pop culture of humanity's 21st century.) if the "Szabla" had all she needed then all Shepherd needed to do now was find a place for her ship. As much as she'd prefer not leaving the “Small Order” behind, the vixen wasn't about to give anyone an opportunity to leave her behind, no sense in letting herself be swindled by that trick again.

"How big is your ship, does it have a hanger?" Shepherd asked Bohdan, if they had a large enough ship the blue vixen wouldn't even have to leave her's behind, and heck, even a large cargo bay would do. She took a moment to examine the newcomer as he made his little introduction, well, if he didn't want a cut when/if they found this mythical place then she wouldn't object to his joining (Not that she had any right to object, being that she essentually wandered into this alliance of sorts.).

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"She is large enough for all of us," said Bohdan, gesturing to everyone present. "She has a hangar and a cargo bay. They are both big enough to fit small ships and fighters."

"So," said Elizabeth, recovering from her laughter. "Our offer stands. Come with us, go by yourselves, or go on with your life." Sandor glared at everyone, holding his left arm in pain. Korben stepped over to him, and examined his shoulder.

"Don't babysit me, Korben," said Sandor.

"Too bad," replied Korben, continuing to examine Sandor's shoulder. "You're lucky."

[Zaphyr Stone]

"Then I guess we're going." Antoine scratched a itch behind his ear, "How do we propose getting the kid to your ship unnoticed."

"Not a kid, but good point." Zefran frowned somewhat.

Now he had a way of fixing his disguise, but how was he going to get to it?

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Unless you have some sort of device to cloak you," began Bohdan, "we must do it the old-fashioned way. Stuffing him in a bag and hauling him to the ship." Bohdan did not look like he was joking.

"Can we knock him out?" asked Sandor enthusiastically.

"No," answered Bohdan. "No we cannot." Sandor frowned, lowering his ears.

"Aw..." he uttered.

[Sylono]

"While I certainly agree that may make for a better story later..." The Cerinian cut in to Bodan and his less stable friend's idea. She figured there was a more practical solution to this problem, one that she would argue would draw less eyebrows than having an armed group carry a suspicious body-sized bag through the streets of Corneria.

"We could just call a taxi and have the two biggest sit on either side of Zefran," Shepherd suggested with a one armed shrug, her face wore a neutral expression yet by the sudden swishiness of her tail, one wouldn't be to far off if they guessed the blue vixen was amused. "Surely we could ask for two cars if there isn't enough room."

[Dr. Orange]

Tom frowned at the responses that were given. The distinct lack of disguises thought up by his now team mates was very unsettling. 

"Oh come on lads." He began taking off his over coat and motioning towards Zefran. He then threw it over his head and rested the coat on his shoulders. He looked around for something to cover his head but alias, no one was wearing a hat. "This is going to be tough..." he spoke to himself. He pointed to Shepherd, "Taxi, good. But we're going to have to make this look very inconspicuous. 

[Zaphyr Stone]

"I think the coat has put that idea out to pasture." Antoine chuckled, "Might as well paste a fake beard to his chin."

"Knock it off, Antoine, like you have anything better in mind." Zefran weakly masked his amused smile, "There's got to be a way to cover these horns."

He clicked his tongue as he looked around.

"If only it was raining. Then I'd have a valid reason to just pull the coat up over my head." he frowned.

"Nobody's going to assume you're a Katheeri unless we act like you are." Antoine said suddenly, "So just pull up the coat over your head, and we can pretend you're some teen heart-throb trying to dodge reporters."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor growled as he took out a pistol that fired tranquilizer darts: strong enough to knock out three men the size of Bohdan for six hours. He aimed the gun at Zefran's neck and fired, the dart hitting its mark on Zefran's neck. Sandor then stomped out of the alley and eyed a dark red sedan. He took out his knife and stabbed the driver's side window, shattering it. He unlocked the car door via the destroyed window, and went inside. Sandor short-circuited the car's ignition wires and turned the vehicle on. He then unlocked all of the sedan's doors, including the trunk. Sandor exited the vehicle and dashed to the trunk, opening it.

"Can someone please put the Katheeri in here?" asked Sandor politely.

[Renardfrost]

He blinked as he managed to catch Zefran as he fell. He proceeded to gripe about Sandor's choice of actions as he hefted the hapless guy into the trunk.

" Whoa whoa Whoa! What the hell, man?! I've had a few choppy jobs, but that was just barbaric!" He  reprimanded, slamming the trunk with a solid thud once he was sure the poor guy wouldn't take a nasty bump to the head.

"Furthermore.. you sure all of us are gonna be able to cram in there?"

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor rolled his eyes in annoyance, and spotted another sedan, this one being grey. He walked to it, and after glancing left and right, Sandor thrust his fist through the driver's side window of the sedan.

"Ah, ha ha, ha ha!" he chuckled. "It worked!" He unlocked the door with his left hand, and re-wired the car's ignition wires. Sandor started the car. He stepped out, outstretching his arm, which sustained numerous cuts from glass and was impaled with several small shards of glass. "Damn....!" he groaned. Korben rushed towards Sandor, brushing aside several of the group. He examined Sandor's arm, and pulled out the shards of glass, not at all aided by Sandor's fidgeting and groans. He took out some hydrogen peroxide, an antiseptic, and poured it on the wounds. Korben then wrapped Sandor's arm in bandages.

"Well," began Elizabeth, "there's the other ride..."

[Sylono]

"Wai- what the hell?!" The cerinian exclaimed as Renard obeyed the insane creature's orders and stuffed Zefran in the trunk. Perhaps she wasn't the best judge of character, because she had expected the newcomer to be the last to go with this idiotic plan of Sandor's. Making a bee-line for the sedan's trunk, Shepherd pushed the other fox out of the way before reopening the trunk and examining the Katheeri's condition.

First taking a small vial of veti-gel from one of the pouches on her belt, the clone opened it and dabbed a small amount of the gel where the dart had hit, just in case. Once the puncture was out of the way, Shepherd replaced the veti-gel and switched it out with a syringe (giving it a quick look confirm what it was), then lifted Zefran's wrist, picked a vein and injected the contents of the syringe. The fluid inside would make quick work of the tranquilizer in the winged deer-dog's blood stream, or it should, as it was a medical fluid made to break down toxins and other unpleasant things that aren't supposed to be in a person's body. After a quick examination of Zefran convinced the clone that the katheeri would be fine, she turned and stormed up to Sandor until there was only a foot and a half distance between them, and pointed a finger up at the insane bird-dog thing's face. "Alright you," She started, her voice was stern, but not shouting. "I don't kno-, actually, I absolutely don't care if your three comrades let you run amok like this."

"Friendly fire is not okay, no matter how non-lethal it may be." She didn't care how unstable Sandor was, if the three others the nutcase hung with wouldn't put a leash on him, Shepherd would.

"Secondly, breaking into a car was a stupid move, let alone two." A vehicle with a broken window is a big give away that it's stolen, surely she wasn't the only one using her brain here was she? Shepherd seriously had to consider backing out if Sandor continued to escalate things, she didn't want to end up in a shootout with the local law enforcement.

 

(Call me a killjoy if ya want.)

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Hey," began Sandor, with his fiery personality, "I get results: something none of you people have clearly produced. I have procured a method where we can safely and quietly transport the Katheeri, while you all sat on your hands treating this like a sitcom! Oh, but when I actually do something, suddenly I'm the criminal?"

"Well," butted in Elizabeth, "you did break into two cars... And... you are a criminal..." Sandor turned to Elizabeth and pointed his finger at her.

"Rrrrrgh, you and your laws..." he said vindictively. At that moment, a CDF police vehicle containing two officers approached the group, noticing the broken windows in the cars. Both officers stepped out of the car for further examination.

"Hey, what's going on here?" asked one of the officers, who was a Pembroke Welsh corgi. The other, an English shepherd, stood quietly and observant. Elizabeth smiled, and approached the corgi.

"Iolo!" she said. "How are you, friend? It's me, Elizabeth." She began talking to the corgi in a strange, vaguely Celtic dialect. The corgi rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Never in a million years would I expect to see you with a crowd like this," replied the corgi in the same dialect. They embraced each other for a few moments. "Oh, I'm doing fine, Elizabeth. After the war, they kept me here, deciding that I was a better cop than a soldier."

"Now that I believe," replied Elizabeth comically. They chuckled. Bohdan, hoping to get Elizabeth's attention, cleared his throat loudly. Elizabeth turned. "Oh right," she said in Cornerian (English). "This is Eddie Moss, a childhood friend of mine. We grew up on the same godforsaken hill together." She patted him on the shoulder, her being slightly taller than Officer Moss.

"Yeah, went to the same school, got in the same trouble..."

"Oh come on, Iolo, don't tell me you didn't like it."

"It was Hell! I hated going to the principal's office!"

"My heart bleeds for you, Iolo." Eddie once again shook his head.

"Anyway," he continued in the Celtic dialect, "what are you doing here? We got reports of suspicious activity going down in this street."

"I got a handle on this, Iolo," assured Elizabeth in the dialect. "Trust me."

"Oh, like that time when we stole Mr. Scheffington's sports car?"

"Not exactly, but sorta." The corgi scoffed and went back to his vehicle. His shepherd partner did the same.

"Fine, but if things go bad, we're bringing the hammer down." Elizabeth waved as the police vehicle went down the street. "Don't do anything stupid!" Eddie warned in Cornerian as he passed the group.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Antoine barked and cursed angrily up and down the street as Zefran was anesthetized. He was about to pull out his blaster to ward them off and grab his friend, but the approaching patrol car made him think twice. He did his best to keep a cool exterior until they left. How odd that they both seemed to lose interest in the obvious break-in scene at Elizabeth's banter. He watched her suspiciously but said nothing until he was sure they were alone again.

"Okay, dammit." He sighed wearily, "We're already on this runaway train, so we may as well stay on it. Can I assume everyone has a method of quick transportation to this grand ship?"

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Our ship is in this city's spaceport," announced Bohdan as he opened the sedan where Zefran was. "Section A6. I trust you can all get there?" He went inside, barely managing to squeeze into the tiny seat. Elizabeth went in the front passenger's seat, brushing up against Bohdan's right wing. "Ow, my wing..." he winced.

"Stop crying, you big baby," berated Elizabeth. Sandor and Korben piled into the back seats of the sedan.

"We shall meet you soon," said Bohdan before driving off.

[Renardfrost]

Renard nodded,  activating his skates once more. " Yeah.. I'll head off... I don't really like cars that much.... See you there!"

And off he was, like a shot, leaving a small gust in his wake that stirred a few leaves, scattered wrappers and dust.

He would spend most of his time thanking about what he'd do if his suspicion was right about his father's whereabouts.
" He'll probably start clamoring for a fight..." he noted, ducking to let a small tree branch pass over his head, lest he get whipped in the face.

"I Hope it doesn't come to that... but I'm sure hoping is all it'll be.. " he just hoped it wouldn't be too messy
 

[Zaphyr Stone]

Antoine sighed and shook his head wearily. This day was just getting better and better. He trudged back through the alleyways to recover his battered bike. It started, but it was a good deal more rickety of a start now. "I'm sorry, baby girl." he cooed, "Once we get on board, Papa will get you all fixed up again."

With a careful push forward, he sped off down the road as quickly as he could to the space port. He had a feeling things were just getting started.

---

END OF CHAPTER 1

[Zaphyr Stone]

CHAPTER 2

---

 

Music as soft and gentle as a lullaby drifted across the stars blanketing the sky. Long blades of grass cascaded over one another in the breeze like shimmering ocean waves. Fireflies flitted over the foliage, perching daintily on the delicate petals of glowing white flowers. Zefran breathed in their sweet fragrance. He had been here so many times before. This place calmed him, and despite never seeing anyone else here, he didn't feel alone. He felt protected by an unseen hand here. Could this place be Aiolius?

You shouldn't be here.

He visibly jumped in alarm. "Who's there? Hello?"

This was the first time he had heard so much as a whisper out of this place.

He whirled about in place. Only the vast shimmering plains met him. Nothing had changed.

Light only shines in the dark. The closer you come, the longer your shadow grows. You may not like what you find hiding below your own feet.

"I don't und–"

Something swept under his feet and knocked him on his back. He looked forward in time to see a gaping hole where his cast shadow was. He was being dragged towards it by some unseen force. His heart raced in panic as he grasped in vain at the grasses around them, which now crumbled to ashes at his touch. He grunted and whined as he struggled, the pull only becoming stronger.

If you can't face the dark, you will never see the light.

Zefran could feel his claws tearing as he was pulled. His strained muscles finally gave out, and with a silent rush of air, he was sucked into the void.

----

Zefran's eyes snapped open to see a steel plated ceiling above him. He caught his breath as reality came hurtling back towards him. It was just a dream. His head swam as he tried to sit up. Where was he? He remembered Antoine talking, a sharp pain in his neck, and finally silence.

"Antoine?" he groaned.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Interesting," said Korben as he stared at Zefran from the far side of his bedroom. He leaned against he wall, crossing his arms. The door then opened to reveal Sandor carrying a tray of breakfast food: bacon, eggs, and an chalcis, a type of Zonessian fruit that tasted like a peach.

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!" said Sandor as he entered the room with a smile on his face. Upon seeing Zefran awake, he perked up, as his ears showed. "Ah, good! I'm sorry if it was a bit too much, but we needed you knocked out. Your pimp, Antoine, is in our cargo bay, fixing up his motorbike."

 

Meanwhile, Bohdan, Elizabeth, and Roy were on the bridge of the Szabla. Roy was at the helm, attending to various ship functions. He was mumbling an indistinct song as he worked. Elizabeth, meanwhile, glared at Bohdan, disapproving of their recent conduct.

"None of this bullshit was necessary," said she. "Hell, we could've asked the kid. But no, you just had to let Alex tranq Zefran."

"Sandor gave us results," defended Bohdan.

"Yeah, but not the ones we wanted. Dammit Bohdan...!"

Edited August 25, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Zaphyr Stone]

"I don't suppose asking ever crossed your mind." he sighed as everything came back into focus.

He looked around at the room, spotting the beaver watching him. He could smell food, and it made his mouth water. He had forgotten how hungry he was.

"Oh yeah, I guess it got pretty banged up back there. That thing is his baby." he remarked humorously about his friend, "So...is this your ship?"

----

"Look at you, already perking up." Antoine carried on to his bike as he worked out the dings and scratches in the exterior. He had managed to fix the innards fairly easily. It was purely cosmetic fixes now.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Yes, yes she is," answered Sandor, who approached Zefran. "She's called the Szabla. We've owned her for a couple of years now, but we haven't had this many people on it in quite a long time." Sandor set down the tray beside Zefran, careful not to disturb the Katheeri's wings. "Eat. You need food." Sandor stepped away, and went to Korben. "I'll check on the others," he informed the beaver. Korben nodded, not even glancing to Sandor. Sandor walked out of the room. Korben pulled up a chair from a desk in the room and placed it beside Zefran. He sat down, and examined Zefran.

"You good?" Korben asked.

[Dr. Orange]

Tom was standing at the door, he was passing by but had heard Antoine talking to himself ... or his bike. 

"Everything ticking alright." He inquired moving more closer to the bike. "After today, it's a good sign She is still ticking."