Central Building, 2:30 AM [Open]

[diogora]

Jijii looked like the type of girl that needed to be protection, but Ao could see that she had a good head on her shoulders. As frail as she looked, she was still the one who got them the keys and, without his knowledge, was holding on to even more important keys. He looked a bit confused when she started to scoop flour onto her own head, butas her scent became weaker to him, he figured out what she was doing and nodded. When she showed him a thumbs up, he responded with the same gesture before placing the flour sacks in place while she was hidden away behind them.

He prepared for combat after that. He couldn't tell what was going on outside, and only having normal hearing, he didn't know what Trish and Leona were saying either. The only words he heard were the ones spoken after Nadia had knocked ont he door. Unarmed? Yeah right. Ao had absolutely no reason to believe her claims, and it mattered little to him if the people outside were men or women. Right now, every prisoner could be acting like a ravenous dog looking for food, so he didn't plan to just open this door. When Fonfon looked at him, he shook his head and brought his free hand to his lips to make a 'Shh' gesture, just a sign that the two of them should stay quiet. Best case scenario, the girl would just give up and leave...Unfortunately he didn't know the lamb and lioness were also involved and would potentially find their way in, but even if that happened, they still had a chance to have a discussion even if he didn't open this door...given they weren't attacked right away.

[Chiyako]

Save for hiding away in the vents, which perhaps Jijii should have tried if she'd had time, this was a pretty good plan. Flour concealed her scent. Large sacks of flour concealed her body. The flour also helped with that. It was easy, even when these sorts of sacks were closed, for flour to dust out if they were dropped hard enough. If there was some flour here or there around where the sacks were stored then nobody was going to think twice about it. It was certainly better than showcasing her pink fur.

Pretending like it's just the two of them is also smart. Nobody is going to have reason to think otherwise. I wonder how they intend to get us out of this though.

That was going to be the trickiest part. If there was a larger group they might try to take things by force. Now if they had a lighter they could take the food hostage. She knew flour, especially enough of it scattered into an enclosed space, was flammable. Explosive, even. But she didn't really have any way to light it.

A last resort, I guess. If only we had a lighter.

The knocking at the door caused her to tense up. There was a voice. Someone unarmed. Very much possible, after all they were unarmed, but then it didn't really matter much in here if most inmates were unarmed. If anything it was a little suspicious to her that they would mention it. More importantly they were part of a group. That set off a lot of alarm bells within her mind.

Bertha might be with them. Anybody. Maybe a gang? This isn't great.

Perhaps if this had been her first day, if she had only just gotten here, she might have tried to give them a chance. She knew better, however. Knew how cruel the women here could be. No, as soon as that door was opened she intended upon curling up into a smaller space, closing her eyes, and focusing on quieting, well, everything.

[Kissa Deactivated]

^I don’t believe a shit this guy says…^ Rox hissed and her minion nodded in agreement.

They let Archer speak, more or less without interruptions.

 

“Hmph!” How naive of him to believe being a criminal meant one couldn’t have other skills than crushing skulls. “So you continue claiming you are going to help us… everyone out of goodness of heart? What a saint you are.” The sarcasm was glaring in her words.

^We might as well let him show us if he can be useful…^ There was a pause as someone tried to open the door. 

^Anjira? Are you there?^ A female voice asked. The fox in question nodded her head and Carina got up to unlock the door for a group of women that had come upstairs. Right behind them came the rest of the Wildcats. 

^There is a generator somewhere inside this building. My guess is it’s in the basement, so we are going there to find it and see why it’s not running.^

^That sounds boooring… ^ Bhorso complained.

^Before that it’s best we make our plan. Ladies, could you escort this gentleman out of the room and keep her company while we finish here?^ Amon made the question, but the ladies in question were waiting for approval of their actual leaders. After getting it their attention turned to Archer.

“You can take him to wait in the corridor. Before you go, this is our loot from the armory. There was nothing we were hoping for. Arm yourselves with these.” Anjira gestured towards the pile of batons, tasers and such behind her chair.

[Gardsorm]

For every intelligent prisoner who analyzed the situation rationally and saw the value of cooperation at the present time, there were at least two ignorants who were quick to piss away a good opportunity for meaningless reasons. It was no small wonder clowns like them were locked up for long periods of time, but Archer merely didn't show any kind of reaction to Rox when she spoke. Their opinions were set, so he didn't care about them. Right now, only a few of them seemed reasonable.

"You have an interesting thought on what a saint looks like. I'm just a sinner like everyone else, but I want the kind of comforts that I wasn't afforded when the guards ran this place. If it benefits everyone else, that's just a bonus in your eyes, right?" Archer narrowed his eyes as it felt like no one was convinced of anything he said, despite it being the truth. The moment everyone started to think he was a cop, it felt like diplomacy had gone down the drain. Save for at least one of them.

'Praise the gods, some of you still kept your brains. Dealing with especially ignorant people is tiring.'

Archer looked toward the door nearby as someone knocked. The revelation that there was a generator in the building was a blessing to Archer, and the guess that it was in the basement was perhaps the most helpful information he'd gotten that evening. If he managed to survive this, then at least he knew where to go next if he ever needed to disable the power to the facility again if things went south. Of course, now that he confessed his focuses, he doubted anyone with half a brain would willingly let him near a generator.

It put things into more perspective. Once he turned the power back on, they could try to take him out to ensure power stayed on, if they were the short-sighted types. Kill him, keep power on, everyone was happy until things broke down. Then they had to hope that someone else could handle the business if they killed an on-demand worker. Still, looking at the weapons they had presently, if anyone wanted to try and end him, they would have to get close. So everything depended on being able to handle whoever tried to do the dirty deed.

Pushing himself up from his seat, he looked to the escort he was given, and moved to exit the room once they were ready to let him go. Clearly they wouldn't keep him around to listen to their plans.  "Oh, what a day. What. A. Day." He muttered quietly. He could only hope that the others he had met today were far enough from where they were going that they wouldn't be caught. 

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Click! Click! Click! Click!

What had become of this place? It was not long ago that Sybil had sat within her room, listening to the small and calming drone of her cellmates breathing as she slept. The woman mouthed the doctrine of a spiritual practice she had once comforted her, and counted down the seconds, minutes, hours until she could mark a new day on her heart. How long had she been there? How long had her foolishness landed her in chains? It didn't matter. She was merely there waiting for the thing in the shadows to come and take her.

She was wondering, briefly, what it was like to have a heart like her cellmate, to be blessed with a beat to count. Oh how lucky she was. Sybil's eyes were open but unlike most in the prison she didn't notice the unusual darkness. She had no way of doing so. The eyes in her skull were only good for reflecting the dare light of the moon that streamed through the bars. The first sign that somewhat was wrong was lost on her....

The second was not. That click. The almost comforting click to the lock on the door had sounded. Guards? She waited and waited but....it was quiet. Sybil didn't move, but the lack of the familiar noise of the guards whose names she had long memorized? That was a cause for concern. She waited and yet there was nothing. She stirred in bed slightly. She focused and she realized that it was...quieter.

By the time people had realized it, and come out Sybil knew what was to follow. Men did not dwell in darkness without seeing what could be done in it. She had no enemies that she knew of, but her cellmate did and as the doors opened Sybil had moved to greet a trio of women who came looking for her meek companion. Those eyes in the dark were waiting for them, attached to a shadow in the darkness they could barely see. A smile, out of place, in place of words and they'd leave swiftly.

The open door had let Sybil know, however, that everything was coming apart. She wasn't so cruel that she'd leave her companion alone. Waking her and guiding her around the woman's clicking acted as a warning for those who knew her. The darkness was no disadvantage to her because what was there to disadvantage? She might not have been the most capable of prisoners on this island of the forsaken and forgotten but what she was...did provide her a small curtain.
She walked the halls but the small peace she had even in this bound world had just...fallen apart. She could only discourage as much violence as she by words but beyond that she was forced to move. She had delivered one of the few....distractions she had there to another room with people they trusted and then she moved into the shadows.

Sybil stalked through the halls confused at what was going on. Where were the guards? There we no lights outside save for the stars if she heard correctly. Everything was the same, nothing she knew was out of place. What madness had consumed this place? She had no idea but she decided to go looking for answers. It was...difficult to ignore all the cries for help but she was without a weapon and without equipment to help. She could protect herself but she could not save everyone. She never had.

God...help these people.

As if he would listen to her but she made her way from the Women's wing to the Central Building with ease.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

The pale spirit continued to stalk the halls alone. Her sound map was unchanged but she could not help but find it odd the lack of authoritative life. The lack of jeering. The lack of whispers. Why were they alone? Why had they been left to their own devices? What cruel twist was she part to now as the prisoners free from their chains tore each other apart likes wolves? 

She searched the building for any signs of life, any whispers of welcome and yet...nothing. Where had they all gone? Her father used to tell her of the day that God would reclaim his seven eyes. He told her of how on that day he would see all the good and worthy and bring them home to him, to unify all the scattered people. She didn't believe it was that. She knew all the staff of this place were as cruel and callous as those within the cells and yet...they were gone?
If she was lucky she could have potentially stumbled upon some medical kits or even a key for these cursed collars that was designed to take their gifts away but no matter what she could it was not what she had been searching for. The hunched over figure was growing...more perturbed by the moment by the enigma.

Click! Click!....Click!.....and then a sudden series of whistles broke the silence.

She was desperately sounding out as she could in hopes that maybe some wayward secretary remained and was hiding but...nothing. Unobstructed and unobserved? All the senses she did have told her nothing but they had been abandoned. She wondered what they would do. Food? Limited on an island if they hadn't taken it all? Shelter? Dangerous until the bloodlust died down. Medicine? Possibly gone but....perhaps not. Basement? That seemed proper.

The clicking continued as she slowly made her way through the walls looking for a way down to check the basement for what could potentially be medical equipment or anything she could use in case of injury. Her hands gently moving to her collar....maybe there would be keys somewhere. What a night. What a damned night.

She could only wonder what sort of trick her creator was playing upon her now....why had this happened?
 

Edited August 25 by AsBloodTurnsEverCold

[CuteKitten]

Just before they split up: Leona stands tall, her imposing figure would cast a long shadow if it wouldn´t be to dark for that. She listens to Nadia’s words with an indifferent expression. Leona is slightly confused by Nadias words regarding the door; She just said that they should find the right door. If it is closed, they would just have to find a way to open it, even with force if necessary... Leona throws these currently pointless thoughts aside, the first thing is to find the right door. The one with the right sign on it, which is almost impossible to be read without light...

Leona doesn’t bother to respond to Nadia. She hardly has any respect for this compared to he smaller and weaker woman, these meaningless words don't necessarily make anything change.

Instead, she simply turns away, her muscles rippling beneath her skin as she strides down the corridor.

 

After Leona exits the dusty, useless heat room, her muscles still tense. The air outside feels a little less stifling, but not by much. Taking a moment to breathe deeply, she closes her eyes, centering herself amidst the chaos of the mission. Her mind races, but she maintains a calm, stoic exterior. She isn't one to show weakness, especially not in this environment.

As she turns back towards the corridor, she spots Trish approaching with an expectant look on her face. The tension in Leona’s shoulders eases slightly, though the exhaustion in her mind remains.

When Trish asks for the matches to create some light, the tall, muscular woman hesitates for a brief moment. "The matches? Yeah, sure, I guess that makes sense." Without overthinking, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out the small matchbox, feeling the light rattle of the five remaining matches inside.

"Here," she says curtly, handing the matchbox to Trish. Leona doesn’t bother giving instructions or asking questions; she trusts Trish to handle the situation, even though they bearly know anything about each other, which choice does she have anyway? However the limited number of matches adds another layer of uncertainty to their already precarious situation.

 

As she watches Trish walk away with the matches, Leona leans against the cold wall, briefly closing her eyes once more. There’s still much to be done, and despite the fatigue gnawing at her, the Lioness remains ready to pounce at the slightest hint of danger.

For now, though, she lets herself breathe. Just for a moment.

 

Lizzie, the wiry lizard woman, slips through the dark hallways, her keen eyes darting from shadow to shadow as she explores the area. The cold concrete beneath her bare feet sends a shiver up her spine, but she presses on, determined to find something—anything—that might help in their current situation.

Her search leads her to a slightly ajar door. Curiosity piqued, she pushes it open, revealing a sizable cleaning closet. Lizzie steps inside, her nose wrinkling at the faint scent of disinfectant that lingers in the air. Her sharp gaze sweeps over the contents—shelves lined with various cleaning supplies, brooms propped up in the corner, mops hanging from hooks, and a bucket or two stacked on the floor.

She lets out a low hiss of frustration. There’s nothing here. No clues, no useful items—just an assortment of mundane cleaning tools. Lizzie starts rifling through the supplies anyway, hoping to find some hidden compartment or a useful item that might have been overlooked. But after a few minutes of rummaging, it becomes clear that there’s nothing of interest. No map, no hint of where the storeroom might be located, and certainly nothing that could be used in a pinch as a weapon or a tool.

Sighing, Lizzie takes a step back and crosses her thin arms, her tail flicking irritably behind her. "Useless," she mutters under her breath. For a moment, she considers taking a broom or something with her, but quickly discards the idea—what good would a broom do against the threats they might face?

With a resigned shake of her head, Lizzie slips out of the closet, her movements as silent as the shadows she blends into. The search for the storeroom would have to continue elsewhere. As she moves back into the corridor, she resolves to keep searching, hoping that the others are having better luck than she is.

[Kissa Deactivated]

Archer was shoved in the corridor, together with all the mobster women. Every man’s dream, being surrounded by dozens of girls was now Archer’s reality, but it was far from that dream as these ladies were probably hardened murderers and dedicated to their life of crime. They didn’t have many flashlights, but the few they had were pointed at the man. He could feel their suspicion and even malice towards his person as they looked at him like a cheap sausage. The only thing keeping them in check was the lack of permission to kill from their leader figures. 

That didn’t stop them from thinking aloud why they had to look after this guy and what his purpose was. One guessed maybe Alayne had taken interest in the human man and wanted to have him first, which made the group laugh like hyenas.

While they were waiting there they heard another group approaching. They were Galliard’s men and soon enough after them the Claws followed. The corridor was getting cramped at this point, which increased the tension. The people inside the break room could hear the increased volume of speech from the outside and they knew it was better to get on move. These people weren’t that good at working with outsiders, so it was in their best interest to give them something to do, keep them occupied so they wouldn’t have time to start petty fights. In this situation they needed every man, and woman, against the rest of the prison population.

^Gentlemen, we are going to be working together with these people now. Langley, Leo and Andy come with me. The rest of you go with the others to raid the kitchen’s on the women’s wing. We are going to leave this place. So take as much food as you can carry. Avoid fights if possible, but if someone tries to stop you… You know what to do.^ There was a cold undertone in his last words.

^Yea! We gonna be in cahoots with these people! We go loot food now!^ Gratu shouted so everyone could hear them.

^Fooodss!^

In a similar fashion Anjira and Alayne gave orders to their people. Anjira and her underlings were the only group that would go as a whole somewhere else, with addition of Amao and a handful of his men. Archer might notice a small difference in those who stepped out of the breakroom. They didn’t have their collars anymore. Right after their speech they handed out keys for the rest of group so they could free themselves from their collars. This didn’t include Archer. After giving their orders the buzzling groups began moving. They took what the armory had had to offer to them, and the larger group of three factions combined headed downstairs, towards the W-Wing and its kitchen.

“You are coming with us. While those people get what they can from the kitchen, we search the basement and hope the generators are there. Then you show us how useful you can be. If you are a useless liar…” Anjira left her words hanging, trusting the human man understood her meaning without her spelling it out.

Edited August 25 by Kissa
added no-collars

[Gardsorm]

'... I can feel their eyes on me.' Archer folded his arms and kept his head tilted down so he didn't have to look at the others. He may have been surrounded by women, but his skin crawled just thinking about what sort of people they really were. He could tell from the vague chatter and the glints in their eyes that they were the despicable sorts. Most wanted to kill him, and that was a mercy. Anything else, and he could almost feel the bile bubble up in his stomach from how much he wanted to vomit with rage.

'It's like being surrounded by s group of Ari's... I hope the Devil has you set aside in a pool very far from mine, otherwise when I get there, I'm going to continue what I started.' his bitter thoughts trickled to the forefront of his mind. It was the smallest comfort he had right now, and the best distraction from looking at these hardened harlots. All he had to focus on was finding a generator for the facility, powering it back on, and then worry about how he was going to walk away from this group intact.

He had no doubts he could take on a few of them, as long as he was sure their collars stayed on. It didn't matter if his came off or not, he was as mundane as they came... But then? A collar on meant that they were on equal footing, and he could easily kill people on equal footing. The more unassuming they believed he was, the better. They already thought he was a cop or something... Maybe some were wary. Maybe they had right to be, but for all of the wrong reasons.

When it was time to go, he felt a sense of relief; Being in this stuffy hallway with all of these people constantly talking and making the air more stale with the disabled ventilation, being anywhere but here was a blessing. However, standing also gave him the chance to scope out the situation; His eyes slowly moved, realizing several were lacking collars already, while others handed out keys so the others could remove their collars. He doubted any of them were stupid enough to discard keys when they were done, but he endeavored to keep in mind who kept their keys. Having a key of his own might come in handy later...

Their weapons too. A baton or a Taser sounded good right now, but the odds of them giving him one were as high as him having a peaceful, romantic evening with their most tame lady. Following Anjira, he didn't miss her threatening tone, to which he nodded. "I understand. I didn't get this far coasting on lies and tall tales, though. If there's a generator where we're going, I will have it fixed one way or another, simple as that. I'm more concerned with what the others will be doing and planning without oversight." 

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Of course the Lioness did not respect Nadia, respect was earned, especially here and with someone like her.  Of course, the Lioness did not need to know Nadia’s true feelings about her.

No response.  Also not a surprise. Maybe the room was actually empty, decent chance it was.  But if anyone was in there, she wanted to try at least one more time.  “Am I talking to an empty room?  That would make things easier.  But if anyone is in there, please speak up before I follow the empty room path.”

”If anyone is in there, men, women, both?  I only ask because while we are all unarmed, if there are any women in there, perhaps you have met or heard of one of my companions, ‘the Lioness’?  Unarmed, but very strong, muscular.  She should be able to force this door open.”  She doubted word of the Lioness reached E Wing.  But if there were any women in there, maybe they had at least heard of the Lioness, like she had.

”But I get it.  You don’t trust me.  You have no idea who I am, what I’m in for, but if there is anyone in there, I could say the same.  Let me put it this way, is there any gesture I could make to get you to at least discuss opening the door?  I will give you a moment to consider.  But if you do not at least talk to me, I will consider the room empty and call for the Lioness…she is so hungry.  I want to resolve this peacefully, and am willing to discuss ways to do it.  We might be able to help each other.”  Not a direct threat, but a hint she could get in one way or another, while offering a peaceful solution.  If anyone was in there, would they take it?

[Kissa Deactivated]

GM Post

The clock was 3.40 when electricity returned in the building. The air ventilation began working again. Green emergency lights lit up. Lights returned to areas where they had been on before. Hallways had motion detectors that turned the lights on when someone was on a hallway, or one could switch them to stay on all the time. The rooms and halls themselves required switching the lights on manually. If lights had been off somewhere, they remained off after the electricity returned, excluding the motion detector lights. The electric locks that had opened remained unlocked.  

[Warning]

Fonfon would take the advice of Ao seriously. The wolf girl was playful but not dumb with her instincts. She was already alert but the advice to stay quiet was nothing but a good one. Fonfon would be very ready on her feet, unfortunately unarmed but her sharp nails were ready. She did not move an inch otherwise, listening to the voice being heard again. This one behind the door didn't know what was waiting for her if someone forced this door open, muscular or not. There would be blood, hers or theirs. A side eye to Ao communicated to him.

A sort of small grin formed on her face with what she last heard, only feeling more combative by the second. A part of her wanted them to try coming in, just so she could scratch something to death. But she also did not want to put jiji's life at risk. Whether she was capable of doing something for herself or not, the mouse still behaved like she needed their protection. It gave Fonfon not only a purpose but a motivation to tear something or someone apart if she had to. Whatever Ao would think about it, the wolf girl would obey and stay quiet.

Edited August 30 by Warning

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Nadia quietly waited, put her ear to the door, see if she heard any movement or sounds.  She did not.  She would treat it like an empty room after all.  But would give some last thoughts to anyone who might be in there.  “Well, whether there is anyone in there or not, it’s time to get this door down.  I insist I don’t intend to fight, and you will see I’m unarmed.  As for the Lioness, I don’t know her well, only just met her tonight.  I hope she does fight unprovoked.  She did not attack me, after all.  But let’s see what she does.”

She stepped back, took a deep breath.  “Lioness!  I might have found something, but it’s a locked door.” She yelled loud enough to be sure her, and those other two girls heard.  If they wanted to come over too, that was fine.  But the muscle was all that was needed.  Hopefully this talk, and getting the door down, was not a waste of time.  She probably would not make that effort of every door, if this one was empty.