Central, Basement - Late Night [Open]

[Kissa Deactivated]

“Don’t worry about them. As long as they bring the food, it doesn’t matter what they do.” Anjira had very little care of the other prisoners, especially those who were foolish enough to get in her way. The less people here were, the less resistance there would be. 

This time Archer didn’t have to walk in the dark as the people he was with had light. He was put to walk in front of the group, showing how little they trusted him. They told him where to turn every time the corridor split and so the entourage proceeded forward till they came to stairs that lead to the basement floor. Finding the basement wasn’t that hard for anyone who had spent some time in the Central building and all of them, except the newest arrivals, had been there for one reason or another during their stay.

Once they were in the basement the search began. No one knew where exactly the generators were, or if they even were there. On their way they found other important facilities for the prison, like the electrical power center and water distribution system. Finally they found the right room, or more like a hall where four industrial generators stood. They were completely lifeless. 

“There we go. It’s your time to shine.” Anjira gestured towards the bulky machines. 

They were from the same era as the prison itself, so they were at least 20 years old. Yet they looked well maintained. On the opposite side of the hall were diesel barrels that the generators run on. Archer could feel the eyes of the others drilling in his back as they expected him to bring the generators back to life.

Closer inspection would reveal that all four generators were in a perfect condition. There was seemingly nothing wrong with them. If one tried to start one of them, it would start running without a hitch. However none of them were attached to the microgrid that would distribute the generated electricity to the building. It would take some time and effort to fix such a problem, but it was doable for someone who knew what they were doing.  

Not everyone shoved themselves inside the hall as it would become cramped, so some stayed in the corridor. Those who remained there were on alert in case someone would try ambush them, despite it being a suicidal act considering their numbers. Someone tried her stun baton, making the electricity at its tip crackle. They were chatting with one another, talking about what had happened in the W-Wing, how some bitch got what she deserved and lamented how they hadn’t had enough time to avenge on everyone they had grudges against. Some of them were already looking forward to ‘cooperate’ with their male allies.    

[Gardsorm]

From the sound of things, there wasn't as much trust among the gangs of the prison as he originally perceived. He couldn't be surprised though, the Galliards and Claws always came off as the sorts who did not like to share leadership positions, so the fact that things forced them to cooperate meant one or both sides were probably extending a hand of friendship to one another while hiding a dagger in the other for when it was most convenient. Perhaps that meant they could be turned against one another in the future when it became viable, but right now there was no point in attempting. They were too focused on mutual control to do too much suspecting.

Like a lemming, Archer was at the head of the group, being forced to navigate around Incase they ran into any ambushes. It was like none of them considered how they would get around things if he was too injured or killed to do anything about the lack of power, but he was sure someone was probably going to reveal the ability to adjust their fortunes if he mysteriously disappeared. Despite his pessimism, he was eventually led to the generator room, the technological nirvana he had been looking for since he left his cell earlier. 

With an enthusiastic, loud clap of his hands, followed by a furious rub, he grinned. "Oh yeah... This is what I was looking for. Okay, baby, time for me and you to get busy. Gotta have you purring before the night is up." Archer remarked as he moved toward the generators themselves. He could already surmise they were in reasonably good condition. They didn't look smashed up or anything, no obvious aggression... More than likely something was up with their connection. However, that was his best guess at the moment. He would walk around the machines to check and make sure no obvious cables or pipes had been detached or compromised, before he set on climbing the machines to survey their tops. He was quiet for a few moments, considering his options.

"Something like this wouldn't just shut down out of the blue like that without poor management... Or intentional sabotage. They could have overloaded the system a bit through excessive demand with poor maintenance and power distribution, or they probably damaged it intentionally if they intended to ditch us here... That's my guess." Archer hummed, moving further into the dark hall. Something else was an issue in here... A faulty connection, or a damaged one. "It won't be up super quick, but the good news is that once I'm done with the survey, I should be able to figure out the best way to not only get it running, but adjust the energy distribution so that it shouldn't fail without tampering. Hope you've got entertainment while you're waiting."

With that said, he withdrew his own flashlight and moved around the hall to investigate.

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Sybil had spent some time searching through everything. The Infirmary was by all indications a hazard zone. She had heard them before she could even step reasonably close. 20 or so voices and none of them sounded sane. It might have been dark as the people had told her but Sybil was....not so stupid that she believed she could tackle a small room by herself unarmed. She had moved away as swift as possible and went clicking elsewhere where they could not assail her. She did find a few interesting things, dense structures on the walls in rooms. Metal she could tell by the sound that only metal returned. She could touch them and find them open. She recognized these. First Aid Kits. She no idea where she was but it was clearly for those who worked in the build before anyone else.

She would open them up to check their contents and smile upon finding everything she needed there. She made sure to keep it with her as she continued to travel along.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
Down and down she would go until hitting the garage and there she continued her clicks. Most empty again but there were so many things around. She searched them but did not find much of use to her but what she could identify as tools. She was not a mechanic at least not in the automotive sense but tools were good for defense no? Sybil spent a little time checking over the bounty of automotive repair items before settling on two things with t shaped handles and long metal lines likes needles. Their tips felt sharp though had four sectios The spirit could appreciate that. She wondered...just what had they been working on before they had abandoned them? Why? It was all so confusing.

She couldn't dwell and so with the two weapons in hand she traveled onward and found her way further down.
Click!....Click!.....Click!....Click!

Down she went why was she going down? Did people not hide in places such as this? She could recall a few times in her youth where her parents had felt the need to shove her down into some dank smelling crevice and lock the metal plates that led upward. These spaces weren't so roomy and often than not had more than one thing crawling down within them but Sybil knew what a basement was. She knew this place had one and the doors....were open. Down and down she went until finally reaching a long corridor. She did not click but stomped now. Straight and narrow. Forward the pale thing went, hair over her face as she traveled more hunched over than perhaps she needed. She kept weapons in hand just in case she was assailed.

She was no real fighter but she knew how to....no...no no. She didn't want to think of it. She hoped there was life. She hoped there would be answers. She began to mutter to herself to keep her self distracted "Make the skin incision from the mastoid tip to the thyroid notch." keeping herself occupied with the mental memory of dissection "Allow appropriate bilateral clearance of submental lymph nodes-" forward she kept moving down and down the tunnel whose deep darkness meant little to her. Sybil had no light for she needed no light, but the noise? Oh she could hear something further down. She focused and allow it to carry her forward. Two....women? Oh? The closer she got the more clearly she could figure out the words though they were hardly comforting. Not guards...these were criminals much like her.

She had an easier time hearing them from a much longer distance than most might and when one of them lit up their baton it acted as a true beacon to her. She moved just a bit faster, continuing to utter her studies under her breath, quietly to keep focus. They didn't sound kind but who was she to judge. She'd "see" them before they saw her as the tall, ghostly figured slowly approached. So little noise made. She had no idea how her approach would seem but she would a short enough distance from them "Who....are you? Have you seen anyone?" she asked standing there, perhaps still shrouded in darkness but she spoke clearly or as clearly as she could. She hoped the distance would be acceptable for them. Her voice wasn't very loud, and long ago she had trained to hide her accent for roles in the theaters plays but her voice did sound strained...much more strained these days.

Edited August 26 by AsBloodTurnsEverCold

[diogora]

Unlike most of the other inmates who had been sleeping at the time the power went out, Fera was still up and about with her cellmate, an older lady that had entered this prison around the same time as Fera did 10 years ago. The girl had too much energy to just call it a night early, so her old friend had been putting up with her pretty much all night again, which had become a habit by now. What were they doing? As they did nearly every night, Fera had gotten cozy in bed with the old lady while excitedly listening to some bedtime stories she had probably heard at least a thousand times now. "So what happened after the witch lady cut off Rasputin's hair?" she asked, the story being told at the time being none other than 'Rapunzel'. The old lady just smiled, used to the Tionarian's girls quirks by now.

^Well my dear, Rapunzel was bani- hmm?^ The older woman stopped when she heard a click from outside the cell, and Fera looked to the door curiously. It wasn't long before they would hear the chaos outside, people screaming in horror as fights broke out and grudges were being settled. People were being beaten, raped, murdered...Not too far, they could clearly hear the words 'Please don't kill me' being shouted out in horror before they would hear groans and loud thuds as a head was being bashed against a wall until they died. Tonight was truly a horrible, blood night...and Fera jumped out of bed, her tail large tail wagging from side to side quickly, showing her excitement. "Is everyone throwing a party? I should go find out whose birthday it is!" she exclaimed, completely having misread the situation. The older lady just sighed...but alas, surely Fera would be fine.

She really was. She happily trotted past all the cells, wondering what everyone was doing jumping on each other and whatnot. Whenever she got too close and someone approached her, Fera would give her signature "Nya-hallo~" to greet them, and the inmates would recognize their mascot. There were two in the middle of beating each other up and they'd still take a break to say.

^Oh it's you, Fera. It's dark so I didn't recognize you. Don't be up too late, okay?^

^I'm sure the old lady's worried too, so head back soon^

"Okay~ See you at lunch tomorrow!" Fera waved them goodbye and after she left, the two prisoners went back to beating each other bloody. She clearly didn't realize the chaos taking place, thinking tomorrow would be the same as usual. There was one problem though...She didn't know her way back to her cell! They all looked the same, and usually her cellmate would always accompany her back, so...she was lost! She looked for one of the nice guards to tell her, but she couldn't find anyone, so she decided to venture further in search for someone.

It was dark, so Fera didn't even know where she was going. "Yowch!" she let out as she ran into walls, turning in another direction and walking until "Gah!" running into another wall! The tigress' trial and error approach somehow got her to the Central building after a while. Inside, she ended up stumbling over the corpse of an unlucky inmate and fell to the ground, picking herself up fairly easily and saying "Sorry! I didn't see you!" as she dusted herself off. She'd somehow ended up right in front of the stairwell to the basement after this, so...without really any thought, she started heading downstairs. "Hrmmm, so mean of that lady to ignore me.." she muttered to herself on the way down after the corpse had, understandably, not responded to her apology.

She was lost though, and down here in the basement, it was even darker than before! Fera was pretty much blind down here without a light, which meant more stumbling against walls. It was so dark Fera ended up squinting and blinking her eyes a bit just to make sure she wasn't accidentally walking around with them closed, but subconsciously, she found herself following some sounds she heard in the distance. Clicking? Someone was making clicking noises, but of course she didn't know these were being made by a woman. They stopped before she could really reach the source of the sound too, but luckily for her, after walking a bit further down this dark corridor, she started to hear some voices...finally! She was starting to feel lonely, and even better...she spotted a small light! She could only see it for a little moment, but the electricity crackling at the tip of the baton gave her a direction she could walk in.

Her ears and tail perked up. With a happy smile on her face, Fera started to hum a soft tune while walking towards where she'd seen the light. It was so dark she didn't even see the giantess she walked by, heading inside the crowd of multiple dangerous, armed inmates without a care in the world. She was humming so casually that, in the dark, maybe she just passed off as one of them? Or not. As little as she could see them, they probablky couldn't see her either though. But either way, from within the crowd, she looked back curiously when she heard a voice from the same direction she just came from. She heard the question directed at the group...but who was to say this lady wasn't trying to talk to her instead "I'm Fera! Who are you? I saw a bunch of people today, like Mona, Roberta, Julie, Monique, Nicole, Jimmy..." When asked if she'd seen anyone, she just tried to think of everyone she'd seen earlier today and began to list them...or at least the names she decided to call them by in this moment.

[Kissa Deactivated]

“Oddly that sounds like a poor attempt at playing time as you know nothing of those things…” Anjira made quite obvious hint. “If you have wasted our time with your tricks, I’m going pull your intestines out and spread them on this floor while you wish you were already dead.” There wasn’t even passion behind her threat. It wasn’t a threat thrown in anger. Instead it sounded more like someone was talking about another boring work day. 

^There is plenty of time. At least till our people come back with the food.^ Amao let the light of his flashlight sweep through the hall, examining carefully what was stored there. ^Cherry, how long one barrel keeps those things running?

 

While Archer was working to make the generators work, or trying to fake he knew what he was doing to keep on breathing, the rest of the Vanlith family were standing on standby in the corridor. They had been so swallowed by their little plans of what they were going to do outside the prison walls that they didn’t hear the approaching clicks. When Sybil opened her mouth she startled the thugs closest to her, making them take a step back. 

 

Quickly they gathered themselves. ^You creepy bitch!^ A scar faced fox woman snarled, still recovering from her racing heart. 

^Hey, it’s that blind broad!^ Someone shouted. 

That’s how the group worked. Anjira herself didn’t know everyone on W-Wing, but she didn’t need to. The soldiers of the family knew those who were too insignificant for the high ranking members to know. Their collective knowledge served the good of the family. 

^White face, you have no business here. If you are smart you turn around and walk away.^

^Wait! Maybe Anjira wants to see her?^

^Why would she want to see that freak?^

^I don’t know! For the same reason we are dragging that guy around. She might be useful.^

 

As they were busy arguing among themselves Fera pushed past Sybil, right into the group of already agitated mobsters. As soon as the tinorian got inside reach of hand, the women were like a sturdy wall that shoved the young feline away, escorted by angry swings of batons.

^Who the fuck do you think you are, you stupid whore?!^

^You want a fight? Huh?!^

^Ugh! It’s that retard tiger.^

^We should ask Anjira if she has use for these two.^

^The creepy broad might be useful, but the other one is a waste of space. Maybe the Claws have use for her…^ 

^Enough. You two, keep on walking. You get to meet the boss.^ The group divided on both sides of the corridor, creating a way for the pair to walk. It might sound distantly like an invite or request, but in reality it was neither. It was an order, one they wouldn’t be allowed to deny.

[Gardsorm]

"Oh, so that's your idea of casual conversation to pass the time, I suppose? Well, that's fine, I can work with that." Archer rolled his eyes, passing the light along the walls to the back. He'd found a few cables that looked like they had been removed. It was almost like someone intentionally tried to make sure power couldn't go somewhere, but in doing so, didn't account for the rest of the power allocation. "I haven't been allowed to work on anything like this for years, so forgive me if I got a little ecstatic to go back to doing what I do best. I've been here long enough that I gave up hope doing anything I really enjoy. Except reading magazines. Don't suppose you're a reader of Sweater Puppies, are you?" He asked as he moved his sleeves over his hands and reached to grab the wires to start attaching them, wincing as there was a spark.

"Everyone has to have their vices, you know? Even if we're stuck in here for gods know how long, no sense to live in boredom the whole time. Thrown in here for some misdemeanors and vandalism, destroying some public property... Pretty light sentence, but you'd think putting me alongside lifers would be a little overkill." Archer continued, speaking the words as naturally as he rehearsed them. Unfortunately, he didn't quite know what sort of person he was trying to say those things to. Another spark and crackle, with a more audible wince and a light curse as Archer worked to install the cables.

Lifting his head as he heard Amao call out to him (Cherry? That was a new one), he looked back. "Hard to say with the size of these beasts. Four generators, but there are a lot of diesel barrels... Could be a week or two of non-stop use if we just rely on them?" He stepped away from one generator, shaking his sleeves and hands as he moved to look along another one. "Getting these back on will be the first step. Once power is back on, I'll have to peek into the controls to adjust the energy distribution to make things run more efficiently."

Edited August 26 by Gardsorm

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Sybil didn't seem to react much to the woman being startled nor her anger. Her breathing uneven, Sybil wanted to make it was only the small fright and nothing serious. The tall woman stood there quietly, still unflinching even as someone loudly referred to her as 'the blind broad' and 'White face' which didn't elicit much emotion from her either. She'd been called worse before. She just smiled a bit but it seemed they had their own idea. She clicked a few times more to get a sense of their position and heights. Oh there were a lot of them just as there had been a lot of the addled ones up above. It seemed there was no way around infestation.

She had no idea who they were talking about or why she might want to be seen. No one wanted to see Sybil. No one ever did. She opened her mouth to speak and ask if any of them needed medical attention before well...she knew this one was here. She could hear her approach. The humming. They might not have contributing to their shock but Sybil's caught the vibration. It was pleasant and there she was. Sybil shifted slightly to allow this new one room though even as she spoke Sybil's head did little more than turn slightly.

She was having her question answered was she not? She didn't mean like this but she didn't move to quiet the new body.

These people were quite rude. She had...heard tales of a tiger in the jail though they had never met. It was usually with lighter tones which stood apart from the darker, aggressive timbre of these new bodies. She clicked her tongue and moved to touch the girl aiming for the highest spot upon her. That was likely her head. She chuckled "They are agitated. It would be better for us to follow their words." she spoke gently, calmly, quietly but loud enough to be heard. Rude was they were they were numerous.

It was merely for safety that they did not fight.

She would move forward, but she recognized false words of choice. Her 'parents' said them to her often. No matter. She hadn't come looking for bloodshed but she kept her hands held out gently for the new female to take if she could not see Sybil was far from hobbled. She hummed lightly counting each and every body, the gaps in noise, it kept her in line. She traveled the way they led curious to see who this Anjira figure was.

If they could be useful or if an opportunity presented itself to break away.

[diogora]

Fera was suddenly stopped by the large crowd and let out a soft "Hmm?" before being shoved back, taking a few hops as she was pushed back to stop herself from falling over. Ah, she must have ran into someone? "Sorry" she said quickly, but her tone was still pleasant. She was just a good girl apologizing after bumping into someone! The mobsters were agitated, irritated, angry...something that would be clear to just about anyone...except for Fera, who was straightening her clothes out again after being shoved back. 

She was called a stupid 'ore', but that was just silly! It was dark though, so she forgave the person for mistaking her for a rock. She didn't know what a retard was, but she'd heard the 'retard tiger' nickname used on her before, so she enthusiastically nodded her head, happy to be recognized. These people must have been really nice if they remembered her face, she thought!

After the mobsters decided that these two would be meeting with their boss, they made way for them to pass, but Sybil approached the Tinorian first and made her eyes close with the pat on the head. Although Fera's 6 feet height made her taller than the average woman, Sybil towered over her. Immediately, Fera's tail started to swing slowly from side to side as her ears fell flat on her head, completely relaxed and comfortable despite the situation she was in. "Hehehe, you're nice, big lady" she said, nuzzling the top of her head against the woman's palm a bit. She definitely wasn't one to shy away from strangers when they tried to spoil her like this.

She nodded when Sybil suggested they do as the mobsters said. In the darkness, she could hardly tell what anyone looked like down here, but squinting hard enough she did notice that they seemed to have stepped out of the way to let them pass and meet Anjira...how considerate of them! Fera grabbed one of the hands Sybil extended to her. "They seem really excited for us to meet their friend. I wonder what she's like" she said, bubbling with positivity. 

She would walk hand in hand with Sybil, playfully swinging their arms back and forth as they went. As oblivious to danger as she was, clearly she didn't really seem dangerous in the slightest herself. For the time being, she was just happy she wasn't alone in the darkness anymore, and she was excited to make new friends.

[Kissa Deactivated]

“Sounds like a title for a greasy titty magazine. Sharing your porn addiction so openly to someone who asked nothing about it… You must be desperately overcompensating for something.” Anjira replied when Archer asked about Sweater Puppies.

There was no sympathy from the onlookers when the redhead zapped himself. The only thing approaching care was Amao taking a firm wooden stick that was leaning against a wall. Both ends of the stick were grinded round, like its only purpose here was to knock the poor bastard being electrocuted off the generator before they would fry into it. Anjira clapped slowly, unimpressed when Archer listed his convictions. Behind the closed doors they had talked about going to the archive and checking his background, but it would be a waste of time if he really was a cop. The law enforcement wouldn’t be stupid enough to send him here without feigned records. There were those who believed the human man was an undercover police officer and those who thought he was just a weirdo. Anjira believed in the latter. Her reason told her he was a pig in disguise, but her senses told her the man wasn’t lying, no matter how odd it made him.

^Can one of them keep this place running? How much time will one barrel give? One. Not all of them.^ Perhaps Archer had been sniffing a little too much gasoline or something because understanding a simple question was so challenging to him. 

Amao moved closer to Anjira and lowered his voice into a whisper, telling her something. The black vixen nodded in silence. At least it seemed like Archer was doing something, so perhaps he would get a generator running before electrocuting himself to death. Burning human flesh smells disgusting, Anjira thought.

^Boss, we found these two loitering in the corridor. What you want to do with them?^ With that Sybil and Fera were introduced to Anjira and the rest of the people in the hall.

The dark haired vulpeculan turned to look at the pair. Those with more intelligence could see from Anjira’s posture that she had a military background. The woman seemed calm and relaxed, but it was like a paper thin veil hiding the unquenchable bloodthirst and lust for violence. She seemed to be mostly unharmed, so the drying blood on her clothes was someone else’s and she was awfully comfortable in bloody clothes. The woman whispered something to Gina, who was standing near her and right after Gina walked out of the room. 

“Leave them here. We are all waiting for our helpful stranger to fix these machines, so might as well spend the time by having a little chat. I’m Anjira Vanlith. Who are you two?” Anjira introduced herself officially and let her blue gaze observe the pair carefully. “And more importantly, what brought you here?” The question could be understood in many different ways.

She had seen Sybil before. It was hard to miss a woman that tall. Yet there had never been any interaction between them, just like there hadn’t been between her and Fera. Being a feline, she could have thought Fera belonged to the Wildcats, but the fact she wasn’t with them meant she wasn’t part of their group. Anjira didn’t usually bother with those who were meaningless in her eyes. Either they could give her something she wanted or they got in her way, which would shorten their life expectations drastically. Those who just wanted to lay low and avoid attention usually were able to remain out of her sights. 

Anjira rarely did things to others just for fun. There was always some reason behind her actions. Like they loved to say, it’s just business.

[Gardsorm]

"They're an infamous gravure modeling magazine focused on highly appealing girls with animals features, so you're not too far from the mark. However, they don't usually pose nude, so it's not true porn... Softcore at best, maybe? They pose in lots of swimsuits and other cute and appealing outfits." Archer remarked, not letting the fact that it seemed to prompt Anjira to condemn him for what he looked at. "Overcompensating? Well, that's s matter of perspective, I guess. For me, it's just sharing a hobby and making small talk. I can't exactly top you mentioning you want to spill my entrails, so my next best option is just to shoot the breeze while I work, because working in silence under scrutiny is unnerving." There was another clicks behind the second generator.

"Reading a few modeling magazines is hardly the most condemnable passtime when you have monsters all around you. But, you are welcome to your opinions, it's almost a free world. Heh." He gave a half-hearted shrug, showing more of a sarcastic side than anything. It was clear this Anjira woman did not want to engage in talk much, so all of this was a lost cause to figure out more of her deal. Some people just wanted to keep to their own counsel.

When he was addressed by Amao, he shrugged. "A few hours at best, one barrel for one generator. They're not as refined as more modern ones, so my best answer is about six hours." Yes, keep talking like he was the clueless one, he could hear it in his voice. However, he was also convinced none of these morons would know how to manage the generator for long, they'd just use the fuel and hope it worked. Gods help them if it failed when they needed it most. Still, he could tell his work was almost done... One more to connect to the grid, and he probably wouldn't have to come back here for some time. However, with the relative silence of working, he could hear chatter from the hallway... Nothing he could distinguish, but it sounded almost like Anjira got more recruits? No... There was hostility before then. Random intruders, perhaps?

"Surprise recruitment drive, is it? A nice looking cat girl, and ... Holy, how big is that one?! Is she why we had crap all to eat on East Wing? There's no way they didn't give her the good stuff!" Archer exclaimed when his eyes caught Sybil. She looked way bigger than him, and definitely taller than everyone else around there... But he couldn't look for long. These thugs were going to get severe if he wasted anymore time. At this point, he needed to start looking for a way out of this mess if things fell apart. As he worked behind the last generator, his eyes looked around his environment, trying to steal glimpses of the surroundings to see if he could find anything lto defend himself with, a place to quickly escape from if the hallway was blocked... 

Maybe those new girls weren't quite the obstacles he thought they were, and if that was the case... Maybe there was a way to gain their assistance. The cat girl looked like she would be useful in a fight if it came to it. Sadly, Archer had no idea what sort of woman she was... 

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Sybil let out a soft breath as the tigress called her nice. Was she? She didn't know about that but she was glad she responded so well. Sybil's need to touch wasn't often met well especially in a place like this. Her hair felt quite soft and those ears? They were, in Sybil's understanding, animal and quite interesting. This strange girl was tall, shorter than herself but taller than most other women she had ever met. It was times like this where Sybil wished she could see. What did this girl look like? Did her smile shine? Did her eyes contain the light of the lord in them as her....group often mused about? She would be merely satisfied by the lightness of her tone even being called "big lady" because it was kindness. She moved with her through the lines of threatening bodies, occasionally stepping heavier rather than licking which bore the same effect.

"Do mind yourself friend." she said "We would not want you hurt because these people lost their temper." she advised for the energetic being. Sybil had a feeling her energy could present a challenge for these unhappy souls. She wondered....should she had taken her changes with the addled men upstairs? It was too late. Too late for many things and so they went and soon they were brought to a halt. She clicked and she realized they were in front of a much shorter figure whose voice would soon be revealed to be female. It was a smallish room, with larger metal structures not far. Another figure a short distance away nearest those structures. She sniffed the air. Blood. Old blood.

She would curtsy "Sybil. Sybil Baudelaire." she introduced in her quiet voice "I simply sought answers to this strange situation." not really looking at the woman but her head tipping in her direction as if she was working to hear her much better. The man spoke and seemed amazed by her size. The other figure was much smaller than she but she was sure she didn't eat too much. She simply nodded in his direction.

"Good day sir." now what could they do? Were they to be forced to work? Why did she smell blood? "Is anyone hurt?" she asked worried. Her lack of desire to be forced to work for some criminal element surpassed by her desire to heal.

Edited August 27 by AsBloodTurnsEverCold

[diogora]

Fera tilted her head slightly to the side when Sybil mentioned the possibility of getting hurt. She was convinced these people had been nice to her so far, regardless of how far from the truth this actually was, so she didn't see a reason to worry. Still, Sybil called her a friend, so that made her quite happy. Fera stopped for just a second, letting out a "Hnnng!" as she got on the tip of her toes and stretched out her arm to reach and gently pat the top of Sybil's head. "There there. Granny says Fera's tough, so no worries!" she said in a chipper tone, trying to reassure the tall lady before they'd continue and make their way to their destination.

When they got to the other room, Fera's head immediately started to dart around as she tried to figure out what this strange room was. This...didn't look like a prison cell, she concluded, and that was as far as that thought went. She was a lot more interested in the other 2 people present in this room. One of them was Anjira, whose posture went completely unnoticed by the Tinorian, and the other was Archer...but she had no idea what he was doing. She found herself smiling though when she heard the way he reacted to Sybil. He was funny! Unfortunately, he went right back to working though, which made Fera pout a little. She'd been told it was rude to turn your back on people like that!

Her attention turned to Anjira though when she hear the Vulpeculan woman introduce herself and question them. She wanted to have a chat...Fera was running into all sorts of friendly folks today, she thought. Sybil was the first to introduce herself, and Fera took note of her name. She crossed her arms and brought her hand up to pinch her own chin while in deep thought. In order to remember the name 'Sybil Baudelaire' she'd just heard this very moment "Sinbad Boobylord...Sinbad Boobylord.." she repeated it to herself in an attempt to memorize it, although she already had it completely wrong. Her expression filled with confidence, she gestured towards Sybil "Fera is Sonic's friend, Fera!" and she botched it again, but she was nodding to herself like she was proud for getting it right.

"It's nice to meet you, Tanjiro" she said to Anjira. No, Fera was not taunting anyone. Perhaps with her ability to read people, Anjira would be able to see that there wasn't even an ounce of malice behind Fera's words. As for the question about what brought her here "My feet brought me here." Again, she wasn't even mocking anyone. She just took the question way too literally, but she would provide a little more "Fera got lost...and then ran into..." she attempted to count on her fingers, but "A bunch of walls!...Tripped and fell a lot...Then there was clicking and a light, so Fera came here!...When we ran into everyone here, they really wanted us to come say hi, so hi!" Fera wasn't exaggerating or lying. She had a tough body, and energy to boot, even after faceplanting countless walls on her way here.

She then had an excellent idea! "Do you wanna be friends too??" she asked with a glimmer in her eye. Yes, her idea simply boiled down to asking Anjira to be her friend, since Sybil called her a friend already. She then pointed over to Archer though and pouted a little again "Fera won't be friends with the rude lady though until she apologizes! Granny says it's rude not to introduce yourself!" she called out the man's behavior, and was also mistaking him for a woman. Given the darkness, she could only see the longer, cherry hair, so it gave her the wrong idea.

[Kissa Deactivated]

Oh gods! This guy really loves his own voice. I bet he talks even in his sleep. Or then he was the type who became a chatterbox as soon as he was nervous. What kind of pitiful pervert was this guy…? Who the fuck told about their porn addiction and jerking off to pass time so openly, like it was something as normal as talking about weather? He definitely was in the right place inside these walls. That was sure, Anjira thought. 

^That sounds good. Now, get one of them running.^ Amao nodded at Archer’s answer. ^That will serve us just fine.^

As Archer observed the place he would soon notice that there was no other way out of the room than the door they had used to come in. The only thing that could be used as a weapon was the wooden stick Amao was holding. There was no useless stuff lying around so Archer was out of options. 

The two ladies weren’t only in the presence of the three. There were three Amao’s men and eight Vanliths, in addition to the Mistress Vanlith herself.  

“Sybil. The ones with the answers are the people behind all of this. If we live long enough we might get some answers.” It was quite a useless answer, but Anjira wasn’t trying to hide answers at this point. They simply didn’t have them. “Why are you asking? Are you a nurse of some sort?” The fox asked instead of giving a straight answer. She was the type who wouldn’t admit being weakened even if she was about to die, so telling she was injured in a confrontation wasn’t going to happen easily. 

There was something strange with the tall woman… She didn’t seem hard on hearing, yet she turned her head in her direction like she was doing her best not to miss a word. Quietly Anijra moved, just to see if Sybil would adjust to her movement.

Then it was Fera’s turn… Most of the things coming out of her mouth were absolute nonsense to Anjira. Two women near the newcomers were triggered by Fera saying their leader’s name wrong and were ready to jump on teaching the girl some manners, but Anjira moved her hand slightly, signaling them to stand down. While the tiger girl spoke there was some shifting. Two women entered the room while the other two left, all without exchanging words, just meaningful glances.

Now I understand why I don’t remember this cat. She was mentally retarded to the point she was basically a toddler in an adult's body. She definitely belonged to a facility, just not this one. Talking with her for more than five minutes was a certain way to give her a throbbing headache. Anjira was already ready to send Fera out of her sight, but she figured it was better to find out if these two could be useful to her before doing so. If the idiot cat had nothing to offer, she could become fuck matress for the lizards for all she cared.

“We are working on trying to return the order here. Getting the electricity back feels like a good beginning. Helpful mister… I never asked your name. Mister electrician, what’s your name?” Anjira waited for Archer to give her a name before she continued. “Mister [name he gave] is fixing our electricity problem here as we speak. What about you two? Is there something you can do for the good of this place and its people?”

[Gardsorm]

"Big girl has manners, I like that. Almost forgot what those felt like." Not exactly, Archer knew it the moment he encountered Ao before, but that was information none of these people needed to know. So her name was Sybil... That was probably the second name he learned tonight, after Anjira's through the careless question of one of her underlings earlier, but he was just as happy not remembering her name for very long once he was done here. He could already see their welcomes were worn out for one another, but it gave him enough time to understand she was the biggest monster of this batch. Talk to someone long enough and you can start to see what sort of person they were. One look at Anjira was enough to tell someone she wasn't worth knowing personally.

The other was Fera... Definitely an interesting case of a lady, her manner of speech almost seemed a bit regressed. It honestly almost reminded him of a cartoon, but he could appreciate that. However... Rude lady, though? He hoped she wasn't talking about Anjira... But, no, that wasn't possible. Well, whatever, if she meant Anjira, perhaps having the power turn on would distract her from any slights she felt she incurred. "The name's Roger." He spoke offhand, saying the name as easily as it came to his mind. Wasn't really a name he could really forget... But he didn't feel like giving his name to them either.

"Just a little more... Come on, inside it goes... Time to wake up, baby." He pat the generator's side as he connected the last cable. As far as he could tell, all of the generators had been inspected and any loose connections had been swiftly dealt with. Moving beaidebthe generator, he worked to adjust the console on the side before flipping the switch, causing the machine to hum audibly with a noticeable vibration. All that was needed now was to start turning the lights on... Stepping away from the last generator, he approached the door and moved to flick the lights on to the room. 

"Well... The lights work, at least. Question remains if everything else does. Don't suppose you have a way to communicate quickly with others as a test, do you?" 

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Sybil recognized the woman seemed to have trouble with her name but did not immediately move to correct her on it. She just reached out once again, not even turning to look at Fera as her hands gently found their way to the top of her head. She would let out a small hum which would progressive into a gentle "Shhhh." her hands idly looking for sports the tigress liked most "Calme-toi, ma chère your energy is appreciated but I ask you to settle slightly ami. These friends are not so easy and I do not want them to lose patience with you. Calm. Calm for me please." she sang to her gently hoping the tigress could be brought down a level before their hosts lost patience. Her tone was motherly and gentle, and followed by a soothing hum or at least...she hoped it was soothing. Anjira on the other hand did at least confirm she had no idea what as going on and that they had at least not been the one to cause this chaos.

"Doctor." she answered. Anjira's suspicions were correct in some part as Sybil did not seem to register that she had moved from her spot but, at no point had Sybil's gaze actually landed upon Anjira or anyone else. Her head did move slightly at the sound of breathing, tracking that before the sound Roger's voice caused her to move elsewhere but she did not gaze at him either, but in his general direction. His remark on her size and manners noted as she nodded, still doing her best to keep the tigress from potentially getting herself into trouble. His name was Roger? She didn't sense hesitation, but just as well no directness. Roger it was. How strange to not exchange names if they had put him to work.

Order. This one meant control. She was in no position to challenge her obviously and of no desire to do so. She merely accepted that answer and of course thought about the next. Good for this place? For these people? As if god would allow that. Sybil tilted her head down a little "I am fully board certified. If you hurt, I can help you even if you prefer a more alternative form of healing." but this one? She was not meant to be helped but even with that could Sybil ignore their care?

and then 'Roger' got one of the machines works. It didn't particularly matter for Sybil though it did take one of the few advantages she might have in the event of violence. She urged calm for the tigress now more than ever. She hoped the tigress could answer some way to keep herself useful for her own sake but perhaps Sybil or the good sir would would have an answer should their hosts refuse to tolerate her presence. Sybil, after all, was clearly blind.

 

[diogora]

Fera's energetic little outburst would seem to stop when Sybil placed her hand atop her head again. Fera liked these sorts of gestures quite a lot, and the kind tone in which Sybil spoke was like a sweet lullaby to this tigress. She didn't understand half the words she was saying, but the message for her to relax came across. Fera's bubbly and jumpy self loosened up a bit when she was being spoiled. She was an open book too, letting out a few pleasant hums when Sybil would pet the best spots, notably right behind the Tionarian's ears. Yes, this was bliss.

Anjira didn't say anything to Fera in return to her little outburst, Fera not even realizing she might have gotten some people angry when she misspoke the name, but it lead to her asking for Archer's name. When the man spoke and called himself Roger, Fera would nod her head. "Nice to meet you, Roberta. We can be friends now" she stated, since Archer had corrected the rude behaviour and introduced himself now...even if he used a fake name. Although she was still saying nonsense, for the time being her voice was a little more calm thanks to the care Sybil was giving her. She wondered why Archer was saying it was 'Time to wake up' when all of them were clearly awake, what a strange lady, she thought. Still, she actually stayed quiet and didn't bother anyone while he got the generators working. 

She squinted for a moment when Archer turned the lights on, but quickly adjusted to the light and started to look around. Fera herself could be seen properly now. Although she wasn't as tall as Sybil, the tigress was still someone bigger than the average woman. Her body was well-toned too, since all the constant running and playing around was physically taxing, giving her a trained physique. She had a few deep scars too, notably on the sides of her shoulders, but whether those had been given to her before or after she entered this prison was unclear. Fera was the prison mascot, but this didn't mean everyone liked her. Over the last 10 years, some of the inmates had also gotten fed up with her and beat her. She wasn't a fighter, but her posture had naturally adopted to deal with things a bit, and she at least seemed to always be ready to take a hit. Despite her lack of brainpower, she looked sturdier than most people.

She got a proper look at Sybil, smiling at her when she noticed the white in her blind eyes. They seemed different from everyone else she'd met. She...didn't realize this actually meant the woman was blind, but it looked so unique and interesting "Fera likes your eyes" she openly admitted, not a moment of hesitation before letting the compliment come out. Looking over to Anjira, the Vulpeculan's beauty stood out to her aswell, especially her silky black hair, and she was mesmerized by the many tails behind her. "Pretty.." she let out in awe. Finally, she looked over to Archer, looking her up and down for a moment. Not as much as Anjira or Sybil, but also pretty...Was that the right word though? Fera had been stuck in W-Wing for 10 years now. The only men she ever saw was a few guards, unless those were also separated by gender, so by default she just assumed people to be women until corrected. With that being said, she pointed straight at Archer, and the comment she blurted out was simply her first thought "You're super flat, lady" Afterall, compared to herself and the other women in this room, Archer's breasts were non-existant...given he wasn't a woman, but still!

Fera didn't realize she had to prove her usefulness right now. The thicker atmosphere of the situation they were in wasn't reaching her, but after hearing Archer question if everything else worked, the tigress would show her willingness to be of help "Want Fera to come check everything out with you? I can keep you safe from the baddies" she claimed with a confident look on her face. Someone with this much energy wasn't exactly useless in a fight. Only issue was needing someone to actually point out who the baddies were.

[Kissa Deactivated]

If Anjira wasn’t paying so much attention to Sybil she might have started to doubt Archer was lying about his name. In her eyes the tall woman had the patience of a saint. She had known Fera just a few minutes and she was already done with her. The vulpeculan had always thought it was impossible to make the reptilians look smart, but this cat made them look like intellectuals in comparison. 

^Don’t worry about that. We got this.^ Amao replied to Archer as he pulled a radio out of his pocket. ^Enzo. Enzo, come in. Enzo.^ The radio crackled and then a male voice came through.

^Boss. The lights came back.^

^Our electrician fixed the generator. We are preparing to leave. Grab what you can and let’s meet at the rendezvous point.^

^Got it, boss. We are on our way. Over and out.^

He didn’t need to explain to Anjira what they had spoked as she had heard everything. The black fox just nodded. 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.  

“A medical doctor?” Anjira checked since philosophy doctors and such were useful only as speed bumps and even then they did a poor job. There was something weird with this woman… The fox shone her light at Sybil's face to see her reaction. They way she hadn’t looked at anyone specially, not even at her when they spoke felt off. “Ah. That truly is a useful skill.” They sure don’t have an abundance of doctors among themselves.    

^We are going to leave the prison behind. For now. This place is dangerous in its current state and there are more important things we want to secure as we re-group. Miss Baudelaire, you are welcome to come with us. We have need for your skills. We can’t provide you proper equipment at the moment, but when we return here we make sure to bring what still remains intact in the infirmary. I realize you might be wary of us for our reputation, but my word has a weight. You can count on it. When I say you will be safe with us, you can take that as truth.^ Amao spoke in a soft, well-mannered way.

“The decision is yours of course, but I’m sure you realize that without the guards this place has become a huge game of survival and those in a group are the ones who are going to survive. Roger, I hope you have your bags packed because you are coming with us too. We are going to return the electricity to the whole island and you volunteered to help us on that. In return we won’t let the thugs to snap your neck… or do something worse to you.” There was no freedom of choice for Archer. By showing them what he could do, he became part of their plans. The only freedom he had was doing what they wanted or doing it with an increasing number of broken bones. 

 

“Girls, we are taking these.” Anjira gestured widely towards the barrels. “Start moving them to the garage.” She wasn’t leader of the Galliards, but underlings of Amao participated in rolling the barrels in the corridor and further away just like the Vanlith soldiers. 

Roger and Sybil were useful. They were assets. Those who were capable of rational thinking could see the way these people thought. Those that hold value to them were safe as long as they remained useful. There probably was a limit to that and crossing too many lines would tip the scales in other positions and seal their fate, but right now Archer and Sybil could be relatively sure that the mobsters wouldn’t be the ones killing them. On the contrary, they would keep them safe from other dangers.

Anjira’s already slim patience was wearing thin with Fera, but she didn’t want to miss something that could help her just because she was annoyed. Perhaps the idiot cat had some hidden skills. “Fera, how are you going to keep us safe from the baddies?” The black vixen asked with as much calmness as she could muster and the fakest smile anyone had ever seen. This felt like talking with a five year old who claimed they were gonna kick butt of everyone.  

[Gardsorm]

Well, Archer was certainly not surprised to find out how prepared they were. They had means of communication in advance... It meant that while everyone was busy fighting amongst themselves, these groups were organized by their leaders to raid the guard's supplies for useful equipment. Weapons, gear, anything that would help them rapidly assume control of the facility from the far less organized prisoners. Then, by the time they showed their capabilities, anyone who wasn't in the know would be forced to kowtow to them because they possessed all of the power and control. However, there were ways to still exploit that situation... Plus, his true skills could shine later on when he found the right things. The less they knew about him, the better.

'These two... Sybil and Fera. They don't belong in this group, yet they wandered here by chance. Whatever I do, I'm going to have to work around them. For now, the best I can do is just not make any hasty moves and keep as much of my own counsel as possible. The less I need to directly deal with these thugs, the better.'

However, when Fera pointed to him and said he was a super flat lady, Archer paused for a second to let the realization deep in that she had been talking about HIM the whole time she called him rude... And now flat. He was beginning to understand the tiger girl might have been locked away so long on West Wing that everyone was a girl to her... Still, he casually reached up to his hair to touch it, and nodded. He DID have long hair... Well, that was probably the only compliment he could ever get. Clearing his throat, he looked back to Fera. "I'm sorry I'm not as stacked as you and the other beauties, Miss Fera, I suffer from A-Cup Angst! It's a pretty tragic condition, but I do the best I can with it by living as a man." He winked, perhaps expecting she wouldn't understand that he gave his gender away to her.

Casting a look to Anjira, he scoffed quietly. "Yeah, yeah, that's about what I figured. Plus, I can probably use Fera's help with a few things. The occasional shock therapy might help, you know?" He spoke up, subtly poking at the side of his head. It was also a veiled attempt to try to bring the girl along with them, catching that the taller woman Sybil was trying to do her best to look out for her. Maybe finding a functional use of her unique disposition and her capabilities might spare her worse things, and give him a chance to quietly talk to one or both of them later. 

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Sybil did not react to the lights turning on at all but did register the new hum that had filled the place. Her gaze remained fixed in place, eyes devoid of recognition of their new vivid surroundings. She didn't even react to the sudden shining of light in her eyes, but rather shifted slightly as Anjira spoke again, but once against her strange eyes did not land on Anjira. She was not looking at anyone. Fera did catch her attention as the complement caught Sybil...entirely off guard. The blind doctor looked stunned for a moment. Was that a joke? Fera's tone, the way she spoke, the lack of any 'hidden' noises that suggested a joke was...new to Sybil. Fera was either a good liar, or far too innocent to have ended up in such a place. Who, on the blessed Earth, could find joy in these God punished her with? What beauty was there in eyes like hers!? Sybil let out a sharp breath that turned into a breath chuckle. Fera was not so cruel but...she was wrong.

"T' devrais pas dire des choses si fausses si ouvertement, même aux morts yuh should save such kind words for the deserving silly cat! Aie pitié." rubbing gently behind her ears while losing her trained, more commonly polite speech for a moment. She would brush it off. She would turn in the direction of Amao, she knew how tall he was but truthfully Sybil had no such training as to look directly at the source of sounds. He extended an offer to her to accompany them but was it really a choice? The prison had become too dangerous but who would attend to these people if she left? It was....a difficult choice. It was safer but it also had her dancing upon the knifes edge to stick around with these people. She didn't have the immediate answer.

Anjira was right as well! He bit her lip gently....what a poor situation. She would open her mouth to answer but Anjira inquired about how Fera might be useful after Fera told them they she could help protect them. She did not quite understand what the mobsters were thinking. It appeared "Roger" was going to be made to go with them too. She was worried and so she spoke "I will...follow." perhaps she could save any they would hurt too. She did worry about Fera however. She knew annoyance in tone. She knew when someone was unwanted b the way another spoke of them because that had always been her. Anjira did not like Fera.

Sybil pulled Fera closer "I could use her help as well, and if she can protect us then it is less work for you and your....men as well." she said hoping to advocate for Fera. Sybil could protect herself but an extra hand was no something she was opposed to. She wanted to watch over the cat. Innocent as she was, Sybil did not feel good with the potential that they might hurt or leave her here in this hell. She could likely tell more about how capable Fera might be if she could study her body for a moment so he hands traveled a little more to try and see if she could get a feel for her musculature. She didn't need eyes for anything of that sort. She was a very good doctor.

"I am sure you and your band are no so opposed to assets. She is already bigger than most and her grip on my hand was solid. That shows strength. Point her in the direction of the 'baddies' and you've another....protector." he advised subtly telling them to make some use out of her rather than try to throw her away. She hoped it would work. Fera did not deserve the disservice of being left alone. A nightmare.

Edited August 27 by AsBloodTurnsEverCold

[diogora]

After Fera complimented Sybil's eyes, she tilted her head curiously when the woman started to answer. To Fera, the french words just sounded like some strange gibberish, but she did understand the english parts "But...you're nice to Fera, so Fera wants to be nice to you too" she said, a silly, happy look on her face as she had the spot behind her ears rubbed some more. It really was just that simple to Fera. Kindness was rewarded with Kindness. Yes, sometimes she would also mistake things like the mobsters wanting her to meet her boss as kindness...but this wouldn't mean that Fera would never consider someone mean, given the right circumstances were met.

When she called out 'Roger' for being flat, the Tinorian woman was quite interested in the answer she received. She suffered from...A-Cup Angst? That sounded like a disease! Now that she thought 'Roger' was sick, she felt bad for having called her rude just a moment ago, and to think 'Roger' had to now go through the tragedy of living as a man..."Oh! Sergil is a doctor, she might be able to heal you" she suggested, a truly intelligent thought! If he was sick, then they could just have Sybil help and maybe Miss 'Roger' could grow some proper breasts!

It seemed Anjira was telling Roger and Sybil to go somewhere with them...but where? Fera looked over to Anjira when she asked how Fera would keep them safe. 'Roger' was the first to respond, vouching that Fera could prove useful to him sometimes. Fera nodded enthusisatically. If anything, she was willing to help! She of course didn't get what he meant by shock therapy, but she'd do it, whatever it was! The next person to vouch for her was the doctor. Fera offered up no resistance as Sybil started to feel at her strong body. The doctor could potentially discern that the girl's skin was much tougher than the regular person. She vouched for Fera's height and her grip strength and...well, Fera didn't understand why she was getting these compliments after Anjira asked how she'd keep the baddies away, but she could tell one thing. Sybil seemed worried. She...didn't feel as sweet as before. She didn't know she was the target of those worries, but her tail went limp in a sad gesture when she saw the woman who had been treating her so kindly in a worried state.

"It's okay, Simba...I promise Fera won't let anyone hurt you. Granny says Fera has way too much energy, so I can look out for you even while you're sleeping!" she spoke with a kind warmth in her voice, possibly revealing another use for her on accident. She could go a long time without sleep. Since Sybil had mentioned baddies, Fera made the guess that the woman could have been worried about those. She would gently grab the hand at the top of her head and move it aside for a moment so that she could move a little more freely. Since the light was turned on, she turned to the wall and lightly smacked her hand against it twice. The sound it made proved that the wall was compact, not hollow. "How I'll keep the baddies away.." she repeated Anjira's words, wondering how she'd answer that question. She wasn't the best with words, so maybe she'd just show her?

Fera pulled her arm back and clenched her fist "If any baddies show up, I'll just...do this!" and she would punch the wall, something that surely only an idiot would do! A loud sound briefly echoed in the room when her fist collided with the wall, proving that Fera had struck hard. She was beastfolk, and her muscles weren't just for show. While obviously she wasn't superhuman and couldn't make any cracks in the wall, she could definitely break some bones if she hit them right. Most importantly though, she could do this without breaking any of her own bones. She calmly turned back to Anjira, not wincing in the slightest after punching a concrete wall. In fact, she just brushed a bit of the wall dust off her fist and looked good as new. She was doing just fine, while a weaker person might have broken their hand doing what she did. "That usually makes the mean people go to sleep really quick" she told Anjira, but was already on her way back to Sybil's side, taking the taller woman's wrist to place her hand atop her own head again.

[Kissa Deactivated]

“Of course. I’m sure she is a huge help when you read those magazines.” Anjira commented sarcastically to Archer. Sybil didn’t blink or flinch even when she was pointed directly in the face with the light. Amao noticed the same thing, but said nothing. “Baudelaire, you wouldn’t happen to be blind?” She didn’t have the white stick, so Anjira hadn’t noticed this detail immediately, but it explained something now. Her knowledge could still be useful, even if she was as blind as a bat. The fox didn’t know how right she was with her reference.

“The day we need someone like her for protection is the day we all deserve to die.” When they became so weak that they had to rely on children to defend them, then it was time for stronger to take over. “You can keep her around, as long as you look after her. I don’t want her getting in the way of people who actually do something useful. The moment she becomes more trouble than she is worth… I’m sure I don’t need to go into the details. You seem like a smart lady, so you get it.”

^Perhaps she can dig ground, carry things or something like that.^ Amao suggested.

“Yea. Things even a trained monkey could do.” Anjira nodded in agreement.

Fera’s speech was like having a mosquito buzzing right next to her ear to Anjira. It was equally annoying and void of intelligent speech. The display of strength that was meant to impress the people around the tigress, didn’t do much. Anjira sighed. It was like a punch of someone who had watched some action flicks. It could be seen coming miles away and in her eyes it was clumsy. Am I supposed to be impressed by the strength all animal people possess? Or that she didn’t bust her knuckles on the wall? Well, it was something, but what purpose did it serve? It made her more durable for torture, but to her people who were too simple to even understand torture weren’t worth the long lasting torture. It felt the same as beating up a dog. In the same way, the creature didn’t understand what was happening. 

Fera couldn’t remember even one name right. She was incapable of speaking like a normal person, which meant conversation with her would always be a headache because she couldn’t understand things like normal people did. Such retardism combined with power and durability was a bad combination. Anjira had a feeling Fera would follow just about anyone and she could be persuaded by anyone, which made her unreliable. Like Amao had said, perhaps she could do some simple physical labor, but beyond that she was a waste of space.   

Anjira didn’t spare a word to Fera. It wasn’t worth it trying to talk to someone who couldn’t understand it anyway. 

^Let’s get on move then.^

 

The mobsters had already got to work. They tipped the barrels on their side and rolled them along the floor. The group remained on the basement floor. The corridors were bathing in light. There was no blood or random items on the floor, which was a good sign that others hadn’t strayed here before them or then they had turned back right after because there was nothing worth stealing.    

They walked through entry process rooms and finally they were in the garage. Someone had already found keys to the cars. Although it was sure bet more than one of these people knew how to get a car running without a key. Archer, Sybil and Fera could see how the criminals drove vans inside the garage, opened their back doors and rolled the barrels along a short metal ramp. One of the Vanliths jumped inside a van and began securing the barrels in their place so they wouldn’t move during the drive. 

^We are lucky. Looks like most of the cars are still.^

“This isn’t all of them though…” 

^The rest are elsewhere on the island.^

^The door was already open when we came here. The backroom over there looked like someone had rummaged it through before us.^ A Vanlith soldier told Anjira. The woman nodded.

She and Amao moved outside to see how many vehicles they had in their use. ^It’s going to be a tight fit, but we will make it work somehow.^

“We could always put some lizards running after the cars…” Anjira smirked. The human smiled, but said nothing to her remark. “Gina, that SUV. It’s mine. Make sure it runs and no one takes it.” The wolf bowed her head lightly and then left to execute her order.

Anjira’s attention returned to their guests. She smiled, like a snake in front of a cornered mouse. “Looks like we have a moment to chat. I will take this as an opportunity to make some things clear, so there won’t be unnecessary conflicts in the future. I’m an understanding woman. I’m reasonable. I can be kind and generous.” For some reason at this point Amao turned his back to Anjira and looked with great interest at the cars. These people were at the same time lucky and unlucky as they didn’t know her history. 

“But I have no tolerance for lies. In this world, you lie, you lie. Since you might be new to all of this, I’m going to show my understanding by allowing you one slip tonight. If you lied about something to me, come clean now and all will be forgiven. No consequences. Is there something you want to tell me, Fera, Sybil, Roger?” Her long fingers moved slowly along the smooth surface of a long baton as she kept a close eye on their three guests. When she pronounced Roger’s name, with a different stress of voice than the others, she slapped the baton against her palm.  

[Gardsorm]

"Ahahah, so that's where your thoughts goes when I mention the magazines. Fair." Archer rolled his eyes, understanding the fox woman could only draw baseless theories and think he had ulterior motives... Well, it was fair. After being separated for so long, it was probably safe to believe the man who hadn't had any action in forever were more likely to push for it now that their situations were different. However, Archer didn't quite work like that because there were important elements missing from the equation, and lacking those meant... Well, no, the fox had no business to know any of that. He was already without freedom now, he didn't need to show any weak points.

Fera was... Clearly someone who marched to the best of her own drum, and given how easily she fell for his story, it was clear she had not been given proper education. Still, to him that meant she needed to be protectedmore than ever, because these thugs would have horrid uses for someone like her. "You're so thoughtful, Fera! But I'm afraid there's no real cure for what I have, but your consideration is heartwarming. I don't want to trouble you or her with my antics, so just know I'm fine being a guy for now." He had to try his best to not break out into laughter, but she was just too precious! However, he knew it was wrong to lie to her, so when he found a good moment, he would try to break the truth to her.

Archer followed along, walking slowly as he swept his eyes around to understand how organized they all were. Anjira and this other guy seemed to have control of the people around here, but there didn't seem to be as many of the reptilian troublemakers around, and given how Anjira spoke about them, he could imagine that she had no fondness for Bhorso or his cronies. Still, such an aspect couldn't be exploited yet, but he could file the information away for later. Still, it left them with nothing they could exploit for now. While the others went to work, Anjira turjed her focus on them...

Immediately, Archer's brows furrowed before he tilted his head to the side slightly. "Well... That confirms at least one thing about you then. I always introduce myself as Roger when asked... Gods rest his soul. You being the first to understand it was a lie... Tells me you're quite keen on discerning truth from lies on some level. So it was a futile endeavor from the onset." He sighed, before straightening up. "... The name is Archer. Archer Lowell Reid... And since you might have still been concerned about my prior allegiances, no I am not, nor was I ever, a cop or any sort of law enforcement."

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

"There are some people that kindness is better used on." she said although it was hard to declare that anyone in this room deserved kindness more than 'Roger' as he had identified himself. He seemed, of them, the best apart from the foolish kindness of the tigress. She continued her study of her body even as Fera offered her services to 'Roger' to heal him of his condition. She chuckled "He is correct, some things even I cannot change." she said. She was a physician, not a miracle worker for someone who did sex changes so that was very much out of her wheelhouse in terms of expertise and obviously 'Roger' would not want one.

And then that question. Was she blind? She nodded her head "Yes." there was no use lying about her affliction she felt. She had no idea how obvious it might perhaps be though the fact the question only came now did make her think she had done a good job not needing assistance but the way this woman talked. She was a deeply unpleasant woman. It was far clearer to Sybil that no one followed this woman for her charm. She was utterly lacking in any semblance of it. Her tones were deeply unpleasant and Sybil had a desire too....NO! She growled softly under her breath not at the woman but herself as she did her best to push her away. A deep breath, a steady calm hum. None of that. She just listened with her lips pursing just a bit. A scornful silence is all she could offer as retort. They day they all deserved to die? How fortunate for them that they continued to draw breath despite that.

Sybil pushed the thoughts away, and focused. Fera, while she did appear to have developmental issues, was incredible as a specimen and clearly strong. Sybil couldn't help but click her tongue. She was flesh, but she was denser than most. Her skin felt more leather than simple skin, solid especially contrasted to Sybil's softer skin. It was at least a confirmation to Sybil that these people she traveled with did not have the wherewithal or intelligence to be cult leaders. Fera would have been a boon to a man like her father and mother.

She let her break away as Fera made a boast of her ability. The sound of flash hitting stone cracking trough the air to Sybil. It set her on edge but Fera seemed to worse for wear. To Sybil's ears? It was a good showing. She had treated fighters before. The knuckles need to be toughened not to break. Fera was clearly past that state.

Silence however. Good. Sybil was satisfied with the ability to keep Fera.

Sybil would resume stoking Fera's head as soon as she approached "Stick close to Mr. Roger and myself." she advised. She wanted to protect Fera. Fera did not belong here with the rest of them. God....was a cruel man for placing this creature here and soon they were off. Sybil followed, clicking ever now and then for a full picture of their travels. They eventually arrived somewhere that was full of...metal. She had no idea what it was until they spoke. Cars?

Ah yes, with no guards the people could take those places. It was curious that they were left running when the power was not. What was this game their overlords were playing with their lives? Sybil remained quiet, sticking close to Fera to make sure the cat did not get herself into trouble though a click revealed one figure had stopped and that woman spoke again. Her first words were lies, obvious and clear but Sybil understood the lead. Her father spoke in such a way often before the real demands were made. It was clear in her words that 'Roger' had lied as Sybil half suspected by the wake he spoke. His true name Archer Lowell Reid....read like the name of a hero from an adventure novel. It was pleasant.

She nodded in his direction "It is nice to meet you Mr. Reid." but that was likely the aim. Sybil had said no lies. She had little reason to do so. Fera she doubted had done any either.

Edited August 28 by AsBloodTurnsEverCold

[diogora]

Fera pouted slightly when Sybil told her her kindness was better used on others...but Fera didn't understand why she couldn't just be kind to others AND Sybil aswell. It wasn't as though there were limitations to how many people she could treat well, right? Even this tiger knew that much. When 'Roger' called Fera thoughtful, the tigress's wide smile could have possibly lit up this room without any need for electricity! She was happy to be complimented, to have her kindness recognized. Although Fera would sometimes have a harder time knowing when someone was being mean to her, she often reacted to actual kindness much better. Perhaps this was another flaw of hers, or in some cases even a strength of hers, but when someone was genuinely nice to her, they would mean a lot to her. "It's okay. Fera like you a lot even if you get stuck being a guy, Ronaldo" she told him with an innocent smile, after Sybil confirmed she may not be able to cure him of his curse.

Sybil was perhaps the first person that could find a few of Fera's uses. Of course, this would not mean everyone would see it the same way, but at the end of the day Anjira had accepted her staying as long as she was looked after. Fera was blind to danger...but her emotional intelligence wasn't that low, and in comparison to 'Roger' and Sybil, she could tell that Anjira wasn't quite as nice. Her nasty personality and utter lack of charm permeated from her person. Fera simply categorized it as being rude, feeling as though this boss lady might have tried to take Sybil away and not let Fera go with her...Furthermore, instead of just being like this towards Fera, she was being rude to 'Roger' and Sybil aswell, which made the Tinorian girls opinion of her change. She simply categorized everyone into people she liked, and people she didn't like, and Anjira was making the naughty list.

She might have said something that got them in trouble, but Sybil's carress would turn the tigress into a tamed kitten. For Sybil's sake, she would continue to be a good girl, nodding when she was told to stick close. "and you can stick close to Fera...If you're blind, then Fera will look at things for you" She didn't know a better way to say it, but she would be this woman's eyes if she could...Hopefully Sybil would be able to understand her descriptions though. Fera would place her hand atop her own head though, to hold Sybil's as if leading her while still being pet. This was a good arrangement. Had Fera been left to her own devices, the energetic girl might have rushed ahead, but this way she would be moving at Sybil's pace.

After making it to the garage, Fera looked around curiously. She'd seen these before whenever it was a work day, but it made her wonder where all the nice guards went. Was it really okay to take their things? Wouldn't they be sad if they came back and all their stuff was gone? Her attention shifted back towards the mean boss lady when she started to ask about lies. 'Roger' revealed that his name was not, in fact, 'Roger' and Fera looked absolutely shocked, having probably been the only one who believe the small lie at face value. She squinted her eyes a bit as though judging him harshly. "Fera doesn't like liars.." she grumbled "but...because you're sick, I'll forgive you this time, Arnold" she told him. Fera hadn't lied to Anjira either. 

 

[Kissa Deactivated]

When Archer revealed his real name the black vixen smiled. This had been a test and had he failed, he would have paid for it later. Anjira had already come up with a suitable punishment, but it would have to wait for now… or she would have to use it on someone. “Time will show who you are, Mister Reid.” In a way, the woman was more intimidating when she smiled than when she had a cold expression on her face. She smiled for the wrong reasons. 

She let silence fall on them, the background noise of their underlings being busy with backing the cars being the only sound for some time. Anjira gave them time to come clean and when the two women said nothing, she took it as a sign they didn’t want to reveal anything. 

“One more thing. I won’t put up with disobedience. I can’t. When one dog starts barking and you let it bark, others will sooner or later join in and eventually bare their fangs. The only way to uphold the order is breaking that dog’s neck as soon as it starts barking. So think before you speak.” One might argue a true leader didn’t need to go that far or rely on violence, but that would be exactly the kind of thing that would piss off the woman who was speaking now. In her world the strongest ruled and others followed.

“For now we have an agreement that benefits both of us. If you don’t like it, you can always seek protection among others. Well, not you Archer. Your work isn’t done yet.” Anjira brought up the tempting possibility of freedom and joining another group, but when someone left one group it was seen as betrayal. If another group took that person in, it was like showing the finger to the first group and that could quickly poison the relationship between the groups. Most of the time it wasn’t worth it.

^We are here!^ Bhorso shouted so everyone in the garage and outside heard it. The tall reptilian shook a crate of oranges like it was some kind of trophy of victory. Behind him came the rest of the lizard gang, the nekos and lastly the Galliards. Some of them had fresh blood on their clothes, but no one said anything about that.

^Oo! We got fresh meat here. I like this one. Squeezy…^ Gratu dropped a sack of potatoes on the ground and approached Sybil with a stretched out arm like he was going to honk her breast. Almost lazily, Anjira stepped in between.

“She… They work for me.” 

^Tsk!^ Gratu spat on the ground and glared at the fox. ^First you said we can’t take toys and now you have two new ones. That’s not- !^

“You think that pervert is my toy? They are assets. She is a doctor. You, and your men, are going to be happy we have her along.”

^Fine!^ His tail squirmed angrily, almost whipping the air behind him. ^I can settle for a cat too…^

“She is her seeing-eye cat, so forget it. You are going to get your toys when we have something to offer.” 

^Let’s pack the cars and get out of here. Archer, gather what tools you might need for fixing the grid.^ Amao got involved in the conversation.