07-21-2018, 07:52 AM
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☼ - The outside world. Delphinium had always fantasized of roaming plains without borders, without boundary, without walls to stop her. She'd caught glimpses of the beyond as a child, what felt to be ages ago. Roaming through the halls of the Sanctuary, so free from the confines strapped even to her other Sanctuary 13 companions. Perhaps it was her aptitude that gave her such freedom. 015. The tracking collar around her collar seemed to suffocate her at the thought. A life she had once been content with, with petty desires and wants, unaware of what could be waiting for her on the other side of the bleached white walls and men in lab coats. As she aged, as she was forced apart from old friends and pushed into a new social circle, Delphinium began to see the world around her differently. More realistically. She saw it for what it was, a cruel place she had the privilege of being spared from because she was different. Different in a way they could not afford to lose. An achievement, an asset, but she took what little blessings she could in the fact that Delphi knew her friends would not be harmed so long as they were like her. Chlorophytum, Argentea, Genista - her sisters, connected in a way flesh could not accomplish. Where were they now? Delphinium had always fantasized of roaming plains without walls to stop her, but without her companions at her side she had never felt so alone. Isolated, no way to call out to them, her surroundings devoid of life but in the flora that surrounded her. Suffocated her.
Sooty paws parted unruly grass, numerous tails twining around themselves as Delphinium cautiously treaded unknown soil. She knew an ideal image of the outside, a manicured garden they were left to wander when they weren't undergoing tests. But this land was untouched by man, a manifestation of wild in a manner the fledgeling kitsune had never seen before. Olive green eyes flicked nervously around her, well-feathered wings drawn tight to her side as her senses worked overtime to detect anything around her as she moved. Delphinium had never been taught to hunt. She never had to, she ate what was provided to her or she didn't eat at all. The most she preyed on were spiders as a cub, grasping the basics of complex movements. Delphinium did not know how to check the air for scent, did not know how to track the sounds of footsteps around her. But she knew someone- something- was near. For where her physical senses failed, her abilities filled in for her. She could feel their presence akin to another sense. She took care to not make too much noise as she moved through the grasses, slowly giving way to a thick bundle of flowers. Delphi recognized them, almost intimately so. Larkspurs, delphiniums, her namesake. Her connection to an identity beyond that of a binary number. She had never seen them in person, only in books. They were beautiful. A dark paw slowly lifted up to reach toward the deep blue flower, pad grazing over the thick bundle of petals. So soft to the touch, so aromatic, so beautiful.
The sudden disturbance of grass nearby followed by a soft murmur immediately pulled Delphinium from her stupor, wings flaring out instinctively at the disturbance as the sudden movement left a wake of ashen feathers pooling at her paws. "Who's there?" The kitsune challenged, despite the blood rushing through her ears. Her voice carried a confidence the rest of her failed to mimic, shaking paws taking a slow step forward as she caught sight of an aura through the thicket of grass and wildflowers. It was familiar. Ever so painfully familiar, as though she had come in contact with it a lifetime ago. She knew she had never seen it before. Not with her eyes, not with the knowledge of what it was. But it was one she had encountered before, under much different circumstances. It had changed, shifted, evolved into the sight before her. Another step forward accompanied her overthinking mind, wings drawn down to hang loosely at her side. She could not take flight yet, not with her feathers clipped, but at the very least she could blast back an attacker if this was not someone she expected it to be. The form on the other side of the grass did not seem to be advancing, so driven by her curiosity against her better judgement, Delphinium stepped through the remaining flora standing between herself and the unknown being.
The sight of a small pink feline greeted her, a blooming set of hibiscus flowers on her forehead. A beautiful being to happen upon, if not for the tense air between them as Delphinium's movements came to an immediate stop. Her fur bristled, feathers ruffling as olive eyes widened. She could not take her gaze off of Iota. Off of 002. Slowly her gray muzzle parted, tongue running nervously over her lips drawing in a long breath to still her trembling body. She looked so different from the girl Delphinium had once called a friend. Sundrop eyes met her in place of piercing sky blue, the gentle curves of a flower instead of the jagged edges of half-grown horns. But it was her, Delphinium knew. The fur framing her face, the edges of her eyes, her spirit that retained the warmth it had as an unharmed child. This was not the girl of her past, no, but this was not the girl of stories whispered amongst lab workers and the other inhabitants of Sanctuary 13. In flesh they were the same but in mind, in heart, she had changed.
"002," Delphinium spoke Iota's old name barely above a whisper, lifting a paw to press self-conscious at the slim band wrapped around her neck. 015 engraved in the metal, the last thing they had in common that Delphinium could reach out to the Nurse with. The numerical name slid heavily off her tongue, almost a taboo to hear herself speak it. "You're alive," the kitsune fumbled another step forward as her paw slid from her tracker, eyes narrowing in an attempt to bide back tears. Another hasty step came as Delphinium closed the distance between herself and Iota, suddenly stopping short as blunt claws buried themselves in the soil to ground herself. How badly Delphinium wanted to pull the pastel female in for a tight embrace, to draw in the scent of a simpler time left behind long ago. But she did not want to end up attacked - it had been so long since she had seen 002, would she even remember Delphinium?
Sooty paws parted unruly grass, numerous tails twining around themselves as Delphinium cautiously treaded unknown soil. She knew an ideal image of the outside, a manicured garden they were left to wander when they weren't undergoing tests. But this land was untouched by man, a manifestation of wild in a manner the fledgeling kitsune had never seen before. Olive green eyes flicked nervously around her, well-feathered wings drawn tight to her side as her senses worked overtime to detect anything around her as she moved. Delphinium had never been taught to hunt. She never had to, she ate what was provided to her or she didn't eat at all. The most she preyed on were spiders as a cub, grasping the basics of complex movements. Delphinium did not know how to check the air for scent, did not know how to track the sounds of footsteps around her. But she knew someone- something- was near. For where her physical senses failed, her abilities filled in for her. She could feel their presence akin to another sense. She took care to not make too much noise as she moved through the grasses, slowly giving way to a thick bundle of flowers. Delphi recognized them, almost intimately so. Larkspurs, delphiniums, her namesake. Her connection to an identity beyond that of a binary number. She had never seen them in person, only in books. They were beautiful. A dark paw slowly lifted up to reach toward the deep blue flower, pad grazing over the thick bundle of petals. So soft to the touch, so aromatic, so beautiful.
The sudden disturbance of grass nearby followed by a soft murmur immediately pulled Delphinium from her stupor, wings flaring out instinctively at the disturbance as the sudden movement left a wake of ashen feathers pooling at her paws. "Who's there?" The kitsune challenged, despite the blood rushing through her ears. Her voice carried a confidence the rest of her failed to mimic, shaking paws taking a slow step forward as she caught sight of an aura through the thicket of grass and wildflowers. It was familiar. Ever so painfully familiar, as though she had come in contact with it a lifetime ago. She knew she had never seen it before. Not with her eyes, not with the knowledge of what it was. But it was one she had encountered before, under much different circumstances. It had changed, shifted, evolved into the sight before her. Another step forward accompanied her overthinking mind, wings drawn down to hang loosely at her side. She could not take flight yet, not with her feathers clipped, but at the very least she could blast back an attacker if this was not someone she expected it to be. The form on the other side of the grass did not seem to be advancing, so driven by her curiosity against her better judgement, Delphinium stepped through the remaining flora standing between herself and the unknown being.
The sight of a small pink feline greeted her, a blooming set of hibiscus flowers on her forehead. A beautiful being to happen upon, if not for the tense air between them as Delphinium's movements came to an immediate stop. Her fur bristled, feathers ruffling as olive eyes widened. She could not take her gaze off of Iota. Off of 002. Slowly her gray muzzle parted, tongue running nervously over her lips drawing in a long breath to still her trembling body. She looked so different from the girl Delphinium had once called a friend. Sundrop eyes met her in place of piercing sky blue, the gentle curves of a flower instead of the jagged edges of half-grown horns. But it was her, Delphinium knew. The fur framing her face, the edges of her eyes, her spirit that retained the warmth it had as an unharmed child. This was not the girl of her past, no, but this was not the girl of stories whispered amongst lab workers and the other inhabitants of Sanctuary 13. In flesh they were the same but in mind, in heart, she had changed.
"002," Delphinium spoke Iota's old name barely above a whisper, lifting a paw to press self-conscious at the slim band wrapped around her neck. 015 engraved in the metal, the last thing they had in common that Delphinium could reach out to the Nurse with. The numerical name slid heavily off her tongue, almost a taboo to hear herself speak it. "You're alive," the kitsune fumbled another step forward as her paw slid from her tracker, eyes narrowing in an attempt to bide back tears. Another hasty step came as Delphinium closed the distance between herself and Iota, suddenly stopping short as blunt claws buried themselves in the soil to ground herself. How badly Delphinium wanted to pull the pastel female in for a tight embrace, to draw in the scent of a simpler time left behind long ago. But she did not want to end up attacked - it had been so long since she had seen 002, would she even remember Delphinium?
pick out her heart with a kitchen fork
where, oh where will we go next, haunted pillow beneath my head?:
![[Image: 227F8cQ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/227F8cQ.png)