「 INTO THE UNKNOWN : INTRO 」

[ELEVEN]

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ELEVEN

"i've got nothing left to prove, 'cause i've got nothing left to lose"

She did not know anything but the lab. Table, chair, white-coats... they were all gone. They were never to be seen again by her, as far as she knew.

Upon her first steps into the outside world, she had noticed how blinding the sun's rays were to the naked eye. It was quite obvious that she needed to adjust to her environment; fresh air, the breeze, luscious trees, natural light, and smelly roads. Fortunately, the ragdoll cat had left the latter behind and had escaped into the wilderness, somewhere where the white-coats could not find her. However, the six-month old feline was at much greater risk than the average animal. A runaway lab experiment stumbling into the harsh, outside world? It was surprising that she had survived this long — approximately a week now.

She had followed the railroad tracks, simply because they intrigued her and obviously led to somewhere in the distance. What had she to lose? Nothing. She needed food, water, and shelter if she was to make it into the next week. The ragdoll walked along, her completely shaven pelt bracing the salty winds and shivering against them. The female was weak; she was quite obviously underweight ( though it had been like this for a while ). The only fur remaining was covering her cranium as well as her tail, which was silky white and dipped in a light mocha.

011 arrived at a wall. Literally. It [sup]towered[/sup] over her, and she realized that she could not get across. That was... frustrating. She wanted to see what was on the other side! The ragdoll kitten wrinkled her nostrils, sniffing around and padding along the wall for any signs of an entrance to the tropical paradise.

© LEXASPERATED

[APHRA CIPHER .]

not too long ago, aphra had been along this railroad tracks herself, waiting at the other side of the gate to be able to rejoin the clan. the oriental longhair was making her way down the tracks in a graceful manner, her paws carefully placed down as she moved along. "hey hello there, little one~" the she-cat voice was in a hum as she approached the gate and the kitten searching for a way to get into the typhoon. "what's your name, dear? my name is aphra cipher."

★ open your eyes up, step in the ring ━

[HAWKE]

[align=center][div style="font-size:9.3pt; max-width:420pt; text-align:justify;"]//it's eleven! :0

"I really don't know whether I'm supposed to avert my eyes or not." Hairless cats always had this effect with Hawke, and he frequently confused them for naked mole rats. The few times he had mentioned that mix-up hadn't ended on the best of terms - when did any encounter end remarkably well for Hawke? - and with that in mind, in retrospect, he likely should not have mentioned the baldness at all. He could not discern from a glance whether the little creature was hairless by nature or choice; both had their own minefields for Hawke to stroll through and hope he didn't lose a leg or four. Maker, but he was terrible with children and the downtrodden, so for both of his worst fears to culminate in a single person must be a middle finger from Andraste for taking her name in vain one too many times.

He considered the shaved child a few moments longer, grateful that he would not have to handle this situation entirely himself. "I'll find you something to eat, how does that sound?" It was hilarious, truly, that he was swiftly disarmed by children when beasts with far more teeth hadn't received a blinked eye, but Hawke could not laugh.

[adomania]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth=0px; width: 55%; line-height:115%; text-align: justify;font-family: calibri;"]There was a part of Desperado who loved children, although he had never considered having his own. There was something about the innocence of youth that uplifted his spirit, the smile that usually lay artificially on his maw turning a little bit more sincere and warm. Kids didn't know better, and often represented a raw, untamed yet innocent version of everyone else. They were adorable, and Des found himself drawn to protect them... but there was a part of him that couldn't. He knew his flaws, and knew just how rough of a man he had grown up to be. He wasn't particularly kind even if he tried, and was blunt to a fault when the situation called for it. Children needed to be around someone more... rounded, not a ruffian and wandered like him. He was dangerous to the small critters, paws bigs enough to crush them without even thinking of it and powers large and vast in between that could incinerate a child by accident. He was a walking, ticking bomb with no timer and where that already mixed poorly with adults, it could prove disastrous with kids.

And there was a small part of Des that feared for them. He had grown up by himself, abandoned by his parents because they didn't give a rat's ass about where he ended up in life, surviving merely because of skill and his usefulness to others. He had been used, his innocence thrown out the window when he was barely seven, and he didn't wish that onto any of them. Life was hard when you had to go through it alone, and he found himself wanting to help those who had nothing and no one else to do it for them. Orphans reminded him too much of himself, of the boy he could have been if anyone decided he was too young to continue down the path he did. He was saved too late, though. His past had happened and haunted him every night following that first one. Others didn't have to be.

That's why he approached with an almost melancholy air about him, smile soft and easy as it settled on the lost child, heterochromic gaze uncharacteristically warm. His eyes were always kind, but there was a certain sharpness to them that he never lost, spurred on both by wit, intellect, and wariness. Now that seemed tamed into something more fatherly as he urged his body to appear far less intimidating than it would appear at first. "Hey, kiddo," much like his physical appearance, Des hushed his voice into a soothing lull, deep and rumbling, closely resembling a purr. Hopefully it would calm the child. He didn't want to deal with a panicked one when he still wasn't too sure how to act around children to begin with.

[ELEVEN]

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ELEVEN

"i've got nothing left to prove, 'cause i've got nothing left to lose"

// !!!!

A voice — feminine, older, non-threatening. But, then again, who could she trust?

Nearly startled out of her skin, the ragdoll kitten [sup]jumped[/sup] and spun around in an instant, wide blue eyes staring up at whoever had greeted her. Her breathing sped up, and at one point she was practically panting. An animal had not spoken a word to her since... since the testing facility. Since the cell blocks. "Get outta' here, kid!" They had warned her. "Better escape while you still can!" And that she did. The problem was, however... where had she left to go? She had thought that she could seek refuge in the green palms and the lush jungles here, but it seemed now that it was occupied.

No answer came from pink, parted lips. Her head whipped now to the larger male that had arrived. His jaws slicked with saliva, his pearly whites equipped to snap bones, his tall stature highly intimidating for the young girl. Not that Eleven had any personal experiences with dogs, but her instincts told her that a giant dog surely did not mean well for her. The tiny prickles that she called a pelt began to twitch and stand on end, and she pinned her ears against her head. 011 could only pick apart some of the things he was saying. E.. Eat? Food? The she-cat's stomach began to rumble and g r o a n , though she still stood her ground.

It was amazing that 011 hadn't withstood a heart attack at this point. The creatures that came forth seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, and so far, this one took the cake. 011 had never seen such an animal before; cats, bunnies, rabbits, dogs... any of your average household pets, she's seen. This feline was massive and hulking, and though his warm tone of voice betrayed such a menacing demeanor, 011 couldn't help but feel frightened.

"Get back!" 011 wanted to scream at them. "Leave me alone!" Her tongue could not transfer her feelings into words, and so she could only let out a warning hiss at the three. There was no lingering growl, no snarls. It wasn't so much that she was aggressive, but it was more so that she was scared. Wouldn't you agree that being crowded by three complete strangers, two relatively beastly, would be scary for a young girl that's never truly seen the daylight?

© LEXASPERATED

[elijah]

[div style="margin: 0 auto; border-width:0; width: 70%; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; line-height: 1.5; font-size: 9pt;"]If it weren't for the missing fur in all areas but a few, the sight of the young girl reminded Elijah of one of his sisters. Like her, he was a ragdoll kitten. The main difference, however, was that he had large feathered wings that let him fly. He was an angel, tainted by earthly shades of brown upon his pelt, corrupted by the greyness that surrounds his baby-blue irises. He isn't blind to the look of fear that overwhelms the hairless girl, semi-glowing gaze wafting towards her as angelic wings bring him closer. Atop is head is a black rat, Thirteen - named after the deep scar across its back. It looks at her in an observing silence, whiskers twitching. Although not a whisper can be heard from the rodent, it appears to be communicating to Elijah through a mental link, the child biting his inner cheek when he observes the three adults that surround her. If he had known adults to be like Caesar, he would have been just as afraid of them as she was. "Salve..." he begins in a soft voice, appearing in front of her but not taking any sudden moves, "do you want me to tell them to go away?"

The young boy puffs his cheeks, taking a step back before looking at the three: Aphra, Hawke and Desperado. While he doesn't want to insult them and although they aren't too close to her, he still speaks up and asks: "Maybe you should all take a few steps back...just to make sure." He offers them all a sheepish and childish smile, as Thirteen scurries down his neck and rests within the comfort of Elijah's feathers. The demidemon looks at her for another moment, not understanding what would have led her to hiss at them. Perhaps words have escaped her, perhaps words do not even exist within her. He doesn't know, suddenly scavenging his satchel and pulling out a flower with his telekinesis and puts it in front of her on the ground. It was a gift but he wasn't sure if she would take it, if she would understand the meaning. He once read in a book that the colour yellow symbolised happiness, joy and optimism. He was hoping the petals would give a sign that it was safe for the stranger to relax. If not, then maybe his younger age will show her that it is alright.

[ELEVEN]

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ELEVEN

"i've got nothing left to prove, 'cause i've got nothing left to lose"

011 was at a standstill. Did she make a run for it? Did she... did she hurt? No, that was not what she wanted to do. Had they been threatening, she would have took action a long time ago. They were all just staring at her, piercing gazes like those of the white-coats. Observing her, marking her every move, waiting for her to do something. But what could she do?

Still as tense as ever, she bit the inside of her soft cheek as another spoke. He was small, around her same size, and spoke in a soft and reassuring tone of voice. Eleven's eyes immediately darted to his feathery mutations, inky irises stretching into pools at the very sight of them. Had... had he been the subject of human experiments too? She hadn't seen any numbers stamped into his ear. However, the mere presence of another kitten had seemed to calm her down a tad, and she eased her hackles as well as her shoulders. She had noticed the rat scurrying over his back, but rats were perhaps the least of her worries. She had seen plenty of them in her lifetime.

011 stared over at Elijah, blinking a few times, and she shook her head at his question. So... what did she want? "W... Where?" Her vocal chords had gone so long without so much as a t r e m b l e for the past week. They had barely gone above a whisper. But 011 needed to know where she was, and who these people were.

© LEXASPERATED

[Keona.]

[div style="width: 527px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify; font-family: palatino; font-size: 11px;"][align=center]— blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly —

Before the Typhoon, Keona had none nothing but the open ocean.  Within the confines of her father's ship, that is.  The Typhoon had been foreign land.  The first land, her paws had ever touched.  They had arrived on the bay, not by the railroad, where the tiny fae found more and more newcomers by the day. This though, this was the first child she'd met here in a while.

The striker, all of three moons physically, stood beneath everyone.  So very small.  Large, pale sea-green hues danced, flickering from every voice and scent, tracking and tracing where everyone stood.  Somehow her tiny paws had carried her to Elijah's side.  An appropriate distance from someone who is frightened, as she also notes, though she saw nothing with her luminous eyes.  She could taste it in the air.  Was the other girl simply shy, or frightened by something else?

"The Typhoon," the fae's voice is soft too, quiet, perhaps in part to lack of use -- she only spoke when she felt it necessary really -- as well as her generally hushed nature.  "We're a crew." Keona speaks slowly, calm.  Her introduction to the band of pirates had been frightful, but she'd been in a better state than the girl in front of her.  Too young as well, perhaps, to truly understand the happenings around her.  "'m Keona." She thinks maybe an introduction would calm the feline a little.  Gentle, straightforward conversation.  "What's your name?"

✯ — keona sibéal ó faoláin. female. striker of the typhoon. blind. rusty spotted cat.  ref. bio.