The Runaway, the Thief and the Bird
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. I don't own any of the characters; accept for Gryffon, and Camry. They are mine.
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Camry woke and stretched. Well, she tried to stretch. In truth, the tiny loft that she had found shelter in was barely big enough for her to stand up in, let alone move around. She deeply envied Gryffon. He could fit anywhere he liked, in Camry's shoulder bag, for example. Which is where he was curled up now.
"Gryff," she whispered, poking his sleeping form, "Wake up, Gryff. We have to get going if we're gonna get anywhere today." Gryffon sat up, and stretched.
"OK, Cam, I'm up." Camry smiled, and crawled to the other side of the loft, where a ladder led down to the rest of the barn. Gryffon was walking around to.
"Hey, Cammie?" He asked. Camry lifted a brow at him. Not ostentatiously. He only called her Cammie when he wanted something.
"Hmm?" She replied.
"Will you carry me today? I'll make myself really small, you wont even notice me at all! I promise I won't..." Camry cut him off with a disbelieving snort.
"Carry you?" She cried, "Like HELL I'll carry you!" He sighed. "Besides," she continued, "Which is more conspicuous, one kid walking alone on a deserted highway, miles from civilization, or two?"
"Uhhh..." he replied.
"ONE!" She creamed, "If there is only one kid, all alone, in the middle of nowhere, then they have a higher chance of being a mutant. With two, they could merely be lost, or walking or something.
"That makes no sense," he countered.
"I know, but that doesn't mean I'll carry you." He sighed, admitting defeat. Camry picked up both her bag and his and crawled down into the barn.
"Cam, I can't get down the ladder like this!" The tiny Gryffon called from the top of the stair.
"So use the rope!" Camry replied. Grumbling, Gryffon slid down a rope that dangled from the loft.
"You'd best make yourself big again," she told him, "Cuz I'm leavin' now, and you have to come too." Gryffon sighed, and tried again at his hopeless attempt.
"Well, if you'd carry me, then I..."
"Gryffon, NO!!" He sighed again, then closed his eyes and held his breath. In a moment or two, he had grown to a regular height of five feet, ten inches, much taller then Camry's five feet, three inches, that she was so proud of finally gaining.
"You're making me feel short," she grumbled.
"Oh, that's right!" He said, "I'm supposed to look much older than you, like an older brother!"
"Gryffon," she warned, "You're trading on thin ice," he did not heed her warning, but grew another few inches, to make him over six feet. She scowled wt him.
"Now," he said, ruffling her hair, "I can be a big brother." She smacked him, and he shrank back down to his earlier height. The two went out into the field that was empty the night before. But it wasn't empty now. A strong-looking farmer and what appeared to be his two sons (both adults, and both looking like they lifted waits for a living.) were blocking their path.
"Look here, boys," said the oldest of the three, "Looks like these two were using our loft for a house. That's not very nice, is it?" The men moved closer. They were only a few inches away, now. Camry gulped. 'Should I run' she thought, then decided against it. They could probably run faster. Gryffon, however, did not have this sort of logic. The second the man was finished speaking, he bolted. Camry followed. The pair ran side by side, the farmer chasing them.
"Ok," Camry said between breaths, "We split up at the road. You go left, I go right. We meet on the other side, by the raspberry bush. Got it?" Gryffon nodded.
"Then we eat, right?" He asked. Camry laughed and smacked him. Gryffon's mind was always on food. The road leapt upon them, and in a spray of dust and stones, the two split apart, and ran in opposite directions. The farmer and his sons were left there, panting. It seemed that there was more fat than muscle.
Camry didn't stop running until she was out of site, then dived into a ditch. She lay there, trying to catch her breath, and she knew that, almost a mile away. She grinned smugly, and out from her pocket came two leather wallets. She opened the first on. It belonged to the older of the two boys. Drivers license, credit cards, other forms of ID. They were of no use to her. She opened the billfold and gasped. Twenty-dollar bills were inside. Lots of them. Hundreds of dollars. These men had more money than their old, dusty outfits hinted at. The second wallet, the fathers, wasn't as full. She pulled out three wallets from her bag. They were all hers. She distributed the bills equally in them. Not bad for a days work. No bad at all. Then she sat up, buried both the wallets, and credit cars in the loose dirt, then sauntered off down the road. She met Gryffon at the raspberry patch they had found earlier.
"Those guys were pretty rich," Gryffon said as they came together.
"Four hundred off one of the sons." Camry whistled.
"I got the other two. Three hundred off one, two off the other." Gryffon smiled.
"Think that'll get us down into the states?" He asked, using his hand to shade his eyes from the early sun. Camry shrugged and replied, "I dunno. Plane, no. Bus, yup." Gryffon considered for a minute.
"Well," he said, " I'd rather take the plane. With what we had before, we could afford one ticket and a little to the states, with this and a few more lifts like this one, we could get in easy And still have money for souvenirs!" Camry smiled.
"But, we still need cash in the states, and the money is different there." Gryffon shrugged.
"Lets' worry about that later. For now, there is a bush full of berries at our feet, and I'm starving." He sat down, and started plucking berries from the bush. Camry didn't join him. She didn't eat.
"Hey, Gryff? There's a lake down there. I'm going to take a swim, k?" He nodded. Camry walked down to the lakes edge. She sighed. Camry stripped off her clothes, and immediately dived into the water. She smiled, and took a deep breath of the water through the gills that were on the back of her neck. Her skin grew rust-colored scales, insulating her from the cold of the water, turning it from freezing to pleasantly cool. She sighed. She hadn't swum in a long time.
~ * ~
Camry didn't know how much time had passed when she heard her name being called faintly from above her. She poked her head out from under the water. Gryffon was standing at the lakes edge. It was already late after noon.
"What?" she demanded, swimming a little closer, her scales slowly disappearing.
"You look creepy like that," he informed her. She rolled her eyes, "You had better come and look at this," he told her. He turned away while she came out of the water and dressed, then led her up the hill. Curled in the raspberry patch, completely ignoring the thorns that had obviously given her various bloody cuts, was a girl.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~
Authors Note: What do you think? I know it's kind of a bad start, but it will get better, I promise! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. I don't own any of the characters; accept for Gryffon, and Camry. They are mine.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Camry woke and stretched. Well, she tried to stretch. In truth, the tiny loft that she had found shelter in was barely big enough for her to stand up in, let alone move around. She deeply envied Gryffon. He could fit anywhere he liked, in Camry's shoulder bag, for example. Which is where he was curled up now.
"Gryff," she whispered, poking his sleeping form, "Wake up, Gryff. We have to get going if we're gonna get anywhere today." Gryffon sat up, and stretched.
"OK, Cam, I'm up." Camry smiled, and crawled to the other side of the loft, where a ladder led down to the rest of the barn. Gryffon was walking around to.
"Hey, Cammie?" He asked. Camry lifted a brow at him. Not ostentatiously. He only called her Cammie when he wanted something.
"Hmm?" She replied.
"Will you carry me today? I'll make myself really small, you wont even notice me at all! I promise I won't..." Camry cut him off with a disbelieving snort.
"Carry you?" She cried, "Like HELL I'll carry you!" He sighed. "Besides," she continued, "Which is more conspicuous, one kid walking alone on a deserted highway, miles from civilization, or two?"
"Uhhh..." he replied.
"ONE!" She creamed, "If there is only one kid, all alone, in the middle of nowhere, then they have a higher chance of being a mutant. With two, they could merely be lost, or walking or something.
"That makes no sense," he countered.
"I know, but that doesn't mean I'll carry you." He sighed, admitting defeat. Camry picked up both her bag and his and crawled down into the barn.
"Cam, I can't get down the ladder like this!" The tiny Gryffon called from the top of the stair.
"So use the rope!" Camry replied. Grumbling, Gryffon slid down a rope that dangled from the loft.
"You'd best make yourself big again," she told him, "Cuz I'm leavin' now, and you have to come too." Gryffon sighed, and tried again at his hopeless attempt.
"Well, if you'd carry me, then I..."
"Gryffon, NO!!" He sighed again, then closed his eyes and held his breath. In a moment or two, he had grown to a regular height of five feet, ten inches, much taller then Camry's five feet, three inches, that she was so proud of finally gaining.
"You're making me feel short," she grumbled.
"Oh, that's right!" He said, "I'm supposed to look much older than you, like an older brother!"
"Gryffon," she warned, "You're trading on thin ice," he did not heed her warning, but grew another few inches, to make him over six feet. She scowled wt him.
"Now," he said, ruffling her hair, "I can be a big brother." She smacked him, and he shrank back down to his earlier height. The two went out into the field that was empty the night before. But it wasn't empty now. A strong-looking farmer and what appeared to be his two sons (both adults, and both looking like they lifted waits for a living.) were blocking their path.
"Look here, boys," said the oldest of the three, "Looks like these two were using our loft for a house. That's not very nice, is it?" The men moved closer. They were only a few inches away, now. Camry gulped. 'Should I run' she thought, then decided against it. They could probably run faster. Gryffon, however, did not have this sort of logic. The second the man was finished speaking, he bolted. Camry followed. The pair ran side by side, the farmer chasing them.
"Ok," Camry said between breaths, "We split up at the road. You go left, I go right. We meet on the other side, by the raspberry bush. Got it?" Gryffon nodded.
"Then we eat, right?" He asked. Camry laughed and smacked him. Gryffon's mind was always on food. The road leapt upon them, and in a spray of dust and stones, the two split apart, and ran in opposite directions. The farmer and his sons were left there, panting. It seemed that there was more fat than muscle.
Camry didn't stop running until she was out of site, then dived into a ditch. She lay there, trying to catch her breath, and she knew that, almost a mile away. She grinned smugly, and out from her pocket came two leather wallets. She opened the first on. It belonged to the older of the two boys. Drivers license, credit cards, other forms of ID. They were of no use to her. She opened the billfold and gasped. Twenty-dollar bills were inside. Lots of them. Hundreds of dollars. These men had more money than their old, dusty outfits hinted at. The second wallet, the fathers, wasn't as full. She pulled out three wallets from her bag. They were all hers. She distributed the bills equally in them. Not bad for a days work. No bad at all. Then she sat up, buried both the wallets, and credit cars in the loose dirt, then sauntered off down the road. She met Gryffon at the raspberry patch they had found earlier.
"Those guys were pretty rich," Gryffon said as they came together.
"Four hundred off one of the sons." Camry whistled.
"I got the other two. Three hundred off one, two off the other." Gryffon smiled.
"Think that'll get us down into the states?" He asked, using his hand to shade his eyes from the early sun. Camry shrugged and replied, "I dunno. Plane, no. Bus, yup." Gryffon considered for a minute.
"Well," he said, " I'd rather take the plane. With what we had before, we could afford one ticket and a little to the states, with this and a few more lifts like this one, we could get in easy And still have money for souvenirs!" Camry smiled.
"But, we still need cash in the states, and the money is different there." Gryffon shrugged.
"Lets' worry about that later. For now, there is a bush full of berries at our feet, and I'm starving." He sat down, and started plucking berries from the bush. Camry didn't join him. She didn't eat.
"Hey, Gryff? There's a lake down there. I'm going to take a swim, k?" He nodded. Camry walked down to the lakes edge. She sighed. Camry stripped off her clothes, and immediately dived into the water. She smiled, and took a deep breath of the water through the gills that were on the back of her neck. Her skin grew rust-colored scales, insulating her from the cold of the water, turning it from freezing to pleasantly cool. She sighed. She hadn't swum in a long time.
~ * ~
Camry didn't know how much time had passed when she heard her name being called faintly from above her. She poked her head out from under the water. Gryffon was standing at the lakes edge. It was already late after noon.
"What?" she demanded, swimming a little closer, her scales slowly disappearing.
"You look creepy like that," he informed her. She rolled her eyes, "You had better come and look at this," he told her. He turned away while she came out of the water and dressed, then led her up the hill. Curled in the raspberry patch, completely ignoring the thorns that had obviously given her various bloody cuts, was a girl.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~
Authors Note: What do you think? I know it's kind of a bad start, but it will get better, I promise! :)