If any of you are still reading this, you deserve a medal.
I can only apologise so much for the wait, and try not to let it happen again, although I can't promise much with my brain being so demented :/
I hope you can postpone your rage to enjoy this extra-long chappie! (If any of you want, feel free to berate me afterwards ;P)
I'm not sure how good some of the characters are in this…but I tried
Please enjoy, and once again sorry!
Maximum Fallout: 13
Ash didn't like the car journey, and by the time the modest car had pulled up to the three-story house and they had pilled into it, she was about ready to tear something into a bloody pulp.
Her new adoptive parents seemed to sense this and were giving her a wide berth. The concerned looks on their faces were just making her skin prickle and hair stand up all the more.
"I'll show you to your room, we have a lot to do tomorrow so you should try to get some sleep." The adoptive woman suggested, and begun to lead the way.
The smell got stronger throughout the house, Ash was certain now, even though she couldn't quite believe it.
The wolf girl was led along to a fairly large and ridiculously decorated bedroom, and there, sitting on the bed, was the hawk-boy that she'd smelt.
Ash tensed slightly, unsure where they stood with one another nowadays, in this new and strange environment.
Once again the woman seemed to sense the tension and hesitated in her introduction.
The winged boy stood from the bed with a confident and relaxed movement.
"Don't worry Mrs. M, I'll help her settle in." Mrs. M, or woman, or adopt-a-mum, Ash really couldn't be bothered with her name, left with a nervous smile. Ash's tension increased as she stepped into the room, there was no need to help her settle in, she didn't have anything to settle in.
Once she was far enough from the door, Andrew swept in and closed it softly.
"Wow Ash, never thought I'd see you again, especially not here."
His tone was slightly sarcastic, and he stood still facing the door. Ash swept her gaze over him, intent as a hunter. He looked identical to how he had back then, except he had grown and filled out, Ash was suddenly aware of how much taller then her he was, and his voice did nothing to put her at ease.
Slowly he turned from the door, something eager and curious but nasty filling his expression as he looked at her from across the room.
"Especially after what happened to Alyssa," Ash's whole body tensed for a fight, her ears swinging to point directly forwards, catching every word. Andrew paused for a second or two, eyeing her reaction with amusement that made her skin crawl, a barely audible warning growl escaped her.
"And I hear Zack's out for your blood too, that must really hurt! Your own little broth-" Before he could finish Ash had leapt forwards, her eyes stung but she didn't care. In one second she was a large black-brown wolf, her whole body a snarl as she crashed into Andrew with the full force of ninety pounds at fifty-seven miles per hour.
The sheer size and strength of her wolf form pinned the hawk-boy to the floor. There was a small scream from downstairs and the sound of voices, but Ash wasn't paying attention to it, her full fury was directed at the person she used to see as her brother, who was laughing.
"Shut UP!" she dug her claws into his shoulders, easily shredding the shirt he wore and cutting into the flesh underneath.
"Don't you dare talk to me about that! Don't you dare mention them again! I'll kill you I swear it!" She wasn't lying, and her fury only increased as he continued to laugh, mocking her. A snarl grew from deep inside her as she dug her claws in further, and finally he winced slightly, although he still didn't stop smiling.
"If you ever mention them again, and if you ever talk about them to my family, you'll be dead before the sentence is over." He eyed her appraisingly, her voice left no question to whether her claim was true or not.
"I'll tell them when I'm ready or when I have no other choice, but not by you!" She growled. Steps on the stairs and worried voices were coming along the corridor.
But the figure beneath her smirked coldly, not phased by having a growling adult female wolf on top of him.
"Don't tell your family? What family! The only family you have is dead or calling out for your blood!"
"Shut up!" Ash leapt off him, making sure to drag her claws as she swung around, transforming back into a girl. She caught her reflection in the large mirror, and saw that her eyes were blood red. She swung back to him, drawing herself up.
"The herd is my family now. Not you, you've changed and you're not my brother anymore, so don't pretend to be! Don't you dare talk to me about my past! Don't even come near me! You don't even know how much you've hurt me here, I may have done terrible things, I know everything's my fault, I don't need you to tell me that! I'm nearly sixteen Andrew, I've grown up, I can take care of myself, and I can make my own choices, the herd is my family and I want to stay with them! I want to stay with Ant! I want to stay with Bianca and the others! They've been more of a family to me in this past week then you ever were in all those years!"
The door burst open, there were screams from the mother, shouts from the father, but Ash wasn't listening. She turned and faced the conveniently open window.
"I'll be back." With that and the aggrieved squawking of confused parents behind her, she ran and jumped, turning into a hawk just as she passed through the window, snapping her wings open and letting the breeze carry her where it wanted.
Later, by the time the stars were out and she'd settled on a tall tree on a cliff top overlooking the heaving ocean, she allowed herself to think.
That was the first time she'd managed to talk human in her wolf form, it was also the first time her eyes had ever turned red. As they'd stopped stinging now, she assumed that they'd turned back to normal as she calmed down.
What was wrong with her?
::Fallout::
There was a weight on her chest raising her from sleep, a warm, moving, purring weight.
"Ah!" Zenia bolted upright in bed, and found herself face to face with the largest, fluffiest and whitest cat she'd ever seen.
The giant purring monstrosity stayed clung to her chest and gave her a disturbingly disapproving meow, it's squashed face staring up at her with Amber eyes.
"Zenia darling! What is all this racket?" Mr and Mrs Moore came dashing into the room, already dressed in their finest glad rags for the day. Before Zenia could explain the monster-cat wake up the heavy velvet curtains were ripped from the giant windows and blinding light poured in, reminding her of the finery she had been thrown into the night before.
The bed had been described to her as a 'four-poster', Zenia didn't really take it in, all she knew was that it was bloody big. The room had cream walls with a deep crimson skirting that seemed to be the colour scheme. Every inch of the furniture seemed to be shiny with varnish and elaborately sculpted.
"Ah, I see you've met Lord Byron!" Alfred chuckled in his good-natured way. Zenia blanched.
"Lord Byron?"
"Yes, Lord Byron."
"The cat's a Lord?"
"Shush! He might hear you! Of course he's a Lord, can't you see by his regal bearing?"
Zenia tried to compose her appalled face into acceptance. So she was living with crazy-rich cat-obsessed people. No big deal, right? After all, being a member of the feline family herself, she should be well treated here.
"Now we've got a lot to do today, so hurry and get dressed! I've laid out a dress for you." Zenia looked over to the light-surrounded-mirror-table as she called it, to see frilly white monstrosity innocently lying on the poufy stool.
"A what?"
"A dress dear! It's perfect for today's occasions, simple but elegant, classy but playful, just what you need for a haircut."
"A what!"
"Well how long since you last cut your hair? And what style did you go for? It's grown out terribly!"
"Bianca whacked some of it off with the gardening shears we found."
"She what!" Zenia took a moment to savour the pure horror on her new mother's face.
"If you think mine's bad, you should have seen Neon's, he wouldn't be seen without a hat for a week! Taco's came out okay though." She recollected thoughtfully. Mrs Moore's face turned from pale to gray. Albert managed to make a swifter recovery.
"Get dressed Zenia, now come along dear, just think of the manicure…" He led his terrorized wife away coaxingly, shutting the door behind him.
An amused purring caught her attention, and she could have sworn that under all that fluff Lord Byron was smirking.
"Maybe I should wear the dress just so the don't chuck me out." The low purring from behind her was her only reply.
::Fallout::
Neon had swiftly realised that the herd was the best family known to man, and that the girls in the herd were extraordinary compared to normal ones.
Throughout last night and this morning, and even now as they walked to the school uniform shop, he could barely understand what they were saying.
They seemed incapable of talking or looking at him without giggling, and when they managed not to giggle they talked so fast he couldn't catch the words anyway.
His only solace was the giant furry monstrosity of a dog tat walked along beside him. The family had been quite happy to let Neon walk the large canine, and Maximum seemed to enjoy his company.
Neon reminded himself to ask Ant to introduce him to Max officially some time, if that's what dogs did. He didn't really understand dogs, it had taken him a while to get used to the cats of the herd too. He didn't know quite what to make of Ash, part bird, part dog, but they seemed to have an understanding.
Humans, he didn't like at all. But he'd have to try for as long as they were stuck in this city, stuck in a massive school full of masses of them. He shuddered a little, and the massive dog beside him a nervous little under-growl.
"We're here kids!"
"Woo!"
"Another school year, great."
"I'd like it better without the uniform."
"I'd like it better without school at all!" More giggling ensued. Neon forced himself to relax before entering the uniform shop, he'd have to try and get used to the large amounts of people he was going to encounter, but he knew he never would.
Maybe he could just pretend he was invisible, but it had never worked for him before, and he doubt it would now.
"I'll stay out here with Max, you go in and get your uniform, okay?" No, not okay, but what choice did he have?
With the calm energy of Max gone however, everything got a little worse.
The shop was dark and enclosed, full of racks of clothes and teeming with excitable children. He hated being inside, it felt so wrong, not to feel the wind or have natural light. Someone bumped into him causing him to jump into somebody else.
"Hey watch it!" Neon staggered away disorientated, staring into the too-dark corners. He couldn't see where his supposed family had gone, nobody he knew was here and the further he stumbled backwards the less he could see the exit. The walls begun to close in on him as his breathing sped up. A tall man with glasses brushed past him and he cowered as the man morphed into a whitecoat, the other people suddenly becoming feral and lupine.
Even as he was seeing these things he knew they weren't, couldn't be happening, but he was too far-gone. The panic he was reaching he hadn't felt in years.
He hadn't been around this many people in years, and then the herd had always been with him.
Jason and Zenia had always been there. Their faces swam across his darkening vision of white walls and sterilization.
"Help me, please help me." Breathlessly he pleaded the ghostly images, but they swam away before his eyes, back into a horrible eraser looming over him, teeth grinning with feral pleasure. Weakly his knees dropped to the floor as he tried to skitter away, tried to fly but the damn new clothes he was wearing didn't have slits cut in them, the back bars of his cage dug into his back.
"Hey! Hey, hey, you all right there? Neon started as the Eraser spoke with the voice of a teenage girl. He forced himself to blink his vision clear, the human-wolf morphed back into reality.
The girl looked around Bianca's age and was the same sort of height, she had crimson eyes that matched the red streaks in her otherwise black hair.
"You okay?" She repeated, concern in her voice. Neon glanced behind her to make sure there weren't any erasers ready to pounce at him and tear him to pieces.
"Looks like you saw a ghost or something?" He stood up shakily as she spoke, and glanced at her before looking behind himself distractedly.
"No just wolves." He muttered.
"Huh?" Her eyes were full of questions and curiosity, but underneath was a strange calculating look.
"There you are Neon! Come on we have to get clothes!" Lexie came up and grabbed his arm, the flamingo had to fight the urge to wrench his limb free, and instead let himself get dragged off by his new sister.
"This ones for the other room!" Lexie called out to some old lady who must have been the shopkeeper. The blonde shoved him through a side door into a small room with a section cut off by a curtain. Before he could get used to his surroundings the woman bustled through.
"Ah yes, now what do we need to cover up with you?" Neon gaped at her for several moments, he had never been good with coming up with lies, he wasn't really good at saying anything.
"Come on now, you can't have anything I haven't seen before! Now let me see its not ears, doesn't look like a tail, normal hands and your wearing normal shoes so I'd guess feet too… so that would typically leave wings. Am I right?"
Neon once again stared at the lady, but he couldn't feel any malevolence from her, just amusement.
"Yes that's right." He replied shyly.
"Good! Other then feet wings are by far the easiest! I'll go get you your uniform."
::Fallout::
"Kaylee! Wake up girl we've got to get your uniform!"
"Mmmm bed too comfy." The petite girl mumbled contently into her pillow. But the banging on the door increased so she sighed and accepted the day.
"Alright, I'm awake!" Slowly she leaned over to the window and pulled back the curtains, allowing light to spill into the room.
Her bedroom was small and stocked with several possessions of the other family members. With white walls and a light blue carpet it was tranquil and clean looking.
Taco, or Kaylee as she was known in this house, sighed happily as the sun caught her eyes. There was another knock on the door and her foster mother bustled in.
"Okay, I've brought you some clothes that I think will fit you, oh and something to hide your tail, try to find something you like and then we'll have some breakfast before we leave."
Taco nodded and eyed the clothes pile with interest, she waited till the door had closed again before diving on the pile of clothes like the unmannered animal she was. It took her a few minutes to work out how the tail-disguise worked. There were two horizontal bands designed to go around the hips and several vertical straps that could be untied, tightened and loosened that held her fluffy tail down so firmly and flatly that it was borderline uncomfortable, when she slipped on an experimental dress however, she could barely believe she had a tail.
The mirror revealed her as a slightly skinny girl wearing a striped blue dress with shockingly white hair hanging loose around her face and over her shoulders, a small pearl cross dangling from around her neck.
She stared for a few moments at herself. The image was something she wasn't used to, she hadn't seen herself in a dress since they had escaped the lab and their rudimentary white-dress-uniform. Her hips seemed only slightly bigger then usual thanks to her tail, and she looked almost unbearably normal and feminine.
Taco shook herself from her image, it was too much, too soon. Grabbing her trusty yellow scrunchie, she pulled her hair away from her shoulders, leaving only a few strands around her face.
But she left on the dress, she was nothing if not adventurous, and she should at least explore her newly found ability to think of herself as a 'female mutant', as oppose to just 'mutant'.
She grabbed a short white cardigan with long sleeves and some cute flat shoes that had bows on. Somehow it had usually ended up with Kuro and Jason, as the least detectable of them, being in charge of finding clothes, and needless to say they lacked style.
It was a short and brusque breakfast. Taco had only briefly met the other children of the house before she had been whisked off to her bedroom. There was a 20-year-old boy, or man really. Taco had found herself staring at him for the first few minutes she was in a room with him last night, and nearly caught herself doing in again. The man was a giant! Huge and muscled and dark skinned, there was some sort of darkness in the back of his eyes that only she would have noticed. Despite that however, he had a gently and soothing voice that Taco was drawn to, but not in an eraser-like way.
She had been told that he was their first adoptee, their second had moved in with a boyfriend. Then there was a rather mean looking girl around Neon's age, a scrawny and miserable-looking boy and a bawling baby.
Taco had found herself drawn to this infant just as much as Dustin; the 20-year-old. There was something about seeing a baby crying outside of her memory of the Facility that was bizarre to the point of unreal. As if babies really cried like that when there was no reason to? She couldn't fathom what it was complaining about.
Hazel had confided to her that they didn't usually take babies, but this one was related to Renee; the mean looking girl. She had also learned that they had adopted her partly to try and draw Marvin; the skinny boy, out of his shell.
Taco had her reservations about that happening. She had felt nothing but uncomfortable around Marvin and Renee, who seemed to think she was some silly little girl, even though she'd probably been through things they wouldn't have nightmares about. If she chose to spend her time optimistic then that was her choice, after all, why should she wallow when she was experiencing what she'd dreamed of for years? Sure, things were a little awkward now, but she hoped things would sort themselves out.
Taco took a breath and steadied herself, managing to smile brightly at the skulking Marvin who was staring at her.
"Come on Kaylee, the others already have their uniforms. Oh, would you mind holding Rita for me? I've got to grab some recycling bags." Taco jumped and her arms scrambled to grab hold on the wriggling baby as it was pushed into her arms.
She looked down and realised that Rita had the largest eyes on a head she'd ever seen. She couldn't help but continue to stare at the rather heavy infant as her and Hazel left the house to walk to the shops.
::Fallout::
Bianca was trying so hard to be good, to be normal. But the upshot of it was that she had spent her morning sitting in a chair as someone moved around her with a pair of scissors.
Personally, she thought that it had been a miracle everyone had left with his or her fingers intact.
As it was she had managed to convince her 'mother' that she needed to keep her hair that long, and as such had only received a trim to the ends and to the fringe. That had been uncomfortable enough.
Then she had had to suffer some sort of fitting of school uniform alone with some woman that knew all about them. She didn't think her tail would ever uncurl again. Or that her ears would ever prick up again.
"Oh your uniform looked superb on you! You'll be the talk of the school!" Bianca prayed with every strand of fur on her tail that she would not be the talk of the school. She hadn't even looked in the mirror, it had been too much of a shock to just look down and see the regimented outfit. She was one of the crowd now.
Or had been. Now however she was changed back into another new dress. This once had a selection of green leaves on it, and was just as short. It had been one thing to see herself in a dress in private. But this was out in the open. People kept staring at her.
"Mind if we run on ahead Bianca? We need to go to some model castings, you know the way home right? Or you can come if you like?" Bianca blanched at the thought, at least at the house she could hide.
"I-I'll be fine, I know the way." She only stuttered slightly before regaining the slight nonchalance that she had adopted in her voice. She looked at the door to the street with slight apprehension, seeing the moving shapes of hundreds of humans. A sharp pain in the back of her head brought her back to reality with a cry.
"Aw, I want to go with Bianca!" She looked round, with difficulty, to see the shorter figure of Alfie tugging her long blonde hair down so that she had to bend over backwards or risk loosing it. Her ice shadow eyes met his hazel ones upside down. His eyes were wide with curiosity as she raised an eyebrow at him in warning.
"Now now, you can play with Bianca later, Alfie."
"Awww" He moaned as he let go, but continued to stare. Bianca continued to meet his gaze. He was two years older then Ant, around ten, with the same tufted hair, but styled with gel, not natural scruffiness, and sandy brown rather then blonde. He also acted about two years younger then Ant, with the personality of Kuro when he was younger.
"See you later then Bianca!" The adults called to her, leading a still staring Alfie away.
"See ya…" Bianca mumbled. Maybe she could use this opportunity to look for ways out or places where the herd could meet in secret. She could always say she got lost.
Picking up the bags of uniform she straightened and strolled from the shop. Seeing heads turn as she walked she put her shoulders back and raised her head high. So what if they stared at her? Maybe she did look like a freak in a dress, but she could still kick their butts any time she wanted.
Turning out from the shop she set off down the road in the opposite direction of the house, she would find her way back somehow.
::Fallout::
Kuro had spent his morning trying to think like Ant. It hadn't worked. James's dog was still staring at him as if a bit shell shocked by the time he left the house. The poor Alsatian looked as if a flying pig had just fallen through he ceiling.
The ginger tabby cat was the polar opposite, it had been stuck to him like glue ever since he had walked into the small flat.
He was now walking to the school clothes shop that was along the street.
It had been a strange evening. He didn't quite understand what there was to do at a house? Or what you were meant to do at least. They had eaten, talked awkwardly, then James had turned on a television, and they hadn't talked at all. It had been a relief to go to sleep. Although he had the impression that Gene the dog had stared at him all night whilst Gemma the cat had tried to sleep on his face, purring loudly.
Still, it wasn't all bad, he thought to himself, looking around at the rather scantily clad female passersby. And at least it wasn't too hot for him, although he was starting to wish he didn't have to wear his hood up.
Bianca would be going scitzo. Speaking of the devil, there was a girl standing with bags by a fence up ahead of him with long blonde hair that glinted in the sun so that it looked just like the snow leopard-girl. Kuro stare appreciatively, the girl was thin and pretty but with some fine, if slight, curves. The dress she was wearing was managed to somehow elongate her already long legs. He raised his eyebrows slightly as he got closer, enjoying himself quite thoroughly.
The girl was too occupied staring almost straight up at a towering skyscraper in the distance to notice him anyway. Or so he thought. As he drew nearly alongside her she swished her head around so her hair nearly whipped him in the face.
Icy eyes met his electric ones.
"Bianca?" His face flushed red at the realisation of just whose long legs and curves his eyes had been travelling over.
"Kuro! Thank God I thought I was the only one who was hot around here." Not caring to correct her on the reason for his heated face he tried to form a thought.
"How? Where? But, where's your tail!" To his surprise she rolled her eyes in annoyance.
The people I'm with have this thing that hides tails, but it's so uncomfortable you'd think they'd just chopped it off! My poor poor tail is flattened against my waist… Does it make my bum look big?" Kuro could hear the mocking tone in her voice but hastily spluttered a negative at her, eyes glued to her face lest they glanced down to look at just how un fat she was looking.
Bianca cast him a weird glance and muttered something about heatstroke before turning around again.
"What are you looking at?" Thankfully his voice was back to normal now, his stomach seemed to have settled back into place as well.
"That building." She raised an arm to point as he moved to stand beside her and followed her gaze to the tall building. "I'm wondering if it's tall enough to get us from the ocean if Neon and Ash glided us there…We'd have to get on top without being noticed of course, but I think its doable."
"Crikey, one night hear and you've already planned an escape route. Must be bad."
"It doesn't hurt to be prepared, besides, the longer were here the harder it will be to get out." Kuro shook his head.
"Didn't you like the family that took you at all?"
"The house was too dingy," She replied vaguely, leaning to the right slightly to get a better view.
"And the people?"
"They made me wear a dress." Kuro couldn't help himself.
"Well, you don't hear me complaining." She shot him a half annoyed, half amused look.
"There's nothing we have in common, they kept talking about 'runways' and stuff and there was nothing to do, I couldn't go for a run or anything! Apparently it was too 'dark outside', kuh!" Her noise of disgust was mild however. Kuro imagined she had had a worse night then she had let on, but he wasn't about to bring it up.
"Yeah, I had that problem, just what are we meant to do? What did you do all evening?"
"Mapped out the house and made a preliminary search for escape routes, places to hide and weak points in the house's interior. Oh, and I tested how much noise would wake the adopt-a-family, apparently it would take a small hurricane to do it. Even after I had pushed over the bookcase onto the table they took so long scrabbling around for a torch that I got back to the bedroom, pretended to wake up and still beat them to the door and then back to the room."
Kuro stared incredulously. Typical Bianca. He couldn't help pitying the poor family though. How many more household mishaps would it take before the girl was satisfied she could make it to all her escape routes in case of a break in?
"B, has anyone ever told you you're obsessive?"
"Am not!"
"Sure you are." He replied easily. It wasn't like she could help it, that was what she'd been almost hard-wired to do in the lab.
He turned and begun walking again, picking up some of the bags, Bianca falling into step beside him.
"Maybe you should just try and relax for a bit. We have to go to school tomorrow after all."
"Great." He rolled his eyes, she was a bit of a killjoy. Not that he would admit it, but he had been thinking of school through the night. Thinking how maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe they could learn some interesting stuff. Maybe he'd find some people to talk to who were as smart as he was.
They walked in silence for a while, Kuro noticed that they were drawing a few looks as they passed people their own age. He surreptitiously glanced over at Bianca, who seemed to be dealing with the looks by walking taller.
"You know…" She glanced over at him, her eyes suspicious from the laughter barely contained in his voice. "I reckon if we held hands people would think we're a couple." It took a few seconds of his glee for her face to turn from embarrassed shock to embarrassed outrage.
"No they would not!"
"Aw, but you look so normal in those fancy pants clothes! Like a real girl!" It was worth the outrage on her face to see her vanity flushing her face and the words 'fancy-pants', he knew she'd liked the dress.
"Shut up I didn't pick them! Just because we're in a normal city doesn't mean we're normal! Forget it, you can go to the stupid shop by yourself!" She angrily snatched the bags from his hand and stalked off, breaking into a slight run as he failed to control his laughter any more.
::Fallout::
Jason had left his new 'mom' at the rescue centre. She had made good on only one of her promises to him. He had a room to stay in. But she couldn't cook worth a damn. She had managed somehow to burn porridge, claiming that as she never ate it, she didn't know when it was done.
Eventually she'd provided him with some chocolate cereal and tea before giving Lika and Lion their food and showing him around the rescue centre.
There she'd been a bit more impressive, and he had seen her mothering instinct when someone brought in some baby hedgehogs. He supposed he'd just have to learn how to cook properly. Who knew, maybe it would help him prepare for potentially living a normal life with his parents?
Smiling to himself he glanced ahead of him to where he could see the clothes shop.
"Jason!" Jason looked around, standing by a tree next to him was Ash, nearly camouflaged by the branches.
"Heya Ash, what are you doing there?" He ducked under the leaves to join her, she had the expression of utmost relief on her face. "Where are your family?"
"I told them I'd come alone." She muttered evasively. "When I got here Neon came out looking like he'd had a heart attack…" She glanced apprehensively at the door. "But before I could speak to him all those girls surrounded him and dragged him away with them and their parents and the dog."
"Well, no offense to Neon, but I think you're made of stronger stuff." Ash didn't seem to hear.
"And then Taco came by with a woman and a baby and it was crying. And then later Kuro came and I think he might have seen me waving but then some girl started talking to him and he went in with her." He realised he'd never heard the usually quiet girl talk this much.
"Ash, are you afraid to go in?" She shot him a slightly incredulous look.
"Aren't you?"
"Not really." Now she was staring at him like he was an alien.
They stared at each other for a while before their gazes turned slowly back to the door across the street.
"Um, what are you two doing?" They jumped in unison and turned to see Jessie's head poking from under the branches to look at them.
::Fallout::
Jessica had thought she had heard familiar voices. Upon investigation she saw Jason and Ash lurking suspiciously, concealed by the branches. Ash had a hat pulled over her ears, and was wearing a long shirt, Jess suspected that her tail was hidden by the tail-concealing-contraption that had been given to each of the families by her dad. Jason was looking pretty normal, wearing a t-shirt and trousers, although she could see a short pole sticking out of his back trouser pocket.
"Are you both ok?" Ash looked away as if too stressed to answer the question.
"Just about to go in, how about you?" Jason replied. The hawk girl ducked under the leaves, a soft smile playing on her lips. She had stayed up for most of the night talking to her dad. They had lot to catch up on. She hadn't been able to tell him everything about what had happened to her at the lab she had so recently escaped. She wasn't sure that she'd ever be able to anyone everything that had happened to her.
None the less, sitting with her dad had felt like home, something she hadn't felt for so long she'd nearly forgotten it.
Something of her thoughts must have told on her face, Jason was smiling at her knowingly.
"You're so peaceful now, you were a wreck when we got out." At her questioning look he elaborated. "I can read emotions." Well, that would explain it.
"It's nice to be home." she said simply, slightly uncomfortable with the idea of being read like a book. Jason looked off, looking slightly wistful, Ash made a noise that sounded slightly like a snort. Well she could laugh if she wanted. But at least Jessie had helped the herd out now, she'd started to repay the favour they gave her.
"Well, anyway, I'd better go and get my uniform, see you guys later." She straightened herself after ducking from under the tree and made sure to walk tall and straight into the shop. She wasn't afraid of a few humans grouped together. She couldn't understand how paranoid of average people the herd was after being in that hellhole. She wasn't about to spend her time with the prickly wolf girl either when she was being so antisocial. Jason was all right, but she had only known them for a couple of days.
Maybe it was because they all seemed so close, or didn't have any families and were uncomfortable with her having one, but there was a slight hesitation between her and the other mutants.
And despite herself, despite being home for the first time in years, she couldn't help wondering what their lives were like, and what it would be like to travel with them.
::Fallout::
"Zenia!" Ant watched as the puma girl turned around at her name, her parents looked around too.
"Ha! Look at the little tyke go!" Ant wasn't ever quite sure what his newly adoptive father was talking about at these moments, he seemed to get excited about the slightest amount of exercise that Ant got up to. He pulled Pongo and Beethoven along with him, the Dalmatian ran gleefully whilst the St Bernard dragged his feet slightly.
Zenia was looking ruffled as he pulled up to her. Her hair was slightly shorter and its usual ragged waves were somehow sleeker. She was also wearing a simple but frilled dress.
"What are you wearing?" Zenia glowered at him, in the background he heard her parents muttering 'how uncouth!'
"Never you mind Shorty. How's it going with the rent-a-'rents?" Ant tried not to snicker too loudly at the name.
"Their nice…if a bit weird." He murmured the last part under his breath.
"I know, mine have a cat called Lord Byron." Ant didn't really know what to say to this, but luckily at that point Beethoven started sniffing at Zenia curiously.
"Don't worry, he's just saying hello, you should say hello back, its only polite." Zenia raised an eyebrow, but none-the-less asked-
"How do I do that?"
"Touch noses!" Ant replied merrily. Zenia bent down and nudged the big dog's nose, promptly receiving a slobbery lick. Ant giggled at Zenia's mutter of 'ew', her rent-a-mom was grimacing in the background and mumbling something about 'public place Zenia!'
"Hey, what are you doing?" Suzie had appeared behind him and was looking over his shoulder curiously.
"Just saying hi!" Her eyes went wide for a second, behind them Ant heard a little gasp. He turned around to catch a girl with short white and grey-blue streaked hair staring at them with shock from around a corner, there was a hat pulled firmly over her hair but Ant could have sworn he saw it twitch.
Zenia had spun to attention at the gasp too, and as she tilted her head at the girl in an uncertain manner the stranger hastily flashed a toothy grin and fled back around the corner.
Ant shared a glance with his older family member, they'd have to be more careful from now on.
"So what, can you like…talk to them?" Ant looked up, his new sister had apparently seen nothing, and although there was a laugh in her voice, Ant caught the slight eagerness in her eyes that he had seen when she first saw his ears. In fact he had gathered the impression that she must have been warned by his new mom about asking him too many questions.
"Come on Anthony, there's no time to dawdle!" His 'father' was striding ahead with a nod to Zenia's new parents.
"See you later Zen!"
"By Shorty!" She called after him. On impulse he swung around back to her as he walked off.
"You look pretty in a dress by the way!" He called, and saw her fighting down shock. "Especially the frills!"
"Don't make me set Lord Byron on you and your dogs Ant!" she shouted back in mock threat. Ant giggled as he jogged to his family.
He hadn't realised quite how much he'd missed the herd for even one night until he'd seen Zenia's figure in the distance. But it had been comforting to see her, so casually, so normally. The knowledge that he might well bump into some of the others even before tomorrow seemed to blanket him with a slight comfort. And his adoptive parents were very nice! And they'd cooked him a nice pizza to eat with a salad, and asked all about his favourite things.
Mark had even mentioned getting ant a bike…not that he really needed one but the thought was nice. And the two dogs were great company! He had stayed awake most of the night talking to them, they seemed to have known that there was a lab doing 'bad smelling things' in the city even before the fire.
Despite all this however, he still was hoping that Monday would come quickly. He needed to see his own family, he missed them like a pain and his wolf senses were telling him that maybe they weren't all having a very good time.
Hopefully on Monday they'd all be able to be together again for a while, and then everything would be ok.
Even if they were in school.
::
Oh my God this was so long I'll be amazed if anyone made it through! Okay, a couple of notes (though I wont go on ;D)
1. I've finished uni! Woo! (and passed, in case you're curious) so the creative juices can once again flow! But I do have to find a job, so keep that in mind ;D
2. Next chapter should be swifter, shorter and funnier to write, as I wont necessarily do everyone's POV, everyone will be in it though don't worry. :)
3. I put a bit of Shayne and Chrissy in this (did ya spot 'em?) I know it wasn't big parts, and you guys are probably sick of waiting, but next chapter they will be in some members of the herd's classes, so they can be formally introduced (if not necessarily exposed yet ;P) and will get some screen time. Also… I put Jessie in this chapter… I don't really know what I'm doing with her, and I'm definitely not doing her much justice… Shortval if you're reading I'm so sorry! I don't quite know what happened, but I'm trying still don't worry, and there's still Jason, who I 3 ;D
4. As always, any ideas for school, classes, things to happen etc are very welcome (even if there things to happen in the future/happened in the past).
Finally, you guys have been incredibly supportive, thank you sooooo much for your continuing faith! And yes, I deserve a good few smacks for not updating in nearly a year *whacks head on keyboard* but, in my defence, I've had a shocker! Your reviews are love and oh so inspiring! I'm really grateful to all you faithful reviewers xD ya'll have my thanks!
Hope you enjoyed, Shadowtheo
P.S. If there are too many typos, I hope you can forgive them, I just wanted to upload this as soon as I could ;)