AN: Yay, here's the second chapter for you guys =) 20 reviews for one chapter I'm impressed! It made up for my lack of reviews for the Never update -_- it was a good chapter too..
Red Countess: All your points are valid.. lol just what you should keep in mind is that I wrote the first chapter of this way back when I started Ha… and I wrote the dance chapter back in May, my writing has come farther since then.. or I would like to think so anyway =P
I do a lot of skipping in books lol I don't care for more than basic description.. I like character thoughts and dialogue.. this fic later on will have quite a bit of character thought.. :cackles:
Oh and just for the record.. this will be a Bryan/Liika… Don't run! It will be good! I'm going for the first Bryan romance where he's actually in character -_-
Liika had never been more terrified in her entire life. She was plummeting toward the ground at an alarming rate and had no idea what to do. She had never been skydiving; hell she didn't even like heights that much, yet here she was falling to her death in the middle of the Russian wilderness, in winter. Her panicked mind then suddenly thought of something she should have thought of when was first pushed from the plane.
Her parachute.
Frantically reaching back and searching for the ripcord, she found it and yanked on it viciously. Instantly the chute shot out and she found herself shooting up in the air then settling into a slower downward decent. No longer completely petrified, just nominally frightened she began to look around the landscape that they had been literally dropped into.
There was nothing for miles and miles in any direction but snow covered forest. A few clearings were interspersed around but other that it was like a solid mass of trees. To her right, however, a mountain range started, trees cover the mountain as well. Grumbling in irritation, "If I get out of this alive, I will be happy never to see another tree again."
The ground approached more quickly than Liika would have liked. She had seen TV shows and films of people landing, and they hadn't looked pretty; because despite the parachute you were still moving very fast when you touched the ground. The closer she got to landing the more nervous she got. What if she sprained her ankle or something? Or worse broke her leg! No one would be able to help her. The thought almost brought her to tears, but sucking them up she prepared herself for impact.
Liika hit the ground feet first with a solid thud, crumpling instantly upon contact with the snow-covered ground. A fire like pain shot through her ankle almost immediately after she landed on her side. Because she had not opened her parachute quick enough, she had been going too fast when she hit the ground, and she hit it hard. Her ankle twisted before it could move to accommodate her fast moving body as it hit the ground.
The parachute fluttered over top of her, the red and white silk material covering her from head to toe. She groaned and twitched, daring not to move her now severely throbbing ankle. Great, just great, she knew she'd hurt herself landing! Now what?
A foot prodding itself against her stomach through the red screen of the parachute shot her back to reality.
"Hey," prod, "you alive?"
Liika froze. Damn, she thought, I forgot about them. As the foot and voice continued to prod her she finally flung her silken cover off and glared at the offender. "Would you please stop that?! I'm in enough pain as it is."
It was the short blue haired boy Ian that stood over her, poking her with his foot. The other three stood not too far behind him, eying her with emotionless eyes.
Poking her one more time for good measure, Ian stopped and stepped back slightly. "What are you doing here? Jump off the plane a little too early?" A condescending smirk crossed his lips.
Her glare intensified and she squirmed, feeling the cold wet of the snow start to seep through her jeans and underwear; shifting also sending shots of pain up her ankle, though it didn't seem as bad as before. "No," she snapped, sticking her tongue out, "Actually I was pushed!"
This brought a look of surprise to the faces of the four boys and for once the expression showed. "Pushed?" Ian echoed. "By who?"
She shifted again, wincing at both her ankle and the cold, wet snow. "That creepy guy in the black suit. He said he had 'orders' whatever that meant."
They stared at her blankly, apparently oblivious to the fact that she was sitting on the frozen ground that was rapidly melting from her body heat. Finally after several moments of her glaring and them staring the tall red head turned and motioned for the others to follow. "Let's go. It's obvious we're out here for a purpose. Let's look around and see what that purpose is." He said starting to walk away into the forest that surrounded the small clearing they had landed in, the other three following closely.
"Wait!" Liika called frantically.
They paused and looked back to see her still sitting on the ground, exactly where they had left her. "Get up and come along or we'll leave you behind." Tala stated flatly and turned to continue on his way.
"I can't." Her voice was quiet and they barely picked it up.
Heaving an irritated sigh, the red headed leader didn't even turn around to reply, "Get up, I will not tell you again."
Liika felt the heat of a blush spread across her cheeks. The cause, however, was not only embarrassment –although she was very embarrassed, but also anger. How could they not see that she was hurt?? What did they think she just sat in the snow for fun?! "I told you I can't!" She said forcefully, her voice, though, carrying an edge of uncertainty and discomfiture.
"And why not?" Ian demanded, scowling at her.
The other two Demolition Boys said nothing and merely watched the girl sitting in the snow. The taller one raised a blond eyebrow at her while the shorter, more bulky one with pale purple hair crossed his well-muscled arms over his chest and caulked his head to one side. Tala looked over his shoulder and willed her to answer.
Ducking her head, Liika avoided their gazes. Why'd she have to get stuck with the team of no emotions? The only one that wasn't creepy was the squirt, and that was because he was the only one that did show at least some feelings, even if those feelings were mocking, annoyance and anger. Her face was bright red by then. Yes she was angry, but she was more mortified. Showing weakness to the enemy meant ones downfall, but what choice did she have? "I pulled my parachute too late and fell too fast, I hit the ground too hard. I think I twisted or sprained my ankle. I can't even move with out it throbbing in pain, and I know I can't walk on it." She spoke quietly, her tone completely opposite of the tone she used in her prior words.
"Well that was brilliant!" Ian mocked.
"It's not our problem." The purple haired boy finally spoke, the others shrugging in partial agreement and they started off again, only Tala paused a bit and looked back.
"Wait! Look. I know you tried to take over the world and all, but I believe you're not all bad or even really evil! Mr. Dickenson must have believed there is some good in you or you and I would not even be here. You can't just leave me here to die! Please!" Liika pleaded, her eyebrows furrowing over glassy turquoise eyes. The thought of them actually leaving her was terrifying. Who knew what was out in the woods? Not to mention the freezing cold that was seeping through her wet clothing.
Tala sighed once more, knowing that the girl was right, they couldn't just leave her there. She may not think so, but they did have consciences –or most of them did anyway. "Bryan, carry her." He commanded and waited for his order to be carried out.
The purple haired boy snorted then demanded back in a completely void voice. "Why?"
Tala narrowed his eyes. "Because. She's right, we can't leave her out here. Just do it."
Bryan spat off to the side and sneered almost microscopically. "Fine." He stated and strode over to where Liika was sitting crouching down with his back facing her. "Lift yourself up enough so you can wrap your arms around my neck." He ordered coldly, waiting for her to do so.
Liika lifted herself up a bit –wincing the whole time, and nervously wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and neck. Of all of them to carry her it had to be the disturbing one –well the most disturbing one. The fates must think it is funny to mess with her life.
Once he felt her arms around his neck and made sure they were secure he pulled himself to his feet, bringing her up with him. "Place your knees on either side of my waist."
She did so and felt his arms hook around underneath her knees, securing her in place. Then bouncing her once, to slid her further up her back he jerked a nod at Tala indicating they were ready to head off.
Liika bit her lip to kept from crying out as he bounced her, and tightened her arms about his neck. She didn't want to make a sound, she didn't trust him not to drop her if he got annoyed with her. Each step he took jerked her ankle and shot pain up her leg. It was getting worse again, probably from the movement and jerking motions. Squeezing her eyes shut, she leaned her head against his expansive back. It was going to be a long walk.
The four boys trudged along through the forest at a moderately quick pace. It would be dark soon and they wanted to find what they were looking for before the sun set, even though they didn't even know exactly what they were looking for. They decided to head toward the mountain range that started just north of where they landed, in hopes they would find a cave of some sorts for shelter.
"Hey Tala, why do you think that old coot sent us out here anyway?" Ian voiced from a few steps behind the leading red head.
Tala shrugged in response. "Who knows. But I've heard he has pulled these sort of tricks on his own team before."
"Oh yeah. Heh, heard he stranded them in Europe by themselves, suckers." The short boy snickered, raising his arms and folding them behind his head. "Speaking of the suckers, how's the girl?" He turned his upper body so he could get a look of the pair walking behind him, fully expecting some sort of sharp retort from the girl riding on his friends back.
However, the only reply he got was a cold and annoyed, "The girl is asleep." Delivered by his pale haired teammate.
Ian stared blankly then screwed his face up into a scowl. "How does she get to sleep when we have to tramp through the snow?"
Bryan said nothing, they all knew what he thought of the situation. Ian continued to scowl but he turned back around to stare at the back of his team captain. Spencer eyed the girl in front of him, more specifically her right ankle that dangled along Bryan's leg. Narrowing his eyes he compared it to her left ankle. The red socks around each was definitely different sizes, the right sock just slightly bigger. It was obvious her ankle was swollen. "Her ankle should have been checked before we left the clearing. It is swollen now."
None of them even paused, but continued to trek through the ever darkening forest. "There is and was nothing we can do. At the moment we do not have the supplies to survive let alone wrap an injured ankle. Perhaps being asleep will help her to deal with whatever pain she is feeling." Tala said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Look, ahead. Is that a cave?" Ian interrupted, pointing to something about hundred and fifty meters in front of them.
Some fifty meters ahead of Tala the forest came to an abrupt halt where the forest line met what in summer would be the grass line, but in winter was the snow line. As they approached they saw that the path opened into a rather large clearing. It was about a hundred meters long and about two hundred meters wide. To their left on one side of the clearing, just before the forest started again, a small waterfall dropped out of the rock face with a splash into a fast moving stream. The forest surrounded the clearing completely, except for the stone, mountain base that bordered it on the side across from where they were standing.
Tala studied the area Ian had been pointing to, it was now past dusk and the light was dwindling making it hard to see things from a distance, it was also growing rapidly colder.
Sure enough, as they got closer they noticed the solid rock fall away to some sort of opening. "Come on, we'll see what it is." He said striding purposefully toward the opening.
It was indeed an entrance to a cave, however, the reason why they did not see further into the cave was now clear.
A type of heavy curtain was strung across the width of the opening. It was made from some very weighty brocade fabric, with waterproof leather sewn on the side facing the out doors. It was hung on a thick wooden rod that was hammered into the stone on either wall about a foot into the cave. Down the middle a split opened so the curtain could be pulled back, and along the top above the rod was a narrow opening to let fresh air into the cave.
"Who would put a curtain over a cave entrance?" Ian asked, clearly confused.
Tala narrowed his eyes at the curtain and stepped forward to push it back in the middle. "Someone who wanted us to find the cave." He replied over his shoulder before stepping inside.
Liika squirmed as she tried to get comfortable, it just wasn't happening however. She was drifting in the state of not really asleep, but not really awake, and in this state she did not actually realize where she was, all she knew was that the bed she was sleeping on was really hard, she was really cold and her ankle hurt a lot.
Her backside and the back of her legs felt damp and she could feel the chill setting in. Why would her pants be wet and the air cold? What was going on? Gradually, as she began to wake up, the pain in her left ankle grew and she became aware the sounds and activities going on around her. Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the dim lighting.
She wasn't in a room, but a medium sized cave with dark brown rock walls that seemed to close in on everything inside it. It was approximately a hundred and fifty square feet in area that she could see, but was rather cluttered with different living things.
Five sleeping pallets, one of which she was lying on –a central one, were lined up against one wall of the semi-circular cave. At the head of each of the makeshift beds was a large pack that looked to contain at least bedding, and maybe more. The back section was cut off by a curtain made of some type of drapery fabric, what was behind it she couldn't tell. Against the opposite wall two large chests and one small chest sat, their crimson brown outsides shiny with lack of age and use. The entrance of the cave was covered with some kind of heavy curtain, but she could tell from the small space above the curtain that it was well past dusk as no light could be seen.
A small fire that looked to be just lighted provided the only light in the cave, was burning in a stone circle in the middle of the cave. It was then that all the memories came flooding back, and she remembered just why she wasn't in a nice hotel all warm and safe.
Pushed out of a plane.
Demolition Boys.
Ankle.
Right. Everything was falling into place, so that's why her ankle hurt and her pants wet and cold.
Something landing on her chest with a small 'plop' jolted Liika out of her daze. Looking down at her chest she saw a white envelope with her name on it.
"Read it. It's addressed to you, but it might say what exactly we're doing here." A voice ordered as she looked at the small envelope.
Glancing up as she brought herself into a sitting position she saw that Tala was standing over her, his arms crossed over his chest in an authoritarian pose. In that moment he reminded her so much of Kai she had to resist the urge to giggle, some people where just born natural leaders.
"Fine fine. Maybe it will tell me where here is." She muttered back ripping open the envelope.
Pulling out the letter she began to scan it, not noticing that the other three boys had come to stand beside their captain. As she read the letter, she began to make little sounds ranging from small snorts, to growls of annoyance and finally when she looked up Ian demanded, "Well?! What does it say?"
Liika looked extremely irritated and displeased with the situation. "I might as well read it to you since it's your future too." She coughed before beginning.
"Dearest Liika,
Now I know you have a lot of questions my dear, but I pray that you give me a chance to explain.
I sent you all out into the wilderness because I felt you could all use some lessons on how to survive as a team and relying on the people around you instead of just yourselves. Now I admit that these lessons are more directed at the other four teams, rather than the Bladebreakers, but you six can learn from the experience as well.
I was grieved to learn that Eddie and Steve as well as Kevin and Gary had to return home early and could not participate in this little 'training trip'. You see this put a kink in my plans for teams, however, I believe that all turned out for the best anyway. I thought it best that each team have at least one girl, and with only four girls, having five teams would have put a damper on my plans even further.
I chose one girl per team because I felt every group of boys needs that female touch in their lives or they lose touch with reality, however, that doesn't mean they can take liberties with you. We will know if anything happens, and you can tell them that's a threat. I chose you to go with the Demolition Boys because I felt that you were the most open of the four of girls, you forgive the easiest. As well as I thought you could take the separation the best, as you have no significant other tying you back, as Emily and Mariah do. I know Jade doesn't either, but she belongs with her team, your team will have Mariah and Emily with them, so don't worry about them too much.
Every group has at least one person that has survival training, so they can teach the others, the Majestics have Lee, and I think Jade has at least some knowledge of the matter and the Bladebreakers have Rei, Mariah and Kai. Don't worry about yourself, you're in good hands. All four of the boys you are with have had extensive survival training and I have complete faith that they will take good care of you.
Now moving on, you will see the cave I have selected for the five of you has been furnished somewhat. You will see five sleeping mats along one wall, each mat has a pack on it. These packs include blankets, a pillow and spare clothing; each pack is personalized and Liika you are in the middle for a reason. I know how easily you get cold, the extra body heat will help.
Against the opposite wall from the sleeping mats are three trunks. The first one has various tools you will need, hunting equipment etc. The second one has dishes and some items of food. These are mostly vegetable items that you cannot find yourself in winter/ early spring –more may come as you need them, as well as some vitamins. Note: you will have to provide the majority of your food for yourselves as part of the training, working as a team to feed the entire group. This means learning to hunt and trap.
The third chest contains items you will need, I will not say what as I am sure you are reading this to the boys, you can look yourself.
I am also sure you see the fire pit and the spit that is set up to go over it; I felt that I would be generous and set one up for you. Behind the back curtain is a small 'room' that contains a wash tub for your laundry as well as whatever cleaning rituals you choose to have, and a chamber pot, so you do not have to go out into the freezing cold in the middle of the night, but that it your business. You will also find soaps there for your various needs.
I will have you notice that you are far better off than most when it comes to survival, and I think I have been more than generous in what I have given you.
You will be out there for a minimum of a month, but more than likely longer, depending on how we feel your training is coming along. So on that note I wish you five the best of luck in your training and best wishes.
Sincerely,
Mr. Dickenson"
"Well that's just great." Scoffed Ian, turning around to stalk away in a huff.
"This isn't survival training, it's a fucking camping trip!" Bryan sneered also turning; only he headed toward the two trunks on the other side of the cave.
Tala and Spencer through each other annoyed glances and followed Bryan toward the chests. Liika sat there and watched them leave her as if she didn't exist. Didn't they care that she was cold, wet and her ankle hurt?
Apparently not.
Great! She just had to get stuck with the four emotionless…zombies? No that wasn't the right word… puppets? Hmm not right either… they gave that up, well then what were they? Her mind screamed 'jerks' but she refrained from using the word, she had a bit more class than that. However, it didn't stop her from thinking it.
Mr. Dickenson was a truly cruel man to stick her with them. She didn't understand why there just had to be a girl in their group, they had done with out them before. Hell, they probably hadn't even spent ten minutes in a girl's company their entire lives! She snorted, so much for Dickenson's theory. Of course if you looked at the Demolition Boy's social skills you would see that they were somewhat… lacking. Perhaps they did need female company, but didn't they have moms or something? Ugh, her head hurt thinking about it.
Liika looked across the fire to see that the boys had already opened the chest closest to the entrance of the cave. Bryan was pulling out various weapons and hunting gear. Two one-shot rifles, and assorted hunting and paring knives handing them off to Tala, Spencer and Ian –who had just come over, to inspect.
"Oh yes," she muttered, "Trust them with sharp objects and long range weapons. Smmaarrt." None of them heard her however, as her voice was too low.
Continuing the search of the chest, they discovered flashlights, torches, spare batteries, cooking equipment, rope, invisible string and a two-way radio. Bryan was right, it wasn't a survival trip; camping did seem a better term considering the supplies they were given. She chuckled thinking about how the Majestics would react to this 'trip', they had probably never been out of their mansions and into the wilderness their entire lives! Haha for them it really would be survival!
Getting bored of them ignoring her, Liika decided to check out the packs that had been placed at the head of each other the sleeping mats that had been pushed together to form a sort of long, wide 'couch' of padding along the east wall of the cave. Turning around, wincing as she jarred her ankle swinging it around to face the wall, she studied the packs and noticed that they were indeed personalized, however, she could not tell whose was whose.
They were color coded, from what she could tell, and the only one she recognized was the one meant to be hers. It was pink, and she highly doubted that it was meant for one of the boys, plus it was in the middle, just as Mr. D had said. To the right of her pack was a crimson pack and an orange pack and to the left a navy blue pack and a green pack. Which was which? Picking up the letter Mr. D had given her, she searched it thoroughly for the answer then, not finding it turned it over, and found a small scribble at the bottom of the page.
I'm sure you're wondering which pack is meant for whom. Well as you had probably noticed they are color coded, here is the coding: Orange –Tala, Red – Bryan, Pink – Liika, Blue – Ian, Green – Spencer.
Liika dropped the letter and looked up to glare at the pink pack that sat at the head of the mat she was sitting on. He had to give her pink. Pink, she snorted, her least favorite color. A small breeze blew by her then, causing her to shiver and remember that she was still sitting in wet pants; it made her glad that her turtle neck wasn't wet as well, her legs were starting to go numb. Reaching over she pulled the hideously colored bag toward her and lay it down between her legs.
It was fairly large, the size of a large camping backpack frame, only in the form of a duffle bag. She unzipped it quickly and started her search for dry pants. First she pulled out a pillow that had bee laid across the top just before the bag was zipped closed. Setting the pillow aside she peered into the pack and discovered it was sectioned into two sections. On the left side, a neatly rolled sleeping bag/blanket –it was black thank god- was tucked. On the right, two stacks of clothing were folded and placed with care, one stack pants and one stack shirts and sweaters. Shivering she quickly pulled out the top pair of pants –a pair of black fleece sweats and set them aside. Knowing that just a change a pants wasn't going to alliviate the cold she continued her search –this time for undergarments. If Mr. Dickenson had seen fit to give them extra clothing then he must have given them extra undergarments. When she found nothing but socks in one of the side pouches she searched the other. Aha! She thought, pulling out a pair of underwear and a set of long johns.
Picking up the pants as well, she scooted her way over to the wall and pulled herself up, using the wall as leverage.
Liika cringed when she accidentally stepped with the wrong foot and brought her weight down on her injured ankle. "Ow…" She moaned under her breath as she started to hop towards the back of the rock enclosure.
"Where are you going?" A voice called, halting her hops.
Looking over her should, she saw that all four boys –who had started on the second chest- were watching her curiously. Oo, they actually noticed me! Stupid boys. Scrunching her nose she continued on her way, each hop bringing her closer to her goal: the back curtain. There was no way she was changing in front of those boys! "What does it look like?" She shot back finally, having to take a break from hopping due to throbbing in her ankle.
Tala, the one who had spoken, raised his eyebrow, catching sight of the clothing in her hand. He then looked over toward the beds to see the pink bag lying open on the middle bed, a brown cased pillow sitting beside it. "Alright." He said, nodding at her then going back to whatever he was doing before.
Liika, meanwhile had started hopping again and was starting to struggle a bit when footsteps sounded behind her and an arm wrapped around her back while a hand grabbed her free arm and placed around his own back. Looking over startled, Liika met the flashing crimson eyes of Ian. He snorted and looked away, a slight pink tinging his cheeks. "You looked so damn pathetic… it was irritating to watch you!" He snapped starting to move, helping her along.
Liika smothered a giggle, maybe the squirt wasn't so bad after all.
They finally made it to the back curtain, Liika pushing it aside and hopping in alone, giving Ian the don't even think about stepping one step further, eye. Ian shrugged indifferently and settled down to wait for her to get changed. Liika squinted in the extreme dark that had surrounded her when the curtain fell closed behind her. The only light was the faint light that flickered from the fire over the top of the curtain. She stood there for a few minutes not knowing what to do, and fearing to move lest she fall over and hurt herself worse.
"Hey, are you done yet? I don't have all night you know." Ian's annoyed voice called over the screen.
"It's too dark to see anything… I don't want to fall over or something." She said back, her tone dropping in embarrassment.
"Oh my god." Ian sighed and his footsteps sounded, traveling away. Quickly though they returned and the drape was pulled aside and a hand, holding an object, thrust in. "Here, use this. And hurry up about it."
Liika reached out and grasped the object in his hand, discovering it to be a flashlight. Flicking the switch a narrow beam of light shot out, landing on the curtain in front of her. She moved it around to see all the objects in the little alcove.
The chamber pot Mr. D had mentioned was back against the wall, and the washtub beside it, flipped over and facing down. She made a beeline for this and sat down, sighing as she got the weight off her tired right foot.
She had to take off her shoes, to get her pants off, so she did, struggling with the left one, as her ankle was somewhat swollen. Finally getting her shoes off, she brought herself to her feet and quickly changed, the cold air rushing at her from all sides as she did so. Finishing she tried to put on her shoes, discovering that the left one just wouldn't go on very well with out causing lots of pain. Growling under her breath she picked up the offending shoe and headed out of the alcove.
"It's about damn time, what did you think I would wait for you forever?" Ian demanded, resuming his position helping her walk.
"Yeah, yeah shut up. You try getting changed with only one good ankle, not to mention trying to get a shoe on and off the bad ankle!" Liika muttered, gripping his shoulders tightly.
"Whatever, quit your whining!"
"I'm not whining!"
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Why don't you both shut up?" Bryan's cold, yet irritated voice cut in their argument, and both teenagers looked over to see the pale haired boy scowling at them.
They answered simultaneously, "Whatever." Then looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes and made faces at each other.
"Ian help her to her bed, we found the first aid kit and might as well wrap her ankle." Tala approaching them with a small white suitcase like box in his right hand.
They reached her bed and Ian all but dropped her on to the thin mattress. She glared at him, but he just smirked back. "Ow. Jerk." She said.
Ian shrugged and backed away, giving Tala access to her ankle. He started poking at it and feeling around for broken bones, Liika bit her lip to keep from crying out.
"When you landed on it, did you hear a cracking or breaking sound?" Tala asked examining the ankle closer.
"Not that I remember…"
"Good." He stated, pulling back and reaching for the first aid kit. Pulling out a tenser bandage he started to wrap her ankle, he obviously had experience in the matter. "It's not broken and judging from the minimal bruising its not sprained nor do you have ligament damage. It's just twisted. Stay off of it tonight and tomorrow and you'll be fine."
"Thanks."
He shrugged and picked up the kit to put it back in the second trunk. Spencer was putting another piece of wood from the pile at the entrance of the cave onto the fire.
"So how do we tell whose bed is whose if they're all set up? It was obvious which was hers but how do we tell which is ours?" Ian asked staring at the beds, frowning.
"They're color coded." Liika said, scooting down to lean against the wall.
The four boys gazed at her, willing her to explain her statement further. She sighed, rolled her eyes then proceeded to explain. "It was on the back of the letter. Green is for Spencer, navy for Ian, crimson for Bryan and orange for Tala." She yawned after she was finished and pulled out her blanket, the chill finally seeping through her long sleeved turtle neck.
The boys continued to stare, eyes shifting to each of their beds before Bryan shrugged and sat down on the bed that had been appointed his. Ian followed suit, but not before muttering, "I don't see why they have to be pushed together. They can't even be moved! They've been stapled to the ground or something. Stupid old man."
"It's called body heat Ian, if we're close together we keep each other warm." Liika stated shivering a bit under the blanket.
"I know that girl." He replied sneering.
Liika sighed heavily. "I have a name you know. If we're going to be trapped together for months we might as well at least try some semblance of teamwork or dare I say even friendship? Though I doubt any of you even know the meaning of the word friendship."
Not one of them even paused in their activities of opening their respective bags. Ian merely glanced at her and shrugged, pulling out the pillow from his navy pack. Liika sighed again and once more cursed her luck at being stuck with the socially challenged group.
"Aren't you going to tell us your name?" Tala said indifferently, shuffling around inside the bag checking what they had sent him.
"You mean you don't know? I thought you guys knew everything!"
Tala sent her a dry look and shook his head. "You were of no importance to us as you were not battling in the finals, nor was it registered that you even had a bitbeast."
"It wasn't registered that I had one because I wasn't battling. Tsk, tsk, I thought the great Demolition Boys did their research." Liika said smugly, her lips tilting at the corners.
The red head shrugged. "Even if you had a bitbeast it wouldn't have mattered, it can't be very powerful or you would have been battling in the finals."
She started laughing, her head leaned back and her eyes closed. The four boys actually paused at this unexpected reaction. Calming herself she smiled at Tala. "For all you boasted you knew about the Bladebreakers you didn't really know much did you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well it's quite simple, if you knew the Bladebreakers at all you would have known that just because I didn't battle in the finals doesn't mean I was the weakest or had the weakest bitbeast. Unlike your team, ours didn't work like that." She explained patently, tilting her head to the side.
Spencer, Tala and Ian frowned while Bryan looked like he couldn't care less. "If you weren't the weakest, then why didn't you blade in the finals?" Ian asked, clearly confused.
Liika shrugged. It wasn't really a secret after all. "Kai obviously had to show Voltaire that he wouldn't play his game, Rei… I dunno, I battled for him against Oliver in our last tourney so he battled Bryan –which in hindsight I'm very glad he did," She shuddered a bit at the thought of being beaten to a pulp. "And Tyson had something to prove to himself. As for Max, I believe you know why he didn't blade." She finished blandly, making it obvious that she was still less than pleased with their stealing of bit beasts.
Tala ignored the not so subtle hint of distaste in her tone and asked, "If you weren't the weakest who was?"
Liika froze. Should she tell them? Beyond the fact that the Bladebreakers were really no more, and the Demolition Boys were obviously not a threat anymore, she wondered at wounding Tala's pride. If she told him who really was the weakest, it might get him mad… or hurt him, and she didn't want to risk that… not with someone she had to spent the next few months in small confinement with. "Um… Max." She lied, praying he would buy that.
Tala said nothing, but it was clear that he didn't entire believe her; she had paused too much.
"Funny, I always thought it to be Tyson, after you of course." Ian shrugged, settling himself out on his newly arranged bed.
Liika laughed a bit nervously and smiled. "Heh heh, imagine that… Tyson…" Her eyes shifting around her.
Her tone caused eyebrows to raise, but none of them said anything about it, they didn't much care. The loss was in the past, and it had made them realize they wanted more out of life than being slaves of Biovolt and of Voltaire.
"Whatever." Bryan said, stretching out beside Liika, staring up at the ceiling.
"You never did tell us your name girl." Ian nudged her side with his elbow, earning a glare.
"Liika, my name is Liika."
Tala, Ian and Spencer nodded and Bryan snorted. Tala sat on his bed, and stared at the fire for a few moments before getting up and heading for the cave entrance. "Spencer," he ordered. "Bank the fire while I go check the perimeter, when you are finished you may join Bryan and Ian in rest."
"What about me?" Liika asked, tilting her head.
Bryan humphed and answered for his captain. "What can you do woman? Go to sleep and rid us of your noise."
Ian broke into a fit of snickering and Liika jabbed his side with her elbow and then did the same to Bryan who merely eyed her uncaringly, smirking at her attempt to hurt him. Liika, not knowing what else to do, did the first mature thing that popped into her head.
She stuck her tongue out at him.
