Posts by poloisfalse09

OOC: Thanks!

[justify]IC: Kaila sat on the curb with her chin resting on her hand, her elbows on her knees. She was eating a stale granola bar (chocolate chip) that was starting to make her mouth too dry to swallow. She forced down the last bite, her brown eyes flicking to her brother. "Do we have any more water left?"

David looked up from his knife, his lighter brown eyes distant. "What? Uh, yeah. Here, you can have mine." He held out his half empty water bottle.

She sighed and took it, only drinking it in small sips even though she wanted to down the whole thing. When she finished, only a sliver was gone and she set it down next to David. "Where should we go now? Keep heading west, or do you want to start going south?" When her brother failed to answer, she poked him gently in the shoulder.

He glared at her, then his eyes softened. "I'm sorry, I'm not listening. What are you saying?"

Kaila sighed, then scooted over so that she could put her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Please stop thinking about it. We had to."

David shrugged her off and stood. "We probably condemned that man to death." He held up a hand to keep her from responding. "I know, it was either us or him. But, Kaily, I don't know if I can keep doing this."

Kaila stood, grabbing her backpack of books and slinging it on her shoulder. "That's why we're heading to this lake, right? Plenty of fish in the water, and a clean stream that leads into it. We'll live there and no one will be the wiser."

Her brother looked unsatisfied with her answer. "And until we get there?"

She was silent for a few moments. "We keep walking."[/justify]

Velvet

Warren

[justify]She sat in the car, her head in her hands and her soft green eyes darting back and forth from the road to the sky. She loved the clouds more than anything. In constant motion, always changing, never the same shape twice. If only she could follow their example. It seemed like everyday, she was the same person. Nothing different, just the same old--

"Lizzie?"

Her head snapped to the left at her brother, who was driving the car. His brown hair was a curly mass of bed-head and his eyes were the same shade of green as hers. His skin seemed pale, but she knew that it was only the early morning light that made it seem that way. Her brother was on the baseball team, and he lived and breathed the sport. His eyes were flicking from the road to her, amusement hidden beneath the exhaustion. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. Just upset that we're late for school again."

He laughed. "What, would you rather be on time? I thought you hated schedules."

"I hate attention more, Will." She sighed and turned her gaze back to the clouds, twirling her straight brown hair in her fingers. "When you walk into a classroom late, it's just staring, staring, staring."

They arrived at the school and William parked the car in the student lot. "Come on, twin," he said. "We can face the google eyes together."

They both got out of the car, a cheap pickup truck with an awful blue paint job, and walked into the building. The empty halls always made Lizzie nervous. Her steps were always too loud, her breathing too heavy. She glanced at her brother. He walked with the confidence of a second baseman, his long, sinewy arms dangling at his side. Even though they were twins, he was taller than her by nearly six inches, but Lizzie didn't mind. She liked being short.

They arrived at their classroom and William walked in first, taking the brunt of the stares. "Sorry we're late, Mrs. Clarke." He moved to his seat at the front. Lizzie took the nearest empty seat she could find.

After a few seconds, she felt an annoying tingling on the back of her neck. Something was different. She quickly scanned the room, not noticing anything severely out of place. Then her eyes landed on the tall guy wearing the dark jacket. He was sitting next to Claire, one of her closer friends, but she didn't recognize him. The tingling sensation only got stronger as she kept looking at him. Something was not right about him...[/justify]

[justify]Birch swung around at the noise. "Commotion? Who would be causing trouble at this hour? Then again, I've heard that dusk is a good time for trouble-making." He gasped. "Maybe some cats want me dead! Or you dead! Or us dead!" He began wailing. "I'm scared!"[/justify]

[justify]When the class was over, William went over to Lizzie's side. "Learn anything?"

She shook her head.

"Ready for a fun-packed school lunch?"

She shook her head again.

William scowled. "Aren't you just a ray of sunshine this morning."

Lizzie suddenly looked up, her green eyes locking with her brother's. "I'm sorry, were you saying something?" She looked back over to where Claire and the new guy were talking. "Who is he?"

Will shook his head in annoyance, looking at Ethan. His annoyed look turned to one of confusion. He rubbed the back of his neck, and Lizzie knew that he was getting the same feeling as she was. "I don't know. But, he doesn't seem normal does he?"

She shook her head for a third time. "I'll find out all I can." She packed up her stuff. "I'll meet you at our lunch table, yeah?" Before he could respond, Lizzie was already heading for Claire's side.

"Hey, good friend!" She said, giving her a big smile. "Is it just me or has math gotten more boring over the weekend?"[/justify]

[justify]Lizzie gave Ethan a reassuring smile, then flicked her eyes back to Claire. "Yeah, lunch sounds great! Why don't we all eat together? It'd be great chance to get to know your cousin. I don't think you ever mentioned him before."

She was perfectly aware of how nervous her friend seemed, and how Ethan looked like he wanted to drop-kick her over Mrs. Clarke's head. But she needed to know the reason behind the tingling in her neck. Call it a spider-sense or precognition or whatever, but it had been there since she was little girl. Whenever something potentially dangerous was around her, it went off.

She could usually ignore it and it went away. She was tempted to do just that. But Claire was her friend, and a close friend at that. If anything hurt her and Lizzie might have been able to stop it, she would never be able to forgive herself.[/justify]

[justify]Birch hesitated. Yes, he did have enemies. But did this cat really need to know that? Ritsu seemed nice, much nicer than some of the other cats he'd met over the moons. She didn't need to get caught up in his past.

He shook his head. "I don't think I have any. None close by, anyways." He didn't want to lie to her completely. [/justify]

[justify]Lizzie's green eyes went wide with surprise. "Seven years? Really? Then, why did you come here so suddenly?" She shook her head and held up a hand to keep either from answering. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that. A bit too personal, I think."

"Are you guys gonna keep hogging the door?" A student she knew as Jorge asked. "Or do you wanna have math for lunch?"

Lizzie gave him an apologetic glance. "Sorry. I guess we are a bit in the way. Lead the way, Claire, if you please."[/justify]

[justify]Lizzie thought about this for a moment as she weaved between hallway traffic. "Several months on vacation, huh? Where did they go? Someplace really nice, I bet. If it's something like Alaska, then they're just avoiding you." She laughed at her joke, hoping that sounded friendly enough.

She looked around for her brother, but couldn't see him. Knowing Will, he was probably already in the cafeteria, making friends with the lunch ladies so he got the coldest milk and warmest chicken patties. he was so smooth with everyone, sometimes it made her nervous.[/justify]

[justify]Birch danced around his new friend. "Yeah! More cats to talk to! Stars, I love talking to cats. It's just so much fun, you know? Trading the information of the day and whatnot."[/justify]

OOC: Hey, Frostfur, there's a lot of powerplaying going on in that post... The one where they enter the lunchroom.

[justify]IC: Lizzie saw her brother across the lunchroom and waved to him. She had succeeding in getting his attention, but he was with his baseball team, so she doubted he would be coming to join them. "Who doesn't love Canada?" She replied, using as little sarcasm as possible. "I would have preferred England or Spain or something, but I suppose that answer will do for now."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She had practically said I don't believe any of this to their faces. Maybe there was still time to cover it up. Thinking quickly she said. "I mean, your parents could have done better than Canada, I'm sure. What did you say they did for a living, Ethan?"[/justify]

[justify]Birch nodded furiously in agreement. "I concur." He listened to her, then shook his head. "I'm Birch. It's nice to meet you, Ritsu."[/justify]

OOC: Yeah, it can be difficult sometimes...

[justify]IC: Lizzie but into her french fry, smiling faintly. "It's not interrogating. It's called getting to know someone. You can ask me questions, too, you know. I'll answer whatever you throw at me."

She met his gaze steadily, revealing nothing. He knew that she was suspicious, that much was clear. And if he asked, she wouldn't deny it. Lizzie didn't believe in lying, not even to someone as potentially dangerous as Ethan. However, lying and avoiding the truth were far from the same thing.[/justify]

[justify]Birch laughed. "I nearly did go crazy! I started talking to myself way, way back. Sometimes, when I was upset with myself, I would talk to a rock and pretend it was my sister." he paused. "Then, I would just keep on moving. Looking for anyone that would listen."

He shook his fur out, removing that sticky aura that seemed to hang around him. "And then I found you! You're a good listener, Ritsu."[/justify]

OOC: Last post for tonight, but I'll be on for most of the day tomorrow! Night, y'all!

[justify]IC: Birch simply waved his tail, purring softly. "Well, I think so." After a few moments of hesitation, he glanced around the woods. "So, where are these cats?"[/justify]

[justify]Lizzie watched him go, trying to contain her smile. She ate another french fry to hide it. Giving out a sigh, she looked at Claire. "So. He seems nice."

Ethan, she thought. What sort of threat to you pose for me and my friends?[/justify]

[justify]Lizzie waited patiently for the both of them to return. A part of her wondered what they were doing alone together. If they really were cousins, then she wouldn't have to worry about them sneaking away to make out or anything. However, if they weren't...

She looked up sharply when she noticed her brother sitting down across from her. "Having fun all by yourself?" He asked.

Lizzie narrowed her eyes. "His name is Ethan."

Will shrugged, taking a sip of her milk. "Why aren't you ignoring this? It's probably nothing, just like last time."

Her green eyes flashed defensively. "Claire is our friend," she hissed. "If there's someone that could harm her, I want to do all I can." She hesitated before looking away. "Besides, there's something else about him."

Will sat up straighter, his interest piqued. "Like?"

Lizzie's lips narrowed into a thin line. "I can't place it. But, he seems so nervous. He's hiding something, I know that. But..." She shook her head. "Maybe you're right, and it really is nothing. But my gut is telling my otherwise. If a week goes by an nothing happens, I'll give it up."

He met her eyes. "You promise? No secrets?"

She gave him a faint smile and nodded. "I promise."[/justify]

[justify]Lizzie stood as the lunch bell rang and moved to throw away her trash. William followed her as they squeezed through the streams of students going to their classes. On the way to their next class, English, she spotted Claire and Ethan by the office. Grabbing her brother's hand, she led him to their side.

She smiled at them. "I just saw you come out of the office." She hoped she didn't seem too uneasy. "Is everything alright? You didn't get in trouble did you?"[/justify]

[justify]IC: Lizzie nearly burst into a fit of giggles. Either that or stare at him like a mad-man. Unwell? Dwelling? Who said those words with a straight face anymore?

Before she could reply, William stepped forward with an outstretched hand. "We didn't get to meet earlier. I'm Will. Sorry about you not feeling well. This place will do that to you."

Her brother shot Ethan a comfortable smile, one lip tugged a millimeter higher than the other. A simply trick for making friends easily. William seemed to have all those nice quirks, good for making people relax and open up. Though, a part of her wondered if it would work on a guy like Ethan. He seemed a little too suspecting to be reassured by a smile.[/justify]