[hr][center][h2][b]N i k k i[/b][/h2][color=808B96]road from Woodsedge and Merecc; the site of Max's crash[/color][/center] [hr] The young nekomi brushed patchy hair back from her face as she looked after the odd draconi. She'd been on her way toward the forest of the Wrecks when she'd seen him, sprawled facedown at the edge of a cliff. She'd been concerned, but by the time she had her motorcycle at the side of the road there were a pair of crippled aircraft trailing smoke up ahead, with the nearer one spitting out a tiny dot that blossomed into a dull blue parachute on the way down. She thought she could even feel the ground tremble as they crashed. Man, this was already shaping up to be an exciting trip. She'd been into the forest before, of course, but this time she planned to go much deeper than she'd ever ventured in the past. She'd held off so that she and Justin would be able to go together, as they'd planned as mere children. His last visit home had changed all that. It was just as well, she supposed. She'd been getting restless, and the idea of waiting until he graduated had grown increasingly frustrating. It was nice to be /going/. And it looked like she might just have found an alternative companion. She didn't follow immediately as he turned to head down the slope, instead going back to her motorcycle and moved it farther off the road, going a bit into the brush. From one of the saddlebags she pulled a mottled tarp, and carefully covered her bike to protect it from weather and random passers-by. In theory, it wouldn't work without the key. In practice...nothing was truly proof against a determined trickster. With her satchel slung across her back and her jacket tied at her waist, Nikki set off after the draconi. For now she trailed him at a distance, relying on the noise he made as he went to keep track of him, when the sight of his bright hair eluded her. Even in sturdy boots she moved quietly out of habit, doing her best to minimize sign of her passing despite it being far easier in more civilized settings. She considered jumping the guy just for fun, or maybe going ahead and setting up a tripline, but the poor man didn't seem quite right in the head and for all that she loved pranking, she wasn't cruel. Curiosity kept her quiet, even when she heard the sound of others up ahead near the crash site. A young coon, a spicati that was apparently the pilot and sounded like he might know some interesting words if he could just get away from the default "fuck"s, some funny kid who was all beat up...this could be a right adventure, sure enough. She wondered what the wrecked plane had been carrying. Skypirates weren't exactly uncommon, not that she'd ever had the chance to meet any. This looked like a standard runner plane, from the emblem on the wings, the sort that did all sorts of deliveries from the most mundane to the ones that required an armed escort. Nikki wondered idly if there might be a reward for salvage. Sure, the pilot was right there, but he was otherwise occupied, and she'd never been the sort to pass up the chance at a bit of easy money. Of course she'd need to wait until the fire was finished.... She was jarred out of her speculation as to what sort of cargo might get a pirate so interested as to brave the no-fly zone above the Fall when a massive tree smashed down on the vessel. [i]Well.[/i] It seemed the guy she'd followed in had a similar mindset, ignoring those talking and heading for the battered plane. He moved quietly now, and Nikki watched with interest. A frequent thief? Some sort of spy or stealth operative -- there was something in how he moved that said "soldier" (or at least trained combatant), not that it was an uncommon profession. He levered the door open with a knife -- a knife! Too much of that and it'd be about as sharp as regular old tableware -- and slipped inside. She lingered outside a few moments more before curiosity demanded she follow. Shifting into her feline form so that she'd fit better into small spaces, Nikki ghosted through the darkened opening and padded after her oblivious guide. His lockpicking skills needed work. Knives were not the right tool, despite his success. His choice of loot was unusual -- a stiff drink and a medkit. The way he hugged it, either he was in dire need or he was a junkie. Or crazy, that was still on the table, and as he spoke to himself yet again she thought it increasingly likely. When he tied his arm and reached for the needle, she revised her opinion. Crazy and a junkie. Well, good for him. She knew better than to cross druggies. Even her wild ways didn't extend to blatant idiocy in most cases, just a general lack of foresight. Everyone and their uncle knew about the fighting over the rights to produce medical serum, and other drugs were just a small step away. You didn't mess with the serum bootleggers and their mafia friends, and you didn't mess with the junkies that traded with them either. Her lips pulled away from her teeth in a silent grimace and she slunk back to the door and outside again. Her interest in the plane's cargo had waned for the moment, replaced by the sour aftertaste left by the thought of the fighting and the general idiocy of Novans as a whole. The kid was unconscious now, and the coon girl seeing to his injuries. The draconi approached them shortly after, and promptly got a gun pointed at him for his trouble. [i]Not that he isn't a thief,[/i] Nikki mused, [i]but it's not like you'd be able to tell without taking inventory.[/i] She'd moved up into the toppled tree's branches, liking the extra height as well as the bit of concealment it offered. As the pilot -- Max, if she'd heard right -- lowered his weapon, she moved enough to draw attention to herself, not bothering to hold back a chuckle. "If he was trying to steal your kit, he went about it all wrong," she commented, one arm wrapped idly around a branch so that she could lean forward without falling. Bright amber eyes glittered down at those below, picking up the goldenrod floral design on her pants and the matching trim on her leather jacket. "Yo, by the way." She grinned, a wide, face-splitting expression that made her look more like a teenager than her twenty-and-change years. "Saw you going down from all the way up by the Merecc road. Looks like the Wrecks did you in proper. Two more down to add to who knows how many. Shame, looked like a nice little plane you had. Y'know, before the ground gave it a makeover." She wasn't as fond of planes as she was of cars, but anything with a good engine held an appeal. "Name's Nikki, Nikki Wyatt. I know a towing company in Woodsedge, though I don't know if they'd be willing to come in here. Might be worth a try, though. I can give you their number, and change for a call when you reach a phone."