xiaomiau

The Two Sides

Liwei took a deep breath. He look at the door for a long moment, considering the dust floating past the thick metal as he slid his foot down onto the gas pedal and sped away before the others at the compound noticed anything conspicuous. He looked at Mona and nodded. He slid one hand over to cover hers in an offer of comfort. Guilt bit at the edge of his thoughts as the van ate up road and they left the boy behind.

Misha glanced back at the compound. "My... my friend?" She shook her head, face scrunching in an effort to remember the person they were talking about. "Like I said," she mumbled as she pulled a seatbelt over her waist. "Don't really remember any of this. It's all so spotty."

The Two Sides

Dione nodded slowly and shifted to her human for. She stretched carefully, coming to her feet with a tender edge to avoid worsening the injury marring her side. "We should hurry back," she said, addressing Sacha this time. "We need to deescalate the other issue with Broms, you know?"

Misha slapped the interior of the van. "Of- Agh, of damn course they did! How do you think they managed to screw me up like this?" She growled, then narrowed her eyes. She raised her hand to her chin and stroked an imaginary beard. "I bet it's like some spooky Manchurian Candidate stuff." Her eyes widened. "They brainwashed me and fried my brain and now they've put some wild 'murder all yer friends' nonsense in me! I can't even trust me!" Her gaze floated to Liwei, pressing his foot down on the gas pedal. She frowned. "Heyyyy, buddy, aren't we waiting for your friendo?"

The Two Sides

Dione chuckled quietly. "I'll keep your secrets, honey, don't worry." She glanced at the ground where the arrow landed. "Thank you for patching me up. Am I going to be okay, now? Or is this still going to kill me?" She wasn't eager to lose her life, especially with Ambrose still missing. With each throb of the wound, she thought of the trouble he could be in.

Misha shrugged, letting herself fall back against the seat. Her head still ached, but she found it easy to look at the blinding light head on if she squinted her eyes. "It's all super hazy for the past.." she trailed off with a sigh. "Ugh. I need somebody to cor-body-orbate my story, or I'm super dead if I ever get home."

Liwei glanced at the clock anxiously.

The Two Sides

Dione smiled warily. "You're so small, though," she said softly. "You're doing things army medics train for months for." Her wound no longer being a certain death risk aside, she felt a certain fondness for the boy. He radiated a warm and calming nature. She regarded his words with a hint of fascination. "If that's your choice, we'll keep you safe," she whispered in reply.

Misha groaned. "I feel like I got a lot to explain but.." Her low grumbling turned to a shrill note of frustration. "I don't really.. don't quite remember exactly how to explain all this. I'm like some.... prisoner of war, agh." She took a deep breath and then collapsed to a sigh. When she finally opened her eyes again, she leaned forwards over the center console to fiddle with the radio dials. "Is there any good stations out here? Like classic rock or somethin'?"

The Two Sides

Dione sighed and relaxed, allowing him to work without bothering him by tensity. She still held a thread out doubt, though, and she knew if she pulled on that thread it would keep drawing and drawing out until she had unraveled completely. Where's Ambrose? What's happening here? Are we in trouble? She shook her head against the thoughts pummeling her. "You know how to do this pretty well," she commented, looking back at Destin. "In.. super tight positions." She glanced over at Elauna.

Misha looked up and narrowed her eyes. "If you take me to a hospital..." She thought for a second, shaking her head. She shot her leg at the woman, foot smacking the back of the seat. "I'll kill you," she howled weakly, voice coming out as a week keen. "I'm sick of this shit." She flopped down on the seat, fidgeting constantly.

The Two Sides

Dione clenched her jaw. "I'm good, I'm good," she purred, gently settling down on the ground, though she was still wary of the girl who had shot her a moment before. She glanced back at Destin. "You're in a mess, aren't you?" She let out a sigh. "I hope you're on our side."

Misha slapped the window. "Brianna?" She shook her head. "I don't know.. no clue." She took a deep breath in, closing her eyes as she drew dry air into her lungs. Sand, sand, and more sand. Lovely. "I'm feelin' so off," she moaned, burying her head in her elbow.

Liwei was growing anxious. "He's not here yet," he mouthed to Mona. "We might have to leave without him."

The Two Sides

Dione reacts in a split second, shoving Destin aside with a thought of vague apology. She shifts into her panther form midair as she dives in front of Sacha - the arrow piercing fur and flesh in her flank. She let out a rumbling cry as it bit her, but managed to steady herself in front of Sacha. She blinked against the pain of the arrow. That's a nasty one, she thought, feeling blood begin to drip from the wound.

The Two Sides

Misha grunts. "Motherfuckers... hurts......" She let out a shrill cry and covered her eyes with her scarred upper arm. Despite this "minor inconvenience," she pulled herself into a sitting position and grasped weakly at the buckle. However, instead of strapping it around her, she clung to the fabric and moaned pitifully.

Dione peered at Destin. She was wary, but he was small and had wide, inviting eyes. She softened her stance. "Nothing serious, I don't think. Thank you," she said with a slight smile. "I was just.. expecting to deal with a different crisis." She let out an uneasy laugh, eyes flitting back to Jayden and Elauna.

The Two Sides

Misha lets out a yelp of pain as Mona sets her in the back of the van. She feels herself coming to with a raging headache and a vague sense of disorientation. She opens her eyes and stares blankly at Mona, blinking back pain behind her eyes.

Liwei revs up the engine. "C'mon, ladies. We have to be ready when Ambrose heads out." His hands form a tight grip around the wheel of the van, foot an inch away from the gas pedal. He rolls down both windows and cranks up the air conditioning in preparation for the ride. "Mona, you'll have to give me directions."

Dione prepared herself to shift if the violence escalated, but for now she stood still behind Sacha. She tried to make herself as non threatening as possible, though she knew her leader's very presence signaled an air of violence to the unfamiliar shifters. She cursed the tense atmosphere between the two groups. I just want Amby back, she thought solemnly.

The Two Sides

<Snipped quote by xiaomiau>

"Amby?" Sacha raises an eyebrow. "No, those are Broms...Aya doesn't seem hurt so they might be alright." She keeps walking.

@Fionraella

Dione took a step closer to Sacha, trying to keep close to her as they advanced on the group. "What are they doing, though?" she asked softly. She eyed the unfamiliar figures with narrowed eyes, but she wasn't ready to jump towards violent reactions if it wasn't necessary. There was already enough bloodshed in the forest.