A Derelict Factory-Warehouse-Looking-Thing [Ethan]

[Reli Kain]

Stepping carefully, Reli lowered herself so that she was yet again sitting on her beam. She continued smiling up at Ethan, who had just chuckled as she had begun to sit. He was fast and daring, she liked it. Plus, the run had been safe. He seemed to take it in stride, he hadn't questioned her yet. For that she was glad. She swung her legs, still idely grinning, as she absently looked about the room. She wondred what they should do next; she would race again, but it had been so successful she knew it would become too safe - too boring - soon enough. She rested her hands on her beam, palms down, holding on.

((It is short and doesn't really say much, soz. ;D))

[robbie117]

Ethan lent his back against the wall, taking a moment to get his breath back. He breathed fast, in through his nose and out through his mouth, filling his lungs with new air. Reli sat apon her beam, swinging her legs and grinning at him. Ethan's gazed back at her, smiling madly. He enjoyed the moment.

They would need something else to do soon though, a new way to test themselves. Ethan saw past the beam, saw the long drop to the ground. After the race, it didn't seem that dangerous. They had pushed their limits, threatened themselves with the likelihood of going over the edge. It had been exhilarating. Sadly, the only way to relive the thrill they had just experienced was to push yourself even futher. Repeating what they had just done wouldn't be enough, it would feel too safe.

Of course, you have to be careful not to push yourself too far.

Ethan tried to judge the distance between his and Reli's beam, contemplating his ability to make the leap. He decided against it, although the confidence he had gained from finishing their race unhurt tempted him to try. He decided he would wait until he was sure the walkways below would catch him if he fell.

A silence had engulfed the two of them for a moment. Not an awkward silence, just a silence resulting from physical exhaustion. It had hung in the air for that moment, before Ethan broke it, unsure of direction.

"So," he asked, "is there anything you wanna do now?" In his current confident state, he had a few ideas, but he wanted to give her a chance to suggest first. If she didn't, he'd speak up.

[Reli Kain]

They rested in silence for a moment, Reli panting and swing ing her feet, Ethan leaning on the wall getting his breathing level again. She wondered what was next, perhaps he had a knew idea? Or maybe he'd rehash something she'd suggested before. Whatever it was, she figured she should wait for his suggestion. Of course, this philophosy was swiftly broken when he asked her what to do next. Well shit.

This wasn't to say she didn't have her own ideas. Jumping from beam to beam seemed like the logical next step or possibly jumping from the beams onto the walkway below. But that may make it too methodical. In all honesty she was happy to do pretty much anything. Anything that burnt energy, anything dangerous, anything thrilling.

And she'd be damned if she accidently gave herself away by suggesting something. Then again I may have already done that. She turned her grin back to Ethan, pretending to consider, before drawing a short breath and replying "Anything.". She figured that was all she needed to say. It said what she meant, and her breathless tone of expectation should've given away the heart-pumping activities she wanted to jump about doing.

((The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. ))

[robbie117]

From the look on her face, Ethan saw Reli consider for a moment what she wanted them to do next, before replying she was ok with anything. Ethan gave a small sigh, although by now he had been expecting the responce. Reli seemed as uninteresting in making choices as he did.

"Alright," Ethan said, grinning again like a junkie with his first fix in ages, "I say we doing something risky, something we might regret if we fuck up."

He stopped leaning against the wall, standing upright to give the appearance of someone confidient in what he was about to suggest they do. Which Ethan was.

"Something I wouldn't have been able to make myself do a few moments ago." This was also true. When Reli first suggested the idea he had seen it as impossibly hard. Now, it just seemed fun.

Ethan beamed at Reli, hopeing she would agree to the idea. He'd had his douts, but now he couldn't think of anything else in the building he wanted to do more.

"Let's go to the roof."

((Overly Dramatic? Yeah. Ethan's slightly to exicted? Parhaps. Fun to write. Yep I don't care that it's shit.))

[Reli Kain]

Ethan agreed, grinning addictively, and began a drawn out, suspensful description of what he thought they should do. He outlined how it would be risky amd confessed at how he wouldn't have been able to do it before. He was now standing on the beam with a confident air as he told her what they should do. He positively beamed at her as he talked. The roof. He wanted to go to the roof. Ignoring the many queries are brain asked of her, Reli was swept up in the moment. She swiftly righted herself, standing with a truly idiotic grin on her face, as she took a moment to look straight down Ethan's eyes. Then it was gone and she was gone - dancing acroos the beam while looking about her, trying to figure out out to get up and out. There where skylights dotted above them, they could break one and figure out how to pull themselves outside. Or they could venture outside again and see if there was a way up from out there.

Either way required that Reli hop down off of her beam (either to go outside or to retrive somthing to smash one of the skylights with). She jumped off and gracefully landed feet first, her hands following through to hold the floor still as she balanced herself. This took only a second and was followed up by her smoothly rising from her hands. "Okay, so either up through the skylights." Her nose turned to face what she refered to. "Or search and locate a way from outside." She pointed her nose towards the stairs this time, indicating their possible exit. "That's what I reckon." She concluded turned her nose to Ethan this time, causing her to stare along her nose if she was to look at his face. She was experiencing what would be called a bout of letharggy for her, and was quite happy for someone else to take charge for a moment.

[robbie117]

Reli stared directly at him, leaving the choice of direction up to Ethan. 'Well,' he thought, 'that was a stupid thing to do.' He had been overly confident after the race, enough to suggest which direction to head in, but he knew it didn't last long and it was beginning to wear off. Suddenly caught out by the decision in front of him, and he needed a moment to think. His helplessness to choose flashed in his eyes, if only for a brief second, but there was no way Reli could have missed it. She was looking right at him.

Still, it served his purpose. Now he was about to get embarrassed. He couldn't take back the look, but he would attempt to correct it. Swelling all the fading courage remaining, Ethan forced a simile back on his face and forcing himself not to blush. A rather genuine smile, his confidence hadn't left him yet. Not completely. He would never have been able to accomplish what little he did without it.

He looked up. The skylights seemed the most fun way to get there, but the only way he could see them getting through was by breaking one. Leaving glass lying around for the next person to walk through here. He thought about it for a second, realised the idea was too fun to pass up. Hell to the glass.

He turned back to Reli, still grinning broadly. "Well, the skylights sound the most fun. I can't see a way up, up then again we'd likely have the same problem outside."

His confidence didn't hold out. The grin faded slightly, his posture slouched. "Er, unless you would rather try outside?"

'Damn her for making me choose.'

[Reli Kain]

For just a moment, she saw a look of helplessness flash across his eyes, a look that would've been missed (and was partially blurred as it was) had she not been staring directly at him. His posture had changed, she could see, so that he didn't stand quite so... confidently. A rather forced-looking smile squeezed itself over Ethans face but swiftly expanded into something more genuine. She kept her eyes on him as he looked up at the roof - the skylights, she presumed. He turned back to her and, stilling grinning broadly, informed her that though he couldn't see a way up, the skylights did seem like the most fun. Then his grin faded a bit and he slouched again, waverly asking if she wanted to try the outside method instead.

Her own grin in place she shook her head kinda roughly, her red hair rocking back and forth. She turned her face to above, studying it. "Well... Using the beams seem like the best idea. They are taller afterall. I guess we could stack something on top of them-" Reli gauged the distance between a beam and one of the lowest skylights and realised something - she could probably jump the distance. If not jump almost fully out she could jump enough to gain purchase and pull herself up. But could Ethan? And if Ethan couldn't, should she voluntere to jump and pull him up? "Or, maybe we could, jump, them?" Her caution made her unconciously add pauses in her speech pattern.

((I totally forgot to say and only realised at like 10 or something - but my 'e' key totally works again. It was a mystery.))

[robbie117]

Ethan looked up at the skylights, judging the distance between him and the lowest one. It wasn't far away, but he wasn't sure if he trusted his legs to be able to get himself there. He looked down from his beam. If he fell and missed the walkways, it was a long way to the ground. 'No,' he told himself, 'I've jumped futher then that. There's no way I won't make it.' Sadly, his natural survival instincts weren't so confident.

To Ethan's , the jump was downright terrifying. He could feel fear burst into his bloodstream, yelling and screaming at him to turn the offer down as it stormed around his body. He wouldn't let fear make up his mind though. He came here to beat fear. He wouldn't jump if he didn't feel he would make it, he wasn't a complete idiot. 'Only mostly an idiot,' he reminded himself. Besides, the higher the sense of danger, the greater the thrill. He just had to be sure Reli was keen to do it.

The idea to jump to the skylines was Reli's idea, but Ethan wasn't so sure she was too confident about it. Her suggestion was a question, which was rather unusual for her, and it was riddled with uncomfortable pauses. He could guess why she was so hesitate, he'd asked many such questions before.

Was she like him, fear telling her not to attempt it? Seemed logical, human instinct in this situation would be to simply stop before one got hurt. But they were there to push their limits, beat fear. Perhaps fear wouldn't stop her. Maybe she didn't think he would want to do it, unsure of what his reaction might be. He couldn't decipher how to answer.

"Perhaps," he replied as casually as he could, masking the paranoia he felt. Fear wouldn't stop him. Reli might. "Do you think you can make it?" A hint of his nerves crept into his voice.

[Reli Kain]

Reli watch nervously as Ethan looked up at the skylights. After studying them for a moment he casually remarked that he might, but questioned if she could make it. Subconciously taking this a green light, Reli promptly forgot her caution and grinned broadly. "Of course!" she replied, scurrying halfway up the crates. Once there she took hold of the top most crate and flung it at Ethan "Come on then, catch! We each smash our own light." and grabbed a second one for herself and propelled it up at the lowest skylight above her beam. She then took a leap before she looked up onto her beam, unconciously transforming her nails into claws for purchase to pull herself up. She swung her legs over (her claws now nails again) and straddled the beam just in time to cower as squares of glass rained down upon her. She merely laughed for the duration of the downpour, unaware of anything that wasn't in her imediate surroundings.

(Kinda short, especially compared to your last one, um sorry. But there is action and substance and junk. ;D ))

[robbie117]

Ethan instinctively caught the crate tossed to him by Reli, but paused so he could mirror what she did with hers. He watched her with astonishment for a minute as she casually tossed her crate up into a skylight, shattering the roof's window with the strength of the throw. What was far more surprising then her throw was what she did next however. Before the glass could land, she propelled herself back onto her beam in a single bound.

'If she can jump onto the beam from halfway up the crates,' Ethan wondered, 'why did she bother finding all of them before?' Maybe she wasn't confident enough then, maybe she had to work up the courage first. She had to pull herself up. 'Wait, were those claws?' Ethan forgot Reli's sudden display of strength, physically gawked at what he thought he saw happen to Reli's hands as she held on to the beam. They just seemed to.... transform into something else. Her nails were displaced with something, larger. 'No,' he told himseld, 'it had to be a illusion, light reflecting off the falling glass or something, playing tricks on my mind.' Ethan inspected again. Her hands were normal.

Reli just sat there laughing as the glass rained down around her, shattering loudly against her beam. Ethan's mind returned to a previous topic. Where had her sudden burst of energy some from? Why didn't she show it before? Why did she bother stacking crates when she could leap so high? He didn't have answers, he would have to wait. Maybe she'd answer when they reached the roof. He hoped she would. 'This girl just keeps getting more interesting.'

Ethan positioned himself directly underneath his skylight, lobbing the crate in an underarm fashion vertically upwards. The glass was cracked and decaying up the strain of abandonment, and it wasn't hard to break. He ducked his head, using his elbows and forearms to shield himself from shattered remains. A stinging pain shot through his left arm, and he grunted, as a shard managed to break the skin of his right arm. Still, it didn't hurt much, so he assumed the cut wasn't deep.

[Reli Kain]

Reli should've been doing a lot of things. Sitting under a rain of glass was a dumb idea, for a start. Reli should've been paying attention to how inhuman she was acting. Reli should've been paying attention to Ethan's reaction to her acts. Reli should've been protecting her secret. But she wasn't. She was doing the dangerousthing - having fun. Her Uncle had told her one day, after a close call with a local youth; Your concept of 'fun' is dangerous. You know not to give away what you are, but when you start having 'fun' you loose yourself in it. At the time she'd merely pouted, waving it off as just another lecture, but her Uncle had continued. You loose yourself a lot Reli. I know why, and I sympathize. But we both know I can't empathize. He had left it on those ominous words which had left Reli disturbed for days.

By now though this had all been forgotten. Little cuts were drawn over her hands and arms, bits of glass snagged on her hoodie, loosening the weave of the threads. Once the glass had passed her she smoothly stood on her beam, took one look up, shifted slightly, crouched and jumped straight up at the skylight. Her arms stretched above her she could see that only her forearms had made it passed the skylight at the peak of her jump. Quickly though, she moved her arms and curled her hands on the rooftop, trying to find purchase. She felt a wetness down her forearms, remembering too late the jagged glass around the hole. Feeling her fingers slipping along the unseen rooftop she panic and transformed her nails into claws again.

With this new grip, she concentrated on her biceps, pumping the energy into her body to pull herself up. She managed to pull her torso onto the rooftop and proceeded to scramble he way fully up. Now on the roof she decided to stick her head through he skylight to see what had happened to Ethan.

[robbie117]

Ethan caught the crate with his right hand as it fell back towards him, pulling his body aside just in time to avoid the dangerously large shard of glass that followed it. For a second he simply wobbled, waving his left arm to support his weight, regaining his balance and save himself from falling off the beam. The sound of shattering died down around him, the glass had finished raining from the skylight.

Ethan watched Reli pull herself up, amazed at the raw strength she had shown to accomplish her task. He couldn't help but wonder where she hid her strength, she wasn't particularly buff. In fact, she was as skinny as he was. Not that he was weak, but his build meant that he was more suited to endurance events rather then demonstrations of raw strength. 'Well, if she can do it,' he told himself, 'so can I.'

He looked again at the skylight. Sharp jagged glass still protruded from the window. With a frisbee throw, Ethan span the crate into the inside of the frame, breaking off another piece of glass and creating a safe place to hang from. Using all his leg strength, Ethan leapt into the skylight, throwing both arms over the ledge and using their full length to grab a hold of a metallic coloured ventilation coil, which struggled to hold him up. His body below his shoulder's simply hung limply inside while his head poked above the rooftop, taking in the fleeing rays of the afternoon's sunlight. They had been inside for a while, apparently. It had seemed like only a few minutes. How time can fly by sometimes.

Ethan just held on for a moment, looking for the power to climb up and join Reli.

((Soz, particularly bad one here. Hehehe )_

[Reli Kain]

Reli watched as he threw the crate up at the skylight. Didn't he already do that? Once the crate was out of the way, Ethan practically flung himself at the skylight. He managed to scramble a grip, his head poking out into the sky while most of him dangeled below. She drew her head out of its vantage point to look at Ethan over the roof, dark shadows making lines across the roof with a reddish hue contrast. Reli gazed at Ethan for a moment. Realising he wasn't pulling himself up straight away, she stood and carefully padded over to where he hung. She stood, towering over his head, for a moment.

"Need a," she missed a beat, mentally correcting her 'paw' to something more human, "Hand? Or did you just wanna, you know," One the last two words she rolled her head around before looking down at him again. "Hang around?" She hung her head back, half-laughing about the joke, half laughing at the joke. She stared down at him after her short patter of laughter. It didn't matter to her that he was hanging above a potentially lethal drop, she was on the roof and he was nearly on the roof - that's all she thought. She didn't think of the dangers. She was having FUN.

((Ta-da!))
((... Muzetta's Waltz))

[robbie117]

Reli watched Ethan from above as he dangled from the edge, both arms their full length out of the skylight and onto the roof. He looked up at her. From this close Ethan could see a fresh cut to her forearm, one he assumed must have happened during her climb. A cut he'd used the crate to try make sure he avoided. And had avoided, the cut to his right arm was only slightly deeper than a scratch from a sharp nail. Still, she didn't seem to care, so he decided against asking about it.

Besides, he had other things he wanted to ask her.

Reli seemed to hesitate when she asked if he wanted help, pausing for a second before she finished her question. She then cracked a lousy joke, one so bad that Ethan couldn't help but grin at it as he bit back a laugh. From his position, the fall would cause certain injury, or possibly kill him outright, and he couldn't afford to let a joke steal away his grip.

'Should I take her help?' he contemplated. Part of him wanted to do it alone, to prove he was strong enough to be here. Plus, staining himself seemed more fun, if painful. But then again, it was dangerous from where he was, and she was offering. It wasn't like he had to beg. He decided to accept the offer.

"Yeah," he said while grinning at her, "a hand would be really helpful here." Or a claw, he reminded himself. The image of her 'transformation' was still fresh in his mind, although he didn't believe it. Humans have hands. "If you could grab my left arm, I can drag myself up with the right?" He didn't want to leave her to lift his entire body weight, that would be rude. And dangerous.

He waited for her to help.

[Reli Kain]

At her joke-of-a-joke Ethan grinned. He answered in the positive, verbally accepting her help. He even suggested how to, so that she wasn't the sole saviour. She crouched down and, after bracing herself, grabbed his left arm with both her hands - one hand further down the arm than the other hand. She helded his arm, doing her best to give him enough leverage to get up onto the roof.

Winded whipped her short hair in a mess, but from some stroke of luck it didn't blow into her face and the tips didn't whip at her face. No distractions there. The golden light turned as the sun approached the horizon, batheing the two of them in orange hues. Offhandedly she wondered what Ethan thought of her. Did he suspect anything? Did he think her extarordinary? Does he think I'm fun?