Forums » General Roleplay » On the Wings of Freedom: 1x1

"Man, this ain't right," Zuzu said as he walked the empty streets. All the stores were closed and it was too dark to see anymore. "Ain't no way I'mma survive the night like this. Only thing that can make it worse if it started raining."

Alexis stepped out of the shower, her hair a mess from toweling it off. "Looks like its gonna be raining all night," she said, noticing the drops of water building on the window. She passed by Erasai as she sat across from her and lifted the lid, revealing a nice full stack of pancakes. "You seem to be enjoying yourself," she commented to the girl across the table, "Aren't you glad I found you?"

"Just don't make me regret it," Erasai said, closing her eyes and wagging her finger at Alexis. Sure the food was nice... and a warm place to stay. But the stress wasn't doing her any good. She couldn't help but worry that things were going to go wrong.

"I don't mind the rain, anyway," she continued, addressing Alexis' first point. "I think the sound is quite relaxing, and helps me go to sleep quite easily." She looked to the girl for a brief moment, before finishing off what little she had left. When she had finished, she gathered her dishes into one spot on the table and stood to stretch. "I'm exhausted."

"I'll do my best not to," Alexis replied, keeping in mind that she had to come up with something for tomorrow. If she put it off any more then she might have a repeat of the incident a few days ago. And right when she was just getting comfortable. She ate her food, staring at the candle light in thought as she heard Erasai cue in that she was tired. "I agree. I just don't like being in the rain when I'm trying to sleep... You can have the bedroom. I'll... just take the couch. I'm used to it."

She was kind of glad that Alexis had offered, but at the same time she felt it was a little rude, since the blond had purchased the room in the first place. And that brought another question to mind.

"Won't they be able to track where you are using your card? When was the last time you reported in with them?" She was worried that the sudden activity on the card might trigger a response from Alexis' mercenary group. And whether it was on purpose or nit, Erasai didn't want to deal with that.

"You're a sharp one," Alexis said with a small smile. "But that card has a pirated access chip. It grants access to our funds regardless of who is using it and bypasses identity checks to cover our tracks from any local authorities. The fact that anyone anywhere can use this card and the fact that I'm presumed dead could mean two things: either I'm alive and trying to make a living off of it or that someone has looted my body and is using it for their own personal gain... If I were Cecil I'd assume the latter and not even bother trying to save one of his men. In fact, I'm assuming he'd noticed by now and has cut off access with the card. We'll find out the next time I try to buy something, right?"

In truth she was dreading this. This meant life out here was gonna be much more difficult to maintain. With a falsified identity she would have to do her best to try to keep everything leak-free until she got out of here somehow.

She gave just a slight nod of her head, and turned to enter the bedroom. She wasn't sure on what Alexis was meaning, or if it would really go down the way she had said. What if they really did come to investigate who was using that card, just in case it had been her who had 'looted her body'? She shook her head as she pulled the top blanket off the bed, and took two of the six pillows from it as well, returning to the living area and throwing them both on the couch.

"Don't worry about the couch, I don't mind sleeping on it," she said, taking a hair tie she had around her wrist and tying her hair up into a short ponytail. She had a feeling it would be a while to fall asleep, with all the things she had on her mind. She started arranging the blanket and the pillows on the sofa, the way she thought would be most comfortable.

"If you insist," Alexis said, having no problem accepting the offer. She paused at the doorway and looked at Erasai for a moment. "How can I be sure you won't suddenly get up and leave the second I close this door?" she said, revealing her alternate intent on sleeping on the couch.

"You don't," Erasai said, slipping quickly under the blanket. "But, if it makes you feel any better, the only clothes I have are very dirty, I have no money, and I haven't had a good sleep in a long time. So, if I did have to leave, I would have to put on those dirty clothes after that nice bath, I would have to leave my only money supply as far as we know, and I would have to forfeit this nice and comfy couch. Silly things you might say, but over the past week, I've learned to appreciate them once again."

She turned on her side, facing away from Alexis, and tried to force sleep down. To be honest, she hadn't even thought of leaving during the night. So if she did, it was Alexis' own fault for bringing that idea up. "Good night."

"Good night," the blonde said. Despite what she said, Alexis was glad Erasai responded to her like that. Up until they came into the hotel room, Erasai had given her a lot of negative energy. Now she was talking more openly again. Like before. She stopped by the bathroom for a moment and tossed Erasai's clothes into the wash as she moved her own to the dryer and leaving the jacket out to hang dry. She closed the door to her bedroom and shut off the light, just in time to catch the first flash of lighting due to the incoming rain. The loud rumble of thunder came shortly after and she once again felt sorry for the other two who were still outside. She hopped in bed and crawled under the covers, surprised at how comfortably soft the bed was and thanked Erasai for the offer. Tomorrow, she had to meet with the others again. To take Erasai with her or not depended a lot on her cooperation and whether or not any other ideas came up.

It would have been hard to sleep, with all the thoughts in her head, but the rain lashing against the window, and the occasional rolls of thunder, seemed to help her find that dreamless state. And she would be very thankful in the morning, having the first good night's sleep she had had in a long while. So any chance of leaving Alexis behind was thrown out the door for the time being.

---

Meanwhile, Wolfe was very unhappy. He was drenched in rain, and very tired; and it was quite amazing that he didn't just run up there, and find the two and end all this right there and now. But he had his self control sometimes. So he had found a overhanging off a building, and sat underneath it. He figured he might look like a homeless veteran, but he didn't care. He actually didn't mind the idea of free handouts and money. But he would just wait there, until Alexis made the next move... hopefully the smart move.

The alarm she set went off and she quickly silenced it, getting up with a start and moving to the bathroom to pull her clothes out of the dryer and put Erasai's in. It was almost six in the winter so the sun had still about an hour before it started rising. It was still raining out. Quite heavily now, and didn't show any sign of letting up. Erasai was still asleep on the couch, which relieved her somewhat. She flipped on the television and switched it to the news, immediately muting it so she, hopefully, didn't wake Erasai while she warmed up last night's leftovers. Apparently it was going to rain, even sleet, for the rest of the day and tomorrow.

As she ate, she thought on ways she could get out of the country. Stowing away in a ship or a plane sounded like a good idea but then there was the matter of making Erasai come with her. She had the ability to fly, why would she even bother following me around in the first place? she thought. That, and she still had to deal with Zuzu and Wolfe. What would she do if she betrayed them? First thing was first, she had to meet with them. She just had to hide the girl so they'd leave her alone about it.

It almost seemed that she had been disturbed by Alexis, but she merely rolled over, pulling the blankets over her head, and resumed the slumber. She had been pulled only a little into consciousness, but was quick to slip out again the moment she could. She wasn't about to let this sleep go to waste, especially when she didn't know how many good ones she would be allowed to have.

Maybe near an an hour later, she finally decided to open her eyes and peer around. Her bathrobe had slipped down while she was sleeping, and she did her best to readjust it before she sat up, yawning. "Good morning..." she said, very quietly, and with little enthusiasm. She stretched her arms above her and seemed to be in a little better mood after doing so. "Are my clothes dry?" she asked, standing and making her way toward the bathroom.

By the time Erasai woke up, Alexis was in the middle of formulating her side of the plan. The blonde was sitting in front of the empty plate of food, chewing on her thumbnail as she blankly stared at the projected screen. So deep into thought was the girl that she barely even noticed Erasai was talking to her. The small moment in time where she caught a bit of the other girl's skin as she sat up was enough to draw her attention and respond with a silent wave.

"Ja. Just check the dryer," she said. Her voice was a bit hoarse from the prolonged silence and she cleared her throat as she went back to watching the news. "You're up early," she said, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Right, right," she answered, as she disappeared into the bathroom. She dressed in there, taking a little extra time just to take things slow for a bit. It felt nice not to be rushed, and even better when she was wearing clean clothes to match that feeling. She returned just a few minutes later, pulling her hair out from under her shirt. "Well then," she said, placing her hands on her hips and glancing around the room, "I guess this is where we say good-bye to this rather extravagant room." She had glanced up at the clock, and though it wasn't really anywhere near checkout time, she felt the need to be moving on soon. With or without Alexis.

Alexis nodded, zipping up her jacket and getting up to shut of the television. The glass became transparent again, revealing nothing but rain heavy enough to make the buildings just across the street nearly invisible. "What are you planning to do after I check out?" she said as she called the elevator up at the end of the room, "Just... leave?" The elevator doors opened and Alexis stepped inside, holding it open for the other girl. "You know I won't simply allow that."

"Oh, I know," Erasai said, waving her hand carelessly in front of her face as she followed the girl and entered the elevator. "But you know, I simply won't go with you." She figured, for now, she would just go with the flow, and deal with things as they came to her. She was much more rejuvenated now, and felt she could take on anything that came her way. "As long as your 'friends' aren't out here waiting for me, then we should be good for now."

The door closed and the elevator began to descend. Maybe an umbrella would be nice, at least, Alexis thought to herself. "Friends? Hardly. Don't worry. If anything they should be at a local pub waiting for me to report in. I'm going to do that but not with you around. I'll let them know I couldn't find you, make another plan, then hopefully... well... Hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement, you and I." The elevator came to a stop at the lobby. "Out of curiosity, how far can you fly with your.. wings? Are you able to use them now or are you limited to how much you use it?"

Erasai raised her finger at the girl. "Ah ah, I'm not gonna give that away. But just to give you an idea, I can fly pretty far now, as long as I don't expend too much energy fighting that is." That made her think just a little bit. She hadn't really been practicing, and to be honest, the fight with Alexis had taken a lot out of her, but yet she had still flown pretty far. She wondered how fast she was developing as a weapon, without even having training.

She stepped out of the elevator, and looked around, as if making sure there wasn't some sort of ambush waiting. She gave a little nod and turned to Alexis. "I will wait for you here, if you want."

"If you want to stay here, sure. Just try not to draw too much attention. In fact," Alexis tossed her the access key to the suite towards Erasai, "I haven't checked out yet so you can stay up there if you want. I'll be back to pick you up so please don't leave."

She turned around and looked for the gift shop. She needed an umbrella to keep dry and she didn't want to ruin her freshly washed outfit. She picked out one, a small one but upon bringing it up to the cashier to pay, her card was denied, confirming her suspicion from last night. Alexis was flat broke, now. With a bitter sigh she exited the store and threw on the hood. At least that would keep her dry for maybe a block. She shook it off, though, reminding herself that she had been through worse during her previous campaigns, and with one last glance at Erasai, she stepped out of the hotel and into the freezing rain.

Erasai almost missed catching the key card that Alexis had thrown her way. But she had managed to pool her hands in front of her, just in time to catch it. She blinked a few times, a little caught off guard. But then she looked up and nodded to the blond. "Alright then, see you later!" she said, turning around and hopping back into the elevator. She just hoped that bellhop wasn't going to be around to bug her for a tip.

---

Wolfe's eyes looked up toward the hotel, when he heard the sound of cars driving by a bit more frequently. The sun had just come up, and though it wasn't able to peek its way between the buildings just yet. He was still a little damp, and very tired, from waiting outside. He hoped that Alexis would make her way out soon, and hopefully with the experiment.

He leaned back, stretching and giving an irritated grunt. Right about now, he would kill for a cigarette, and he hadn't smoked in nearly seven years.

After waiting just a little longer, he stood up, seeing Alexis coming out. "Took you damn long enough," he said, looking behind her. "Where is she?"