Machine Fur Project IC

[AJ Fawxe]

Alex eyed One and turned her words over in his head, they didn't seem deceptive but Alex's instincts were always to mine for data and information. Perhaps it was part of his engineering, maybe he just developed the instinct through training. Though working with computers was a lot like working with people in ways. You had to be careful, poke the wrong spots-or poke the right spots too much, and the security will shut down on you.

This is what Alex was made for.

"I feel like I know them in a more than passing way. Especially Three and Seven, what with us all being.. well, Failures, thus far. Describe them and I might remember them." Alex's brows furrowed and he wore a genuine look of contemplation. Her cold look didn't bother him much, it just made her seem more like the administration to him. So much less guilt in picking her brain, he just hoped he was being subtle enough in his approach.

[Lavender_Stripes]

Thirteen snapped out of her stupor and made her way inside, picking up her glass and downing its contents. She smiled warmly, purring to herself. She had not gotten to know Nine as much as the others, and she could hardly contain her excitement from coming up as a kind of gush; almost word vomit. She sat at a table and drummed her fingers on the table, her fluffy fur masking the sound only slightly. She filtered her own thoughts from those of the others, though the mean spirited remarks coming from One surprised her. Amongst the Successes, Thirteen had gained a reputation of not being selective. She was nice to everyone, Success or Failure, and tended to spoil both with handmade or gotten presents to keep them happy. The petite girl shrugged, keeping her sweet, honey smile, singsong laugh and emerald eyes upon Nine and One; Nine in particular. He was more well-structured than Four, she thought.

[Suzumibachii]

One closed her eyes for a second as she tried to calm her own thoughts for a moment, something had happened in her mind giving her two sides, one simply wanted to prove her worth and prove she could be the best, the other still cared for her fellow subjects, less so than Thirteen who risked alot helping the others.
"Three. Feline, average build, I am unaware of his physical strength, failure,he can transfer his wounds to others.Close to the other failures, and too close to Thirteen" she said as she basically read her own mental evaluation of the subjects "Seven. Mantid, Herculean, very strong and very sleek, his physical strength out matches even Five but he is slower and less disciplined than Five is, Failure." Shaking her head a faint smile developed under her mask. "I still dont understand them...You...Why do failures not strive to be better?" her voice was softer and filled with more concern than before.

[K0brA]

Five stood in the room, once again alone as One and Two took their leave, snarling to himself. Well that didn't work. He didn't really intend to take things to any authorities, he wasn't going to stoop that low when he didn't even have solid proof, but he was hoping his empty threat would have made Two talk. Guess not.. But Two was wrong. In Fives mind, he was very special. He was the best around and sacrificed more than anyone else had, and more than anyone else realized, to get to where he was today, and not just for his own good either. He didn't expect thanks or gratitude from anyone, but he at least deserved far more respect than what he was being given right now..

His breathing got heavier as he felt the urge to chase Two down the hall and beat him senseless, along with anyone else who'd cross his path, rising up inside him, only to be momentarily interrupted by the sound of a drip hitting the floor. Looking down, he saw a small drop of blood at his feet. He brought his hand up to inspect the source. In his anger, he had been clenching his fists so hard that he had punctured his own palms with his nails and drew blood. He found it soothing to look at, and couldn't help but think that seeing even more would feel even better, looking through the doorway, again considering giving chase before averting his gaze over to a camera in the room. He had already made a scene a moment ago that he was sure got peoples' attention, and he knew he was losing the plot in his head. He had to regain control over himself or this wasn't going to end well for anyone. He made his way to.the hallway and checked both directions. One and Two were both long gone it appeared. Good. He darted out of the room and made his way to his own, ignoring anyone that might have been along the way. He was very tunnel visioned in his mindset now. Fresh clothes, fresh towel, shower finally. He could relax and calm himself down in the solitude of a hot shower, figuring most everyone else had theirs already, and he needed to be alone, lest one more stupid comment push him over the edge he lingered dangerously on the edge of right now...

[Fitzwilliam Jinglesworth]

Four groaned, rubbing his head as he slowly woke up. He blinked a few times, adjusting to his surroundings. Everything around him was still blurry. As he looked around, he saw that he had fallen asleep where he sat in the detention room, slumped against the wall. No wonder I feel like shit, he thought to himself.

"Ah, you're awake," said the guard. He held the goat by the collar, lifting him to his feet.

"Hmm?"

"The detention period has ended. You are free to go now. Let this serve as a warning not to interfere with official Administration protocol in the future."

"Yeah...point taken." Four sighed, scratching the back of his head, and stepped out into the hall. He looked up at the clock, noticing the hour. He had been asleep for longer than he had thought. On a dime, he felt his stomach growl, seeing how he had missed breakfast. He headed over to the cafeteria, tracing his way back through the halls.

[AJ Fawxe]

Alex listened to One go on about the failures. Alex had hoped that he would have heard about Two and Five but hearing about Three, Alex closed his eyes and focused.

"One figure walked into the hall walking away from the corner I was at, red fur, appears vulpine. Another figure pops out and grabs him, pulling him around the far corner. No great details on second figure but was feline in appearance... I need to speak to this Three."

Alex came to as he realised she had asked him something, something about failures? Yes about why failures don't try. "Sometimes.. some of us grow tired of trying to live up to 'their' expectations." Alex made a wide gesture, referencing the facility as a whole, "Me, I don't want to be a failure. I hear whispers and rumors. They tolerate us to an extent. I don't want to die-or worse." Alex spoke somberly then his head twitched up and he shook his head a bit as if shaking off a leaf or bit of dust. "I should go, it was.. interesting to meet you, One." Alex nodded curtly and walked away heading into the cafeteria. Alex couldn't shake a bit of excitement. Part of his brain couldn't shake the feeling that this was his own personal exercise. No administration judging him or pushing him, it was his own game of data mining and surveillance that he could play at his own pace. Tail and ears twitching Alex walked into the cafeteria and didn't realise that he bumped Thirteen. "Oh! I'm sorry, I was distracted."

[Lavender_Stripes]

Thirteen simply smiled and nodded, as if the armband wasn't existent to her. "It's quite alright, Nine. It's great to see you! We never really got to talk." Should he have continued his way, she would have followed, keeping her honey-sweet smile all the time. "How have you been? Nothing bad from the administration I hope. They've been getting onto me a little but I'm alright. As long as you guys are happy, I always say!~ Oh, say, you mind having dinner with me and Three? I think Four might be coming too." Her fur bounced weightlessly as she walked, though her tank top didn't quite cover the bruises on her back.

She smiled, again, up at Nine. She giggled, a sound that was almost like a song, and tilted her head. "You've always been very introverted, haven't you?" That offshoot remark seemed to come almost out of nowhere, but Thirteen had always known. "It's good to see you talking with others. Even if things get a little heated." She hadn't heard the conversation directly, no, but she could read others as easily as he could. Easier, even. She couldn't control what she felt or 'heard' from others. She simply dealt with it.

[AJ Fawxe]

Alex had indeed meant to simply apologize and keep going. Hoping to catch Three either still talking to the foxlike person or somewhere else where he could gently probe the situation. When she followed him and quite directly engaged him in conversation Alex spun on the spot, one eyebrow arched.

"I'm not sure what to make of this girl.. she's nice, sweet, but she's a bit.. forward."

Alex simply listened and nodded, she seemed to be very in tune with the people around her, possibly more so with her fellow anthros. It was nice, Alex supposed, that there was someone there who could truly understand him-them, it was nice that she could understand them. Alex was gong to curtly nod but then she mentioned having dinner with Three and everything shut down for a moment.

"No way.. I can't be this lucky-wait." Alex stopped all thought on the matter and smiled admiringly to her, "She has the most beautiful eyes."

"Well thank you, I'd be more than happy to have dinner with you and Three, and if Four can come that's alright, of course." Alex nodded curtly to her, this time not trying to walk away.

[Suzumibachii]

One stepped outside for a moment smirking underneath her mask at Thirteens invitation towards Nine. Taking a deep breath she made her way back to the rec room making sure to use a separate path than Nine and Thirteen, walking past the dorms where Five and two would be staying she didn't really try and look for Five but could smell the scent of blood in the air. "Pathetic." she hissed to herself before barging back into the rec room and instantly going for the heaviest punching back she could find.

[Lavender_Stripes]

Her wide, green eyes grew even wider, and her smile could hardly contain her excitement. She giggled her usual giggle, her long-furred tail swaying in delight. "Oh thank you so much!" The cat purred quite audibly, her ears twitching with her growing glee. "Say, you can really read people. Plus, I thought that you'd want to see Three. Well, I knew. Oh dear, just listen to me going on and on. I'm nothing special, really. Just because I share emotions and know motives and hear intentions and thoughts, to some extent. You, you're much more of a marvel. You have an enhanced...everything, really. So cool. Oh dear I'm rambling again.."

Thirteen looked very self-conscious, and her sugar sweet smile faded for a few moments. "You want anything from the Success bar? I never finish my meals, so if you want some real meat I'd be more than happy to." The smile returned, and she edged a little closer to him. She admired everyone but herself, and strove to be better constantly. Though she did spoil the Failures, she was usually careful. "Last time I snuck food and favors I got beaten. But I guess I deserved it. Though the others didn't deserve to get in trouble like that." Again, the smile disappeared. She was quite hard on herself, it seemed. "But it's worth the risk for friends, y'know?" She looked up at him expectantly, eagerly, sincerely. "If you need anything, just ask." Again with the smile. She can't seem to pick an emotion. It's almost as if she's preoccupied with thoughts. Even she didn't know why he thought her eyes were pretty. She just thought they were boring green.

[AJ Fawxe]

Alex watched and listened as she continued. When she had burst out in thanks he didn't know if it was to the compliment that he only thought, or to agreeing to having dinner with them. If it was the former he needed caution, if it was to the latter, he had some lee way. When she spoke about being able to read thoughts to some extent he banished any lingering thoughts of his investigation and just smiled to her, trying to keep her from dropping into some sort of melancholy. Hearing her offer he smiled a little more sincerely. "Well tha-" but then he heard of the consequences and he stopped, his face turning to a look somewhere between disbelief and abject sympathy, "No.. not if that's what you're risking." Alex felt himself becoming.. protective of her? Yes, this girl spends so much time looking out for others she doesn't care about herself. She couldn't help it, her reading of other peoples feelings must cause it.

"More 'side effects' of the administrations experiments.. those disgusting little-"

Alex shook his head softly and then nodded to her, "Dinner with you guys would be nice, I'll get my food and meet you here then?" Alex didn't let that she knew he was looking for Three bother him. She didn't show any sign of knowing why which was good. Alex had no way of knowing how much, or little she knew about the secret, best not to risk anything around an empath.

[Lavender_Stripes]

Thirteen nodded, getting her own food and returning the table, her smile slowly returning. She felt nice that she could make him smile. She waited for the others before eating her food. She thought to herself about the intentions she felt. Though, she felt like she should wait things out. She trusted Nine, to an extent. She kept her eyes on him, though it was a friendly gaze. She purred to herself, though she felt her concentration slipping as her own thoughts escaped her. She kept an eye out for Three and Four, hoping they'd arrive soon.

[AJ Fawxe]

Moving across the room Alex started to realise how hard it was to censor your own thoughts, especially when he never had before. Watching what he said was easy, he'd been lying and embellishing the truth to the administration for as long as he could remember. Though that was easy, speaking was a conscious action. Thought was a bit involuntary, it was Alex's understanding that people often mused about things without really thinking about it. Already Alex felt a bit of anxiety bubble up in him but Alex took a deep breath and relaxed. When he got nervous in the administrations exercises it made him fail. Here.. what would it do? Could they get mad if he was trying to get at their secret? Would they take drastic measures...? Alex blinked and shook his head, realising that thinking about getting nervous was making him nervous. Getting his food and heading back to the table he cleared his head to the best of his ability, the anxiety now being an easy to ignore buzz somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind. His dinner was the usual for failures: unseasoned 'meat' that was mostly a substance Alex had come to know as 'pink goo' which tasted like meat. It wasn't though, and Alex didn't dare so much as look at Thirteen's plate, best not to even recognize the true look of meat. Besides the pink goo he had some beans and potatoes. The potatoes were supposed to be something nice like the 'meat' but from what Alex heard it was nothing special. Alex didn't let it show though, smiling as he did his usual procedure of scooping up some meat and potatoes then stabbing some beans and chewing it all together.

[Lavender_Stripes]

The girl dug into her own food, glancing at Nine and feeling his anxiety. It was there, and she could feel it. "I won't tell anyone, you know. I keep thoughts a secret." She offered another smile. "Though I can't stop you from censoring yourself. I don't mean to intrude, but I can't help it. Sometimes I can't tell which thoughts and emotions are mine. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable." She finished her meal relatively soon, smiling once more. She felt herself stretch, looking Nine up and down. She felt like she overstepped a boundary somewhere, and she couldn't place where. Her big mouth had probably gotten her in trouble again. "The administration can be so mean to you guys. So I usually step in and take blame. I don't mind it. They treat me nicer because I'm in their good favor. But sometimes I wonder what Outside is like." She tried to mend her mistake by switching the conversation.

[AJ Fawxe]

Alex blinked and stopped with a fork full of food halfway between his mouth and his tray and his mouth open just a crack. She had noticed his anxiety, his holding back, his self censorship. At first it frustrated him-was there no way to keep these things to himself? Then the frustration seemed to collapse on itself and then everything seemed to collapse on itself. "No one? .. A secret.." Alex muttered the last two words and stared at the fork of food as it just slipped from his fingers.

"What is life alone? Not life, self imposed exile. The life of a pariah. Maybe.."

Alex looked over at Thirteen with an expression only masked by his tinted glasses, "You couldn't hurt someone if you tried, I don't think. If you did, you'd feel horrible. Even if that person did everything to deserve it. Don't hurt yourself for me though. Cause then I'll know you're hurting because of me.. and I'll feel bad. Okay?" Alex bit the inside of his cheek feeling something he'd only ever reserved for himself bubble up: sympathy. Of all the things about this girl she was pure as fresh snow, not even the most cynical parts of him could pin anything to her.