Room to Run

[inyx]

((Anyone can join and either say that they wandered in, or that they came with her to begin with))

Inyx loved this area of the prairie. It was just where the treeline ended and the wide open space began: the SPECTRE agent had showed her a map of the best places for her to stretch her legs and eat, and this was by far her favorite. It was highly unlikely that she'd run into any random humans, and even if she did, it wasn't even more unlikely that anyone would believe an Andalite siting. Even if there was undeniable proof of their existence as a species, it seemed that claims to have seen one in the wild were on par with siting of "Big Foot." Or at least that was what she'd been told.

She hadn't started to run yet--for now she was just looking out over the plains, where there were short grasses and tall grasses, the different types of vegetation, the dips and curves of the land. It was night, but the moon was bright out here, glinting off her tail-blade. Her indigo body wasn't bad camo, either. She pawed lightly at the ground with one hoof.

[Johnny]

Johnny floated above Inyx on a seven and a half foot wingspan. He was the golden eagle, his creepiest (for personal reasons) yet and his least used. It also didn't like the night. But it had been the only way to make sure nobody followed Inyx to her spot, since the eagle's eyes were still amazing, but only with enough light, like the moon was fortunately shedding.

Except for things in the darkest shadows, Johnny could see everything for at least a mile in all direction. His hearing was almost as great. Inyx had looked like she had stopped, so Johnny sent down a mental message. <<Hey Inyx, find a spot you like?>>

[inyx]

<<Yes.>> She responded quietly. There was not the same frantic anxiety in her voice now as there tended to be when she was human, or around humans. It was relaxed, even strangely... poised. <<Your planet is very beautiful.>>

Inyx savored the sight for a few more moments, stretched her powerful legs and her equally powerful (and quite a bit more deadly) tail. She doubted they would have any random encounters out here, and to be honest, she found herself caring very little about if anyone saw her. She wanted to run, to enjoy the breeze billowing over her, to vault through the tall grasses.

<<You don't have to stay, Johnny, if you would prefer not to. If we didn't see anyone on our trip over, it's unlikely that anyone is out here, let alone that a human will be able to sneak up on me.>>

[Johnny]

<<Thanks, I did it all myself,>> Johnny thought sarcastically. He began to circle over the alien, scanning the horizon for all directions. Inyx had picked a flat spot so that made it easier for him to scout out anybody. After all, they didn't want any idiot with a gun trying to take a shot at probably the rarest creature on Earth.

<<That's okay,>> Johnny said, <<I'm up anyways and I don't work tomorrow so I can stay here with you. Besides, the flight back is boring alone. And I might as well keep you company.>>

His voice drifted off. Feelings of serenity passed through him. Flying was truly an amazing experience. the wind ruffling his feathers just so, staying so far above everything, so peaceful.

[inyx]

Inyx ignored the sarcasm, though at least she recognized it for what it was. The humans undoubtedly found her strange, and that pained her; made the loneliness more acute. But she'd accepted this job, and if they found her off-putting, it didn't make them less interesting.

Still, it hurt. They were such a delightful species with so many wonderful creations, and to her it felt natural and well-meaning to show how much she appreciated their ingenuity. Enjoying things, simple things that they took for granted, however, was apparently too weird. It was more than that, of course, but their was a kernel of truth buried in that self pity: she was alone.

Inyx took off at a start, skipping a warm up and spurring herself into a sprint. The crushed grass underfoot was savory, though hardly as tasty as a human treat.

[Rox]

Rox's white feathers reflected the moonlight like a jewel in the sky. Not for the first time she longed for a different morph. Maybe she would find one tonight, but she had her doubts. After all, the only animal she was searching for was an andalite.

Rox had attempted to follow Inyx so that she could do a little spying, but she managed to lose her somehow. She knew that Inyx was in this general area, but it was hard to locate her in the dark with dove eyes. She would just keep flying until she found what she was looking for or got bored.

The reason she tried to follow Inyx was because Rox didn't trust her. She was an alien. An outsider. Sure, andalites were supposed to be the good guys, but they were still to much of a mystery to Rox for her to trust one. Shortly after the yeerk invasion ended, Rox had been confined to a hospital bed, so she knew very little about everything that happened since then. And she knew that if aliens invaded once, she didn't want to let this alien help it happen again.

Perhaps she was being way too judgmental, but so be it. Rox just spotted her target running through a field, and she wasn't about to go home without a better understanding of who this creature was.

[Johnny]

Johnny managed to stay on the edge of thought-speak from Inyx. He wanted to fly as high as possible to feel the full effects of the eagle without losing connection to the andalite. He somewhat followed Inyx across the field, flying more in circles around her than a straight line. The wind was just strong enough to allow him to soar without tiring his wings out.

On the spur of the moment, Johnny dived. He was out in the middle of nowhere with only an andalite for company and he had nothing better to do. THen he saw the flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. It was in the air so Johnny dismissed it. He didn't even look, in case it would throw off his dive. THe disturbance was probably a bat and there was no way that that could be a threat to either him nor Inyx.

Right before striking the ground, about thirty feet behind Inyx, he tilted his wings and turned his momentum into altitude. He quickly lifted off into the night sky.

[inyx]

Inyx was making a game out of leaping as high as possible. She would get a burst of speed, coil her legs and then for a short moment she was airborne. The air was fresh in her lungs and her muscles welcome the physical challenge. In keeping with the game she landed smoothly, arcing her tail in a lightening flash: in a semi-circle around her the tall grass was suddenly a foot shorter.

<<Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to run on the ground? Flying is also pleasurable, but running is far better.>> Without warning she took off again, her body becoming lightly coated with sweat.

[Rox]

Rox was thoroughly startled when something went shooting towards the ground not far away from her. She was not sure what exactly it was, but figured it was a bird of some sort. Whatever it was, it wasn't aiming for her, luckily.

Rox began to scold herself for being so stupid. She completely forgot that she was lower on the food chain now that she was in morph. She could have been picked of by an owl at any time during her flight over here and it was only dumb luck that had protected her. Rox was unnerved enough that she decided to demorph. Her human eyes would probably be better in the moonlight anyway.

She still had enough wits about her to know that she should do it somewhere other than the ground, where the alien was. She flew over to the nearest tree that looked like it would support her weight and wedged herself into some of the bigger branches. <<Lets see if I can manage this without killing myself,>> she said to herself and began to demorph.

[Johnny]

Once again, Johnny dived. This time, it was relatively close to Inyx, maybe only fifteen feet in front of her. On the way back up, after the adrenaline has subsided, he answered Inyx. <<I'm positive. I couldn't keep up with you and this is pretty fun as it is.>> He laughed in thought-speak for not much of a reason.

Despite his laser-accute vision, he didn't see that bat again. Nor hear it. Bats were usually pretty noisy animals so it must have left. Then he flicked his eyes over to Inyx who was running and jumping. She looked absolutely amazing! Johnny had never seen anything like Andalite acrobatics before. If they had ever had a show on Earth, Johnny would have definitely gotten tickets.

[inyx]

Johnny seemed to be enjoying himself more, and she was grateful for that. Inyx jumped into the air, aiming her hooves at a log as she came down. The dry wood all but exploded, which was great sport. But then there was a buzzing sound in the air, and Inyx turned one of her stalk eyes to investigate.

They insects of some sort, buzzing out of the broken log in what seemed to be dozens. A swarm. <<Johnny, what sort of insect is this?>> Just then one landed on her. Or rather, it sunk a needle-like appendage into her hind-quarters. <<Ah!>> Inyx was running for real now, not just in play but from a buzzing mass of pursuers. <<I'm under attack!>>

[Rox]

Rox tried to keep tabs on the alien as she tried to demorph in the tree branches. It wasn't as easy as she had hoped. For one thing, it was dark so she had a hard time seeing Inyx. For another, it was very difficult to shape-shift while trying not to lose your balance and fall out of a tree.

For these reasons, by the time Rox finished demorphing she had lost track of Inyx. Although it didn't take long to find her again. She was running really fast, but it didn't look like it was for fun. Although that was just a guess since she wasn't very accustomed to seeing how andalites ran.

As Rox leaned to get a better view, she slipped a little. Before she knew what was happening, she crashed down through a few layers of sticks and twigs before she could stop herself. Now she was near the lower boughs of her hiding spot, unable to see where her the extraterrestrial was. "Trees are not my thing," Rox said to herself as she lowered her bruised body the rest of the way to the ground. She would have to find a new vantage point.

[Johnny]

<<HAH HA!>> Johnny cackled. If he had been human, he would've fallen over with laughter. <<Sorry Inyx,>> he apologized, trying to quiet his mirth, <<those things are called wasps. Little insects that have nasty stings. Hope you're not allergic!>> He could've just stayed back and watched but he really couldn't do that. She was in trouble, right?

Johnny dived again and flew straight into the swarm's midst. Which probably not the smartest idea. Yes, he knocked at least half of the swarm away, but then they began to besiege him as well. <<Oops! Gotta go!>> Johnny cried and soared up into the air, trying to outfly the pests.

[inyx]

Inyx thought she heard something in the brush, but her mind was completely occupied with getting away from the horrible, stinging creatures behind her. She'd left most of them behind, but courtesy of her stalk eyes, she could see that they were still following her, losing distance or not.

There was a sharp pinch at her torso, and she looked down. One had managed to cling to her thin fur, trapped between the pressure of the wind and her body. <<Hmph,>> she thought and caught it in her seven-fingered hand. Maybe she could get out of this. Quickly, she tossed it gently away from her.

After what felt like forever (though the landscape hardly seemed to change: all the wide open spaces of it would have been pleasant to take in if she wasn't being chased) the wasps peeled away. Their buzzing died off and she could no longer see them when she swiveled a stalk eye to check. <<Have you escaped your pursuers, Johnny?>>

[Rox]

Rox tried to move through the brush under her tree without making a sound. It didn't work, but she tried nonetheless. There were too many twigs and dry leaves to make silence possible. Still, she crept towards a promising-looking shrub where she could hide.

As she crawled under the sparse vegetation, Rox realized just how pathetic she was being. She was crawling around out in the wilderness by herself, in the dark, to watch an alien. The absurdity of it almost made her morph back into her bird form and fly away. The only reason why she didn't was because she was already here, so figured she might a well see her plan through. At least for now.

She rustled around in the foliage in an effort to get comfortable and get a better view. As she did so, she noticed the gigantic bird in the moonlight that dove down not far from Inyx. "What in the world?" she said to herself. Rox thought the behavior was strange, but she wasn't a bird expert.