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Post by kat on Sept 30, 2009 10:10:33 GMT -5
Kat dumped her bags on the marble floor and brushed the back of her pale hand across her damp forehead, coughing as she did so. The yellow cab behind her beeped once, reminding her of her book bag which she still had yet to retrieve. ’I’m coming!’ She grumbled walking pointedly slow back down to the old man who was wearing the navy coat and black baseball cap.
She pulled her khaki-colored bag out quickly and slammed the door before sprinting back over to the bricked path and stood there for a moment in the drizzle, watching the old man drive away with an annoyed look on his face.
The dark blonde sighed and hoisted up her black suitcase and began to walk towards the front door through the drizzle. The flashing images of her fake death flew through her mind. She wouldn’t be told exactly what they’d do, or have done, but not many people would really look into the case very hard. Possibly David but he had a family now…
The tall girl pulled out the key which the strange boy from the SPECTER agency and it clicked into the silver key hole smoothly. Dropping her case and turning the key, the red door crawled open and a breath of cold air escaped the two storey home causing the already frozen Kat to shiver.
The young adult pulled her bag in after her as she escaped the now heavy rain and closed the door quickly behind her. She blinked once and squinted, trying to find the light switch. After illuminating the fairly spacious home she glanced at her watch which was strapped to her bag. 6:15 She had a few more minutes before anyone else was due to arrive. The SPECTER man hadn’t been clear, but the blonde was expecting company.
The square staircase led to the upper level of the maroon-colored home and Kat instantly began to ascend the marble steps. The landing was still revealing the same opal marble floor but with a large rectangular carpet with strange designs and symbols decorating it’s edges. Kat dropped her suitcase and quickly looked for a small room for her to sleep in, used to the petite space of her last apartment.
Near the end of the hallway, next to the bathroom, sat a medium-sized lavender themed room with a nice single bed lying by the square windows which were now covered in tear-shaped rain droplets; the cupboard on the other side of the room was quite spacious and Kat smiled happily, pulling her case down to the floor and began to unpack her belongings.
Hanging up the last of her jeans, the dark blonde took a step back from her wardrobe and grinned, satisfied with her new style of living. The sky had grown darker and Kat decided to explore downstairs, preferably the kitchen; in search of food.
The steps led her down into the welcoming area of the house which had nothing on display just yet. Must change that. She thought happily almost skipping into what looked like the living room of the house.
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Bruno
Experienced
Animorph of Hemington
I'm more lackadaisical than cantankerous, but mostly just farouche.
Posts: 104
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Post by Bruno on Oct 1, 2009 2:13:20 GMT -5
Bruno ran to the door with a newspaper over his head. It wasn't as in it did much good in the pouring rain, but it was better than nothing. This was not a good way to end a long day of work. Soaked to the bone just before reaching home.
Bruno was glad to find that someone had unlocked the door. It would save him some time since he wouldn't have to fumble with his key. He ducked under the doorway and stepped inside, then shook out his wet newspaper on the welcome mat. He dropped it unceremoniously onto the floor so that it could dry out.
"Anyone here?" Bruno called out in his deep voice. Obviously someone was since the door was unlocked. He turned on the entryway light since the dark clouds rolling in were making it pretty dim inside. After kicking off his shoes, Bruno headed toward the kitchen to get a snack. Hopefully the TV dinner was still in the freezer that he put in there the week before.
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Post by kat on Oct 1, 2009 10:10:38 GMT -5
The click of the front door caused Kat's ears to strain, listening to the footsteps which had just entered the house. "Anyone here?" The deep tone of his voice caused the blonde to falter. A man?
Used to people being extremely strict about men and women being together, in her old school anyway, Kat walked lightly towards the open door of the kitchen and hoped to catch a glimpse of the newcomer. She needn’t have bothered for the tall, dark-haired man walked in with a powerful presence.
’Oh, um, Hi!’ She held out her hand quickly, politely, but then stopped and decided against it, considering that it might seem immature or something, and tried to make it look like she had an itch on her arm. ’I’m Kat. Just got here from…well somewhere. Not exactly sure where but this guy from SPECTER told me this is where I’ll be bunking.’ She felt herself babble and tried to grin without showing too much embarrassment.
Her body tilted backward, resting gently on the countertop behind her and a pale hand rose up to twiddle with the curled hair which sat atop of her still slightly damp head. Noticing that he too had splats of rain drops still on his dark brown hair, Kat felt her silence stretch even though it hadn’t been five seconds.
’And, um, you are?’ She spoke once more, now resting her crossed arms across her stomach and tilting her head to the right slightly, a trait she had since she could remember, as she awaited his answer.
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Bruno
Experienced
Animorph of Hemington
I'm more lackadaisical than cantankerous, but mostly just farouche.
Posts: 104
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Post by Bruno on Oct 1, 2009 17:19:35 GMT -5
Bruno was startled when he noticed the girl wasn't Maya or Nancy. Luckily she explained who she was before he became too alarmed. Apparently her name Kat, like a kitty. He thought it was a somewhat strange name but decided not to comment. Besides, who was he to judge names? Legally he was still named Sebastian.
"I'm Bruno," he said with a bit of confusion still in his voice. He hadn't been expecting a new member today. "Well, if SPECTER sent you to live here, I guess that makes you one of us, huh?"
Bruno let the conversation stop there. He felt like he probably should have said something else, but couldn't think of anything. He wasn't much of a conversationalist, that was for sure. Instead, he turned toward one of the kitchen cupboards and pulled out a loaf of bread. He decided he would make a sandwich instead of his frozen dinner.
"Hopefully Maya and Nancy will get back soon," He said quietly, almost to himself.
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Post by kat on Oct 2, 2009 10:02:15 GMT -5
’One of you, yeah. I guess...’ She purposely trailed off the subject, still feeling quite awkward about her new position in the world. Watching Bruno for a moment, beginning the makings of his sandwich, Kat turned to the cupboard which sat behind her and grabbed her glass of water from the counter and took a quick sip of the cold water.
Bruno murmured something that the blonde teen didn’t quite catch and before she could speak she was interrupted.
A loud bell sounded through the house and Kat winced at its shrill echo. ’Who the heck is…’ She let out a laugh and brushed past Bruno’s tall form and jogged over to the white-side of the front door, twisting the knob and revealing a tall boy in khaki overalls holding a blanket-covered cage.
’Kattrine Brooke?’ He asked lazily, obviously not enjoying his job in the slightest which made Kat’s grin dissolve into a thin-lipped line.
’That’s me.’ She said quickly, reaching out for the rectangular box where a muffled meow could be vaguely heard. The boy sighed and handed Lightning back over to her owner.
’Okay just sign here.’ A clip board was handed to the blonde girl and she used the pen attached to sign off the requirements. ’Bye bye.’ She concluded cheerfully, closing the door as quickly as she could and bent down on her knees to gently pull off the dark green blanket which covered the Somali cat.
’Lightning!’ Kat cooed as she opened the cage door and cradled the golden she-cat in her arms. The green eyed cat sniffed the air once before beginning to purr as her owner scratched her behind the ears.
’Better put this away.’ Kat muttered, looking at the maroon cat carrier with distaste. Lightning had grown bored of her reunion and had leapt down to the floor silently and began to sniff around mischievously.
Her eyes flickered over to the kitchen where Bruno still stood. ’Animals are okay here right?’ She asked, gripping the small handle and lifting up the cage with one hand. ’If not then I’ll can just get her into another home.’
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Bruno
Experienced
Animorph of Hemington
I'm more lackadaisical than cantankerous, but mostly just farouche.
Posts: 104
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Post by Bruno on Oct 2, 2009 13:59:59 GMT -5
By the time Bruno was finished making his sandwich, the delivery guy was gone. He stepped through the kitchen entranceway and leaned against the wall, taking a bite of his sandwich as he did. He was about to ask what was delivered when Kat asked if animals were okay here.
Bruno winced inwardly when he saw the cat carrier and the cat snooping around on the floor. He was mildly allergic to cats. But he didn't want to shove a cat out of the house because of that. Not only would it be cruel, but it would also probably make himself look like a wimp.
"As far as I know animals are okay. It would make sense considering what we can do..." Once again, Bruno didn't know what else to say in order to keep the conversation going. But then he remembered what he heard Kat say after she had opened the door. "So is that cat's name Lightning? Or did you just see some in the sky when you opened the door?" Almost on cue, a rumble of thunder rolled through the house.
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Post by kat on Oct 3, 2009 12:49:57 GMT -5
The golden cat stiffened as the low grumble of the thunder made its way towards the shared house. Kat glanced at her companion and blinked before replying; ’Both it seems.’
Kat kneeled down and stoked her young feline under her chin which seemed to perk her up slightly for she sauntered off to explore her new found territory.
The blonde, surprised that her usually timid pet was so relaxed after a drive in a car, pottered over to the bottom of the stairs where a narrow door could be seen. She pulled it open, the hinges in need of oiling, and peered into the darkness in search of a light switch.
After feeling around for a while, the thin string brushed her hand and she jolted it down sharply to allow the pale yellow light to illuminate all the cleaning supplies and some random accessories that no one would actually use.
Kat dropped the cat carrier near the back of the storage room and clicked off the light as she slipped out and shut the door. ’Right.’ She grinned to herself and walked back over to the door to the kitchen.
’Now these SPECTER guys didn’t tell me very much.’ She jumped straight into what she wanted to say, already annoyed that she hadn’t any answers yet. ’All I know is that these yook things are aliens? And they’re taking over the human race, even though you could just step on them?’
She shook her head in disbelief. ’And, apparently, I have ‘morphing’ powers?’ She narrowed her eyes and took a step towards the taller boy. ’Now please explain to me what exactly is going on?’ The tinge of desperation managed to flow out of her voice unintentionally.
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Bruno
Experienced
Animorph of Hemington
I'm more lackadaisical than cantankerous, but mostly just farouche.
Posts: 104
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Post by Bruno on Oct 4, 2009 13:27:12 GMT -5
What Kat said surprised Bruno a bit. It seemed SPECTER had given her a bit more information than they had given him. When he was recruited, SPecter only alluded to the possibility that yeerks may be a possible threat at some time in the future. But the way Kat was talking, the yeerks were already here. That caused a shiver to go up his spine.
"It seems like you know more than me. What exactly did SPECTER tell you? I knew that it might be possible for some of those filthy slugs to come back, even after the original animorphs beat them once already, but you make it sound like they are already here." Bruno tried to hide the worry in his voice, and may or may not have succeeded. But he certainly failed to hide his worry from himself. In his semi-worried state, Bruno completely forgot to answer her question about morphing.
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Post by kat on Oct 5, 2009 10:11:53 GMT -5
Kat paused, confused by what the man said, and finally breathed in with understanding. 'No, that's not what i meant.' She explained, pulling out a wooden chair which previously sat tucked beneath the table where she presumed they ate their meals.
She turned her body to that it faced away from the table and faced Bruno, crossed her legs, and ran her fingers through her hair. 'That's my irish blood kicking in.' She grinned as she spoke of her heritage, it reminded her of her mother. 'What I meant was, what is a yoork? And I learned from the cab driver that they previously tried to take over.'
Now that her speech had slowed and her calm posture had been renewed, her own questions made sense to her. 'He works with SPECTER and by the looks of things they don't exactly trust me.' Her cheesy smile bloomed as the previous week flashed through her green eyes. Gave them hell She thought, satisfied.
'All i know is; A) The yoork things are extinct thanks to Animorphs? B) I'm supposedly able to turn into an animal? and C) I don't have a litterbox.' The last part wasn't supposed to come out but as it did, Kat leapt to her feet and jogged into the main room where Lightning sat next to a large doberman statue.
'Right.' Kat said sternly, causing the young cat to look up suddenly. 'Out!' Scooping up her beloved pet, the blonde girl quickly walked over to the front door and opened it up a fraction. The rain was pelting down and the lightning flashed in the distance, the sky already black.
The young adult sighed and shut the white door, dropping a bemused she-cat to the floor. 'The minute that sun comes up you're out.' Kat warned before walking back into the marble floored kitchen and resuming her position on the seat.
'Sorry.' She apologised to Bruno, still standing with food in his hand. 'I do that alot, I think you'll get used to it.'
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Bruno
Experienced
Animorph of Hemington
I'm more lackadaisical than cantankerous, but mostly just farouche.
Posts: 104
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Post by Bruno on Oct 6, 2009 2:06:25 GMT -5
Bruno breathed a sigh of relief when he realized she wasn't saying that they were in the middle of another invasion. That would be horrible. Probably the worst thing he could think of. But still, he knew it was all too possible for some yeerks to return to Earth. Sure, people say the yeerks are all gone, but if the yeerks couldn't beat the humans so easily, he wondered why people thought they could beat the yeerks so easily.
Bruno shook his head clear and took a bite of his now finished sandwich as Kat came back from talking to her cat. He still hadn't thought of an answer to her questions.
"Hmm. I'm not exactly sure where to begin." Bruno took another bite of his sandwich and thought as he chewed. "Well, most people know the basics. The yeerks were mind controlling aliens that tried to take over humanity, but the original animorphs stopped them about four years ago. But what exactly a yeerk is, is kinda hard to say. A brain slug, maybe? I don't know. I'm not an expert or anything."
Bruno thought back to the old newscasts that used to play on television, trying to recall the information. "But I guess most of the yeerks surrendered eventually and were given the morphing power so they could choose a form and get stuck in that morph." Bruno shuddered at the thought of getting stuck in a morph. "'Cause remember, if you stay in a morph for more than two hours, you're stuck permanently."
"So I guess you should remember that when you turn into animals. I've only done it a couple times, but I can already tell you that I don't want to get stuck as an animal." Bruno grazed on his sandwich a bit more before asking, "So I take it you haven't tried morphing yet?"
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Post by kat on Oct 7, 2009 10:06:00 GMT -5
Kat blushed ferociously as Bruno began to pour information into her mind like the snake-like dream she had received a couple of days after learning of her new path in life. Yeerk! She almost slapped herself. Idiot!
She nodded along, interested in what the man was saying, and Lightning pottered past the kitchen door and peered in momentarily before continuing her journey to find her owner's suitcase. Her favorite place to sleep.
As the subject of morphing arose, Kat felt herself shift uncomfortably. 'Not yet.' She mumbled fidgeting slightly. 'I'm a bit, you know, scared about it.' Her bright green eyes flashed with unease. 'I really don’t want it to hurt.'
The blonde trailed off and stared at the floor for a few awkward seconds of silence before speaking up once more. 'But, I guess I had better give it ago eh?' A slow grin crossed her face and she slipped up to her feet.
Her eyes were set and her mouth was a thin line, as she tried to figure out how to trigger the morphing process to work; she had managed to acquire Lightning's DNA but hadn't figured out how to morph into the golden cat's counterpart just yet.
'Um, so.' She spoke up. 'How does this work exactly?'
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Bruno
Experienced
Animorph of Hemington
I'm more lackadaisical than cantankerous, but mostly just farouche.
Posts: 104
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Post by Bruno on Oct 7, 2009 22:03:59 GMT -5
Bruno could sense Kat's uneasiness. He knew that feeling all too well. He was an animorph for at least a week before he actually got the courage to try morphing something. And even then it was only because he needed to for a mission.
"How exactly does it work?" Bruno asked, restating her question. "Well, I don't know exactly, but you just need to acquire an animal's blueprints by touching it and concentrating on it. Then you think of the animal real hard and you start to turn into it." Bruno briefly considered doing a demonstration, but quickly rejected the idea for multiple reasons.
"It's probably best if you just jump right in and do it. Like pulling off a bandage." Bruno himself never had a problem pulling off bandages on the rare occasions he used them, but he knew a lot of people liked to use that analogy. "And don't worry. It doesn't hurt. But it does feel... strange. Very strange."
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Post by kat on Oct 8, 2009 10:27:05 GMT -5
Kat nodded once before turning to face the wall. She breathed in once and decided there and then that she needed to try. ’Okay.’ Her shoulders dropped slightly, allowing her to seem easier. ’I’m going to try this upstairs, If it works then you’ll see two Somali cats.’ She gave her best smile to the older man before walking past him and quickly climbing the marble stairs two at a time.
Upon arriving at the top of the stairs, Kat took in a hesitant breath before slipping into her chosen room, empty previously, and closed the door behind her. ’Okay.’ On her bed lay her open suitcase, and inside this was her treasured accomplice, purring when she saw her mistress arrive.
Bruno’s advice replayed over in the blonde’s mind and she placed her pale hand on Lightning’s head. The young cat blinked once before a dozy expression crossed her face as Kat watched each golden strand of fur move up and down in time with her breathing. After a while, the Somali yawned and broke out of the trance that Kat had somehow cast.
The green-eyed teen grinned, half-way done. Taking a step towards the window, Kat pulled the lilac curtains closed and began to picture her pet in her mind. Other thoughts and pictures swam into her head and Kat had to try several times to solely focus on Lightning. On her fifth try, Kat managed to get the picture of her cat vaguely but it seemed to do the trick for the young adult felt a strange tingling sensation rise up her spine.
Afraid of the pain, Kat stopped and opened her eyes. Her heart was racing profoundly but after a few calming breaths she continued the morphing process. Due to her standing, Kat felt herself grow unbalanced as her spine grew shorter and shorter, connecting with her legs which were molding themselves into strange shapes and her fingers pulled tightly back into her palm until they were no more and pink pads began to form.
The bright eyed girl opened her eyes about half way through the morph and watched in wonder as a tail shot out from behind her with a loud ploosh and her human body dissolved into one of a cats. Her panic returned as she felt her large head topple but luckily it began to shrink too, her nose exploding forward into a muzzle and her ears crawled up the sides of her head until they came to a pleasant stop atop her blonde head.
Lightning let out a hiss and leaped to attention as the morph came to an end, the door had opened slightly due to a draft and the puffed up cat raced out of the room and down the stairs before anything else scary happened. Kat opened her newly formed green eyes and glanced around her, a new sensation of relaxation overcoming her previous panic. Cool! She thought as she padded calmly towards the door and sniffed. There’s another cat here! indignantly, the doppelganger raced down the steps and into the main hall where the perpetrator stood with her fur standing on end.
Kat flexed her claws, this intruder was no match for her! She was skilled at fighting and this puny kit was in way over her head. Before the newcomer could pounce, the smell of ham caught her sensitive nose and Kat paused, also smelling a human. Dinner? She wondered, shooting a warning glare at the cat who was pressed against the far door. Her paws carried her over through a large opening and inside stood a male human with food in his hand. I want some! The golden cat licked her lips and strolled over, letting out her best pathetic mew.
A loud hiss rumbled from outside and Kat snapped, warning the other cat to stay back.
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Bruno
Experienced
Animorph of Hemington
I'm more lackadaisical than cantankerous, but mostly just farouche.
Posts: 104
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Post by Bruno on Oct 9, 2009 4:30:04 GMT -5
Bruno leaned against a counter in the kitchen and nibbled on his sandwich after Kat left. And he was glad she left. Not because he didn't like her. She seemed like a nice enough person. But because she was going to morph. He wasn't sure he would have been able to eat his sandwich and keep it down had she stayed in the room and morphed right in front of him.
Apparently his mind got lost in thought from thinking about what a close call he had just had, since the next thing he knew a cat was meowing on the floor. Bruno looked down to find a perfect replica of Kat's cat. Unless, of course, this one actually was her cat.
"Is that you, Kat? Or is it lightning?" It was then that he realized that Kat might not know about thought speech yet. "Just try to think your answer at me and hopefully I'll hear it. That's one of the perks about being in a morph. Thought speech."
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Post by kat on Oct 14, 2009 10:08:23 GMT -5
Kat tilted her furry head to the side slightly, her human trait still making its way through in her cat morph, and purred softly. Don't care about my name, I want that dinner. But as the human man spoke, Kat felt her mind waver slightly but it was instantly shoved aside by the longing for food. <I want some ham> She tried meowing but the male hadn't understood, obviously, so she tried her best with wishing for what she wanted and hopefully it would magically come to her.
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