(Gen)
Water.? She was in water, Gen realized dimly, her thoughts still fuzzy and scrambled.? Slowly but surely, her senses began telling her things.? She was deep in water, judging by the pressure and the lack of light.? Breathing the water, judging by the way her gills had emerged and functioning properly.? Sea water.? Dirty sea water, from all the gunk her gills were having to filter out.? So, the bay. Somewhere in the bay.? Sinking slowly towards the bottom. ?
The androgyne tested her hands and feet.? The webbing that helped her swim had also emerged, but her movements were jerky and awkward.? She felt... scrambled... inside.? Something had hit her.? She remembered a crackling and a bright flash, and then convulsing, falling helplessly through the air towards the dark water below.? Something had hit her.
Lightning?? It would explain a lot.? Her being knocked out of the air, her difficulty thinking and moving, the jumbled, jangled up feeling in her limbs that was making even the simplest attempts at movement efforts of sheer will. ?
Slowly, painfully, she began making her way to the surface. As she rose from the depths, a small amount of light, perceivable only because of her enhanced visual capability, began to emerge around her. ? Too much for starlight.? A full or partial moon perhaps?
Finally her head broke through the surface of the water. Luckily the bay was calm and she was able to see around her.? The lights of the city on the shore, the smaller lights of ships moving through the harbor. Overhead, a crescent moon shone over the bay.? And in the dim distance, the ghostly pale outline of the lighthouse, perched on its island near the harbor entrance.
It took what felt like hours to make her way to the island, though how much actual time was involved, she had no idea.? Pulling herself up on the rocky base was even harder than swimming, her muscles and joints screaming in protest.? Her body was doing its best to repair itself, but she'd never been hit this hard before. She collapsed halfway out of the water, breathing hard until she remembered to shift back to land-mode and her gills and webbing disappeared.
She managed to make it to the door at the base of the lighthouse, but found it locked.? She rarely used it, after all, preferring to fly in and out from the balcony windows just below the lamp-room.? But flying was out of the question at the moment.
Here was good, she thought wearily as she stretched out on the steps before the door, resting her cheek on the cold wet stone.? She'd just rest here.? Just for a minute.? Then she'd... do something.? Yeah. ? Then she'd...
Darkness again.
[Kites]
Kites woke up the following morning by way of sunlight hitting him square in the eyes.? Getting up with a groan, he tried to blink the blindness away, his pupils shrinking to mere slits, pushing the covers off and slid his feet over the edge, taking a moment to come to.? He had totally forgotten to shut the curtains, having spent way too long brooding over what he was going to say and do before he finally gave up and headed to bed.? Though his nights were typically dreamless, this time his mind would not let go and so he restlessly tossed and turned, feeling like he barely got any sleep last night.? But he had no time to sit there and brood over it.? Time was a-wasting so he hurried at the thought of being able to see Gen and soon.
Once he brushed his teeth and washed his face, Kites rushed over to his dresser.? He needed to wear something practical, something that wasn't going to get in the way.? His first thought was to wear his practice uniform, but it's still yet to be washed and wouldn't given Gen the wrong idea anyway.? Remember what you agreed to.? The conversation stays between you and Chord.? No talking about it, no hinting, asking or begging Gen to come back.? You gave your word, you promised.? Frowning, he picked a black and white ensemble, slipping on an open back undershirt, boxer shorts, light, cashmere sweater and black flared pants, completing the look with a pair of black socks and leather boots.? He finished up by braiding his hair, then reached for his shoulder bag.? Kites wasn't sure how long he was going to be away, even though he promised just a few days, so he threw in a couple of more things to change into.? But before he could head out the door, his stomach protested by loudly growling, giving him the hunger pangs that he almost ignored.
"Fine, have it your way," he mumbled, heading back into his kitchenette.? He quickly threw some meats together, piling up his plate, scarfing it down at the speed, chasing it with a half gallon of water.? Once his belly was filled and his morning thirst quenched, he left the dishware upon the counter, making a mental note to clean up later and headed out the door.? He didn't have to think on where to go.? His feet automatically took him to the roof and wasting no further time, took off at a run and jumped off the edge, throwing his wings open and took off into the open sky.
The morning was cold, even colder as he gained enough altitude though having a sun that was unimpeded by the clouds was definitely nice.? He smiled at the rush of wind at his face, enjoying the feeling of having his feather ruffled by each beat of his wings.? Of course, not having any warmer currents yet made it more difficult to fly, but he was built for this and having reached what he called his cruising altitude, he stopped flapping and let the air currents steadily carry him forward, having stretched his wings out to the max, soaring.? But enjoyment of the open skies aside, he was on a mission.?? Before Gen left, he begged Kites to come with him, offering for them both to live at his light house.? Port Vega being what it was, that should not be hard to find.? He began scanning the shoreline, having the benefit of a hawk's eyesight.
Spotted!? Just by the end of the harbor, a narrow path made out of stone and beat up gravel lead to a lone lighthouse that stood steadfast against the beating waves.? Involuntarily, his lips curved into a smile as he began his descent, looking around the lone tower to try and locate the entrance by which Gen went in and out of.? Observing an open window surrounded by a metal handrail, Kites began to align himself with the path to it, his tail and wings making minute adjustments to correct his entry. Never having been seaside before, he was curiously looking around until he spotted something...no, someone splayed out across the steps to the lighthouse door.? Focusing his eyesight, he traced the shape until he realized it was none other than Gen, and he..she seemed to be frozen in place, not an inch of her moving.
"G-gen!!" he cried out, thoroughly alarmed.? He immediately tucked in his wings and dove, opening up as he was within a thousand feet and then backpedaled, his feet alighting with the stone.? He almost slipped on the wet surface, cartwheeling to regain his balance and like a bullet, was at Gen's side.? What the hell happened?? His heart never beat so rapidly against his chest.? Gen was badly burned, her clothing charred beyond recognition.? Her clothing was ripped in several places, exposing her beautiful skin, its surface pockmarked by various welts and gashes, though they seemed to healing, several of them barely visible but still quite there.? Kites dropped to his knees, his arms stretching out to her as he gingerly touched her, hands badly shaking, feeling various places to see where else she may be hurt.
"Oh God...Gen...Gen...what happened?!? Please, please, please, please, God, don't let it be true..." he babbled, wrapping his arms around her as he turned her over to her back, dropping to his knees as he gripped one of her wrists, trying to find a pulse.? He almost couldn't feel it, its presence barely perceptible.? Dropping to his knees, he laid his ear against her chest, listening for her heart.? Relief washed over him when he heard the beat, however weak it was, and felt her extremely shallow breaths settle over his face.? Gen was cold, so so cold.? Her fingers felt nearly frozen.? It didn't help that she was still in wet clothes too.? He began rubbing her hands, her feet, her cheeks, anywhere where her skin was exposed but not wounded, letting his hot breath settle upon the surface as he tried to bring her back to consciousness and warm her up.
"Gen, I'm here.? Kites is here.? Listen to my voice.? Come back to me.? Please Gen," he begged, trying to shake her awake.? Panic began to well up in his throat like bile, making him feel sick.? "Please, wake up.? Please."
[tag Gen, open]
Luukasama