Garwen's panting fills the air as he limps into the room. He squints into the empty chamber, paw bumping against the doorframe. Another twitch of pain shoots through, but he'd have to cope. At least he made it here. He's worn and tired. Sweat's pouring through his fur, his natural grey color mixed with stains, muck, and dirt. His legs are worn, and his mesh shirt and pocket-filled shorts are tattered beyond what his auto-repairs are set to handle. His ears perk all the way up, swinging towards any faint noise. The steady hum of machinery and the soft rumble of new construction keep him on edge. If it's just machines, he'd be okay. But if one of the Azure Seals found him...
The rabbit shakes his head, whiskers tangling in front of him. He shuts his eyes and takes a breath, blocking out the ever-present rumbling around him. He inhales, the sterile air stinging his lungs. He strains a breath out through his teeth, lurching forward through the doorway. His body stumbles against the wall, the door grinding shut behind him.
He grabs his bag's strap and pulls the pouch in front. His hand slips in and thumbs over the contents of his bag. Food and water, check. Basic scanning and construction equipment, check. Data collection and reference, check. Self-defense... Check. That's everything he could scrounge up. He's made mistakes before, but he can't afford to leave anything this time. That has to be everything.
His fingers slide out of the bag, the mesh fabric melding into a solid, sealed pouch. His eyes flash over the armband strapped across his forearm. The thick chrome band covers half of his arm. His hand circles over the full arm, pushing over the seamless strap. He takes a breath, fingers tapping over the points. A few faint numbers pop up across the band. 74% capacity. It's enough to get there, but barely enough to splinter off another thread when he arrives.
It'd have to do.
A slam resounds through the room. The ground shakes, sending the rabbit sprawling to the ground. He curses as he picks himself up, glancing at the closed chrome door. The lock is intact, but it won't hold long when the Seals come knocking.
He clutches his arm, a single finger pressing to the rim of the band. His hand slides off, drawing an unsteady arc in the air. A single, thick strand of blue lingers where his fingertip stood. The line extends in front of his finger, a guide appearing for his motions. His hand tracing forwards, his body turning to follow the line tracing along his body. His motion stops when the lines move apart, and the strand splits into two, then three, then more. Several strands trail branch outwards from the initial ribbon of blue, a web falling from the air onto the ground, fanning outwards like a waterfall.
But Garwen's eyes are focused on a single route through that web. His hands continue to travel, guided by his prediction.
The room lurches again. The smooth lines start to jitter, and several branches crack, the insubstantial lines breaking apart in solid pieces. But though his ears turn away, his eyes continue to follow the thread, grasping for any sign of his destination. The destination's just a little further...
The impact's unmistakable this time. Garwen's ears fold down as crushing steel and falling stone echo around him. His hand keeps moving, but one eye watches the steel door. What was once a firm seal now has a thick dent in it, and the indent only digs deeper with each second. But as long as he could reach-
"There!" He shouts as his finger makes contact with the node. He jams his finger forwards, the luminous web fractalizing out around him. His arm and body lurch forwards, everything falling through. The strands branch and shift around, his vision wrapped in a web of light. His body tumbles forwards, his feet losing their purchase and falling forwards.
__________
"Come on, Chance, at least clean up the living room." Clay huffs and chucks the bundle of fabric at the raccoon. "Some of us actually use the place."
"Oh, lay off." The raccoon tosses the shirt over the back of the couch. He rolls back into place, ignoring the leopard's huffs. "It's not that bad."
"I don't have enough time as it is, Chance, I don't want to clean up after you as well. The only reason it's not worse is because we try to keep it clean. At least keep your drinks off of my textbooks, you've already spilled your drink on one."
"I paid you back for that already, didn't I? Chill out."
"Yeah, and I had to waste hours running around to find another copy." He grumbles and steps back into the chair, cracking the book open and thumbing through a couple of pages. "I swear, if this keeps up..."
Chance reaches for the remote, kicking his legs up and letting his paws sit on the coffee table. "Hey, I try, okay? You don't need to make such a big deal out of things." He turns, his thick tail fuzzing up against the couch. He curls up, his fluffy body and belly nudging around when he bends.
"I make a big deal out of it because if I don't, you don't do anything," Clay mutters, eyes remaining affixed to the page.
"Alright, enough from both of you." Kenton's head peeks out from his room, his computer chair wheeling out with him. His ears hang back over the top of his chair, his face tweaking as he inspects the room. "Chance, Lukas already warned you when you moved in. You have to at least keep up with your chores here. You don't have to clean everything, but at least keep the trash in the garbage bins and your laundry in the basket, alright?"
"Yes, dad," The raccoon grumbles. "I'll take care of it, okay? Sheesh, no need to make such a fuss. The only guys who visit already know me, they're not going to complain."
"It's not just for visitors. A few of us spend all day in here, and we'd prefer not to step on a shirt every time we head to the kitchen." The rabbit turns his chair around, kicking off the wall and rolling himself back inside.
Clay chortles into his book, a smirk on his face. He ignores Chance's grumbles, more focused on jotting a few notes into his book. The raccoon just mutters and picks up his bag of chips, muttering while he munches on them.
And with the others busy, he's the only one to notice the oddity in the air.
For a moment, he catches a spark of light. He blinks and wipes his eyes, but a crash draws his attention before he finishes. He catches the sight of splintering wood and the clang of metal on metal. His eyes follow the small round blur, a bouncing ball of fur skidding along the ground. He shouts out, but by the time the others have noticed, it's too late.
The rabbit hurls into a wall, legs slamming down one after another. His head's buried in his knees, back bent and arms bracing. He turns sideways, an open-mouthed rabbit greeting his gaze. He blinks a couple of times, his vision refocusing. His eyes shuffle to the raccoon and the leopard now approaching him. There are some faint shouts in the back of his mind, someone mentioning something about calling the police or asking who he is.
But Garwen cracks a smile. His body relaxes, his back slumping onto the ground. The back of his head meets the carpet, and his ears flopping outwards from there. Even as his eyes close, the warmth of the sunlight envelops him and the crisp air fills his breaths.
"I made it."  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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