On Top of the World [Jackie]

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High atop one of the taller buildings of Librium, a long figure sat. The wind was quite strong up here, and the girl’s long hair was tossed about like a swirling brown tornado. If it bothered her, it didn’t show. Her face was a mask of calm, but the cuts and bumps on her suggested she hadn’t been so cool earlier. Slung over one bruised shoulder was a quiver of arrows, obviously meant for use with the ebony bow resting beside her.

Sybil sighed, bringing one hand up and running her fingers through the wild mane of hair the wind had created. Her attempts to quell the beastly hair were futile, but she was rewarded with a few moments’ reprieve. In truth, she could use more than just a few moments’ break from the city itself.

She’d just finished a rather difficult hunt – hence the fresh wounds. Her target had put up a damn good fight, and had had the advantage of knowing this urban terrain much better than she did. The thing about him that had left the biggest impression, however, was his ability to wield a blade. A low growl formed at the back of her throat as she brought a hand to her back. As a werepanther, she was a fast healer, but a stab this deep was going to take more than just a few minutes to start closing up.

A small smile slipped onto her lips as she thought back to her last good fight. He hadn’t used steel like this coward did. It had been a rough and tumble scuffle in the woods. She still bore a few scars across her nose from the wolf’s claws, but she didn’t seem to mind. All of her instincts had screamed at her for consorting with a dog like him, but she now considered Veles a friend and made a point to romp through his territory on purpose when traveling to and from her own.

Her back twitched with pain, and she hissed, all signs of a smile gone. Moving her hand away from the wound she’d hastily bandaged herself a few minutes ago, she propped herself up with that arm and contented herself with watching the clouds float by. Her booted feet dangled off the side of the building, but the height didn’t seem to scare her. On the opposite side of the bow, a light jacket, and her shirt sat in a small, crumpled pile. She was still covered by a brazier, but clearly indecency was still a habit she hadn’t quite broken since making the city her home-away-from-home.

Then again, what were the odds that anyone would even see her all the way up here? She was on top of the world here. The city folk were no bigger than ants from her perspective right now. Eventually, she’d head back down to rejoin the colony, but for now, she just wanted to breathe…

Guest

Jackie couldn't help it, today had just been one of those days. Obviously a runner had many enemies, specially those who didn't wish to see their packages delivered. Today was one of those horrible days, when everything that could have went wrong, did. First, the package he was supposed to deliver was a simple letter, but the reason he had been sent out to do it was because it was to an supposed old friend of his. The buddy had ended up stabbing him in the back, trying to kill him once he got there, claiming he had slept with his sister. Now Jackie would never do that, (or he just couldn't because he was so busy.) But the sister needed someone to pin her newborn child on, Jackie just got stuck with the boat.

He hadn't expected so many guards, especially not so many with guns. He had barely gotten out of there... stupid fuckers wouldn't leave him alone. They had chased him for about three blocks, only one gunshot wound finding it's way in his arm. Right above the joint too, that was going to fucking hurt. He had managed to transform as the adrenaline got him going, but he was running out of space, he finally finished transforming before running almost head first into a building, taking up straight up the building, the songbird flying up the building. He only chose this one because it required the least amount of muscle mass, considering his muscle was shot at the moment, he needed the least mass.

The bird flew up and flew hard, but the men finally gave up, turning and grumbling... They would be back later, he knew that for sure. But for now he felt the blood leaking out of the little songbird's wing, the wound was a lot smaller on the wing, but it still made it difficult as hell to fly. It wasn't something he could fix right now, it would regenerate with the adrenaline, but he finally saw the edge of the rooftop.... but what he didn't think of was the wing next to the building giving out from the wound. He had enough momentum to make it up the ramp, but smashed into the side of the edge, feeling the bird barely pop over the edge. The bird screeched in pain, just laying on it's back slightly, looking towards the sky. It didn't even bother to look around... There was no way anyone else was up here, he was safe... for now.

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Just as Sybil was contemplating heading back down, a slight commotion caught her eye. Turning her head to get a better view, she watched as a slew of armed men chased a lone figure through the streets. Her head tilted to the side some as she watched, intrigued. The natural predator within her growled with delight at the chase. A bullet finally hit home on the prey. It was just an arm wound, so he didn’t slow down, but the men chasing had the smell of blood now, and seemed to pick up the pace.

The ebony bow was in Sybil’s hands before she realized what she was doing. With one foot braced on the edge of the building she was sitting atop, and the other folded neatly beneath her, she nocked an arrow and let it fly. One armed man toppled to the ground before the sound of his gunshot had faded, feathers protruding from his neck. His collapse tripped up the man behind him, and a feral grin slid onto Sybil's face. She heard another pair of gunshots and a second man went down, clutching the arrow sticking out from his sternum, even as a third arrow left Sybil’s bow into an unsuspecting shooter.

Emerald eyes flickered to the man fleeing to check his progress. He seemed to be stumbling, but picking up speed at the same time. A bullet whizzed past her and she snarled, sending a fourth arrow down. It slammed into her attacker between the eyes. That’d teach him. None of the others seemed to have noticed their numbers diminishing, or the silent archer helping with that fact. Good.

Looking back to the lone man, Sybil’s eyebrows raised on her forehead as she watched his body twist and contort mid-air. Another shifter, eh? A fourth and final arrow flew from her bow into the last man to fire his gun. From way up here, she couldn’t quite see it, but the blood from his jugular wound splashed against his comrade’s face before the body hit the ground. With grumbles, snarls, and a few hushed noises of shock at the dead behind them, the men turned and began the trek back the way they’d come. She didn’t stop to see if they even bothered to pick up their dead.

Slipping the arrow she’d had nocked at the ready into the quiver strapped to her back, Sybil turned away from the edge of the building and headed over to where she’d seen the bird fly up. She slung her bow over one shoulder and crouched beside the small, twitching thing that had been a man moments ago. If it had been her in this position, her body would already be twisting and contorting back into her human form to force the healing process on her. So far, she didn’t hear any of the telltale shifting sounds, just a screech of pain as he’d flopped over and onto the roof.

Emerald eyes searched the small body of the bird, but it wasn’t hard to find the wound. The injured wing was curled some, in obvious pain. “Shhh… It’s okay. You’re safe now. I gave those men a bit of their own medicine,” she smiled down at the bird. Her eyes flashed with the malice she'd shown the bird's attackers, but took on a hint of concern before she spoke again. “I can’t help you with that bullet hole in your wing, though, unless you’re a bit bigger.

Turning away from him, she scurried back over to her original perch and grabbed up her shirt and jacket. When she returned to his side, she let the jacket fall to the floor. It was too special to her to use as a tourniquet for his wound, but she had plenty of shirts back at her flat. She set her bow down on the jacket while she waited to see if he would shift so that she could help.

Guest

The entire world seemed to spin for Jackie as he lay there, staring up into the clouds. How could he have been so fucking careless? It was like everything against what he had been taught in times past, but then again, it was just how he was. He always got stupid things thrown his direction, nothing he could do about it other than sit and wait for them to pass. However, this one annoyed him because it was supposed to be a sanctioned job... meaning someone within the organization slipped, or was just having fun with Jackie. He wouldn't put it past them, but then again, who would be stupid enough to mess up this bad?

However, footsteps and noise drew his attention, him looking towards the left, spotting the woman coming towards him. Shit, Shit shit. His mind panicked as he attempted to move, but to no avail. he screeched in pain again, his wing curling into his side as the woman came over, a bow slung over her shoulder. A hunter, well this wasn't going to be good.

She approached and he was awaiting the damn knife, his mouth opening to screech with all the powers of his vibrato before her voice came out soft, the utter confusion written across his face. Why was she helping him? However he listened to her, but would he trust her? Seems like he didn't have much of a choice sadly, seeing as how if she wanted to kill him off, she would have just threw him off the building by now.

As she left he began to feel the change, his adrenaline was still pumping, so thankfully it didn't take long. He felt his wings extend, the pain shooting through his arm. The felt the talons shrink away, legs growing back as bones snapped into place and realigned, muscles gnashing against one another as his body formed... but there was one thing he had forgotten about the change, something he remembered only as he suddenly caught wind of a draft. The only thing he knew how to transform with was his pack, clothing was nonexistent.

He felt the pure cold of the concrete as the last bit of his bones slid into place, his skin slightly tearing to form the pack at his side, the strap going around his shoulder as he quickly undid it, pulling out a pair of boxers, his face going beat red as he slipped them on. He leaned back on his one good arm, looking up at the girl, getting a better look at her. She was bandaged up as well, although she definitely look better with her wounds than he did now. His eyes locked with hers, as he stayed silent, now remembering the fact that she had probably already seen him bare, who knew if she did.

"Sorry about that... clothes are hard to transform." He said, before realizing what had just happened. "Who are you? You looked pretty banged up yourself" Something about her seemed almost familiar, like seeing a long lost friend, or even someone who he used to know. It was odd, but maybe just her face looked like someone else. "So what in the hell are you doing up here? Hiding as well?" A red tint came over his face as he got another good look at her body. The female form was his one weakness, the one thing he had trouble being close too, especially the good looking ones. He didn't really know what else to say to her, as he backed up into the wall, his back against it as his arm pulsed in pain. Fucking lucky bastard... He would get revenge if he ever saw him again. "The name's Jackie, sorry for ruining your spot." He said with a smile, trying his best to keep his eyes away from her form, his cheeks giving away his shyness.

Guest

Sybil looked down at the man laying on the roof in front of her where once a small bird had been. Her head tilted to the side as he seemed embarrassed by his naked form. Looking down, she noticed her own lack of a shirt, but shrugged. Decency was a foreign concept, one that she would probably never truly care about.

His eyes met hers and she smiled down at him, trying her best to be comforting. He seemed ill at ease, but that was probably due to the bullet hole in his arm. A crooked grin cracked onto her face at his apology. “No need to apologize. I understand completely.” How many outfits had she ruined from shifting in her lifetime?

“My name is Sybil. And no, I’m not hiding. Just… getting a better view of things and taking a break to heal. You mind?” she asked, scooting around his body so that she was on the side closest to his wounded arm. Dropping to her knees, she took a better look at the wound itself. It was a through and through shot. He’d gotten away lucky. If he was anything like her, the wound would heal quick enough, but she wrapped her shirt around it anyways. Tugging both ends of the knot, she looked to see if he winced as she pulled it tight around the wound to help stop the blood flow.

“Nice to meet you, Jackie. And no worries – it’s not really my spot. And it’s not really ruined. The guy who did this to you is, though.” A feral grin spread across her lips, but it faded fairly quickly when she noticed he wasn’t looking at her.

Her eyebrows furrowed in concern, and her head tilted to the side some. She didn’t think she’d tied the shirt too tight. Perhaps he was fidgeting from the pain of some other wound? Scanning his body, she didn’t notice any other bloody spots on his form, so she looked back to his face. “Are you okay?...” she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder as she sat back on her knees.

Guest

Jackie didn't get this woman. She wasn't like the others, those who shied away from their bodies, hid them from the world like they were blasphemous. Of course that was never truly a bad thing, but he couldn't have picked a worse woman to find him. At least she didn't seem to want to kill him, and that was a start. apparently his own naked form had no effect on her either, interesting. She didn't seem to care, and he thanked the gods for that. Shy women and him didn't get along so well, simply because if both people were shy, almost nothing was ever said.

As she spoke he couldn't help but chuckle. She had a nice name though, Sybil... He smiled, looking at her as she began to tie up his wound. "No just give..." He winced as she tightened it, and his smile was tilted sideways but there. "Thank you. Glad to meet someone else who is actually friendly." He looked towards the sky for a moment, then hearing her speak about how the guys who were chasing him, and caught the edge of her feral grin. That's what all that yelling was about...

"You killed them... you must be a good shot to hit them from up here." As he looked down his eyes wandered too far, lingering on her chest for only a second before returning to her face, his eyes averting hers. Damn it, why did the woman's form give him such pause? Usually he could at least handle being around them, especially ones like her, but now... maybe he was just injured or the loss of blood was affecting his head. Either way it was beginning to annoy him, as she got even closer still.

His eyes finally locked with hers, if she asked if he was okay... such a simple question. A thousand training protocols ran through his head, about how to plunge the knife into her chest before she could turn, to fake being hurt and get away... but yet this was different. He had no reason to fear this woman, or so he thought. He was taught not to trust anyone, but he didn't really have a choice in the matter. He needed a short while before he could fly at least.

"Yeah I'm fine... Just a little bit of blood loss is all. They've been chasing me for a while. Thanks for getting rid of them... Gotta pay that asshole a visit when i get healed again." He had dishonored a contract, had tried to use him for his own gain. That would not stand with them, the whole group would be out for blood now, the idiot had fucked with the wrong person... and Jackie knew how it would end... Too bad for him.

"So tell me, since you found me in such a shitty circumstance..." He had noticed her wrapped up before, but noticed the bleeding wasn't from her front, but her back. His body moved on it's own, doing as he had always done for his comrades back in the group, he didn't see anything wrong with it honestly.

Although he was shy, wounds came first. His hands had gently came up, grabbing hers and tugging on her, turning her around and putting her back to him, pulling her between his legs only slightly, his legs spread as he leaned forward to gently look at the bandages. they had been hastily done, not done badly but definitely needing a little bit of work. "Hold still..." He told her as he unwrapped her bandages, exposing the wound as he looked at it... It was healing, quickly in fact. But it looked so fresh, along with a few claw marks. Had she gotten into a fight with a hunter or a tiger?

He yanked his bag open, dragging out a few bandages that he had forgotten he had. Simple wraps, but even if she was a fast healer, infection sucked, he knew that all too well. "Raise your arms will you?" He asked her, hoping she would oblige. All he wanted to do was wrap up her wounds, take better care of them. It was the least he could do, he knew how hard treating a wound on the back was, especially a stab mark like this. He finally finished wrapping it up, leaning back against the wall, smiling. "There, at least now we can be even. So what in the hell did you get into a fight with?" He asked with a smile, his hands resting up against his legs, gently brushing her hips. He didn't even notice... He was tired, he had expected to rest at his buddies place, but that had all gone to hell in an instant...

Guest

He winced when she tightened the shirt, and she almost felt bad. It was better for him, though. A small smile graced her lips when he insinuated that she was friendly. She heard that description from people she met all the time. Sometimes it was a compliment, but sometimes she got the idea that it wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Thankfully, he seemed to be using it in the former fashion.

Tilting her head to the side some, her smile widened at his remark about her skills. “I rarely miss,” she chuckled, patting the quiver at her side. One thin brow rose as his eyes drifted down, lingering at her chest perhaps a bit longer than he should have. She didn’t say anything about it. Something about the way he averted his eyes made her think it had been an almost inadvertent peek, and something he regretted already.

Finally, he seemed to be okay with himself, and with her, and raised his eyes back to her own emerald orbs. She smiled down at him, her cheek bones rising so that she almost looked to be squinting against the sun beaming down at them. It was shining from behind her, so that her shadow cast down across him. Doe brown locks shone in the light, however, and she subconsciously brushed a few strands that had come loose from her ponytail out of her face.

“Well, hopefully the blood loss will stop now,” she smiled, rocking back to a more comfortable position with her feet tucked up under her knees. She was unsure as to which asshole he was speaking, though. Her voice broke the momentary silence as she put her slight confusion into words. “If you’re talking about the man who got that lucky shot off on you, I don’t imagine you’ll get the chance to see him again…”

Her automatic response to his touch was to flinch back, and she did just this. His touch was firm, but gentle, though, and she relaxed some so that he could inspect her own hastily wrapped abdomen. The wound itself was deep, but healing more and more by the minute. Beneath the flesh, her blood boiled so that it seemed like she had a fever, but it was just her body’s way of reacting to the fast healing. A slight blush lit up on her cheeks as he pulled her back into him, and it slipped down to spill onto her upper chest and collarbone region. Despite his words, she couldn’t help but fidget a little bit when he started to wrap his own bandages around her.

She obeyed his words, lifting her arms some to help his wrapping. “Even it is,” she concurred, leaning forward some and twisting this way and that to see how the bandages would treat her mobility. Jackie was decent with his hands; she’d give him that much, even with a bullet wound in one arm. A slight smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as he asked about what she’d gotten her wound from.

Her brain automatically replayed the events leading up to her ending up on the roof, and she sighed some. “A sneaky piece of shit,” she chuckled, the noise coming out of her throat almost as a purr. “Don’t worry – he got his, I got mine, and I’ll be fine in an hour or so…”

It was then that she noticed she was still sitting in between his legs. His hands were on his legs, barely touching her hips. Blushing again, she turned and scooted back so that she was facing him now. Her knees pulled up to her chest, and she rested her chin on top of them as her arms wrapped around to hold them up there. “So, how about you, Jackie?... What’d you do to piss all those men off?”

Guest

Jackie had to smile, at least she was honest. She seemed like the down in the deeps kind of girl, one that wouldn't want to be caught in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Then again, Jackie was never really good with these things so he was just kind of hoping that this was the case. However, either way she was still sitting between his legs for a few moments, and it had a slight tint coming over his face. As much as he tried to act professional, the ways of a woman's body was still an art he hadn't quite mastered yet.

" They are all asses, but not one that was chasing me. One of them tried to pin their little sister's newborn child on me... So I was stuck running from a mob that i didn't do anything to provoke." He couldn't help but chuckle, he was used to this sort of thing, although not exactly for the same reason. This was the first time someone had blamed a child on him, and he was hoping it was the last. He could have felt the slight twitch in her from as he had finished bandaging her up, a slight shot of pain shooting through his arm.

"I can't exactly explain what it is I do... I guess the best way to describe it would be a courier of sorts. But the kind of packages we carry tends to get us in trouble..." That was really all he could say on that for the moment... But he couldn't help but notice the slight blush in her face and collar as she pulled back. He smiled at this, at least he wasn't the only one who seemed slightly irregular about the touching of flesh.

However he could have noticed the slight purr from before when she had spoken, something that had him put slightly on edge. Obviously birds were to have a fear of cats, but nothing too bad. However, she seemed to revel in recapping the fight she had gotten in, so he felt inclined to ask more about it as the wind whipped around the roof. "So tell me more about the guy that got you. You already saw what happened with me, and besides, it's always fun to hear someone Else's stories." Back from his home village hell that was all they ever did. Family was very close, so everyone knew everyone elses' stories. There was no such thing as not having something to share around the fire.

(OOC: Sorry about the huge wait... finally got life and school back to being situated so I should be around a lot more often. Smile

)

Guest

Jackie's story about being blamed for the conception of a child seemed outrageous. How could someone do such a thing? And more importantly, why would they do it? Sybil saw no sense in blaming the conception of a child whose father was unknown on anyone besides the mother. Pointing the finger at someone who wasn't to blame was childish, at best. If the woman could not live with to the consequences of her actions after dark, she probably shouldn't have been coupling in the first place.

The necessity behind sending a mob after someone being blame for the child also blew Sybil's mind. What kind of a world was this, where women couldn't keep track of men they'd coupled with, and where it was okay to attack someone en masse simply based on whom he'd bourne a child unto? Perhaps panthers were the only sane ones left, she thought to herself as he seemed to get a chuckle out of the whole situation.

Instead of responding with words, Sybil merely shook her head. Thankfully, he continued with his own story so she was not required to think of anything to break the silence. She listened politely as he attempted to describe what he did for a living. From what he could tell her, it sounded almost like Veles' job. He didn't mention the name Umbra, though, so she relaxed her shoulders. A slight grin had formed on her lips at the thought of her 'were acquaintance, but she didn't seem to notice, nor care.

Lifting her head from her knees, she tilted it to the side some, remembering the brief, but violent skirmish. He'd ambushed her. The fact that he was a wanted man was no secret, and he'd been waiting for someone - anyone - to track him down. She had been the first one capable of it, and so had had the pleasure of being introduced to the blade of his knife. What would have incapacitated and eventually killed a mere mortal, only pained her and coerced the beast out sooner rather than later.

"Sorry, but I don't have many stories. In this case, though, the bounty was ready for the hunter," she answered simply with a shrug of her shoulders. Telling stories wasn't so much her forte, as listening to them being told was. Having grown up with her mother as the only person to talk to, it was rare that Sybil ever had any stories to tell. Her mother, on the other hand, had more than her share of tales. Sybil got to hear a new one every night, up until...

Nope. She wasn't going to think about it.

Each trek back into the woods to see the panther that had raised her was getting harder and harder. On her last trek back to the city, she'd met a werewolf, though. Perhaps the possibility of seeing him again would help her maintain the monthly visits. Romping around with him was a bright spot in her dull time spent in the far reaches of the Dark Forest with her silent mother.

The shrug she'd used to assist her words had tested the wrappings still holding her wound together, and so far, it was still quite intact. Her wound was lessening by the minute, although the ache would continue to bother her for quite some time. A dull ache was much easier to deal with, however, than a mortal stab wound to the back, so she didn't mind.

» Jackie Cardenas
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