Cydane hideout 1} Cydorn, Ezrane, and Dewwey

Cydorn played by Link, Ezrane played by Orange, Dewwey played by Clover

The sound of wet footsteps echoed through the tunnels, alongside the slightly more audible sound of shoes. Vague voices could be heard-- apparently, one was reassuring the other. Soon enough, though, they got close enough to catch snippets.
"I promise we're close..."
"... to kill you, it..."
"... almost here..."

The echoes played with the noise, distorting it and rendering any sound hollow upon return. Water dripped, further warbling the noise. And then, after more extremely suspenseful waiting, Ezrane opened the makeshift door of the hideout. "H eyCydd y ! I'mbac k,thos olive swere n'tint erested. B u t. . ." She stepped in, bandaged and muddy, with... another bronzeblood! Holding the door open, she let the other in with a flourish, to the considerably less-damp-than-outside hideout. "I did getsome one !"[/container]

"A-apologies for bringing her so late! There was... A-a little... problem..." The bronzeblood stood just a little taller than the mess she dragged in, but her posture almost made her seem smaller. She helped Ezrane inside and kept her held up. The new bronzeblood then took a look towards this stranger that had been inside.
"Anyways, I-i'm Dewwey! You're uh..." She tried to guess the name from what Ezrane had referred to him as. "You're Cyddy? Interesting name!" Her demeanor changed from sullen to bubbly, vibrating slightly with excitement. Did... Did this troll know calm? At least hear about it somewhere?

Cydorn's eyes darted over to look at the two trolls. Floating near the ceiling, upside down, he was a little hard to make out at first--blending in with the various colourful banners and posters decorating the interior--but once Dewwey noticed him, he stuck out like a six-foot-six, upside-down sore thumb. He released a shallow sigh, with an expression of simultaneous worry and relief.
"ǝzranǝ' whǝrǝ havǝ you been¿" he asked, floating towards the pair slightly, "ᴉ,ve bǝǝn tryᴉng to tǝxt ʎou ɐll dɐy' man .u."
Beauregard the bat took off from his spot on Cydorn's horn and flapped around the room. Cydorn looked at Dewwey for a moment, and then back at his moirail, and frowned.
"shᴉᴉᴉt' dudǝ' plǝase don,t tǝll mǝ that thᴉs ᴉs whɐt ᴉ thᴉnʞ ᴉt ᴉs"

Shrugging her coat off and tossing it onto a definitely-not-stolen coat rack, Ezrane spread her arms out wide. "I go tusa newm ember !" She exclaimed, absolutely not addressing her extra disheveledness or bandaged... everything. " At le ast,I th inkI did. Shedoe sn't knowja ck shit th ough--" looking over to Dewwey, "--Sorry, bu t it' strue. O h, andIfo rg o t totak emy palm husk,so rry ma n ."[/container]

"I don't know much, that much is true, but I'll have to learn... I-i mean, I'm too old to still HAVE a lusus." Dewwey shot a bitter glare towards Ezrane. Yep, still pissed. "I-i don't ask to join or anything if I'll just be a bother, I just wanted to return Ezrane to you since she was talking about how you would be upset." She started to back out towards the door. "N-now, I have a hive to watch, I'll g-get going-"

Cydorn put his hands in his face for a moment. She was rebelling. OF COURSE she was rebelling. It seemed like that was ALL she ever did, despite it being the ONE THING that he told her not to do. He floated over to the pair and worriedly examined her bandages.
"ǝzzʎ' who dᴉd thᴉs to you¿" he asked, looking over to Dewwey, "plǝɐse don,t tell mǝ ʎou two wǝre out causᴉng troublǝ .u."

Ezrane smiled guiltily, with a sheepish shrug. " M a y beIkilledherlusus. Likeacouplehoursago. B ut !" She raised her hand, pointer finger extended. The universal sign of 'my argument isn't very good but I have to pretend it is.' "I t at tac ked mefir st . A nd now , weca nedu cate ourne wpa l he re !" She looked back and forth between the two, knowing full well that her case wasn't very strong. Compelling enough in court, but then the odds were stacked there anyways.[/container]

Dewwey sighed, but easily believed Ezrane. I mean, self defense IS a good reason to kill. It's what her own lusus had been doing for herself and Dewwey. "A-at least keep your arm down, you don't want to tear your wounds open any further..." She hesitated to touch Ezrane again, and instead gestured for her to give it a rest. She turned her gaze to Cydorn and gave him an apologetic look, "I'm sorry she got hurt!! I promise I didn't send my lusus after her!"

"ʎou dᴉd whɐt¿¡" Cydorn groaned, putting his hands over his face, "whʎyyʎy' maɐaaan"
The floating bronzeblood sighed deeply as Beauregard landed back on his horn with a squeak. Ezrane was one of the only things that he refused to give up on, but even still, his ability to keep her safe seemed to be consistently faltering. He wanted to just give up and be alone, but she was all he had left. He rubbed his eyes and looked to Dewwey, slipping his hands into his hoodie pockets.
"ᴉt,s fᴉne' dude' shǝ wɐs prolly gonna gǝt hurt no mɐttǝr whɐt you dᴉd" he looked down (up) at the ceiling, "but, whɐtǝver shǝ told you ɐbout lᴉʞǝ' ɔomᴉng herǝ¿ ɐbout joᴉnᴉng togǝthǝr, ɐnd fᴉghtᴉng¿ ᴉt,s a pᴉpe dreɐm, nothᴉng more"
Cydorn turned and floated back across the room, slumping upside-down on the couch with the bat still on his horn. "those dɐys arǝ donǝ"

Ezrane shot him a look, placing her hand on her hip. "Y ou kno w it' s not, C yd. W e c an dothis ! Espe ciall y if weha veevenmo repeop lethan bef ore!" Now was not the time to dwell on the moral quandary of possibly sending another crowd of trolls to die, much less how the implication of guilt would lay squarely on her shoulders. But now was also not the time to jump into an un-asked-for exposition dump, so she didn't address any of the history behind his words.
"We can 'tjus tlive do wnher eforev er,yo ukno w . We'dbebe tteroff out inthe Beyo nd !
A t leas ttheywould n'tbebre athingdow nournec ks !" She would cross her arms, but it's hard to do that with only one. So her hand remained on her hip as she spoke, almost completely ignoring the (possible) new member of the gang. She should have clarified at some point that living in the sewers wasn't a requirement for joining, even moreso because they needed eyes up above.[/container]

A confused Dewwey sat criss cross on the floor, watching the two squabble about some sort of rebellion. A million questions raced through her head, but her most prominent one was, "I-if what she said was really a 'pipe' dream, then why is she so... passionate about it?" She stood from her spot, "I-i mean, I wouldn't be dragged out here and away from my h-hive and torn from my life and lusus over a dream!" Her words slowly turned from quiet into almost screaming, but an infuriated Dewwey then calmed down when remembering...
'I'm in an unfamiliar hive with a floating troll and a tealblood that managed to take down a lusus. My lusus. Is it really a good idea to piss them off? With this, she settled herself down. "I-i mean... T-there has to be a reason why she's passionate about this fight I don't know about... Right?" She gave them both a hopeful, though puzzled and scared, look.

Cydorn listened to the other trolls as they spoke, staring at the television on the other side of the room as an over-busy video game pause screen flashed and blinked.
"thǝre was a rǝɐson' oncǝ" he said, turning his head to look at Dewwey, "but wǝ lost˙ we lost evǝrythᴉng' and ǝvǝryonǝ"
He lazily took another bug out of his pocket to feed to Beauregard, his face showing a distant pain as his voice grew more detached and hollow. His eyes drifted to his wounded moirail.
"wǝ ɔɐn,t do thᴉs ɐgɐᴉn' ǝz˙ pleɐsǝ"

Her face fell, slightly, though she stood her ground. "C y d, we h ave to . Th ey can 'thave d ie d f or nothi ng. Y oukn owit' son lygo ingto ge two rse, th e long eritg o e s o n." She dropped her arm, giving Cydorn a slightly pleading look. Everything seemed to be coming into focus.
A puny, one-armed tealblood and a broken-willed bronzeblood, living under the ground, eternally on the run from everyone else. Chasing something that had proved to be nigh-impossible, at the cost of life and limb. Lots of life. She didn't turn to face Dewwey, wholly absorbed in looking at Cydorn.[/container]

These two were alone? Wait, did they say they lost everyone?! What the hell happened? And... Why did the bronzeblood seem so broken? If anything good came from her lusus's teachings, it was that no one should be alone. She took a step and stood next to Ezrane, "I-i know I just met you both, a-and I have no idea what you're talking about, but... Whatever f-fight you're talking about..." She paused to give it a second thought, smiling a bit when confiming it in her head, "I'll help with. E-even if I don't know much now."

"thǝy dᴉd dᴉe for nothᴉng' ezrɐnǝ˙ wǝ fɐᴉlǝd" Cydorn murmured, sinking into the couch, "ᴉ ɔan,t let thɐt happen agaᴉn˙ ᴉ don,t wɐnt to lose ʎou"
He turned back to look at the television, idly petting the bat on his horn with a thumb. His heart sank in his chest as the unfocused flashing of the television replayed painful memories of friends long lost. He winced and closed his eyes. It was happening again.
"thǝ tᴉmǝ for ɐɔtᴉon ᴉs over˙ tryᴉng to ɔhɐngǝ thᴉngs ᴉs onlʎ goᴉng to gǝt us kᴉllǝd˙ gǝt ʎou kᴉlled˙ ᴉ,m sorry' dewweʎ' but ʎou won,t fᴉnd a meanᴉng herǝ"

"W e haven ' tf ailed y et, Cyd. We 're sti ll he re, andther emustbe trollsou tthere wh okn owabo utwha twed idbynow . I' vehear drum ors o f othergro ups, man ! Mo re tro llsge ttingto gether andspre adingthew ord ! Yo uknowwewer en't th e fi rst,and noww ekn oww ewon' tbe th e last,eith er! There'sstil lacha nce,you knowthe reis." Having finished her latest line of outbursts, she flashed a small smile to Dewwey.
"I app recia teyo ujoi ningus, D ew . Do n'tworr ytoomu ch,fo rnow, we'renotstormi ngthe ga tesnow byan ymea ns. Cydorn h ere is ri ghtinsay ing we'djustge tkill ed, at lea stri ghtnow."[/container]

"O-oh thank Gog, because fighting in this and no weapons would have been tough for sure!" Dewwey giggled, trying to lighten the mood juuuuuust a little bit. She mocked some fighting moves she saw on an action movie for emphasis, but instead almost tripped on air. "See?" She stood back up properly and smiled. Dewwey took a look around for windows, but then gave up and went by instinct of what the time was. It still had to be daylight, right? "I-if you both don't need me here anymore, I'll be going! Oh, and Ezrane, don't go being energetic with that injury. I trust that your friend here will make sure of it." She smiled once more and turned to Cydorn, "I hope to speak to you and Ezrane again soon."

"we nǝvǝr hɐd a chancǝ' ez˙ wǝ just thought we dᴉd' becɐuse we dᴉdn,t ʞnow anʎ better"
He put his hands over his eyes, but the imagery wouldn't go away. Beauregard looked at him worriedly. In that moment, he had to be strong. But he couldn't be that any more, and it stung. His hands remained glued to his face, despite his best efforts to peel them away. He hid within himself. Within the memories.
"they,re gonǝ˙ thǝre,s nothᴉng wǝ ɔɐn do to brᴉng them bɐck˙ we hɐve to lᴉve' now˙ for us' yǝah' but prᴉmɐrᴉly for them" he sulked, digging his nails into his face slightly, "ᴉ,d gᴉve ɐnythᴉng to go bacʞ to thǝ wɐy thᴉngs wǝrǝ˙ but thɐt lᴉfe ᴉs ovǝr now˙ ᴉ,m sorrʎ"
Finally, he released a deep breath, and pulled his hands away from his watery eyes. He looked at Dewwey. "pleɐsǝ bǝ sɐfe, dǝwwǝy"

Ezrane gave her a small wave, watching Dewwey step out the door and away. She could probably make her way back aboveground on her own, right? Yeah, most likely. But there was a greater concern all of a sudden, arguably one of the greatest concerns she could have-- her moirail.
She shut the door gently, and walked over to the couch to sit next to Cydorn. No need for acting around him, at least. "Hey." She set her hand on one of his arms, pulling gently at the sleeve of his jacket. "I , Ikn ow we'r eprob ably not goin gto beab le topull this off. But, I can't jus tlet every thing goto waste .If what I'vehea rd istrue, the nwe won'thave to stage somedesper ate plot. There' sother peopleout ther e, Cyd . Trust me."[/container]

Cydorn closed his eyes and exhaled softly, gently bumping one of his horns against Ezrane's leg. The sound of her voice, while producing worrisome words that sewed seeds of destruction, soothed him. He winced slightly as a familiar pain shot through his dangling ankles.
"ᴉt alrǝɐdʎ dᴉd go to wastǝ' ǝzrɐnǝ'" he lifted his head to look up at her from his upside-down position on the couch, "what do wǝ have to gɐᴉn from goᴉng bɐcʞ out thǝrǝ¿ nothᴉng we do cɐn brᴉng thǝm bɐck, ǝz"
He frowned and closed his eyes again, letting his head fall back down.
"ᴉ,m sorrʎ"

Ezrane leaned her head back against the couch, with a sigh. He did definitely have a point, and however much she didn't like to admit it, the entire failed plan from sweeps ago still weighed on her. After all, it was, in a sense, her fault.
"Iknowy ou'rer ight. Andy oukno wyou 'reri ght,too. Butt here's got tabe some thingto hopefor . Evenif we' renot theones arr anginge very thing,we canat leasthe lpfro mth eside lines . Ifthe 'res anych ance ,weha veto takei t."[/container]

The bronzeblood softly shook his head, twitching slightly. After all they'd been through, going back out there to fight again would surely be a death sentence. He could, but he shouldn't.
"but whʎ¿" Cydorn asked, touching his arm against his moirail's, "wǝ could do somethᴉng ǝlse˙ somethᴉng that can,t hurt us˙ wǝ don,t hɐve to follow ᴉn thǝᴉr footstǝps' ǝzrane˙ pleasǝ"
Deep down, Cydorn knew that his life of a recluse wasn't doing him much favours, either. Still, he would rather remain chained to these derelict halls than venture out there to die like his friends before him. Thoughts of his deceased matesprit echoed in his mind. He didn't want her to have died for nothing, but sacrificing himself would just be throwing everything else away. He looked to the exit and took a breath. He should, but he couldn't.

"Oh,we' ren otgo ingtof ight,th is ti me. Imea n, I won'tbe ver yusef ul , notwh enthe re'str ollsw it hall tho sepsi onics.Bu tweat leastha veinfo rmation,Cyd ,andwe canh idetro llsdo wnhe re,if wenee dto. Andth at'spr act icallynot atalld ange roustous." She looked down at the touch, took a moment before taking his hand, and leaned her head back again to look at the ceiling.
She was definitely getting through to him. At least, she thought she was, and what natural ability did tealblood's even have if not convincing? Or maybe that wasn't a blood thing, she really wasn't sure. [/container]

To be Continued...