ArchivedLogs:Wilting Lily

Wilting Lily
Dramatis Personae Isra, Sebastian, Shane
In Absentia	2014-02-15 The shark twins summon Isra to the hunt.
Location <XS> Conservatory
Tall panes of glass keep this large indoor garden warm year round. Tended to by the school's groundskeeper, the conservatory is lush with plant life, a carefully cultivated paradise within Xavier's walls. The room serves as a classroom as well; in the center of the garden a ring of seats forms a small circle, a favorite locale for some teachers to hold court. Outside, it is a hazy winter day, snow drifting down in desultory fashion to join the several inches that remain on the ground from the last blizzard. In the Conservatory, however, all is warm and lush and, at least for the moment, rather quiet. Perched sidewise on a bench--wings extending out behind her--Isra balances a notebook computer on one folded leg. Rather than her usual stony gray, her skin displays patterns of magenta and white which, especially on her broad, leathery wings, closely resemble the coloration of a stargazer lily. She wears a long white dress with the style and drape of a Greek himation, and vivid green bandages still cover her right bicep. One hand idly taps the page down key on the computer, whose screen displays a dense wall of text, and the other hand holds a tall Space Telescope Science Institute thermos. Her tail hangs off of the bench and sways, cat-like, side-to-side. Isra might not know it, but she is yet again being /hunted/. There are very tiny landsharks prowling the conservatory -- /quiet/ as mice when they want to be, they're hard to observe save for a very small rustle of leaves here, a very small shift of dirt there. Dressed nearly identically today in Xavier's hoodies, one in black cargo pants, one in grey, currently barefoot, they make their way through the thick plant life along the edges of the conservatory on hands and knees. Quiet sniff. Pause. Creep forward. And then suddenly they are /upon/ her in tandem SHARK ATTACK!, Thing One swarming his way up the side of her bench while Thing Two creeps along beneath it. Both twins /latch on/, in sudden growling-snarling /pounce/ -- careful, at least, both of computer and of injuries; Thing Two snatches claws against that swaying tail -- so tempting! while Thing One, still gnrrr-gnarr-growling, scritch-scratches teeth against a horn. As his arms kind of. HUG. At Isra's pretty-lily head. Isra's ears flick back only a split second before the twins strike, too late to effect much of a defense--which is probably for the best, since it leaves her no time to throw either her drink or work across the room. Her lips draw back and a loud, low grow ripples from her throat. Her body tenses and wings flare out for balance, but at once she recognizes her assailants and a higher-pitched laugh joins the growl without replacing it. "Mighty hunters, you two!" She scoops up one shark boy in each wing and gathers them close, reaching over one to set down her computer and the other, her thermos. "You've managed to catch a /flower./" Chompchompchomp, Thing Two is gnawing on Horn right up until he's neatly /scooped/, and chewchewchew, Thing One gnawing at the end of Isra's tail until /he/ is. Both twins release their /chewtoys/, nuzzling down into the large wings with low growls that sound more like purrs, gills fluttering slowly open. "Deadliest flower /I've/ ever seen," says Sebastian, tailside. "Tastiest fucking one, too." Shane is choplicking, almost absently closing teeth against a wing-claw. Chomp. "Most of them just taste all, uh --" "-- Flowery?" Sebastian curls into a smaller ball, his tiny weight rather easy to support as he nestles into Isra's wing. "You in any shape to hunt? Or should we just bring you fresh meat like an /invalid/?" Shane bears his teeth in a fierce-sharp grin. "You might even say like a --" "-- wilting lily." Sebastian turns his face in against Isra's wing with a small giggle. Isra gives a pleased smile, which nevertheless shows a flash of fangs. "Many flowers are quite poisonous, I understand. Most, however, do not bring death from above." Her wings squeeze down on the twins, each hand finding a small spiny head to pet. "Now, then, I am not in /any/ way wilting, but I really /ought/ to be resting--like an invalid, if you must." Her bright green eyes flick from one of them to the other, and she grins wider, more predatory now than just happy. "All the same, I do feel quite sanguine about hunting, even in this weather. I've both appetite and energy today." Shane grins. "That'd be a neat flower though. Maybe if it --" "Shot some kind of horrible poison-spores up into the air." Sebastian closes his eyes, evidently not in any hurry to leave. Just nestling, now, tucked comfortably into Isra's wing like a hammock. "This weather's terrible. But I have a lot of energy. My dads --" "-- found someone who might be able to help us --" "-- find some missing friends. They're heading out to --" "-- see if they can find Horus. And might have a lead on --" "-- where Anole's disappeared to, too, and they've both been --" "-- gone since /forever/. Since zombies. So we're kind of --" "/crazy/-restless. Anole's one of yours isn't he?" Shane's black eyes tip up towards Isra, legs dangling down to settle onto the bench properly in contrast to his brother's snugly tucked posture. "We kind of miss him like mad." "He might be in a bad way," Sebastian says softly. "But some lead is better than no lead." "And in the meantime sitting around is --" "-- we can't sit around. Kinda need to sink my /teeth/ into something." "Before he goes crazy," Shane says with a crooked baring of teeth. "And sinks his teeth into something." Isra does not so much tense as go still at the mention of zombies, still in the way that she often does when hunting. "I am Anole's adviser." Present tense. Perfectly manicured talons--bright purple without the aid of actual polish--curl around small blue heads, scratching lightly. "I should love to see them found safely. I will let Jax know that I am at his disposal in this matter, though I am of less use for covering large areas in wintertime." Her wings rustle, then settle again. "Sinking of teeth is completely acceptable, but let us try to put off going crazy, if we can manage it." Sebastian purrs softly, stilling as well though his gills flutter slowly as his eyes squeeze shut. "I think they're still trying to narrow down /exactly/ where," he says a little sadly. "It's a big city," Shane agrees, tucking up against Isra's side. "Anyway B's already bugfucking nuts, too late for that." Sebastian blushes, though his quiet rumbling doesn't stop. It does take on a growlier note. "He's been hurt, maybe." This statement has a sharper edge to it, low and warning. "Everyone has, these days. You can't kill the whole city." Though Shane doesn't sound entirely sure that Bastian /can't/, really. Sebastian just bares his teeth. "We'll find him--you said your fathers have a lead." Isra's ears press back, and a faint, low growl rises from her chest, more palpable than audible as such. "And we'll fight if we must to see him safe." Her wings press in again, more fiercely this time. "But not on empty stomachs." Sebastian rests his hand against Isra, a smile curling his bared teeth into grin rather than snarl at the rumbling coming from her. He wriggles his way downwards to sit on the bench beside her, and then get to his feet properly. "/I'm/ ready." Shane bounces up, too. "And maybe Pa and Ba and Ducky and Hive will come back with Horus." His eyes light hopefully. "And we should eat before then so B doesn't get hungry and accidentally eat him instead." Sebastian snaps at Shane, nipping at his brother's arm with a small growl. "I so wouldn't!" "/See/?" Shane sticks his tongue out. "Let's go get the rest of our clothes and get out there." "With a team like that, I am sure they will prevail." Isra rises stretching her wings out to their full span, brushing and parting the vegetation to either side of the bench. "Very well, then. Clothes," The sharp-fanged grin returns to her face and her eyes grow keen. "--then the hunt."