Chosen- Started.

Leo

After I had went off to scout, the scent of actual people surprised me. I crawled near listening to them. Oddly enough, I couldn't understand them. What were those scientists thinking. I flew back to the others, who were nursing the injured. Shifting as quick as I could, I told them what I learned.

We shifted back to animals and awaited their arrival. "Three humans, two men and a woman." I explain.

Stanley nodded. "I don't scent any weapons on them." he said. I was lost in thought when they jumped out.

Spoiler

I can't type much tonight. Just gave out some background, even if it's a little.

Ava

“What are we going to do?” Vega asks.

“We need to kill them.” I do not even have to look to know it is Dharius.

I turn to him and shake my head. “What we need to do is stay as calm as possible. Try to pick up on as much body language as possible and try to fit in. We do not need to attract attention to ourselves.” I say.

Everyone nods and tries to act calm. Ree slowly begins to awake as the people come. “Stay calm.” I whisper to him.

The two men and the woman come out. The look at us for a moment and then look to each other. They seem pleased for some reason. “We are glad you have arrived safely.” The woman says. “Do not worry we are here to help you.” she says calmly.

“We are going to take you to where you will be staying for you time being here. We assure you, you will be taken care of and are in the best hands.” One of the men say.

“Follow us. We will get you changed, healed, rested and up to speed on what all has been happening.” the other says.

Arcadia

I jar myself awake when, once again, I'm poked with a needle.

"W-What are you doing?" I ask groggily, attempting to shake them off.

I hear someone breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank god she's finally awake."

I sit up slowly, putting my hand to my head when I feel a sharp pain. I remove it, only to see it's covered in blood.

"What happened?" I demand, scared to see how badly I'm bleeding.

"When you fell, you must've cut your forehead on something, possibly some of the glass," Vega explains.

I remember it now, plummeting to the ground head first and passing out. "Oh."

"Does anything else hurt?" Ava asks.

I flex my arm and leg muscles and twist my body a bit just to make sure nothing's broken. A few bruises and scrapes, but nothing serious.

"I think I'm okay," I say.

"That's good. Stanley found you and- wait, where is Stanley?"

I look around, and sure enough, Stanley is missing. Everyone else is there but him.

"He must have wandered off," I mutter. I try to stand up and go after him, but I immediately feel dizzy and Ava forces me to sit.

"We'll just wait for him here."

I feel uneasy, but I agree. About fifteen minutes later, I hear someone crashing through the grass and calling my name.

"Arcadia!" I whip my head around to see Stanley staggering towards us. "Are you okay?"

My heart skips a beat when I see him, and I feel both excited and relieved. "I guess so. Where were you?"

"Huh?" he asks, baffled.

"Well, I've been awake for about twenty minutes. Vega says you were gone for nearly forty-five minutes."

He frowns, and I can't help but find it cute. "I walked away for like, five."

"You were gone for way longer than that," Vega interrupts.

"Maybe the poison burr skewered my sense of time..."

Poison burr?! "Huh?" I say.

"Nothing, I'm just glad you're alright," he says, shaking his head.

We make eye contact and I can't help but smile. Oh, if he only knew the butterflies he gave me...

I shift into my cat form, cleaning the blood off with my tongue. Gross, but it's the best I have. I hear footsteps approaching, and immediately I tense up, not sure whether they're friendly or not.

"Three humans, two men and a woman," Leo explains.

"I don't scent any weapons on them," Stanley replies.

I sniff the air, letting out a soft purr as I get a whiff of lavender and vanilla. "They smell good too."

"What are we going to do?" Vega asks. She sounds nervous.

"We need to kill them," Dharius responds gruffly. I roll my eyes.

Ava, the voice of reason, tells everyone to remain calm. I relax a bit, but remain alert, sitting back on my haunches as they get closer. The men and woman emerge, looking at us kindly. The woman steps forward to speak.

"We are glad you have arrived safely. Do not worry, we are hear to help you," she reassures us.

“We are going to take you to where you will be staying for you time being here," one of the men says, smiling at us. "We assure you, you will be taken care of and are in the best hands.”

"Follow us. We will get you changed, healed, rested, and up to speed on all that is happening," the other says, gesturing for us follow them.

We obey, striding silently behind them through the grass. Stanley walks next to me, and I can't help but think about how he makes me feel. I want to tell him how I feel, even if he doesn't feel the same way. As Leo shifts back into a human, and I see Stanley getting ready to do the same, so I rest a paw on his shoulder to stop him.

"Wait Stanley," I think. He looks at me, and I'm at a loss for words. Oh god, oh god. Why am I doing this?

"Yes?"

I take a deep breath. "When we get the chance... I need to tell you something...alone."

Ree

I felt Ava sit near me. Her presence made me feel like everything was alright. If she was here, with me, then...

I couldn't even finish the thought. Everything started turning dark, and all I could hear were vague sounds of voices. I felt something hit me, and I heard echoing laughter bubble out of the darkness, and then I knew nothing more.

I guess I slept after I was done fainting, because I dreamed of Ava. She was standing there, beautiful and ... I don't know, just Ava. She was smiling at me, but all around us were dangers and trials. She didn't seem concerned, as if we were somehow safe because of her confidence, but I felt everything in me scream for her to run, to hide, to let me protect her. Finally she turned, and faces appeared. I saw our friends, and demons, and faces I didn't know. The unknown people smiled at us, but I didn't know if they were friends or enemies. I had to be careful, or we'd get hurt...



I stirred, trying to muster myself to rise so I could protect myself and Ava. There were footsteps coming.

"Stay calm," came Ava's voice as I opened my eyes. She was standing near me, watching something I couldn't see at this angle.

I turned my head and saw three strangers - humans. What were humans doing here? Unless they were Arkylians, and they just looked like us. Or were disguised as us. They smiled at us, just like the faces in my dream. I sat up warily.

"We are glad you have arrived safely," said the one woman, smiling. "Do not worry," she added, as if she could read my mind, "we are here to help you." I still remembered my dream.

"We are going to take you to where you will be staying for your time being here. We assure you, you will be taken care of and are in the best hands," promised one of the men. I eyed him carefully; he didn't appear to be armed, but one could never tell.

The other man spoke up. "Follow us," he said. "We will get you changed, healed, rested and up to speed on all that has been happening."

I surprised myself by pushing slowly to my feet. I was still bone-tired - I hoped that wherever we were staying was close, because I thought I might collapse again if it was very far - but I followed the rest of the group, holding Ava's hand and thinking.

I tried to shake off the feeling of suspicion I had about all this. What if they were Arkylians? Maybe this was a trap. Or what if this was another elaborate test, and we were going to walk into a room and find ourselves locked in with a giant hairy beast? Or what if they simply wanted us dead for some reason? It had sure seemed like they were trying to kill us up until now.

For now, though, I was exhausted and all I could really think to do was follow these people and let time tell what they were up to. I stumbled along, hoping I could make it. Why had I ever signed up for this?

Ava

I see that Ree is having trouble walking in a straight, so I put his arm around my shoulder and my arm around his back. He smiles and so do I. I can tell it also made it easier for him to walk.

A while later, we arrive to the place where we are going to be staying. It is not far away from the town. It is at least two blocks. We walk in and look at the house. It is different than most houses on Earth. It would be considered a very wealthy house.

“Everything you need is here. We know that you do not have any clothes now, so they are all in your rooms. We have sections lined for you in you closets for your clothes and all you will need.” The woman says. “Spies will only need night wear, which leads us to our first rule.” She begins.

“I am sure you have already heard, but spies must stay in animal from outside of this house. When all doors at closed, you may shift into human form.” One of the men say.

“Defenders, you may not use your power out in the open. You are not here against the commoners. You are here against the King and Queen of Arkyle.” the other man says.

“We are not her to fight with them, we are here to make peace.” the woman corrects.

“We do not want you to hurt any one with your powers, so do not.” He says.

“They are there if necessary. Most defenders are for protection and some are for healing or for the knowledge.”

Par


"We should kill them," Dharius says, a suggestion which I ignore.

"We're so glad you have arrived safely." The shorter of the two men speaks, his mustache twitching slightly. "We're here to escort you to where you'll be staying for the duration of your mission. Follow us and we'll get you changed, healed, rested, and up to speed on what's been happening and what you want to do."

I can't help but notice that he didn't say anything about food.

The three start walking, leaving us with no choice but to follow. Mr. Mustache begins explaining something or other - rules, maybe, but a voice in my head distracts me.

"Stanley?" Arcadia smacks me with her paw as I hear my name called. I turn, head tilted. She is staring at me, her tail twitching anxiously and her ears tilted backwards as if she's listening to something behind her.

"What's wrong?" I wonder if she's nervous about following these people. How could she be nervous? They positively reek of chicken tacos, of which I'm sure they will give me the leftovers.

"When we get the chance, I need to tell you something... Alone." Hey eyes are wide, boring into mine and making me feel challenged even though I know that she doesn't mean it aggressively. Stupid Par.

"Well sure," I reply. "Heck, why don't you tell me right now? I mean, we're talking in our heads."

"Ava can hear you too," Leo interjects. "As can I."

Dang.

"Well, later anyways." I make a failed attempt to shrug my foxy shoulders. Foxy shoulders - that's funny.

"Oh," I add. "If it's about me owing you, I will most defiantly pay you back somehow."

Arcadia falls silent, tail lashing in frustration.

"This is it!" Mr. Mustache points grandly to a large, two story house on a good five acres of pine forest. The house is tall and graceful, like a Victorian mansion, with a sweeping porch, arched windows, and a grand pair of black doors. It looks warm and inviting; I can't wait to get inside and return to my good ol' Stanley self.

"It's beautiful," Allie breathes. For some reason, the house makes me think of Nellie. I hope we'll be reunited someday.

Ree

After a moment, Ava came over and put my arm over his shoulder, lacing hers around my back. The feel of her close to me made me smile despite my tiredness, along with the fact that she wanted to help me. The fact that she was succeeding helped, too, of course.

"This is it!" announced one of the men, stopping and gesturing to the building. Where's the place? I thought, before I realized that this was our new home.

The place was a mansion. A towering, beckoning, epic mansion. Pine trees - a lot like on Earth, although I noticed a few definite differences, like fruits on some of them or weirdly colored needles - surrounded the area. This was the kind of place you saw in the movies, or when you were driving through Europe on a vacation and some tour guide says "and this is where the Duke of Wherever resided until his death." This was not a hideout for a bunch of teenagers who had half-snuck onto a hostile planet and didn't really know what they were doing.

The three that had led us here started telling us that we'd have what we needed inside, including clothes. Then they started on the rules.

"I am sure you have already heard, but spies must stay in animal from outside of this house. When all doors are closed, you may shift into human form." That was one of the men.

"Defenders," the other began, and I perked a little, paying attention, "you may not use your power out in the open. You are not here against the commoners." I felt a little affronted that he'd even said that - I wasn't planning on running around slaughtering random people. "You are here against the King and Queen of Arkyle."

We are? I swallowed a small lump in my throat. The King and Queen of an entire planet sounded like very powerful people to throw a handful of teenagers at. Why had I signed up for this again?

The woman, apparently realizing our sudden concern, spoke up. "We are not here to fight with them," she corrected the man, "we are here to make peace." Oh. That sounded a lot nicer, if more complicated.

"We do not want you to hurt anyone with your powers," added the man, "so do not. They are there if necessary. Most defenders are for protection and some are for healing or for the knowledge."

Wait, why would we need healing? I looked around, wondering if the others had picked up on the implication I saw there or if it was just me being paranoid. Maybe he meant just in case. But still...

Something occurred to me suddenly, and I stepped forward. "Why us?" I asked. The three adults looked at me, a mild, polite confusion painting their faces. "Why send a bunch of teenagers to do this? Why not professionals?"

Spoiler

I've kind of been wondering that... anyone have any ideas? Or should we just leave it with a cryptic answer and figure something out later?

Spoiler

I think we should save it for later Ranger... I got some kind of idea for that.

Dharius

"Please. You are the only one that can help her," says Ava while placing a soft hand on my shoulder. A goosebump runs through my back when this happens. And everything is a bit normal until I turn and look at her eyes... I don't know why, but they're amazing. So amazing that I end up saying: "Alright, I'll heal her."

After using my blood to heal Arcadia, Leo comes and tell us about other humans coming toward us. I begin to stretch, preparing for that is coming and I tell the others that we should kill them. However, everybody ignores me... This makes me go mad, but before I can say anything, two men and a woman arrive and inform they're here to help us.

They guide us through the forest, and meanwhile I begin to reprimand myself. What in the world is happening with me? If I continue with this stupid attitude towards Ava, my mission will be a complete failure. I should stop feeling this stuff or I'll get distracted to negotiate with the Arkylian Lord and start a war.

But, before thinking more about the erasure of humanity, I think in Ava. She would be killed, too. But I cannot allow myself to think like this. She's like the others. Just another face in the crowd, and I shouldn't worry about her... She deserves the same as everyone. As everyone in that horrible planet, Earth.

Finally, we arrive to a mansion in the middle of the forest. The guides explain us where we can find everything, and while she continues I start thinking again about the Ava stuff... Seriously, what is happening?

Suddenly, Ree asks something that caughts my attention. "Why us?", he asks, with the three adults looking at him in a disoriented way. "Why send a bunch of teenagers to do this? Why not professionals?", he explains, and I can't avoid accepting that he's right. That the Government's decision was strangely mysterious.

Arcadia

His comment about payment unnerves me, and I fall silent.

"This is it!" someone announces.

I look up to see the biggest house I have ever seen. It's gorgeous; an old, Victorian style mansion. It had to be about four floors high and about five times larger than my house back on Earth. I vaguely hear their instructions and rules, most of my attention focused on the enormous house looming over us. It has a large wraparound porch with several rockers and chairs on it. Several of the rooms also have their own little balcony. I can't wait to get inside and explore.

"Why us?" Ree asks, catching my attention. "Why send a bunch of teenagers to do this? Why not professionals?"

They all just laugh. One of the men pulls out a small silver key and unlocks the door to the mansion. "Please make yourselves at home. Explore. Relax. Clean up. We'll be back in an hour to tall over a hot meal."

With that he opens the large front doors, making my jaw drop. The foyer is gigantic, a large crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. A large wooden staircase leads in three different directions to the rooms upstairs. Richly colored wallpaper adorned the walls while fancy rugs covered the hardwood floors. The kitchen and dining room appeared to be on the left side of the foyer while the living room and library were to the right. I feel numb, unable to believe that such an extravagant house is all for us.

I phase into my regular self, and immediately bolt up the center staircase, eager to find a room, change, and check out the rest of the house. Paintings and artsy pictures line the walls as I search for a good bedroom. The doors are all open, and I peer into each before I find the perfect room. The wallpaper is a deep purple, with tiny birds on it. The bedspread at least twice as big as my own, with a satiny bedspread. I have my own mini balcony, as well as a fireplace at the end of the room. Two book shelves are on either side of the fireplace.

I open the closet door to find plenty of clothes; pants, skirts, shirts, shoes, EVERYTHING. Closing the door, I quickly change into a simple but elegant black skirt and red tee. A large mirror on the wall shows me that my hair is matted and my neck and forehead are coated in blood. Running my fingers through my hair, I hear someone knocking on my door.

Ava

We all break apart and go find rooms. Arcadia ends up getting the biggest room with her own bed. The guys are on the other end of the house, so we are separated by the living room.

I find a room. It is very elegant and beautiful. I go and change into a dress. It is sky blue and falls just under my knee. “Wow these people know how to dress.” I say to myself.

I walk over to a door and open it. I find Arcadia looking at herself in the mirror. “Hey.” I say. I read her mind and smile. “Now would be a great time to talk to Stanley. You might not be able to get him alone any time else.” I say.

She smiles and walks out the door, after knocking. I walk into the living room and sit down on the couch. I sit there and wait for everyone else. Moments later, Dharius comes in. Once he catch sight of me, he turns to leave. “Wait.” I say. I get up and walk over to him. “I never got a chance to tell you thank you for healing her. So thanks, I really appreciate it.” I say

He nods and just turns away.

I shake my head and head back to my room, and sit on my bed. I start to think about Ree and wonder where he is.

Arcadia

I'm a bit taken back at first, but then I remember that Ava probably read my mind. I smile and walk out, deciding to take her advice. Stepping into a bathroom, I wash off all blood and brush my hair. I stare at myself in the mirror; I've never done anything like this and I don't know what he'll say.

You can do it. Nothing to be nervous about, I tell myself. At last I step out of the bathroom and start to look for him. I hear him and Ree talking downstairs somewhere, so I follow their voices. I find them in the living room, already changed and cleaned up. Stanley's wearing black pants and a green shirt. My heart flutters a bit when I see how handsome he looks.

"Hey guys," I say, walking over. My heart won't stop thumping and I'm feeling a bit weak in the knees.

"Hey Arcadia," Stanley flashes a smile at me, making my heart melt. "You wanted to talk to me, right?"

Ree politely gets up from his seat, offering it to me. "I'll leave you two alone. Do you guys know where Ava is?"

"Up the center staircase, room on the right," I tell him.

"Thanks." He walks out, leaving us alone.

"So what is it?" Stanley asks casually.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to slow down my heart rate. "It's something that I just need to tell you. It's important."

He looks concerned. "Is it bad?"

"No, no, of course not," I say quickly. I make eye contact with him, and Everything starts to feel okay. "I have to be truthful though. I... like you," I say slowly.

He looks at me, and there's a slight pause.

Stanley


Inside is even better than outside. A spacious entryway leads to spacious stairs lead to spacious bedrooms, and enough for everyone. I pick out the smallest room on the end because the entire back wall is a window, and at night it will send moonlight streaming over the floor. I hate sleeping in the dark.

Exploring, I open the closet and find a gun case sitting on a shelf, reminding me of Nellie's cruel fate on the ship. The new case looks fancy, and I take it down with the wild hope that my gun was miraculously returned to me. I can't help but feel a flash of disappointment when the gun in the case is not my dear Nellie. It is another shotgun, however, and a very nice semi-automatic Remington 1100 at that. I lift my new lady, admiring her her smooth red finish, her long barrel. She's not quite as nice as Nellie, I decide, peering out my window through the scope But she'll do. I think I'll call her Clarise. Gently returning Clarise to her bed, I am about to head back downstairs when I notice the faint dark blotch of blood on my blazer. Well dang.

I look through the closet, annoyed at the lack of manly stuff. Skinny jeans- what kind of sissy stuff is this? Why don't they just give me some prom dresses? I rifle through a few graphic tee shirts covered with pictures of the Beatles, Coldplay, and one with a skull on it.

"What the heck," I mutter, continuing on my quest until I find a plaid green shirt and a pair of slacks. Gosh, it shouldn't be so hard to dress nice. I slam the door to show those girl-clothes how much I disapprove, then trot downstairs.

Almost immediately I run into Ree. "I'm starving," he tells me cheerfully.

"Me too," I sigh. "Hopefully they'll give us some dinner, or lunch or breakfast, whichever is appropriate at this time."

"I'm just hoping to find the kitchen," sighs Ree. "I'm hopelessly lost in here."

"This place is pretty massive." I admire the chandelier dangling over our heads. Fancy.

Arcadia flounces down the stairs and over to us. "Hey guys," she says with an odd look on her face. She must still be nervous about being here.

"Hiya." I grin at her, hoping she'll relax a little about living in this castle.

"I'll leave you two alone." Ree heads back upstairs.

What's that supposed to mean?

"What's up?" I ask casually, hiding my concern for Ree's mental state.

Arcadia blinks. "I need to tell you something important."

Uh oh. "Like, bad important?"

"No no," she says, looking up at me. "I just need to be truthful."

This is so confusing.

"And the truth is," she continues slowly. "I like you."

Wha-a-a-a-a-a-a-at? I stare at her. She likes me. Me? How could a creature as perfect as Miss Arcadia like me? I'm not one of those cutesy short guys with long eyelashes and the floppy hair that is seductively flingable. I'm six foot three and I shave my head, for pete's sake!

This is all very bemusing. The only thing I've done around her, save for a suave comment or two, was get beat up, get drugged up, and eat like a pig. As appreciative as I am, I just can't understand the attraction.

I must be making a weird face, because Arcadia's countenance grows shadowy. "I just thought you should know," she mumbles.

"Uh, uh," I say smoothly, in shock and awe and amazement and such.

She's still looking at me. It's making me flustered - very flustered.

"You... Like... Me..." I take my time on each word. This had never happened before. The girls always headed for more fluffy models of boyfriends, whilst I was always enlisted by my neighbors to haul firewood.

Miss Arcadia nods. "Do you like me too?" she ventures awkwardly.

I try to think of something to say, because honestly I don't know. (Like I said, this had never happened to me before.) Arcadia was gorgeous, sweet, quiet and gentle and, well, perfect. But how long have I known her? Besides, now isn't the time for a relationship. But then again, it's not just any girl, it's Arcadia.

"Erm, eh," I stumble. "I-..."

"Dinner time, everyone!" The woman calls sweetly, then barks, "Get in here at once!"

Oh, come on!

"We better go," I say a bit too briskly, turning away not before I see the disappointment on her face.

Spoiler

Oh Stanley makes such wonderful idiot. Poor Arcadia. *evil cackle*

Spoiler

Hahaha it's so perfect XD

Arcadia

I feel stupid and a little betrayed by Ava, who was probably only telling me that to make me feel better. At least I told him though. I slowly follow Stanley to the dining room, feeling disappointed.

"Sit down and eat what you want," one of the men from earlier says.

I can't believe my eyes. The table is laden with stews and chicken and mashed potatoes and fresh bread and rice and salads and pastas; plenty of great food from Earth.

"We have studied your society and tried to provide you with things people on Earth seem to enjoy and take comfort in," the other man says.

My stomach rumbles at the sight of the food and I load my plate with fruit salad, chicken, and mashed potatoes. I sit down next to Ree and Allie, but Stanley sits across from me. For some reason, I'm mad at him for not feeling the way I do; I know he can't help it, but I still wish he did.

"We want you to know that our people are generally kind and giving," the woman says. "They will be good to you if you are good to them. However, our king and queen are another matter. They are cruel and harsh, and have prepared to wage war on Earth. They don't have many followers, but if they find out you are here, they will kill you. Unless we introduce them to you, they are not to be trusted."

Ava

I hear the lady call for dinner, so I come out of my room and head to the dining room. On the way there, I find Ree. He smiles and grips my hand as we walk to the dining room. I see Arcadia sitting across from Stanley. She does not look very happy with him. She looks upset and disappointed. I read her mind and discover that Stanley did not say he likes her back. I am honestly astonished that he does not like her.

I look over at Stanley and go into his mind. He is still trying to figure out why Arcadia likes him. I can tell he likes her, but never thought that she would like him. “Really?!” I say loudly.


Everyone looks at me and Stanley shakes his head at me. He tells me not to say anything about that to me in his mind. I find a quick solution to the problem. “You did not leave two seats beside each other for Ree and me?” I say awkwardly. Vega laughs a moves down a seat.