Chosen- Started.

Spoiler

Lol I feel like they're in middle school *eats popcorn* Here comes a monster post

Stanley


Wow. Oh wow, wow, wow. There is a veritable feast before us, much of which is pasta. I ladle a massive amount of stew for myself ignoring basically everything else, and sit down. Arcadia and Ava both shoot me a look, and when Vega notices she glances at me too. I hunch over my meal, trying to ignore them.

Why does Arcadia even like me? I honestly still can't figure that out. It wasn't me who defended her when Dharius yelled at her, it was Ree. I only sprung to action when Ree got beat up- and I ended up getting beaten myself. I never did anything chivalrous or daring. There is honestly nothing that comes to mind. And there is another thing that confuses me: what do I do now? Despite the fact that I don't know her that well, thinking about her gives me a rising feeling in my gut, the way you get when you're riding down a roller coaster that makes you want to scream in exhilaration and get off at the same time.

"Really?" Ava says rather loudly. I glare at her and give my head a small shake, positive she's reading my mind. That woman better not say anything; I'd like to be left alone.

A few spots are rearranged so Ava and Ree can sit together. I try to focus on my stew, grateful for Dharius and Leo's indifference as they sit on either side of me. Thankfully, the woman starts speaking before anything awkward can happen.

"We want you to know that our people are generally kind and giving," she begins with a hard edge to her voice. "They'll be good to you as long as you're good to them. Our King and Queen are another matter- they're cruel and harsh, and they're all set to wage war on Earth. They don't have many followers, but if they discover you, they'll kill you. Unless we introduce them to you, they are not to be trusted."

I tune out of the conversation because something else has caught my attention. Dharius is hanging onto the woman's every word, looking anxious, like he can't make up his mind about something. Is Dharius having second thoughts? I push the thought away. That's ridiculous.

"Are you going to introduce us, then?" Allie calls out, waving a piece of chicken around on her fork.

The woman looks at Mr. Mustache, who gives his head a small shake.

"That is still to be determined, but the spies are definitely not going."

WHAT?

"Not fair," Leo mutters. I give the woman a nasty glower, but I don't think she notices. The other man, who unlike Mr. Mustache is tall and completely hairless, says other things, but since I'm obviously not relevant in this conversation I tune out.

As soon as dinner is over I slink out, eager to get away from the social scene. I slip out the back door, shifting into Par as soon as I lock it behind me. Then I run into the woods.

It's dark now, the night air cool and cloud-laden. The forest is teeming with life; scents of everythings and sounds of scurrying critters tempt my senses. I'm too full of stew to hunt, however, and I simply explore.

My legs stretch and retract as I sprint far faster than I could on my fat old Stanley legs. I maneuver through the thick underbrush easily, leaping over a fallen log here and darting around a sticker bush there. Heart racing and blood roaring in my ears, I keep going until I reach the ocean. Staring out over the moonlit water I sigh. This is so much more complicated than I initially thought, and yet I feel a sense of peace as I lie curled in the sand with my tail wrapped around me. There is a reason we're here, I know it. God has something big planned between Earth and Arkyle. I just hope it's the good kind of big.

"I guess I should go back," I yip to myself. "I didn't even tell anyone where I was going."

Standing up and shaking my fur free of sand, I glance once more back to the ocean before I creep back into the woods on silent paws.

Par is so cool.

Arcadia

As soon as dinner is over, I head out, Ava following me.

"Hey, what happened exactly?" she asks.

I stop and turn towards her, feeling the urge to cry. "He basically beat around the bush when I told him. He doesn't like me back, and he didn't know what to say," I tell her after taking a deep breath.

She shakes her head. "That's impossible. I read his mind, and all he thinks about is you. He doesn't know how to say it back I guess."

"Telling him was stupid though, even if he does like me," I say. "What can we do? I've only had one boyfriend before, and he turned out to be a jerk. Besides, I don't think I could actually date Stanley when we barely know each other. I'm acting crazy and-"

"Calm down!" Ava says, ending my panicked babbling. "It's okay. Let's go find him and talk to him together."

"But what if it ends badly? What if-"

"We'll figure that out later!" she insists, grabbing my wrist and dragging me back downstairs. "When you guys talk, you will figure it out. Trust me, just talk it out with him. Now help me find him."

Spoiler

Hey can Arcadia think that Ava likes him or something. Could start some drama with Stanley, Ree, Arcadia and Ava. Ofthechosen feel free to jump in too.

Ava

We look all over the house, but I swear he is not there. Arcadia is in the other room, and I can hear her freaking out in the other room, talking to herself. “Have you always talked to yourself.” I ask.

She pops her into the room I am in. “I am not talking to yourself.” She says.

I look at her, confused. “But I heard you.” I say.

“I promise you, I did not say anything. I was thinking, but I did not say anything.” She says.

I smile. “I can read minds when they are not in the same room. Nice!” I say. “Wait that's it. I will read his mind.” I say.

“He could be anywhere.” She says.

“I can try.” I say. I concentrate and close my eye, trying to picture Stanley. He is thinking about Par and he is about to come back into the house. “He is in his room.” I lie.

“Okay I will go check.”

I quickly run to the front door, just as Stanley walks in. I yank him out the door. “What the heck Stanley? Why did you not tell her you liked her.” I ask.

Dharius

I start searching around the mansion. The place is incredibly big and is full of surprises, like some stuffed animals I've never seen before. One of them is some kind of aquatic deer, with scales shiny as saphire and a tail about two meters long.

After walking around some minutes, I find my way into the living room, where Ava is. Dammit, I think, and start turning around to avoid more crappy romantic things on my head. However, before I leave, she tells me to wait and comes with me. “I never got a chance to tell you thank you for healing her. So thanks, I really appreciate it.” She says. Ignoring her, I just nod and walk away.

I don't even know what the hell am I doing, but I just walk and walk, trying to clear my thoughts. Don't think about her, do not freaking think about her... But the more I try to stop it, the more I imagine her smile and her beautiful face. AGH! Stop it! I'm staring through a window, watching a small river flow in the middle of the forest to stop thinking about Ava when suddenly a voice calls us for dinner.

I walk through a maze of corridors with paintings and hallows in the walls, going to the dining room. I see Ree sits next to Ava... just watching both laugh and look at each other makes me sick and wants me to hit Ree in the face. But that's not why I'm here.

"We want you to know that our people are generally kind and giving," says one of the helpers. Finally, information I really need. I stop eating and put close attention to each of her words. "They will be good to you if you are good to them." So I must be kind with them, huh?... "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."

So this is it. The vital point of my mission. But this is not the time to think about the information... Not while Ava is here, with those amazing eyes and her beautiful skin, which Ree seems to love.

Spoiler

I'm okay with whatever, but we're straying farther and farther from the story line. Just putting it out there.

Stanley


Out of everyone on the team, Ava is the one I'm most afraid of. Not Dharius, who has already proven himself dangerous; not Vega or Allie, the former able to boil my blood and the latter able to set me ablaze. It's Ava, the one who can read my every thought, who's unsafe. Any time, she could be listening in on me. It's unnerving.

And, of course, it's Ava catches me.

I trot up to the back door and slide through the pet flap, which I'm sure hadn't been there when I went out. The suddenly harsh light makes me blink. How do pets live in houses? It must drive them crazy.

Suddenly a hand reaches down and snatches my scruff, lifting me until I dangle uselessly at eye level with Ava. I twist around, feeling a surge of animal panic; the action effects in nothing except the skin on my neck stretching painfully. I go limp, snarling.

"What the heck Stanley!" Ava hisses. "Why didn't you tell her you liked her?"

Why won't these women just leave me alone? I shift into Stanley and Ava steps back because, well, humans don't have scruffs.

The back of my neck aches intensely; I rub it, glaring at Ava. "That hurt."

She looks like she doesn't care at all. "You hurt Arcadia."

"No I didn't," I say lamely. "She caught me off guard, okay? I wasn't expecting that and besides, we got called to dinner five seconds later."

"You could have talked to her after instead of going for an hour-long walk."

I don't have a good answer for that. What do I say, that I've been avoiding her?

"Go talk to her. Now."

Nodding, I turn and scamper up the stairs: I'm not sure if she is controlling my mind, but I'm eager to get away in case she is.

Once I'm at the top, facing her door, I begin to wonder what I'm doing. I have no plan what I'm going to say, no idea if I even like her or not. I lift my hand to knock, then lower it back to my side. I'm not sure what to do - best go think of something over night. Of course, we'll probably be thinking of something tomorrow. Oh well! Backing away towards my room, I turn to find Arcadia looking at me.

"Whoa!" I stumble into the wall ungracefully.

"Sorry to startle you," she says, taking a step back. The hallway is rather thin, thin enough for her to block my way out, if unintentionally.

"No problem." This is so awkward.

"Listen, Stanley," Miss Arcadia begins. "I didn't mean to throw myself on you like that. If you don't like me-"

Is that what she thinks? That she's throwing herself on me? I don't know who's crazier: her for liking me, or me for being an indecisive dork. Just say something smooth, Stanley. I encourage myself.

"Arcadia, of course I like you." I interrupt her (where did this confidence come from?) "How could anyone not like you?"

She falls silent, gazing up at me hopefully.

"I mean, you're really gentle and sweet and if I denied that I thought you were gorgeous, I'd be lying." I continue. "In truth, I find it a shock and an honor to have a lady such as you think fondly of me."

She smiles. "Really?"

"Really. But the thing is, we don't know each other that well yet. Maybe we can be friends for awhile - you know not jump into anything?"

Miss Arcadia looks either disappointed or relieved; I can't tell which and I never will, because Mr. Mustache decides to come down the hall at this exact moment.

"Shouldn't you two be in bed?" He asks. "We have a big day tomorrow: We're gonna be exploring the city."

Sighing, I retreat into my room and close the door. Beautiful rolling forests, romance, and cities to explore? This sounds more like a vacation than saving the world... Not that that's a bad thing.

At the same time, if it is really going to be as easy as this, why do we need powers and weapons? They told you it was just in case. No reason to worry.

Once again, I feel like we are not being told everything.

Spoiler

Sorry for not posting in so long!

Ree

There was a brief silence. The other Chosen - since that was what we seemed to be calling ourselves now - looked at the adults for a moment, apparently curious.

The adults laughed. I blinked, surprised and a little affronted. They just waved us inside, telling us to make ourselves at home and that they'd be back in an hour for a meal.

A little disgruntled, I did as they said, following everyone else inside, and the sheer grandeur of the place nearly drove any questions out of my mind. A massive crystal chandelier, looming over us from the soaring ceiling, watched over a massive staircase that split off into three sets, rich-looking walls and rugs, portraits and plinths and statues on the walls, and other things that are generally seen in a museum or insanely rich person's collection. They were putting teenagers in this place? It was so nice I suddenly wondered if I'd ever be able to feel at home here.

Arcadia ran up the center stairs, leading the charge, and everyone else dispersed, most people going up the stairs to find rooms. I walked to the left and found a series of bedrooms, all of them enough to make a five-star hotel manager flush. I picked a room with cream-colored walls and a massive glass door opening to a small balcony area. There was also a window, looking out over the Arkylian forest. Lots of glass - and a nice view, of course. Both pluses.

There was an epic oak-looking wardrobe at one side of the room. Opening it, I discovered all sorts of clothes, from million-dollar tuxedos to t-shirts and gym shorts. Sweet. I looked at myself - my pants were a little torn up, and my hoodie was dirty. At first, I waved it off - it was my favorite hoodie; it was comfortable - but I wondered what Ava might think. So, promising to myself I'd have the hoodie washed, I threw on an orange shirt and changed into jeans. There.

Looking in the mirror, I was surprised to see my black eye gone. Then I remembered Dharius's blood - it must have healed that, along with the scratches from the glass. Still, my face was dirt-smeared and I ran water over it before walking back out.

My stomach began to complain as I went down the staircase - I realized I hadn't eaten on the ship, and I was starving. Looking around, I realized I had no idea where anything was.

Stanley came down, and I smiled in greeting. "I'm starving," I said, wondering if he knew where the kitchen was - Stanley always seemed to find the food pretty fast.

"Me too," said Stanley, looking resigned. "Hopefully they'll give us some dinner, or lunch or breakfast, whatever is appropriate at this time."

"I'm just hoping to find the kitchen." I looked around once again, sighing. "I'm hopelessly lost in here."

"This place is pretty massive."

I was about to say something else, but Arcadia came in.

"Hey, guys." Despite her casual tone, she looked nervous, and I noticed Stanley stopped looking around and smiled at her as she came in.

"Hey, Arcadia," he greeted her. "You wanted to talk to me, right?" I remembered the way he'd been looking at her all day.

I stood - I didn't want to interrupt this. "I'll leave you two alone," I said, offering Arcadia my chair. "Do you guys know where Ava is?"

"Up the center staircase, room on the right," Arcadia told me.

"Thanks." I left, headed for the stairs, but instead I found her in the massive living room. My breath caught in my throat, and I had to catch myself against the wall - she was amazing! A sky blue dress swirled down past her knees, and her hair was shining in the soft light of the chandelier, and... and...

Oh. And Dharius was there. Unexplainable anger rose in me. Why did he have to be there to ruin the sight of Ava standing there, so beautiful? A small voice of logic told me he wasn't committing any crime by being there, but still, I didn't like it. I didn't like him.

He left her, and she went upstairs, not seeing me. I stood there for a moment and considered going after Dharius and asking him what he had to do with Ava. But that would be paranoid... although I thought he'd been looking at her strangely the last few hours. In fact, I was sure of it. Suddenly I felt like running after Ava and hiding her away in a safe, warm room somewhere. But that would be a little more than paranoid...

I forced myself to shake the thoughts away as Ava came back down from whatever she was doing, still in that amazing dress. I smiled at her, taking her hand. It didn't matter how anyone looked at her, because she'd chosen me. The thought made me feel warm inside as we went off towards the room where someone was calling for dinner.

Arcadia and Stanley were there already, sitting across from each other and looking unhappy. I frowned a little - I'd expected them to be happy after the talk I'd left them to. Maybe I'd misread the situation. Neither of them looked very pleased, though. I wondered what was wrong.

I noticed Ava was looking at Stanley. Then, after a moment, she cried, "Really?!"

Everyone stared at her. She looked around awkwardly, and then said, "You didn't leave two seats beside each other for Ree and me?"

Vega laughed, moving over, and I sat with Ava, wondering whose mind she'd been reading. Was she reading mine? That was the one unnerving thing about Ava - I could never tell if my thoughts were private or not. As I watched her eyes sparkle in the light, though, I decided it was worth it. By a long shot.

The food was amazing, but conversation was sort of awkward after the adults finished talking about how the Arkylians - which apparently they were part of, now, even though they were supposedly humans - were giving and kind, but the king and queen weren't to be trusted. Ava was glaring daggers at Stanley the whole time - what did he do? - and Arcadia kept looking weird at both of them. Everyone else just ate their food. Curious, I wondered if I should ask about it after dinner.

After the meal, Stanley all but ran away, and Arcadia left. Ava followed her, and the others pretty much cleared out.

Dharius was still there, though. He'd been giving me a weird look as he sat down after me, and I turned to him. He was regarding me strangely and a little hostilely. I wondered if my gaze was the same; I hadn't forgotten that he'd beaten the snot out of me the same day. Then I decided that it probably didn't; Dharius's eyes were creepy.

I wondered if I should say something, or leave, or ignore him.

Spoiler

Huge post is huge. I'm really sorry...

Ava

I walk back into the house. I find Ree and Dharius holding a glare at each other. I wave my arms around, but the do not see me. I jump up and down, but still nothing. Vega walks in while I was jumping and laughs. “What are you doing?” She asks. The boys look over simultaneously.

“Seeing how long it took them to see I was here.” I say smiling.

Ree gets up and walks over to me. He puts his arm around me as we walk to our room. “You seem worried.” he says.

I look over at him and shrug. “Like you said, we are just kids. What if we can't do it?” I ask. “I mean, I do not know how to control my power. I am always reading peoples minds not. If I even think about reading someones mind or wonder what they are thinking, it is like there thoughts pour into my head.” I confess. “It is not very pleasant having peoples every thought in my mind. It feels like I have a billion brains in my head.”

“You will learn. It all comes with time. It is going to take a while for us to learn.” He says comforting me.

“I cannot even begin to imagine how other people feel, well I can, but you know what I mean.” I say.

“I do.” he says, laughing at my struggle with words.

“What are you two doing up so late?” the woman asks.

We look to each other and shrug. “I don't,” I begin.

The woman cuts me off. “Look we have a huge day tomorrow. You need to get use to the area, get use to how most people here act. I do not want to hear about it if you are tired.” She says. “So get to bed.”

We nod and Ree walks me to my room. “Good night.” he says.

“Night.” I say. I get on my tip toes and kiss his cheek.

He smiles and bends down to kiss mine. We soon part and I go into my room. I quickly change and lay in my bed. I have no idea how tomorrow is going to play out. We need to act like we are from here. I pray that they are somewhat like Earth.

Arcadia

I slowly shut my door behind me, leaning against it and smiling. I didn't expect to begin a relationship right away, so I'm happy to get to know Stanley. And the fact that he likes me back makes me feel as though I'm on cloud nine.

I rifle through the closet until I find a grey t-shirt and a pair of blue shorts. I quickly put my hair up in a messy bun and run across the hall to the bathroom. I brush my teeth and wash my face before running back to my room, and running smack into Ava.

"Oops, sorry," I say, rubbing my head.

"Its okay," she says, laughing a bit.

"By the way thank you for helping my with Stanley," I tell her, smiling at the thought.

She smiles widely. "No problem. He just needed to be encouraged."

I nod. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

We both walk back to our rooms, softly shutting the doors so we don't wake anyone. I nestle deep under the covers, sighing contentedly as I drift off to sleep.

Spoiler

Sorry for the lack of posting, but I've been sick / am still sick. I've managed to get a moment of brain clarity so I'm using it to post.

Alli

I let my mind wander as the people lead us to our lodgings. I think of the Chosen, and what we're to stand for. Who is our true enemy? How are we to take them down with so many restrictions? And can we trust the people who are guiding us?

Finally, we arrive at a spectacular looking mansion, but instead of noting the brilliance of its features, I continue thinking. We are led into an equally magnificent foyer and are given a reminder of the rules. We are also told that we are not against the Arkylian people, just their King and Queen. We are also told that they shall return in an hour for a meal.

When we are dismissed, I head up one of the grand staircases, searching for a room. I peer through the open doors and find frilly shades of pink and purple, luscious bedspreads of greens, and even a room of the most gaudy shade of yellow that I have ever seen. But of course, this room is decorated as fancily as everything else, despite the nauseating colour scheme.

I peer through the last door at the end of the corridor, disappointed by the previous options. I stop and stare. The walls are painted in a delicate shade of creamy lemon, soft and bright and calming. This yellow frames the thick white of the carpet. The furniture is decorated by redwoods and shades of crimson and rose, adorned by the occasional sapphire blue. The massive bed is grand but simple, only adorning two pillows stack atop each other. This is all lighted by carefully crafted candles in both a golden chandelier and atop carved glass plates. "Prefect," I say softly as I head to the wardrobe to change.

Out of all the extravagant clothing options in the wardrobe, I choose a pair of plain black jeans and a sky blue halter top. I don't bother to slip on any shoes, but I do pull my hair into a loose ponytail with a black hair tie.
I then wander through the maze of a house in search of the dining hall.

The dining hall is warm and homely, filled with a feast of extravagant Earth foods. I silently creep over to a corner of the table, getting away from the obvious tension between Dharius and Ree, but not before grabbing a few slices of garlic pizza and a pizza topped with ham, bacon, tomato sauce, pepperoni, egg, and mushroom. I delight in the sweet greasy butter and garlic, also enjoying the mushroom, meat, and egg combination.

After dinner, I head up to my room, preparing for bed. I change into a pair of sapphire silk pajamas and snuggle under the thick quilt. I relax as the bed heats up, loving all this room to stretch out - my bed at home being nowhere near as large as this. Finally, I use my powers to snuff out the candles, letting my eyelids droop and the world of dreams envelope me.


"Alli!" a voice screams into my ear, quickly followed by a bucket of ice cold water. I squeal as my comfort is replaced by a stabbing cold and a very wet pillow. "Wake up!" the voice says again. "We've got a big day planned for you!" I groan and roll over, drying up all the water as I attempt to hide under the covers.

Spoiler

aw feel better, ninja

Stanley


The second the sun peeks over the horizon, I am wide awake, so hyper it feels like Christmas. Throwing on some gym clothes, I quietly let myself out into the hall and down the stairs. Hoping for a snack, I navigate to the kitcheno only to find mr. Mustache, the woman, and the lanky man eating breakfast.

"Morning, Stanley" The woman sounds much more cheerful than she looks. " you up early too?"

"Who else is up?" I ask, grabbing a banana.

"Dharius." Mr. Mustache takes a large bite of delicious-smelling sausage. "He went to the gym room. You two can have a weight-lifting competition, eh?"

"Something like that," I mutter. I had been hoping there was a gym here, but one with Dharius could be very awkward.

"Anyways," the woman continues. "You'd better hurry, because breakfast is in one hour and you need to be presentable by then."

"Yes ma'am." I am told the location of the gym, and I head there with more than a little trepidation.

When I enter the gym room, the first thing I notice is Dharius doing push-ups on a mat. He pauses mid push-up to stare at me.

"Morning, Dharius." I smile uneasily, hoping he won't do something grumpy.

"You're up early, Fox-guy," he grunts.

"Well, you know..." I start inching toward the weights in the corner. "I was just shy of lifting 200 pounds; I don't want to get out of shape or anything."

Dharius smiles tauntingly. "200 pounds? That's it?"

Now it's my turn to grunt. "You think you can lift more?"

"I didn't say that."

"You're thinking it."

"Alright." Dharius stands up. "Why don't we see who's the stronger man?"




Twenty minutes later, and we're neck and neck, both of us straining 185-pound dumbbells over our respective heads. I'm running out of steam, but so is he; he must have already tired himself out before I came in, ha!

"What say we add 10 pounds?" I dare, even though I have yet to go so high. Hopefully the scientists gave me super strength and just didn't say anything.

Dharius simply nods: we chuck the dumbbells to the ground unceremoniously, me narrowly missing my feet. I can't help but remember the fight, where I ended up having to cheat end practically kill him- surely he's thinking of it too. Well, now is your chance to beat Dharius fair and square. Just as I'm adding another plate when in comes the lanky man.

"Get ready," he orders. "We don't want our dining room smelling of sweaty men."

Gross.

"I almost had you," Dharius says as he leaves the gym.

"Whatever stops the tears, Dharius!" I call after him.

As I go up to my own room, a new thought strikes me: Dharius was being almost... Nice! And that's like, the third time he did something not rude our crabby.

I shower and change, then race downstairs, sausage-deprived. Everyone at the table has wet hair, as if they all just got out is the shower. Huh.

"Everyone, today we're going to a nearby park." Mr. Mustache announces as we dog into our food- toast, bagels, bacon, eggs, and (my favorite) sausage. "We want you to get accustomed to society here; Arkylian etiquette is somewhat different than that on Earth. For example, people WILL come up to you and introduce themselves, but shaking hands is unheard of here. Eye contact and your name will be more than enough.
"Also, cats and Russian foxes have been domesticated enough to travel with their owners. There are no dogs on Aryle. Stanley and Arcadia will be in animal form and kept on leashes."

What?!

"Wolves are not domesticated on Arkyle. They are allowed within the city to control the horse population."

"The horse population?" Allie echos in disbelief.

"Don't worry- they're more like wild deer than actual horses. Both genders have antlers, and they have been known to chase and attack people. Wolves hunting Arkylian horses is a common sight around here."

I think that's pretty interesting, though the girls all look a bit green.

The woman looks impatient. "Well, hurry up and eat so we can go!"

Spoiler

Monster post! ofthechosen, I hope you don't mind Dharius being relatively friendly. And if anyone has any other facts about Arkyle, do tell therm.

Ava

Ree and I sit next to each other at the table. My hair is on the verge of drying. I did not have enough time to dry it, considering I woke up late.


The people talk to us about what we are going to be doing today. Apparently we are going to a park. “Stanley and Arcadia will be on leashes.” the man says.

I almost choke on my water from laughing. They both have blank expressions on there faces. “Aw that is so cute.” I say laughing. “I want to walk Stanley and Arcadia.” I say. Ree laughs, but Stanley and Arcadia glare at me.

Moments later, Alli comes in soaking wet. “What happened to you?” Vega asks.

“Ice water and me are no longer friends.” She says.

“You all need to hurry. We want to leave in five minutes.” the man says.

Everyone falls quite and begins to eat. I finish my food and I take to clean it. “Anyone else done?” I ask.

Vega, Dharius, Stanley and Arcadia hand me there plates and thank me. Ree gets up and helps me clean them.

“Let's go.” the woman says. We all go to the front door.
All the spies shift. I put the leashes on Stanley and Arcadia.

“I have always wanted a cat and a fox.” I say pestering them. I put the leash around my arm and we all walk ou the door.

Arcadia

I feel rather humiliated being towed on the leash like a pet. I really wanted to meet the people of Arkyle. I'm disappointed that I can't.

"This is degrading," I think to Stanley.

Stanley shakes his head. "Tell me about it. It's not very manly."

As we enter town, people eagerly come out and greet the others. Angrily, I sit there, twitching my tail and glaring at the people. A couple of people notice Stanley and I and bend down to pet us. I can't help but let out a purr at their soft touch.

"What did you name them?" one of them asks.

"The fox is Stanley and the cat is Arcadia," Vega says.

"Those are strange names," the other says.

My ears flatten. I liked my name.

The others continue to chat with the villagers, leading to more petting. I enjoy it, but Stanley doesn't seem to like it as much.

"Ugh, it makes my fur feel dirty," he complains.

Dharius

By now, everything is going well. I've talked more to Stanley, and a bit to the others. I've participated more in team chatting. I must give a good impression to avoid suspects, and now is the time for it to get harder.

We're going to a park full of Arkylians, which seem exactly the same as the Earth inhabitants. The only difference is their outfits, which seem to be a way more modern version of our clothes. Other than that, Arkyle isn't that different from Earth. There are kind people and there are mean people. There are friendly and there are antisocial. Seems that Arkyle is full of variety, just like our home planet.

* * *

After almost an hour of "meet and talk", all of us are in some kind of town, although it seems it is too modern to be a town, with all the buildings that remind me of New York, on Earth. We walk onto a huge building with a enormous screen on it. Suddenly, a message appears on the screen accompanied by a man's voice, which shouts "People of Arkyle, receive a message from our King!".

My heart starts beating incredibly fast. Like freaking hell. On the screen, a man with a strange outfit appears, holding a silver staff with a jewel on top of it. What the heck is that?, I think. He MUST use it for something, that doesn't seem like a normal staff. Anyway, Arkyle may have any kind of surprises.

"People of Arkyle!", calls the image of the King. "You may be wondering why do I bother on talking to you." Around us, every Arkylian seems to be looking in awe, but full of fear too. "We have been informed that a group of people from other planet have landed on Arkyle." A stream of murmurs runs through the crowd surrounding us. The king coughes and continues talking. "Anyone who brings them to our capital, Opes, will receive a great bounty and honor from the King and Queen. Anyone else who knows anything about them but refuses to talk, will be tortured to death along with his or her family."

The screen turns off. Noise starts surrounding us. The Arkylians start to disturb.

S**t. Maybe I don't have that much time.

Before I even move, the big screen turns on again. The King appears... I wonder why doesn't the Queen shows up. "Let me inform you," starts saying the monarch, "that those people are from Earth, the planet that stole the Ead Box. The golden box who belongs us, and is one of the most important objects from our history." The image fades out.

I expect noise, screaming people, something... But I don't hear nothing. Not even a breath.

Spoiler

JUST LOST MY POST :'(. Anyway, I have an idea heehee

Leo

I didn't go with the group, for one, i hated deer, and second, I didn't trust the Arkylians. I snuck away unnoticed after we left and started to investigate. I shifted my eyes and ears to wolf form, so I can see better and hear if anyone was coming. I soon found a hidden door, the outline hidden from normal eyes. I opened the door, finding myself in a room full of computers. I flicked the switch, and the screens came to life.

On every screen was a live video feed of every room, from almost every angle. My eyes widened. I turned around and fled the house, morphing into my wolf form, and ran at full speed, following the scent of the others.

Ree

None of us ended up saying anything, which was kind of awkward. We just ended up looking at each other. As the time passed and each of us began to wonder why the heck the other guy wasn't leaving, it turned into a glaring contest, I guess. Suddenly I knew I couldn't leave, or else I'd surrendered, given up. So we just glared at each other.

"What are you doing?" came Vega's voice suddenly, and our eye contact shattered as we turned to look.

Ava was standing there, in front of a grinning Vega. "Seeing how long it took them to see I was here," she smirked. Oh. Abruptly I wondered how long she'd been there. Then I wondered if she thought I didn't care.

I stood, going over to her to show that I did care about her - it didn't occur to me that she could just read my thoughts. Besides, being next to her felt so nice.

I realized there was an unhappy tint in her eyes. "You look worried," I said, wondering why.

She looked at me for a moment and gave a shrug. "Like you said, we're just kids. What if we can't do it? I mean, I do not know how to control my power. I am always reading people's minds or not." She looked distressed now. "If I even think about reading someone's mind or wonder what they are thinking, it's like their thoughts pour into my head. It is not very pleasant having people's every thought in my mind. It feels like I have a billion brains in my head."

For a second, I wasn't sure what exactly to say. I couldn't imagine what that must be like. "You'll learn," I finally said, realizing she needed some sort of encouragement, even a lame one. "It all comes with time," I added, even though I wasn't at all certain of that. I shoved the doubt out of my mind in case she caught it - she needed comfort, not doubt. "It's going to take a while for us to learn."

"I cannot even begin to imagine how other people feel," Ava began. "Well, I can, but... you know what I mean."

"I do," I said, laughing a little.

The woman who we'd met earlier spoke - I didn't remember her getting there, but she sounded stern. "What are you two doing up so late?"

We looked at each other, shrugging. "I don't-" Ava began, but she was cut off.

"Look," the woman snapped, "we have a huge day tomorrow. You need to get used to the area, get used to how most people here act. I do not want to hear about it if you are tired, so get to bed!"

I nodded swiftly, leaving with Ava. Jeez, you'd think staying up past sunset was a crime.

Ava stopped; we'd reached her room. I smiled at her. "Goodnight," I said. She looked much more peaceful; I hoped that what I'd said had comforted her.

"'Night," Ava returned, and then it happened. She pushed up onto her toes, and I felt her lips touch my cheek. It was like a little fire lit there, except it didn't burn. It felt amazing, the sensation of her.

I couldn't stop the smile that split my face, and I leaned down, returning the kiss. I couldn't help thinking that we'd both missed, but the thought dissolved almost ask quickly as it had come. I'd gotten a kiss on the cheek; that was enough to last me for a month without sleep. Besides, we'd just met today, I realized.

Ava went into her room after that, and I lingered for just a few seconds, still entranced. I wanted to go in after her and spend the whole night in her presence, her with that beautiful hair and that thoughtful smile.

In the end, of course, I went back to my room before one of the adults caught me and pulled me there by my ear. I didn't even bother to change; I flopped onto the bed, only realizing as I hit the mattress that I was absolutely stone-dead tired. Then I thought about Ava again, and that she had kissed me on the cheek.

I fell asleep with the smile still playing across my lips.



I was so deep in sleep that the voice barely even pierced the darkness. Then I felt something poke me, and I groaned, rolling groggily. Then came the voice again, louder this time.

"Come on! You wake up every morning, surely it's not that hard by now!"

I opened my eyes, blinking sleepily against the light that assaulted them. "What?" I muttered slowly.

I realized that the man with a mustache was standing there, glaring down at me. "It is well past time to get up," he declared grumpily.

"Oh."

"And you didn't even change out of your clothes last night."

I realized I hadn't - I was still in the green shirt and pants. "Oh," I repeated intelligently. Then I rolled over again and was rewarded with a shove that knocked me off the bed. I yelped as I hit the ground, then pushed myself into a half-sitting position, rubbing my head with my free hand and still blinking groggily.

"Get up, you sloth!" demanded the man. "I've been in here five minutes trying to get you out of here!"

"What?" I mumbled.

"Just get dressed," he grumbled, turning to leave. As the door shut, I leaned back against the bed, sighing and trying to wake myself up. After a minute of sitting there, mustering myself to move, I hauled myself up and shuffled to the wardrobe. Opening it, I found my now-clean hoodie and picked it out, pleased.

After changing and splashing water on my face in an attempt to wake up, I went downstairs and met up with Ava. I smiled at her and we went into the kitchen together, where the others were just arriving for breakfast. We sat next to each other.

Breakfast was good, and everyone seemed in a better mood than at the previous meal - even Dharius. I was surprised that he possessed the capacity for a good mood.

It was announced that Stanley and Arcadia were to be kept on leashes - Ava found that amusing, and I found myself laughing with her. Shortly afterwards, we left and went into the town, which was not far off.

I was amazed at how normal everything seemed. The clothing was a little different, but we weren't actually that out of place - the Arkylians could even pass as humans. I began to wonder how our planets were so alike. They even spoke English here!

After about an hour of this, everyone started going into this massive building. Wondering what was going on, we followed, and a huge screen lit up. My breath caught in my throat - it was the King of Arkyle. At least, that's what they told us.

He looked like a king alright - he wore this fancy, expensive-looking getup with a silver, jeweled staff. I wondered if it was for looks or if it did something.

"People of Arkyle!" he called. No one responded, I guess because there was no point. "You may be wondering, why do I bother talking to you?" I blinked, affronted even though I wasn't even Arkylian. Way to show them you care! I thought. Three seconds in and he acts like a jerk. What a noble king. But as I looked around, the people were staring in awed fear. But it's just a person, I protested silently.

"We have been informed that a group of people from another planet have landed on Arkyle." Oh, that would be us. We were celebrities! "Anyone who brings them to our capital, Opes, will receive a great bounty and honor from the King and Queen." I felt my heart sink into my stomach, and alarm started ringing through my head. You don't offer a bounty for welcomed diplomats. His next words sealed my suspicions and made my breath catch. "Anyone else who knows anything about them but refuses to talk will be tortured to death, along with his or her family."

The screen went off for a moment, and there were murmurs and whispers throughout the room. I didn't move, though; I wanted to throw up, but I didn't think anything could get past the lump that had formed in my throat. My heart was pounding. Torture? Who threatens torture over a bunch of kids? And the families! An image of a little girl and her mother screaming in agony stained my mind, and I closed my eyes, trying as hard as I could to shove the image away. I was definitely going to be sick. That was if I didn't cry like a ninny first. The screen came back on, and the King sealed the deal by adding that the intruders were from the nasty planet Earth, and that the Ead Box-thing was very important. Then the screen went black, and everyone just stood there - the Arkylians in respect, I guess, and the Chosen in absolute shock and horror.

I wanted to collapse into the ground and dissolve. This wasn't what I had signed up for! I had not signed up to be nearly killed, maimed, pounded on, dropped out of a spaceship from however many miles high, and now stuck on a planet with gold on my head and the weight of unknown numbers of innocent, kind people dying unspeakable deaths because of me. Oh, God, how many... maybe they're not serious? No, he's serious... what if they've already arrested people they suspect? What are those people- I tried to cut myself off but couldn't, and I ended up sitting down hard in a chair.

All of a sudden I wanted to cry. Wussy as that was, I wanted to run home and get my mom and my dad and my brother and just be home, and then I would be safe enough to cry. I'm a kid! I wanted to scream. Screw all that junk about being a 'young adult' - I'm a kid! What am I doing here? I'm going to die here! And now I'm stuck, and I can't get out, and I don't know who I can trust, and I have all these horrible thoughts and images running through my brain and the worst part is they're true- I stopped abruptly as I saw Ava looking at me. Her face was impossible to read. Ava. Is she reading my thoughts? She can't be - I have to keep her safe... maybe she'll be alright if I can make her think I'll be alright. Why does she have to read minds?! This is all their fault! And suddenly I was mad. Really mad - at the scientists. At the government. This was their fault!

I leaped to my feet and grabbed the nearest human adult by the arm, not caring if the Arkylians noticed me. "What is this crap?" I demanded in a hiss. "A bounty? Torture? Why weren't we told? Why weren't we warned? Why would you send a bunch of innocent kids into this nightmare without telling them what the heck is going on? What do you want with us, and why do you feel like it's so necessary that you have to lie to us about it, huh? What about us? What about me - what about her?" I jabbed a finger at Ava. "What's your problem with telling the truth? Go on, enlighten me with your great, adult wisdom on why you sent us here!"

I realized that my voice had risen to nearly a shout, and some of the people nearest to us were staring. It was honestly hard to care, though, mainly since most of the other Arkylians had resumed their everyday business and were talking.

"Because," the man said loudly, "I heard about the announcement! We don't want to miss the King's message, do we?" He quieted his voice, giving me a look that would normally have made me back down but didn't this time. "Watch yourself, before someone decides they want to become rich. And you may want to show some respect, too. Do you think I enjoy this? Now, come on. We need to make our way out of here before people get curious over your little show."

I felt my face go red, both with anger and a little bit of embarrassment, as he turned to leave. I had been kind of loud... but the man hadn't answered any of my questions. I intended to find out, sooner or later... for now, though, there was no choice but to follow. So I did, balling my hands into fists to keep from grabbing a chair and bashing everyone there over the head with it.

Spoiler

Okay, I'm really, really, really sorry for this massive wall-o-words... I haven't gotten to write much, and I had to play catch-up. And then I got carried away. As usual. XD

Is this ('this' being the King's speech) part of your big idea, Chosen? Because I think I like where it might be going... Arah, yours looks good too. Maybe I should get an idea...