Forums » General Roleplay » On the Wings of Freedom: 1x1

"I'm alone!" she cried out in reaction to the increased pressure. She squirmed against the wall, trying to wiggle her way out. "I'm alone. The day the city went under lockdown I was left alone with no way of contacting any of the others. They have no idea I'm still alive and I didn't know what to do except keep on pursuing you. That's all I'm good for in this situation until they come back. But who knows when that will be?"

She stopped trying to escape as she tried to calm down. "I met others. They want to protect you. They think you're an angel sent down from heaven or something. They knew about my connection to you and sought me to help them find you. As of now I'm with them. I'm here to retrieve you and bring you back under their protection."

"I don't need protection..." she said, coldly. "Protection means I have to work on their terms. I'm not going to be confined again." She realized that her nails were digging into the blond's arm and she released her grip on her. Her hands found her way to her head, and she rubbed it lightly, starting to get a headache.

"So, you had nothing better to do, than to come after me again. What a friend..." she said, turning away from her and walking away.

Alexis was released and she put a hand over the nail marks on her shoulder. She sighed in relief, feeling the threat of being killed slowly leave. "I'm sorry," she said softly, keeping her eyes hidden behind her bangs, "But what else can I do? I didn't want to do it but I had my responsibilities. When I first met you, I wanted nothing to do with you but that changed. And when I found out you were the person I was after, I had no idea what to do. I tried Erasai, believe me. I delayed as long as I could even though I knew this was going to be inevitable and now I'm guilty for it."

She looked up at the girl walking away. "I lost a lot of comrades that day, Erasai. It was all because I didn't want what we had to end. I wanted to be your friend! And now I lost everything. All I can do is chase after what I had and hope that I'd get myself out of this mess."

Erasai quickly rounded on her again. "No! You didn't want to be my friend. If you had, you wouldn't have done that. I wouldn't be here, about to skip town again, because I know people are looking for me. If you had wanted to be my friend --" She raised her arms, wanting to do something with them. Perhaps punch a wall in anger. But she didn't. Making a scene would only make things worse. " -- If you wanted to be my friend, you would have said something. You would have told me what you were doing. Not led me into a trap. I'm sorry, Alexis. But my freedom is more important than backstabbing-'friends'."

She gave the blond one last look, her eyes filling with tears, and then she turned, running off down the street.

"Erasai! Wait!" Alexis called after her but the girl was already running. She looked around. Apparently Erasai had made quite a scene as some people passing by had stopped to see what all the racket was about. She cursed under her breath, she knew there'd be some resistance but she wasn't going to give up now. So long as she doesn't fly, Alexis thought to herself, I can still catch up to her. With that she continued to pursue the girl down the street.

Wolfe was mumbling to himself as he was looking into shops and buildings, trying to find a girl who fit the description. But he was becoming aggravated, and would curse loudly when he thought he had found someone, but realized after nearly stopping them, that he was far from correct. So loudly, that the person would turn and look at him anyway.

"This is ridiculous! That Goddamn Zuzu... I'm going to kill him if I end up just running around chasing ..." His attention was turned to Alexis, just running down the road across the way, chasing a girl, with bright red-orange hair. He blinked for a moment, before smirking. "At least she is useful." He turned taking a side street to attempt to cut them off.

She was gaining on Erasai. But she had to capture her now before she decides to fly again. Her body shifted into a shadowy entity, almost ghostlike in appearance as she cut through a thick crowd of late night party-goers, brushing over the bodies like a thick haze of smoke before she rematerialized right behind Erasai. She lunged forward, grabbing a hold of the girl's waist as she tackled her. The action had drawn a bit of attention from the group she passed as they turned to see what was going on.

"Oh shit," one of the young men shouted, "It's a girl fight!" prompting the group to form a half circle around the two.

"Erasai, please, I'm not going to let go," the blonde said.

Erasai gave an audible 'oof' sound when she hit the ground. She turned, glaring up at Alexis. "Why won't you just leave me alone!? I ran for a reason! I didn't want to see you ever again!" She pushed at the girl holding her, trying to get her off. But Alexis did as she said, and wasn't letting go. Her golden eyes turned to look at the people chanting about them, and scoffed. She wasn't going to be able to fight here... no with so many people.

Wolfe had slipped into the group of people, and was watching from over their shoulders, trying to get a glimpse at the two. Alexis seemed to have a little control now, so he would let her continue until she needed him.

Erasai's words stabbed at Alexis's heart and she almost let go of her then and there. She didn't know why it hurt so much and she had to remind herself a thousand times in that moment that she was taking her words too seriously. And only then did she manage to crawl her way up into a full mount on top of Erasai. "I already told you," she said, catching her breath, "You're all that I have left in this country." This situation seemed familiar to Alexis as she looked around, hoping to hell that Zuzu wasn't around waving his tranquilizer gun at her. Alexis then grew aware of the men and women around them, chanting for her to hit the girl. Their inebriated state was apparent in the strong smell of alcohol that floated around them. She looked back at Erasai, then back at the crowd, trying to signal to them that she had no intention of physically harming the girl but the coaxed her on. The crowd grew even more aggravated as one person threw an empty bottle at Alexis, who batted it away.

Alexis refused to give the crowd any form of entertainment and another one threw an unopened beer can at the two, forcing the blonde to cover Erasai. Alexis jumped to her feet, offering a hand to Erasai. "We have to get out of here," she said as she ducked another empty bottle.

Erasai was completely unsure of what to think of the crowds reaction, and looked up at Alexis as she offered her hand. She gave a heavy sigh, finding that going with Alexis would be a far better option than dealing with an irrational mob. She took her hand reluctantly, and pulled herself up with Alexis' weight. She looked at the girl carefully, before trying to push her way out of the crowd. But they weren't about to allow it. One man pushed her back in, and she fell against the blond.

"Leave us alone!" she said, standing up straight again. A glass bottle shattered at her feet, and she had to do her best to avoid another aimed for her face. "You all are idiots! Go be drunkards somewhere else!"

"Not until we get a fight!" one of the group members said. As Erasai was pushed back. Alexis caught the girl but was pushed from behind as well. What was a chase now turned into a need to escape. Some of the more sober ones had their phones out, recording the situation and apparently some other people who weren't part of the original group were already calling the police. A total of eight men and women stood around them.

"You want a fight?" Alexis asked, pulling up the sleeves on her fluffy jacket and eyeing the one who pushed Erasai, "Then I will fight you."

Of course the man didn't want that and merely waved his arms and shook his head. Before he realized it, Alexis had grabbed his arm, pulling him forward and landing a palm to his chin before he was brought down.

"Hey! Get off him!" the others yelled.

"Erasai, we have to go!" Alexis said, turning her attention to the others.

Erasai didn't hesitate when she heard Alexis. And almost as if she took it as permission, she raised her hands and began to lunge at people, knocking them back. Though, it seemed to be a bit more strength than she should have let on, since a couple of people slid across the ground a ways. Once they realized that Erasai was on a rampage, the crowd began backing off, and dispersing a bit. After throwing a man back, she turned and looked at Alexis. "Let's go then..."

Wolfe watched with interest, his eyes turning to Alexis in curiosity. He wondered just what she was planning, and what she was going to do with Erasai. Again, he would only continue to observe until he needed to step in.

When most of the ones willing to fight, or the ones who were trying and help out their friends, were dealt with, the group scattered. Police sirens could be heard in the distance and staying there would only lead to more complications. But now she had another problem to worry about. Erasai. She didn't want to follow through with Zuzu's plan so what then? If Alexis insisted that would only give her more reason to leave. Maybe, Alexis thought, if I could regain her trust, I might convince her later to go through with everything.

The sirens were getting closer and some eye witnesses to the fight were still lurking around. "Do you have a place to stay?" Alexis asked, brushing the sweaty bangs off her face. "We could be in deep trouble if we have no place to hide until things cool down. If you don't... I got some money." She patted her breast pocket where her mercenary card was.

Erasai began to walk away, though still spoke to Alexis when she asked about a place to stay. "Unfortunately, when I ran, I didn't get to pick up any of my belongings... money being one of those. So, I will be in debt to you, until I can find a way to make some money." She slipped between some of the people in the crowd, trying to escape the eyes of those who had witnessed what they had done.

"Don't worry about it," Alexis said. It was the best she could do to regain some trust at the moment. She heard the cop cars come to a stop and a few people shouting at the police to go after them. Luckily they had slipped through the pedestrian area of the shopping district, meaning the police would have to either go around with their cars or go through on foot. And she didn't want to lose the lead they had.

"Come. while they still don't see us," she said, picking up to a brisk jog. "Any place is fine. I just want a roof over our heads and a door that can lock just until things blow over in the morning. I should have enough funds here for any price."

"Right, right," she said, barely paying attention now. She was more focused on making sure she went unseen by the authorities. They were the last people she needed to get involved with. She took a side alley, heading back around to the main strip, but making sure to avoid large groups of people. She peered around the corner of a bakery, seeing if she recognized anyone from the brawl scene. She didn't so she continued down the sidewalk, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

"There," she said after a few moments. Her finger was pointing to a rather ritzy hotel. "They may look expensive, but they aren't. I was looking into them when I first got here, then realized I didn't have money."

"I was expecting something like a cheap motel," Alexis said as her eyes were drawn to the very top. It must have been over ten floors, complete with automatic rotating doors, valet parking and palm trees to further push that high-end feel. "So long as we're safe off the streets, this will do. A laundry room and hot water would be nice, too. I haven't changed out of these clothes for what feels like a week."

At the moment there was a lot going on in her head other than laundry and staying off the streets. What would she tell Zuzu and Wolfe? When would she contact them? She was pretty sure Erasai wouldn't approve of her calling someone while the girl was in a state of mistrust towards Alexis. The best she could do was silence her phone. The time will come, she thought to herself, it will work out somehow.

Alexis led the way in towards the check-in counter. Thankfully, the lobby was near empty due to it being so late at night. "Can I help you?" the female attendant asked. She held a smile but her eyes quickly scanned over the two, causing her smile to falter. It was obvious from the way she stared that at least Alexis looked as if she just came out of the wilderness, which wouldn't be too far from the truth.

"A room. For two, please," Alexis said, sliding the card on the counter.

"Er... we're sorry. All our standard rooms are full. Plus, I'm sorry but you being here may cause a concern for our other patrons."

No problem, Alexis thought. Funds were at her favor so she pressed on, "A suite, then."

"Those are full, too..."

"Any room at all available?"

"The presidential, but those are reserved for... our more esteemed guests."

"We'll take it."

"E-excuse me? That's a price numbering at a thousand a night. Per guest. Surely you don't have the funds..." The attendant struggled to find more reasons to deny them but the look on Alexis' face was all she needed to just give up. She tentatively picked up the card with the tips of her fingers and ran it through the scanner before handing her the key to the room. "Th...the bellhop will escort you to your room," she said, motioning towards a man in his early twenties. "He'll take your luggage... if you have any."

Alexis shook her head and the bellhop lead the two towards the elevator hall. "We're here for only one night," Alexis said to Erasai. "We need to think of our next move for tomorrow."

"You two on a roadtrip or something?" the bellhop asked, pressing the button for the elevator, "From the looks of it you two look like you've travelled half the country already. Hitch hikers, maybe?"

Erasai couldn't help but glare at the attendant as she spoke. She didn't like being talked down to, nor did she like it when her frie-- She stopped that though there. She gave the attendant one last look before she followed the bellhop.

"Hitchhikers," she said, jesting at the idea. "Close as it gets, I suppose. And I do feel like I have traveled half the country." She shook her head lightly, and stepped into the elevator when it opened. She turned, looking from the bellhop to Alexis, not able to help but feel a little suspicious, though she knew there was no reason to be. Or was there? She shook her head, and frowned.

"I know what that's like," the bellhop said with a smile, "traveling through cities with no real destination. Just you and a pocket full of cash." The bellhop inserted the key in a switch while in the elevator. "You have to use this lift to get to your room. Otherwise you'll be taking the less attractive fire escape."

Alexis noticed the way Erasai shook her head and frowned along with her. "Are you alright?" Alexis asked.

The lift carried them up to the top floor, where they were greeted with a large hallway with marble floors that led into the brightly lit living room complete with its own sunken sitting area that looked over the city below. The bellhop stepped out first and stood aside, allowing the other two to walk in. Alexis went ahead into the living room to look outside the gigantic windows. The hotel wasn't as big and was easily dwarfed by the neighboring commercial buildings. Basically, she was staring at a wall of concrete across the street and that was as far as the view went.

The room itself was beautiful. To her right was a kitchen and what looked like a game room and to her left was the bathroom and the bedroom.

"I'll leave the keys here at end table by the lift," the bellhop said, "Anything I can help you with? Food, drink? The service for the first night is free."

Erasai was impressed as well, with the room. But she was in less that the mood to show it. She ran her hands over the sofa that sat in the middle of the room. It was suede. She turned, looking at the bellhop when he spoke again.

"Free?" she asked, a little surprised. Of course they had paid quite a bit, but even then, most places still wanted to squeeze more money out of their guests. But, if it was free... why not use it to their advantage?

"Food, and drink. What do you recommend? Or do you have menus?"