Oh Snap [Oh Pen]

[Sulley]

[Open to uno solo por favor.]

Sulley lay beside the river, watching the current fly by. Had it always moved that fast? He would stand and scoot away except he couldn't bring himself to get up. His body felt ten times heavier than it had when he'd first lay down. Napping by the tree up the hill had somehow got him here.

It was hard going to sleep healthy to the silence of an uninhabited area to waking up inches from falling into a street of water that could very easily claim his life. On top of that, Sulley found himself unable to move. Even his lip's muscles spasmed when he tried to speak. All the poor man could do was flicker his eyes from object to object desperately, trying to find a way out of his predicament.

Sulley's body was sharpened everywhere, though it did him no good. If someone were to approach with warning he would focus on his hair. If the person planned on sneaking up on him then they weren't going home without bloodshed.

A rather large rash was spidering up the back of Sulley's neck. He didn't feel a thing, except the extreme intensity of heat caving in on him from all around. Yet he didn't sweat. Hmm.

[Kita]

The river truly was a magnificent part of Mother Nature. It was the one part of nature that never stayed the same. Always changing the face it showed to the world, rivers were like humans. There was no one face a person showed the world at all times; there were several different ones to use depending on the situation one had to deal with. Such were rivers, as well. They adapted to whatever would get in the way, whether that would be a large boulder, beaver dam, or even an earthquake. River paths were known to change course in catastrophes. That is their way.

She was like a river. The life she had led up to now had assured that. Adapt or fade into shadow. And she was determined not to perish. Especially not here. The illusion of freedom this place tried to give was laughable. There was room to roam, sure, but there was no opportunity to go beyond a predetermined set of boundaries. That was more than enough reason to try and break those boundaries at every possible chance and get free. Kita couldn't stand being caged. On top of that, another reason to attempt escape was to get out from under the glow of the abhorrent orb in the sky. Yes, she could feel that the world over her head was not truly what her eyes saw. Any and all forms of light were hers to command, no matter the wavelength. No matter whether it was natural or artificial; natural light just felt more clean and uncontaminated by mankind.

Kita raised her hand to shield her eyes as she looked at the fiery swirl. Even with it being artificial she had to admit that the fake seemed real enough to the untrained eye. It was giving strength to her as well as the true thing would, it just didn't taste as refreshing. While she was thinking about it... Kita lowered her gaze from the sun and down to her own body. There was no limit to the amount of light she could control while there was some form of it around her. However, there was a limit to the amount of reserves she could store within her own body for later use. In extremely dark areas, for instance, such as underground. Right now, those reserves were practically full, which wasn't bad in and of itself. It was when those reserves began to overflow, that was when the situation could become dangerous. To counteract that side effect of her power, Kita went around with a constant soft glow emanating from her skin. She did this now, her body using up the excess stored energy. This would be how her appearance would be for the rest of the day.

Kita walked slowly along the riverbank, at a leisurely pace. It was places like this that she rather liked to come and enjoy herself, to be alone. Her lips would curl into a rare, small smile as she relished the time to herself. An unfortunate glance further up the riverbank brought her attention to a form on ground several yards away. And here she'd thought to get some alone time. Especially to get away from the general populace in this place. There seemed to be a sickness going around and she really did not want to contract it.

She turned, meaning to go back the way she had come in order to avoid interaction with others. Something caught the attention of her keen eyes as she was making to leave. A brow raised in slight interest as she noticed the man's eyes darting to and fro, not appearing to settle long on any one object. That kind of behavior was peculiar, even if the one performing it was a man. Now that the time had been taken to decipher a matter, there could be little harm in investigating further. After all, if his eyes were so energetic, why wasn't the rest of his body? Kita made purposefully loud footsteps as she approached, giving sound to her normally silent steps. This was a puzzle that she wanted to solve, and she loved a decent mystery.

[Sulley]

It would be pushing it to say Sulley was eagerly awaiting a helping hand. Sulley Trace? Waiting for help? Preposterous. Unthinkable. Never. He just...really...thought that a bit of company during his final moments would do his mind ease in the thereafter. That's exactly it.

The footsteps sounded hollow and foreboding, vibrating through the grass, tickling his inner ear. In any other situation he would have rolled onto his back to watch whoever it was approaching. In this case, there wasn't a thing the man could do but lie there expectantly and pray his guest wasn't a dangerous or perverted mutant. Not that Sulley prayed...

Out of the blue, Sulley grunted. My word! A new ability within himself had been discovered on a whim. Any other person probably would have known by that point that even if they couldn't move their bodies, they could make obnoxious noises with the back of their throat to pass the time. But then we have Sulley here, a man who didn't normally speak unless spoken to and didn't make noises, even when making them was logical.

"Mmmmmmmm..." Sulley hummed. If it could be called that. It was deeper, had the filter of a growl, and didn't sound pleasant in the least. His eyes strained themselves at their angle as they tried to catch a glimpse...

[Kita]

"You could hurt yourself if you keep straining your eyes like that."

Kita stopped walking when she had reached a reasonable distance away from the man. She was easily within his line of sight now, and could only begin to imagine what she looked like to his eyes. Long black hair hung loose over her shoulders and half-way down her back. Copper skin had a soft glow from the use of her powers. Dark chocolate brown eyes eased over his form as she took in details of his features and committed them to memory. The corner of a pair of full lips tugged slightly upward in amusement at his apparent predicament. She wore one of the custom made sets of clothing one could procure from Madam Weaver - a simple red halter top; a snug pair of black jeans; and a pair of knee-high moccasins dyed black, to give a feel of connection to home. Plus, moccasins were just a lot more comfortable than regular shoes.

Some sort of sound came from his throat. It sounded suspiciously like a growl. Amusement immediately vanished from her expression, and she looked upon the man now with indifference. It would have told even the most oblivious of humankind she could care less what happened to him at that moment. In fact, she was more than half tempted to just leave him as he'd been found. He could expire here along the banks of the river and rot, parts of his body eventually to become food for whatever animal found him first. Never had she been one to dismiss threats, even potential ones.

"If you're that determined to run off potential help, I suggest you think more about your situation." She squatted and sat on her heels as her attention focused on the rash that branched out like tree limbs along the skin of his neck, her interest rekindled enough to give him one more shot. This precautionary action was executed a few feet away from where he lay upon the ground. Always one to be wary of others, Kita kept her distance until the prone one decided to calm down. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not nice to make such a sound at a woman?" Her head cocked to one side as a hand went idly through her hair then settled on a knee. There was no indication that showed on her face of what was going on in her mind. She wouldn't yet make the decision to let him stay there and eventually turn into a pile of decomposing goop. She guessed that was more than others could hope for in the same situation.

[Sulley]

Sulley's eyes rolled away from the woman and to the river's frothy current, which frequently hissed into the air in front of his face, dancing and singing and grinning threateningly. It laughed at him. Of course it was just his luck that the one time he did need assistance of some kind it didn't come, or if so it was thoroughly disguised. Why couldn't the mutant that approached him have been a pretty young girl with a large heart who, despite the turmoil faced within the walls of Freakopolis, wanted to help those who needed a helping hand. Or at least a push.

But no. Instead Sulley was blessed with an overly sensitive woman--she might have been pretty, he couldn't see her face--who spoke to herself as much as to him and thought it necessary to teach a helpless person social manners when his life was on the line. Sulley bitterly wondered if it was too late to call on God.

Feeling her eyes on his back as if they were burning holes, he half expected her to pick up a stick and poke him into the river. At least it would have ended this humiliation, right? There was nothing worse than not being in control of yourself. At this point, death never looked so yummy.

Sulley exhaled loudly, closing his eyes, figuring she'd either help him or she wouldn't. Either way he was certain he would momentarily be face to face with the devil.

[Kita]

So far this encounter was the longest she had been in the company of another mutant since arriving. Considering how such meetings usually went between herself and any other person, mutant or not, the situation was going pretty well. Usually she would have walked off by now in annoyance. Other mutants kept her interest piqued more-so than normal humans. This one was doing a decent enough job that she was close to deciding to actually helping him to the infirmary she had seen near the main compound.

The problem was how to get him there. Her main attributes were directed toward being agile and limber, not toward physical strength. It was quite possible he weighed twice as much as she, depending on how much muscle he had packed away on that body. And now that she thought about it and looked again, it wasn't that bad of a body. Nicely toned and not too bulky. He had potential. Her mind wandered through possible ways to move him that involved little to no bodily harm to either the mover or the one being moved. The regular amount of concentration she kept directed toward the glow of power along her skin was distracted. The glow faded and left her skin its normal caramel color. Kita spied the rash on his neck again. It didn't look to be any better than it had several minutes ago.

"There is a disease going around," she told him. "Looks like you might have it. I'll have to get you to the infirmary somehow." Kita moved closer to where he lay, and reached out to take a hold of his arm. She planned to drag his heavy butt to the infirmary. The gesture wasn't finished, however, as she noticed some cut blades of grass near his head. None of the vegetation was bothered further than where his head had rolled. Sharp hair? Perhaps this guy needed to be given more consideration concerning his potential ability to be dangerous. "I'll have to touch you to get to the infirmary. May I?"

[Sulley]

Sulley had reclined to the back of his mind to sift through any last thoughts he might want to think, since speaking them was out of the question. There came the immediate faces of those he'd recently met. Taboo...and her animalistic nature. If he had more time he definitely would have been interested in discovering more about her. Then there was Chesna, the woman who could have him in her bed with the snap of her fingers, little did she know. He felt dirty thinking on her. Emby, agh, the sweet beautiful girl who didn't know any better than to be tricked by his malicious plans. And then there was Mara. Mara--

Sulley's thinking came to a halt as the light he'd grown accustomed to dimmed. What had happened? Was he losing sight already? It was an agitating thought. Sulley wanted to grunt again but was in no mood to hear the woman---

. . .speak hospitably? Had he slipped into a dream unaware? She'd suddenly gone from bystander to heroine. Disease? Have it? That was absurd. Sulley hadn't heard of any disease. True, he had been keeping within the Rebellion lately. . .but that didn't mean something as big as the disease could be slinking around behind his back. It did account for some things, though, like his disability...

Sulley grunted again after her question, trying not to make it sounds too eager but not being able to fully conceal his excitement at the new hope. He focused intensely on his toes, slicing through his shoes, but at least it was nowhere near the woman's hand.

Another grunt willed her to continue pulling him.

[Kita]

He grunted. That was all the she needed to get set in motion. Her hands fastened around both of his wrists, a hold firm enough to keep her fingers from slipping. Kita pulled and the man's body moved about a foot. He was not as heavy as she had first suspected, which was somewhat of a relief. It wasn't everyday she had to haul what could be compared to dead weight cross country. She gave a second thought to just leaving him there but then she saw his shoes. First the grass and now his own shoes. The power there was potentially dangerous if she wasn't careful. She had no intention of allowing anyone, least of all a man that couldn't even move under his own strength, to injure any part of her person. Whether that meant fighting or fleeing, it didn't matter.

A long series of tugs left her muscles aching as she paused to take a break. The infirmary was a long way from the river. The chance of her body being able to survive unscathed until then was rather low; she was an impatient woman and would be likely to kick him out of sheer frustration of it taking so long to get to their destination. She didn't want to risk aiming her foot somewhere that could be sharp enough to take off her toes. Not too sure of what exactly his power was and the extent to what he could do, to err on the side of caution would be best for now. Besides, he could prove useful eventually in her plans to get out of this place.

Kita moved to sit on a large rock to rest, all the while letting her mind go over alternative courses to take to the infirmary. The man was left to his own devices and to rest his own, likely strained, arms and body. A thought had occurred to her that there was an easier way to do things. The reserves of energy she held for her power were over their limit and would need to be used soon. Sooner was better than later. Now was better than soon. It was within her ability to make solid constructs out of light. Almost always wavelengths from the visible light spectrum were used because anything the naked eye couldn't see usually just creeped people out. It was more comforting to see what was really going on. Either way didn't matter to her, she could control it all.

The light that shone around them was called to her now as she worked her power. Two horses appeared, made of light. Both of them shimmered brightly until she was finished weaving their illusionary appearances. They appeared to be real horses when she was done, and could easily pass as them. They would also be solid when touched. The constructs would last until there was no longer need of them, as long as Kita remained in some form of light and could process the energy required. The woman rose and inspected her handiwork. As genuine as it could possibly be...and as high spirited.

It was time to continue on their way. Who knew what the disease was doing to his body at the moment. Kita went to the man's side and knelt, the devil's grin on her face. Her eyes met and locked with his briefly. Let him think her mad and unstable. Things wouldn't be as complicated in the future, if such was the case.

"Our ride is here."

[Sulley]

Sulley swallowed the groan of pain that built in his chest as she dragged him, his skin going raw in the places that had direct contact with the ground. As soon as the water was a safe distance away he felt his muscles relax, though whether they were taught or not did not seem to affect their workability. The girl's grip on his wrists was surprisingly strong. Something about her touch burned.

As the ground inched by, Sulley felt a stab of--what was it, pain?--something jet through his nerves, creating a hollow feeling within his chest. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes began to water. Of its own accord, the index finger on his right hand began to violently twitch. Hope welled in Sulley's mind.

Without warning the woman released his wrists to move to a rock to rest, and as a result Sulley's arms and face smacked against the earth with a painful thud. He compressed another groan, bearing his teeth at the grass which poked his face with mirth. Nature was loving this.

With a start Sulley realized his lips were moved. Indeed, they had retracted from his teeth to assist his silent snarl. His mind flipped to his finger, which had stopped twitching but now moved in response to his thoughts. The hope swelled.

As if to accompany his sudden promising future, there appeared before him two great lights. Sulley imagined he was seeing angels. They began to shape themselves. He found himself longing for one to be a woman. He'd often dreamed of women in white with light illuminating their features, they running their fingers across his cheeks, he feeling utterly at ease and content in the blissful moment.

And then they became horses.

They were admittedly disappointing in comparison to the idea that had been playing in his mind, but they were nevertheless beautiful and magnificent and wonderfully convenient. The idea of being taken to the infirmary on a steed was much more alluring than the one of being ripped to shreds while being dragged.

Sulley looked up and into the eyes of this strange woman. Her grin was familiar. Hey eyes appeared lighted to him. Without warning or intention the corner of Sulley's mouth twitched into a smirk.

[Kita]

Kita snorted when she saw the smirk that now decorated his face. The reason behind it was unknown and it wouldn't help their current situation to dwell upon it now. He couldn't seem to talk to give a reason, anyway, even if his predicament had improved enough to let his lips move. Light danced in her eyes as she glanced at the horses. They stood patiently where she had left them, waiting for their riders.

If there was any animal she felt a close kinship with, it was horses. Growing up, opportunities to interact with them had been sparse. Several members of her extended family kept horses, and it was only when the clan came together that she was able to indulge...and on the several occasions she was able to sneak out of the house. Otherwise, she had been confined indoors and out of direct light. Now on her own, Kita could create such magnificent creatures with her abilities but nothing would replace the thrill of riding the real deal. Attention turned back to her disabled companion, Kita grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him to a sitting position and held him there. Her hands rested on either of his shoulders to keep him steady. The last thing they needed was to further complicate the situation.

"Welcome back to the land of the upright." He would never be able to stay on a horse by himself the way he was. Thus the only way to keep him on the animal would be to tie him to the extra horse, or to ride with her on the same one. Planning ahead wasn't exactly one of her strong points, which was quickly becoming apparent. How embarrassing. At least her estimation of things was much better than it had been two years ago. Having most of your life controlled for you tended to have unwanted side effects. Kita dismissed one of the horses and it disappeared in a flash of white light. Lips pursed as she called the remaining horse with a whistle. The mare whinnied and took its time moving to where the pair waited. She frowned and whistled again, coaxing the horse to move faster.

It did. The mare came to a stop close by and even went so far as to kneel. A second was not wasted. Kita took a strong hold wherever she could reach; it would be needed to get him on their ride. Somehow she managed to get him to the mare and situate him in such a way that it looked like he would be riding once the animal stood. Quickly, she slid onto the horse's back before he could fall off. She would be riding in front of him, both to guide the mare and to take the man's weight. He would have to lean against her back to keep from tumbling to a bad injury. As a precaution she brought his arms to wrap around to front of her body, where she could keep a grip on his hands to ensure he stayed in place. Almost like a seatbelt...only with flesh. Kita clicked her tongue and the mare shot up onto its legs. She maneuvered the horse to point in the direction of the infirmary, and started them off on their way.

[Sulley]

Sulley's eyes dashed to the second horse as it abruptly became a blinding beam of light and then was no more. He wondered if her mutation's ability had failed her, but then as she began to move him he realized her purpose.

At her comment Sulley lifted his eyebrows a fraction of an inch. Different parts of his body were becoming familiar to him in ways he least expected. His head bent his neck back uncomfortably as she got him onto the horse, groping at his body in impolite ways to see that her task was completed. Well, for Sulley, impolite was familiar and pleasing. When was the last time he'd had a woman's hands on him? To say he relished the moment would make him sound perverted.

Sulley relished the moment.

Once on the horse he felt a moment of balance and weightlessness. It ended swiftly as the creature's back began to race towards him. Quick as light it was intercepted by the girl's back, which met him much sooner. He 'umphed' as he hit her, his full weight pressed into her shapely figure. It reminded him of her hands.

Sulley probably could have talked at this point. The ability to move his lips would make speaking possible, even through his teeth. But words were at a loss. He didn't have anything to say to this woman, nor did he want to begin any idle prattle she might subject him to if he revealed he could respond. Something about someone not being able to communicate usually made people forget that didn't apply to their hearing.

He noted her hair smelled nice, surprisingly, as his arms were wrapped around her waist. This was a surprise because soap was a luxury in Freakopolis. Sure, you could wash your hair every day in the stream, but smelling nice was usually out of the question. Maybe it was just his nose playing tricks on him.

As the horse began to move Sulley felt his body bump against...Woman. His slack arms began to slip back to his sides, and then, again without warning, his hands jumped to life, wrapping thoroughly around her waist, it being relatively small and his hands being rather large.

You know what they say about big hands...

[Kita]

Kita internally battled her instinct to flinch away from contact with others. She wasn't used to having other people touch her, and if she ever let someone do it, it was very reluctantly. Unless the person was a close family member such interactions were generally avoided. Or if the person had the potential, in her mind, to warrant the effort to get to know them. Letting this man she only just met - not to mention just found - be this close to her was almost unheard of.

A sudden sidestep by the mare to avoid a snake jostled Kita enough that she had to adjust her seating on the horse's back. The action made her body unintentionally rub against his in some ways that were usually reserved for a dark room and a long embrace. Well. That definitely disrupted the arguments her mind had been giving her. In fact, all drives were in favor. This was odd in and of itself. When was the last time she had let a man touch her? Men that she found interesting in any way were few and far between. The fact she had decided to give her aid to this one at all deserved some introspection on her part, at a later time. Perhaps she was going soft.

...Nah. But maybe the reality that his hands were still around her waist, where they had been since their ride began and hadn't been moved by her, said something different. Kita valued her seat in front now because it allowed the heat that came to her cheeks to pass unnoticed. Purposefully she scooted forward a few inches, this being her only admission anything had happened. Partly to calm her nerves and partly just because she now felt like it, she began to sing. The melody was soft yet uplifting to the spirit. Slowly her body began to relax and allowed her to feel comfortable again. The song was in her native tongue, and her ears were happy to hear it again after so long.

Kita passed the time with the music, her tune seemingly in time with the horse's slow, clopping footsteps. The infirmary wasn't too far off now. The building itself could be seen in the distance, peeking from behind the other structures that made up the compound center. A mile or two, at most. Striking up any type of conversation would have been a moot point at any time during the ride, but especially now with their destination so close. A stray thought in the back of her mind briefly wondered about his name, however.

[Sulley]

The ride was a pain in the buttocks.

At any given moment Sulley could very easily slip off the horse and to his doom. How many stories had he heard in the real world about people dying in freak accidents with horses? Too many. Woman wasn't even making sure he was staying on the mare's back. She merely leaned forward and prayed, he assumed, because she felt rather stiff and her attention was thoroughly focused before them.

Well, at least she was praying for him. Right? Sulley flickered his fingers in agitation, rolling his eyes in a sad attempt to see what was in front of them. His cheek bulged like a child's where it was pressed against Woman's back. Waking nerves in his body began to tell him he was uncomfortable.

As abruptly as the light had appeared, there came a voice of song on the air. The melody rode the gentle breeze that tauntingly waved locks of Woman's hair into Sulley's eyes and face. Beneath him she relaxed, making her warm body suddenly comfortable and inviting. Sulley too released his tight hold on himself, sighing in relief as if a weight were taken from his shoulder. The jostling gait of the horse made his contact with Woman all the more familiar to his usual interactions with pretty ladies and warm bodies.

Though lulled, Sulley didn't close his eyes. He didn't want to fall asleep and miss something or leave his back bared to those less hospitable. Killing him could be as easy as slipping a dagger between his ribs. The blood would seep from his open flesh, trickling down the side of his body, down to the tip of his toe, to drip from his damaged shoes and leave a trail with which the wolves would pursue them...

Sulley flinched from his waking dream with a grunt. The sudden movement knocked him away from Woman, and he slowly began to slip off the side of the horse....

[Kita]

The ride had turned out to be mostly enjoyable for her. She had gotten to ride for the first time in at least two years, there was a light breeze and the day was beautiful. Even if the sky wasn't real it was still pretty enough to look at and pretend that everything was okay, that nothing was out of the ordinary. The sense of normality for a brief moment comforted her spirit. The songs she had been using to pass the time turned to a hum and at last back to silence.

The body of...whoever he was, felt warm and pliant against her back. That is, until the weight she had come to be familiar with suddenly wasn't there anymore. Kita turned swiftly to see her fellow passenger slowly sliding away from her and picking up speed toward the ground. Careless. She had gotten too relaxed and let her guard down. Her hands dashed out to catch hold of him. Only one hand found a favorable handhold. Kita leaned back and pulled, trying to use her weight to balance against his so he wouldn't splatter on the ground.

Unfortunately, this plan was only fruitful for the first few seconds. She could feel herself slowly being pulled in the direction she was trying not to go: the way he was falling. Man obviously outweighed her more than she thought. Where was he hiding all that muscle? Her mind got brought back to the task at hand when she noticed that she was beginning to go over the side of the horse, too. No amount of strength she put into her efforts to stay on the mare helped.

Kita squeaked when she could no longer keep the inevitable from happening. She could hear the air going past her ears as she fell and braced herself for the impact to come. She "oomphed" as the fall ended, and it took her a moment to realize that the impact wasn't as hard as it should have been. It took another moment to notice she had landed on top of the person she had been trying save. Oh, bother.

[Sulley]

So he was about to die.

Sulley could see the ground opening up to suck him into the depths of death; he could hear the whine of the devil in its eagerness to swallow him up. What else was there to do but resign from life? He would surely die, and if not then he would be submerged into a---

Thoughts were meaningless. Sulley separated himself from anything that could be his weakness. He would face death head on. Why was he falling so slowly? He would be lost but not forgotten. Sulley managed to say one word, seemingly an oath, just before his body hit the floor.

"Sulley." At least then she would know who she had tried to save.

Just as expected, though he was not aware, the impact of the fall from the horse's back knocked the man on the head and sent his consciousness sprawling.