Pierce -
"What?" Jake growled at me, and, for once, I found myself unafraid of this odd halfer, even though he had dropped the nice act entirely, for the moment...But, I, of course, still found it baffling how he could sound threatening and growl, even when he was in human form.
...
Well, y'know what? I could moo, dammit! That made me just as good!(These are things I tell myself when I remember what a useless animal I am...Hahah...I'm brilliant)
I tried my hand at my usual 'I'm-such-a-pompous-cretin-and-I'm-so-proud-of-it' smile/smirk/sneer-of-awesomeness, but I think it looked a bit more subdued than I'd like to pretend it is, because Jake looked like he knew I wasn't bothering with the doors.
I shrugged, "Can we talk?" I asked, dropping my pitiful attempt at foolishness and looking at him seriously.
He seemed to be annoyed at me, 'cause he sighed before answering, "Fine. What?" he asked curtly.
I smiled, making a peace sign, pretending his apparent annoyance didn't bother me, "Hahah, am I not aloud to just talk to you?"
"Nope." Jake turned away and continued cleaning the cave.
I put my hands on my hips, emphasizing my disappointment. I did, however, smirk. That was a smooth reply. "Che. Aren't you the epitome of pleasant? Too bad," I clicked my tongue, crossing my arms, "I'm afraid I have to stay and help you out." I lied, grinning.
He looked back up at me, his eyes narrow and annoyed, "You're joking." he stated.
"Hah! Nope. Sky would never want you to do such work all alone! So, she decided that since we got along soooo well, I should help! I couldn't deny her, I mean, hey, anything for Harmony, no?" I raised my eyebrows at him, a sinister grin on my face. Lying was always the solution.
He snarled, "Great. Just freaking great. She hates me already. Oh, let me guess, he was sent to help, too?"
I looked behind me to see Ice, staring at the two of us intently. He had come along, after all. I smiled at him and winked before turning back to Jake, "Of course. Ice--his name, since you wouldn't know, decided to tag along." I shrugged.
Jake raised an eyebrow, "I thought you would bring the other one, Maki."
I snorted, rolling my eyes, "Please, I wouldn't endanger her like that." Jake was about to say something, but I clapped my hands and grinned, cutting him off, "Oh, well! Moving on--let's get to work! This cave wont fix itself!" I instructed.
Ice walked over to join us and nodded, "Okay." he smiled...y'know...as much as wolves could smile.
Jake rolled his eyes, gesturing around, "What else are we going to go? I'm already done cleaning it out."
"Pfft. Yeah. I would definitely this cave in such a boring state." I grinned, "Let's fix it!"
Jake growled, "Why would I do that with you? Pointless. Why are you always such an idiot?!" He began to walk away.
I sighed, "Tell me why you're so angry." Ice furrowed his eyebrows at me, and I shrugged. I had to talk to Jake somehow.
This, it seemed had caught him off guard, "What?" he asked, looking back at me.
"Why? Do you enjoy hating everyone? Get down off the burning cross, Jake. It doesn't count if no one nailed you there." I informed him, staring at him coldly.
Jake glared at me, snarling and growling, "Don't you dare act like you know me--"
"Don't assume everyone's the same. I'm worried about you. Why do you cling to anger like that? It's not necessary, and it's not comforting: not in the long run. Anyone who will ever end up mattering to you won't scorn you if you be yourself. Pretending to be happy--hiding your emotions--it's not worth it."
I sighed, "No one would be offended if the sand decided to break away from the oceans that have been ripping it apart. Searching for your own happiness--there's nothing wrong with it. Sometimes, the only way you ever can search is to detach yourself from all you've ever known. Don't let the waters tear you apart."
Ice nodded, "You mustn't fear what lies ahead of you--even if the path seems dark."
Jake was staring at us, his expression unreadable. He was probably angry--but whether he was or wasn't, I would keep trying to make peace with him. I was a matter of pride at this point.
"You--" he began, but was cut off by a loud growl.
Our heads snapped over to the entrance of the cave, where a rather agitated lioness stood.
...Crap.
~~~~
Hahah...that was surprisingly fun. I hope that was okay :D
Pierce -
I watched as Jake sped off to find a cave, sighing. I didn't quite know why, but Jake's acting was truly getting to me. It annoyed me that he had to act in order to find our eclectic group likable.
It annoyed me more that when I had first arrived, I had been the exact same. Everything had been for the one goal: Find and stay with Maki. No exceptions. The rest of the group...what had they been to me?
I looked down at my feet. Nothing. They had been nothing to me. Perhaps obstacles, even. I hadn't cared about any of them at all...and all that changed that was Maki.
Maki--the one who is always so sweet. Maki, the one's who's smile and caring nature is infectious. Maki, was my motive. Maki, was the one who made me care about the group, even if it's just the one's I'm getting to know.
But...where does that leave Jake? His motives were unknown to me. He wasn't in it for Harmony. He was in it for something else...so would he ever get anything other than what he wants the most? Would he ever start to care? Nothing really ties him to us, not really...
I shook my head, sighing. I'd have to talk to him. I would connect to him...but, only because, if Maki hadn't been there, connecting me to the others...
Suddenly, the back of my shirt was grabbed, and I was being tugged away to a quieter, more secluded place. I turned around to see Ice looking around quietly, then relaxing a bit and settling into a sitting position, looking at me for a long moment, his eyes worrying me.
"Ice, What's this about?" I asked, confused and a little worried.
"Pierce...I have a confession, I'm not sure I believe in Harmony. I mean, it sounds great, but, can there really be a place like that for us...?" Ice looked out at the rest of the group, his eyes surprisingly clouded for their usually clear, amazingly light blue.
My eyebrows raised, but my expression was soft, "There's nothing wrong with that." I blurted out, "Hey, don't worry. I don't really believe in it, either. I mean...I've seen too much darkness, ya know? I've just...I've lived in it, I've dwelled on it...I just cant believe that, somehow, there's a place where we'll all be accepted...where there's a place for all of us." I looked down.
"Yeah..." Ice looked back over at me, "It's like that everywhere, I guess...It feels like there's no place for you, at all, and there's no hope..." Ice sighed, "But..I wish it were possible. I want everyone to just be safe. I want to be able to protect everyone I care about...and if Harmony means they'll be happy, then I wish it existed." Ice closed his eyes.
I sighed, looking over at Ice, "Yeah...I know. If it would make Maki happy...and if it would leave her at peace...then, I'd do anything to make that fairytale real." I looked down, "But, I can't. So, I just have to hope it's real..." I looked back up at Ice, then sighed again, "But, it's never going to be so simple, is it?" I asked wearily.
Ice began to shrug, but then shook his head. "No, I get the feeling it wont. But, we can't do much else."
And once again Ice and I came to a mutually morbid understanding of the world, and, for a moment, I wished with everything I was that maybe, just maybe, there was a Harmony out there...
I sighed and got up, stretching and yawning.
Ice looked up at me, "Going to find Jake?" he guessed quietly.
I nodded, "Yeah, I have to." I answered solemnly.
Ice assessed me with his large, intelligent eyes, "Why?" he insisted.
I sighed and looked down, "I don't want him to end up all alone here, especially since I don't know how long he'll be with out group...I don't want that kind of...darkness to get into his soul..." I looked at Ice, "I've lived like that, with the resentment of the world on my shoulders, and resenting everything around me...Not knowing if Maki was dead, or alive, or if she ever existed to begin with. It's a terrible type of insanity, to be alone without purpose, and I don't want that to get into anyone. Not now, or ever. I doubt he's that vulnerable, but...I can at least try to get him to lighten up." I sighed, "You can come along, if you like. You don't have to, but you always can." I smiled a bit, then walked off
Pierce -
God, I loved people! Well ... Y'know ... sorta ... some of the group's ... people ... I loved ... ish ...
Ah, whatever! Screw that idea, I didn't really love them, so much as I loved messing with them! Yep. Better.
I kept my solemn mask in place, with the occasional smirk, as I continued balancing the doors on Jake's head, as he spoke with Kasumi, Tamosu and Io watching like hawks. He was now much scarier than before, since he was in his lion form. For example, the waves of annoyance were much stronger, and his tail was flicking angrily...His bared teeth didn't help, either.
I wanted to laugh out loud, but I settled for lightening my stone stare; Kasumi had done quite a number on his patience! His perfect little composure was crackling and about to snap...After all, the baring of his...sharp...murderous teeth, was supposed to be a smile.(Okay--shut up! Lions are freakin' scary--just shut up!)
When he had ranted about Harmony to Kasumi...that had firmed my suspicion. He didn't buy any of this Harmony crap, his voice screamed it. He was in it for the ulterior motive, whatever it was to him.
I didn't judge him, though. For two reasons: One, I had no idea what his motive was, so I couldn't just put him down as a bad guy--and, two: I didn't believe in Harmony, either. How could I--when almost all I've seen of this world had been darkness before now?
Tch. Lion-boy was gonna screw over his own chances of fitting in if he kept up his 'Yes!-Yes,-I-believe-in-Harmony-you-idiots,-so-leave-me-alone-before-I-break-you' attitude. He was being watched too sharply to afford such a mistake. If no one noticed he was faking it, they were gonna unless someone told him to shape up!
I waited patiently for the door to fall from his head, and as I picked it up, I made it a point to whisper in his ear as I lent down to get the door, so that no one would notice I was talking--or even hear me.
"Listen, I don't know what you want--honestly, I don't care, either. I just know, you're not here for Harmony." I saw him stiffen slightly, "Hey, easy there, twitchy! Shh, okay? I don't believe, either. I have my motives, you have yours, just make yourself believable before they leave your hide out to decay with the rest of the useless carcasses in the world. No one will pity you, and you're already under suspicion for revenge. I will say this once, and once alone: If you are a traitor, I probably still wont care about what you do, just don't touch the little brown timber wolf. Maki is mine, and if another annoying animal tries to hurt her, I will kill them: in this case, that's you. So chin up, put your heart into the act, and do whatever you joined us to do. Hey, make some friends, enjoy the perks, relax, if ya do it right, you might have a good time. I'll always be willing to talk to you, and hey, who knows, maybe we'll be friends? Good luck." I said it all swiftly and precisely, pretending to look for the door to buy more time before patting his head and placing the door back on his head.
I watched him as turned his head and gave me a glare, my guess would be that he wasn't liking being bossed around or patted, but he wasn't going to say anything, so I guess he understood. My reply was to put another door on his head and grin good-naturedly, raising my hands as if to say, 'No hard feelings, I have nothing against you'. He looked away from me. Oh, well.
I looked around, and though people were staring at me (wondering what the hell the 'crazy cow halfer' was doing, no doubt) no one seemed to have heard what I had said to Jake. Perfect.
Kasumi, Tamotsu, and Io--the ones who I were most worried about hearing--were only shocked that I had gone as far as to smile at him and pat his head. Heh, they didn't know that I had no common sense. Hell, if you're going to be prey among carnivores, you had to be able to ignore your instincts.
I lost myself in frivolous thought, then. I began wondering about the sanity of sand. Why did it remain so commonly near the waters? What was it's excuse for sitting upon the rocky shores, constantly being worn away by the treacherous water that tore it apart even more with every caress?
Does it never tire of such an existence? Being known only in reference to it's abusive lover, the sea? Being walked upon and molded to another's preference merely because it can be molded? Why go through the constant torture, only for the comfort of the constantly changing ocean, who always expects and forces the changes upon the sand?
And to always be thought of as foreign when it was away from it's angry love! To be seen and scorned in the deserts, as a torture, as a punishment! All of this because it chose to get away from it's eroding counterpart! There's no respect for the suffering sand, who always will yearn for the sea, and when it does get it, is worn apart and changed until it's unrecognizable...Why? Why the poor sand? Why--
And, I was suddenly tackled by a very, very playful Ice. I fell to the lightly snow-covered ground, my eyes meeting the wolf's for a moment before I grinned, calling out, "Aha! Fine, Ice, it's on!" thusly proceeding to roll around playfully with Ice until he rolled off , his eyes bright and his tail wagging.
I grinned and laughed, "And what," I raised an eyebrow, "was that for?" I managed out between my laughter.
Ice grinned, too. "That, was me saving your life."
It clicked in my head what he meant, and whined jokingly, "Aw! That means Lion-Boy got away, huh?" I lowered my head, feigning sadness, but still laughing, "You think he was really gonna attack me?"
"Did you not see the look in his eyes? I knew he was going to!" He smiled.
I snickered, "Yeah, probably. But now I just have to hunt him down and continue." I gave Ice a mischievous grin before I looked up and saw Maki laughing quietly to herself. "Maaaakkiiiii~!"
Maki walked over, "Hm?" she smiled down at me.
"Help me up, Maki! It's cold and wet..." I gave her puppy eyes until she extended her hand and brought me to my feet.
"You're such a baby." she chided, brushing me off. "I swear, can't you take care of yourself?" Maki continued, still smiling.
I snorted, smiling, "Only sometimes."
Maki shivered, transforming into a wolf, "Geez...How can you stand being out in the snow with your outfit?! It's so cold!"
I hummed, "Y'know? I really have no idea. Being a cow doesn't do much against the cold, so, I'm sort of stuck, anyway." I shrugged.
"Uhm...H-Hello..." a small thirteen-year-old girl quietly walked up to us.
Maki gave me a very stern glare that said, 'do not torment her--she has done nothing wrong'. So I sighed. Feh. Boring.
Ah, well, whatver. "Hey." I raised one hand in greeting.
"Hello." Maki bowed, smiling shyly.
I left them to talk while I went to go bug Jake some more. I couldn't help it--it was too fun.
---------------
Woo! Hope I got everyone's personalities right!Sorry about the long rant about sand--I just want to accentuate how completely eccentric Pierce's mind can get. XD
Maki - I looked curiously at the new lion halfer, Jake, I think. I looked over at Pierce who was glaring daggers at said lion as we began out long walk to the city.
I tugged at his shirt sleeve, worriedly, "Pierce? What's wrong?"
The more I stared at Pierce's face, the more anxious I got, but not because of his glare, but the mischievous glint within it. He was planning something, and as he looked over at me and winked, grinning for a second, I knew I was right.
Pierce didn't say anything, for the sake of the angry act, of course, but just glared harder at the lion who was now glancing back to see why he felt like he was being stared at.
I looked around silently. Not only Pierce had been staring, but a few other curious eyes were lingering on Jake before swiftly redirecting their stares in fear of being caught. I smiled nervously, they had more common sense than Pierce, who, of course was staring harder.
I looked over him, and noticed, with vague amusement, that he was trying almost impossibly hard not to laugh. He had stepped toward the suspicious lion and was now cocking his head to the side, unblinking in his stature. He put his hand under his chin, feigning deep thought.
I resisted the urge to watch. I really didn't wanna know what he was going to do...
I actually began to walk past them, but stopped at as I heard a loud, indignant and confused, "What're you doing--Hey, get away--What?!"
...
I sighed quietly, then turned around to see Pierce placing a miniature door on to of Jake's head.
...
I blinked hard and looked again. Nope, it was really a door. Doorknob and all, about the size of Pierce's hand. It was being placed upon Jake's head in turn with whenever the lion would knock it off and attempt to demand what in the name of Harmony Pierce was doing.
I walked back toward Pierce and stared at him. I was wondering what he was doing, too. I came in time to see Jake growl and rip the mini-door from his head and break it in half, challenging Pierce to go on with a venomous glare.
Pierce, who had remained stoic and silent throughout this ordeal, looked down at the broken door, and pulled another from his jean pocket, placing it on to the top of Jake's head once more.
Jake seemed to wrestle with an internal argument (probably about whether or not he should just kill Pierce then and there) but, after stealing a glance at some of the other halfers, sighed and walked on, followed by Pierce, who would pick up the door when it would fall off of the lion halfer's head, and place it back neatly.
I decided to ignore the phenomena and fall in step with Pierce, "Pierce...where did you get the miniature doors?" I asked calmly.
He grinned at me for a moment, "I made them." He answered simply.
"...When?"
Pierce shrugged, "I dunno. Whenever, I guess." he caught the door in midair as it fell and placed it on Jake's head again.
I smiled slightly and sighed, deciding not to question him anymore. I didn't wanna know.
--
....Well. This came from nowhere. Sorry for taunting Jake! DX
He just...was there...
If anyone feels like stopping Pierce, they can, cause otherwise, this may go on and on and on XD
Pierce - Maki pushed at my shoulder, indicating that I should walk over and say hello.
I, the epitome of bravery, was having second thoughts. Would they recognize me? Yes. Would they rat me out? Probably. Would they eat me? ...
I shuddered inwardly, "Maki, really? Introduce ourselves to people we don't know? How dangerous. I scolded her, attempting to turn the tables.
She held strong on her argument, and after a few shots at my social life (or lack there-of), I conceded.
I wandered over, attempting to look nonchalant. "Yo." I raised my hand in greeting, casually.
All of them (the fox and cheetah because they knew that I had messed with Fuzzy Paws, Fuzzy Paws because I was a stranger trying to talk to them) looked at me oddly. "...Um, Hello...? Do we know you...?" the cheetah asked, realizing that no one else was going to comment.
An idea exploded in my mind, and I feigned hurt, gasping melodramatically, "You don't remember me?! But...Why?! After all we've been through together...!" I pretended to sob into my shoulder.
Everyone looked dumbstruck at my outburst, we were even attracting a crowd (a few of the half breeds we've been traveling with were staring, too. Huh. Guess they didn't know I could have a personality). I grinned internally, I was such a genius.
The cheetah's eyes were as wide as golf balls at this point, visibly wracking her mind for who I was. "I think you have the wrong perso--"
I gasped again, "You really don't know who I am!! I can't believe you! Of course it's you!: I continued to fake-sob, hiding my face from their view so that I wouldn't be tempted to burst out in laughter.
I felt a weak smack on the back of my head, and looked up to see Maki glaring up at me, "PIERCE!!" she screamed.
There was a large crowd looking at all of us in curiosity. The halfers that we knew were baffled at this point, (Maki can talk above a stutter-y whisper!!) and the new ones even more-so (Who is this guy sobbing like maniac?!). I stood up straight and grinned at Maki, dropping the act. "Oh, hey Maki!" I ruffled her hair innocently as though nothing had occured.
She glared at me, blushing furiously, "How could you?! I mean--Y-You--Urgh!!" she huffed indignantly, "Don't do that to people!"
"Do what?"
She sighed, seeing that trying this with me just wasn't gonna work right now, "I-I'm so sorry...! He's always been...l-like this, I--It's nothing to worry about..." she stuttered out, bowing apologetically to the three halfers.
"We'll just be going now..." Maki tried to make an escape but was stopped by Ice running up, not noticing the group of bewildered people.
"Hey, Pierce, who're they?" he asked, gesturing to the poor halfers in question.
"Excellent question." I answered vaguely, smiling absently.
"What do you mean--"
"Ice, you know who they are?" a dark haired guy cut him off, looking around.
Ice shook his head, but the cheetah asked, "And you are?"
I had a feeling she was referring to me, but the guy with Ice answered instead, "I'm a...I'm Shadow. I'm a wolf halfer."
I suppressed the general 'Ooooooooohhh, you told what you areeeee' infantile reaction. Way to come out, dude, but maybe a bit quieter?
Luckily no one had heard but us, and Shadow quickly followed up, "So, what're your names?"
I grinned. I had a feeling that as long as we knew these guys, there was going to be some sheer awkward moments.
---
I'm so glad I got to show Pierce's personality. XD
He was like that with everyone he knew when he was a kid, and Maki wasn't as shy, so that was like a step into their pasts!
I'M SO SORRY, YOU POOR HARASSED HALFERS!! XD
(I'm so glad Shadow hadn't said, "I'm a cowboy" 'cause I would've felt obligated to have Pierce respond with, "Dude, I'm sorry, but I don't swing that way." XDD)
