Primal Instinct: Dawn of the New World

"Is that so?" Rina asked, her tail twitching.  She could now more so appreciate their efforts, glad that there was a chance someone out there would be more fortunate than she was if they got involved in a battle.  Everyone seemed to be useful to them, so it sounded like they needed as much help as possible.

Rina shook her cheeks rapidly then smushed and rubbed the sides of her face to get the crumbs off.  When she was finished, she asked, "I've never cooked before, so I wouldn't be much help there... But running I can do, so would I be a better delivery girl, if I were to help out?"

She then thought for another moment before she made another proposition.  "How about I help you on your next mission before you take me back?  It's the least I could offer for helping me."  Her ears finally lifted up to their normal height and her tail flicked again.  She was beginning to feel much better after this time to recoup.

Monica gives Rina an awkward smile when asked to help her on her next mission.

"I dunno what I'm going to be doing next after this though I usually just fly around and carry messages. It might sound like I'm being a carrier pigeon but it helps out more than you think.  It's dangerous sometimes too.  I've been shot at more than once while flying messages around.  Information is more valuable than food or money sometimes.  I suppose we could talk to Scar about what I need to do next from here first though.  That okay with you?"

She asks, tilting her head to the side cutely.

Rina was happy to hear that Monica did more than what she thought.  With wings like those, it was a great idea to use them to their fullest extent.

"It's great that you think that, because I think it too," she nodded, much more energetically than she had yet.  She was feeling better knowing she could be part of a greater cause, and potentially help others from being in the situation she was in with Catia.

"I survived when I was younger because I learned from my experiences and heeded others' warnings.  And I want to help out like you helped me."

Rina then stood up, flattened out her dress and bent down to fix her boots.  Rocks always got caught under her exposed toes.  She then erected her posture and exhaled lightly.

"Should I wait here...?"

Monica shook her head and got up from her seat before brushing herself off and putting her water bottle in her hand. Better not to waste what was left of it of course!

"If you're really serious about wanting to come with me on my next mission then it's probably best that you come with me to see Scar. He'll probably want to test your capabilities for it. It's not meant to be offensive of course. He just doesn't want mission's being slowed down because of someone new to the group is all. He treated me the same way when he first found me so you'll be getting equal treatment I'm sure."

She explained and reassured Rina, going ahead a bit to show that she was ready to lead the way when Rina was good to go.

Rina nodded again, understanding the precautionary actions these two had to take.  She was still a stranger to them, and even though she chose not to fight Catia, that didn't mean she had no strength or skills whatsoever.  She felt confident that she could pass their expectations, but not too cocky.  Arrogance always got you nowhere, so she was told by her late parents.

She followed Monica out and then said, "I have no problems proving my worth.  I've done it before, and I'll do it again.  I'm at a good age to be honing in on my talents, anyway.  How old are you, if you don't mind my prying?"  She was genuinely curious, but in some cultures it was insulting to ask someone their age.  She wasn't sure why; it was just a number to indicate years living.  Why was knowing a bad thing?

Monica smiled and nodded at Rina's resolution, gently taking her hand as she led the way out of the mess hall-like tent and in the direction of a much larger tent at the edge of the camp. Upon hearing Rina's question, it took her a second to think about it before she actually responded.

"I'm sixteen years old if I remember my birthday correctly like I should."

She answered her as the two neared the larger tent on the edge of the camp.

"Really?  You sound so experienced - I would have guessed early 20s!" Rina said with a little surprise in her voice, shaking her head, a bead of sweat falling down her cheek.  "So, have you done this with Scar for a long time?"

As they neared the big tent, Rina clenched her hand a little tighter around Monica's and curled her toes in a little.  She was a little nervous, but not too much; as confident as she was, she still remembered that Scar was bigger, stronger and more intimidating than most of the Scarclaws she had seen, but he did help chase off Catia to save her.  Instead of wimping out now, she inhaled deeply and puffed out her chest a little, straightening her shoulders and posture, and trying to give the best impression possible to ask about helping their cause.

Monica looked embarrassed as the two of them approached the tent area, Rina's comment having triggered something.

"I've just....been through a lot. That's all. I'm just glad that I can say I have a sense of normalcy in my life now."

She told her, the two girls going into the tent and immediately spotting Scar just about to dismiss a larger female Scarclaw with leopard like ears and a skinny tail. She turned around and nodded to Monica and Rina. Her voice sounded very whimsical despite the current surroundings and she seemed to add a very light tone to the room as she spoke.

"I see that you have more guests to attend to so I'll bid you farewell for now Scar."

Scar grinned at her, revealing the sharp fangs in his mouth.

"Don't worry, I'll save some talking for you tonight Lissa."

The female, now dubbed Lissa by Scar, lets out a loud purring sound and swishes her tail before winking at Monica and going to leave.

"Later Monica~"

She called back to her before exiting the tent, Scar's face straightening almost immediately as he turned his attention to the two girls in front of him now.

"What can I do for you Monica?"

He asks her, eyeing Rina carefully. Monica smiles and gestures to Rina.

"It's not me that wants something from you this time Scar. Rina has something she'd like to ask of you. Right Rina?"

She said, winking at Rina happily and making her wings flit a little. Scar narrowed his eyes at Rina as he turned his attention to her then.

"Oh? Alright then. Rina was it? What is it that I can do for you today?"

He asks her, keeping his full attention on her.

After what Monica said, the ferret girl stopped asking, not wanting to bring anything bad up.  It might have been too late for that, but she didn't want to worsen it.

Rina watched Lissa and Scar interact, carefully, her eyes darting between the two depending on who was talking.  It seemed like he was much more gentle now, perhaps glad that he was back to rest up from today's work.  That was a good thing - it meant Rina had a chance to ask him while he was on his good side.

She stepped forward and kept both of her hands at her side, her eyes refusing to look at anything but the floor for a while until she felt ready.  "R-Right.  It's Rina.  First, it would be kind of me to thank you for your help today.  I... a lot of... let me rephrase..." she stopped and dropped her posture to something more comfortable.

"I'm grateful.  But, I was asking Monica about a lot of things, and I learned what you do around here for the helpless.  I think it's a great thing, and I want to help, too.  I'm very fast and I do have some ability that might be of use to you and your group, even though I hadn't shown it to you yet," she swallowed, pausing to look him in the eyes, directly, the confidence shining through.  "I'm more than willing to put myself on the line to help others who are in need, and protect others from beings like Catia."

She hadn't let go of her gaze, prepared for rejection, but aiming for success.  She had meant every word and her tone reflected it.  She just hoped it wasn't in vain.

Scar seemed to ponder something for what seemed like hours without a single response, his eyes staring seemingly into Rina's soul. He finally responded as he glanced at Monica who smiled and gave a silent nod to him, her wings flitting. Scar takes a deep breath before addressing Rina once again.

"If you are confident enough to have Monica trust you....then I shall do the same. I will conduct a test of your abilities tomorrow morning at the break of dawn. For now, relax in camp until you are tired enough to sleep. You will be sharing a tent with Monica tonight. Understood?"

He told Rina, a hint of a smirk on his face as Monica gave him a playful salute before nudging Rina with a wink.

After they exchanged their pressuring gazes and Scar had mad his decision, Rina's tense muscles finally loosened as she exhaled through her nostrils.  It worked - she was getting her chance to do something important!

"I understand.  Thank you, Scar, Monica," she said, bowing only her head to him and the winged girl.  "I will try to rest up as much as I can."

A light smile arose to her cheeks, her hand coming up to her face to rub her eyes - they had dried out for staring for so long without blinking!  She turned back to Monica, appreciating the complimenting nudge and wink.  "Do we need to do anything before we turn in for the night?  Does anyone need help keeping watch?"

Monica thinks for a moment before looking at Scar.

"Isn't my turn to keep an aerial watch tonight Scar?"

She asks him, Scar nodding in response. Monica smiles and nods turning back to Rina with a flit of her wings.

"Guess that means I should show you to our tent then huh?"

She asked the ferret girl, heading off to the entrance of the tent to lead the way to her tent.

Rina wondered what it was like to keep watch for this group of misfits compared to the other clusters and gangs she had been a part of while following Monica to the tent.  It wasn't easy to keep watch, but it was certainly a straightforward occupation.  Since she couldn't fly, Rina wondered how much different it was - more difficult, more time consuming, more dangerous - to keeping watch on the ground.  Monica did mention that she had been shot down before, but it might have been under a more intense circumstance.

"Do you think you'll be alright running the skies, tonight?  What if Catia comes back with her blasters?" she worried aloud, muttering the second sentence.

Monica sighed before smiling at Rina again, gently taking the girl's hand to lead her somewhere she could sleep and recover from the day's events.

"You worry too much. If Catia comes back and tries to shoot me down then I'll call for help. Besides, I'm a Scarclaw too you know. I can defend myself just as good as anyone here~"

She reassures her, smiling with a flit of her wings. Seems she was really eager to get flying again.

Rina was glad Monica felt strongly about her position and wasn't phased by any sort of scare that Catia (or anyone else like her) would return for a midnight attack.

"What skills do you have, other than being able to fly?" she asked her, genuinely curious how this girl would go about defending herself if need be.

Scar heard Rina's question and groaned, going to cover his ears.

"Well go on then. Show 'er."

He said to her, Monica smiling and nodding before taking in a deep breath. Nigh seconds later she lets out an ear-piercing, shrill screech not unlike that of a hawk's on maxed out speaker in someone's ears. Afterwards, Scar uncovered his ears, looking rather dizzy.

"Ugh....I hate that screech of yours. Which really only means that enemies would too. Especially if they were sensitive to it like Catia is."

He explained, taking his pinky finger to his ears as if they'd suddenly been filled with wax.

Rina quickly let go of Monica's hand to double backward onto her back, rolling over onto her knees and covering her ears with her hands during the scream.  When it was finished, the ferret Scarclaw turned around with wide eyes and frazzled hair, her tail bushier than a squirrel's for a few moments.

"Y-Yeah, that'll be enough..." she stuttered as she scrambled to get back onto her feet.  The ringing really stung her eardrums, her brain practically frozen as she tried to regain consciousness back.  Ferret creatures like Rina have incredibly sensitive ears, and it hurt her to listen to such a powerful sound.  When she was a little back to normal, she held her hands close to her body, bent her knees and remained slightly hunched over, a little nervous of what would come next.

"Is... is that your most powerful 'weapon'?"

Monica gave a giggle and bent down in front of Rina, moving her wings to wrap around the both of them in an effort to comfort her as she responded.

"I don't like using weapons so I'd rather stun someone or cripple their ability to chase after me. If I can escape then there's no need to fight right? Anyway, I'm sorry about that. I should've warned you to cover your ears."

She admitted, looking a bit guilty that she hadn't warned her new friend about her screeching ability.

Rina carefully let herself be enveloped by Monica's wings, her pink eyes darting about nervously.  She sort of knew she didn't mean any harm, but it didn't make it any less scary.  Friends can scare each other, right?  Later they can laugh about this, right?  She kept trying to put it into perspective, trying to convince herself that she wasn't in danger.  After listening to her much softer voice for a short while, she started to feel better, picking up her posture again and exhaling deeply.  It was going to be okay.

"It's okay now... Next time, a warning or a set of ear covers would be great, though," she said with a creaky smile and raised eyebrows.  "So, where's your tent, again?"

She gives a giggle and nods.

"I'll make sure to warn you next time then for sure. And my tent's on the other side of camp. C'mon I'll show you."

She answered Rina, letting her wings move around to her back before taking Rina's hand gently and leading her out of Scar's tent. She leads her to a smaller tent on the far side of the camp, a small torch lot nearby the entrance. She lets her inside, the small tent actually being quite spacious inside. There was only one bed set up and Monica's things were in a neat pile at the other side of the tent. Monica smiles at Rina after letting go of her hand.

"I really should get to my scouting now. You going to be okay by yourself for the night?"

She asks her.

When they got to the tent, Rina ducked down into a lower posture as she entered the new location.  Scanning the entirety of the sleeping quarters with her eyes, her nose twitching, smelling everything and her tail flicking about behind her, she finally laid eyes on the open bed and Monica's stuff.

She turned back to Monica, biting her lower lip and nodding before answering her question with another in a softer voice: "Yes, I'll be okay.  But am I to sleep in the bed?  Are you sure?"

Monica let her wings spread out a bit as she started to leave, smiling at Rina's question before hugging her one last time.

"I'm going to be out all night scouting from the air for any dangers to us. Sleep peacefully knowing that your new friend will be watching from the skies, keeping us all safe. Okay?"

She told her, letting go of Rina with a gentle smile as she exited the tent. The next thing that Rina heard and the last was the spreading of huge wings as they gave a great gust of wind to get her off of the ground. Then, the flapping of her new friends wings faded away into the night, leaving her all alone.

"I will.  Thank you, Monica."

Rina still felt strange, even after all that assurance Monica gave her.  Today was a very upsetting, dramatic, and yet hopeful day in her eyes.  She had seen and felt sadness, hatred, fear and a light at the end of the tunnel.  Somehow under all that, she had managed to sit down on the open bed, fall onto her side and curl up.

She was still awake, recollecting all of her thoughts from throughout the day.  Reliving the moment she discovered her group had been killed, the stinging pain in her cheek's wound and the unanswered questions Catia had left for dead, both of those moments bringing a set of silent tears to her eyes.

"It's okay though," she told herself in a whisper.  "I have a new chance.  I have another chance to bring peace to the world, tomorrow.  I am very lucky..."

She kept telling herself to be happy, kept reminding herself that she probably shouldn't be alive with all the mayhem she had experienced.  It made her feel guilty, but there were so many things that she wanted to know and wanted to do.  She wasn't ready to give herself up.

There was a lot of work to be done.

The night's first few hours passed peacefully, a few crickets chirping the night away. It was a good night for rest. But as Monica made her last rounds just after midnight, some shots rang out. She gave a loud cry as a warm feeling started to drip down her right wing, her altitude falling. She hit the ground with a loud thud as a foot was planted in her stomach, a plasma pistol at her head. Catia had returned and her tail was bristling in anger as she held Monica down.

"Where is she?! Where is the Scarclaw that I missed?! Answer me!"

She snarled. Monica coughed before giving a small breath and letting out a screech. Catia immediately gave a cry and crumpled to the ground, clutching her ears on top of her head in pain. Monica coughed again before sitting up, Catia growling at her and taking out her second pistol before shooting her in the side. Monica let out a cry of pain before giving Catia her best and loudest screech she could, trying to not only disable her but call for help too. Catia's reaction to the screech was nothing short of a scream of pain as she curled up in the ground and held her head and ears, blood coming from them now. Monica however, gave another cough and this time laid down onto her back, putting pressure on her wound until someone could get to her.

The familiar deafening screech penetrated Rina's ears, electrifying her brain and forcing her upright in bed.  Quickly rubbing her eyes clear as she rolled onto the floor, she scuttled out of the tent, knowing that Monica wouldn't do that unless she was - for real - under attack.

This sudden movement of getting up to help someone she barely knew was startling to Rina as she stopped behind another's tent to catch her breath.  She felt dazed and dizzy, but grabbed at her scalp and tugged on her own hair to get herself back up and running.  What happened to Monica?!  Was it... no, it couldn't be!

Rina finally found the bird Scarclaw, grounded and bleeding, along with the one she feared was here.  From her position, hiding behind a barrel, she could see everything, but watching this only made her angrier.  Her blood began to boil, adrenaline rushing through her body, her claws twitching with rage.  This was her chance!

Lifting the empty barrel above her head, Rina dashed as fast as she could forward towards the girls.  Leaping into the air when she was close enough, she threw the barrel down at Catia, then landed clumsily on all fours.  Stumbling to get up, she hunched down and grabbed Monica's hands, tugging and pulling her to get up, practically dragging her backward, inch by inch, to try and get away.  She might be able to lift an empty barrel, but an entire person was another story.