Runaway Train (closed)

[Evander]

(( reserved for Evander and Florin! ))

It's so difficult to find peace and quiet anymore. Oh, how Evander so wished he could return to his little hovel, far enough from the Factory to almost forget about his duty. But, no. He had to work.

It wasn't as if he was being directly forced. There was no machine, no traitor breathing down his back, or tracking him to make sure the work got done. Thing was, if you didn't deliver at least one or two captured dolls every so often, the boss got suspicious. Maybe you weren't doing your job as well as you should be. And that was true, for Evander at least. He had something he would rather spend his time on.

The odd sentient (he was more a sentient than a doll, thanks to his numerous legs) meandered in his quiet way through the Emptiness without a real direction. There was little reason; there would be nothing to hunt until he reached a building.

Speak of the devil, the fellow paused in his steps and looked up. A tower loomed overhead, and he'd been so wrapped up in thought that he hadn't noticed as he'd come closer.

Ahh.. this place. He'd been here before, and he remembered it well. He'd managed to climb the thing and got inside behind the clock face. The leader of the Rogues had been his captive that time. One of his latest achievements, and that had been.. hell, months ago. It was little to be proud of now, for someone like him.

The spider ducked his weight down slightly, becoming more aware of his leg placement, and drew his steps sideways now, finding himself some shelter among the piles of trash that surrounded the land about the Clocktower. His eyesight was bad - nearly too bad to be of any real use - but he was still aware that there would be more of a population here. He would have to be careful not to be seen, or at least not until he'd snatched up a captive.

[Florin]

There was reason Florin rarely ventured away from the Clocktower. Save for visiting her old home or meeting with customers, it was rare she saw the outside world. And why would she want to? It was hell out there. That she learned from the first time she saw the outside so many years ago. She was safe here. The fact that the stitchpunk's skin held almost no scars or stitches, outside of those that were originally made before her awakening, made that clear. Her form was still as flawless and new as the day she was made. Never had a weapon touched her hand, and it seemed unlikely one ever would.

And that was how she liked it. She took care of customers, and whatever civil matters were needed, and Zosimos handled the physical work. Speaking of which, where was he? Or more importantly, why should she care?

But in her haven, even the lady of the wastes could grow bored. How quiet it had been lately... The ticking of the tower's clock was the only company the tower offered her right now as she sat in a makeshift chair of books, draped with a thick red cloth for comfort. Long ago, she had found the clock annoying and disturbing, but now, it was as familiar to her as breathing. It had all but become a part of her. It was even soothing at times, like now. The steady ticking began to lull her into a meditative state, her thoughts wondering else where, her optics flickering shut..

[Evander]

Evander spent many minutes on the perch he'd discovered outside the Clocktower doors. His weight balanced carefully on all of his legs to avoid falling over, he studied the building.. which, from his perspective, looked like nothing more than a black, blurry, tall shape against the gray-white, cloudy sky. There was the slight hint of a circle at the top, the only way he knew what building it was.

He shook himself a bit, a quiet sigh escaping his downturned mouth. It was the same as always; if he sat here for too long under the pretense of studying the security of the building, he would get nowhere and only end up the same place he always did - thinking of Gypsy. And of Haven. He didn't need that. Actually, he needed it like he needed a deathbed.

The basics. Just think of the basics. Narrowing the mind had always been a good (if cowardly) way to block things, to push them away.

No dolls at the door. No machines, either. But entering the main door would be severely stupid. The spider rose finally, picking his way silently down the garbage, and made his way stealthily to the outer wall of the Clocktower, far enough away from the door to avoid being seen by someone just inside. With a combination of using window ledges and the indents between bricks and stone, Evander carefully made his way up the side of the building. For once, numerous clawed limbs had their advantages.

He took his time, peering into windows, looking for someone who was alone and hurriedly ducking out of sight if they weren't. The work was sort of difficult, considering he had to watch movement and blocks of color to see anything. It wasn't until he reached a certain window that he paused longer than usual.

The doll inside appeared as nothing more than a cream-colored doll body to Evander's eyesight. Her shape was simple to see against the contrasting red cloth she rested on. Lightly, lightly, Evander tapped his feet around the glass window, looking for a way inside that wouldn't stir her from her dreams.

He found what he was looking for after a few moments - a piece of glass that was broken from the majority of the window, in one corner; he pulled it very gently free with his normal hands, deciding to just let it fall after he'd gotten it clear - it wasn't as if this doll would hear glass breaking so far below.

[Florin]

Florin was completely unaware of the sentient just outside, lost in her own thoughts and imaginings. Her mind wondered to whatever topic it could touch, from her old home, to before the war, to the Rogue doll she'd recently met, but unfortunately, never did it come across her mind to open her optics and look out the window. Her cheek buried into the thick white fur that adorned her neck, partly hiding her face from view. Any sound that Evander might have made was drowned by the clock's steady ticking, not that she probably would have heard it anyways, the own thoughts thundering through her mind. Not single potential weapon laid within her reach. Clearly, she was someone who was confident nothing could touch her.

[Evander]

Perfect. It was rare that plans worked out so simply. Evander heard the small, distant tinkle of glass smashing as it hit the ground far below. He imagined some guard would have heard it and was now out investigating. Maybe the guard would look up and see his shape before he disappeared into this poor doll's room. How exciting. Perhaps he should hurry.

There was little care in his movement now, though it was still graceful - how can one NOT be graceful with so many legs and so many years to have grown used to using them?

Once the way was clear he was inside, and once he was inside he was merely an inch from Florin. A strand of thread appeared in his hand, drawn from the spool he kept wound around his waist. The other hand went to grab for Florin's arm, her upper arm, intent on keeping the she-doll still to allow him to bind her tightly with the thread.

"Hello."

[Florin]

Her optics snapped open and her thoughts shattered like glass. Her first instinct was to shout and slap whoever it was that dared touch her like that... until she saw just who, and what, it was. It took a moment for her mind to adjust. Was this real? A machine?! Here! No, she must have fallen asleep. Nevertheless, a soft gasp slipped from her lips, and the pupils of her optics shrank to barely the size of a pin head.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment for her. She wanted to scream, she wanted to run, she wanted to at least look at the rest of this thing, but she found herself unable to do anything but stare in horror, paralyzed by fear as questions flooded her mind. What was this? What was it doing? How the hell did it get in here?! Finally, after what feel like minutes, but was likely a few seconds, she managed to shake herself from her thoughts, and let out a piercing, terrified scream.

[Evander]

(( sorry for the delay! that tends to happen to me sometimes, I get caught up in school and arting fff ))

"Please stop, that won't do you any good.."

The she-doll's scream had quite an undesirable effect - it hurt. Screaming was normal when it came to capturing dolls but usually it wasn't so shrill. The sentient winced visibly, his head ducking down and away a couple of centimeters, but his hands held fast and continued to work. He let the thread fall in loops about her and pulled it quickly tight to prevent much struggling.

And once the bindings were secure he lifted her up by them, letting go of her arm (which he'd gripped rather hard, accidentally, in unconscious response to her scream), muttered a quiet, grudging apology, and carried her quickly towards the window.

"If you're pleasant, you'll get where we're going in one piece. Understand, miss?"

[Florin]

(( No problem. I'm in college, I totally understand.))

She fell silent, though more out of surprise then agreeing to his requests. Despite the binds that held her, she began to thrashed violently, as least as much as she could manage, which, considering she was a stranger to most physical activity, wasn't much. Her fear seemed to quickly give way to anger, as she didn't hesitate to begin shouting and cursing at him. "How dare you! Let go of me this instant! You're not taking me anywhere!" Even when her life was being threatened, Florin managed to maintained some sense of superiority, apparently. For now, at least.

[Evander]

Evander paused as he heaved Florin and himself out of the window, keeping balance with his numerous legs to avoid simply falling to both of their deaths. The doll's sudden silence was a surprise, and enough of one to make him pause and glance down at her, her form dangling from the thread being held by his normal hands.

"…well. Thank you."

His mild gratitude did not last, and his grip nearly came loose as the doll began to struggle against him. She dropped an inch or so before he clamped his fingers around the thread, one of his long spider legs folding to appear beneath her as a small surface to support her with.

Oh, well, it was nice for the few seconds it lasted. He began trying to work his way down the building, moving slower than he would have liked. The spider gave Florin a slight shake, irritation bubbling underneath his voice, but he still kept it as calm as he could as he scanned the ground for whatever rescue party might be waiting for them. "Or I can let you fall, if you'd rather. Your demands are quite shrill and impossible."

[Florin]

Florin turned her head slightly, just enough to see the ground below, and the fact that her life was literally hanging by a thread. He could easily send her to her death right now, with a simple movement of his limbs. She'd rarely felt fear, much less like this. There was no trace of the demanding tone she only moments ago held left in her voice. "Oh dear lord! Okay, okay! What do you want?! Whatever is it, please, just let me down!" Her optics snapped shut and her body curled into a fetal position as she trembled. If a stitchpunk could cry, it would be a safe bet she would be doing so right now, but instead she just whimpered softly, her body curled up as much as the binds would allow, her face buried in the white fur that adorned her neck. Never had she imaged she'd be in such a situation. The air of elegance and dominance she normal held about her had vanished, reverting her to her primative instincts of just trying to stay alive.

[Evander]

The change in disposition was rather surprising. Granted, a lot of dolls would panic when dangling from so high, but she'd been so hell-bent on shouting at him that he hadn't expected it. Though it was slow going, down was always faster than up, and they reached the ground in only minutes. And right after that he was off, many legs working diligently to carry them swiftly from the Clocktower.

"I would think dolls would know better than to let themselves seem like such a target." He murmured quietly, having not said a thing for a few minutes until the Clocktower was a short distance behind them. He paused atop a pile of tires, holding Florin's bonds in such a way that she would be hanging freely but at the same time not bumping into the ground or any other object. He was a gentleman, in that respect anyway. If Florin were a male, he'd not think twice about dragging her face first in the dirt.

Evander studied the Factory in the distance, feeling at unease. This was his job, but at the same time, especially lately, he hated it. He had so much more important things to be doing. The spider let his gaze travel down to Florin, immediately feeling guilty that he'd done what he did. He almost wished the she-doll would start shouting at him again.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?

[Florin]

"What does it matter to you? I know what you're doing. You're taking me to that... that thing. You're going to kill me. What does it matter if you hurt me or not?" Her voice was somewhere in between an angry hiss and near to breaking into tears (if that were at all possible). What use was it fighting? She wasn't built for it, and trying would just anger him, and given their current positions, that was definitely not in her favor. The biggest part of her wanted to scream and shout at him as she'd done earlier, but she knew that too would just make him mad, and likely lead her to her death more quickly. Perhaps there was someway to draw out her time, until she could find a way to escape, or possibly for someone to find and rescue her..

[Evander]

He didn't move as she replied, and his face fell only minutely into a small frown.

He was a monster, yes, and he knew that. Just his appearance was obviously enough to strike fear into a poor she-doll's heart.. though, kidnapping her probably hadn't helped. But now that he had succeeded in his endeavor and could complete his task within an hour, he was hesitating. He wasn't a monster on the inside.. at least, that's what he preferred to believe. He was rather civilized and polite, and he always tried hard to be a gentleman, especially when women were involved. What he did, what he was doing, this wasn't gentlemanly. This was what monsters did.

After a few moments of trying to decide what to do now that he'd come to this mental bypass, the spider creature simply shifted himself slightly, lowering Florin down very, very gently. Once she was on the ground he let one of the claws of his legs snap through the threads that he'd bound her with.

"I apologize."

Well, seems he was at a crossroads with his alliance with the Traitors.

[Florin]

For a moment, she seemed frozen in place, her only movement being that of her optics blinking, trying to clear her vision, as she doubted what she was seeing was real. He went through all that trouble to catch her, and now he's just letting her go? Florin resisted the urge to run before he changed his mind. She was too curious to run just yet.. She'd always been told that machines and Traitors were merciless, and held no remorse for their actions. But this one... that fact that he spoke so kindly was surprising enough.

She gazed up at him, her look slowly turning from one of fear to curiosity. Looks be damned, this creature was certainly no heartless monster.

"You're... letting me go? Just like that?"

[Evander]

"..oh, well…." Evander felt a wash of cold guilt - flood over him. He might not enjoy the job, but failing at it was still quite hard to handle, especially for someone as dedicated to things as he could become. He found himself rubbing the back of his head with some display of shame, keeping his face directed at the ground. He didn't move otherwise.

"..lucky for you, I'm quite bad at my job. There's a first time for everything." He looked aside now at the she-doll, surprised that she hadn't simply bolted the moment she was free. This doll seemed, despite her appearance, impressively brave. "My name is Evander." And that was.. quite unnecessary to say. He cleared his throat some, an odd show of embarrassment for him, before continuing.

"I can escort you back, if you'd like. Provided your friends don't shoot me on sight."