2/18 Instance: Three Sharpies

[Starfish]

Timeline: The day following the instance "Sleeping Mutie".


Penny: Penny cautiously poked her head over the edge of the makeshift fort, craftily built from tipped over stretchers and cabinets. It had been a while now since the tall man with the strange blue hair had shown his face inside the room. She didn't know him, but he seemed friendly enough, even after she accidentally scratched him after waking up - but only a little bit!

Penny: Letting her gaze wander across the dimly lit room - the lights had been terribly bright until she had slashed at some of them, which made hiding much easier - Penny contemplated whether it was safe enough to creep out and explore. After all, she had no idea where she was, and how she ended up at this place.

Tigra: Tigra crept down to the medlab, sniffing at the floor to see if she could guess who was down there before she got there. Her movements were silent as ever, thanks to the pads on her hands and feet, she stopped at the door and nosed it open, poking her head into the lab and sniffing at the air.

Max: Max, with flip flops, was shuffling a little further behind Tigra. He found it really interesting, these other mutants that just did not look human.

Tigra: It was darker than it was supposed to be, but it didn't bother her due to her enhanced sight. She saw the pile of cabinates and stretchers and cocked her head on one side, moving the rest of the way through the door and stopping with her tail curled around her.

Penny: Her eyes narrowing, Penny focused on her goal - that box over there on the table near the opposite end of the room. That's where the doctor with the blue hair had taken the little slice of pastry from. Staying in the shadow, she sneaked low to the ground and approached it carefully, then slowly peeked over the edge of the large table.

Tigra: Tigra watched the shape in the shadows. So the red girl was awake. She moved forwards a little way, wondering how the new girl would respond to an intruder into what she'd likely claimed as her territory. Then she wondered if she wasn't being too 'feral' about it all. Better to be safe than sorry though.

Max: Max was still very amazed at the whole mansion. It was way bigger thn what they described it to be. He peered around the corner where he last saw teh cat girl disappear, seeing her and the disorganized room.

Penny: Gazing across the table, Penny's eyes widened just slightly when she caught sight of the person standing between the frames of the door. The pasty and her appetite forgotten for now, she instantly ducked and cowered low on the ground, peering underneath the table instead.

Tigra: Tigra lowered her posture when the girl did, her ears turning towards the door - hearing Max arrive.

Max: "So this is where you go when you're sick?" he asked from behind the cat girl.

Penny: The last time someone had successfully sneaked up on her had resulted in her getting prodded with charged staffs until she had passed out, therefore Penny had reason enough to be wary of the newcomer. Cautiously crawling underneath the table, she only dared to advance far enough to get a look at whoever it may have been.

Penny: Definitely not the blue haired doctor and even more than one, Penny concluded as she clung to the shadows and remained motionless.

Tigra: Tigra turned her head briefly, "Mmhmm..." she looked back over to where the other girl had been. She wasn't there anymore. Tigra frowned and scented the air, trying to find where she'd gone.

Max: "Bit on the dark side." Max looked around at the wall in search of the light switch, finding it and clicking it off and on. "Yeah, this place needs a groundskeeper or something. Think the lights are broke."

Penny: A frown appeared on Penny's face when she could make out the shape of a what looked like a tail, steadily swishing across the floor. Now that was curious!

Tigra: "They are. Shhh." she sniffed again, "Nervous smells..."

Max: "Of what?" he asked.

Tigra: Ugh. How could people be so stupid. "There's a new student down here... we found her... I was trying to see if I could put her at ease by letting her come to me but you opened your big mouth and ruined it."

Max: "Whoa, okay, sorry." Max said, his hand brushing his other forearm, scratching between some quills.

Penny: Staring at the two shapes on the other side of the room, Penny found her shyness slowly replaced by curiosity. The female one looked like a tiger turned girl, and the smaller male seemed to be a boy-hedgehog. This place apparently was filled with strange people. Was that the reason she had been taken there?

Tigra: Tigra turned back towards the room, creeping forwards a bit more, finding the scent again. "Hello...?" she called softly, "We're not gonna hurt you... why don't you come out and say hi? My name's Tigra."

Max: "I'm Max," max calld out into the darkness. "You know, I really don't like the dark much, reminds me of monsters under my bed or in my closet, which there are."

Penny: Cautiously creeping around the table, Penny decided to poke her head over the edge, so she could get a better look at the two visitors. The blue haired doctor hadn't tried to harm her, and these here didn't appear to be threatening, either. Locking eyes with the tall tiger girl, Penny blinked a few times.

Tigra: "Hi," Tigra smiled, trying not to show her fangs as she straightend up to a sitting position, pulling her tail around her legs, "Is it okay if we come in?"

Max: Max was suddenly tempted to actually pet the cat girl. He fought the urge. It would be way too strange. He squinted at the darkenss, barely making out something in the shadows.

Penny: Penny maintained her stare for a couple second longer, before slowly cocking her head to one side. Slowly sifting back into the shadows, her faint nod was barely noticeable.

Tigra: Tigra crept forwards, making slow measured movements so she didn't spook her and glancing over to the table she'd been investigating before Max distrubed her. Aha. Twinkies. Yum! She wound her way towards the table.

Max: Max looked from the cat girl Tigra, over to the other side of the darkness. He stepped forward, not knowing what exactly he should be doing. He was curioushow the new person looked like thouogh.

Tigra: Tigra pulled the box down from the table and opened the lid, taking out a twinkie and looking over at the new girl, "You want one of these?" She cocked her head on one side.

Penny: Penny cowered in the corner of the room, squatting on the ground whit her long claws resting on the floor. She never took her eyes off the striped feline, occasionally having her gaze dart over to the quill-covered male behind her. Upon spotting the girl unwrap one of those slices of pastry, her eyes widened, and she found herself leaning forward.

Tigra: Tigra smiled and held out the cake to her, tossing it gently the rest of the way so that she didn't have to come too close if she didn't want to.

Max: Max squinted, making out more of the girl. For a second there she looked like she had quills like him.

Penny: Tilting her head backward, Penny cautiously approached the outstretched hand and gave the tiny cake a few curious sniffs. When the fur-covered girl tossed it her way, a red hand instantly shot up and skewered the soft piece of pastry mid-air on a long claw.

Tigra: "Nice catch," Tigra smiled and opened a twinkie of her own, "Want one?" she asked Max.

Max: "Ooh, yes please." he said, taking the creamfilled sponge cake. "You know, these are called Tinkies where I come from."

Tigra: "Huh? Really? Did they lose the w key on the keyboard?"

Penny: Another sniff convinced Penny that the tiny cake smelled as delicious as she remembered when the blue haired doctor had unwrapped one for himself. Too bad he had seemed too preoccupied with applying some band-aids to where she had accidentally scratched him, since he obviously never had thought about offering her one of these thing.

Max: "Probably. Maybe it's a copyright... trademark.. thing." Max answwered as he chewed the deliciousness.

Penny: Slowly nibbling on it, Penny allowed herself to get distracted by the sweet taste and soft texture. She hadn't realized how hungry she was and only now thought about how long it must have been since she's had a proper meal. When the small cake had been made short work of, Penny sat back again and watched the two others. This time, there was a tiny smile on her lips.

Tigra: Tigra licked the cream from her hands when she was done eating, cleaning her fur. She glanced up at penny, "Want another one? I bet you're hungry..." who knew how long she'd been sleeping in that box.

Penny: Penny licked the cream off her long claw, before leaning a little closer, tilting her head back to look up at the girl's striped face. It took her only a short moment of hesitation before she gave another nod.

Tigra: Tigra held out another one to her, after unwrapping it - the packets were fiddly with claws. She knew this.

Penny: This time, Penny reached out to take the offered treat from the girl's hand, very careful not to scratch her with the claws.

Tigra: Tigra watched the girl curiously, "You able to talk, honey?"

Penny: Penny munched on the tasty tiny cake, glancing back up in response to the question. She shook her head.

Max: Max licked a finger, then smiled at the girl when he saw her in better light when she grabbed her second Tinkie.

Tigra: "That's okay," Tigra smiled at her, "I didn't speak when I got here either - I forgot how," she looked around, "Can you write?"

Penny: Leaning to the side, Penny glanced past the two-legged girl-kitty and curiously eyed up her second visitor. The pointy spikes growing on his head piqued her interest.

Max: Max waved when he saw her staring at him.

Penny: Turning back to the girl, Penny then cocked her head from side to side in an ambiguous reply. She looked around, before deciding to simply turn around and lift a hand. Placing the tip of a claw on the wall, she swiftly scratched the letters "Hello" into the tough material.

Tigra: Tigra smiled, "Awesome. Do you have a name, sweetie?"

Max: "Oooh, sharp." max stated the obvious.

Penny: Penny nodded in response, before she turned back around to face the wall, scratching the word "Penance" underneath the first.

Tigra: "Oooh I like it, that's a nice name," she nodded.

Max: "Sounds french." Max added.

Penny: Her lips curling to reveal a faint smile, Penny turned to look back at the boy and the girl. Cocking her head, she lifted a hand to point at either of them, before gesticulating at her own scribbled name.

Tigra: Tigra pointed at herself, "Tigra... well most of the time... sometimes people call me Greer. But I don't like it. And sometimes I look like this, so you don't get confused." she shifted briefly out of her fur so Penance could see what she looked like without it.

Max: "Holy crabsticks, you turned normal." Max pointed the obvious, once again.

Tigra: Tigra giggled, "Yep, I like the fur better though... and I don't like clothes much."

Max: Max's quills rose a little, "You don't like wearing clothes?"

Tigra: She shook her head, "Nope. They rub my fur up the wrong way... but sadly it's not socially acceptable to be naked all the time even when you're covered in fur."

Penny: Penny eyes widened when the feline girl suddenly changed and lost all of her fur, appearing much less strange all of a sudden. Actually, it made the whole situation even stranger. Looking her up and down, the curiosity was plain obvious on red girl's face.

Max: Max's quills rose a little more, "...I don't mind you being clotheless around me." he grinned like an idiot, the remembered the other girl in the room, "Oh, um... my name is Max."

Tigra: Tigra giggled, "Yeah funny... most times it's the guys that say they don't mind."

Tigra: She ran a hand through her hair and shifted back into her fur again, curling her tail around her and watching the tip swish and tap on her feet.

Penny: Giving each of them a quick nod, Penny then made a brushing motion covering her own arms, adding another smile for Tigra when the girl changed back into being a human feline again. That looked much more interesting to her, and she found the dislike for clothing very relatable.

Max: "To be honest, it is a tiiiny bit of a pain to keep tearing clothes with these things. I bet it's the same with you, huh?" Max asked the Penance girl.as he reached back and plucked at quill, showing it to her.

Tigra: "I've torn my fair share of clothes too," Tigra extended her claws, "For a while I didn't know I could change back... then I forgot I could." she shrugged, "I don't mind the holes in things much."

Penny: Penance leaned over to give the quill a closer look, eyes wide with curiosity, a grin lighting up her face when she poked the spiky end with the equally sharp tip of her finger. Then she looked up at Max' face and nodded, lifting an arm to show the first tears that showed up in the black leather covering her body.

Max: "Oh, you ever sat in a very comfortable chair or couch and had a difficult time getting out? You know, because your things got stuck into the chair?" he thumbed at himself, "That happene, last week."

Penny: Penny made an annoyed face in response - she knew exactly what Max was talking about. Gesturing at the torn up fabric of the stretcher, she revealed one specific reason why she had used it to built her makeshift fort and decided to sleep on the floor instead.

Tigra: Tigra gave her a sympathetic look, "Aww that must be a real pain..."

Max: "Yes, yes it is." Max said, his quills going down low against his body. "Oh wait, you were talking to her."

Penny: Reminded of something, Penance turned around to face the wall again, using the tips of her claws to scratch a few symbols into the wall - specifically what looked like a head with spiky hair, a poking finger, and a drop of blood. After all, she wasn't sure whether the blue haired doctor had warned them to only touch with care.

Tigra: "Sharp huh?" Tigra gave her a small smile, "That's okay, I heal..." she extended a claw and cut her arm, the wound closed up slowly, "See?"

Max: "That is a little on the gross side, but I'll stomach it if you do it again when you want to walk around without clothes." Max added. "One good thing about sharp things on you, people don't push when you're in a queue."

Penny: Her eyebrows arching upwards, Penny leaned close to investigate Tigra's arm and what looked like to be a really neat and useful trick. She carefully touched it as lightly as possible, so she wouldn't accidentally draw blood.

Tigra: "You really want me to be naked, huh?" she smirked at Max.

Max: "Either that or it's just my misogynistic bravado peeking up. Guess what words I learned on the flight from SA?"

Penny: Leaning back, Penny looked back and forth between Max and Tigra with a curious expression on her face.

Tigra: She giggled, "Well I already said I have no objections to being naked - it's not like I have anything people haven't seen before... well except the tail sticking out of my ass." she grinned, "But I think Penance would rather I kept my clothes on in front of her," she gave Penny a questioning look.

Penny: Hearing her name, Penny returned Tigra's look and eventually merely shrugged. Clothes were not her friend either, after all. The mentioned tail had caught her interest, however, and she ducked low to the ground to study the fur-covered appendage up close as it swished back and forth.

Tigra: Tigra tickled Penny's nose playfully with the end of her tail since she was leaning so close.

Penny: With the tip of the tail right above her nose, Penny squinted as she tried to keep her eyes on it, right before she jumped in reaction to the light sneeze. Sitting back, she rubbed her nose with the back of her hand.

Max: "... this is getting a little weird. So, Penance, you feeling any better?" Max asked.

Tigra: Tigra giggled at Penny's sneeze then looked over at Max, "What's getting weird?"

Penny: Penance gave a slight nod in response to Max question. By now she had concluded for herself that those people were not the ones who had attacked and captured her. Instead, they seemed to be genuinely helpful. The doctor had said that they were the ones who had rescued her, after all.

Max: "The naked talk," he answeered Tigra, then looked back to Penance, "You still hungry?" he asked her.

Tigra: "Chickening out?" Tigra teased, poking him playfully.

Max: Max shrugged. "Maybe. Yes."

Penny: Penny's gaze instantly shifted to the box of twinkies on the table when asked about food.. She returned Max' look, before creeping closer to and leaning up, peeking over the edge of the lid.

Tigra: Tigra took out another twinkie for Penny, "As nice as these are, you can't live on them..." she looked around wondering if they were allowed to abduct her to the kitchen.

Max: "Hey Penance, there's this giant fridge and cupboards full of food upstairs in the kitchen if you want something heavier than just tinkies. I mean twinkies."

Penny: A grin appeared on her face when she skillfully impaled the offered cake on a single claw. Penance' gaze wandered from one face to the other while she nibbled on the creamy little treat. Licking her fingers clean, she gave an affirmative gesture with her other hand.

Tigra: "Okay... I'll write a note for Doctor Hank so he doesn't panic or wonder where all his twinkies went." She got to her feet, her tail curling around her legs as she looked to see where there was a pen and some paper.

Max: "Great, so what do you like? Except for the twinkies. Tinkies... whatever those things are."

Penny: Deciding to be helpful, Penny hopped up on the table with a graceful leap, squatting on top of it while her claws etched a few letters into its wooden surface. She assumed this Doctor Hank would appreciate her saying "Thanks!". After all, she remembered him as being quite friendly towards her.

Tigra: Tigra watched her, blinking a little in surprise, "Uh... okay, I guess that works just as well..."

Max: "Oh oh oh, draw me and her there as well."

Penny: Penance cocked her head, studying the other two for a couple of seconds, before adding a small drawing of a girl with cat-ears and a tail, and a boy with spiky hair and a hedgehog-nose. In any case, maybe it would do some good in case Doctor Hank got angry over the missing cakes.

Tigra: "Very artful," Tigra complimented, "Now... lunch?"

Max: "Oh sweet, didn't think you'd do it. Hang on, do I really look like that?" He asked.

Penny: Sitting up, a smile played over the red girl's features. Even though she became more and more convinced that these people didn't mean her any harm after all, Penance still found herself left with plenty of unanswered questions and the lack of a voice to ask them.

Tigra: "Okay, come on...." Tigra shooed them towards the door, "I think we need to find something for Penance here to write on that isn't a table or a wall though..."

Penny: Before hopping off the table, Penance cocked her head and nodded in agreement. This wasn't the first time she found herself in the situation of meeting a stranger without being able to talk to them. In fact, that was the case every single time she encountered a new face. Fortunately, she knew how to be crafty.