Secondary & Third Rings

Knosis

Grumpy Badger
Moderator
Benefactor
The Secondary Ring is more commonly known as the shopping district. Everything can be found here. The Third Ring is the civilian residential area.
 
Rain. Why was it always raining in this god forsaken city?

Robin didn't need windows, nor did the slight drizzle outside have enough sound to hear it through the dark walls of the hotel she was in. Didn't matter, the man beside her snored loudly anyway and she could barely hear herself think. She looked over at him and rolled her eyes, which glowed slightly in the dark. She began to search his pockets for loose cash.

No, it was the smell of dampness that had crept in from under the door that had irritated her. For most normal people, rain was romantic in a sad sort of way. But then again, Robin wasn't an ordinary girl. She 'tch'd' softly as his pants was not fruitful in the least bit. The man, a married business dude in Rayvale for 'traveling' purposes didn't even last two minutes and had fallen asleep right after. Robin had been through this a few times and knew enough now to get paid up front.

Cheapscape wasn't planning on giving 'tips'.

She sighed and slowly got dressed. As soon as she had her jeans and bra on, she pulled out her phone and started texting her friend.

'Can we meet up at Gabmits? I could use a company. My last visitor was a deadbeat.'

Without looking for an answer, she pulled on her shirt and shoes and silently left the man with the bill for the room.
 
The moment she turned eighteen, Schuyler walked out of her parent’s house and cut off all ties to both her mother and father. They had given her twin away to the military all because he had powers and she never forgave them for that. Still modeling and keeping up on her acting jobs, Schuyler ensured that her greedy mother didn’t receive a dime from her jobs and instead started to spend the hard earned cash on a place to live and the bills that came with owning a home. Truthfully she didn’t mind and it helped keep her mind from worrying about Orion. It also helped that she loved to decorate and every few months changed up the entire decor of the cute little two bedroom house. She definitely had spent a lot over the years on the inside of her dwelling, but she made enough that it didn’t really matter.

“Hmm… just about time to be done. I need to head to the Home Goods store to get different pictures and other cute things to redo the homestead. Too bad it’s raining…” Grumbling to herself as she changed from one outfit into another before stepping back in front of the camera, the redhead peered outside and watched the drops splatter against the window. It really made her want some hot chocolate and perhaps something to eat that she didn’t have to cook. Once the shoot was complete, she headed to the dressing room and changed into a pair of black skin tight jeans, a oversized fashionable shirt and a pair of black boots. Grabbing her purse, she checked her phone and couldn’t help but grin at the text.

“Hmm… eating with a friend is better than eating alone.” Nodding her head, she quickly fired off a reply to Robin, hating that she had a deadbeat visitor.

‘Sure, I’ll meet you there.’ With that, Schuyler put the phone back into her purse and headed out of the building. Flipping open her umbrella, she headed down the sidewalk, glad that her workplace put her in the near vicinity of her destination
 
Robin was already chewing on fries at one of the booths inside Gabmits as Schuyler would arrive. The place was a tad run down, off the beaten path, and desperately needed a full cleaning. There were a few regulars who knew her for what she was that had watched her walk in, a few shady characters in the corner, and always the air of a fight was about to break down at any moment. But the food was good, at least to Robin. And having come from the streets, this place was nothing worse than what she'd seen before.

Robin waved Schuyler down and sighed. "I'm starving, what do you want?" She grabbed the kiosk and started tapping in things. "I got paid pretty good considering I wasted about half an hour of my time so I'll pay this time." Something was irritating her.
 
Pushing open the door to the bar, she closed her umbrella, shaking it out before stepping through the doorway. Glancing around the room, she shook her head, unsure why of all places Robin picked this shithole, but at least it had food and drinks. Her gaze shifted towards the corner and she narrowed her eyes before glancing back to her bud, noting her waving. Making her way over to the booth, she slid down and stretched her body out, putting the umbrella beside her.

“I’m pretty hungry too. You really don’t have to pay, but I won’t argue with you.” Schulyer stuck her tongue out briefly at Robin, noting that she appeared to be in an irritated mood, which was never a good thing.

“I’ll take a bacon cheeseburger with large fries and a rootbeer.” Grinning, the model ignored the fact that she really wanted a strawberry shake too. As it was, she was going to have to do double the workouts to rid herself of the fat intake from just the meal itself. Waiting a few minutes until the order was placed, she glanced around once more before looking back at Robin.

“What’s got you irritated… other than your shitty visitor?” Schuyler inquired, her voice soft enough to keep noisy assholes from listening into their conversation.
 
Robin waived her hand irritably. "Moondays." She answered. "Do you think I'm boring? Why the fuck would someone fall asleep within two minutes of getting it on??!" She grumbled, the kiosk creaking slightly in her grip. "Two. Effing. Minutes."

She chewed another fry and glanced over her shoulder at the guys in the corner. She smiled and winked at the one staring before turning back to her friend. "Soo.. I heard something that may interest you." The smile turned to a wide grin. "Something for people like us."

'People like us' had many implications. Both of them were in a similar professions. Both sold their bodies for a living, though one sold photos and the other.. Well sold herself literally.

"We'll talk about that later at your place. By the way, I'm crashing at your place, my landlord evicted me." She grumbled. "Said I violated rules by keeping a dog around." She rolled her eyes.
 
Aha, there was the true source of her friend’s annoyance. While Schuyler didn’t have a third of experience with guys that Robin had, she had been the unfortunate victim of assholes falling asleep shortly after sex, but never after two minutes. Shaking her head, she chewed on a little bit of her bottom lip before slowly stretching her shoulders out, easing the tension out of her back that always seemed to appear after a modeling session.

“You’re not boring, Robin. That guy was just a lazy dickhole who didn’t deserve your expertise.” Schulyer smiled softly, her gaze falling over to the guys in the corner with a light snicker. She had noticed how excited one had gotten when Robin winked at him. “Finish ordering the damn food, I am hungry.” She added with a light huff, needing to lighten the mood ever so lightly.

“Wait, what?!” Schuyler’s voice rose ever so slightly, but it wasn’t exactly clear if it was because of the comment about Robin hearing something that might interest them or the fact that her friend was going to be crashing at her place due to being evicted. “Where’s the dog?” She asked, head shaking before she squeezed the bridge of her nose, slightly exasperated.

“You know how I hate surprises and waiting, Robin. I’m not patient when it comes to news I have to wait on.” She grinned just a little, tongue poking out playfully while her mind started to run through any scenario she could fathom when it came to something being of interest for the two of them.
 
The food was brought out and laid in no reasonable order out in front of them. Robin immediately dug in, not caring about what she ate. She had a high metabolism at any rate. "Yeah well. Sorry to disappoint, but there is no dog. I think the old hag was just looking for any excuse." She muttered. "Seems to be my luck." She blinked and started looking around. "We'll talk about it further later, I promise. Too many ears right now."

No one was near, so it was odd of Robin to show any caution. It had to be important.

They had some eyes on them now though.

Robin stopped stuffing her face suddenly and looked up, wincing. "What is that??" She grumbled. Nothing seemed out of ordinary. Had she finally lost her mind?
 
Schuyler snatched her food before Robin ate it and tucked in, shoving fries and the bacon cheeseburger into her mouth at a fairly quick rate. Damn, she was hungrier than she thought and had to fight to slow herself down. Taking a few sips of her drink, she frowned when it was revealed the dog was non-existent. Sighing, she leaned back in the booth, slowly eating her bacon cheeseburger in order to actually savor the grub unlike her bud.

"Right, right. Well, you can still stay with me. I've got the room after all." Smiling, she grinned at Robin to hide the disappointment of having to wait to find out what was so important that they couldn't discuss it in the shitty bar with hardly anyone nearby. Musing once again, she munched on some fries, her burger already gone. Well, so much for savoring it. Sipping her root beer, she blinked in confusion at Robin's question.

"What is what? Robin, you're not making much sense right now." Concern came immediately and she wondered if the man had done something to Robin within the two minutes that he had been awake.
 
Robin's face twisted slightly in pain and she grabbed her ears. "Ugh, you can't hear that..?" Still, nothing could be heard. Robin gritted her teeth and looked ready to rip her ears off. But just as suddenly, it stopped. Robin panted softly, trembling. "L-lets just get out of here.." She muttered, tossing her card into the kiosk to pay quickly before grabbing her friend's arm. "Lets go. I wanna get out of here now.
 
"Hey... are you okay?" The rest of her food sat abandoned on her plate while she stared in confusion at Robin. Straining her ears, struggling to hear whatever it was her friend was reacting to, Schuyler was unable to hear a thing. Her head shook as she watched her bud grab at her ears before indicating they needed to go. Sliding out of the booth, the model grabbed her umbrella and stood up while her arm was grasped by Robin.

"Alright, alright, we're going. Are you sure you're okay?" Schuyler pressed as they headed outside of the dive. Thankfully the rain had given way to just a light sprinkle, so she didn't bother with her umbrella. Whistling for a cab, she tugged Robin over to it, sliding inside while giving her address to the driver, her gaze soon falling upon the other female with a scrutinizing look.

"I have more stuff at my place if you're still hungry." She managed, her voice as soothing as possible.
 
Robin was trembling slightly. Actually trembling. Robin was fearless, she didn't have a reason to be afraid of much of anything. So why did that freak her out? What freaked her out to begin with? It took a moment for her to realize Schuyler was talking to her and that was already after a long pause between response. "No.. I'm good, thanks. I just think I need to get some rest is all. Maybe its something the dude slipped me and I didn't realize it." She gave her friend a slight smile, trying to be reassuring. It was more like a grimace.

As they drove away, one of the two men stepped out of the building to make a phone call.
 
“Alright, we’ll get home and then you can get some rest.” Schuyler scrutinized Robin for a few minutes, knowing that something was wrong, but maybe her friend was right. Maybe the guy did slip her something. Schuyler was always wary of what Robin did for a living because in her mind it just wasn’t safe and this was just proof that her fears were potentially correct. Exhaling deeply, she ran her fingers through her red locks, shoving them out of her face before glancing to the cab driver. She was thankful that they were almost to her apartment and the taxi was soon pulling up outside of the locked community. Sliding him enough money to cover the tab and a little extra, the redhead opened the door and slid out, tugging Robin behind her.

“Let’s get inside.” Punching in the code into the door that was covering the sidewalk, she exhaled when it opened and stepped inside. Once the two were clear, it shut and locked again, securing their presence within the compound. Turning around to face forward, the model made her way up to a nearby building and unlocked the door to her townhome that was two stories plus a basement.

“Make yourself at home, Robin.” Closing and locking the door behind them once inside, Schuyler put her umbrella in the large closet and stepped down the hallway towards the living room. “You owe me that talk still if you feel up to it.” She added as an afterthought.
 
Robin flopped on the nearest piece of furniture and sighed, trying to relax. "Yeah, alright. I owe you that much at least." She murmured. "I overheard from one of my pack that there is some sorta big gathering heading to the ruins. Apparently some big shot is planning something funny. I don't have a lot of details, but they're gathering us weirdos to them in flocks. Bael said he's seem 'em heading out when he goes out for a run at night." She waived her hand.

"Did you really not hear that sound?"
 
Sitting down in her over-sized and very comfortable brown recliner, Schuyler stretched herself out, releasing a long yawn. Man, what a long day it had been. She was thankful she had the next few days off because she definitely needed a vacation. Crossing her feet once she popped the footrest out, the redhead peered over to Robin, thankful that she was being told what the big secret was, because honestly, there was no way in hell she was going to be able to wait any longer.

“Wait, what? That doesn’t make any sense. Why would anyone go to a stranger who is or is not a big shot willingly? It’s like sheep going to a slaughter, isn’t it? I don’t like the sound of this, Robin.” Schuyler paused a moment before letting out a light snort.

“Let me guess, you’re thinking you and I should go and see what it’s all about? You know what happened to the cat that was curious, right?” Running her fingers through her red hair, Schuyler exhaled deeply before answering her friend’s question, concern etched upon her face. “I really didn’t hear a sound. What did it sound like…?”
 
"Because he's promising a revolution." She grunted, letting her hand fall on her face. "I don't know, it all sounds funky. But the pack trusts him. They're planning on joining him."

She bit her lip. "It was just this really high pitched, very loud screech. I can't really describe it better than that--"

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Robin sat up and blinked. "The fu-"

The door blasted inward.
 
A revolution? Well, that’s certainly not what I was expecting to hear. Dropping her hand down into her lap, Schuyler’s brow arched up just a little. Could they actually rebel or was it another futile attempt. Maybe if they had enough power they could actually do it this time and she could finally get to her brother. It was incredibly tempting and the redhead knew that if it enabled her to find Orion, ultimately she would do it.

“High pitched? Hmm…” Musing a bit on the answer, a worried expression still etched upon her face, Schuyler’s gaze soon turned to the door at a knock. Funny, she wasn’t expecting anyone. Robin summed up what she wanted to say or half of what the model wanted to say, but before her bud could finish, pieces of her door were sent shattering towards them. Yelping, she flipped over her chair to cover herself, anger quickly erupting throughout her body.

“Son of a bitch!” Schuyler glanced first to Robin and then towards a chest sitting nearby where her weaponry happened to be located. Could she get to it before whatever made her door go kaboom got to her? If all else failed, she supposed she could use her powers, but she had been trying to keep them on the downlow, not wanting to be outed. Cursing, she crawled towards the chest, undoing the lock before flipping open the lid to grab her stash.
 
Four figures came rushing in. Both of the first two went straight to Robin, who had half thrown, half been thrown to the floor. They both tried to pin her down, but she kept fighting them off. Robin had always been surprisingly strong.

The two others went to Schuyler, guns drawn. "You best sit there and be quiet if you know what's good for you." One of the two men muttered.

The two around Robin were collared. It would only be a matter of time before she'd wear one too now. She was not a dog. The thought made her blood boil, and it was enough. Her skin began to ripple and bone and sinew popped and cracked. The smaller of the two collared was thrown towards one of their handlers, crashing with a crunch. Loud growls and groans came from the transforming woman.

"Shit!" The remaining handler spat, raising his gun to the werewolf in question. "We need back up at our location!"
 
Her hands were on the knives before she felt guns being pointed in her direction. Snapping her attention towards the assholes that had guns pointed towards her, Schuyler narrowed her eyes, the irises slowly starting to glow. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Robin fighting with two others and she couldn’t help but wonder how the two had been found and why they were being attacked. It wasn’t like either had been careless with their abilities, right? Well, she knew for sure that she hadn’t been. When her bud shifted into her werewolf form, Schulyer used the opportunity to do her own thing.

“Sirs, I think you have the wrong place” She looked at the two with an innocent and almost sensual gaze, trying to use her looks to get them off guard. While she wasn’t a shapeshifter and didn’t have super cool powers at least in her opinion, Schulyer did have a knack to play with people’s minds. How she did what she could do wasn’t clear to her, but somehow she was able to create static to not only keep people from determining levels of power as well as reading auras but also allows her to mess with her enemies. Determined by the individual Schuyler was up against, she could do some real damage to their minds. Settling on just doing enough to let her and Robin escape, the female broadcasted the telepathic static to anyone nearby except for Robin.

“You really don’t want to fuck with us.” Schulyer managed, her voice calm and a little devoid of emotions.

'You want to kill your handlers and then each other.' Her mind coaxed softly, working on removing their inhibitions and convincing them that their handlers were bad. 'They want to hurt you… hurt them before they hurt you.'

She just hoped it worked. If not, she was going to get a bit knife happy.
 
Robin, fully formed, stood little over 8 feet tall, had massive thighs and even bigger forearms. One of the collared, the larger man who's powers were to turn his skin into stone, was flung with a kick from one of kick of her legs, crashing him through the walls into the next area. The one that remained turned to look at Schulyer, then her handler before she went down holding her neck in pure agony.

Robin didn't hesitate further. Back on her feet, she grabbed and tossed Schulyer onto her back with a growling 'hold on', before she took off out of the hole the attackers came from.

The remaining handler started spewing curses and shot orders out into the radio. Another handler jumped out and aimed a tranq towards the retreating pair.
 
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