Return to the Den [2430-2-3-Tue 6:30pm]

[Terence Yorick]

With the help of Celyn and Chase, Terence finally got to the storage hangar that held the Kildeer. As they walked closer, he moved out of there hold. Seeing the Kildeer in one piece and the relatively fresh air from being outside the hospital had rejuvenated him. He walked slowly down the side of the ship, running his hand down its hull. "I've missed you. Don't worry, we'll get you out of this hangar and back in the sky soon enough," he thought.

Terence turned around to Celyn and Chase. "Meet me in the lounge in a few minutes," he said, then returned his attention to the ramp. He walked to the docking ramp and entered the passcode. After a second, a low humming appeared and the ramp slowly dropped itself down. Terence was ecstatic. He didn't think seeing the Kildeer would be such a huge morale boost for him, but it was. This was his home. Though his joy was short lived. He was lacking a pilot to get this thing up and out. The auto pilot could do most of it, but not having a pilot to do the delicate things, like docking in a non regulation port or piloting through atmosphere was suicide.

Shaking off those thoughts, Terence ran up the ramp and straight to his room, closign the door behind him. He took a big sniff, and felt instantly at ease. He was home. He threw himself onto his bed and closed his eyes, perfectly relaxed. "No way I'm ever gonna spend any more time in a hospital like that," he said out loud.

After a minute or two of relaxing, Terence got up. Right now though he couldn't relax too much. He still needed to get this thing out of storage and onto the docks, and also find a pilot. He'd check the public transmission later though. He'd need Chase and Celyn's help to get this thing to the docks. He stepped out of his room and went to the lounge to meet up with Chase and Celyn. He'd have to explain what happened to him now. As much as he didn't want to,he needed to.

[Chase Nicolai]

All the way back to the ship, Chase had been a bit on edge, worried that Terence would have another fit. Turning in a private hospital room was one thing, but if Terence lost control while they were in public? Chase didn’t want to think about it, but his brain had done it anyway, conjuring up images of the inevitable aftermath. The cops here had guns, and they were afraid of big animals. Chase had been really lucky so far since he’d always been in human form by the time they showed up to respond to a complaint, but if Terence lost control, they wouldn’t be so lucky. And maybe this time, Terence wouldn’t be coming out of the hospital.

But they'd done it, and as soon as they were in the ship and Terence was in his room, Chase finally let himself relax. He could tell that Celyn was just as relieved as Chase that they'd all gotten back intact. There wasn't anything else for Chase to do but head to the lounge, so he did.

The Kildeer always made Chase feel a little odd. It just smelt so... metallic. And empty. And at the same time, it was just filled with the scents of everyone who had been inside of it, especially Terence. After the past few weeks on Terra, somehow it seemed more friendly, even if the wild cat in him wasn't too pleased by how tight the spaces were. Chase grabbed a seat on the lounge and waited, feet up on the table. He only put them down once Terence walked in, looking a lot better. Chase waited to hear what Terence had to say. He didn't want to push too hard for answer, but at the same time, answers were all he wanted to hear.

[Terence Yorick]

Terence, not wanting to waste anymore time, quickly pulled up a chair and sat down across from Chase. He'd been out for nearly two months. The Kildeer had sit unused, Chase was trapped on a planet he didn't want to be on, Celyn was working in the hospital to pay off the hospital bills and any other source of debt they might have, and it was all because Terence had been stupid enough to let all of this happen. He'd need to explain what happened while he had been out, then go find a pilot to get this ship back into space and doing what it does best, make them all money.

Terence looked at Chase, seeing the desire to bombard him with questions in his eyes, and started in on the story. "Well, while I had been out, things hadn't felt like a month and a half. It really only seemed like a few minutes. That entire time, I had only had one dream," he said, but paused. He didn't really know how to explain it. After a few moments of thought, he continued. "This one dream though, is what I believed caused my little... melt down in my room."

Terence looked down at his hands, palms facing up. "This was going to hurt," Telling those who care about you things you are ashamed of always did. He looked up, trying to keep his voice level as he spoke. "I had a dream of myself, in savanna plains clearing. I couldn't see over the grass, it was too tall. The moment I tried to move, I fell flat on my face," he continued, trying to pass the last part off as a joke but failing to even convince himself. "I couldn't get up, my legs didn't seem to want to work, and the next thing I know, this lion's in my face scolding me about how weak I am. I realized that it was a dream at this point, and that the lion over me was actually my lion self talking to me."

Taking a deep breath, Terence prepared himself for the next part. This is what he'd been dreading. This part, the part were he lost his other half. "Then, the world seemed to melt. Now, I'm watching over the forests of Nox, the same place Genevieve caught me and knocked my out. I saw what happened there up until the point I blacked out," his voice shook a little now and he had to keep himself from crying. Saying what he thought was the reason for his flip out in the hospital out loud seemed to make it real, and not just an idea. The thought of living with that fact scared the fik out of him. Everything inside him said to keep his mouth shut, to simply deny it. He knew he couldn't do that though. It wouldn't be fair to anyone, especially those who had risked their lives to bring him to Terra.

"After that, I was back in the clearing, my lion standing over me. He said that I was... that I was pathetic," Terence said through clenched teeth, his eyes tightly shut and face turned down towards the table. His hands were balled up into fists that he was squeezing so tightly his nails were threatening to break the skin on the inside of his palm. It felt so horrible to repeat it. Every word seemed bring him back to that clearing, and bring back the old feelings of shame and pain. "He said that he wouldn't cooperate with me ever again," he finished, and it felt like a massive weight had been pulled off him.

Terence looked up at Chase and wiped his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I've lost my lion half. I've lost all control over him whenever he doesn't want to be held in check," he said, his voice thick with emotion. It had hurt a lot repeating the experience, but having it out and in the open seemed to make it more understandable. Since it now felt more understandable, at least to Terence, it could be easier dealt with. That helped lessen the pain.

[Celyn Ryan]

ooc. Alrighty ^^ I'm back (although there may be days where I will be missing for Rylens appointments and such.. but back) So for a pressie I'm giving a post!

ic.

Celyn

Nearly two months of watching, waiting, praying and hoping that Tere would wake up.. and finally he did. There weren't enough words in the dictionary to describe the feeling of hearing his voice, his silly antics and seeing that smile cross his lips. It was exhilarating! To see the warm flush return in his cheeks, and feel his fingers return the soft brush across her own skin.. it was amazing. Nothing would ever be able to top the joy she felt when he had awoke in the hospital, that would be a memory she would hold onto for the rest of her life..

Yet, just as Tere was able to speak (thank goodness) and wiggle nearly every appendage, which was amazing for a coma patient, he wasn't completely back. His mind was there, but something was different in his eyes, when he looked at her there was that animalistic hunger that burned behind his golden eyes.. There was something new, and dangerous that lurked just behind the walls.. and that something showed itself inside the hospital that very same day. After returning Tere to the ship, Celyn made a dash to the hospital.. She needed to fill out his paperwork and explain her leave once again. She'd nearly paid off all their debt, and managed to gain a few paychecks.. There was hope for the Kildeer yet!

Her co workers weren't so overly joyed when she returned, they stared her way apprehensive.. and looked behind the glass sliding doors waiting for the lion to come charging through. Fear was heavy in the air, and as Celyn opened to doors to Tere's old room she felt her own heart sink. His nightgown lay upon the floor, torn. No cleaning crew was brave enough to enter the room, and Celyn sighed as she placed all the old torn clothes and sheets into the garbage bin. Wiped off the bed rails and took off the sheets, grabbed her personal belongings from the closet and made sure Chase had gotten all his and closed the door behind her. Finally she would be able to escape the stench, the people and maybe Terra..

From the Hospital she caught a cab and made a quick dash to the apartment.. Knowing Tere and Chase they would want to stay as far away from the inner city as possible. She she grabbed bags, boxes and whatever she could find and dumped in clothes, food, medicine.. everything. There was no way she would leave the those two boys alone with no food.. Especially with Tere as uneasy as he was. Loading up her same cab, she slammed the trunk, and filled the backseat before hopping in the front seat with the elder man. "Here.. This is all I got on me.." she tossed him a few hundreds for his help and finally returned back to the Kildeer.

She knew very well that something had shaken Tere, and Chase would be his best help right now. She was still in that 'learning' phase about Were's.. not to mention getting over the fact of being held hostage by a bunch of vampires and seeing the one man she'd ever let herself get close to, nearly die.. well she was pretty shaken to. Climbing from the cab and emptying all the boxes and bags onto the ground, she gave a smile and jogged up the ramp to retrieve the hover cart from the bay. Using it she loaded everything up, and left the contents of her apartment hovering in the storage bay.. she could unpack later.. right now she wanted to get back to Tere.

Walking down the hallway, her booted heels clicking against the metal, she ran her fingers along the walls. Enjoying the cool touch against her fingers.. it was nice to be back. Although, the ship did need a good cleaning and maybe a day to air out.. it was still in great condition. As she made her way into the Lounge, Celyn slowed down her brisk pace and peeked in, long auburn curls falling from her shoulders as she gave a small smile.. "I hope I'm not int erupting?" she asked softly..

[Chase Nicolai]

Chase sat back in his chair, dazed by Terence’s story. It had been hard to hear Terence talk, to hear him admit that part of him had lost so much faith in himself that it wasn’t even part of him anymore. Chase couldn’t imagine the panther inside of him every disobeying. The panther was Chase, just like his chair was Chase, and his jokes were Chase. It was something other races could never understand.

Chase tried to find words, and found he didn’t have any at all. He couldn’t just sit there though, and he got up, going over to Terence and pulling him into a tight hug. Normally, Chase would have cracked some sort of joke, but that wasn't what Terence needed right now.

“He’s wrong. You’re not weak,” Chase finally said, and he held on tightly to Terence as he spoke, “I don’t know what it’ll take to make him have faith in you again, but I’ll find whatever it is. We’ll get that part of you back. I swear, as long as you need me, I'm going to be here helping you. I know you, all of you, even that stubborn lion."

He only pulled away from Terence when Celyn came in, not wanting to worry her, or get in the way if she wanted to get close to Terence, "Nah. Just doing some manly bonding," Chase told her, running a hand through his hair, "He's too weak to wrestle so we had to settle for the slow chest-bump."

[Terence Yorick]

Terence hugged Chase back, which helped him pull his emotions back to normal. He was still upset and hurt and all kinds of different feelings all at once, but at least now it was back to how it was before he had told the story. "Thanks, but I don't think anyone can help me with this," he whispered just before Chase broke the hug. If Terence needed to get the lions respect and trust back, he needed to do it alone. If he got help, or at the very least too much help, the lion would reject any of those efforts. If it ever would let him that is. Right now, he doubted he could do much other then get better. He was still feeling weak from his nearly two month coma, and he doubted things would get better within the next few days. He'd need at least a week before any real effort towards winning the lion back could be made.

As Celyn poked her head in and Chase let go of Terence, he turned his head away from Celyn and wiped his eyes dry. He then looked back at her, a big smile on his face. He wasn't smiling at Chases comment, which he'd have to get him back for, but at seeing Celyn. In the hospital he'd seen her, but it hadn't been the same. She'd just gotten off work and before he could truly enjoy the simple pleasure of just looking at her, he'd had his little episode. Now though, he took in her beauty. The way her hair bounced with even the slightest movement, the small nearly coy smile on her lips, and her rich, beautiful hazel eyes that held a hint of green around the iris.

"Ya," Terence finally said, pulling his eyes off Celyn and turning his attention back to Chase for a few seconds. "Though I think I'll be able to knock you down a few pegs, like I always do, in a few days." He gave Chase a light punch on the shoulder. Right as he returned his arm to his side, his stomach let out a huge growl. Suddenly, it felt like his stomach was trying to pinch a part of itself off. "Oh my god," he said, putting his hand on the table to steady himself, "I need to eat something before my stomach tries to eat me." He looked around, but knew there wouldn't be any food in the kitchen. And if there was, it definitely wouldn't be fit to eat after nearly two months of sitting around.

"Any chance either of you has some food on you?" Terence asked, though he doubted they did. Celyn might, but Chase only ever stored his food in his stomach, just like Terence.

[Celyn Ryan]

Celyn

Celyn didn't notice the tears, or the pained expression in Tere's eyes.. Only the sly smile that slide across Chase's lips as he ran a hand through his ebony hair. In the past few months she'd become closer to Chase then she'd ever imagined she would, they bonded over Tere.. Watching him laying in bed and she did her best to make his stay on Terra the best possible. Although it wasn't always the best for the were.. she knew he meant well and cared deeply for his best friend. She smiled and walked into the lounge, rather then standing there peeking around the corner any longer.

A rush of warmth rushed across her cheeks when she saw Tere, his tired eyes and sunken cheeks, but that smile. His smile never changed, even though he was weak and mighty hungry he was still Tere. The man she'd grown so close to, and had risked his life for her. She'd dreamed for months what it would be like to see him awake again, to hear his silly jokes and hear him laugh.. but nothing would beat having him here. Shyly she ran a hand through her curls, brushing them away from her cheeks and tucking them neatly behind her ears. She moved to the other side of the table and pulled up a chair.. laughing at the boys antics to one another.. but her eyes never straying from Tere.

Tere always seemed hungry, perhaps it was the animal in him that did it.. or just being a man. But she laughed softly "Actually yeah.. I stopped by the apartment and grabbed all the food I had. There's a few chicken breasts and I think a steak or two. Not the finest of meats, but they'll calm your stomach atleast." sliding from her chair she walked around behind Tere, and gently ran her hand along his back as she passed. He'd lost alot of weight in his coma state, but she'd make sure he put it all back on! "The boxes are down the hall in the storage hanger, I'll be right back." she smiled softly to the two boys before rounding the corner and dissappearing from view again.

The damp and humid air of the storage hanger was nothing but refreshing, to hear the soft hum of the wind beating against the metal and to hear the slight buzz of the lights. It only brought back the memories of flying through space with the boys, the funny times.. and the bad. Grabbing the hover cart, she turned around and headed back to the lounge. In a cooler on the bottom of the cart was the meat, It would have to do till she was able to get to the store and stock the ship up again. It would take all she had in her savings to do it.. but the Kildeer would be up and running soon enough.

She smiled as she entered the lounge again, pushing the hover cart to the side of the room and pulled a few bags off and tossed them in the hall (personal stuff) and placed a few white boxes on the counters (all her medical stuff) and then pushed the cooler towards Tere and Chase. "Alright boys.. Whether you want it cooked, or just fresh it's up to you. I'm gunna get on unpacking, but the pots and pans are in that box there," as she pointed to a small box on the hover cart "and the meats in that!" she smiled softly before reaching into the boxes and started putting it all back.

[Chase Nicolai]

“You better,” Chase accepted the light punch happily, looking forward to having Terence back to his old self. There was still a lingering worry in his guts, but he knew that he had to let Terence do this on his own. Tere was right. But Chase was going to be here every step of the way, ready to help however he could.

At least Celyn had been thinking ahead when she grabbed the extra supplies. Chase was a bit hungry himself, though he was always hungry. That was one of the downsides of being such a large cat. You were always looking for the next meal, or else you were sleeping it off. While she was out, he looked at Terence, “You’re a hell of a lucky man to have her wanting to be your nurse. Just in case you’d forgotten that while you were sleeping forever.”

Chase opened the cooler, pulling out the meat. The smell of blood sent his stomach growing. Warm would be nice, but that wasn’t what Terence needed right now. He was probably too hungry to wait. Not to mention the lion inside of him would be too hungry too. He picked up the steaks and tossed them to Terence, “Bottoms up.”

[Terence Yorick]

As Celyn left the room to get the food, she had run her hand along his back. The simple touch sent a slight shiver through his body. A part of him seemed to stir inside, a part that existed in both his lion form and human form. He blushed slightly and shook his head, hoping to put those thoughts away from his mind. He and Celyn would be able to catch up on that kind of stuff soon enough. Though the feelings were pulled back, they wouldn't disappear.

Terence smiled at Chases comment, glad to have something to distract himself from his own perverted feelings and thoughts. Oh, how right he was. He'd have to find some way to thank Celyn, as well as Chase, for everything they'd done for him. However, he would need money to do it, which meant he needed the Kildeer back in service and making deliveries. To do that, he'd need a pilot. Pilots are a rare commodity, at least the good ones are. It would be even more difficult to find one willing to pilot for two weres.

Celyn returned, pulling a load on the hover cart. She sorted through it, then pushed the cooler to them. "Ah, my guardian angel returns with lots of meat. Remind me Chase, how did I manage to do anything without her around?" Terence said, smiling. Though it was a joke, He was still a little serious about it.

"I'll find a way to repay both of you for what you did," he continued, though on a more serious note. He caught the steaks and took a big bite out of one and swallowed, not even bothering to chew. Then he took a second equally big bite, but actually chewed this one. While he chewed, he took out his padd and navigated to the Public Transmissions board, then on to the Crew/passengers Seeking Ships section. "Though to repay either of you, we'll need a pilot."

Terence sat down in one of the stools next to the bar, flipping through the various messages as he ate. He could feel his stomach digesting the food, and could also feel the fact he'd need a lot more to feel satisfied. Finally, he came across one that sparked his interest. "Well, here's one looking for a ship to pilot," he said and opened the message. It was short so it only took him a few seconds to read. "Hm, this guy seems good. Though I wonder why he would need a ship to have a crew that would like horses."

[Chase Nicolai]

“You didn’t. The way I remember it, you farted around in this ship and tried to avoid Crystal anytime you visited,” Chase responded, settling down with the chicken. It was cold, but Chase had started getting use to the taste of cold dead meat. There wasn’t anything to hunt here on Terra, not unless you went deep underground and went after rats, and Celyn had made it clear that Chase wasn’t allowed down there. He couldn’t see how it could be more dangerous than Nox, but he was happy enough not to find out. There was something amazing about being up in the sunlight anyway. It was always so warm and wonderful. The panther inside of him just wanted to sleep in it all the time.

He watched as Terence went looking for a pilot. It was too bad about Rudy. He’d been annoying and too-talkative, but after a week of being stuck in the same ship as him, Chase had gotten over wanting to strangle him to death. But Rudy was on another ship right now, and they needed a pilot if they wanted to carry on.

“Horses?” Chase was confused. Why would some guy need people to like horses? Humans didn’t have many animals here, mostly just the occasional pet. Certainly nothing as large as a horse. Then it occurred to Chase, “Maybe it’s code for being a Were? Something that we’d pick up on, but humans wouldn’t think about too deeply?”

[Terence Yorick]

"Ya, maybe," Terence said, then an idea hit him. "Well, if he ends up being our new pilot, we'd have a ship almost entirely crewed by weres." The thought seemed interesting. Things wouldn't be nearly as awkward. A human pilot would have to adjust to being around weres, while a were would be right at home. He grabbed the last steak, half of it already eaten, and stuffed it in his mouth. He typed up a quick message to Hippolyte's.

Terence got up and moved over to Celyn and began helping her unpack everything. "I set up a meeting with him around eight. How does that same restaurant we had met Rudy at sound, Celyn? Their food was pretty good," he said, the latter portion directed at Chase. "The whole rat meat thing didn't go over well, but maybe the manager will recognize us and give us another free meal." Terence smiled. He could still picture the little twerps face when he had called him out on putting rat meat in his burger.

"We'll all meet him there and if we like him, we can give him a trial run by piloting the Kildeer out of the warehouse," Terence said, pulling a few pans from the box and putting them back. "That way, if we like him but he's too shaky behind the helm we can still tell him no but still get the Kildeer out of the warehouse."

[Celyn Ryan]

It was an odd sense to listen to Chase and Tere talk like it was nothing. His awakening bringing nothing but happiness in all their eyes, but it had been so long. It had seemed like an eternity sense Celyn had seen Tere's joyous smile or the way he laughed and made a joke about everything, waving off the bad and only concerning himself with the good in everything. She stood in the door way for minutes just watching and listening, enjoying the sound of his voice vibrating from the metal walls. It was like listening to your favorite song all over again..

Celyn quickly navigated away from her oogly eyes and slowly kept unpacking, placing things back where they belonged and wiping off the dust of anything that might've clung to the material in the passed months. She listened as they discussed the Pilot, smiling thinking of heading out to space again.. yet she wasn't so keen on returning to Nox.. she doubted she would ever be ready for that again. She chuckled at the mention of Horses.. It was a strange thing to put in an ad, but these days you had to be honest.

Feeling a presence next to her she turned to see Tere up and helping unpack, she smiled listening to his question "Sounds perfect.. Did you let him know?" she asked questioning about the possible future pilot. She could only wonder what it would be like to be flying in space with three were's.. she shook her head at the thought.. Two felines and a Horse.. It would make for an awkward trio but none the less the Kildeer would be up and running again!

"You're pretty sneaky Tere.." she chuckled "But I hope we like him.. You have no idea how stir crazy Chase has been here on Terra." she chuckled throwing a friendly grin at Chase. She knew how hard it was for him to be here, but he suffered with a grin. She'd tried to make the experience as good as it could've been . Even she was ready to get of Terra.