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Post by sho on Jan 28, 2006 14:58:11 GMT -5
Sho ran fast-paced across the steamy engine room. He was determined to catch the stowaway... even if he couldn't see where he was going clearly. Many times he caught himself tripping over his own feet and he even ran into a few parts sometimes. This frustrated him... but if he was having a hard time, so was the stowaway.
Suddenly stopping, Sho looked around frantically, searching for a clue and strategizing. The intruder had an edge... it was hard to see from the steam and hard to hear from the working engines. Although.. the room didn't go on forever and soon they would have to pass. His muscles tensed with this knowledge, and he felt himself jumping at the slightest movements. Then something caught his eye... a gust of swirling steam. And a moving shadow.
Without stopping to consider any consequences, Sho dashed after the shadow, ready to catch its master. He had been running for only three seconds before he realized that the engines were no longer creaking....
Sho stopped dead in his tracks.
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Post by zuko on Jan 28, 2006 16:52:30 GMT -5
Zuko peered down at the girl blankly. Was she always this afraid of him? Thinking that he would do such a thing as to kill an innocent person, or a child in this case, was crazy.
Just before he was about to say something, everything jolted to a halt. The engines had stopped. Zuko looked up at the boilers; the steam still poured through but the loud hum of the engines and ceased. This made the surroundings of the boiler room seem even more eerie, for now it was dead quiet. Even frantic footsteps from the crew up on deck were audible. Zuko gave a sigh of frustration. He was wasting time.
"I'm not going to kill you", he said flatly. "Go back on top deck if you want." Zuko began to walk past the servant girl, but then stopped and turned his head to look at her. "Or you can come with me and help search. Your choice." Before waiting for an answer from the girl, he turned again and walked quickly down the narrow passage that lead farther into the boiler room.
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Post by katuko on Jan 28, 2006 17:42:24 GMT -5
So she would live. That was good enough for the girl. The prince moved onward to the next room, taking cautious steps. He hadn't refused her company, but a part of her really wanted to escape the haunted hull. Already, his faint silhouette was disappearing in the steam. Unable to find the door to freedom - she had no choice but to follow.
The prince dove towards the boiler room and she followed, reluctantly... The wall was lined with disfigured scratches, as if someone had been struggling through. Enitsua shivered despite the heat. There was always that feeling she was being followed, and she never wa- "AHhh-" she squirmed under a strong grasp, her cry muffled.
The captor dragged her back, past two vacant rooms, and into the storage house. Something was stuffed haphazardly into her mouth and she was forced to silence. "Don't move...or...or else." he threatened, seemingly restless. Enitsua bobbed her head in compliance. What more could she do?
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Post by sho on Feb 2, 2006 21:15:38 GMT -5
Sho turned away from his previous chase and began to dash back to a certain chunk of machinery. He could catch the stowaway later, or someone else would do so, but the engine needed immediate attention. It was the tallest in the room, the main engine. As he apporached it, the dark, shiny metal loomed above him eerily in the silence. A few wisps of smoke still encircled it, remining Sho of coiling snakes. His face twisted into one of uncertainty, with one high arched eyebrow and lips parted back enough to see some of his gums. He quickly shook away the feeling. It was just a chunk of metal.
However, he still approached it cautiously. On quick inspection Sho noticed the problem. The main switch had been switched off and broken. A small slab of metal still remained, but it was horribly bent - so much that it would be almost impossible to turn up with single strength. Determined to fix the engine, Sho placed his hands firmly under the remaining switch and pushed up. A few seconds later, after many grunts of frustration, Sho released, letting a sweat bead drip down his forehead. It was really jamed. He managed to jiggle the switch, but he was no where near fixing it.
Eyes wondering, Sho searched for a tool. Anything...
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Post by katuko on Feb 4, 2006 0:56:26 GMT -5
The girl curled over her toes and rocked mechanically. What was it Cook often no, constantly reminded her to do? Think straight. There was nothing straight here - in this dark, mossy old room - much less anything bent. Her eyes drifted around the few feet of ground she could make out, searching for something to catch the attention of the deck. Most of her days were spent in the galley, searching for some way to help Cook ( who often refused, politely ) yet, she understood how important proper functioning of the ship was to the crew.
Her heart gave a jolt as the shadowed man turned his back and poked his head from the room, scanning for passerbys. Desperately, she reached out and kicked a pipe standing against the wall. The metal tube slid down sluggishly and bounced on the ground. Silent rings echoed out the room and into the corridors. Enitsua smiled up at the man who trembled at her innocence. "You..." he began, but was interrupted by an oncoming wave of footsteps, much like a stampede. The crew was coming for 'it,' she was sure.
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Post by zuko on Feb 4, 2006 14:16:04 GMT -5
Zuko had been searching for some time, checking every passage his eyes fell upon. He looked down by his side to see if the girl was still following him, but to his surprise, she wasn't. For a second he thought that she must have gone back on deck, but for some reason that didn't seem the case. Peering back down the long passage of the boiler room, he rolled his eyes wondering why he even cared where the girl went.
But his thoughts were soon interupted by a loud crash. It sounded like a metal pipe falling and hitting the floor. It was close too...
'The stowaway!' Zuko thought as he turned around and ran back. His eyes shifted from room to room as he turned the corner and continued his quickened pace down the corridor. The sound of the crew could be heard as some began down the hatch leading into the boiler room.
"Down here!" Zuko called toward them. The footsteps became louder and voices were becoming audible. Zuko knew that the stowaway couldn't be far off...
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Post by sho on Feb 4, 2006 21:02:04 GMT -5
Sho's ears picked up the vibrating pound of footsteps; people were coming. Breaking through a relieved smile that seemed to brighten his face and mood, Sho began to dash torwards the oncoming crew, knowing one of them would be more than happy to help him with the engine. He only hesitated once to look back. It almost seemed wrong to leave the engine sitting there, unworking. However, Sho kept on moving, the sound of voices and movement growing closer.
Sho ran until he began to see the faint outline of a person. The remaining steam played tricks on his eyes, therefore it seemed this person was further away then they truely were. Sho realized this a second too late and took a desperate turn. His shoes squeaked deafingly on the slick floor, but luckly he was able to keep his balance; although he did stumble.
"The engine! I need help..." Sho said slightly out of breath. "The switch is broken.."
Sho looked up to the crew member, only to see that it was the prince. Sho gave a hurried head nod in acknowledgement, all the while glancing down the way he came restlessly.
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Post by katuko on Feb 4, 2006 22:49:50 GMT -5
The man glowered at her and ran a hand through his mane of dirt-brown hair. He curse in several dialects and paced around the cramped room. The increasing commotion in the corridors assured her they were close. 'Down there!' a random voice called out excitedly. Enitsua cheered silently as her captor dashed from the room, fleeing for his pitiful existence.
Come, here...HERE! she screamed mentally and squirmed, hoping to catch their attention. A troop of panting soldiers charged past the door, unaware of the open door. The girl sunk, crestfallen...how could they possibly miss?
She inched towards the open door and wormed into the hallway. From there, she made her way towards the voices, shrinking and pulling along. Sweating profusely, she paused at Sho's foot and nudged it with her nose. The whole situation would have been quite comical if she wasn't bound and gagged, but that wasn't the case. "Phwow!...golwph ereh!"
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Post by zuko on Feb 5, 2006 11:58:34 GMT -5
Zuko turned to see who had addressed him, and he was slightly surprised to see Sho, who was out of breath as he spoke.
"The engine? We'll have to worry about that later--" The Prince was then soon interrupted as he heard a shuffling sound and looked down and Sho's feet to see the girl that was following him earlier. She was tied up and gagged, with sweat beating down her face.
Zuko nearly jumped back in surprise, but instead knelled down to untie her. He swore to himself, realizing that the stowaway was close by. He was also angered by the fact that the main engine to the ship was now broken. This stowaway is more trouble than he is worth. Zuko would make sure that he wouldn't get away...
Once the girl was untied and no longer gagged he stood and glared down at her.
"Did the stowaway do this? Which way did he go?" His mind was spinning with questions, but he just wanted them to be answered. Staying down in this boiler room, filled with steam, was beginning to make him slightly dizzy and exhausted.
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Post by katuko on Feb 5, 2006 12:25:51 GMT -5
The girl crawled weakly from the ground and spat on it, trying in vain to dispossess the nasty taste the gag had left behind. She looked thoughtful for a moment, "I onno, he ran ...uhh...to this side of the room where I was." she flailed her right arm, "But I don't remember which room I came from. There was a giant boiler though..." Enitsua ran her fingers through the rest of the ropes around her foot and looked up hopefully. "Let's go upstairs! He can't stay down there forever, 'cause I'm getting a migraine, so he would too! Or... we can bomb the steerage!" She smiled triumphantly and wheeled around for the trap door that led to the deck. It hung open, slight salty air wafting through. She drifted over to the ladder and eased up gingerly and invited herself to the sky. [Enitsua has left this thread]
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Post by sho on Feb 7, 2006 20:07:36 GMT -5
Enitsua's sudden appearance had startled Sho. He had simply stood there frozen as the prince untied her, mouth open slightly. How could someone do that to her? She was just a kid after all. Sho supposed that people did hurtful and stupid things sometimes, and this was war. Sho shook his head, trying to get rid of the sudden shock as Enitsua walked away. He needed to focus on the stowaway right now; they were very close...
"Be careful!" Sho blurted as Enitsua's body began to fade from view. Out of all people, he didn't want her to get hurt. She still had her whole life ahead of her. Maybe she would live it without war.
"I guess we need to keep looking..." Sho said, while rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "She said there was a big bolier in the room, and over that way. So he'd be roughly in that area over there." Sho gestured to the wide distance between to large, steam ejecting machines. "If you take one side, and I take the other, we could probably trap him in the middle." Sho then paused, thinking. "But he most likely has run back, deeper into the room by now."
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Post by zuko on Feb 12, 2006 13:46:50 GMT -5
"Then we better hurry..." Zuko replied as his eyes peered over to the room Sho had pointed out. There were different passages inside the room leading around the boilers of the ship. Zuko wanted to end this whole 'cat-and-mouse' game and throw this damn stowaway in a cell, then fix the ship while there was still time.
"Take the left side of the boilers..." Zuko demanded to Sho as he approached the room cautiously. It was so quiet, now that the engines had been cut off. Zuko could even hear his steady breathing as he walked into the room and took the right side of the passage. If that stowaway made the slightest sound, the Prince would know.
Walking quietly past another boiler, there was a sudden shuffling sound, as if someone was crawling on the metal floor of the ship. Picking up his pace, Zuko lifted his hands at ready and walked even faster. He hoped that Sho had hear the same thing and was ready as well.
A dark figure ran across the passage and into another room. Thats all it took for Zuko to start dashing down the steamy passage, calling Sho to follow.
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Post by sho on Feb 26, 2006 16:13:45 GMT -5
Obediently, Sho jogged along through the room and its compartments over on the left side. He kept close to the wall, hoping he would blend in and stay unnoticed while the stowaway revealed himself. It was quiet, which sharpened Sho's senses. He could hear as the ship rocked and creaked against the lapping waves and as the the remaining steam whistled through the cracks of the machinery. It was quite an eerie feeling, which was only putting Sho on edge.
As Sho moved along, his eyes searching for any slight movement, his attention was suddenly caught by an almost undetectable shuffling sound and quick foot steps. The prince had surely spotted the stowaway! Sho smiled with slight relief, but he still knew he must be on his toes.
Sho lifted his hands up in front of him and creeped quietly along the wall torwards the sounds. The stowaway was coming near and was going to get himself caught between the two, as long as Sho kept his focus and did not let him slip away. Biting his lip, Sho slipped behind a bolier, waiting for the stowaway to move by. If Sho could catch him....
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Post by zuko on Mar 5, 2006 20:56:34 GMT -5
The prince was getting closer to the stowaway. If Sho just stood where he was without even flinching, Zuko would be able to herd the stowaway right between them. Zuko was approaching a corner and decided to slow his pace. The prince smirked satisfyingly, knowing that if the stowaway had turned that corner, he would come to a dead end and be caught. Creeping over, his hands at ready, Zuko kept close to one of the boilers and peered behind it to get a glimpse of the dead-end hallway, expecting to see a cowering stowaway ahead of him...but something stopped him. With a pang of shock and adrenelin, a metal bar out of nowhere came down and almost took off the prince's head.
Zuko backed up against the wall out of shear surprise...and anger. It was the stowaway, no less, and in his hand he held a long metal bar nervously. The man attempted to put on a fearless expression, but sweat was beating down his face and his kness were shaking convulsively.
"There you are..." Zuko hissed angrily at the man, his hands now set with flames. The man looked back, but it was a dead-end from there and the only escape was where Zuko was standing and the left side of the boiler where Sho was coming, but Zuko stood closer, making sure the stowaway couldn't take either way...the man had no chioce but to come after the prince...
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Post by sho on Mar 9, 2006 20:42:07 GMT -5
Sho glanced around the corner, spotting the prince and the stowaway. As Zuko moved closer, Sho crept out of his hiding place, still slipping along the wall to stay hidden. If the stowaway was stupid enough to dash for escape, Sho would catch him. His slightly muscular arms tensed, and the tips of his fingers heated up.
As soon as Sho saw flames, however, Sho decided it was safe to reveal himself. An inch at a time, Sho moved his body out into the open. His long fingers stretched out and flexed as he took place beside the prince. There was no way the stowaway would be able to escape them.
"You might as well give up." Sho said cooly. His dark eyebrows raised as he studied the stowaway; it was obvious he was extremely frightened. Sho's hard expression softened. "It will be easier on you."
The man shook violently and his legs locked, sending him to the floor. Much to Sho's surprise, the man crawled up to him, clutching his ankle.
"Please.. don't hurt me..."
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