A Feathered Shadowrunner's Tail - A runner's memory; Feather's Story. (2) Part I
A Feathered Shadowrunner's Tail - A runner's memory, Feather's Story; Part 1 ~~SnowDragon
_Without further delay, I present the second chapter of A Feathered Shadowrunner's Tail , and today's headlines A runner's memory, Feather's Story... What happens when a runner has some time to think about what they did to get into their situation..? The thinking each and every runner of the shadows does, wondering if they could have done a better job. Welcome, reader, to the memories of Feather.
As Always, Enjoy!
Writing Time: (Started 7:26pm 07/08/13 Finished 8:18pm 07/08/2013 Length: Digital Copy Only, 3.1 A4 Pages Soundtrack: The Emperor's Stand (Dragon Commander OST),
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Darkness. No moon. No wind. Perfect conditions. Just the sound of her breathing in and out, yellow irises looking out over the skyline, flicking this way and that as the sensitive visual organs picked things up that she might be interested in. Like pigeons. A small flock of them, just on the balcony, standing, singing, blooming their crests in order to attract a mate. Filthy creatures, no worthy of the feathers they wore, their light blue and grey crests sparkling green in the light as she put aside the desire she had always had to have a crest like that. But that was just silly, her brown plumage was beautiful and awe inspiring. The pick of her clutch indeed! Larger than her fellow creatures, smarter, fitter. One might go as far to say better, but she would settle to lucky. The world was a dangerous place, and it didn't go towards your future plans if you started annoying spirits.
Those guards at the desk just still kept sitting there, talking, drinking... why couldn't they just leave, already? Didn't they have young to feed? A small, half screech left her beak in irritation, some of the local birds who lived on this building she had taken up a temporary station at squarwking in alarm and hiding as quickly as they could from the sound of the larger, natural born predator, and the feeling of such power that gave her made the female rustle her neck and back, shaking this way and that, leaning her beak back to preen underneath a large wing. The wedgetail was large, even by eagle standards, easily the biggest bird this side of the border, perhaps even the border next over, and ever since taking up residence in this... city, one had to learn new things. New challenges. Like how to clean oneself when you're *wearing* a messenger bag wrapped over your neck and inbetween your wings, so that it touched the ground when you stood, and hung between you when you flew. It might have almost been something to laugh at had one seen it, if it weren't for the fact the bird could probably kill you for doing so.
They were still there. Still just talking! Her patience only lasted so long. Human prey was fickle, and that was not her only way in. So she took to the sky, extending those massive wings and propelling herself aloft, taking in the sights from eighty stories up, watching in the darkness, the vehicles below, the people going about their daily business, without even realising what lurked above them. Across the street so far down below she flew, the weight of the bag so familar it hardly even registered in her mind... There, that thing. The biggest male. The cocky one. The *tastiest* one. Wings folded up, she dived, and she dived a long way. Some birds saw, and they scattered as soon as they realised. But the biggest pigeon wasn't facing the right way, and by the time he knew, her talons had come down around him like vicegrips, her momentum slamming him down into the balcony rail before using what was left of her acceleration to get airborne again, the now lifeless pigeon held in her claws. The look on those guard's faces as they watched the predator in the prime of her life do her thing.
Screeching out her kill as she ascended, she dumped the lifeless body on the concrete roof before landing herself, beak dipping as she tore into it's flesh, rending to sate her boredom... and her hunger. She cared not for how much blood she covered herself in, there was a pool near her territory she could bathe in to wash the gore from her feathers. For now though, she had a job to complete. And what better way to get the guards to do her bidding than to do it herself? With her stomach calm for now, she again took flight, circling for a few moments to gauge the wind before setting down, right on the high fenced balcony that circled this floor, the skylobby.
The metal clacked as she stood upon it, close enough now to hear the two white shirt uniformed guards speaking. "...So, H-R tells me all my leave's been approved for next week. Never been happier in my life." She took a few steps this way and that on the walkway hanging so far above the ground. How hard could it be to miss a creature as majestic as she?
"Does Jyne know yet?"
"Not a hope. As soon as we get into the lobby, I'll be down on one knee,"
Unbelievable. If these were out in the wild, they'd have been dead in moments. She pecked at the glass door, once... twice. Three times.
"Good on you ma-... what's that?"
"Eh? Oh, wow. Is that an eagle?"
"Bit big to be an eagle, isn't it?"
"Looks like the poor thing got entangled in a hiker's bag or somethin' Su'pose I'd better go do my good deed for the day."
"You big goodie goodie you. Go on, I'll get on the line to the animal hospital, it's a long way from home..." And while the smaller man went to his phone, the larger approached, pulling out his keychain and swiping the glass door's maglock. It beeped twice, the light turned green and slid open, washing the balcony with clean, crisp air, run from the massive air conditioning ducts on the roof. He approached slowly, making some sort of shushing noise with his mouth. Doing her part as skittish bird, she hopped back a few steps as he grew closer... to the man's credit he followed, getting down onto his knees.
And she fell still, watching his hands get closer with those angry yellow eyes, now soft, as if trapped by this infernal contrapion that held her belongings in. He was gentle, careful, not even to damage a feather as he took the strap of the bag in his hands and lifted it over her head, speaking softly the whole time, calling her a good bird, calm little bird. You can go on your way very soon birdy. With the bag free, he hefted it, looking a little concerned for it's weight, turning over his shoulder and heading for the door with a simple "There you go, off you go you big silly bird." and then showing off the bag to his comrade in his left hand. "Man, those things are stronger than they look."
With both their attentions focused anywhere but on the dark, unlit balcony, she let the power well up within her form, body changing, growing, feathers molding into skin, beak reshaping, faded back into a mouth. Turning from her true form, the massive aerial predator that was a wedge tailed eagle into what she had begun to call herself, Feather. A female human, lightly built, well muscled, frail. As quick and nimble as she was not pretending to be something she wasn't. Even stark naked, she took two steps forward, left hand grabbing the guard around the mouth despite his shocked scream as he was surprised, right hand yanking the sidearm out of his holster before his companion could act, leveling the laser sighted weapon right for his chest and pulling the trigger twice. Two thick, heavy bangs flooded the room, the recoil jarring her wrist with the kick. The guard took both rounds, one in the stomach and the other right through the heart thrown over backwards over his chair which fell to the ground in a thud.
Without even thinking, perhaps in the same second she had lifted the heavy metal weapon to the side of the other guards head and fired once more, spraying a thin red and grey mist over the ceiling and windows as his body went limp, and dropped to the ground with a thud. Her right hand dropped the gun, it kicked far too much for her liking, looking towards the elevator while rubbing her wrist, her eyes flicking to her prey, now dead on the floor as an idea came. A corptec security guard, stricken by the loss of his wife to be, maddened with the thought that his partner on shift was cheating on his girl. Gunning him down and then taking his own life. A story even a corporation would believe, she noted, even as she took the dead man's hand, slipping the heavy gun into his fingers and dropping him as if he had pulled the trigger on his own life.
With that, she grabbed her messenger bag, and skittered off to the left, easing open the far right door and slinking into the darkness, already pulling items of clothing out of the bag she had been 'rescued' from. Now, to get the statue, and get out. A moments pause to don her black trousers, black shirt... and slip the balaclava down over her face, her Hammerli coming into hand as the last item. Meeting rooms were on either side of her, coupled with vending machines and potted plants. The end of the cooridor was a door, and just as she reached it, there was a ringing buzzer that pierced the silence and for a moment, made the girl cover her ears in fright. The alarm! Someone hadn't bought her little distraction. Perhaps, to make matters even worse, just barely audible over the sound of the alarm, thick hissing in the air. Grey mist was spraying in, anti-intrusion measures! They were going to gas her! She had a mask, but she needed to get it on. Turning right at once, she faced one of the meeting room doors, helpfully labeled "AVAILABLE" by it's sliding sign and put all of her weight into kicking it down.
The lock seperated from the rest of the door with a shower of splinters and a thick wooden crack as she pressed forth, ignoring the smarting complaint her foot gave off at being used for just such an act, reaching into the brown messenger bag and ripping out the gas mask, something she quickly pulled over her head and face before heading out into the hallway again, to meet a single lone elf security guard, same uniform, baton in one hand, gun in the other, where she had come from down the hall. He was at least six metres away, far enough that she had time, even as he started to sprint towards her to level the sidearm in both hands, take aim, and pump two rounds into centre mass, which dropped him to the floor at once. With the latest issue dealt with, she turned to the door at the far end, on the other side of which lay her objective. Unsurprisingly, when she tried the door, it was locked. The bird turned human tried the same trick, lifting her foot to kick it in, but it held fast, keeping her out despite the heavy noise of impact. Blast it!
Locksmith time, as she reached into a side pouch of her bag and withdrew her lockpick gun. Fancy piece of technology, she had no idea how it worked, but it did, and that was all she cared about. Checking the battery light once she flicked it on, the creature slowly, carefully slipped the metal pick end into the mechanical lock and pulled the trigger, the little electronic whirring and whining sounding, silenced by the alarm as it did it's thing. A sound, behind her. More security? She turned, Hammerli in hand just in time to see the elf she had shot before, not so dead as she had thought throw a hand forward for her throat. Caught off guard, and her reaction snapping the pins and hooks on the autopicker, the masked elf with unnatural strength, hauled her into the air by her neck, feet left dangling and kicking as the eagle gasped for breath, reflexively jerking on the trigger of her gun, twice, muted suppressed bangpops bouncing off the walls, brass bouncing into unseen positions.. His other hand grabbed at her mask, and ripped it off, some of the straps snapping before tossing her back down the hallway. The soft carpet as a small mercy, but without that mask, the gas they were flooding the room with had it's effect instaneously.
Coughing and laying on her back, she tried to look upright... sit upright, level her gun for another shot, but the round went miles wide, smashing and shattering a pane of glass, the creature shuffling back from the elf, unable to breath, unable to focus, vision wavering... feathers blooming all across her form as she collapsed backwards, pistol falling out of her grip, no longer able to hold the natural magic to her form, which quickly left her shifting back into her natural form... the wedge tail unconscious on the floor, draped in human clothing.