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Silence
Dec 31, 2014 7:12:59 GMT -5
Post by Animus on Dec 31, 2014 7:12:59 GMT -5
Animus paced rhythmically in his cage, claws making soft ticking sounds as they hit the glass bottom. His legs burned, but the black and white rat forced himself to remain in motion; the sound of his paw steps where the only thing filling the silence. And good gracious he could not stand the silence. Animus was not sure the last time he'd seem another rat, or even a white coat for that matter. His food and water dispensers were automated, not that he had any appetite at the moment. He could not still. He had to fill the silence! He shook his head from side to side, not bothering to check around him anymore. The cages were empty after all. Just as empty as they had been when he was placed here. He plopped down on his belly, beginning to claw at his fur in frustration as a vain attempt to block out the emptiness. In Blank's name, what he wouldn't give for the company of another creature! He'd even be happy to see a white coat at this point! If that wasn't a statement for how long he'd been in solitary confinement, than nothing was.
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Silence
Dec 31, 2014 12:20:21 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by RedenedMistake on Dec 31, 2014 12:20:21 GMT -5
(Hope you don't mind me jumping in here ^^')
A dark grey pelt appeared to be shivering in the hands of a whitecoat, nervously trying to slip out of the gripped furless flesh that held him in a cupped manner. He didn't care how far down the floor was, as long as he got away from this terrible creature! He could make it... Right? Ronan had just finished up with his newest test. It held no purpose in particular, only to find out what his specialty lie in. He was a rather new subject, so it would make sense that the whitecoats were determining what he would be tested for. Even after they had made up their mind, they still hadn't done much testing on him yet. The poor rodent had /almost/ just escaped the strong hold, had it not been for the whitecoat grabbing the roll of skin on the back of his neck to keep him in place. And for this, Ronan instinctively froze and remained still as they approached a door. Ah, yes, back to the same room that he had been kept in before being handed over to 158, just like most of the rats here. This was a much better place to be, despite the silence in there. But he didn't mind at all, it was much better than being poked and prodded at!
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Silence
Dec 31, 2014 12:39:14 GMT -5
Post by Animus on Dec 31, 2014 12:39:14 GMT -5
(Not at all friend!) At the sound of footfalls, Animas hopped to his feet. Thank the sun! It mattered not to him weather the approaching whitecoat was retreating him for a test, or bringing in a new cage, as long as the strange two legged creature provided some escape from the emptiness pressing in on the back of his skull. He would even prefer the fighting arena to the never ending pressure of silence. Animus did not do well when alone with his thoughts, and he found his tail begin to twitch in anticipation as the door to his prison swung open.
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Silence
Dec 31, 2014 15:12:26 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by RedenedMistake on Dec 31, 2014 15:12:26 GMT -5
As the timid rat entered the holding area through the transport of a whitecoat, the first thing that caught his eye was... The only rat left in here? Ronan could have sworn there were more the last time he had been in this room! This didn't concern him, however. As long as he was getting a break from the hellish torment of being handled by someone he didn't trust, he was content. The whitecoat had released the scruff of his neck, for that he was grateful, and he felt a tiny bit of hope drain from his paws when he heard the 'click!' of a cagetop opening and being slid out of the socket it was held into place with. Without even realizing it, Ronan must have still had faith that he was being released outside instead of being cooped up. He considered himself lucky, and grateful, however, that he had yet to endure the same pain that the rest of these creatures went through daily. He was only just beginning to know the meaning of pain, and had many experiments ahead of him. As soon as he had been set into his new confinement directly across from this unfamiliar face, he directed himself straight into a corner where he stood nervously, emitting a sort of whimpering noise (rats /do/ whimper XD) and holding his paws as if he had to protect them. Once the transparent glass cage had been slid into place, he only stared at the one across from him. For only no more than a moment or two, as he remembered that some rats considered that rude. The dark rat moved his gaze to the cold floor of the cage he currently stood within. The stranger seemed nice at the verry least... But Ronan was a shy one until you got to know him, and he wasn't willing to speak the first words.
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Post by Animus on Jan 1, 2015 1:33:57 GMT -5
Animus tilted his head at the site of the new arrival. He felt a tingle of pity in his chest, the actions of the other male reminding him of another timid rat he had once known. But Tech is gone. He reminded himself. Dwelling only beings on hurt. But perhaps... He padded up to the juncture where the two cages met. I can be of help to this one. "Hello." The bulky rat greeted in a smooth baritone. "You seem scared... The white coats didn't hurt you did they?" He could see it in the new arrival's eyes: hope. A hope that made it clear to Animus that the other rat must be a new subject. He had never known a life time subject with that twinkle of hope in their eye. He hoped the smaller rodent could hold on to that. "My name's Animus," He added, realizing he had not introduced himself. "I hope I didn't frighten you..." He tried to give a reassuring smile, hoping his metal paw and cracked teeth weren't as unnerving as he thought they were.
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Silence
Jan 1, 2015 13:41:42 GMT -5
Post by RedenedMistake on Jan 1, 2015 13:41:42 GMT -5
Ronan had taken notice of the paw, and the teeth, from the rat that spoke. Slightly intimidating, yes, but as long as this 'Animus' wasn't currently using them for the bad of any other creature here, he found little reason to cower over the details. "Nice to meet you, Animus. My name is Subject 89, but, you can call me Ronan." He offered a shy smile, his tail giving a quick wave of greetings. "No, they didn't hurt me... yet, anyways." He scratched at his head where the whitecoats had been scanning over, from what he assumed was them trying to find the proper 'soft spot' to begin surgery on. No damage had been done to his cranium yet, however. "I'm just a little new to testing is all. You see, they were delayed because i've been held back in storage for most of my time here." /And i'm scared of what they are going to do to me.../ He wanted to add, but instead thought to himself silently, a nervous glance cast over the empty cages, the silence reminding him that he was supposed to be more secretive with this information. He didn't know this rat, and was still a little wary of talking to him. But even so, he figured that, no matter what he said, what could this stranger do to him anyways? It's not like he could break through the glass... right? This was just Ronan's usual thinking pattern, however. The nicest rat in this lab could be talking to him, and he would still have his doubts about them. This was one thing that he wished would go away, his untrust of others. He wanted to make friends! Because if he did... they might have more knowledge about escaping than he in the future, which brought nothing but the better.
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Silence
Jan 1, 2015 16:32:19 GMT -5
Post by Animus on Jan 1, 2015 16:32:19 GMT -5
Animus' ears picked. "Storage? That certainly doesn't sound pleasant. By the sun, I couldn't stand that kind of silence." He shuddered. "But I'm glad you're alright. They haven't done anything particularly painful to me for quite some time, I mostly do strength and endurance tests." Animus stretched, metal bones popping and cracking just under his skin. The large rat had gotten used to the odd sound and feeling of the metal rods through his limbs, even if they resulted in a great deal of stiffness. "You get used to the testing after a while. For those of us who aren't needled constantly, it just becomes routine." He wasn't much worried about the other rat. Perhaps it simply came with his size, or maybe he'd been here long enough to learn that subjects needed to stick together to stay sane, but he was not intimidated about sharing with this newcomer. It was them against the whitecoats after all. They might has well be brothers. And having friends guaranteed distraction from his empty thoughts. That was certainly another perk.
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Silence
Jan 1, 2015 17:52:53 GMT -5
Post by RedenedMistake on Jan 1, 2015 17:52:53 GMT -5
Ronan tilted his head, with slight empathy as he had explained that the subjects here had simply 'gotten used to it'. So it was a daily thing... something that happened all the time... the dark rat began to shiver again after hearing that, trying to reassure his own thoughts. /Certainly the whitecoats wont don't do such things? They may be cruel, but-/ Suddenly he had to remind himself about Animus and his metal paw. He knew that rats weren't simply just born with such a phenomenon like that, something terrible must have occurred to him. And there was nobody else to blame in this laboratory but the whitecoats, after all. /Oh.../ He flattened his ears parallel to his cranium as he realized, and decided that he needed to get some movement within this tiny space he was trapped in. Standing up, he shifted his paws in a rhythmical pattern as he paced around the borders of his cage. "That's not good... being used to getting poked with needles all day, I mean. I'm not sure what i'm going to be tested for, the whitecoats were just typing things on that bright machine of theirs, and watching my movements. What do you suppose that means?" Ronan asked, glancing up at Animus with a small glint of hope in his eyes again, but it seemed to go just as quickly as it came. He paused his pacing for a moment, just to ask the question, before he continued again.
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Post by Animus on Jan 2, 2015 0:17:43 GMT -5
"I can't say it's an enjoyable routine." Animus added with a shrug. "But I've been here my whole life. It's just something I've had to accept. Something to grit your teeth and deal with until we find a way out. And we will. All in due time." His words were confident. But he had to be confident. It was the only way to stay sane. "And as for the whitecoats, I have a friend who could read those shiny boxes. Smart fella. Never met a rat who knew more about this place and how it works. Last I spoke to him he was looking for a way to map out the lab's floors..." He shook his head, realizing he was getting off track. "Anyway, he says they have all sorts of information about us on those boxes. Weight, eye color, and other stuff I don't know why they care about. Lists all the tests they run on us too. Rascal said it was a fascinating read."
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Post by RedenedMistake on Jan 2, 2015 2:51:13 GMT -5
Ronan raised a nonexistent brow at this, having a hard time believing that a rat could actually process the visual whitecoat language. But then again, anything seemed to be possible in this lab, so he forced his expression free of the dumbfounded look, into more of a curious one. "He could /read/?" He repeated, stopping his pacing once again. "But isn't that something that has to be learned?" He asked, somewhat dismissing the question with a shrug. Feeling that he was talking too much, he quieted down, and decided to walk up to the front of the glass cage to examine the floor below. He expected nothing but white, of course, just like the rest of the lab, but it gave him something to study. He couldn't fully understand why any rat would even attempt to map out the floors in the first place, especially when throwing the large variable into the equation that it would be difficult and could take many years to succeed in. He got that it would make escaping easier, but all that was required was a simple passage that led to the outside... right? Ronan glanced up at the other rat, and was about to ask him if he had attempted escape before, but the words to do so were lost on him. Part of him didn't even want to know the answer to that question, anyways. What if the subjects had simply decided to give up on all hope of escaping? After so many failed attempts, he could understand how the faith might have died out, but he didn't want to know.
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Post by Animus on Jan 2, 2015 6:01:43 GMT -5
"Only rat I know who can read." Animus answered. "He's in intelligence trials. Whitecoats went out of their way to teach him. Can't say why, but I can't say why they do anything around here." He shrugged again. "Pretty sure Rascal's smarter than the whitecoats expected. Said he goes out of his way to hide how smart he is. I think he's worried he'll end up like Blank if they find out just how much he knows." Animus shook his head, heading over to his water bottle for a drink. "With rats like Rascal and Blank around we'll get out of here. Just a matter of time. Heck, that's why they put me in here alone for so long. Because I can open cage doors." He grinned at the other rat. "Getting out to roam the halls is the easy part. Getting out of the building, now that's tough." He didn't mention that it was even harder than that. That once before he and his friends had made it outside the lab's walls only to the faced with even more walls and the snapping teeth of a gaurd dog. Yes, escape was possible, but much harder than he'd ever imagined. The only way out was to barrel through the beasts. And only one rat had that kind of power, could give them that chance. "But if any rat can do it," Animus added, "That rat is Blank."
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Silence
Jan 2, 2015 13:17:52 GMT -5
Post by RedenedMistake on Jan 2, 2015 13:17:52 GMT -5
"Oh. Intelligence tests..." He figured, mentally quizzing himself over that. What if Ronan was going into intelligence? No, no, that didn't sound right. He may have been observant and good at problem solving, but that didn't necessarily make him intelligent enough to be tested for it. So he let the thought go, and began listening to the other male again. The dark grey rat flinched at the name of Blank, remembering what the other rats had told him about the subject. He seemed to be quite the talk around here, and Ronan could understand why. With a rat that had more power here than any other, of course he would make up plans to destroy the fleshy creatures that made him the way he is. Ronan did not agree with those violent ways, knowing that it might make the whitecoats even angrier if the plan failed. He believed that there was a compromise awaiting to be reached with the whitecoats, with intentions much more settle and peaceful, a plan that nothing could go wrong with. The whitecoats were terrible, yes, but Ronan couldn't help but think ; What if they are doing this for a reason? He didn't plan on mentioning anything about Shale however, knowing that the rats here often got into disputes when talking about the sides they had chosen. But with Blank in the discussion, he decided that it was safe to talk about him. "But if all Blank wants is to escape, and if he is capable of doing so... Why does he feel the need to rid of the whitecoats first?" He asked, already knowing the answer in his mind. Because he doesn't like the things that they had done to him, simple as that? There surely /must/ have been something more.
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Silence
Jan 2, 2015 16:29:30 GMT -5
Post by Animus on Jan 2, 2015 16:29:30 GMT -5
"I've been told he doesn't want to leave the rest of us behind. But that could be speculation, few rats have met him after all." Animus smiled to himself. "He's killed whitecoats before, my guess is he intended to continue before being locked away." After a short moment, he shrugged again. "But it's hard to say. I had a friend... His name was a Tech. One of the only rats I knew who met him. Said Blank could easily escape his confines but locked himself self up to make sure Tech and the others wouldn't be locked up too when the whitecoats came. But who knows..." His eyes appeared rather misty and far away. "Maybe Tech misunderstood his intentions. Little squirt was always an idealist..."
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Silence
Jan 4, 2015 15:20:46 GMT -5
Post by RedenedMistake on Jan 4, 2015 15:20:46 GMT -5
Ronan listened with interest, actually managing to keep his gaze from the floor as he did. This certain rat loved to learn about Blank, and Shale, especially if it was information that he had missed out on and needed to catch up with. It made sense to him- that Blank might be a kinder rat than he thought, enough to refuse to leave his fellow subjects behind without him. That wasn't enough for him to change his opinion about his intentions to the whitecoats, but for him to at the very least take the time to learn. "That makes sense I guess." Spoke Ronan with a nod, then was tempted to ask another question, "Is that why he plans to rid of all of them before escaping then? I heard that he was planning on having every rat here on his side start an uprising. Is it even true?" Ronan asked aloud, beginning to warm up to this rat after some talking, not necessarily even caring what it was about. He originally was going to ask why Blank just didn't educate the rats on how to escape at once, but if that even succeeded, the whitecoats would easily find out and catch as many as they could. Perhaps this was why he felt the need to eliminate the furless ahead of time? Along with the need of revenge, of course.
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Silence
Jan 4, 2015 23:17:01 GMT -5
Post by Animus on Jan 4, 2015 23:17:01 GMT -5
Animus nodded slowly. "There's a war brewing, that's for sure. Big guys trying to start a revolt. Shale's just trying to keep the peace. I admire his ideals, but we can't get out of here peacefully. Otherwise we'd have done it by now." He sighed to himself. "Blood shed's a shame, really is. But the whitecoats have slaughtered so many of us..." He shook his head again, looking down at his paws. "I WISH Shale was right. Really do. But peace is the same as complacency. And we can't just sit here forever. They'll kill us all. And won't think twice about it neither. We ain't worth nothin to them." He looked up at the other rat, eyes soft. "They've killed too many good subjects. Rat, mouse, bat, ferret, I even knew a bird or two way back when..."
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