Breathe Me (Closed)

[Ravenbelle]

In a world where nekoes and humans live alongside each other, the humans are the dominant species. They consider themselves better than the less common cat-like race and so they discriminate against them. The way nekoes are treated here is comparable to the way African americans were treated back before Martin Luther King. It's very difficult for a neko to get hired for a job that can actually sustain them and even the police always suspect a neko of any crime before a human. So, because of their inability to buy respectable property, many have been raised in dilapitated neighborhoods with the drugdealers and gangs (both species included). This is one of the reasons that has engendered the neko trafficking. Innocent nekoes, mostly young females, are often kidnapped and sold as sex slaves to either brothels or wealthy, sick men. And most turn a blind eye to the crimes committed before their very eyes. Everyone lives in a largely rascist world where humans usually don't care for the well being of the one species that can truly communicate with them and match their intellect.
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Name: Terra Roth
Age:19
Height:5'1
Appearance: picture attached
History: Terra grew up in a pretty shady neighborhood, so when her neko parents were shot down in front of her, she wasn't surprised. She was 13, young enough to obey when they ordered her to run, but old enough to realize what had happened. since then, she's lived on the streets and the older she got, the harder it was to survive.


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A young female wanders the sidewalks beside a barren street covered in snow. She wears a ratty hoodie and beanie, a pair of holey converse, and ripped jeans that were an inch too short and a size too large. The worst thing was, they used to fit her perfectly. The winter always brought the best time to hide, but the worst time to eat. She turned into and alleyway, trying her hardest to keep her large, black ears from twitching. Terra's been trying to control them and keep them flat against her head beneath her thick beanie, but sometimes instincts took over and she couldn't help it. Her tail swished back and forth, invisible under her baggy sweater as her light, slitted eyes flashed in the moonlight. She was only walking this way to keep from looking so obvious beside the road, but she had to keep her guard up lest-
"Hey chickie...watcha doin' out so late? Huh?" A low, menacing male's voice emerged from behind her while the rest of his posse surrounded her. Five in total. Terra didn't hesitate for a moment. She began to sprint towards the largest gap between two of the men, violet eyes wide and ears straining to perk up beneath her hat. She made it far enough in the maze of alleys to catch her breath, but she'd inadvertantly become exposed to any cars that may pass the road again.Her heart was pounding fast in her chest as she took deep breaths that hindered her ability to hear very well. That's how they found her again. Weak, starving,...she didn't stand a chance. She couldn't stop the men. she was trapped against the brick wall she'd stupidly leant against to breathe the freezing air. Terra hissed as the one who had spoken earlier pinned her to the wall and pulled off her hood and hat, grasping her short, spiky hair roughly. Terra's fingernails sharpened into claws she couldn't use, pinned as she was.
"Ugh. A Nek. Guess we can't have the fun we expected, huh boys?" He winked, glancing back at the laughing drunkards behind him. "Whaddya think? she good enough for the buyers we saw yesterday?" Buyers. People who pay a fair amount of money to any shady human who brings them a neko girl for the trafficking business.
"Nah she's too dirty; she's gonna die soon anyway." One said.
Terra growled, bared her fangs and spit in her attacker's face. When he pulled his hand away fo wipe it off, she left four bleeding slashes on his right arm and dashed toward the road, but the others stopped her, slamming her to the hard concrete with their fists. Their raucous laughter echoed in her sensitive ears as they kicked her, cracking ribs and bruising her back severely. When they were finally done with her, Terra was lying in dirty snow right next to the road, her ears wet and limp, her tail motionless behind her. Now that she was so obviously neko, her disguise ruined and useless against the cold, no one would stop to help her. She was sure she was done for. No one cares at all about her. Her shivering subsided and her lips began to turn blue. The last thing she saw before her eyelids joined were a pair of shining headlights

 

[GarthNixZozo]

Jamal was in his early twenties with dark, dirty brown hair that hung limply an extra two or three inches than what most make nekos would have been comfortable with. He didn't mind though. It helped to cover his face whenever he went out in public, or even in the privacy of the broken down Audie, painted in a rusted form of teel green, that he was occasionally permitted to use. He and a group of friends had found it at the dump literally falling to pieces. It was still usable, but it would take them a while before they would be able to find all of the needed pieces. For this and several more obvious reasons they shunned using the automobile, one of them including the lack of a licence.
Today had been an exception with the newspapers saying (due to the absence of a television) that snow was a guarantee this evening and that people should stay indoors if they could help it. There were jobs that needed doing however, and growing dept interest that needed paying off before the loan sharks caught up with him again. With these troubling thoughts on his mind, he almost didn't see the small crumpled figure on the curb. A hiss of annoyance came from him when the brakes got jammed, refusing to slow until he yanked the joystick into Park. He looked into the chipped mirrors to assure himself that no one was approaching who might see him. All clear. He leapt from the car, door still open, to inspect the still figure. It was a girl, and in bad condition by the look of the cuts and bruises that patterned her skin when he lent in to take a closer look. Could they afford to take in another one? It wasn't really a question though, they would have to make it work, just like they had with the others.
Jamal gently lifted the small body of the girl and carefully lied her onto the back seats' slightly molding upholstery. A car flew by, its wide wheels and thick tread lapping brown water over his back, soaking through the thin material of his shirt and cap. With a sigh he shut the back door, hopped into the front and, after a bit of transmission errors, drove as quickly as he could towards the place that he and his companions called home.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Terra was next slightly aware of warmth and the absence of snow...she was confused and limp, trying to take in shallow breaths so her lungs wouldn't press against her ribs.
Then there was movement. She was in a car maybe. At that thought, her ears flipped up, unrestrained at last and her eyelids fluttered. She whimpered softly at the throbbing pain in her torso, too weak to move or protest effectively. Where was who taking her? She tried her best to keep her vibrant eyes at least half open but they were slowly refusing orders. She had to wait for some acknowledgement at least! Where was she going?

 

[GarthNixZozo]

Jamal's ears twitched lightly from beneath the worn, brown cap that he more often used to conceal them than keep them warm. The pained whimper from the back told him that his guest was at least conscious now, which was some form of relief. Too many that they found had welcomed the darkness of never ending sleep until their bodies wasted away as they slept. At least she would not end up like those. His fists tightened around the wheel at the memories but quickly suppressed them, allowing his grip to loosen and leave the imprint of where his fingers had squeezed the material that rested under his hands.
A quarter of an hour later, he pulled the car slowly into a rounded cul-de-sac of squat apartments of brick and plaster. He didn't park up front though as one might expect, instead pulling through a small alley that run the length of the buildings from the back. Not many parked all the way back here and it was as deserted as usual. He turned off the engine, pocketing the key, and dug around the trunk until he came around with a medium sized blanket of a rough, woolen material. Now for the more tricky part. "No matter what, do not move or make any noise," he muttered, as if to himself but the words were aimed at the girl as he scooped her up into the blanket and his arms as carefully as if she were made of delicate crystal.

 

[Ravenbelle]

15 minutes of torture kept Terra alert enough to clench her teeth at the bumps in the road that jarred her bones. Eventually the light from the streetlamps were absent and darkness reigned. Terra's big black pupils were dilated in fear as she tried to take in as much light as possible. She could hear some rustling in the trunk behind her before a shadowy figure opened the door and gently lifted her into his arms with a blanket. Her shallow breathing picked up as he spoke.
"No matter what, do not move or make any noise,"
She could follow those orders too easily as she shivered, pressing against the warmth of the male's chest. She didn't know who he was or what he wanted from her, but she had no choice but to believe him right now. He was the only one keeping her alive.

 

[GarthNixZozo]

He smiled softly to himself at the girl's response, tightening his grip on her weakened frame just a little. His leg kicked out behind himself, aimed at the passengers' door in order to shut it without the use of his arms. With the large bulk of cloth in his arms though, to any watcher-by it would appear that he was just bringing home another load of laundry from the laundromat. His feet lightly and nimbly climbed the staircase until he reached the seventh floor, slightly panting. Now, if he could just... "Psst! Here kitty, kitty. Psst! Mew. Mew." A couple of teenage boys with their girlfriends attached to them by their ever roaming hands called out to him mockingly. He pushed his way past the first couple irritably. "Come on now, prissy kitty. What, you don't want to play today? What'cha got there, hm?" A hefty shove pushed him forward, causing him to stumble, now only a few steps from his door. "When I speak, you listen, litter guts!" one finally screamed at him. Jamal unlocked his door and slammed it shut with a defiant, echoing boom that reverberated across a good deal of the housing complex in reply.
Inside, he gently released the girl neko onto the two seater couch that dominated one of the pale walls, helping to remove the blanket from her face so that she could see. "Sorry about that," he said softly in earnest. A much used first aid kit sat beside the couch to his right over the armrest, which he pulled up and onto his lap to use now.

 

[Ravenbelle]

A bang told Terra that he'd shut the car door behind him before ascending a a few flights of stairs. Her small body was covered completely with the wool blanket so she couldn't see a thing. Was this so that she couldn't escape? Couldn't find her way out of this place if she tried? Terra tried to keep her breathing even until she heard a few voices.
"Psst! Here kitty, kitty. Psst! Mew. Mew" They called out mockingly. Now Terra was confused. Who were these people? Could they see her?
"Come on now, prissy kitty. What, you don't want to play today? What'cha got there, hm?"
Terra's eyes widened at her realization. These juvenile voices were mocking a neko! Not her, but her savior. She held back a hiss at their offensive comments and idiotic giggling. The one holding her pushed past someone and then he was shoved. She winced at the sudden movements. Losers.
"When I speak, you listen, litter guts!"
Terra's eyes narrowed at their words. She would scratch their eyeballs out if she could. Where were they anyway? She finally heard the slam of a door and the noise outside faded as she was placed softly onto a couch. The blanket was removed from her face and the onslaught of scents and dim light made her blink repeatedly. There was more than just this handsome male that lived here. Terra stared at him for a moment as he spoke, apologizing honestly for the idiots outside. His brown hair hung limply around his chiseled features. The first thing she noticed was his species. She had suspected, but now she was sure he was neko. That made her feel a little better about this situation. Then her bright eyes darted around the room. It was pretty plain, pale walls, brown carpet. Nothing special. The man in kneeling in front of her pulled out a first aid kit and she curled her legs closer to her wounded torso under the blanket. She bit her scabbed lip nervously, a dirty habit that broke the skin too often. Her bottom lip bled slightly and she winced, her black ears flipping downwards.
"Who are y-you? What h-happened?" Terra whispered, trembling and impatient for information from the guy she was still debating on trusting.

 

[GarthNixZozo]

"I was driving by and saw you in the snow, unconscious. I don't my know who did this to you though. There was no one around when I picked you up. I drove you back here, and here we are." He offered a small smile, understanding her confusion and distrust of him. That was one of the harder things to remedy in all creatures because it took time. "My friends and I own this place under the name of a human companion, saying that we work for him in exchange for board. In actuality, we find and help fellow nekos who are in the most in need, help with what we can, then send them off again with more knowledge on how to help themselves than what they came here with." What he didn't mention though was that a good deal of how they did what they did was considered as illegal in human standards. For example: the gathering of more than three nekos in a single area. Not even mentioning their association with the human and false documents they had needed to make. He blocked out the consequences if officials were to find out about them, giving the girl a calming smile. With a small tilt of his head, he answered her first question last. "My name is Jamal, head neko leader of our little operation."

 

[Lelouch vi Britannia]

Name: Adint Canato
Age: 18
Height: 6'3"
Appearance: Adint's eye's are greyish in color, his hair is dark black, and his ear's are usually perked up beside's his best effort's his tone is rather pale, his fang's are small and so are his claw's, so he's not a good fighter, he has no tail.
History: When Arint was 13 year's old he wandered around the street's, his father was killed after being hunted by a pack of dog's, and his mother worked at a brothel, until her boss decided she wasn't worth the cost of food, she starved to death. He wore glasses, and a hat to cover his eyes and ears, however his tail he wasn't so good at hiding, several human's decided to mess with him, they captured and tortured him, eventually cutting off his tail and leaving him to die, ever since then, he has done his best to hide himself, until he met with Jamal and began to live with him.

Adint was walking down the city street on his way back to his and Jamal's apartment, his hand's cold, he rubbed them together softly, the little stub where his tail had used to be still bothered him to this day, the painful memoried seared into his mind and very being. He looked into the sky and blew a warm breath of air, he looked around as he saw several human's harassing some other neko's, nothing he could do, his eye's watered painfully, he would give anything to help those neko's, but he was weak and frail, his claw's short, and his teeth not long enough either, he stuck his hand's in his pocket's and continued to walk, until he reached the apartment complex, he walked inside and saw Jamal with another neko, "Another rescue?" He asked.

 

[Alyssa]

Name: Kiki
Age: eighteen
Hight: Five One
Apperance:

History: Kiki has lived on her own for quite awhile, and usually avoided most other people. When she did meet other people she tried to hide her identity as a neko. She was attacked a couple days ago, and Jamal picked her up and brought her here. Even now she was wary of being here, and as soon as she could walk without pain she'd probably leave.

Kiki woke to the sound in the other room. She rubbed at her arms as she sat up. It was cold in here, because of the window being broken. She climbed out of bed and hurried into the other room where it would be warmer. Her bruises were healing a bit, no longer dark and black, they were starting to fade to a yellowish green. She meandered into the room with a yawn. "Whose this?" She asked. She was still limping, but it was a little bit better at least. She studied the new girl curiously. "Hey, you okay?" She glanced over at Jamal.

 

[GarthNixZozo]

Jamal flicked open the lid to the first aid box with an elongated nail, rummaging through its contents for something sufficient to apply to the girl's cuts, when Adint came through door. He looked up in acknowledgement of the male's presence and gave a small nod. "I found her in the snow on my way back. Just finished telling her the basics about us. How was wor-?" The question was cut off as Kiki walked into the room to join them. In answer to her question he slowly pulled back a good portion of the blanket, gently probing at different places along the new girl's flesh. "There are numerous cuts and bruises across most of her body, especially on her back where I believe she must have been stepped on numerous times but I don't see any permanent damage. What I am worried about though is that several of her ribs, although not broken, appear to be severely bruised from what I can tell without sufficient equipment." Jamal triumphantly pulled out a small bottle of disinfectant and offered it to the girl to apply herself, unsure of how she would react at being touched any more than she already had been.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Terra stayed silent, trying not to make the self-inflicted cut on her bottom lip any worse. They were all staring at her. The blonde asking if she was okay and the male farthest from her appraising her because she was new. On the streets, being noticed was a no-no. Here, all strangers were looking at her and it made her trembling a little worse. Her violet eyes were panicky and it was hard to focus on just one thing. Her black tail wrapped around her hips. She was so helpless and she couldn't do anything about it.​

The closest person she knew she owed for saving her life, Jamal, was the only one she was at least considering trusting. So, she looked up at his warm eyes for assurance. What should she say? Are all of them harmless? He only pulled back the blanket enough to state her physical condition, which had her flinching at his probing fingers.​

"There are numerous cuts and bruises across most of her body, especially on her back where I believe she must have been stepped on numerous times but I don't see any permanent damage. What I am worried about though is that several of her ribs, although not broken, appear to be severely bruised from what I can tell without sufficient equipment." He said, offering her the disinfectant bottle. She could only shake her head, declining his offer.​

"Don't waste it on me. I'm not worth it and I can't use it. I don't know how....call me Terra." She mumbled, trying not to look away from Jamal.​

She was cold, frightened, and in pain. Add newcomers staring at her and she might just end up attacking in defense like real cats, harming herself further.​

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OOC: this is the song that inspired the title. hope you like.​

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[GarthNixZozo]

Jamal's tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth in disapproval. "It's not wasting," he explained, "if you're using it because you need it. If your cuts get infected with a virus or bacteria, I might not be able to get the more expensive medicines and you'll get very sick. During this time of the year, that means you will die. All because you wouldn't use the disinfectant." He offered it to her again. "Please, Terra," he added softly. His voice held determination as he spoke, as did his richly green eyes that refused to leave hers, making his point very clear: take the ointment and use it.

 

[Lelouch vi Britannia]

Adint nodded as he watched the new girl and Jamal, perhap's he had come off as a bit rude, only using the word's 'Another rescue?' He sighed softly and sat on his bed, pulling out a necklace he had found on his mother's body after she had died, he rolled it between his finger's before putting it back in his drawer with the very few belonging's he possesed. He began listening to Jamal's word's and nodded, "He's telling the truth." He said softly, and looked over at them.

 

[GarthNixZozo]

Jamal gave Adint a grateful smile before returning his attention back to Terra. "Adint knows it, I know it and I'm willing to bet that you do, too. Even if you don't like it and refuse to admit it." He recalled her saying that she didn't know how to apply it and continued in a more patient and deliberate tone of voice. "You put a little bit on the tip of your finger and spread it over the larger or deeper cuts that take more time to heal. If you're still unsure, I could do it for you," he offered.

 

[Ravenbelle]

She didn't want to die. In fact the only reason she hadn't tried bolting yet was because she was trying her best to survive. Jamal's emerald irises and Adint's comment finally convinced her, so she shivered and moved herself up on the couch with her arms slowly. Her back rested on the arm of the couch and her legs were the only things left under the blanket. Terra winced hard, hissing at the pain those men had inflicted before pulling up her scruffy, white tank top (the only things he had found her in were that, her baggy jeans, holey sneakers and tan undergarments). Everything from below her breasts and above her waist looked horrible. Bruises covered almost every inch of skin and her ribs--clearly visible because of how skinny she was-- were slightly swollen, purple and black. And they couldn't even see her back. She took the disinfectant gently and her shaky fingers applied it to one of the larger cuts on her side. She hadn't been able to use this kind of stuff on the streets and she'd forgotten how much it stings at first. She gasped at the burning sensation before it faded, trying to ignore the other nekoes. They probably thought she was so weak and fragile when she'd truly been trying her hardest to fight the rotten drunkards. She was usually so independent that this kind of helpless setting was making her extra antsy and she hated it. Though all anyone could see in her bright eyes were agony and fear.

 

[Lelouch vi Britannia]

Adint sighed softly, he kept his eye's off of the girl. Her battle scar's were her own to posses, however he still did hate the human's for what they had done to her, he closed his eyes, and sat still on the bed, he tried to clear his mind but it was pointless, he quickly sat up, "Jamal need me to do anything?" He asked.

 

[GarthNixZozo]

Jamal refused the urge to take a sharp intake of breath at the sight of Terra's miscoloured belly. He had seen it many times before but every fresh account caused a deep anger to burn through him, until he remembered where he was and that the pointless fury would not help anyone. Usually it would be the cold breeze as it kissed his cheeks or the crash of a pan on the floor somewhere else in the complex that wound snap him out of it. This time it was Adint's voice that brought him round, asking if there were any tasks that needed doing, clearly wanted to distract his mind. "Yes," he said quickly, turning round on his heels so that he could face his friend. "Why don't you go to the kitchen and help whip something up for a late lunch? Something warm, if the stove is working," he suggested. That should help to pass the time until Terra had finished putting on the disinfectant, he reasoned.

 

[Lelouch vi Britannia]

Adint nodded quickly, and went into the kitchen, he looked through the cupboard, unfortunately they didn't have too much food, and the type they did possess was cheaply bought, he pulled out a pack of mac n' cheese, as well a rarity that they almost never had from the fridge, ham. He smiled softly and began to cook, for the evening meal's.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Terra didn't have as many cuts as she had bruises so she finished applying the disinfectant pretty quickly, trying to get it overwith on the front of her body. She couldn't reach her back though, so she had no choice but to ask.
"Jamal?" She whispered. "Will you- could you put some on my back? Please?" She held out the bottle hesitantly, knowing that if he agreed he'd probably sit on the couch behind her and she'd be between his legs, where he'd get a full awful view of new injuries as well as white scars from the past.