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Post by Leda on Jul 14, 2008 21:48:57 GMT -5
" Leave me alone!!" the chameleon whimpered, attempting poorly to hide from Rob's eye with his camouflage. Unfortunately, the ever-growing patches of dead and ejected scales made his exact location painfully obvious. Espio whined and knocked his various books, tools, and toys out of the way as he instead slithered under his bed.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 14, 2008 21:54:41 GMT -5
"I said get up!" Rob ordered, grabbing the teen by an arm and giving him a firm yank out from under his hiding spot.
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Post by Leda on Jul 14, 2008 22:09:14 GMT -5
As Rob's iron grip closed in around his forearm, Espio's colours starkly returned as he let out an ear-splitting shriek. "OWWROBLETGOLETGO!!" he bleated rapidly, the tears he'd been trying to hard to hide freely rolling down his cheeks. "I'LLGETUPJUST LETMEGO!!"
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 14, 2008 22:18:59 GMT -5
"Alright then," he said calmly, releasing Espio's arm. "Do it."
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Post by Leda on Jul 14, 2008 22:36:33 GMT -5
The instant the pressure was released, Espio jerked his arm away and cradled it gingerly against his chest. Rob naturally had an unusually strong grip, but that wasn't the only reason the chameleon had been so frantic to escape his grasp. Still weeping quietly, Espio whimpered and murmured, " You didn't haf'ta grab so hard..."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 14, 2008 22:50:48 GMT -5
I wouldn't have had to at all if you'd listened. Rob debated saying. Instead he merely pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Come on then."
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Post by Leda on Jul 14, 2008 22:56:11 GMT -5
Espio hesitated a bit longer, perhaps out of more passive-aggressive stand-offishness, but eventually the teen did sluggishly rise to his feet -- out of Rob's reach, that is. He continued to sniffle softly and tenderly rub the inside of his left arm.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 14, 2008 22:59:03 GMT -5
"Good," Rob said wearily. "Now look me in the eye and tell me what you say."
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Post by Leda on Jul 14, 2008 23:21:11 GMT -5
Well, Rob DID say that he was going to start treating him like a child, but even with the warning it was still a little insulting to actually have it happen. Espio wiped his face clean of tear trails and shuffled around his lodge, kicking his possessions out of the way as he cleared a path. " Sorry," he mumbled at length.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 14, 2008 23:24:06 GMT -5
"Come again?"
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Post by Leda on Jul 14, 2008 23:26:03 GMT -5
Huffing loudly, Espio grappled the wall and began his ascension again now that he was well out of Rob's reach. "I said I was sorry!!" The teen debated adding a snarky comment about whether or not the old man was getting hard of hearing, but for the moment kept it to himself.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 14, 2008 23:29:22 GMT -5
Heaving a hard breath, Rob's fists clenched. "Espio, get back down here!"
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Post by Leda on Jul 14, 2008 23:35:29 GMT -5
The young chameleon never even looked up -- or down, as it were. " Get up here and make me, you old fart."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 14, 2008 23:39:26 GMT -5
"Alright. If you insist." Before Espio could barely blink Rob had retrieved his bow - and with it a special arrow meant to open into a net at whatever target it was shot at. As soon as he'd let it fly he ran over underneath the chameleon to catch him.
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Post by Leda on Jul 14, 2008 23:49:46 GMT -5
"WHATTHE--" was all Espio managed to exclaim before he lost his grip on the ceiling, flailing against his binds and only able to catch a glimpse of the hard, unforgiving floor about to crash into him. "DAMMIT!!"
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 14, 2008 23:56:50 GMT -5
However, Rob swept in and scooped him up before that could happen. Carrying the struggling boy he unceremoniously dumped him onto his bed.
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Post by Leda on Jul 15, 2008 0:08:44 GMT -5
Unfortunately for the archer's ears, he did not go silently. Espio kicked and screamed and thrashed, even once he'd been released. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY?!" he lamented (read: whined) as he struggled with the netting.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 15, 2008 0:15:49 GMT -5
"SILENCE!" Rob shouted. "From now on, until further notice, you will not be involved on any missions, you will not have any contact with the human, and every day for the next week you will be posted on watch duty and work on the archery range when you aren't! And should I find you've ignored any of these I will whip your rear end RAW! Am I CLEAR?"
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Post by Leda on Jul 15, 2008 0:19:33 GMT -5
For the second time that day, Espio was instantly muted, but no amount of boulstered anger could cover up the look of utter horror that rapidly filled his features. "W-Wait!!" he stuttered in panic. "Roooob!! That's not FAIR!!"
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 15, 2008 0:23:51 GMT -5
"You endangered Nik's life, you endangered the lives of Rouge, Vic, Manic and myself, you can't follow orders, you can't respect your fellow villagers, you attack your fellow villagers - you are a liability and it would seem you can't be trusted! I find it VERY fair!"
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Post by Leda on Jul 15, 2008 0:35:31 GMT -5
With each listed offense, Espio winced and appeared to shrink into his bedding. The tears he'd apparently moved past a moment ago returned with vengeance, and in their wake the teen struggled to hold back the sobs filling his throat. This... This was much, MUCH worse than he'd ever expected to happen. Was the universe just aligning to turn everything and everyone against him?! " B-But I... d..didn't... MEAN t-to.....!!" the chameleon choked with every ounce of his control. After the description he'd just been dealt, he felt less like a Freedom Fighter and more like a dangerous monster. Despite his efforts, a pair of sobs managed to escape, and Espio buried his face against the blanket of his unmade bed.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 15, 2008 0:55:13 GMT -5
Turning away from the chameleon in what probably seemed like a cold gesture, Rob closed his eyes and drew in a long breath. "I'm sorry. You should have thought of that sooner." and then, glancing back. "Go have your breakfast if you haven't yet. Otherwise your watch duty is effective immediately."
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Post by Leda on Jul 15, 2008 1:28:40 GMT -5
Espio didn't immediately get up after Rob had left. He'd not felt so helpless and powerless in a considerably long time, and didn't seem to be handling it very well. Even having buried his face, the teen's devestated cries carried out of his lodge and out to the open boardwalk for some distance. It wasn't necessarily what he was required to do -- he had to do lookout and archery on a regular basis anyway -- but rather what he was restricted from. And the restrictions didn't even have a set time; it was "until further notice", aka "whenever Rob felt like it". Quite frankly, Espio was so crushed over the development he would have been fine to spend the entire day sulking in his room, but even that had the stipulation of a punishment. The chameleon sluggishly sat up and fumbled to finish untangling himself from the netting, sniffling and hiccuping all the while. Man... Rob's always been kinda grumpy, but... When'd he get so MEAN?! I just wanted him to leave me alone... Why's THAT such a horrible thing??Perhaps that would be a very, very dim silver lining to continuous lookout duty and archery practice: he'd have lots, and lots, and lots of alone time. With that in mind, Espio might have jumped straight to it, but his empty stomach protested with another piercing growl. Sniffling and wiping his red-tinged eyes, the teen shuffled out of his lodge and began the long trudge toward the village kitchen. He hoped there wouldn't be anyone else around when he got there.
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