Almost Running but not Quite

[Kiwi]

“School?” Tara paused for a moment, and gave a sheepish grin. Oh boy. She usually avoided that question like the plague. With a half assed career as a student, was it possible for her to even claim that she HAD an education? Probably not. With things like the internet and libraries, she had managed just fine without school, but the majority of people frowned on her lifestyle. A teenager fending for herself? It wasn’t exactly the perfect Mobian life.

“I used to go to this place called…damn, what was it called again? Something fancy.” She paused, deep in though. “Well, whatever. It was a school for engineering. Learned some pretty nifty stuff there, but I transferred out after my freshmen year. Just wasn‘t my style. Too highclass for my tastes.” Well, transfer wasn’t a hundred percent accurate, more like she escaped. The place was a huge school and had dormitories and white collared uniforms with huge chain link fences around the whole place. Nice chain link fences, but fences none the less.

Her foster parents had wanted her to stay, and thinking back, she can still feel a deep satisfaction as she snuck through the front gate one cold night. She smirks at the memory. The second she left that school, she dropped off the map. Nothing could track her anymore. No foster care, nothing. Just pure, sweet freedom. Sure, sometimes real life sucked, but she had managed perfectly fine so far. It was way better then having a bunch of creeps dragging you off to yet another nut job family. Leaving Foster Care was no skin off her back.

Speaking of her back, she can’t feel a thing, only a soft tingling sensation that reminded her of when her foot fell asleep or something.

[Glyph]

Banner pretended to ignore Victor's face and instead kept an eye on the scalpel, stuck somewhere between curiosity and resignation. There was a kid. Under the knife. In his living room. How many times would they see something like these in the days to come? With her pale fur and her face turned away, Tara could have just as easily been one of his half-a-dozen nieces and nephews as anyone else.

It was only through considerable effort on his part that the snarl echoing in his head didn't reach his mouth. He pricked his ears at the hedgehog's words, finding some solace in the fact that she didn't appear to feel the blade at her back, and caught on immediately to the expression that appeared on her face at the cat's question.

The fox perked a brow at her, mentally adding "truancy" to the growing list of things he was learning about the hedgehog. It was as if she existed to undermine everything he stood for, even if it was inadvertently. If Banner had possessed any shred of humor, there would have been a school of hard knocks joke inserted here somewhere... But, of course, he didn't. Zero humor. Really.

Instead Banner sighed and rolled his eyes as if he were exasperated with the world, although there was a very visible, rather amused smirk present on his muzzle, and leaned back against the couch heavily, careful not to jolt the cushions, and, by extension, the guy currently wielding the sharp object at the other end.

[Kiara]

Well, leaving foster care may not have been any skin off Tara's back, but this procedure sure was.

By the time Tara finished talking, many of the burns had been treated. The skin looked raw, and it was bleeding slightly, but Victor knew from experience that this was a good thing - it meant that blood was getting to the skin. Sharp eyes darted to and fro, taking in every minute detail. Too much bleeding here; a small gauze pad soaked up the excess blood. Missed a spot here; thin layers were sliced away easily. Slowly but surely, the doctor worked, just barely paying attention to the conversation at hand.

"From what I've seen, high class really doesn't suit you." Victor chuckled. "You seem a bit more... Free-spirited." He gently began cleaning the wounds again. The room wasn't sterile; he couldn't afford to make any mistakes. "All right, that's about done... Anything else I need to fix?" Bandages were placed over the wounds. "For either of you?"

[Kiwi]

“Yep. People that rich tend to be so tense, know what I mean? They never kick back and enjoy life. I remember one of my friends. She was okay, but super picky. She had never had a milkshake. Can you believe that?” Tara chuckles at the memory, and recalls how that friend quickly became attached to anything that involved ice cream and a blender. Oh, how she enjoyed corrupting those white collared students. Weather it be rock music or fast food, it didn’t matter, you name it and Tara exposed them to it. It was sad how tightly they were restrained by their parents. Their tastes had been groomed to only except what their parents deemed satisfactory. Tara on the other hand, was a rebellious and stubborn foster kid. Mixing those two elements together was never a good thing.

“I’m okay, I just have this cut on my shoulder, and my other shoulder is probably bruised.” She rubs the sore shoulder, recalling how she painfully slammed into a wall after attacking that robot. Mentally, she remarks how stupid that had been but also pretty badass. She smirks and moves her hand away from the sore joint. “But besides that, you’ve pretty much fixed me up.”

[Glyph]

Banner listened, peering at the two of them from above his smirk while he reclined against the arm of the couch. The fox had to shake his head--the rich might be a bit clueless about so-called "commonalities" at times, but not knowing about milkshakes? That was just sad.

"I'm sure your star-studded influence taught them wonders." He shook his head slightly, and gingerly clasped his hands behind his head while he shrugged at Victor. "Sprained ankle and a grazed shoulder. Nothing I haven't lived through before. I'll manage."

[Kiara]

"No milkshakes? Geez." Victor shook his head, not even wanting to imagine a life like that. "Anyway, it looks like whatever first-aid you've done is good enough for everything else. We oughta be hitting the road, then, right?"

He trashed the gloves he had been wearing and washed his hands. Proper procedures had to be followed, after all. With that, he gathered his supplies and tucked them into the pockets of his labcoat. Somehow, he had managed to keep it clean. Clearly he was a magical doctor.

[Kiwi]

Tara pushed herself up from the couch slowly. “Thanks doc. Now I don’t have to worry about this burn anymore.” She stood onto her feet, and slipped back into her t-shirt and jacket, feeling a lot better after the treatment. Her back was still numb, but that would go away soon. Besides, it’s not like it bothered her any. She gave a grin.

“Yeah. The sooner we get out of this death trap, the better.” Walking over to the door, the white hedgehog lifts up the backpack she had discarded, along with the rifle. Securing both to her back, she glances back towards the others. “I’ve never been to Station Square before. How long of a drive would it be to get there? Not too long I hope.” She frowned briefly at that thought. It would suck if she had to be couped up in a hovercar for a couple of hours. Still, it was a lot better then walking like a lot of survivors would be doing. Right?

[Glyph]

Banner eyed Tara carefully from the corner of his eye, watching her for further signs of any trouble. When Tara stood, and he found none, he closed his eyes and tilted his head back toward the ceiling. He didn't want to say it, but he'd gotten the sneaking suspicion that if the inner roadways were as clogged as they were, then the exits must be hell, at the very best. At the very worst, they'd be stuck walking.

"Probably about six hours." Banner shrugged, eventually rising and glancing at the two of them, "If the driving's good. More if it's not."

[Kiara]

"Let's hope the driving's good, then." Victor absently played around with his tail, massaging the kink in the middle of it and watching the tip twitch. "Six hours ain't bad..."

Naturally, the feline recalled all of the destruction and whatnot creating roadblocks. Here's hoping we don't end up walking... It'll be tougher to carry supplies if we do, and it'll take a lot longer to get to Station Square. That, as Mineto would say, would suck.

[Kiwi]

“Six…Hours?” Tara blinked several times. Never in her life had she been in a car for THAT long. Oh Chaos, this wasn’t going to mix very well. She could tell already. The white hedgehog would be driven crazy in that tight space. She had a hard time staying in her apartment for six hours, let alone a CAR. As a hedgehog, she was liable to experience that stir crazy feeling. You know, were people get all nutty if they’re cooped up for too long.

Rubbing at her forehead, Tara sighed. “Well. I better be driving, or asleep. Cause I’ll drive you two up the wall.” Taking a step out of the door, the hedgehog heads over to the hovercar, detecting no disturbance. It seemed like none of the robots had reached this section yet. Good. It would suck if they did. The white hedgehog brushed at her blank bang. Suddenly, she wished she had taken a shower earlier. Already, she can feel her quills becoming frizzy and agitated. Normally, a shower would solve this, but she doubted her shower would have worked in the first place.

[Glyph]

Silently, Banner snickered. He didn't doubt that if Tara were behind the wheel, she'd cram a trip that should take six hours into six minutes.

"I hope not," the fox finally said, very seriously, with only the barest hint of a smirk disarming the grumpy policeman facade, "Didn't they cover walls in driver's safety?"

Still smirking, Banner glanced back at Victor, keeping a careful eye on the hedgehog through the window, "You all set, Doc?"

[Kiara]

"Drive us up the wall, huh? In that case, I'm definitely taking my car." Victor flashed a grin in Tara's direction. Granted, he had been planning on that in the first place, seeing as it had all those medical supplies in it, but her words only gave him more reason to say it.

He turned to Banner. "Yeah. Let's get going." He chuckled. "Tara might leave without us if we don't." The feline then headed for his own car. I wonder if my cell can still get reception... He took a cell phone out of his pocket, giving it a quick glance before turning it off and putting it back. ...Nope. I'm not surprised. He just hoped Mineto didn't think he was dead or something. Victor had left that one message, after all...

[Kiwi]

Tara only snickered under her breath and proceeded to walk outside as she had done previously. She paused outside, stuffing both hands into her pants as she waited on the other two to leave. To say she was getting sick of this city was an understatement and even though she didn't look forward to the six hour drive, she wouldn't complain if it meant safety.

"So, are we just taking one car, or should we take both?" Scratching at one of her ears, the pale hedgehog shifted from one foot to the other.

[Kiara]

Victor shrugged at Tara. "Well, it makes us a bigger target, but I'd take both." He jerked his thumb toward his car. "See, I've got some things in there that wouldn't fit in your car with three people." Most nearby hospitals were probably already or soon going to be overloaded and undersupplied. A hospital on wheels couldn't be a bad thing.

[Glyph]

"Anything moving has become a target." Banner muttered, and his voice would have seemed sarcastic if he hadn't been completely serious. "So it really doesn't matter if we take two cars or ten."

The fox followed the pair out the door, paused to take a last, weary look at his living room, his home--his life--and then closed the door behind him. He didn't know why he bothered locking it--the whole place would probably be reduced to little more than rubble by nightfall--but he caved to the habit.

"All right, so," he glanced at Victor, raising a brow. "You're taking your car, and I'm driving ours--" he looked at Tara, perking a brow, "--at least until we get out of the city. Things could get pretty hairy again, and while I don't deny that you are a quick learner," the ghost of an approving smile appeared on the fox's face, "you're injured worse than I am, and I have more experience with car chases."