[GRO] Mahmud Seshat - Teen

[Hivestuck]

Chittentown was labyrinthine in design. Generations of hives and businesses layered the natural rock formations, delving deep into the canyon and up along its ridges. While the size and shape overwhelmed most tourists, the numerous nooks and crannies and backalleys were a comfort to those that knew the city. Few were as familiar as the children hatched and raised in the desert metropolis.

One such group of children controlled a small stretch of road in an unused corner of the Chittentown warehouse district. "Controlled," of course, was relative to the presence of police drones (infrequent) and potential real estate investors (even less frequent). Their primary hangout, as a result, was a near-dilapidated warehouse held together with an impressive network of amature scaffolding and a garish paint job. Holes in the ceiling left streaks of sunbleaching across the floors, marking the "safe" areas that hid away battered, scavenged recuperacoons.

Without lusii to provide their makeshift hive protection, there were always at least three children present at any time. The rest would come and go as they pleased. Some had jobs to afford food for themselves and their hivemates. Others pickpocketed. Some just played outside until sunrise. This night the leader of the orphaned trolls had volunteered to hold down the fort. A gangly tealblooded boy was idly spinning himself on a tire swing that had been hung from the building's rafters. A much younger redblood and an orangeblooded girl played quietly on the landing.


Only Skyli Peep can post in this thread. Please quote the mule for interactions, timeskips, and when the roleplay is complete.  

[penemueIntuition]

Shrugging through throngs of people, a boy and his mother made their way into a less populated area of town. It wasn't too hard, given Harpommy's size. So long as she walked ahead of Mahmud, the only thing he needed to worry about was the large, heavy satchel slung over his shoulders. Didn't stop him from hugging it closer every time a person came close, though. He still didn't know Chittentown well, only the well-worn route to this warehouse they frequented. There was, however, a reputation to this area... and not everyone knew Mahmud Seshat by name.

It really was better that way; the less names getting thrown around, the better.

Thankfully he wasn't new enough for serious alarms, and he didn't feel eyes following him anymore.Once they were around the corner from the hangout, there was plenty of room to stretch and breathe. Mahmud quickened his pace. By the time he and Harpommy reached the building he had been jogging, bag jangling discordantly. Without knocking, he slipped into the door along with Ommy, both of them navigating through the small entrance and into the open. A wide smile broke out across his face as he looked around him. What some trolls may see as an absolute shithouse, Mahmud could only see a work of art: a cathedral to the forgotten, he supposed, built into a fixer-upper that could only keep on giving.

"I'm here guys! Ommy's here, too!"

There were two kids over yonder, which Harpommy hopped over to and cooed at, nesting next to them to quietly observe. To be honest, he had debated on whether or not Ommy should come. For a bunch of orphaned kids to see a boy bring his mother must have been bitter, but there was no way Ommy was going to let her son wander such dangerous areas alone. Plus, it was getting far too cold out now to leave a lusus outside for long periods of time, and she'd be a huge homing beacon for unwanted trolls. It was alright, he supposed; Ommy was a bleeding heart, and certainly didn't seem to mind being around more children.

While she was off doing her thing, Mahmud dropped to his knees and shrugged the satchel off, dumping out their contents all over the dusty floor. Nails, screws, tools, all sorts of odds and ends tumbled and jangled around and he had to scramble to pull them back to the center. Who was here? Clearly those two kids, but... oh!

A wide grin broke across Mahmud's face as he stared up at the butt dangling in the tireswing above him. That butt was a welcome sight. "Judhas! What are you doing here?" Springing to his feet, he dusted his knees off and backed up to get a better sight of their leader. A noble kid, who had the best for their group in mind... Judhas sure was something.

"I thought for sure you'd be out on patrol or something! I brought stuff to fix some of the holes, sir." As if to emphasize his point, he toed the pile on the floor to make it jingle a little more. "Was there something you wanted me to work on first?"

hivestuck

If there isn't enough to work with, let me know and I can do some more <3

 

[Hivestuck]

All the children of the clubhive perked at the sound of Mahmud's voice, only coming to full attention at the sight of Ommy. The younger lowblood shied away at the lusus's approach. The older inched closer, cautiously testing how close she could come to touching Ommy's feathers. Slightly emboldened by the orangeblooded girl's forwardness, the small redblood soon joined. At a safe distance.

Judhas coolly disregarded Ommy's presence upon deducing she and the children alike were behaving themselves up on the landing. He kicked his heels down against the concrete and his tire swing slowed to a lazy stop. "Mahmud! Welcome back, stranger," they called. The swing continued to untwist itself. Judhas continued to converse with Mahmud, upside-down in his seat. The glitter of loose screws and nails glittered in the tealblood's eyes.

"Excellent! Gotta get those holes patched before the dim season. Get so dry here in the daytime already you'd think anymore sun and the whole place'd catch fire." Judhas laughed and kicked himself back into a proper sitting position. "I'd normally be out makin' sure the pupas weren't getting themselves in too much trouble, buuuuut since I knew you were comin' over I figured I'd have my grubsitting fronds full." He stuck his tongue out. His slow twirl caused his gaze to pass over Ommy again. "Or not! I see you brought your own supervision this time."

Rather than wait for a reply, Judhas continued with a sweep of his arm. "The biggest hole is up over there where the old mid-work intermissionblock used to be. You can use whatever supplies you got left over after that on the littler holes over by the pupas' recuperacoons."

Judhas's tire swing had finally come to a rest. They lay their chin over their crossed arms and grinned at Mahmud. "So what have you been up to out in the big, wide world?"

Skyli Peep

 

[penemueIntuition]

["Yeah well, uh--" Before he could continue with the witty quip he still hadn't quite formulated, Judhas was back to talking about this, that, and the other thing. Perhaps it was for the best. Really, he was a guest in this establishment, even after all this time. Plus it was hard to judge where to joke or not joke with this group's leader. He would rather not say the wrong thing, and get his mother involved.

As Judhas spoke to Mahmud, directing him as to where repairs were needed, Ommy was continuing to interact with the younger children. Giving a soft coo, she stretched one wing out to the older of the two trolls.

"Oh-- hold on" Mahmud held a finger up and called out to the little ones "Ommy's real nice! She's safe, I promise." As if this would help the situation any, he gave a big toothy grin at them. Ommy cooed out to her child and bobbed her head. Once he had said his piece, Mahmud started to gather a few screws and a screwdriver off the ground, stuffing them into the bag again. "Oh! Um... well..."

He couldn't look Judhas in the eye, instead shrugging the bag back onto his shoulder and walking over to a patched mess that somehow functioned as stairs. When he felt far enough away to be safe, Mahmud called out to them "I sort of... got a job?" There was a pile tucked away behind one of the recuperacoons that had other supplies Mahmud didn't feel like dragging back and forth from the desert, namely old planks of wood and chunks of thin metal Ommy would find in the junkyard. "I met this guy, highblood... said he wanted to start something and asked if I'd help make the building up to code." Gathering a particularly large sheet of... gog, what even WAS this rusty piece of crap material? Aluminum? Did Aluminum rust? Well whatever it was, Mahmud started to drag it across the floor to the area he had to patch up.

"I can split you guys some of the money from it, you know... contribute." Maybe that would make Judhas and the crew a bit happier that he wasn't around. At least he'd be earning money for the cause? And at least if he was working on this project so he wouldn't have to look his leader in the eye after that one. "We got any more rope?" he called out, "S'high up, I need to get up here somehow." Not waiting for an answer, Mahmud skipran to the pile again to dig around and look for some.

hivestuck

 

[Hivestuck]

The combination of Ommy's motions and Mahmud's interjection caused the children to freeze, caught red-handed. Once they realized what Mahmud was saying, they calmed considerably. Soon enough the older of the children was showing the younger how to gently examine Ommy's primary feathers.

Judhas rolled his eyes, along with his body as the swing was set in motion once again. Typical Mahmud, the expression screamed. He righted himself once Mahmud returned his attention to the conversation. "Izzat so?" They replied conversationally. Their expression fell from typical pleasantness into genuine surprise as Mahmud continued. "Really," The incredulity in Judhas's voice reverberated in the open space. "What kinda highblood hires some orangeblood kid off the street for a construction project? What's he building? A chicken coop?"

Despite the nature of Judhas's words, his interest in the topic was more than apparent. He was standing on the swing now, holding onto the rope while leaning towards Mahmud.

"Hey now, I don't wanna put you out of your hard-earned beetles--especially if this is just some small-time gig. If it ain't, though, be sure to remember us little folk when you're famous." Judhas drawled, all smiles.

He thought for a moment at Mahmud's question. "Can't you just ask your wingy lusus to help? Nah, we got more up in the old storage block. Hey Ecille!" Judhas whistled and the yellowblooded girl shot to attention from her place beside Ommy. "Go get our pal more rope--whattya need, like eight units--two of the coils back there, Ecille!" Judhas waved an arm in the direction of the storage room and Ecille scampered off.

A couple minutes and the sound of a small avalanche later, Ecille returned, wearing a bundle of rope like a sash. She set the coil down in front of the rest of Mahmud's supplies, then looked back over to Judhas. Judhas in turn, looked on to see if Mahmud had everything that he needed.

Skyli Peep

 

[penemueIntuition]

At the mention of her existence by Judhas, Ommy gave a curious coo and tilted her head? She started to get onto her feet again when the little girl that had been playing with her scurried off. "Coo..." Harpommy then tilted her head at the other child. "Coo, coo!" Hopping a little closer, just ever so slightly closer, she leaned over and nudged her own head towards theirs. "Coo, coo!" Ommy repeated, slowly reaching a wing out to try and brush dirt off the child. Apparently, Mahmud wasn't the only child she liked to try and groom.

"At least she's trying to be polite?" he mused, as he nodded to Ecille. "This is awesome, thanks Ecille." With that he gave Judhas a nod as well, and dragged the rope over to his latest project. There was a moment of deliberation, when finally he started to lash knot two pieces together. It was clumsy, given how little practice he had with rope, but it will do its job... he hoped. Either that or he'd be sent tumbling to the ground. Maybe he should have Harpommy....

Mahmud looked up to Judhas for a moment, then gave a small shake of the head and kept tying. Judhas and the others lived just fine without lusii, right? A bit of independence from Ommy would do good. Besides, if something truly bad happened she'd be there to help, right?

"Hey, Judhas..." he called out, as he tried to throw the rope over a rafter and failed miserably. It was too far away. This WOULD be a good time to... no. No, no, no! No Ommy! "Judhas I'm sorry ahead of time!" Before the other could react, Mahmud scurried over to the tire swing, dragging the length of rope behind him, and hopped onto it as well, sending it swinging wildly with the both of them on it. "AAH! Shoot, sorry!" Careful not to step on the other child, he shoved the end of the rope in his teeth and slowly started to scooch up the rope connecting the tire swing to the ceiling. It was hard going, and poor Judhas probably got shook around quite a bit at the bottom of the tire, but this beam was connected to the one he needed to throw this rope over.

Finally, after some maneuvering and some surprising upper body strength, he managed to throw the length of rope with a hand over the top.While trying to fiddle and tie this one hitch he read in his book before, Mahmud lost some of his grip and shot down the rope, only managing to stop himself in time before smashing right into the bottom. "S-sorry! Sorry sorry sorry!" Was Judhas even down there anymore? He didn't have the guts to look down... because there were no doubts if he was there, Mahmud's butt would be right in his face.

Scurrying up the rope again after a short pause, Mahmud didn't speak much as he finished the hitch. Nor did he speak much when he finally started pulling himself and his materials up to the hole. It was only when he started hammering into the broken pieces with a patch did he call out to the people below.

"Hey! Serious question."

Ommy was sitting on the other end of the length of ropes, keeping them steady, when she looked up at her son and cooed. "Oh! Not you Ommy, Judhas!"

The makeshift dangling swing he was sitting on himself swayed gently when he tilted his head forward to look at his friends. "Well, Judhas and the others..." There was a peculiar expression on his face, something similar to concern, but deeper. His eyebrows furrowed as if he was concentrating, and his lips were pressed into a small frown.

"I... am a help, right?"

As quickly as he had looked to his friends, he looked away, instead concentrating on his task at hand. Nonetheless, he still called down. "Like I know that I don't live here with you guys, and I'm kind of an outsider and all but... I really do wanna help, you know? That's why I wouldn't mind sharing my beetles with you." The conversation was interrupted by the loud sound of hammering. The conversation was quickly added to once he had to dig for another nail ."I got lucky, and... it doesn't change the fact that I got lucky, but I should use my luck to help others right?" Was that even the right way of going about it? "I like you guys a lot... I just... I'm not a burden to you guys, right? Or an annoyance?" Once more there was a pause, before he quickly added in "I mean other than just now. Where I like, climbed all over your tire and junk."

hivestuck

is this enough is this good enough oh god what am I doing it's been so long. Let me know if I should change it/if its not enough to go off of.

 

[Hivestuck]

The small redblood shrunk under Ommy's increased attentions, more from shyness than fear. Their face wrinkled as it was beset by Ommy's wings, but made no motion to resist other than to keep the feathers from going into their mouth.

Ecille, meanwhile, was watching Judhas and Mahmud with a level of quiet attention intense enough to inspire a soldier. At Mahmud's approval, Judhas nodded back at Ecille, who returned the gesture with twice the speed and sharpness. She was back up the stairs by the time Mahmud had returned to his project.

The project apparently involved spinning himself and Judhas on the tire swing like a particularly bad yo-yo trick. Judhas yelped and latched onto the swing, which only seemed to make it rotate faster. He nearly lost his balance a second time when he realized Mahmud was rocketing back down the rope, and awkwardly tossed his torso back away from the swing, lest the orangeblood impale himself on his horns. The result was Judhas dangling from the swing by his knees while Mahmud busied himself on the rope above. Judhas's hair and horns dragged lightly across the floor while he took the opportunity presented by the new angle to regard Mahmud sullenly.

The comedically put-upon expression smoothed over at Mahmud's words. Judhas's face became unreadable as Mahmud spoke. There was a dense pause as Mahmud finished talking and Judhas didn't begin. The other children in the room were silent as well, but looked unsure of the silence. Judhas just looked blank.

Then, like a switch had been flipped, Judhas smiled genially. "Of course, buddy! You're always welcome around here! You should know that. You're plenty useful. You're our friend. I mean look at you now! You're taking time out of your busy night to do basic tasks all the way out here in the slums!" Judhas continued to drift slowly at the other end of the rope connecting himself and Mahmud. The cheerful look on his face melted into something more thoughtful.

"Although... If you're really not feeling like you're doing your part around here. I might have an errand that'd turn that right around for ya. Important work. 'Course it wouldn't be easy. Not the kind of thing I'd enlist one of the little ones in..." The tire drifted in a lazy circle around the room and Judhas's gaze flickered to the redblood still half-buried in Ommy's wing. "I think someone like you could handle it, though. The offer's open. If you're feeling lucky, that is."

Skyli Peep

No problem; it's all good! Sorry for taking so long to get back to you!

 

[penemueIntuition]

At the mention of the word 'friend', Mahmud's face seemed to brighten, and any tension he had in his body melted. A warm smile crawled across his face, and he finally looked down at his awkwardly-dangling... well, friend. Friend! The way Judhas would smile up at him made his pumpbiscuit pick up speed. It was so nice having someone that could bear having him around. Most of all, knowing he was useful... Being out in the desert all alone really took a toll on a troll after a while. Being part of a community was an experience Mahmud was happy to partake in.

... Aah! He was staring at Judhas a bit too long, wasn't he? Bouncing a bit in place, Mahmud quickly turned back around to look back up at the board he was working on. Hopefully the other troll didn't see how dark his cheeks got. "SURE! I mean... sure." Was he playing off cool? Yeah. Totally. Totally playing it off cool. "Anything to be useful, you know?" Instead of looking back down at Judhas, he looked to the other younger trolls hanging around. Something the little ones couldn't do... what could he mean? "Let me just finish this up and you can tell me."

True to his word, Mahmud hammered into the board and added a few more across to secure it. There! That should keep the elements out! Smiling at his handiwork for a moment, he hung out on his own makeshift rope swing before starting to shimmy down. This time Mahmud was far more careful, watching where he put his toes on the tire. "Okay..." He hopped off and then quickly turned around to stop the swing from swinging around like it had done before. "Sorry! Uh..."

Looking over from his new spot on safe ground, Mahmud started to speak to Judhas again. "SO. What do you need me to do?" He rubbed at his upper arm and looked away again, unable to stare at who he considered his... what was Judhas? Best friend? Somehow, Mahmud had doubts he meant that much to the other... but... he meant that much to Mahmud. Did that mean something? "I don't care what it is... if it helps you out, I'm glad to do it."

In the back, there was a concerned coo. It went either ignored or unnoticed.

hivestuck

This may be a good place for a time-skip to the action that needed to be done (with a little bit of added text before the move) or we can keep going with this way if you want. Either way works for me! I just appreciate your patience!

 

[Hivestuck]

Somehow the gentle optimism in Judhas's description of the plan wasn't being reflected in the real-world application. Judhas, Mahmud, and two other young trolls found themselves in a dark corner of the Chittentown Rapid Cargo Transit Vessel Containment Compound--the train yard. For a city as large and isolated as Chittentown, the area dedicated to receiving imports was suitably expansive. Layered rows of railroad spread across the ground like textiles. The herds of trains provided the small trespassers near-limitless cover from patrolling drones, but also an unnerving sense of claustrophobia.

Judhas had assembled a makeshift hiding place in one of the less-conspicuous train cars. The rusted lock gave way with little more than a stern look. The interior was filled with loosely baled hay--cheap cargo befitting its cheap security measures. It effectively muffled the already hushed voices of the children to the outside world.

The door of the car rapped twice and was pulled open gently by one of the other children. Addeus, an orangeblood with a stern face climbed into the car, followed closely by Talema, a willowy yellowblooded girl. Judhas folded his arms across his chest expectantly.

"Eight tracks north of here. Just past the burnt-out lamp," Talema whispered. "There's a patrol, but other than that, the cars look pretty analog. The bolt cutters should do just fine."

Addeus looked as solemn as ever, but Judhas cracked a smirk at Talema's report. It was the closest he'd gotten to a smile all evening. He inclined his head towards Mahmud. "See? No problem." His expression softened as he watched Mahmud for a reaction. "Like I said, it's just a routine shipment to the local big box stores. Nothing special. The name brand medicines for colds and headaches and stuff. You don't even need a doctor's note to buy 'em, but they cost an arm and a leg 'cos they have commercials on TV or whatever. Kids can't get proper jobs, but we can get sick. They won't miss a couple boxes as much as we would if one of the little ones got under the weather." He turned back towards Talema and Addeus. "Plus, if we get extra, we can probably strike a deal with the kids down by the Fluid Redistribution Station. Get some nice food for a change." Even Addeus visibly brightened at the idea. Judhas turned back towards Mahmud. "See, it all goes to the people who need it. You're not gonna back out on us now, right?"

Skyli Peep

I was thinking the same thing! Glad we're on the same page!

 

[penemueIntuition]

He was going to die.

This was how he, Mahmud Seshat, four and a half sweeps old, was going to die.

There was a stark difference in the gentle reassurances given before, and the rusty train cars they walked past now. It was like telling someone in a hospital that nobody was going to die. Say it all they want, didn't make the scenery less jarring. Everything was old and worn, and uncomfortably close. Claustrophobic was right; it was enough to make a troll nauseous. Maybe it was nerves, but boy howdy did he feel like upchucking something right about now. Instead he swallowed and stuck close to Judhas, not saying anything out of fear that words wouldn't leave his lips.

All the while as they waited for the comrades, Mahmud wanted to hear something... anything... but didn't have the courage to break the silence himself. Even after the other two trolls got there and started speaking he remained silent. Instead he was hugging his legs with one arm, and scritching at that arm with the other hand. Little lines were starting to form, pale white, where he dragged his nails. Could he do this? Should he do this? Even after two familiar faces came, Talema and Addeus, it didn't do much to calm his nerves.

It wasn't until Judhas started to speak up that he felt anything besides fear. "P-p-pills." Mahmud manage to spit out, shutting up again as he trembled in place. Pills. All they were stealing was headache medicine, not the crown jewels or nothin'. For a moment he was feeling better, knowing that... and then realization dawned on him. People were actually depending on him. Him. All those little kids he helped take care of from time to time at headquarters... they could get sick without this. It had to go right. Blanching at the prospect, Mahmud silently prayed that the others would do most of the work... but thats not how it was happening.

"You're not gonna back out on us now, right?"

Was he going to back down now? For a while he said nothing, staring ahead at the others, trying to take in everything that was happening. If they got caught... they'd be screwed. Royally. If they did well... he'd save everyone. Colds and Flus can turn into far worse things...

Mahmud's answer was standing up and taking the bolt cutters. "Should... should be fine on a lock." In an attempt to gage them, he lifted them in front of his face and snipped the tool a couple of times. Powerful enough to break through something. Powerful enough where if something bad were to happen... he could get away. And Judhas would be there. Judhas was always there for him. Everything would go fine, he had backup. They were all depending on him.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded and then pushed open the door to the train cart slowly, trying his best not to make a sound. The door was a bit rusty, but all he had to do was eek it open a little bit. Stumbling once he jumped and hit the ground, Mahmud took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. Once he did though, he was off.

Crouch low, keep to the shadows. Stop behind cars, make sure nobody was coming. Mahmud was doing his best to keep all the advice given to him earlier. Pumpbiscuit churning, there were a couple of times that were too close for comfort. Times where a guard would walk right past a spot he was hiding near. Those times were enough to make Mahmud want to s**t every organ out of his body, and drain all the blood from his veins. Were the others even behind him at all? He wasn't sure at this point, but it was too late to stop. From time to time he had to remind himself it was alright to breathe, that if he didn't he would die. The next time he paused, he finally drew blood while scratching, a little bit of brown trickling down grey.

But still he went on.
They were all counting on him.
Judhas was counting on him, and he couldn't let him down.

A lamp was burnt out, a marker for what was to come. Clutching the cutters even tighter than before, white-knuckled, Mahmud pushed forward. Two guards were talking to each other nearby, but the door was on the other side of the trailer. It shouldn't be a problem. Shouldn't being the operative word here.

When they weren't looking he slipped between the two cars. Mahmud's face was so close to his target, his nose almost brushed against it. Were the others even still following him at this point? He dared not look back: this already felt like hell, and if he looked back he may lose them forever.

Instead he trembled as he took the cutters to the lock on the transportation vessel and clipped. Nothing. All there was was the soft "click" of it shutting after it slid off of the bolt. Did the guards hear him? Mahmud paused and tried to gather himself again. It was going to be okay. Judhas said it was going to be okay...

Again he clipped at the lock, this time causing a sizable cut. Closer. He couldn't waste any more time. With one big gulp of air and a harsh force, Mahmud finally snipped the lock off. Oh gog, did it clatter when it hit the ground? Was he being too noisy? Panicked, he reached up and yanked the trailer door open, wincing when it squeaked. Faster. He had to move faster.

Inside was a bunch of boxes, all them containing what he assumed was medicine. They all had fancy names on them, like "Borovosococane" and "Automatic s**t Remover" or whatever. he couldn't tell what they were at that moment and couldn't care. All he knew was that they had to go. Fast.

hivestuck

this kills the mule

 

[Hivestuck]

Judhas was patient for his age, but not so patient as to hold his soft look for the entire duration of Mahmud's internal struggle. His face was cold and impassive as morning asphalt. Even he, for all his reassurances, was feeling the strain of their undertaking. Not a one of the children in that train car envied Mahmud for a second.

Mahmud stood from his seat in the hay. The train car nearly shifted as the weight lifted from three of the four occupants. Mahmud took their tension along with the bolt cutters. Talema hazarded a small smile as he tested them. Addeus's shoulders loosened. Judhas betrayed nothing. He nodded, and Mahmud was on his way.


The trek was uneventful. The other children couldn't be seen, but their quick uneven steps separated them from the patrol drones. The crunching of gravel split in different directions and faded into the distance.

Their distraction proved adequate as Mahmud found the target unguarded. True to Talema's report, it was nothing fancy--clearly labeled and professionally maintained, but hardly intimidating or problematic to break into. The boxes within were stacked in neat layers of palettes for quick loading and unloading.

The setting was almost comforting in its simplicity. However, the distant yelp and clatter was more than enough to shatter the fragile atmosphere. The commotion wasn't violent, but it was unmistakable. If the shout of a young child wasn't startling enough, the calls of an adult heralded much worse.

The noises were far enough away to only be vaguely heard from Mahmud's place in the train car. The others had done their job perhaps too well.

Skyli Peep

 

[penemueIntuition]

Was it more important to get a big box of one drug, or stuff a bunch of little different ones in one box? After all, he was only one troll. What kind of kid could take three of them at the same time? Mahmud sweat a little bit, peeling the wrapping off the palettes so he could grab what appeared to be "Sniffle Cull". He set the box beside the door, and continued his work. Various medication boxes were placed by the door. Best not to take a whole palette's worth... how would they carry all this away...

How were the others doing?

By the third box by the door, something was clearly off. There wasn't exactly one thing he could pinpoint, but something in Mahmud's twisty internal organs knotted. This whole situation wasn't right... Surely he would have heard from the others somehow, right? How come--

There was a yelp and Mahmud dropped the fourth box on his toe. In that moment, he was glad for steel toe boots. Lord knows what sort of sound he would have made if he had actually felt it. Pumpbiscuit racing, he froze in place to listen. That's when the adult could be heard.

s**t.
s**t

"s**t!" he spat out, quickly scooping up the box. Forget about racing, his heart was on a rocket ship leaving his body right along with his skeleton. Mahmud clutched the box to his chest, as if it could keep both things in place rooted on Alternia. Had it not been for the slight rattling in the package he held, he would have been too petrified to even notice he was shaking. Its gone wrong. Its gone wrong. Its gone wrong its gone wrong its gone wrong...

It took a good chunk of time for Mahmud to process what was happening, before he flew out the door and threw the box he had underneath another train cart. Then another. And then another. All four boxes he had peeled from the boxcar were thrown underneath another one. An adult may have a hard time seeing or crawling under there, but a kid... a kid could have an easier time.
Even if it wasn't much, should something happen, they could return for this later.

Should something happen...
Where was the Automatic s**t Remover when he needed it? Right now he felt about ready to cake his pants.

After hiding the precious cargo, he scrambled back inside to grab something: the clippers. Just like before, Mahmud gave them a quick couple clips, swallowed deep, did a silent prayer, and then started heading out towards the yelling. Gotta get there fast, gotta get there fast... Should something happen to Judhas, he'd never forgive himself. Hell, if something happened to the other trolls he'd feel the same way but... but especially Judhas. After Judhas had been so kind to him, he couldn't abandon him. And if something happened to him, what would happen to the other kids? No. No, he could do something...

Walking towards possible danger like this was a familiar feeling; this had been how he met that one girl, way before... Gnash, was it? The Seadweller. Still just as dangerous. Probably even more. At least then he had Ommy to watch after him... but sneaking out to fight a couple of Adults... oh gog, they were ADULTS. He stopped in place when he got closer to the noises and started trembling again. If it hadn't been for both handles of the clipper having to be held, Mahmud would have started tearing at his arms with his nails. Instead he felt a jerking motion in his tummy, and bent over to dry heave a little bit. "U-ugh..." Nothing. Too nervous to even puke out something. Great.

There was still time to take this back. Maybe the adults hadn't heard him yet. He could just... slip back away, get away from there, go back home to Ommy and have a good cry. But...

Judhas.

There was no going back.
Maybe he could kill one of them... killing... Mahmud's face blanched. Would he really have to try and kill an adult? Impossible... Not without...

Without thinking further, Mahmud let go of a handle and grabbed a handful of gravel. Distraction. Giving a silent prayer he threw said gravel at the side of a boxcar nearby, making a somewhat loud pattering. Again he grabbed more gravel and threw it, then quickly running to the car and sliding underneath. A kid could see under here... but an adult may have trouble.

How many pounds of force would it take to cut someone's ankle off? That would be a suitable distraction.

hivestuck

please excuse my stupid, stupid son.

 

[Hivestuck]

A suffocatingly tense few minutes passed while Mahmud lay under the train car. The shouts continued. The sounds were fearful, but blessedly not pained. After further scuffling, the yard eventually quieted. All that remained were low voices and even, growing footsteps.

The progress was slow and it took a while before the source passed Mahmud's hiding place. The reason for the pace was apparent. Two adults dressed in standard security drone armor were making their way through the yard. One of them had Talema tucked under an arm like a sack of groceries. For a moment she looked unconscious. Upon second glance, it appeared she was hanging from the drone out of protest--unwilling to walk on her own. She was scuffed, but unharmed.

The other drone had Judhas. The tealblood had murder in his eyes and blood on his knuckles. The drone held onto Judhas's upper arm with just one hand. The casual grip betrayed how little exertion the drone required to keep Judhas pinned. Still, the extreme size difference held no bearing on the amount the child thrashed. His pants were filthy and torn. Judhas likely tripped several times in his struggle and had been dragged half the trek.

Judhas had apparently resigned himself to walking properly, albeit as slowly as he could force their captors to go. However, it was Talema that spotted Mahmud first, from her position staring at the ground upside-down. Her eyes widened and she gasped in a tiny voice that could have been mistaken for pain. Her attention snapped to Judhas.

Judhas had seen. He was staring openly into Mahmud's hiding place. His expression was furious.

Skyli Peep

 

[penemueIntuition]

Time stood still the second he made eye contact with Judhas. All the blood drained right out of his body. Well, not literally. Though with the look his friend gave him, Mahmud would have rather lost ever ounce in his veins than face that stare again.

His plan hadn't worked. They didn't ditch his friends; they couldn't get away. Instead of making a diversion, he had allowed his friends to be captured. Judhas probably hated him... just looking at his face, he hated him. Not even the good kind of hate. The "I never want to see you again" kind of hate. It was killing him metaphorically, and truthfully he wished it was literal.

Wait... wait why was he mad at himself? None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for that stupid Drone! They hurt his best friend, and another friend as well! Knuckles going pale as he clutched the clippers tight, Mahmud finally resolved himself. He wouldn't leave Judhas and Talema to these jerks.
Where their final friend was, he had no damn clue... but...

There was no time.

Taking a deep breath, WILLING himself to be quiet in that respect (for gravel was not known for being quiet), Mahmud scooched himself back slightly.
It wasn't too late for a distraction. Something. anything. Again he gave a small prayer... please, Judhas forgive him...

To the closest drone, he slowly reached his clippers out and drew them open.
Did... did he have to do this? Did he have to do this? Tears were starting to run down his cheeks, fear threatening to take over. But how much he cared about everyone, how much everyone was depending on him, took priority.

And in a quick, swift motion, snapped his tool shut on a drone's ankle with a resounding CLICK and scream.

"LET THEM GO YOU ******** class="quote">
hivestuck

[Hivestuck]

The drone holding Talema hit the ground with a yowl. Talema herself bounced against the gravel before rolling to a stop. The drone holding onto Judhas wheeled back in surprise. Judhas in turn, was accidentally whipped against the train car opposite Mahmud. The tealblood's horrified expression was broken with stuttered wheezing to regain his breath.

The drone hanging onto Judhas didn't seem to care, if they even bothered to notice. "HALT!" They announced. Their voice crackled with the effect of what was both a radio and amplifier. The drone zeroed in on Mahmud's position. They stomped down on the exposed bolt cutters with little regard for whether or not Mahmud's hand got caught in the process.

The downed drone continued to moan over their crushed tendon. The pained noises seemed to jar Talema awake from her position disoriented on the ground. Shakily she sat up and struggled onto her hands and knees. Like a frightened animal, her eyes tracked quickly across the scene. The drones. Mahmud. Judhas.

Skyli Peep