Animation Source Forums

Lark gingerly slid his arm over Rue's shoulders, almost feeling the burden she now carried. "But if you let us all die, I'm gonna be really mad." he joked, trying to lighten the mood. He always tried to be there for his friend, even if she was a bit bossy at times, like her mom was. He tried to be the kind of right-hand-man that Fang always was to Max.

Pascal nervously wrung the tip of his wing in between his palms, conscious of what he had said, and how it could impact the family. Had he just led everyone to their death? Had he just spoken the most dangerous words you could ever say to a fellow bird-kid? He couldn't talk anymore- he'd said quite enough already.

Rue managed a small grin. "I'll try not to," she replied.

Kara took her hand away from Rue and stood near Pascal. "You okay?" she asked him softly.

Pascal held his head in his hands. "I'm such a screw-up..." he grumbled softly, eyes welling up even more. "I got a signal in my mind, and it was something about saving the world, and then I just had to blurt it out... now we're all going to be on the run. I mean, I think it could be fun, but you, and Lark, and Rue..." He sighed, wiped his face with his sleeve, then forced a grin as he looked at Kara. "I guess I'm just nervous." he confessed.

Lark took his arm and slid it over to rest his hand on her shoulder. "But seriously," he continued. "Don't get us killed." He followed up with a small chuckle, then patted her shoulder. "We should probably start packing." he said.

"You are not a screw-up, Pascal," Kara said firmly. "We were gonna go on the run anyways...and honestly, I'm way nervous too." She grinned at him, hoping to offer him some comfort.

Rue nodded. "You're right," she said. She raised her voice so that Pascal and Kara could hear her clearly. "Go ahead and start packing. Remember, no MP3s or any of that stuff."

Pascal smiled back at Kara, letting her know he appreciated what she said. After that, he walked away and motioned for Kara to follow him and begin packing. "C'mon, hurry!" he called back. When she reached him, he whispered with a devilish grin, "I'm still taking my iPod." Then disappeared down the hall to his room.

Lark traveled quickly to the fridge. "I'll start packing the food and stuff." he said while he walked away. He opened the fridge door, then called to Rue, "Do you know where that backpack is?"

Kara laughed. She would probably take something "forbidden" too. Looking around her room, her gaze fell upon an old, battered tiger named Samson, a gift from her mother, Nudge. She smiled; she would have to take that. She had had it ever since she was a baby, and kept the fact that she still slept with it a secret from the rest of them.

Stuffing it into her bag, along with her convenient sleeping bag, her pack was already halfway full. Rue and Lark would be sure to pack food and water though, so as an after-thought, she grabbed a first-aid kit. They would probably need that. The metal kit filled up the rest of the room in her bag, which was fairly small. She slipped it on, glad the metal was flimsy and not at all heavy.


Rue shrugged. "I know where mine is, but I don't have a clue about your's." Laughing, she added. "You would probably know where it was if you cleaned your room for once."

Lark smirked, placing two cans of beans in the counter. "Excuse me," he laughed. "But who's the one always so busy cooking for everyone, especially the 8-year-old bottomless pit, and the restless leader?" He glanced at Rue, grinning, proud at himself for actually thinking of a reason for his disaster of a room. He took in a breath and said, "Then, we'll just use yours." With that, he began to toss Rue cans of fruit. "Can you check if these are leaking?" he asked as they left his hand.

As a can of peaches hit her hand, plenty of sticky juice splattered over her skin. Rue made an "eww" face, tossing that one back at him. "Yeah. That one," she said, unable to keep a note of amusement from her voice as it leaked juice on him too. "Besides, we shouldn't take cans. Cans are too heavy to fly with. Take dried fruit instead or something." She paused before adding; "And please don't bring any bombs."

She was teasing him about his father, Iggy, who was considered a genius when it came to any kind of explosives. He had particularily liked to brag about "Big Boy", a bomb made out of Rue's mom's, Max, Mickey Mouse alarm clock. He claimed he had wiped out a run-down old cabin and tons of Erasers with it.

Lark laughed as a web of juice splattered all over him, then tossed the can into the garbage. Wiping the drops off of his face, he replied, "My father was a blind genius! Along with Pascal's uncle, of course." Pascal's uncle, the Gasman, was Iggy's partner-in-crime back when they were younger. Lark closed the fridge and grabbed some granola bars from the cabinet above the counter. "Trust me," he assured, "If anyone's building a bomb around here, it's Pascal." He paused, then added on quietly, "...Maybe with a bit of my help." He tossed Rue the granola bars. "Take a few of these." he said. "We should get going soon, after I bag some cereal."

As Pascal rummaged through some of his belongings, he stumbled upon an old, pocket-sized notebook given to him by his uncle. He ran his fingers along the edges of the cover, remembering the brilliant designs of bombs, tracking devices, homemade radar, and other nifty inventions. He smiled, then shoved it in the pocket of his cargo pants. This could come in handy. He quickly collected some blankets, a lighter to start a fire, and his thermos full of water. He stuffed everything into his hiking pack and threw the strap over his shoulder.

Rue grinned and nodded. She had heard the "with my help" part. She walked upstairs, and grabbed her bag, stuffing the granola bars inside, along with water bottles, trail mix, etc. She stuffed a sleeping bag in, wishing her bag wasn't so small. It was bulging already. As an after-thought, she grabbed a credit card. It was old, but it hadn't reached the expiration date yet. And it probably had tons of cash on it. Slipping it into her pocket, she walked to Pascal's room, bag on her shoulder.

"Pascal? You finished packing?" she asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kara heading downstairs. A few moments later, there was a crash, and she whirled around, wondering what the heck had happened.

---

Kara had slipped on the spilled juice. "Lark! Why is there sticky stuff on the floor?" she asked crossly, once she had regained her breath. She glared at him, standing up and wiping off her sticky hands.

Pascal heard someone climbing the stairs, and when he heard Rue's question, he answered, "Yeah I'm ready. So wh-" he was interrupted by a yelp coming from downstairs. The crash echoed upstairs, and he froze, thinking there may be an Eraser they had missed.

Lark released a sigh, one that had resulted from a gasp when he witnessed Kara step in the puddle of peach juice, then fall flat on the floor. As she glared at him, he quickly thought of something to tell her. He inspected the puddle as if he'd never seen it before, then concluded, "Eraser must have peed."

Pascal dashed downstairs, dropping his pack on the way, then rushed into the kitchen. Seeing there were no Erasers, only kara on the floor and Lark sitting by her, studying a wet substance. Pascal threw his hand over his heart. "You guys almost gave me a heart attack!" he scolded. "There could have been Erasers down here still!" His light eyes flicked to the puddle. "And why is there fruit juice on the floor?"

Kara's glare grew even fiercer when Pascal said what it really was. "You liar!" she said, unable to keep a laugh out of her voice. She shoved him playfully, standing up.

Rue walked downstairs, and heard most of the conversation. "Really, Lark? Eraser pee?" She grinned.

"Hey!" Lark retorted, "It's possible!" He couldn't hold in his laughter as Kara shoved him. He then stood up, reached down and slid two fingers in the juice, then smeared it on Kara's cheek. "There!" he cheered. "Now the Erasers will think you're one of their own!" He laughed even harder, knowing she'll hate him for screwing with her makeup.

"You know I wear makeup!" Kara wailed, smacking him on the shoulder, a mixture of actual annoyance and amusement. She grabbed a napkin, dabbing at the partially dried juice.

Rue laughed, trying not to think about the fact Kara wouldn't be able to put on makeup in the morning anymore. Thinking about that would make her think about why...and that was a matter better left forgotten for now.

Pascal laughed at Kara's reaction, then proceeded to lean down and rub his whole hand in the juice. "It's ok Kara." he giggled. "See?" He then slapped his palm on his face, schlopping the juice all over himself, all the while laughing hysterically. "You're not alone!"

"Pasc!" Lark scolded playfully, grabbing a paper towel. He looked at Rue, then smiled and rolled his eyes, as if to say, Kids. He dropped onto his knees to meet eye-to-eye with Pascal, then began to wipe the juice off from around the boy's eyes.

"You're ruining my makeup!" Pascal squealed, dramatically imitating Kara.