"I hate dogs," she said as she slid down a certain length. She was noting how his branch was unstable at this point. She felt safe but wondered why he was being called a dog. Dogs couldn't climb trees which as why she would ever climb a tree. When she got to his level she got even more nervous when she saw the men with the guns.

Surprisingly enough she slipped slightly. She scrambled for a moment before she got hold of one of the branches. She was watching him now, wondering what he would do but he was confident that she would land on her feet if she fell. It was a moment later that she started slipping and she finally let go.

There were only a few branches beneath her and it scratched her face up a it before she landed on her feet. She was a bit shaken at first but she stayed where she was so that she wouldn't get shot. "Now who needs to come down?" she asked.

Neals heart stopped in his chest as Olivia fell, it was almost like slow motion as he reached out to grab her but missed just by a fraction. Gasping softly he watched amazed as her body gracefully turned and twisted mid air to do the least amount of damage to herself as she fell, and in the end she even landed on her own two feet. Aside from a few scratches she looked unharmed!

Neal started as he clung to his own tree branch, fearing falling out himself. The guards calmly surrounded Olivia and looked to see if she was hurt, satisfied that she wasn't they told her to keep moving and that there was far more that she needed to see that day. They didn't really feel like waiting for Neal to climb down before they started herding Olivia away.

"H-hey wait!" Neal called as he tried to quickly climb down only to slip near the end and land not so smartly on his tail bone. Wincing he hobbled after them as he tried to rub the pain out of his rump.

Olivia had panicked for the most part when she was being herded away without the company of someone she was at least slightly familiar with. On top of that the guns terrified her since they were never pointed at her before. She wasn't getting used to it either and when she heard Neal call she turned but was shoved forward lightly.

She was afraid that there would be people watching her again, either looking at her with that ugly look of hatred or with a look of unwarranted curiosity. She held her breath for a moment as she paused and let it out. She only paused for a split second so that the guards with the guns wouldn't get concerned. She would have turned and attacked them but the guns were keeping her in line. She was already planning how she would attempt to get the guns away at that point but found that she was not sure how the gun would work. She wasn't even trained in fighting so there was a chance he would get injured if she attempted anything.

It wasn't hard for Neal to catch up to the small group and squeeze in next to Olivia.The poor girl looked nervous to be with the guards alone. There next stop was a surprising one, it was topside. Though Olivia had to be blind folded for part of the way so she wouldn't know there exact location when the cloth strip was untied form her eyes she saw a large and beautiful river spanning out before her through blooming dogwood trees.
A rainbow formed out of a mist from a small waterfall in the clearing that formed a pond the trees grew around. Birds sang softly in the trees as they watched the visitors to their forest.

"What do you think?" Neal asked softly as he touched the back of her hand lightly. "This place was all naturally formed, we found it like this and left it alone. Peaceful isn't it?"

The blind fold had terrified her even more since the loss of sight was the worst thing that you could do to her. This was essentially torture for her and when it was taken off she was amazed to realize that they were outside. She was tempted to bolt now and she started towards the river. She could easily just fall in and drift down the stream and maybe she'd be lucky enough to land near tow so she could go home.

"It's nice," she said to respond to what Neal had said and lower the suspicion. She'd begun to lean forward to look at the bottom of the river to see what was down there. A fish swam by and her eyes followed it with curiosity. What a strange creature.

Another fish swam by but this time she tried to catch it. Instead she ended up falling forward, face first into the water. Her first reaction was to scream but she could only feel water go into her lungs. She struggled for a bit until she found the surface of the water where she came up sputtering and not having a single clue how to get out of the water.

And she didn't have to know how, As soon as she surfaced in the water Neal had already dove in and grabbed her by the waist, keeping her head clear above the water and he towed her to the muddy edge of the river, pushing her up to grab at the roots of the dogwood trees above.
If it was one thing that Neal knew how to do it was swim. Ever since he was a child he had been a strong swimmer, it was the only reason he had managed to survive that night when his brother had been killed..

"Grab on!" He called to her as his head surfaced from under the water, the rivers current trying to cause them to drift away from the trees.

Olivia attempted to pull herself ashore but he was so frightened that she did not want to let go of Neal. She managed to grab hold of a branch and then one of the guards had reluctantly grabbed her hand. She managed to get up but now she was covered in mud and she was wet. She looked at the river and the fish seemed to swim by more frequently, as if mocking her fo not being able to catch them.

Her attention switched back to Neal though, who had saved her life in her opinion because she only was used to water for baths and showers. She still had a bit of water in her and she started coughing after a moment, having to kneel down so that she could get the water out. It tasted horrid and it was scaring her even more.

Neal was hauling himself up out of the water as Olivia was coughing. He rubbed her back to help get it all out and comfort her. He hadn't thought she wouldn't be able to swim.
"Deep breaths." He said softly to her, trying to calm the panic out of her. He could feel her shivering and wasn't sure if it was from fear or the still cold river water. Gently he pulled her against his chest again, letting her feel the warmth of his body and the security of a stable thing to hold on to.

"Its ok Olivia, I've got you." He cooed softly enough that the guards couldn't hear what he whispered into her ear. Two of the guards gave him a odd look as he soothed the poor girl, ever since he got back Neal had been following the false princess around like a wet puppy.

Olivia had merely accepted this stance because of her fear and she was cold but she would not say anything. She would live with it for the time being and then ask for new clothing when she needed it. She was immune to illnesses anyways and she had no fear of getting sick. She stifled a few tears before she pulled away from him so they could continue this 'tour' of the compound. She did not want the blindfold to be placed on again because that would bother her.

"Do I have to have the blindfold on?" she asked. "It kind of bothers me when I can't see because I'm afraid I'll fall. You could at least knock me out and just carry me in and then wake me up with some cold water."

She entirely serious about that statement but she wasn't sure if she would be taken seriously. She'd hate it but she wouldn't get severely injured as long as she didn't fall in the river. The most important part was getting done with this petty tour and crawling back under those covers and not coming out again. It would be her sanctuary.

Neal frowned as the suggestion and suddenly swept her up off her feet bridal style and cradled her in his arms against his chest. He was prepared for her to squirm.
"I'll carry you, but you have to be blind folded Olivia, I'm sorry." But he knew that the guards would never accept any other condition except maybe passed out.
"We'll go back and get you warmed up Olivia." Neal himself was shivering, effected far more by the cold of the water and the possibility to get sick.

They walked back quickly and Neal kept Olivia safe in his arms. As they were locked back into there 'room' Olivia was giving some new warm clothes to change in, though Neal was left cold and wet to drip on his half the room.
Pulling off his soaked shirt he sighed and rubbed his bare arms a little. He'd just curl up under his blanket to warm up.

Olivia had squirmed at first but found that she grew quite used to being held after a while. She was shivering a bit at the moment and she could tell that he was cold. When he was not given new clothes when they got back to room though she scowled. She changed though and then slammed her fist against the door.

"Why aren't you gettting new clothes?" she asked. "Don't thy want you to be healthy so that you can defend yourself?"

She was sure if she really meant what she said but she had said it. She slammed her fist against the door again. She was determined that he would get knew clothing and if she had to go to that strange place again she would.

Neal caught her fist and pulled her away from the door. "Its fine Olivia, and your going to hurt your hand if you keep that up." Even now without his shirt he was still dripping on the floor, his brown hair almost appearing black from the water that still clung to him.
"My clothes will be dry for tomorrow and I can warm up just fine in here."

He smiled though that she was showing concern for him, he hadn't really expected it.
"So calm down." He let her arm go and turned to finish stripping and huddle under his blankets till his body have warmed back up.
"Besides I won't get sick from a little water like that."

Olivia had automatically shied away as soon as he'd let go of her, her hands racing to her eyes as he undressed in front of her. It was pure blasphemy for someone to do that when there wasn't anything going on between the two of them. She faced the wall after that, feeling a flush come to her face. She'd recently come to realize that she had not yet attracted a fiancee of any sort. It was distressing in a way since her brother had managed to do that already, and it put her in danger of not finding one.

She untied her hair, a loose form of the pony still in it. She ran her fingers through the dripping wet hair until it hung, clinging slightly to her face. She didn't turn around though and she stood almost perfectly still.

"Are you sure you're not going to get sick?" she asked in a sharp tone, wanting to drown out that disgusting feeling she was getting in her chest and gut. It was like she was going to do that strange thing these people called throwing up, she felt sick, feverish almost. She moved now to pace, wondering what she could do to occupy herself, the book was still in here and she could very well pick it up and read it.

Neal has wrapped the blanket from his bed around his body, he had had enough modesty to undress with his back to Olivia but being raised he had been he didn't seen much shame in the nude form. As a child he'd gone swimming without clothes with other children all the time. However he understood plenty well that things were different between adults, but what was he going to do? Undress under his bed?

Olivia was attractive though, almost painfully so. But she had been made that way, she was a siren to lure the populace into believing the government was right. Her body was that of a woman in full bloom but more and more Neal saw that she had not only the heart of a child but the mind of one as well. Maybe if she had taken his hand all those years ago things could be different now, maybe there could be something between them other then guard and captive. But not now, Neal would be lucky if he could even get her to truly trust him...or maybe just stop trying to kill him.

Sitting on his cot he snuggled his body up against the wall and curled into himself to warm his extremities. "The worse I'll get is the sniffles, maybe if I'm unlucky a couch." Huddled around himself he his head on his knees he watch Olivia pace with a slight smile on his face. She was worried about him~

Laughing a little he closed his eyes. "Theres a bunch of different books in here, why don't you pick one out to read? Surly something has to appeal to your tastes. Though most those books are old ones, but we have a huge archive of books from the old days, back before modification existed."
Slowly his eyes opened to look at her again. "Those people lived such different lives, even from us in HARA. Its interesting to she how they had pictured the future and how different it ended up being. "

((sorry I've been slow lately, its going into finals week for this half of my summer term so I've been busy with my paintings for class and stuff >.< Its really killed alot of my motivation to do alot of writing. I'll try and be better about it.))

((It's fine, I understand. Art is very important so go do what you need to... be brave soldier, be brave... and that is the end of my overly cheesy tired moment or maybe it's the overly tired cheesy moment.))

The strain that the whole situation was putting on her was making her far more tired than she realized. She didn't want to sleep while he was in that state though and she getting hungry again. To dare to ask was almost a blasphemy to her and she just sat down on the bench, not facing him. She'd picked up the book of fairy tales and had begun to flip through it.

"What is the Little Mermaid About?" she asked as she stared at the picture of the girl sitting on the rock with the strange attachment on her, surely some form of modification to her torso to create her more efficient in sending message across large bodies of water... like those lakes in that strange place near what they formally called Canada.

She didn't wait for his answer as she started to flip through the pages. She stopped after a while and went back to the beginning, and starting to read it. She didn't seem interested but as she went on she leaned closer into the book as if trying to make the story move faster. Her eyes darted back and forth, moving faster than hers would as they registered the words at a fast pace. It was an advantage, and a disadvantage... the faster she read the more quickly the enjoyment ended.

The story was a sad one again, a poor young girl falling in love with a man of higher standing then her own... they were from two different worlds. She risked everything to have a chance to be with him but in the end... it all failed and she turned to sea foam to float forever along the oceans waves.

Neal's eyes fell shut again as she read, head resting on his knees while is arms wrapped around them. He breathed evenly as the blanket warmed his body and kept him in a soft sleep. In his sleep his body slid along the wall till he stretched out and laid on his side on his small bed, wrapped in a cocoon of the blanket.
He trust Olivia enough to sleep like this, he had saved her life today and he expected that she'd at least refrain from taking his now.

Olivia read in silence for the most part, being moved by the story as her eyes sped through the words. She found this sad, too close to home almost, as she glanced over to Neal, sleeping soundlessly on his bed. She moved to her bed, curling up into the fetal position. She'd left the book open to the last page of story, not wanting to close it.

She was frightened, jarred into realizing the all to realistic dangers of being in this strange place, the one place she truly did not belong. As she laid they she waited for sleep but it did not come. She was weary but it seemed as though she could not keep her eyes shut.

((sorry I was a bit stumped on what should happen next with this >.< ))

As sleep avoided Olivia is also avoided another not far off from the Cell that contained Neal and that stuck up priss of a urban princess. Or at least thats how Anya felt. When she had heard that Neal had been locked in with Olivia she nearly went and killed grandfather herself! She had seen the bruises on Neals neck and knew what they ment, that bitch had tried to kill him!
But of course Neal was too smart to let that happen, but it was upsetting all the same.

Shoving back her black bangs from her face she rolled over in her bed again, mind too unsettled to sleep. Poor Neal probably hated it down there in the confinement cell. He had worked so hard to please Grandfather and capture Olivia these last ten years ever since he washed ashore on the river bank and this is how they thanked him. All he ever did was train and work Anya had thought now that they had Olivia that maybe he'd finally get a chance to live his life how he wanted. But he was still stick being Grandfathers dog.

Sighing she stood up and dressed, unable to take it anymore. She was going to give Neal a good talking to, he couldn't just let himself be treated like this. He was as good as any man if not better and he needed to know that.
Storming down to the confinement cell she told the guards Grandfather needed to speak to them, it was a lie but it would by her some time with Neal at least.

"Neal?" She whispered through the speaking hole. "Neal are you awake?" she didn't dare open the door knowing Olivia was in there too.

Olivia could feel the hair on her back stand on end when she heard a small voice from beyond the door. It was possible the guards were gone. She crawled out of the bed, inching forward as she made sure that Neal was still asleep. Her heart was pounding, feeling as though it would come out of her chest at the very moment. She paused at the door for a moment, not even daring to attempt the handle now.

"Neal's sleeping" she said though the door though she would suspect that they wouldn't believe her. She knew it was a female because of the pitch and the tone of the voice and suddenly she was frightened that Neal would leave her. Olivia would most likely but up a fight if they would take away the one person that seemed to treat her decently and did not point guns at her.

Anya's mouth twisted into a frown as Olivia spoke to her unexpectedly. "Sleeping? You sure you didn't strangle him?" you little whore, she added in her mind." She moved to the dark window to see if she could make out if Neal was moving or not. Her words had honestly scared her now. It was possible that Olivia had killed him!

"Neal!" She said more loudly, trying to wake him up if he really was just asleep. She had heard that Olivia had tried to drown herself in the river today and that Neal had to stop her. He was soaked when they came in and was probably freezing too!
"Neal!" She called again more urgently this time.

So that's what they thought of her? She didn't strangle him and now she really just wanted to get that girl. She wanted to take Neal away didn't she. She wouldn't go near the bed though, no she wouldn't, she knew what was under the sheets. Her feet inched away from the door, looking as if she were getting to run into it but she bolted towards her own bed and hid under it. Why were people so judgemental of her? It was a peculiar thing. What did she do to them?

She was quivering slightly and a strange sound was coming from herself, which frightened her further. She had cried in her life time, but it had usually been silent and without much emotion. She was sobbing now, unable to control herself as she was frightened she would never see home again and that they would take him away from her. She felt like that fish girl from the fairy tail now.

The book she'd been reading before she was kidnapping was begin to play over in her mind as she tried to think about how to calm herself. She was shaking and it was beginning to make her sick. She didn't want to see this girl because she was afraid that she would hurt her, and then Neal would probably hate her because it was probably the person he was to be married to. She didn't even know what she was thinking about? Why would she care if he married someone? It's not like she'd fit in this realm anyways. There was Anthony back home but he hadn't seemed as interested as she would have liked him to... there was something missing though. She could recall the way that Neal had held her the first time she'd been frightened and then after the river when she'd fallen in. She hated that river.

But she had tried to kill him twice already, it wasn't so surprising that Anya felt that way. She grew more worried that Neal wasn't responding but when she heard Olivia sobbing she only felt confused. What did that little brat have to be crying about now?

The sound of Olivias soft sobbing woke Neal from his deep sleep, it was the sort of sound he was sensitive to even if it was so soft. He hadn't heard Anya calling for him at all and was unaware of the other girl even being there.
"Olivia?" He called softly as his eyes sought her out in the darkness. When he didn't see her his heart jumped. "Olivia he called again as he rose from the bed, wrapping the sheet tightly around his waist knowing she wouldn't let him near her other wise.

Olivia didn't respond but instead silenced herself. She wanted to keep crying though but she was scared and it almost seemed like that was what she was supposed to do. The shaking had subsided slightly though and she could hear the concern in the voices of the two people, though one was not directed towards her.

"Just go to the door, someone's here for you... leave if you want to," Olivia said quietly though she didn't look at him the entire time she was speaking. She couldn't look at him now, with the bruises that she'd created. She didn't know what they thought of her incident by the river.

Neil looked at the door for a moment before he reached under the bed and slid her out with one strong arm and against his sheet clad chest. He held her for a moment, almost forcefully sos he couldn't retreat under the bed again away from him.
"I won't leave you Olivia." He promised softly.

Anya's heart stopped as she heard Neil speak. That whore had to of done something to him! No sane person would ever stay with someone that had tried to kill them! She gripped the door handle considering busting in there and dragging him out to go and get him de-brainwashed or detoxed, or what ever it took to undo what that modified hussy had done to him!

((you know I could have sworn I had replied to this >_> My bad, major sorry about that))

Olivia was now curled up and not even looking at Neal because she thought it to be a sin. There were multiple things flashing through her head at the moment and all of them quite frightening. She was convinced at the moment it would be better if she just escaped and went home, find someone decent that would provide her with a stable home when the government no longer 'needed' her. She slipped into memory as she tried to get the sound of the people around her away.

"She's always been like this, so solitary and unwanting of company and she seems to favor her brother so much," her mother had said to one of the suitors that had come to the door on a Saturday looking for her. He had apparently spotted her on the television and what was unknown about him was his link to the outsiders that Olivia was now with. He'd helped get the house plans for the kidnapping of Olivia and the meeting had merely been to gather a bit of information on the girl. He'd tried to pass it onto the officials of the underground but they hadn't listened to him.