<div style="margin-left: 20px"><div style="margin-left: 20px"><div style="margin-left: 20px">The countryside was a blur, and so were the words being sung on the radio. It wasn’t a song that Drai particularly cared for, but the beat seemed to fall in time with the pounding of the blood through her veins and the shaking of the motor as she haphazardly switched gears. The car she’d nabbed in making a grand exit hadn’t been in good shape to begin with, but after the car chase she’d forced on it, the poor motor it was liable to sputter out and die on her at any moment<br/>
<br/>
This was a problem; and like all the other problems she currently had, she’d added it to the list, which meant that it was at the very bottom and, even as her sweaty slippery grip on the gear stick caused her to grind the gears and make the car jerk roughly, the car’s ‘health’ nowhere near the forefront of her mind.<br/>
<br/>
Her face was aflame, heat rushing through and lighting up her pale skin from within in a way that made the glistening sweat on her brow all the more noticeable. She’d fucked up, hadn’t she? Oh, she’d really fucked up this time. But it wasn’t <i>her</i> fault. Approached by two good deals, was she supposed to say no to one of them? How could she have said no, and missed out on the fun?<br/>
<br/>
She’d figured she would’ve been able to figure out a way to give everyone what they wanted and walk off with both prizes, but in the end she’d had to choose. If only she’d known! If only her brother had warned her (repeatedly, all times ignored and his number ultimately blocked) or told her it was a bad idea (Cirno had laughed for an hour when she’d first told him) or any sign from the good, pure,  heavens above(It had been raining and she broke the blade on her favorite knife cleaning it the day of), then <i>maybe</i> she could have known that it was a bad idea to try and take two opposing contracts at once.<br/>
<br/>
Maybe.<br/>
<br/>
As it was, the situation was exhilarating. She’d never had the chance to really drive before, and despite a few hitches that caused the car she was in to look like it had gone through a compactor, she thought she was doing pretty good. The windows were broken, with the sweet country air  blowing her hair over her face, white strands clinging to her skin creating an itchy annoyance that made her want to take her hands off the wheel and scratch them off.<br/>
<br/>
She immediately took both hands off the wheel to wipe off her face, foot slipping off of the gas pedal to bring her knees up to the bottom of the steering wheel to keep it from turning. She’d just pushed a chunk of hair out of her eyes when she saw it, dark brown and spotted-white, a hare in the middle of the road. The reaction was instinctive, a flash of need starting from her gut and spasming outwards through her muscles. Her knee jerked up, turning the steering wheel in a sudden motion to attempt to run it over.<br/>
<br/>
<i>You never think things through</i>, she could hear her brother saying to her.<br/>
<br/>
Skid. <i>Screech</i>.<br/>
<br/>
She felt the impact of the car against the tree before she realized it was happening, the fragmenting of the glass in front of her as she slammed into it cutting into her skin. Drai had once tried to keep mental count of all the times she would’ve died if she’d been fully human, and despite having forgotten the amount a long time ago, she went ahead and added this one to the list.<br/>
<br/>
“Ow! FUCK! God fucking--SHIT!” She cussed, sliding herself out of the glass-less side window and crumpling unattractively to the ground. Her vision was dizzying, a red film distorting her view that she recognized to be blood dripping into her eyes. She rolled her head back and rested it against the side of the car with a dull thud, wondering if the engine was going to blow up like she’d seen happen sometimes. She didn’t think so, but machines in general were mysterious and confusing-- and either way, fire would hurt her less than she was hurting now. Maybe the shrapnel would get her. She sniffled, then reached up to re-set her nose before it healed weirdly.<br/>
<br/>
It was right as she made it ‘crack’ that she spied a figure a ways down the road. An enemy? Maybe. Looked alone though. Easy to take out if they were alone. And if not an enemy, maybe some fun?<br/>
<br/>
“Hey!” She pushed herself up to her feet, wavering slightly from the rush to the head as her slowly healing body complained against her actions. “Hey, you, come here!” She figured whoever it was, if they weren’t put off by a smiling blood-covered stranger running towards them at night, they’d be able to help. And if they were, then she’d at least get to have some fun before the others caught up to her.<br/>
<br/>
The suitcase with the data drives laid forgotten in the backseat of the car.​</div></div></div>