fandomhigh | How to Make Friends and Influence People [Tuesday, March 11, 2014]

Anakin, who'd gotten a visual reminder of the time his son and Gavin Darklighter had thought they'd been Siegfried and Roy, not the most dignified island moment ever, might have let that influence the mood he was in when he'd programmed the Danger Shop.

"Welcome to Geonosis," he said with a wicked smile as each student found themselves handcuffed to a huge stone pillar in the middle of an arena. "Sometimes negotiations go poorly. In this case, they've gone straight to poodoo. You have thirty seconds before your captors will release an acklay--an image of a giant bug helpfully sprang to holographic life before them--"a nexu, and a reek."

More photos helpfully showed what was going to try to eat them.

"Working together, get out of the arena." Anakin smiled. "And girls, you have a hairpin inside your sleeves because when I was in this very same situation--" which said something about the poor choices Anakin had made in his life, "--my first wife was smart enough to have one in her sleeve and used it to pick the lock on her cuffs. I was too busy bickering with my teacher at the time to do something just as useful."

He smiled again. "Welcome to aggressive negotiations."

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"What if I'm perfectly comfortable right where I am?"

... She really, really wasn't. At all. But she was far less comfortable with the idea of anyone coming anywhere near her hands.

"Well..." Mercy looked toward where the creatures were supposed to come from. "You might not be too comfortable in a few more seconds. I promise I'm good at this, it'll only take me a few seconds, and it won't hurt or anything. I just have to get my hands on that cuff for a sec. But if you really want to stay... I can't make you leave."

Elsa really kind of wanted to just curl herself up in a ball and pretend the rest of this class period wasn't happening, actually.

"Please, just... just don't touch me," she murmured, not quite able to curl herself up the way she might have, were her hands free.

Mercy was puzzled and more than a bit concerned. But living in a place where damaged werewolves came, sometimes one might come through who'd been hurt in some way. Often they were funny about having people too close or being touched. She wouldn't presume that anything like that had happened to Elsa, but she certainly was able to be very calm and careful to try and make her feel more secure.

"I won't," Mercy said gently. "I promise."

She took careful hold of the cuff - just the cuff - and swiftly used the hairpin to spring the lock before stepping back. "You can pull out of that easily," she said "But now we'd better climb fast."

Elsa pulled her hands close to her breasts and just held them there for a moment, rubbing her wrists and nodding quietly.

"Thank you," she murmured, sounding small and more than a little shaken. And then...

Well, she really had no idea how she was going to climb that pillar. Especially not in the dress she was wearing today.

Mercy hesitated. "I can help you up," she offered, "But there's no way I can push you up without touching you."

"Then I'll take my chances down here," Elsa replied firmly. "You get to safety. If I get eaten... I get eaten."

It was a simulation. It wasn't real. It looked real. It looked like a nightmare. But it wasn't real.

"Oh geez," Mercy said, rubbing her face as she looked over her shoulder. There was no way in hell she was just leaving Elsa here to be attacked. "Run then. As fast as you can!"

"Run!"

She shifted, slithering her way out of her clothes and yipped at Elsa, urging her on. Looks like it was going to be a fight after all, dammit.

Elsa hesitated for only a moment as Mercy shifted from girl to canine, staring in shock before, a few seconds later, snapping out of it, giving her a firm nod, and turning to run.

Hiding, she could do, maybe.

Maybe?

She'd been hiding her entire life. Of course she could.

Mercy snarled as she prepared for the monsters, keeping a close eye on Elsa. Once she thought Elsa was safe enough she was going to flee to safety herself. Not much was faster than her!

How to Make Friends and Influence People [Tuesday, March 11, 2014]

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!

Re: Get out of your handcuffs!