Shaken, she gestured for Bentley to come to her, and climbed up onto his shoulders.

Well. At least she gave you time to think about it.

Let’s see what the other gift is, at the den, I guess.

Coughing, snorting water from her nostrils, she gave the order, “Home.”

Looks like Rachel has the same priorities.

Her thoughts were chaotic as she rode Bentley down the streets, a dull roar of too many things all at once, all too important to be ignored.

There’s a lot about Rachel that’s chaotic, but probably not quite in the same sense. 😛

At the same time, she didn’t want to think about them, didn’t want to put those pieces together, because she wasn’t sure she liked where they would lead.

Betrayal. Leaving the Undersiders. Breaking her loyalty to the team.

Joining a team with a crazy kindred spirit.

The gift Siberian left her.  Some of her henchmen were at her den.  More important, some of her dogs were there.  Every minute the trip took left her more worried.

It’s entirely possible the henchmen are all dead.

Siberian probably left the dogs alone if she did do something like that in a way that allowed for her to.

She hopped off Bentley as they arrived at the building, shoving the doors open.

At least the building’s still standing. That’s a good sign.

Blood.  Trails leading to Barker and Biter, who were on the ground floor, unconscious, still breathing.

Yeeeah, she totally did try to give Rachel the gift of freedom by cutting her Coil-provided shackles.

One of the girls, the one with veterinary training that Coil had sent to her, was sitting in one corner, nursing an arm that dangled at the wrong angle from the elbow, sobbing.

That’s, uh, not supposed to be like that.

“We’re all animals,” Siberian murmured.  She walked over to Bentley, and Bitch hurried to give the dog the hand gesture for ‘stay’, then ‘off’ before the woman moved to touch him.  “Some more than others.  You and I, more than others.”

…she ain’t wrong.

“Philosophy shit?”

Pfft.

More like biology, I guess.

Siberian smiled, her hands tracing Bentley’s snout, the exposed muscles and horns.  “Philosophy shit.  Yes.  Touché.  An idea given meaning because people think it should have meaning.  But it’s just words, isn’t it?”

Now that’s philosophy shit.

But she has a point. The universe doesn’t give a crap about what we do or don’t define as “animals”. That’s all in the human mind.

“Sure.”

“Join me.  Stop pretending to be like them.  You know you’re bad at it.”

“I’m fine where I am.”

Are you really? What was that earlier about being so much more unhappy than the others, then?

“Mmm,” the woman smiled, her eyes lowered.  She clasped her hands together and pressed them to her chin, squishing her breasts up against her chest.

I wonder if the seductive-like behavior is just normal for Siberian or if she’s genuinely trying to seduce Rachel.

She turned, taking in the neighborhood, assessing Bitch’s territory.  “Maybe for now.  You have freedom to run, to do as you like.  It’s nice.  But you’re going to chafe at it sooner or later.  You’re going to realize that you’re still in a cage they made.  You’re still following their rules, in the end.”

I guess.

The idea left Bitch shaken.  How?  Why?  Was it some power?  From the start, she’d known what the woman wanted to express as easily as she did with her dogs.

Yeah, I do think “some power” is at work here. A power similar to your own. Or rather, a side effect of a power, similar to your own.

“You’re an animal, Bitch.” The woman gave special treatment to that last word.  Bitch stiffened.

Not completely accurate, but not wrong either.

The woman pulled away, one hand remaining to caress the side of Bitch’s face.  Her eyes were lowered again, Bitch noted.

I really do feel like this might end with a kiss at some point or other.

She was smiling lightly, her lips pressed together, teeth hidden.  Playful, gentle.  Bitch let herself relax.  It hadn’t been meant as an insult.

Nope.

More “you’re like me”.

The body contact was intrusive, but she could grit her teeth and bear it, at least until she figured out who this person was and how she could fight back.

It does seem like Bitch didn’t catch on to what Siberian was talking about when she said just “The Nine”.

Besides other reasons she might not get “Slaughterhouse Nine” from “The Nine”, I guess it’s entirely possible Bitch hasn’t heard of them.

“Acting like one of them.  Playing and losing their games, decorating yourself in their clothing and their symbols, following their rules?”

Ah, so that’s why she’s naked.

“I-” Bitch paused, “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Are you sure?

The pause was telling.  She knew it was telling.  The woman understood her, she knew.

Didn’t think so.

The woman understood her.  The thought clicked.

There we go. It’s beginning to occur to Rachel what this woman could be to her.

The way the woman moved, her body language, everything, she was making sense to Bitch in a way that so few people did.

Yep.

I definitely think something similar is at play here between the two of them, not just in how they act but also why. Siberian has definitely made note of this as well. Rachel’s brutality is not the only reason she was picked.

The woman was only a few paces away.  The question was, should Bitch retreat and put herself in an even weaker position, or did she stand her ground?

I have no idea.

She stood her ground.  The woman stepped closer, within arm’s reach, then another two paces, until her chest pressed against Bitch’s body.  She met the woman’s gaze, unflinching, until Siberian wrapped her arms around her, holding her close, resting her chin on Bitch’s shoulder.

Aww.

…kward for Rachel. 😛

“Aren’t you tired of pretending?”, the woman whispered in her ear.

Pretending what? That she’s a human?

“What?”  Bitch tried to pull away, so she could ask the woman the question to her face, but the limbs were unmoving, more resisting than steel bars would have been.

Hm… this power might be more useful than I thought. It seems fantastic for restraining victims.

Anyway, let’s get back to the less hooved side of things.

“Team?”  She hated the short answers that were coming out of her mouth, the way that they were uncertain and they put her on weaker footing.

Ah, yes, confusion. Not a good emotion when you want to appear strong.

The woman’s response carried over the flooded street, through the growls that slowly ratcheted up from the dogs as the stranger approached their owner, “The Nine.  We have only eight, not enough.  So some of us are picking people.  Then we test them.  I picked you, and I like what I’ve seen.

I’ve been watching you for weeks, now.”  She smiled again.

That’s… how long has it been since Sentinel?

Also, I’m beginning to catch on to Siberian’s speech patterns. She can speak well enough, but she does tend towards simple sentences.

Thirdly, it sounds like there’s going to be some competition here, with multiple people being picked as potential ninth members. It’s entirely possible that’s what the testing is – a battle much like the one at the mall, but with fewer people and more powers. Last one alive gets to be the new member.

Has to be a lie, Bitch thought.  Her dogs would have noticed someone following her, wouldn’t they?

I dunno, tigers can be pretty damn stealthy.