Lost in Sacramento (OPEN)

Mar 16th, 2012 02:13 AM

This thread occurs IC on the date it was posted; March 16, 2012

Nora Rhodes sat in the grass of a park in downtown Sacramento. The teenager in faded jeans, worn out shoes, and a jacket not nearly thick enough for the weather, gnawed absently at her stick of beef jerky. She was hungry, of course. She was always hungry. But this stick of dried meat was her lunch for today. She had a muffin as well, but Temperance had taught her to always save a little for later, so that muffin would serve as her dinner if she couldn’t get a spot in a women’s shelter tonight.

Sacramento was her fourth city this month. She thought about that for a moment. How many cities last month? And the month before that? She had lost track. The past didn’t matter. The future… well… that wasn’t even worth thinking about. She acted every day for that day only. That’s how it had to be. But lately she was starting to wonder if that were true. Was there somewhere where she could find a place for herself? A place where people… but that thought was banished from her mind before she could complete it. No. There was nobody.

With a heaving sigh, Nora tossed her muffin into her backpack and stood up. She began walking and zipping up her bag, when –BAM!- a man crashed into her. It was enough to make her drop her backpack and fling all her belonging out onto the grass. Nora gasped and looked up at the man, who only glanced back for a moment, never even slowing his pace. She was invisible. Or might as well have been to most people. Plain-faced, small, and just very dull looking, no one ever noticed her. She was used to it. She like it, actually. That meant she could get what she needed without notice. But this? She looked back at her things all over the grass and began frantically scooping up all her worldly possessions: T-shirts, socks, a small first aid kit, a mini-sewing kit, headphones, Carl’s Jr coupons, a man’s belt buckle, purple duct tape, a Mr. T bobble head, a giant wad of about 50 different chewing gums, and about a dozen other random items…

OOC:

**Cameron** · Mar 16th, 2012 03:01 AM

Aldamoth enjoyed his walks. He found movement of any kind relaxing, but there was just a certain something that made a stroll through a cities many roads, backstreets and parks a simple pleasure. It gave him focus, and time to ponder recent events. It gave him the chance to familiarize himself with the layout of any given city. And most importantly, it was an acceptable vessel for the countless series of coincidences that made up his personal interpretation of Fate.

As he moved through one of the parks on his regular route, he noticed a man bump into the 'teen with earthen features and pointed ears. Garbed in his usual well-worn business atire, though notably without his sabre, the Darkling moved to assist the women in collecting her belongings.

He could not help but crack a thin smile as he handed the young women her things - cheap-and-tacky novelty sunglasses, a small bottle of machine oil and an oft-used toothbrush, not exactly the usual contents of ones backpack. Is this one a backpacker, or perhaps a vagrant?

Thin wisps of shadow-stuff puffed gently from the corner of his eyes as he spoke in a direct, but rather polite tone to the teenager. "You looked like you could use a hand, is there anything missing or did we grab it all?"

Mar 16th, 2012 11:35 AM

At the approach and words of a stranger, Nora redoubled her efforts, scrambling around for everything, while still clutching the etch-a-sketch, the chain of doll shoes, and the pool balls to her chest. "No, no, no, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine," she sputtered out, reaching out for what the stranger had picked up, nearly knocking it out of his hands, but dropping the ziplock of bingo tiles and the red-sequinned bra instead. "No, Agh! No, just lemme-"

She stopped short for a second and looked up at him. A quizzical look came across her face. "Are you... um... you're a..." she raised her eyebrows and shrugged a little. "You're like," she loosely gestured to her own elfish ears. You're like me, aren't you?

Mar 16th, 2012 11:46 AM

Tobias was walking down the street, on his way to the club. He noticed the two Lost picking up the belongings strewn on the street. "Hey there, let me help you." He bent knelt down and started picking up things: A ball of yarn, a pair of playing cards, an empty glasses case, and a mismatched pair of gloves.

"Are you alright?" It was then that he noticed Aldamoth standing there. "Oh, hi. I didn't see you there."

OOC

**Terri Nutkins** · Mar 16th, 2012 04:05 PM

To anyone out and about, the sight of a woman jogging through the park would be a normal, everyday occurance in a city like Sacramento. However, to those who could see beyond the Mask of the petite redhead, what they saw was a woman jogging with a long red tail and ear tufts of a squirrel and her long red hair that was adorned with black feathers. Oh, and she was smiling, a friendly smile that she gave to everyone.

Except for the arrogant morons out there. When Terri saw the young girl get knocked to the ground, she increased her pace, sprinting to aid the Wizened. When she reached her and saw the Darkling and Elemental assisting her, Terri was quietly glad.

"Are you alright, honey?" Terri asked as she popped the headphones from her ears before offering a helping hand for the girl to get to her feet. She gave the other two changelings a smile but didn't say anything. The girl was her first priority. Besides, she wasn't sure if they'd been at the Winter Auction or not; masks tend to do that.

**Cameron** · Mar 16th, 2012 04:23 PM

"Indeed." Was all the Darkling said in reply to the young women, his smile growing slightly largely, though still tight enough to hide the rows of shark-like fangs within. Her surprise seemed to imply that she was hedgefresh, and he felt a pang of nostalgia at the thought.

"Hows it going" he said off-handedly to the tattooed man with the sing-song voice. His instincts noticed the women with the red hair and tail sprinting in their direction, and he turned his smile towards her as she approached.

Aldamoth was pleased to see others of the local Freehold come to her aid so swiftly, even if he failed to recognise them. It was a good omen, both for the girl herself, and for his own future within the community. He took two steps back from the group, remaining within speaking distance. His compatriots were likely better acquainted with the town and its freehold than he, and the last thing the 'teen needed was a dozen strange looking people crowding her, even more so if she was indeed hedgefresh.

Mar 16th, 2012 04:39 PM

Nora jerked her head around to see the two new people talking to her. One was a man who looked to be in his twenties, real hip looking guy. His arms were covered in tattoos of musical instruments - that played! The other was a freindly red-head, who was apparently out for a jog. She was bright and pretty and... had a tail?

Nora gulped and took in a deep breath. "So... you're all...? We're all...?" She asked slowly gesturing around at the group. "Ok," she continued slowly, trying to regain her composure. She had seen others... changed like herself... in the last couple years since she had been back, but never really talked to any of them. It seemed sometimes when one looked at her, that they wanted to know her, but that wasn't something that interested her, so she always managed to slip away. She was better off on her own. Years of being thrown around the foster system, then thrown in the kitchen of some mystical lunatic to scrub floors all day and night, and finding her way back to the cold, hard streets had definitely taught her that. She was just a little shocked to see them all together and right here.

"I'm fine, really," she muttered and bent down for her swiss army knife. "It was just a litt - Oh! Damn it!" She swooped up her muffin, now a squashed mess in ripped plastic, crumbling out of her hand. "That jerk stepped on my dinner!" she exclaimed before she could give it any thought.

OOC:

**Cameron** · Mar 17th, 2012 04:20 AM

Aldamoth cocked his head back and gave a short but deep laugh. He could not recall the last time he had honestly laughed at anything, but he found himself incredulous at the womens singular concern for her erstwhile muffin.
His voice dripped with good natured ridicule "Your muffin was an honoured compatriot, and shall be mourned appropriately. In the meanwhile, I'm sure we can find a replacement...my shout." His accent danced lightly across his words, giving it a distinctly foreign tone. In truth he cared little whether the young women would take him up on his offer or not, but he felt the gesture itself was a fair trade-off for the amusement she had provided.

Mar 17th, 2012 05:21 AM

Tobias frowned at the man (Aldamoth). Laughing at the girl's loss. Still, he'd been a lot like this girl once. He knew better than to laugh. Or to offer too much charity.

"You're shout? What does that even mean?" He shrugged and looked at the others. "I'm Tobias by the way. And yeah, we're all." A flash of some emotion spread across his features before he pushed it aside.

OOC

**Terri Nutkins** · Mar 17th, 2012 05:21 AM

Terri couldn't help but chuckle too. "Honey, I'm sure we can stretch ourselves a little further than a muffin. How about some pizza?" she asked looking from Nora to Aldamoth and Tobias. "I'm Terri," she offers further.

Lost in Sacramento (OPEN)

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