Animal Control's Most Wanted

[Roshon]

Roshon smiled, her tiger teeth on full display, taking her companion's observation as a compliment.

She paused to look around, and seeing as how they were alone, Roshon launched into an oration she'd cannibalized from the jams that she pumped through her car speakers.

"Well, see, R'yleh...
That's cause I'm a Rocky, run a hundred a mile before my coffee
I'm a blood thirsty hyena, getting revenge
On the kingdoms that killed the dreams of the dreamers
Drank alcohol for the demons, sip lean with all of the schemers
You see I groove with the people, move with the mind of a genius
I'm workin' the angles so I ain't never an angel
They wanna get you to hang me, well give them fuckers a finger
Welcome to fuckyoupalooze, I'm bruisin' any who movin'
Who wanna stan' for those douches, you raise a hand and you lose it
Cause I hold the door for old ladies, run into fires and save babies
I went to school in the eighties, taking the train with the crazies
I was named Roshona cause I light the joints of the lazy
But now I'm just a panther like a tiger dhole blackbuck hyena
With a thousand iron horses that trample your arena
Unless you get Belzebong to make me an offering
I'll send them to their own coffin-ing."

Her deliver was solid, though she couldn't really hold a straight face for long, and eventually she couldn't help but laugh a little.

"But, uh, anyways, I dunno, that's a good question. Like, I always just assumed the parts I got just changed the body, ya know? But I've got some big cat in me, and they're pretty solitary, and they like roaming around a lot. Sounds pretty similar to me, I suppose, but I still don't think that's it. Otherwise I wouldn't have been so desperate to come back, right? Besides, even when I was traveling I still always sought out Freeholds to hang in for a while. That's definitely more human than not. Same is probably true for you. I don't know much about foxes, but I'm pretty sure they don't normally hang out in alleyways."

Whatever else Roshon was about to say was interrupted by the arrival of their food, two heaping burgers filled with good-fresh-meat and other tasty yumminess.

[Rlyeh]

R'lyeh blinks, not really expecting the explosion of words. She likes it though. So she claps, even a Roshon laughs. "That was interesting, and I liked it." best be clear when you're talking to others.

"Urban animals are nearly turning into a new sub-species of themselves." she answers, eyes alight when she see-smells the wonderful fresh-good-meat. Between buns and bacon she hadn't had bacon in a long time. She opens her burger just to pull the bacon off and shove it into her maw. She crunches it and does a little shimmy in her seat. Yum~ "But modern foxes do hunt in urban environments, and are carnivore-omnivore-scavengers. So, maybe not a dense downtown alley, but it's not out of the realm of impossibility, depending on several factors." she says, rather cheerfully. "But not just fox," comes her voice, trying for calm, and definately-not-scary-out-of-her-wits-too-admit - "Owl too." she shoves the fabric of her long sleeved undershirt up passed the oil-black of her hands-wrists, to just below her elbow because it can't get up higher but also she doesn't need to shove it higher. Showing off a clump of oil matted fox fur, with dirty, cracked glass and black ice feathers matted up and sticking out of the fur-clump.

"So, we match, in that we don't. Match I mean." going back to her burger, she rips apart the patty and shoves some of that into her mouth.

[Roshon]

"Glad you liked it," Roshon replied, still grinning as she picked up her burger. "I'll play you the songs I ripped off on the drive back."

She shut up a moment later, content to bite into her burger and listen as the strange changeling's cadence suddenly changed. It was like a switch had been flipped. Her sentences were more fluid and complex, and Roshon could sense the shift in her mood, too. Maybe that was just the food, but Roshon didn't quite think so.

"You really like animals, huh?" she asked around a mouthful of burger. Though, of course, the question came right as her companion started chewing, so Roshon finished her bite and then elaborated.

"Is that part of why you like the alley? Get to hang out with urban animals and stuff? Rats are pretty cool. I had a friend that had pet rats growing up. They were really friendly, though they had bad eye sight, so they scared kind of easy."

[Rlyeh]

A nod, cheerful and interested, as she tears another piece of the patty off the whole and plops it into her mouth. "Drive-back-yes-thank-you." she seems to gasp out, surprised that there was a 'ride back' option.

Blinking back up towards Roshon, she nods, "I do like animals. But it's more that I....tried to make myself like animals. Because." she shrugs. It was probably very sad that she learned to like animals because she was trying to learn how to like herself. "Because." she nods, trying to make herself seem confident.

She swipes up a glob of ketchup, the artificial red mixes with the oil-black of her finger and she's grateful that her hands are only coloured like that, not that they are made of oil like her hair. Which still drip-drip-droops.

"You can think that if you want, but it is not the truth. I found a place that would work. For me. And I also have no money. Well. Now I have some money. Thank you for giving me some money." she smiles. It feels weird on her lips. She tries not to show her teeth.

"Why do you like cars? Is it the put-together-take-apart?"

Sorry for the wait!!

....and having us go over time, wanna do one last round then wrap?

[Roshon]

"Uh-huh," was all Roshon said as her companion thanked her. The girl had clearly been through a lot.

Well, ok, she wasn't a girl. That was some paternalizing BS. But she definitely seemed vulnerable, which bothered Roshon. Like, it was something she wanted to fix. Couldn't help it. That was just sort of how she thought. Problems required solutions, but people were tricky. They generally didn't like it when you tried to fix all their problems. Which, fair, boundaries and all that. Best she could in this situation was try to be a friend, which, considering how many friends Roshon had, wasn't exactly an act of charity.

Besides, food always tasted better in company. She used to share every meal. There was the rush to gobble up breakfast before running to the El. Lunch with and dinner with friends. She missed it, honestly.

The question about her love of all things automotive startled her out of her reminiscing, however, and it took her a few moments to process what she'd heard and formulate a response.

"I mean, yeah, the actual work on cars can be fun, but it can still be work, too. It's more so that I love what you can create. There's a science to it, yeah. You need to know your parts and how they interact. But, you can also create these amazing works of art. Rolling sculptures, for real. And then you get to drive them. Get to feel them perform. Get to master them until they're just an extension of you. That's my favorite part. I can't really describe it, honestly. It's more than just a feeling of power, or being aware that you're alive. And, whatever else it is, it's fun as fuck. Gotta embrace what you enjoy, ya know? Might as well be dead, otherwise."

[Rlyeh]

Different then anything Roshon would have seen of the Blightbent, there's a light in her eyes, a sharpness to her interest. Posture angles in, and open. An unconscious smile, she stops eating. Ears perked, listening, waiting, learning.

"I expected something more technical." she admits, head tilting, oil dripping hair, spattering on the table, as she shifts. "I shouldn't have." a pause, "Is is something like the....Artifice - " there's a delight in her eye, enjoying how the Contract is named after something mundane, in the context. " - or the art? A combination of the two, or something else? Is your beast a masterwork, or are you working on something bigger and better?" R'lyeh can almost picture it, a shadow of a shadow glimpsed in a dream, starlight and the impossible rumbaing of a growling engine, powerful lines and even more momentum.

[Roshon]

"First off, if you want me to get technical, I can get technical," Roshon promised, a small hint of challenge in her voice, "but there wouldn't really be a point to that. Secondly, the Beast is more like my first love. It's an amazing machine, but it's definitely not the be-all, end-all. I would love to get to work on something new, but you need space for that. Space and tools. Don't have either, right now. I mean, I have some tools, but not all the ones I really need. Should start looking at property, honestly. Probably something outside city limits would be best. But hey, I do love to drive."

Roshon bit into her burger again and took her time to chew. She wasn't being the best conversationalist right now, but hey, she was out of practice. Besides, it was harder to eat human food with a jaw packed with tiger's teeth, even if they were proportional to her mouth and skull.

[Rlyeh]

Continuing with the pulling apart and shoving into her waiting maw, R'lyeh looks up and smiles. It's still weird, and doesn't seem like it fits her mouth, but it's present, which is new and different and maybe welcome.

"Maybe the next time we see each other....?" no pressure, no promises or tomorrow or even next month, just a I'll see you when I see you.

Sorry for takign soooo long ot get a reply up. I'll close it since we're a week over time. Thanks for the scene!!!