Crimson hurried on the sidewalk, her face fully covered by the red hood of her cape, wrapped around her slender body tightly, while the rain splattered on the dirty roads of London, looking grimmer than ever in the storm. Stray lightnings blazed on the gray sky now and then, followed by the angry rumble of thunder, like an old neighbor after some reckless kids thrashed his garden. The girl bumped into people that hurried, some of them throwing her murmured swears or looking back with a sorry face as they hid under their umbrellas. As the teenager walked faster, her tall, white boots making no sound, her weak body bumped into another one,, but, as she tried to walk, slightly stunned by the force the man was walking with, she felt a strong arm grip her shoulder and pull her against the wall.
The shapeshifter bared her teeth, almost like a snarl, and snapped at the large brute holding her to the wall. His voice rang hot and furious "Are you mute! Say sorry!" he shouted at he, and Crimson felt him press her shoulder so hard to the wall, it started to hurt. "Say sorry!" he screamed again in her ear, slamming her into the wall, letting the teenager fight to regain her breath. "I see you are mute." he murmured and slammed her into the wall again before storming away into the crowds. The girl closed her eyes and let herself slip on the cold sidewalk, water soaking her cape. The shapeshifter sobbed silently and lifted her head only when she felt someone bending over her. She pulled her hood on her face, turning her head away.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Apr 30, 2016 17:32:26 GMT -5
Just another dreary London day. Jack wasn't even sure why he was in Europe, avoiding business like he'd been lately. He certainly didn't have much he wanted to do in London. But there he was, strolling along the sidewalk lazily looking for something to do while secretly hoping nothing interesting would present itself. The young man went along splashing through the odd puddle, nothing between him and the grumpy grey sky's downpour but a beaten up umbrella he'd acquired from an amusement park stateside years ago and his favorite jacket.
Jack switched hand, moving the umbrella's handle over to his left while he gave the right its turn in the cozy, warm pocket of the garish red coat he'd favored traipsing about in of late, worn over some dark jeans and a simple shirt. He hadn't been expecting inclement weather but it wasn't a big deal when he could do a quick teleport home, grab some protection, and get on with getting on with nothing.
Jumping slightly when he heard a man begin yelling angrily, Jack made his way over, curious to see what all the commotion was about, ignoring all the other folks who kept on hurrying along. By the time he'd gotten close enough, the young man only managed to catch the end of things, watching a red faced bully storm off after harassing some random woman.
Jack considered saying something to the man but decided to check on the woman first. There was always time to gut the guy later if it turned out that he'd hurt her. So the young man walked over to help her up, figuring a friendly face would do her good just then. But he'd never been all that good at determining what the right thing to do was when someone, especially a stranger, seemed distressed, so maybe he'd end up slapped for his troubles. That seemed an acceptable risk to him.
"Jeez. Some people are just assholes," Jack muttered, shaking his head slightly. The young man held out his free hand and asked, his face creased with a warm smile, kind brown eyes sympathetic but free of pity. "Lemme give you a hand there. You'll catch a cold sitting out in the rain like this." He shifted his umbrella slightly to cover the both of them.
Still wearing the hood over her face and fighting to catch her breath, Crimson started shivering and understood what the stranger meant, but she didn't take his hand to get up. Not to meet that pity and sympathy in his eyes. Instead, with a broad grin under her hood, she looked up at him."Care giving me a ride?" she asked but didn't really for an answer.
Crimson looked at the person bend over her, wearing a long red coat and stretching his arm towards her. The girl suddenly began to glow until she became an unclear, shiny shape, which began to shrink until it reached to the size of a mouse. The light faded away, and, instead of the teenager, there was only a small, gold-furred mouse.
The creature raced raced up on the man's sleeve, squeaking and reached the neck of the coat, where from she came out and finally stopped on his shoulder, and even on her mouse face could be seen a grin of pleasure.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on May 4, 2016 4:39:17 GMT -5
"I would but..." The young man shrugged, almost apologetically. "Unless you're asking to climb onto my back, I can't. I don't have a car." At least, not in this hemisphere, anyways. When she'd lifted her head to look up at him, Jack had managed to catch a glimpse of her face and the broad grin it displayed. He felt oddly apprehensive, as if something unpleasant was about to occur. A moment ago she'd been sobbing on the ground in the middle of a rain puddle. Now she was grinning up at him like a maniac, or at least someone up to no good.
Then she, what? Transformed? Shapeshifted? Morphed? Whatevered, Jack was so surprised he stood there staring openmouthed at the spot where she'd been while the mouse proceeded to run up his sleeve and make herself comfortable on his shoulder. So, the young man had a lot of questions, maybe the beginning of a couple objections, too? For now, he guessed he should ask the obvious one.
"Um... So, where to, then?" Jack asked, straining his neck to look at the mouse on his shoulder. Apparently he was now an improvised mouse taxi. Not his most exciting part time job, but it would probably make for a funny story later on and it wasn't like he had anything better to do.
The mouse curled up slightly on his warm shoulder, giving out silent squeaks as she settled down, giving a lazy yawn. Her small paws t r embed while she rested atop of his shoulder, flicking her long, slimy tail who rose up in the air like a question mark as he asked her where to. Is he dumb? Mice can't talk. she thought, and rushed towards his cheek, giving him something that looked like a small slap, then rolled on her back, raising her elbows slightly to show him she didn't have any idea before closing her eyes and giving away a small, buzzing noise, like a snore.
Her whole, small body relaxed and her fur was no longer bristling as she began to dry up on warm coat, the wind still ruffling her fur and making her tremble on the man's shoulder. He belly was rumbling swiftly as she remembered she hadn't had lunch today, so she got up, opening her eyes and blinking away sleep, then gave a high pitched sound and hurried down from his shoulder and in a dark alley, where the warm, golden glow started appearing again and clearing away the shadows before it faded away and a tall girl with a red cape emerged.
Her hood was laid back, even if the rain was washing her pale, blonde, long hair caught up in a ponytail, and the wind made her really cold in her metal chest pale and skirt. She waved her hand impatiently at the stranger who helped her, and seized his arm, pulling him in the alley now dark again. "Do you want an explanation for this?" she sighted, remembering his puzzle expression when she transformed a while ago.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on May 5, 2016 20:37:57 GMT -5
Jack did a quick double take, looking slightly confused. He didn't know much about reading animals and it was probably just in his head, but the young man got the feeling that the mouse was looking at him like he was an idiot. What? Was it something I said? Jack was fully aware that mice couldn't talk. Or, at least, they usually couldn't. But since the young woman was clearly an individual of magical means, he wasn't going to make a silly assumption that she was incapable of communicating with him while transformed. He was aware of magicks that allowed such things and had even met a telepath or two in his travels.
Flinching, Jack managed to resist the urge to turn to look at the mouse on his shoulder when he felt the light tap on his cheek. His neck was starting to kill him and looking at her wasn't proving very helpful in his attempts to communicate. Besides, if Jack turned his head so quick again he might break his neck or something.
Anyways, Jack was kind of hungry and all the candy he'd been eating was giving him a stomach ache so he started walking, looking for a place to grab something substantial to eat. He figured the mouse woman would let her objections be known, if she had any.
"Well, I'm hungry. Know of anywhere around here with decent food? I'd really prefer to not have to go all the way back to the states just for lunch." Whether she could answer or not didn't seem super important. Jack was a rambler. Talking helped him organize his thoughts and he'd probably babble on either way, though the young man typically kept it in his head when he was alone.
The mouse left his shoulder and, curious, Jack followed it into another dark alley where it began to glow and transform back into a human. Her hood was down now and he hadn't noticed it before but the young man admitted to himself that she was kind of cute, not like he'd try to hit on her or anything. Back to matters at hand. She'd taken him aside and asked if he wanted an explanation.
"Explanation? Oh, for the mouse thing. Yes, please. I'm all ears. Magics pretty cool, huh?"
Waiting just a little, to sort out her words and prepare some explanation, but his words made her snort deliberately with amusement. She hadn't missed the look he gave her when she took her hood of first, and she couldn't help turning her head away and a slight, pink blush colored her pale skin on her cheek, but she focused to keep thinking on the matters at hand. They were both really needing a bite, but she took a deep breath and turned towards the stranger again, her red eyes looking strangely severe and serious.
"I'm a shapeshifter. Few of us are here, mostly holed up somewhere on Earth, dunno about that. And also, don't tell me you're a mouse-talker, because it doesn't work on shifters." she said, rather hurried. "And mice can't talk." she added, smiling, and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him back on the main street. "We should go take a bite." she spoke, and her slender fingers slipped of his lower-lower - arm and clutched for a moment in his hand before she let go slowly, pushing each of her fingers against his palm, looking away from him as thought she was thinking far, but, on her account, she knew perfectly what she was doing.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on May 7, 2016 10:48:50 GMT -5
When she turned away, Jack tilted his head slightly, curious, but he didn't say anything, figuring she'd make her explanation once she'd ordered her thoughts. In the meantime he wondered about her red cape and red eyes. Maybe it was her favorite color. The young man also wondered if the pretty blonde in front of him was the stranger's true form. Changing one's shape was an interesting magic that allowed the user to look like nearly anything, regardless of their original form, Jack knew, though he'd never particularly dabbled in it himself. It was always something to think about whenever he met someone who seemed to possess an aptitude for it.
"Shapeshifter, huh? That's cool. Um, I'm not a mouse-talker, no. I am also magically inclined. An elemental in fact. Like a wizard. So that's pretty sweet." There was some touching that Jack managed to not freak out about, though his face did flush slightly. He couldn't help it. And they were back out on the main street.
Crimson led him a while on the busy streets without talking, her mind springing rapidly to different subjects all the time. What was the stranger thinking of her? Did she believe she was a weirdo? Well, she really didn't care about the second one so... The girl walked in silence until they reached a small, family restaurant and she entered, glad to be away from the cold and hung her cape, revealing her white and black body, red skirt and metal chest plate.
She approached the counter quickly, flashing her eye lashed to whoever was in line behind them as she stormed in front of the crowd, narrowing her eyes maliciously as the one taking the orders was freckled, nerd boy with prominent front-front - teeth and round glasses. Crimson smiled towards the boy, resting her left arm on the counter. "Give me a sandwich and, erm... What do you want?" she asked hi , slightly embarrassed she hadn't asked his name. But nor did he ask hers. The thought made her shoulders drop with frustration.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on May 7, 2016 22:43:40 GMT -5
Jack's stomach was very happy that the food issue was finally being addressed. Well, she hadn't actually told him where she was leading him, but the topic had been mentioned by both of them multiple times so the young man assumed that they were headed to a restaurant. They walked in silence until they reached a small family restaurant and Jack couldn't help but feel a little awkward on the way there. After all, he didn't even know her name yet.
The young man quickly removed his jacket, though he didn’t leave it with her cape. No, Jack wasn’t comfortable leaving his stuff out in the open where any random stranger could just walk by and mess with it. But that wasn't important. He glanced at her metal chest plate, curious. Figuring there might be an interesting story about why she was wearing it, the young man made a mental note to ask about it later.
As they stormed to the front of the line, Jack smiled apologetically at the people they passed. "A sandwich sounds good. I'd like a BLT, please." After telling the guy what he wanted, the young man turned back toward Crimson. He couldn't just keep thinking of her as the stranger or the girl or the red caped individual. It was long past time for basic introductions.
"Um, so, this is awkward but I totally forget to ask your name," He admitted, smiling sheepishly. "I'm pretty embarrassed about it. My names Jack, you're...?"
After the guy brought their food and Crimson stretched one of her thin hands, giving the boy money, she picked up the plates and walked towards a booth, putting the plates on either side and sitting down, an expression of utter frustration when the stranger now asked about her name. But well, she had two names... But only one was her name. Crimson... that's it... Crimson... I'd never use the name my mother gave me. Never. Never... "Mine's Crimson, but..."she said and finished abruptly, reluctant to reveal the name her mother gave her. At least before she was abandoned and her father, shifted in an old man had to deliver her to the orphanage, with the task to create a former for her and start growing up, taking example from the fellow orphans. Stupid task, that's what she always thought. Embarrassed, the girl grabbed her sandwich and tucked in, trying to avoid his question.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on May 8, 2016 8:08:34 GMT -5
The young man's brow furrowed slightly with concern as he observed Crimson's frustrated expression. Jack wasn't entirely sure what seemed to be bothering her, but he assumed it must've been something he'd said or done. After thanking the boy, he followed her to the booth, sliding into one side. He seemed to be doing an awful lot of that today but he didn't mind so much.
"But?" Jack asked, curious as to why she'd trailed off. Crimson seemed an unusual name but, from her eyes and cape, it seemed as appropriate as anything else. The young man watched Crimson's face as closely as he could without seeming to stare too much. She seemed to be acting kind of strangely but maybe that was just him. Jack didn't want to think he was making her feel uncomfortable or something, so he decided to change the subject.
"What was with that guy out on the street earlier? The one who screamed at you. He seemed like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something." Jack smiled, keeping his voice light. He didn't know if she was still upset about it but it had been the reason Jack had approached her. She'd seemed a bit shaken up and he was worried that might be what was bothering her. "It was nice of you to not mess the guy up. With how he was acting, I admire your restraint. I'm not sure I could've managed to resist smacking him upside the if I'd been in your position."
Shoving away the plate with the remains of the sandwich and yawning Crimson looked around through the restaurant, where people were looking either angry or anxious in their direction, muttering and whispering around as if she was both blind and deaf. Surprisingly she didn't feel like making much of a conversation, or maybe just now, when he kept asking about her. Her name, her business, her life. She pushed the hair aside from her pale face, turning to watch the streets outside, her finger constantly drumming on her chest plate.
"Being a shapeshifter means self control. I could've ripped his head of in a second, y ' know? But, it' s boring, really, killing people. I've done it before, trust me, it's a real bad joke."she smiled, waiting to see his reaction at her words. Indeed, after her father's death, she went on a human killing spree. 'Multiple men killing by wolf" was always in the news, but again, she just got out of it. Too much dirty work, to little money.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on May 17, 2016 21:41:10 GMT -5
So she'd killed people. Jack wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that, but he guessed that he didn’t really care, though the casual way she’d said it was kind of interesting. Most people didn't seem so casual about killing. But-- Oh. He'd already started thinking about something else. As the narrator I should probably catch up. Ok. So he was talking now. "Well, I wouldn't call it boring exactly, but I think I get your meaning."
The young man finished his sandwich and glanced around the room. He wasn't entirely sure why everyone was staring. If they'd had an issue with her walking to the front of the line, they probably should have spoken up back then. Whatever.
"I appreciate the sandwich, Crimson, but I guess I should get going." Jack climbed to his feet, wiping his mouth on a napkin. He liked meeting new people, typically, but it seemed time to get away from this one. She wasn't terribly friendly and he seemed to be boring her or something. Anyways, Ten would rather go on a candy run. "It was nice meeting you." The young man smiled politely and made his way out. Now that his grumbling tummy was sated, he could find something fun to do.