Running in the Rain

[abbeyabinch]

[Refs]

    The sky that morning had been rather quick to darken and rain, if she was able to pack with more time she’d be properly dressed and have more equipment on her, but that’s not the case. Just a few hours prior, the split second decision was made to take her things and run. Still dressed in all white ceremonial attire, with the blade securely attached to her back, scarf wrapped around the blades hilt, the girl ran full speed down the back alleys. In all honesty she stuck out like a sore thumb. Running with the very intent on getting away from whatever she thought was behind her. Bare feet hitting hard against the wet stones is just a recipe for disaster, so she was careful on the turns, keeping her head low enough to see her path but not enough to make proper eye contact.

    When she thought she was far enough she stopped, taking one good look at her surroundings looking for a lip under a door, somewhere dry at least. Taking a seat on steps under a small hang over and resting against the door, taking harsh breaths in but still trying to be quiet. Closing her eyes and letting out a heavy sigh. Here she sits, some place she doesn't know, soaking wet and thinking this was a major mistake. Being a cult leader really didn't sound so bad at this point, get fed, treated like royalty! And not fucking soaked! One thing she could really be thankful of was thick fabric, white and wet aren't a great mix.

[Sora-No]

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    Chris watched the god of death depart, confused to say the least. It was a highly stressful conversation. Not because of the type of conversation that the two had, but more because of who he was talking to. But hey, at least he can say he met the god of death and lived. Only took a good five minutes of internal screaming and wondering if his answers had the weight of life attached.

    Chris would go back into town, rain picking up. Oh boy. Rain. Chris usually doesn't mind rain. It's more because he's... a fire mage. And a wind mage. But not a water mage. So, he's just going sit here. Getting soaked. Wonderful.

    Though, he noticed something in the rain. Someone sprinting. Literally sprinting. Why? He doesn't know. Why they're barefoot? He also doesn't know. He'd follow, though not sprinting at mach one like this lady seemed to be doing. Please let this not be him having to fight someone. He'd approach the other when they sat down, doing his best not to make any quick or sudden movements.

    When he got close enough, he'd speak, talking quietly but loud enough for the other lady to hear, "Is everything okay?"

    Is this a bad time to finally notice she's got a sword? Cause he just noticed it.

[abbeyabinch]

[Refs]

    That few second break was great, nice and quiet, got to listen to the rain while she caught her breath. But then it was rudely ended by someone speaking, which she wasn't expecting and tensed. She slowly looked up from the ground, removing the scarf from her head, seeing as the rain wasn't directly hitting her. Hand twitching just a little bit debating on whether or not to pull it, but she seen he was going slow so she kept that hand tightly gripped on her scarf. 


    She took a minute before actually speaking. " No, n-yes! Yes everything is fine, everything is okay! " And there's the panicking, if she was up and standing he probably would have gotten a kick to dick, thank god she's sitting down. Over all she's very much not okay, fuckin' soaked, in some uncomfortable clothes. She can probably sell some of her jewelry, get some decent money and proper clothes. That's her current plan anyways.

[Sora-No]

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        Okay. The person didn't seem to be having that great of a time. Firstly, they looked almost as if they were going to strike him when he spoke. That put a split-second reaction of his entire heart stopping in its tracks before restarting at a heightened speed. Hoo boy. This might have been a bad idea. But there's no going back at this point. That'd just make him look like an ass. Or worse, rude.

    The lady would then attempt to shoot down the topic entirely. Which would've been fine with Chris. Any excuse to leave would be delightful for him right now. But, not only did they also stutter, but she also happened to say no first. Which sets off Chris's 'Be A Good Person' trap card. Which is not a good card. For Chris or for this random lady. Guess Chris has got to do something about it. Fun.

    "Uh..." He'd scratch his head. "So, you are? Or not?" He'd sigh, "Uh, I have a place you can hide, right? Uh." This honestly sounds... weird. 'Hey, I have a place to hide since you totally aren't fine.' Even with his intentions being pure, he can tell that it sounds strange. "I mean, if you need it, that is. Though you seem to be fine... and all." He'd scratch at the back of his neck once again, giving an awkward laugh.

    He's talking big for being in stabbing range.

[abbeyabinch]

[Refs]

   " I don't know! Everything is just sorta.. confusing? Let's just say, a lot of stuff has happened between a few hours ago and now, " She rubbed her temples and sighed, " you're offer is nice, I appreciate it, but I really hope you know it sounds extremely sketchy, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. " Hey, what could go wrong? She has no idea what this guy is capable of sure, but at the same time, she has a sword. So she can probably handle herself. Probably, maybe not, but sword. Sword beats paper, especially when it's sharp.

    It's not everyday you get an offer from a mysterious stranger, inviting you to hide away when you're not looking very calm. Deep down Anna really doesn't want to do this, but what other choice does she have? Spend the night in the rain, probably get sick, or spend the night with this random guy and maybe have to commit murder depending on his actions. The smart option would be to stay out in the rain, and just hope you don't smell like a dog by the end of this night and get into a store, but then again, who said she was smart? 

    She stood up from her place on the steps, pulling the scarf back over her head and straightening her dress, her robes? Who the hell knows what this thing is. Putting out her arms raising them a little bit, like that one Jesus statue you know the one. " Lead the way. "

[Sora-No]

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    Chris would give an awkward laugh, once again scratching at the back of his neck. She wasn't wrong, not in the slightest. An offer like this would be sketchy in the first place, but thanks to Chris's excellent skills at communicating, it became even more so than originally. A good sentiment, ruined by stupid words. Chris learning how to talk was a mistake.

    But, despite his inability to utter a sentence without burning into a heaping pile of garbage, she still accepted his offer. Which was weird, since she literally just said how sketchy it was. Maybe to make it clear that he should have come at it from a different angle? You know what, Chris isn't going to delve into the hypothetical parts of all of this, he's just going to go with it. "Okay, sweet, uh-"

    Which direction is the hotel from here? Oh, yeah, that way, okay. "This way." He'd turn around rather briskly, doing his best to get from point A to point B without a conversation. Because, if you hadn't noticed, Chris isn't excellent at this whole talking to people thing. Even if it's a standard conversation that everyone can handle. As he'd walk, he would look back, at least giving his name so he wasn't given a nickname in her head, "I'm uh, Chris, by the way."

    What would his nickname be, anyways? The Weird One, The Stutterer Strikes Back? Maybe Needs to Learn How to Talk. Yeah, probably that one.

[abbeyabinch]

[Refs]

    Sketchy as this situation is, it's the best option. She gets to go someplace dry and probably still not sleep, but at least warm. Warm is an easy solution, to any problem. She didn't really expect to get a name off of him, thinking this would be more of a close and done deal by the time morning came around. But for a nickname? She thought he looked like a Stutter Stan, Stutter Stan it was, even though she was aware his name is Chris.

    Before he'd gotten his name out she was sort of zoning out, still following but stuck in some thoughts about what had happened not even a few hours ago. Playing with her fingers and picking at her nails, it's a nervous habit she picked but a while ago in tricky situations. When it clicked in that he said something, having her own little panic for a second. " Oh, that's a nice name, I'm.. " Fake name, fake name, whats a good fake name? " I'm Rev. " That's a good one right? It's technically not false information, just the first three letters of her last name. It'll be fiiiine.

    A good few seconds of awkward silence, not always the funnest thing to be apart of. She doesn't normally speak to strangers, since, there really isn't many strangers where she came from. For the millionth time, this all seemed sketchy, but she was willing to trust him. Mainly because he didn't look to old and from what she could really see he wasn't carrying anything too threatening. 

    She bit on the inside of her cheek, speeding up a little bit to get closer but not hovering right over his shoulder. " Thank you, for doing this. You may be awkward as all hell but you're nice. "

[Sora-No]

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    Chris was honestly really weird about this. It could be the fact that it was sketchy, but it was more that he didn't know this person himself. Sure, he may look like a big sketchy guy that could hurt her or worse, but in all reality she could be that person and he wouldn't even know about it. It's a 50/50 chance here. Though, luckily for Chris, he is really good at running for his life.

    The blue-eyed boy would give a smile when Rev would give her name, "Nice to meet you." Oh boy. Oh big beautiful baby boy. More awkward silence that he doesn't enjoy. It was something he personally hated, since there is always this lingering conversation that doesn't extend itself.

    Chris gave an awkward chuckle at Rev's compliment, "Uh, thanks..." And, at that exact moment, you could feel the awkward silence hit once again. What else is Chris supposed to say to that? He could try to shoot a compliment back? No no no, it's too late, there was too big of a gap between. Chris, you stuttering neanderthal of a human being, think of at least something to say, the silence is lingering.

    Oh, wait, here's the motel.

    Chris would walk to the motel, motioning for Rev to follow, heading to one of the motel rooms. Okay, key, key... Oh, gods. No key. Wait. No. Key's in jacket pocket. Thank the gods. "Here, uh- here we are." He would unlock the door, letting it open so Rey could enter first.

    The motel room was overly mediocre. Unlike terribly handled motel rooms, this one was at least clean, with a queen size bed, an adjoined bathroom, and a table near the entrance. The only sign that he was even staying here would be three things; the first was the bed, which was unmade, the blanket messily thrown over the top. The second would be his stuff, which was packed in a moderately large backpack in the corner of the room. Lastly, on the bedside table, was a leather-bound notebook of some kind. Chris would walk in, taking off his jacket and laying it on one of the chairs.

    "Make yourself at-uh, at home," the awkward excuse for a human being would point at the bed, "You can have the bed, I-uh, I have a sleeping bag in my backpack that I ca-can use." What other things did he have to say? He was taught proper decency, all he needs to do is remember what else he's forgetting in the proper etiquette that was taught by his mother. Oh, right, offering food and stuff. Wait. No food. Never mind, then.

[abbeyabinch]

[Refs]

    When they arrived at the motel Anna too a good quick room around, looking at anything too dodgy or too unsettling. Following a little closer behind Chris than she was while they were walking, making sure to keep a little bit of distance between them still though, to be polite and not up in the boys personal space. She wanted to be close, but not so close that she'd be stepping right on his heels and probably taking his shoe right off in the process.

    The first thing she wanted to do was squeeze the water out of her scarf, she was about to head into the washroom before he started to speak but stood still when he did. Taking a look around the room. Bed, bag, book. Nothing like what she had back home but it'll do nicely. 

    When he offered for her to take the bed she was a little surprised, it was nice of him to do so. She gave her head a shake, some water flinging just a little considering her hair and scarf, and clothes are all completely soaked and really should not be worn. " Thank you, but no thank you. I really do not intend on sleeping, if I do I can take the floor it's fine. " She mustered up a small smile. Taking the scarf right off and sort of folding it over her arm like a towel. 

    Well now that it's easier to see, she herself had a nice pair of blue eyes, white hair that looked to stop right at the waist, and she did not have much pigmentation to her skin that's for sure. She needs sum of that vitamin D, or to just go out into the sun in general because holy crap child. 

    " I'm going to use the restroom. " Not even asking oh how polite! She took a few steps backwards before turning and shutting the door, leaning her back on it for a few seconds. She rubbed her cheeks and the only clear thought she was thinking was, ' Holy shit Anna what have you done now? '. Taking the scarf and squeezing it out into the tub, for the time that she's in there she's just going to set it on the side. Then to the mirror and taking a good look at that previously mentioned hair, no hair dye so a cut is probably gonna be the best bet for now. Along with there being no scissors in here looks like it's going to have to be the old fashion way, Mulan style with the sword and all. 

    Pulling out that bad boy, and one good look in the mirror, a fist full of hair and a good whack. A few more whacks later and it's nice and short, and because the sword was too long to hold properly she thought it was a good idea to hold the blade while doing it so now her hands is bleeding. That's nice.

    Shoving the hair in the trash, trying her best to wipe the blood and cover said hair in the trash, she just sorta gave up and wrapped a cloth around it. Putting her sword back and slowly stepping out of the bathroom. She doesn't know what Chris was going to think, she hadn't considered it, but here goes nothing God's please don't let him think this is weird.

[Sora-No]

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    Chris had seemed to have found what to do in his time here, that much is for certain. Geez, that sounded a tad heartless. Wow. What the thought bubble in his head meant was that he was looking for something to do here. Someone to help out, maybe an odd job or two, really anything. He goes from place to place, but he doesn't just leave when he has nothing to do. He takes his time to see if he likes the place before he wanders somewhere else. Now he has a reason to stick around and help someone out. Neat.

    He would scratch the back of his head. How can he nicely tell her that she's going to have the bed either way? Well. Hmm. "The offer is there, uh, for you." An awkward chuckle, for the millionth time today, left his mouth, "You know, for uhh, whenever you need it." He didn't want his 'guest' to sleep on the floor. Also, she was in the rain for a while, she could get a cold. Chris could simply just heat himself up, he can't say the same for her. So the big bed and the big blanket would be better.

    The awkward blue-eyed boy would smile, "'Kay, have fun." Have fun? In the bathroom? Great job, idiot. Chris would grab the book on the end table, walking over to the table and taking a seat. Opening to the bookmarked page, he would read through what it was; a rugged book of pyromancy. Because that's something that should be normally read like a full novel. Though, given the fact that Chris has the social life expectancy of a microbe, it's not too surprising.

    At the sound of the door opening, Chris would look up to see- no hair? No, wait, there's hair there. Just not as much hair. How? Oh. She brought her sword with her in there. Some answers, but more questions attached to those. Why did she need to cut her hair? Is she hiding from someone? Many someones? Usually someone would go to a stylist for this, right?

    Chris got up, walking over to his bag, "Uh, one second- Ta-take a seat over there for one second." Shuffling through his bag for a second, he would finally get up, walking over. With a knife! Closed, of course, since he's quite allergic to the stabbing implement strapped on her back. "L-let me fix that for you, it's a bit uh, a bit messy." Realizing that the statement he made was the epitome of vague, he'd stammer out, "Y-Your hair, I mean."

    Please don't stab him he's allergic to death.

[abbeyabinch]

[Refs]

    When she was in the bathroom she did herself some thinking, if this dude really wanted to do something or wanted her dead, wouldn't he have done something already? To be fair they've been alone for a good portion of at least twenty minutes alone. So for as much as you can trust someone you've just met, she can safely say she has a bit of trust in him at the moment. Before she left she gave herself a good look in the mirror. A hair cut really isn't going to do much, her hair is white, her clothes really do not look normal and she isn't that far away from her old home. Her hand is bleeding and doesn't feel the best bit towels will help right? Hopefully.

    She held the little towel tightly on her hand when she walked out of the bathroom, remembering him saying she could use the bed. She really wanted to sleep right about now, but, her clothes are soaked and she didn't want to ruin it in case she was only there for the night, and he had to sleep there tomorrow. That wouldn't be fair to him. 

    When he spoke again, telling her to take a seat which she did, setting her sword down a little ways away but still well in arms reach. She looked back at him, furrowing her brows when he said her hair was messy, and he'd help fix it. Deep down she was a little hurt, thinking she did a good job but oh well. At the same time though she felt a little thankful, that he'd help her not look like a shaggy hobo. She should also probably ditch these bed sheet looking clothes, but that's a journey for tomorrow. Pawn off the jewelry, get money, and get better clothes. That's her plan at least, she's not sure if Chris would join her but that's up for him to decide.

    As he cut her hair she twiddled her thumbs, keeping her head as still as possible. She could tell he had some questions. It's not everyday you find some chick with a sword, just sitting around in the rain and more than likely not in a good situation. Taking the awkward silence and turning it into an awkward conversation! Because it's way too quiet. 

    " Thank you, for helping with the hair, swords are pretty clunky, " Now it's her turn to have a little bit of an awkward laugh. " I can tell that you have some questions.. You aren't too good at hiding those looks? go on and ask. "

[Sora-No]

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    Chris would work on her hair with the pocket knife. It wasn't that badly done, to be honest, but it looked jagged. Swords are probably not the best choice for a hair cut, but what does he know, he literally uses the same pocket knife for his hair nine times out of ten. He would quickly set to fixing it, grabbing small tufts that are uneven and giving them a quick and clean slice through.

    He's genuinely shocked that Rev actually let him handle this. While he wouldn't do anything to actually hurt her, at the same time he has a very sharp implement very close to her jugular. She's trusting him with this, for some reason. Maybe because he's unarmed and very easily in stabbing range. Or that he hasn't done anything yet to steer her in any other direction. He doesn't really know.

    Ah, yes, time for the part he was hoping for. He wasn't going to actually ask her what's going on, but he definitely had his thoughts. And, luckily, he gets to voice those thoughts out to her. Though he thought he hid his looks well. Actually, on second thought, it is Chris of all people, it's kind of hard to have an unreadable face.

    He would work on another tuft, talking as he did so, "Uh, hmm." He actually has to formulate his thoughts, give him a moment. "I-I've noticed that you're, uh, trying to hide from something or, uh, s-someone?" The blue-eyed boy would even the tuft, moving to the last one, "I'm not going to ask, but I-I can be around to help, I guess," a small chuckle, "the-they're not going to look for you in a random teenager's hotel r-room, of all places."

    He would wipe off the knife, slowly closing it and putting it in his pocket, "Uh, there you are." Chris needed to figure out what the next step would be. Well, obviously it would be getting Rev out of the bright white attire on her person and into something a bit more... inconspicuous. Wow, half of that sentence sounds really wrong. Gross. The next step would be hopefully waiting it out. Whoever would be hunting her down, when they don't find her, are probably going to be looking for her in town, but after a while they'll leave to hopefully track her down. Meaning she'll be out of the crosshairs for a bit.

    "I'm going to, uh," Chris would scratch the back of his neck, "G-grab some food. What do you, uh, usually eat?" Wow, worded by a professional worder himself. Look at him go.

[abbeyabinch]

[Refs]

 

  Anna sat patiently, letting him work at her hair and listening to Chris. Her hand's went from twiddling her thumbs to picking at her fingers, easy to say it was a habit for her, a stress thing none the less. She was kind of nervous about the hair cutting, but in order for it to be nice she had to let him do it, because as far as she knew he wouldn't have just handed the knife over like, " here! Take this sharp object which is a lot lighter than a sword and probably kill me with it! Because I don't know you! " So, she was pretty understanding of him doing it, plus he offered.

    Hearing him say that he would help, even if it was a he might feel bad if he didn't do something, obligation, she was relieved, and then hearing that he too was a teenager also set her at ease, almost visibly so. " I mean, I am hiding yes, and they probably wouldn't check here, so this was a safe bet. Thank you, for offering to help you don't know how much that means. " She tilted her head down to smile a little, gotta stay tough! 

    " You're a teenager? To be honest I was expecting a little older, but it's actually kind of reassuring. My mom used to say stranger danger and all that, but where I grew up there was literally no strangers to know. Everyone knew everyone, by name by face, too many people. " After he was finished she put her hands up to feel around, it felt pretty nice, a lot shorter than it was a few hours ago which is a good thing. Though she was going to miss it, it was for the best. Something that they would expect? More than likely, but at the same time it was going to be harder to grab moving forward. " Ah, that feels pretty good! " 

    As for the clothing, that was going to be an issue. It was attention attracting and too obvious, it was too be worn on special occasions so anyone from home would know that it's her if seen. She really should have taken those few extra seconds to change, poor Chris, stuck with such bullshit. Such a good boy he doesn't deserve this.

    " Oh, food? I just photosynthesize. " She looked back at him, pretty seriously and stood up. Waiting for his reaction before cracking a wider smile than she did earlier. " I'm just messing with you, anything's fine, really. "

[Sora-No]

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    Chris would, as the young boy does way too often, give an awkward laugh. He didn't know why, but he didn't really feel like he deserved the thanks. He didn't do anything spectacular yet, just sort of offered to help, just as he's always been taught to. "It's uh, nothing." He scratched the back of his neck yet again.

    "Uh, yeah, I'm seventeen. You, uh-" Chris would take a second to clear his throat to avoid his stammering, "You usually get a mix of dangers. Most dangers don't do anything when you, uh, when you have swords on your back and, uh, stuff." Wow, he's so good at this talking thing. Look at this Shakespearean sonnet leaving his lips as he utters every sentence with poise. Psych he sucks.

    "Okay, so uh-" He'd pause, putting his hand to his chin. He's actually having to think this one through. She needs to be able to blend in with everyone so if she ever needs to leave that Rev won't get noticed and instantly taken out with extreme prejudice. Or no prejudice. He doesn't have enough knowledge of the situation to know how much prejudice is needed for the recipe of her getting hunted down.

    He'd pause, raising a brow as Rev spoke. How in the hell does she photosynthe- Oh wait, never mind, he's an idiot that didn't notice the joke. Hoo boy good on him. Real big brain, this one. He would chuckle softly, thinking out his gameplan verbally. "So, uh, while I'm out I'm planning on grabbing you something to wear in uh, in case we need to bail from here. Do you know what size you are, or would you be fine heading out with, uh, with me to grab the stuff?" Wait. She's being hunted down. "I can, uh, protect you need be. And you have swords, so-" More awkward laughing. More neck scratches. Yay someone shoot him in his big dumb face.