And we begin to fear, that an unfeeling oracle will say

[fridgetothefire]

Who: Anya (fridgetothefire), eventually Lucifer (thelightbringer), and OPEN
When: Way forward-dated to a few hours before dawn on Edited: Friday, March 16. So yes, during the Darkness. [Forward dating this a bit further to work around the Crowley-death plot fallout]
Where: OUTSIDE. In Sector 4.
Summary: Anya runs away from the baseball diamond before a greeter finds her. Horrors ensue. If your muse could plausibly be outside, feel free to run into her, though she'll try to hide from everyone right now.
Warnings: Powerless human out in Darkness, so yeah, could get ugly. Thoughts of suicide will probably be mentioned.



Her first thought, through the stunned pain, is that she must have missed something. She did something wrong, she pissed someone off. Maybe someone who could transform into a cyclone. She blinks, tries to lurch to her hands and knees, and promptly throws up her lunch.

She wipes away the acid, and her ears are ringing in the quiet, waiting for the derisive sneers of weak, human, disgusting, but no one speaks. The light is wrong. It's flat, artificial, and not too bright, casting sharp, inky shadows, even though a moment ago she was sitting by a window in early afternoon. She blinks, wiping the bile from her mouth, and forces herself to her feet. And she is - nowhere at all she recognizes.

Her heartrate skyrockets, pounding in her ears like booted footfalls echoing down the stone corridors of her father's base, and she has no idea whether the surging in her chest is elation or terror. She wonders if there's even a difference, right now. She's somewhere else. Outside that stifling mausoleum. She's somewhere she absolutely shouldn't be, and it doesn't matter where, not to her, not even remotely. The only thing that matters is not getting caught.

Something, someone, brought her here, either one of his followers or one of his enemies. Either way, Anya wants to lose them. So instead of following the few lights to the likely-looking shelter of the dugout, she stumbles along the fence, clinging to the shadows where she can, until she finds a place mangled and rusted through enough for her to slip out into the streets. And she thinks, with the ineffable certainty of a teenager, no matter what's out there, it can't possibly be worse that what she's left behind.

Comments

[thelightbringer]

Although Lucifer had begun to creep back home with Michael, things were still tenuous and he still spent most of his time out on his own. He probably would have missed Anya altogether, or dismissed her as just a foolish human, had Gwolithua not caught her scent and taken off after her.

Really, he did need to get around to training that damn thing. A rogue hellhound was probably just asking for trouble. But there was the issue of his brand of 'training' disagreeing with one Sam Merlotte's sensibilities....

Lucifer followed the hound lazily, not particularly worried about him catching and attacking the girl. For how dangerous the beast was, he'd been socialized enough to be patient with most people.

"You should really stop running. You'll just draw attention to yourself from the monsters."

[fridgetothefire]

She's gotten ahold of - it looks a bit like a crowbar, but it's not, an iron bar off a lampost that the Seep rusted away enough at the junction that Anya's full weight to managed to snap it free. She holds it in front of her, two-handed, like a very inexpert swordsman, a good six inches of it melted away at the end by a thing that bled acid. A splash of it burned through her clothes to her skin, and she's limping on one side. She can't breathe right, her breath coming only in fast, shallow gasps.

But her eyes are bright. Viciously, wonderfully exhilarated.

She stares at him, fierce and wary. She's already seen what happens to the people out here who stay still.

"Who are you?"

[thelightbringer]

The invisible hellhound growled warily at her when she turned to face Lucifer. He would have told it to stop, but he had no commands yet.

"My name is Lucifer. And you..." He knew who she was then, but didn't say it. No reason to spook her more than she already was. "You're new here."

[fridgetothefire]

"Lucifer."

Right.

Well, then again, maybe her first thought was right. Maybe she had slipped up, pissed off some mutant who took her head off before she had time to be afraid. Maybe it had been incredibly gory and she was repressing it. Maybe father finally decided to stop being a hypocrite.

"So is this supposed to be hell?" She sounds dubious. Spooky atmosphere, constant danger, running and horrors and pain - she can kinda see it. Maybe. But it doesn't really fit with the fact that this is the happiest she's been in a long, long time.

[thelightbringer]

"This?" He gestured around curiously. "This is Canada. I'll let you take from that what you will."

He kept an eye on Gwolithua, to be sure it didn't change its mind about her. "It's not safe out here right now."

[fridgetothefire]

She shifts the bar into one hand, resting it over her shoulder like a baseball bat, leaning contraposto on her unburned side.

"Well, the mounties are definitely overrated," she mutters.

"So what's a guy named Lucifer doing in Western Canada?"

[thelightbringer]

"The same thing you are. I'm here on an unexpected vacation." He looks her over, frowning a little. "Are you hurt?"

[fridgetothefire]

She shrugs.

"I'll live."

Something twisted and inhuman screeches in the distance, and her mouth quirks in an unvoiced laugh.

"I mean, you know, maybe."

[thelightbringer]

"Pragmatic. I like that."

Except he couldn't really let her die, not while knowing who she was.

"I think you'll find this place more welcoming indoors?"

[fridgetothefire]

"Why would I?" she asks. "I mean, seriously. The only reason anyone who lived in a place like this would open their door to a stranger while these things are out would be to prey on desperation."

She doesn't say it in anger, or bitterness. That's simply how things are. Anya hasn't expected welcome from anyone since she was four years old.

[thelightbringer]

Lucifer watches her with an utterly unreadable expression.

"I meant there's a shopping mall these things can't get into. You're right; there's no reason to go begging strangers for help. You'll have your own apartment around here somewhere until you get a job. Or maybe it's only for a week or two, I didn't use mine."

[fridgetothefire]

"Do...shopping malls do that?" She frowns for the first time, hating to admit ignorance, but needing to know. And slightly defensive, "Why would anyone just give me an apartment?" It sounds far too good to be true, like bait, more ridiculous than being snatched by Canada and monsters rolled together. She's met monsters before, after all, and teleporters.

[thelightbringer]

"Not usually. The buildings here are usually Darkness proofed...the mall is open all night, and they like their paying customers in one piece." He leads her along and holds the door for her.

"They have 'starter apartments' to keep newcomers off the streets. We don't know how many or how often we'll have people coming in, so..."

[fridgetothefire]

She hangs back, wary. There's a tension in her shoulders that says she really wants to cross her arms, but that would make it harder to carry the makeshift iron bat.

"Why are you helping me?"

There isn't a speck of trust there. Not because he said he was Lucifer - just because he's a person, apparently being nice.

[thelightbringer]

"So that later if I ask you to do something, you might consider doing it. If you have a place to hide my dog, an apartment where I can store supplies..." He shrugs. He's being bluntly honest with her on that front; he won't tell her about Erik just yet.

"If you say 'no' I'll just find someone else. Let's call this networking."

[fridgetothefire]

There are a dozen things that come to mind. But I'm nobody, first among them, and she doesn't really believe him about the apartments either, not after seeing bums get eaten on the street. But there's no reason to make him think she's less useful. And she knows, realistically, that she won't last long out there. After a split-second, she decides to take the chance. She shrugs as she walks inside, keeping the bar for now.

"Sure. I'm good at things like that. Useful background stuff." She looks around at the mall, not bothering to disguise her curiosity.

"So how'd we get here, anyway? Canada, I mean." If it's Canada. Though the time difference fits neatly enough.

[fukouda]

This night was especially cruel. For the entirety of the night, Touma has been frantically searching through the inky darkness. An entire night spent in mortal peril locating a single kitten. It was a request from a young child who he coincidentally bumped into before the fall of Darkness. To prevent her from recklessly endangering herself, he promised to go in her place. His answer satisfied her and after he escorted her home he made good on his promise.

It was until recently did he finally managed to locate the kitten. Turns it was hiding only a few feet away from where he initially met the young girl. Such misfortune. Still, he was grateful that he found the kitten and decided it was best not to dwell on the negatives. He sighed in relief before promptly plopping on the ground. Saying that he was tired was an understatement. His fatigue assaulted his being as he finally allowed himself to briefly rest. The majority of his journey was spent running from numerous monsters. Drawing from his previous experience in fights it was never a smart idea to challenge so many opponents at once. Especially when your sole means of offense and defense is your right fist.

He knew he couldn't stay there long, but seriously needed the extra time to recuperate. For a short while the sounds that could be heard was his breaths and the soft meows from the feline snuggled safely within his arms. Soon another sound could be heard in the still darkness. Reluctantly standing back up, he turned to where the barely audible noise was coming from. Coming towards him was a lost, frenetic girl.

[fridgetothefire]

Anya doesn't have the faintest clue where she is - but she also profoundly does not care. Her hair is in disarray, her clothes coated with a thin puff of red dust from the baseball field and torn in a few places. She moves in sharp, jerky jags, clinging to the cover of the walls of nearby buildings, shoulders hunched and wary. She's perpetually glancing over her shoulder, so suddenly it almost looks like a manic twitch, and she stares at him as she approaches, slowing her pace and observing cautiously the more likely it seems that he's not another monster.

[fukouda]

The teenage girl slowed her pace as the distance between the two shrunk. Even within the darkness, he could tell that she was trying to determine if he was a threat. Her earlier frantic behavior suggested that she wasn't a fighter or at least one who can take down monsters. Just what was her reason for being out her in the Darkness? Whatever the reason she needed help.

"Oi, are you alright? Just how long have you been out here?"

[fridgetothefire]

"I'm just fine," her voice is soft, somewhere between breathy and raspy, like she can't quite get enough air.

"Not sure. Don't care. Who are you?"