The Outliers // PSL

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[today is just another day. the weather is warm, overcast. several restaurants have opened up their windowed storefronts and outside seating pours over onto the sidewalk. old people are walking in pairs, young people are walking their dogs. the cobbled street is lined with flowers, a picturesque kind of cultured, well-off, gluten-free, yoga-class-attending neighborhood.

sometimes, Nadia enjoys it, but today she's feeling bored and jaded and doesn't particularly appreciate the flowers she's seen bloom several years in a row. she looks like she usually does out in town--olive skin, long, dark hair, modest sweatshirt, cold stare. people leave her alone, and she doesn't talk to anyone more than she has to. she's just going out to buy groceries, then head home, then try to keep herself busy for yet another long afternoon.

she could never have expected what was about to intercept her monotonous life.]

Comments

[canisinferis]

[first, it's the sound of a garbage can tipping over--and it's not one of the big, standard plastic ones. someone had one of those old metal ones that no one actually keeps anymore, because boy it had looked charming sitting there in that antique store. they'd probably been planning on turning it into a flower planter. it gets slammed down a driveway now, however, followed by the cliche of a terrified cat dashing across the yard and into some bushes beyond. some dogs a few yards away start barking at the noise, and even a few of the diners down the block lift their attention from their peaceful brunches.

shortly after the garbage can, and the cat, stumbles a man. he's leggy, and immediately kind of devilish-looking with his long, pointed features, and the sort of ridiculous fur-collared leather jacket he's wearing.

standing there in the driveway, it's pretty obvious that he's looking for the cat. instead, he sees her, and he is immediately and obviously distracted. his ears literally perk up at the sight of her.]

--Hey!

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[and that's how her boring walk came to a sudden halt.

frozen to the spot, she watches all of this unfold with increasing surprise, eyes widening in her averagely-pretty skull. most odd things around here can be blamed on the secret police or the occasional robbery--but this has her holding onto her form to make sure she doesn't go changing forms out of alarm.]

... Hello. [her fingers tighten on the strap of her bookbag (which has never actually held books, which has confused her in the past). she tilts her head. is this person crazy, or trouble, or both? she asks, straightforward:] What are you doing?

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Nothing. [--and he's all sheepish about it, tucking his hands into his pockets and shrugging into his shoulders as he starts to head... right towards her.

his halfway-embarrassed grin is full of what definitely seem to be sharp teeth. and, as he gets closer, his eyes sure are looking too red for anything normal.]

Just looking for you.

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[she leans backwards as he moves closer, as if she could somehow get some distance without losing any ground. she finally shifts a step when she notices that his teeth are all sharp-like and that his eyes are not a normal color.]

Me? [--this isn't some suit-trick, is it?] What'd I do?

[but she suddenly leans up close with a slightly insubstantial motion in her shoulders, a little taller than before so she can see.] --What is wrong with your eyes?

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[...these responses are all apparently very disappointing to him, judging by the way his expression suddenly begins to fall. he slows his approach somewhat, like someone who is just beginning to realize that the person they'd thought they'd recognized might actually be just a stranger with some eerie similarities.

he doesn't stop entirely, though. he's still ambling closer. and it's becoming clear that his eyes aren't just red in color, they also seem to be seeping blood.]

My eyes?

[absently, he reaches up and... kind of smears the liquid that had been welling there down from the corner of one eye.]

Is this... not yours?

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[well, that's definitely not stage makeup. she leans back again in confusion, mild disgust--but her attention is quickly taken up by looking around the area, glancing at the restaurant patrons down the road, scanning the windows of buildings for anyone watching who really shouldn't be.]

--Come on.

[it's all the warning he gets before Dirk is grabbed by the wrist. she attempts to pull him back the way she'd come, away from other people. they need to go, and they need to go right now.]

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Okay.

[it turns out that the tall guy with sharp teeth, dressed in leather and fur, is a surprisingly compliant follower. he doesn't hesitate or bother to ask any questions, he just lets her lead him around by one dead-weight wrist.

and he's belatedly following her gaze around as she scans the area... but he's more of looking at birds and weird-looking people down the block and someone's spinning pinwheel on their lawn. there's a lot of neat-looking things over here.]

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[definitely not one of the Suits, then. she's glad he isn't putting up a fight, since her flexible form has never quite lent her the strength of the flesh-and-blood around her.

she drags him onto a side-street, a little one-way alley that connects to people's backyards and the loading gates of a couple local businesses. one of the ways out is being conveniently being blocked by a large truck doing just that.]

Okay, listen-- [she turns stops, points up at this pointy-toothed stranger with a stern finger.] Who are you? What're you doing here?

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[he blinks when there is suddenly a finger pointing in his face, but... this is apparently exactly the sort of opportunity he'd been waiting for.

instead of answering her, or even looking like he's spending any effort at all to listen to the words coming out of her mouth, he just... suddenly starts sniffing her hand, quickly moving toward the rest of her arm and-- ooh! yes. must sniff her face.]

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[she... hey, wait...!]

What are you--

[she doesn't like having her hand or her arm sniffed, but her face? she bares her sharp teeth (as sharp as Dirk's, in fact) and growls in her small girl voice.]

Stop that...!

[she's trying to keep her voice down, in case they are listening, but...]

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[he snaps his head back away from hers--fast like an animal--but his eyes are bright with curiosity instead of caution. and a big grin quickly follows!]

Whoa--hey! Is that why you don't smell right?

[he points at her teeth, with his hand probably much too close for comfort. he's really not letting up on her bubble of personal space, still.]

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I...! [and now she's the one leaning away again, fingers covering her mouth. when she talks again, her teeth are flat and boring like always. she's getting irritated with this--this whatever he is--and it's going to get her in trouble.]

I smell fine. [hissed through gritted teeth, the glances back down the alleyway to make sure no one's come to investigate.] Do you have any idea what's going on, here?

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You smell wrong, and... no. Not really. Why?

[his ears--which are also a little bit pointy--very clearly lay a back a little bit flatter while he thinks, before perking back up again.]

...Is that like a test or something?

[because, if so, he's failing it.]

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[she frowns, looking up at those oozing eyes of his. she doesn't say anything for a moment. this creature really does seem clueless, but she doesn't know what to do. he's going to get them both in trouble if he runs around in the daytime like this...]

Look, I don't know who you are or where you came from, but you're going to find yourself in a world of trouble if you go wandering where other people can see you.

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[that smear of red is still there at the corner of his eye, but instead of drying, it's a track of moisture for the rest of what's welling in his lower lid to follow. as he leans back to bark a big, hearty laugh at her, that drip fattens and begins to slide farther down his face.]

Oh, don't worry, girl. I'll be fine.

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[...gross. she makes a face.]

It's not really you I'm worried about.

[she had plans today. she was bored. is this really a good trade-off for all of that? if she could only get some straight answers out of him, she could find out... in another spark of instinct, she picks up his arm by the wrist again.]

We're going to my place before the Suits find a reason to sweep the block.

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[he chuckles.] Sure.

[at least he seems amused by this whole thing. he might be following along for curiosity and entertainment's sake, at this point.]

You a criminal or something?

[he sounds a little delighted by the idea, honestly.]