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

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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...]

[canisinferis]

[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?

[canisinferis]

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.

[canisinferis]

[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.

[canisinferis]

[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.]