Alone. {Out of A Million}

[-иoxx]

-иoxx

Crystal explosions of eyes stared unblinkingly out at the street. It was curious how it was twilight, and yet the world already seemed desolate. No one wanted to be around these people, no one normal at least. Though, no one normal knew what they were, and if they did, their death would closely follow. Or at least that's now Noxx dealed with them. How killing, murdering, was almost like second nature. It didn't matter if a normal individual died, as long as it ensured the phenomenons existence. Right?

Noxx was sitting on the apartment stairs, staring at the door that led outside. Though next to the door was a triple layer sheet of glass, allowing her to look outside, without enduring the world beyond the looking glass. The stairs were always a nice place to be, alone at least. For many lazy individuals preferred the elevator to the stairs. 'Bums' Hugging her knees, enclosing herself in a personal bubble, that wouldn't be likely to pop except by another person.

It was cold, her V-cut gray 'The Used' band tee did little to keep her warm. Wearing faded light blue jeans that flared out covering most of her black and blue skater shoe. Silver bangles in sets of five on one arm, with five silver necklaces one. A sterling silver balled lip ring, and three piercings on each ear. Waterproof, heavy eye makeup as usual. Making eyes stand out as usual. Her beauty was stunning, though it meant nothing. Nothing compared to her freshly cut wrists, and rope burned arms.

A unique individual, full of pain and misery. Eventually cracking and physically taking it out on herself. Though it was because of the insane mental image that everyone hated her and wanted her dead. Only using her before being thrown away, like an object. 'They were wrong.' Fists clenched and unclenched in frustration. 'I am not a thing...' Remembering her fists hitting multiple people in the face, and her legs forcing men much bigger than her to the ground. Beating them, with some unknown power inside of her. An unknown phenomenon.

[Aria !]

'If I were truly a beast, I wouldn't love you.'
+Shanks+

Shanks walked quietly down the sidewalk. His day was fairly uneventful. He had gone to work, done his job, and gotten off early. The rest of the day he spent in the big field behind Shelpey Alley, just watching the sky and the clouds. He wasn't a lazy guy, he just had nothing to do at the time to keep him entertained. Most of his days were like that.

Now it was Twilight, and he was heading home. He was probably just going to sit on the roof of his Apartment building, which was fairly large, and just watch the sky or fall asleep until night time, so that he could shift and go somewhere as a shadow.

It was a fairly cold fall day, the breeze blowing cold chills up your spine. Shanks wore the same thing he would on any day. Black jacket. Lazily buttoned white collared shirt under his black jacket. Sun glasses so that no one would see his extreme eye coloring. The cold didn't particularly bother him, he'd always lived on the streets in the cold, so it really had no effect on him anymore.

Hands in his pockets, he stopped in front of his apartment door. He opened the door with one outstretched hand, and a cold gust of air blew in as he did. He walked in and closed the door.

There was a girl on the stairs, he noticed. He always took the stairs. He hated elevators, they were far to unnatural for him. He looked at her through his sunglasses. Then, slowly took them off.

Golden eyes glinted in the darkness. He wasn't particularly sure if this girl was a Shifter; though there were a few hints about it. One, her odd eye coloring. Two, she smelled a bit like a large feline. If she was a Shifter, she'd know immediately that he was too, his eye color was just too unnatural to miss.

He gave her a casual look, then gazed up the stairs. Then he looked back to her. "You goin' up?" He asked the girl in his regular voice. He had to admit, she was pretty. Though he liked his girls a with a little less make up, he had to admit, she was pretty. Not that he had ever had a girl, he was pretty hot, but he tried o stay away from physical and emotional relationships other than just having friends.

[-иoxx]

-иoxx
xx

A gust of chilled air made her look up before anything else did. The click of the door, the sound of the outside, and then the scent of another being. Crystal ice eyes looked up, to find herself looking at a reflection of herself, in his black shades. When they were removed, golden eyes struck her unnaturally icey ones. Raising her head, Noxx though the might be a shifted. Eyes swept any bare skin, looking for his mark. Her own tattoo was on the side of her neck, easily visible yet blending in with her necklaces.

Taking in his scent, noticed the cat on him, maybe a few black strands on his clothes. Just as her gray shirt held some golden and cream colored hairs. Hugging her knees more tightly Noxx heard him speak. Was he really speaking to her? Like an equal? 'You goin' Up?' Shaking her head no, put her chin back on her knees. Pondering whether to say something in return.

After pondering this possibility for a moment, said, for she was pretty sure he was a shifter. "Why are you going up, when our freedom begins?" Noxx was waiting for the sun to completely go down, before wandering the alley as her slim cheetah self. Enjoying the enclosed isolation before moving that isolation into the outer world. Where anything could happen, where the risk and danger was. Death maybe around a corner. Tensions upon Tension, it was one of the thrills of being a shifter.

Standing up, purposely brushed her hair behind her shoulder. Not a flirtatious manner, but to show him her mark, her tattoo. Blinking, non-verbally asked him if he had one. For she wasn't about to slice someones throat if it could be avoided. These were freshly vacuumed carpets, they didn't deserve to have fresh blood on them. Crystals eyes blinked, as she had a sudden craving. Her hand twitched, as if to go to her belt. Where there would of been a knife or a gun, well... truth was there was both. But there was also a pack of cigarettes and some packs of heroin. 'Damn.' Though repressing this feeling, stared un-blinkingly at Shanks. Eyes saying. 'Well?'

[Rena DeVito]

Deadly feline prowled the inky darkness. A lazy yawn parted her lips, revealing gleaming incisors. Striped pelt blended in well as shadows danced and flickered over it. Large paws padded silently down the alley. The large predator shivered the slightest bit as a brisk and heartless wind whistled down the alley. This feline may have thick fur, but she had been built to live in a jungle. 'Time to get out of this wretched cold,' the tigress thought grimly. 'I don't know why I chose this night to go out.' Lip lifted in a half snarl for Alexx hated discomfort.

Streetlights glinted off hard amber-gold eyes. These eyes saw a male figure strode energetically up the dimly lit street. Alexx also noted that he wore sunglasses when it was so dark. 'Fascinating...' she purred softly, almost forgetting the cold. She watched the man pull open a door to the apartment complex and step inside. A sudden burst of wind reminded the tigress of her mission to find warmth. Her lips twitched up into a smirk. What could be more warming then to spend an evening with a rather unusual character?

Without further thought, Alexx began the change from tigress to lady. As the change ended, it revealed a tall slender body, flowing blond tresses, and icy blue eyes. This girl was wearing skinny jeans, with black flats. Unfortunately, her azure shirt revealed her well tanned stomach and arms to the brutal cold. With another involuntary shiver, Alexx hunched in the alley, waiting for the blast to quell.

As soon as the tempest passed, Alexx straightened up, took in a deep breath of frigid air, and ordered her thoughts neatly. Now it was time to play.

She stepped across the street, not bothering to look both ways, or any way at all. Pulling the apartment building's door open, a wave of heat, loaded with smells assaulted her. The strongest scent was cat. This scent may have smelled of cat, but it was not merely house cat. No, there was a slightly more feral edge to it, something that Alexx herself had often smelt. This scent smelled of big cat.

Alexx had slipped in so quietly, she would not have been noticed had it not been for the blast of cold air that followed her. She allowed the door to click shut behind her, and her chilling gaze swept over a girl huddled neatly on the steps. With one quick sweep Alexx discerned the thin clothing, the various assortment of jewelry, her slit arms, but most of all her look of utter hopelessness. Not that Alexx cared what this girl felt, nevertheless the sight of such despair unsettled the dignified girl.

Alexx had just answered as this tormented girl answered an apparent question, "Why are you going up, when our freedom begins? The girl stood, brushing her blond hair back from her face. Instinctively, Alexx gauged her as a possible threat. Seeing her slim body caused the tigress to stiffen slightly. Her face was even more stunning, but the haunted look remained. Alexx was satisfied. For now, Noxx wasn't a threat to Alexx as a female.

Just then, her eyes were drawn to the mark that was permanently etched into the tender skin of Noxx's neck. Alexx's mind immediately flashed to her own tattoo, which was located on her lower back. Alexx suddenly wondered if her low-riding skinny jeans revealed her tattoo. Glancing in the reflection of Shanks' sunglasses, which reflected off of the glass door behind her, she could barely see her butt if she shifted slightly. A tiny bit of black peeped out from beneath her pants, but that was all.

Turning her attention back to the two in front of her, this time she assessed the male. Eyes softened to a soft sky blue, and a small smile lit on her pink lips. He was not bad. Not bad at all. Taking small, lady-like steps, the feline nearly glided over to Shank. "Why hello there," she purred in a soft undertone, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She ended, luminous eyes focused on Shanks.

[Aria !]

'If I were truly a beast, I wouldn't love you.'
+Shanks+

The girl told him no, and put her head back on her knees. She looked sad about something, but he wasn't about to ask a stranger what was wrong. Not a human stranger, anyway.

"Why are you going up, when our freedom begins?"

Shanks looked at her, his eyes and face devoid of all emotion; he didn't want to give any hints that he wasn't a normal person if she wasn't a Shifter. He gave no response, he thought that anything he said at that point would give away a crucial secret, as if his eye didn't.

The girl stood up, and he looked at her curiously. They were about the same Height, give or take a few inches. Her eyes were a fairly lovely shade of ice blue. Shanks didn't like Ice, but the color wasn't half bad.

She moved her hair from her neck, brushing it casually behind her shoulder. Then he noticed her mark. That clarified it well enough for him; she was a Shifter, and she wanted to know if he was one too.

His mark was on his back though, and he didn't really feel like taking off his Shirt, not in front of a girl he barely knew and had little to no connection with. He didn't have to though, another person entered just as he was about to somehow answer her question. She seemed to be going for a weapon, too.

The girl that entered was also beautiful, but she had a certain, expensive aura to her. Like she was the type of girl that would live in a mansion or something. She wasn't exactly dressed for the Winter, which was a tip off that she might have a hidden fur coat.

The way she came in to, had caught him off guard. She came in without much sound at all, beside the creaking door and gust of wind, and the soft click as the door closed. Otherwise, she hadn't really made a sound.

Shanks turned to look somewhat at her, so that he was facing both at least in theory. He wasn't a very Theoretical guy, he was smart, but he had never actually gone to a school or anything.

He noticed the girl had a Tattoo. He could just barely see it in the reflection of the glass. She was a Shifter too. "I guess I'll just hang around, since you two and I are the same." He gave the tip off that he was a Shifter, without really setting off any clues for any human onlookers.

"Why hello there," The second girl purred at him, and wasn't too shy about space boundaries, she got fairly close. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She said again, focusing all of her attention on him. That made him feel really uncomfortable. He didn't like having a spotlight on himself ever, especially in front of a girl.

He found himself in a deadly trap. There was a girl blocking his way up the stairs. His gaze flicked over to her. There was a girl, quite close to him, blocking his way out the door.

"Uhm. Hey, I'm Shanks." He told them both, an uneasy smile on his face. He didn't want either of them to feel, well, left out or uncomfortable. "You look cold..." Shanks said to the girl who had just entered, as she was barely wearing any clothing at all.

He would give her is Jacket, if she wanted it. It didn't look girly or anything, it was just a normal black jacket with gold buttons, but it managed to keep him warm enough, didn't it? She might want it, who knows.

He looked at the other girl, and finally answered her question. "I'm switching from being Nocturnal to non-nocturnal a lot, so I like to get at least a little sleep before I head out at night." He explained to Noxx.

Man, what he wouldn't give if Damien were here. He was his street friend, and at least then he'd have some male back up. Someone that was a lot more like him then the girls were. He really only ever opened up to his closer friends; Damien was the only friend he had, besides some of the Thieves gang, but he wasn't very close with them. He planned on asking Alex if he could join, eventually.

LONG POST IS HELLA LONG. >.< I think this is my longest IC post... EVER. O.O In the history of my roleplaying chareer. xD/blockquote]

[.: T O K I :.]

When woman get depressed, they either eat or go shopping...

To be lost in the mind is a wondrous thing, it can be serene or it can be dangerous. Of course that's not to say that being lost in thought is bad, but to say it is good would also be wrong in an odd sense. It's like... being a mouse in an endless maze, there are two outcomes. Sometimes the mouses reaches the cheese and finds what it was looking for, or whoever overlooks the experiment will take the mouse out eventually. The concepts are similar, but they are also different. If one were to be hidden in the depths of their mind, that said being would be wrapped up in a case of memories and thoughts, sometimes good sometimes bad. Even so, it's comforting. It's like the whole world has drifted away, floating on a wispy cloud. In few of the scenic places of the world now a days, you can get lost in these said memories. It's a serene feeling, the way those comforting memories wash away all your worries.

But through all this, there is also a bad touch to the idea. The concept is like one bad apple ruining the rest of the bunch, one bad memory ruins the rest, a sinking feeling of depression. In this case, it's that sinking feeling that leaves you stranded in your memories unless something were to break you from those thoughts. See, that's the thing. It's not the thoughts though, it's the idea of being broken out of them. How could those thoughts be good if it leaves you oblivious to the rest of the world? It was this though that shocked Damien out of his mindless revere.

Ears twisting all around, the feline blinked and quickly looked around wildly like a caged animal--worried, glowering blue eyes flicking back and forth, wide as the falling sun illuminated his golden, coarse pelt, body tense on his toes, tail twitching in paranoia. His face was open, fur ruffled like bed head... well, that wasn't very far off the truth. Even so, as his eyes glazed over, a clear sheath of insanity passing as he crouched low, fur grazing across the loose gravel that was left unpaved. The night was quiet, dim streetlights blaring at the ground, hardly giving the place light. Then again, that was probably the purpose. Coast clear... and suddenly, he shot off like a cheetah, a far off relative of his species.

Zip, zip, zip. Speed, speed, think fast, think like a cheetah! Zip, zip, zip. Tongue slightly protruding his slick maw, Damien hustled across the stretch of pavement. His body was small and kept low to the ground as if he were being spied on, the chances? Not so big, but the chance was still there. His large paws, claws unconsciously unsheathed, thumped against the ground in a light padding rhythm, unheard by an creature unless they were specifically listening to him. Damien figured, that wouldn't be very good. With renewed caution he bounded away without a mere glance back. As he made the distance, Damien scooted behind a thick wall of brush, stance rigid and wide, muscles tensed ready to run.

His eyes--gleaming, reflecting the little light in the frigid air, slowly scanned the street for any movement. None but his own. So far so good. With that last thought, Damien pranced down the sidewalk, head contently snapping side to side as he hummed a little tune in his mind. Chased by the evils? Maybe... not. Mission impossible made possible. Well now that there was nothing to worry about, why have the need to keep a look out? Exactly, there was none. Happy thoughts filtered through his childish mind... literally. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts. Maybe he was 14, but that didn't mean he had to grow up.

Of course, with his child side open there had to be someone to contain it... or abide to it... which brought Damien to his destination. His rough tongue that had previous hung limply out his jaw expertly swiped across his wet nose as his happy thoughts reached his inner mind. He had given up on fighting his inner demons a long time ago. They were on the same side now. At least... most of the time. Damien lurked, gliding across the lush grass that he had so wonderfully found. Light dew stroked his belly, not that he could really feel it under his fur. Thank god for fur, yep.

His eyes shimmered under the twilight colors as the sun shifted behind the edge of the world, turning day into night. Finally. Excited of the new beginning, a new adventure, and new ideas, Damien shifted his weight from paw to paw--an odd habit he picked up after learning to shift. Weird how those habits came into life of a shifter. However, ignoring his innocent thoughts, though sometimes a little overflowing if you get the hidden meaning, but hey, whatever floats your boat. Racing off in a speed of power, sadly no smoke or very cool fireworks or screams, he pursued his destination headlong. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly the headlong he was thinking of.

WHAM!

OW! FU... ZZLIVERCHOP. Wait what. Ow. Ow... ow... owowowowowowow...

Damien's head rang, little voices in his head giggling at the sight before them. Wait, sight? What sight? What happened? Ow. Damien hesitantly blinked and eye open, well of course they closed on the impact... For a moment his vision was blurry, his eyes dazed at the collision. Though luckily, it soon came back to him like fleas. Er, not that he had fleas... ever... of course. Ow. Not so subtly splayed out on the cold sidewalk, Damien forcefully shook his head, eyes squeezed shut in pain. Ow.

Note to self: don't run into doors again. Surprisingly, through the pain and agony, embarrassment and shame, stupidity and unlikelihood of slamming oneself into a door... he was surprised it hadn't opened. Ow. Funny how that is. Ow. Wait... Damien carefully cracked an eye open, his icy blue gaze starting dumbly at the door knob. Oh. Right. Ow. Sighing, Damien slowly straightened himself up, propping himself from the ground and shaking to fling off the dust and debris that clouded his exotic pelt. Ow.

After a moment, he screwed his face up and--odd to the world, worked his jaw in a motion to scrape off the nasty... things that landed on his tongue. Damn. And this is what I get for being bored... ow. Spitting out the last of the filth with a jerk of his head, Damien grumbled and quickly shifted back into a human, his bright blue eyes narrowed in annoyance. Stupid door. How the heckerz did I hit that thing anyway? As quick as he finished, the teen rubbed his temples hard in a motion to get rid of the headache he had unfortunately found. Ow.

Sighing, and snapping his head back and forth in a cramp, he dropped his hand on the knob and twisted it. Twisted. It. Never again... not to run into doors. He just prayed to god Shanks didn't see that. After all, he did kind of live here... Jesus fizzcola Christ. That would be something to live up to... Again sighing, he pushed it open with a little force and stepped in. Did he say he was lucky earlier? Maybe he should have rethought that. As he thrust open the door... the dumb, , stupid, deficient, meaningless, mindless, trivial, pointless, thick, flipfishingstick, retarded door... something must have been in the way as it just came flying back.

Oh shiztar- WHABLAM. Ow... ow... ow... owowowowowowow.

Damien stumbled back as he brought up his hand, slapping it on his head. OW. Holy Jesus fucking Christ. Oh yeah. He went there. Well, in his thoughts actually. Good for him, and the only good thing, is that he actually managed not to say anything! Except the really loud, pissed off version of his, "OW! JESUS FUkrmanimzymy," nothing really seemed off. With a hand covering his eye he blinked a few times and hunched over he looked up at the... little... audience he had. What the...? At least he had the decency not to think it this time... yeah, this time.

Men invade another country. It's a whole different way of thinking.

w o r d s'' one-three-eight-eight
m u s e'' 9
l y r i c a l . m u s e'' Pictures of You - The Last Goodnight
n o t e p a d'' Introducing; my screwed up scene of reality in my head. No joke, that's how I think all the time. Enjoy.

[/center]

[-иoxx]

-иoxx
xx

Standing tall, made her feel dominant. Though, at this particular moment of introduction, did she really want to appear that way? The answer came without the lightest tuft of energy. Exhaling sharply, warm air pushing through her lips, sat back down. Only to reside in her hugging leg position, lips pressed against her knees. Eyes closed, didn't really understand the world at this moment. A male, making some type of contact with her, a worthless being of blood and breathe with an abnormality.

Curled up, once again, on the stairwell, immersed in her own mind. Not cutting the other off, but doing what she did best, being alone. Crystal eyes staring at the very bottom step, though why in the first place had she ever communicated with the male. It only led to a crowd, which meant socializing. 'Damn it.'

Shifting uncomfortably unfolded her legs, so that Noxx was sitting regularly on the staircase. Hand moving to her pocket, took out a single cigarette, and then reaching for her back pocket took out a green lighter. Flicking once, twice, lite of the cigarette. Inhaling, felt the menthol hit her tongue and throat, inhaling the smoke filling her lungs. Exercising some relief over her cravings, and taking the edge of her nerves. Exhaling, couldn't help but find some unfounded entertainment in seeing the transparent blue-tinted smoke issue from her mouth. A shadow of a smile crossed face, before another hit was taken.

Hit after hit, not sure whether Shanks and the female were in conversation or not, in her own little world with her own little mind. Pondering whether to go upstairs and shoot herself up, or endure these shifters for another ten, twenty minutes. Whatever the case, she would probably just... Whammm... jumping, hand not holding the smoking stick flying to her belt and grasping a silver handle of a Browning 9x19mm Hi-Power, a common handgun. Lifting it from it's sheath pointed it at the door.

Stance and form was perfect, eyes were narrowed and it wouldn't of been surprising of orbs were cat-like slits. Stil as a cat, not making a move, chest did not rise and fall with any breath, only the smoke of the cigarette flowed nonchalant from it's stick. Thumb twitched, and cocked the gun, loaded and ready for fire. Still sitting on the eighth step up, saw the door handle turn and a teenage boy wander in utterly confused.

Fury rose inside Noxx's eyes, but the gun clicked and was put away back inside it's sheath, probably before the boy ever knew that it was pointed directly at his head. Slowly, almost nonchalant, leaned back on the step and took another hit of the cig. There was no adrenaline in her veins, of course she could of just shifted and sliced the boys throat. But possessing a gun made her feel normal, something that she lacked.

Standing, and taking another hit in the manner, ran her free hand through blonde hair. "So, another freak joins us." Tone was cold, though the words weren't meant to sting, it was just a way of referring to another shifter. "When the streets become our camouflage, we all suddenly decide to take shelter? Hmm? Well." The cigarette fell to the ground, only to be stepped on, put out like a light.

Crystal eyes zooming from face to face, scent to scent, offered "Why don't we all go to my apartment? Hmm? I've got what you need, whatever it is. And if you don't want anything, more for me." Turning walked up three stairs before stopping and looking over her shoulder. Jerking her head upstairs, continued. "Come on, let's all be normal Teenagers for once in our lives." Though their ages ranged from 14 to almost 19 they were all still in the teen range, so it should be refereed to that way. Whether they were following her or not, Noxx was going back up. Maybe, somewhere in the bottom of her pith hoping at least one would follow her.

{663 Words}
{Noxx as Human Form}
{Non Hostile}

[Rena DeVito]

Shanks' gaze flickered between Noxx and Alexx in a desperate sort of way that Alexx found delightful. He was like a trapped animal caught between the sharpened claws of it's deadly predator. 'Don't worry boy. I don't bite...often.' she thought, a gentle smile curving her lips. "Uhm. Hey, I'm Shanks." He spoke, smiling apprehensively. Alexx's lips parted to impart her own name when he continued.

"You look cold..." Alexx glanced down at her bare arms and stomach, slightly surprised to see the abundance of goosebumps that rose over her smooth skin. Glancing away, she raised one shoulder. "I suppose I am a tad bit chilled." She admitted reluctantly, with a soft laugh. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her reflection in the glass behind her. She heard something, and focused in on that sound.

Since her attention was no longer on Noxx or Shanks, Alexx missed the fact that Noxx had sat back down and had began to smoke. Only her keen nose revealed that fact, and Alexx wrinkled her nose in disgust. Her sensitive nose did not appreciate strong odors such as smoke. Pulling her mind away from the cigarette, Alexx again focused in on a sound.

What Alexx heard was a gentle pulsing sound, as though a four legged animal was running. Shanks began to speak, answer a question that the unidentified girl must have muttered before. Her eyes narrowed, and she half turned, staring out into the night with discerning blue eyes. She barely made out a shape as it came barreling into the pool of light that appeared right outside the glass wall. WHAM!

Alexx smirked slightly, as the figure morphed into human. This girl had thought only birds were dumb enough to run into windows - but hey, who was she to deny the stupid their own destiny? No longer interested in this boy, she turned her attention back to Shanks, taking this moment to really take in his form.

What Alexx saw pleased her. The boy was taller then her by a good couple inches, and was weighted well. As her gaze ran from his toes to his head, she noted that he was an average height, and didn't show any excess fat. Her search lingered on his arms, wondering how muscular they were under his black jacket. Finally her scrutiny ended at his face. Coal hair, shiny in it's cleanliness, fell is messy tuffs over his eyes. His eyes were a rather startling shade of gold. Most humans would be frightened by such a shade, but Alexx found herself rather enchanted by them. His cleanly cut face had a certain charm about it.

All in all?

This boy was worth Alexx's time.

She raised a svelte eyebrow just as she heard the door behind her creak open. Since Alexx didn't have enough time to react, the door slammed into the center of her back, causing her head to snap back and smack against the door with a loud crack.

Alexx's world swirled about her in a world of bright colors, as she staggered forward. She swayed uneasily, like a person who'd had too much wine. She saw whirl of images, one of them with Noxx pointing a gun at the door. With a small gasp, Alexx fainted, a curtain of black dropping over her vision. She wobbled for a moment, as if the forces that controlled the world were unsure of which was she should fall. Alexx then pitched forward, plummeting towards Shanks.

[Aria !]

'If I were truly a beast, I wouldn't love you.'
+Shanks+

A smile came to Alexx's lips, and Shanks found himself wondering what she was thinking. What was she thinking? What did girls think about? He had no idea, and he didn't think he really wanted to know, actually.

"I suppose I am a tad bit chilled." She told him, though she didn't look like she wanted to admit it. Shanks heard the very faint pattering of paws. He was almost positive it was just and Alley cat. He ignored it for now, but kept his sense alert.

Noxx lit a cigarette. Shanks didn't much like Cigarettes, Alcohol, or anything like that. He, in fact, hated it. It gave him a bad reputation for growing up on the streets. Everyone thought he was some big dude who did every drug possible, and drank every illegal Liquor the world had, just because he had grown up on the streets. It made him fairly mad, though the emotion never showed on his face.

Noxx, the girl on the stairs, showed little intention of interacting with him. He really didn't mind all that much, he had never really interacted with anyone other than Damien anyway.

He turned his attention back to Alexx. He found that it was rude to stare; even though he usually just looked around at things like an idiot and never talked. He wasn't really examining her, more though just noting what she looked like.

She had long, silky hair. It flowed past her shoulders easily, in a dignified way. It looked very clean and well kept, like a new medal someone had won and loved to faun over.

She had nice curves, which was, in truth, the first thing he noticed. He was of course a guy before a nobleman, but he wouldn't think about her curves first. He mentally shook the thoughts away. He looked to her face. She had soft features, gentle in their own special way.

Just then, Shanks realized he had been looking at her for a long time, which some would call staring. He didn't like to stare, so he looked away with a very light pink shade to the skin on his face, a blush, most would call it.

He perked his attention at the sound of paws sprinting closer. He turned around just in time to see an Ocelot slam into the door. 'Oh thank the lord, Damien showed up right when I needed him, as always... Wait, when he shows up doesn't something usually...'

His thoughts were interrupted as Damien shifted back, opened the door, which slammed into Alexx, and sent her into a daze. '...Break?!' Shanks though, distressed as Alexx fumbled around.

She teetered back and forth, then finally feel head first toward him. Shanks could only think of one course of action; Catch her!

He did catch her, extending his arms to wrap around her in a cradling hug that kept her from falling, but shoved them both against the wall with the force of the impact. He would've caught her some other way then hugging her, if he'd been able to think that fast. As if he'd be able to do that though, he was a Silent Attacker, not a Plan Your Every Move In Two Seconds Attacker! Not that he was going to attack her or anything, that was just his way of justifying what he'd thought.

"Damien, you idiot!" He yelled at Damien, even though he didn't really have any madness in his words. He wasn't exactly mad; he was just surprised. Like a cat who had heard a sharp noise, he just reacted with instinct.

He looked down at Alexx, his back against the wall, she on his chest. He grew a massive blush then. "A-are you alright?" He asked in a worried voice, unable to move well because of his position between her and the wall. He, for the love of god, didn't want to drop her.

[.: T O K I :.]

The greatest pleasure in life...

The first thing? Click! Wait, huh? Ow. Damien swirled his head around, but didn't really pick up on anything. Too. Much. Pain. Oh the humanity! Damien scowled and grumbled to himself, glancing around at the people huddled in a circle, talking maybe? Not really. Kind of. Ow. As he rubbed his head, Damien ranted within his own mind shield, who invented pain anyway! He moaned as he sighed at his luck... or rather, lack there of. Wait. Can you even invent pain? Or was it like, just there? Probably just there. Who even called it pain in the first place? Ow. Happy thoughts happy thoughts happy thoughts happy thoughts.

Finally as his eyes adjusted to the dim light within the building. Well, there was light outside but... it was a different light! Sooner, not really later or never, he heard an older teen's voice, not mad though, just annoyed--though he was used to it... all... the... time... Ow. "Damien, you idiot!" Oh yep, that was Shanks. Jerk reaction probably, that accounting for all the... little... things he had... accomplished before. How could he tell? Well, the fact that he knew him. The fact that he was also the only other guy besides him--wow, horrible situation to bump into. Ha. Ow. Bump. Wait. He stupidly blinked and flashed his head around, light brown bangs flying into his face before falling back to the sides in a not-so-obvious frame.

After ignoring Damien Shanks lowered his head to the girl leaning against his chest, black slick hair falling into his face which was, of course, lightly pink tinted. Golly gosh, there goes Shanks. His lean figure just barely towering over the girl and wow, was she... something. At the moment Damien didn't have the exact intelligence to say the polite things, not that it would really matter as no one could really read his mind. Well actually, people can shift, why not read minds? Wow, he wished he could read minds right about now... not that he planned on doing anything though. What was there to read in a time like this?

Oh yeah, how annoyed and possibly pissed off the girl might be at him. Or how hurt she was. Maybe how annoyed Shanks was. What would the girl on the steps think? Who knows. Who really cares. Actually they were thinking about him, he kind of cared. Wait, no he didn't. Damien had lived on the streets practically this whole life! Why was he thinking this again? Oh yeah, reading minds. It would be interesting to say the least...

Ignoring the two leaning-tower-of-a-girl-and-boy, Damien took his chances to study his surroundings, and the people. Shanks didn't exactly look any different than any other time he met him. Though usually he wore some jeans and... well a random shirt, this time though he wore a plain white, wrinkled T-shirt along with a a smooth black coat with colorful amber buttons. Amber. Huh, funny he'd think that. Wonder what she's doing... wait, off topic. Back to topic. With that he wore simple black pants... kind of like Damien's own pants! Except... his was a khaki color. More to the style of a younger teen rather than an older teen, if people noticed that stuff anymore? Who knows. Wait they were teenagers. They would know. Or did they? Maybe they lived on the streets too...

Yet as he glanced over at the girl. Oh yeah. There was no way she was living on the streets. Her whole appearance just screamed slut. Yep yep. Poor Shanks. Honest to goodness, he really didn't mean it... really. She was lean, and wow, skinny too... slender. She wore casual, from what Damien observed, skinny jeans and some plain black flats. Her shirt was a nice azure color, and way small for her. Damien wasn't the best at reading people, but he was pretty darn good. Really, who would think; slut? Uh, prep? Evil? Something along those lines he'd have to guess.

Her skin was tan, but had an edge of paleness to it, probably from the cold. Yeah... you don't go out at night in a temperature like this with those clothes on... not okay... yet what helped his observation was the fact that her hair was so freaking neat. Not that he really cared, but, it just seemed to surprise him out much people cared about hair these days. Long... silky... kind of a smooth blond color. Her hair classically draped over her shoulders ever so delicately. Scary how perfect she seemed to try to be.

Shaking his head, hand still clutched around the side of his cranium, Damien quietly sighed at the scene and inwardly rolled his eyes. Yeah, poor poor Shanks... oh well! Not his problem anymore, though... maybe he could still help him... in a way? They were good friends after all, however much they got on each others annoyance, which really wasn't much, but it was there still. As said before, jerk reactions, he was sure of it. Besides, Damien didn't always act like an idiot, but it sure did bring laughter to people and it lightened the atmosphere. He didn't need people hanging over his shoulders and hearing their sorries and looks of pity as they simply walk by.

Ignoring their little pantie fest over there, Damien cocked his head toward the other girl who stood in front of the stairs, casually leaning against the wall as if it were an every day scene. In fact, it kind of was to Damien, but no one would care it seemed. The very first thing he noticed, very first, was the cigarette she held nonchalant between her fingers as if it were normal. Well actually, all people who took drunks acted like that... so calm and... ignorant of the world. Not exactly something Damien wanted to be, and cigarette? Really not his thing, disgusting. Not caring whether he offended her or not, though he wasn't--just trying to prove his point, he scrunched up his nose and leaned to the side after letting the door click shut.

Whoops, forgot to close. Oh well. The cold hadn't really bothered him. Besides he had only shifted a few mere seconds ago, time flew by when... things were awkward? Guess that could work. It was kind of awkward... at least, the smoking girl was. Feeling uncomfortable, Damien did what he did best, he voiced his thoughts. With a false cheery voice he sheepishly grinned at no one in particular, "Well! This is awkward... gay baby." Tilting his head he watched if anyone would react, a very small possibility that they knew the joke. The girl he saw earlier, completely dark he would say. She wore a V-cut boring gray T-shirt with the name "The Used", assuming that was a band.

Like Shanks's apparent lover, she too wore jeans, but they weren't so skinny and they were faded in many places, old. Something the first girl was not. She wore many bracelets, or whatever, and a lot of necklaces too. Necklaces were cool. Though what grabbed his attention, was the great amount of makeup placed on her face. Wow, that's a lot of makeup... and jewelry. They darkened colors, really... really made her eyes pop out. They were a crystalline shade of blue, clear and innocent--he thought, kind of like his own. Like the first girl though, he was sure her... particular choice of outfit didn't do much to her warmth. Then again, Damien knew a lot of people on the streets who dressed like her, and he knew quiet a few of them too.

Which brought him to his own choice of clothing. Not so good, not so bad, just the norm. He didn't have the biggest choices of clothing, but he didn't really care either. He could just get more... he had many resources. His light blue T-shirt fit on his chest nicely, not too grabbing yet not too baggy, but that was not to say he didn't like baggy. His khaki pants were long, down to his multicolored tennis shoes, covering most of them. Like a lot of boy's pants, it had many pockets, at least 8... or something. They weren't too baggy, but they were far from skinny to say the least, some where just to where they were a little baggy, but not big.

The goth? Emo? The dark girl... yeah, slowly leaned back against the wall and took another deliberate slow drag. Damien's nose twitched as he tried not to breath it in, though obviously it would be hopeless. Didn't someone tell him something about some kind of smoke? Like? Second hand something? Second hand smoke maybe? Whatever. He certainly did not want to get cancer from this, even if he didn't smoke. The nauseating gas drifted up from the orange tinted cigarette, the smoke quickly filling in the room as there was no wind to blow it around.

After a second, the girl coolly ran a fare tanned hand through her choppy blond hair. She was somewhere between the prep and Shanks. Damn, why did he have to be the shortest? Only a few inches! Wait, oh yeah, they were all older than him. That kind of made sense. Finally she offhandedly commented, voice dark with absolutely no humor, "So, another freak joins us." Party pooper. Damien scowled at the comment, he may not have a family, but he darn well was not a freak! Unless... she knew about his shifting? Or maybe she saw earlier? The place did kind of reek of... cat? Feline? Whatever, he wasn't sure, but the place was filled with a light scent of cats. Funny, he knew Shanks was a cat shifter. Maybe these two were shifters? Was that why Shanks was hanging out with them? He didn't look too comfortable... who knows. Maybe he'd ask later when they were alone.

"When the streets become our camouflage," Yeah, shifter, "we all suddenly decide to take shelter? Hmm? Well." With an air of annoyance and overall stuck up 'bitchness' she flicked her cigarette to the floor and stepped forward to crush it, ripping out the life from the drug. He couldn't agree more. Damien lost his scowl, back to his normal neutral self around other people. Shanks's calming presence helped him keep his shyness from hiding, he did enough of that, but the two strangers didn't exactly let him out to his full potential.

She looked around 20, maybe older. Actually, they all did. Even so, she should know better than that... the streets, even at night aren't that safe. Damien learned at a young age, you always have to watch your back. Unfortunately, in this generation even your friends could be your enemies. Cliché, yes, but it was very well true anyway. Her brilliant, vivid eyes scanned the room, only seeing the rest of the teenagers, "Why don't we all go to my apartment? Hmm? I've got what you need, whatever it is." Drugs? Damien blinked, calm on the outside, but on the inside like all teenagers, was rebelling. Drugs? Drugs? I don't want drugs? Why should I go to your apartment? I don't even know you!

"And if you don't want anything, more for me." Oh. Okay, that works too. But still, I don't know you! Why should I follow? What is Shanks going to do? This girl kind of freaked him out, well, all of them with the exception of Shanks did, but he was a friend. What should he do? He wasn't sure. What if Shanks followed her? Should he? Without waiting for any reply the girl twisted on her heels and took a few steps up before pausing and commenting over her shoulder, "Come on," She could have inwardly rolled her eyes. Maybe as an indication that they should come. She did kind of sound impatient... "Let's all be normal teenagers for once in our lives."

If she was brave enough to say that, it could easily be assumed that everyone here was a shifter. From the scent, he'd guess they were all felines too. Funny how life works like that. Such a small world... and getting smaller. Damien made no notion to follow, not until Shanks did. He made up his mind, he couldn't exactly leave one of his best friends with these two... weird people. Maybe it was a trap, who knows. They were all felines, but unfortunately he didn't know exactly what kind of feline they were. With an eyebrow raised and an ignorant shrug he replied to her earlier comment, "Streets aren't shelter if anything... of course, if you mean the night... well you can't really say it's our 'cam-ou-flage' either." Maybe he could wait this conversation out long enough to see what Shanks would decide...

... is doing what people say you cannot do.

w o r d s'' two-one-nine-seven
m u s e'' 9
l y r i c a l . m u s e'' Unwell - Matchbox Twenty
n o t e p a d'' Heh, long.

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