Human Awes {open}

[Lael]

The only thing that the fallen celestial could really gather from this place was that it was huge and had a lot of humans. That was all she could really think in the first place. She had never had many memories of the City, having lived most of her life on the Shifter Island. She was glad that she had left before the volcano blew. From what she heard, there were hordes of shifters in the Boil. Somewhere that she did not like to be.

Lael hated heat, especially extreme desert heat. Even the thought about it was enough to make her shudder. So much that it had shut her thoughts off to the city around her. She didn't notice the stares that she was receiving or the hushed movements of the humans as they seemed to be in a hurry to get to somewhere--or someone. She hadn't even noticed that she was the only one unclothed around here. That was a potential source of the stares.

But she wasn't in the Boil, she was here, in the city, the human capital where Twilight was approaching. The buildings were blocking most of the sky, but it was enough for her to admire. So pretty, there were precious few natural things that were pretty here. Even the buildings held some sense of forebode. But at least she didn't feel very lost here. Everything was different and it didn't really occur to her that she didn't know her way out. One way or the other, she would be able to get to the wall and follow it to the exit without trouble, right?

The city was amazing, nevertheless. And though she was rather oblivious to the stares and hushed whispers, she couldn't help but be somewhat curious as to the stares that people were giving her. Some made her smile, others made her shudder, some she didn't mind at all. Well, she wasn't going to do anything to them, so they shouldn't be too afraid of her. But as if she was slightly influenced, she moved off to the shadier side where less people could see her.

[Duci]

Business seemed to take her everywhere. Duci was getting used to her visits to the City, but she was starting to miss the Boil. There, everybody was more or less equal. Nobody gave a rat’s ass where you were born or what species you were. It was all about cunning and strength. In the City, Duci could feel them staring. In her half form, it was obvious that she was a fallen celestial. Duci possessed her human body, with her curves and shorter hair, but her hair was golden, her skin fair, and dusky blue wings sprouted from her back.

To the humans, she was nothing more than a slave. Normally, Duci would accept that posture, put on the act, and be the last thing in the world that anyone suspected. Not then. Her hips swayed as she walked, catching the attention of passerby, teasing them with thoughts that they would try to deny. Thoughts that would haunt them and disgust them. Duci could manipulate them so easily just by walking. Her hair was pulled up and tied in a horsetail to reveal the graceful curve of her neck. The long white skirt sat low at her hip, and flowed along with the movement of her body.

It was the top that really made people stare. True to her nature, Duci cared little for human propriety. The black band that wrapped around her top hardly covered what needed covering. Her stomach was bare for everyone to see. Normally, this would cause quite a stir. A skanky shapeshifter boldly walking down the City streets. People would spit, curse, and do all sorts of things to prove to their friends that they did not like what they saw. That night, the further away from her inn that she walked the less interested people seemed.

This was curious. Everyone seemed to be directing their attentions elsewhere. Curious, Duci searched for the source. Aha! One of her breed, recklessly walking with no clothes at all. But why? Was she a slave? If not, that was a dangerous thing. Someone would capture her. Not that Duci should care. But she did. Duci had a soft spot when slavers were involved, and that one did not look chained or owned. Duci wanted to investigate. Silently, she followed the girl into the shadows. “Why?” she demanded, “Are you out without clothes?” Her tone was curious and far more gentle than she intended it to be, though not without some amount of bite.

[Lael]

"Why are you out without clothes?"

[/i]

Lael jumped at the voice and bit down hard on her lip as not to scream. No, she'd just draw attention to herself from the humans that surrounded here. From what she could guess, that wasn't a good thing. Well, there was no point in doing things that had no purpose, although she did that frequently.

The voice had scared her a considerable bit, taking in the fact that she wasn't so sure that humans were this quiet or had the grace to sneak up on people. From the little that she heard, she could guess that the speaker was female, inquisitive and a more than a little reproachful, very reproachful. She turned around, chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise. If there was one thing that she noticed, it was that she had clothing--or what one could call clothing on. That was a little more than she herself.

The next thing she noticed were the black eyes seeming without depth. They seemed to hold curiosity and hostility at the same time. Strange. And she did not think a lot of humans had black eyes and blond hair or wore such clothes that obviously showed off her figure. And she didn't seem very flustered by the fact that she was wearing no garments. Catching sight of a soft blue object from directly behind the woman, she gleaned the fact that she was like Lael, a fallen celestial.

Lael did not know whether to be scared or relieved. This woman seemed... strict and rather sharp. But despite her timid nature, she decided that a shapeshifter of her own kind could be trusted more than humans. But still...

The answer that she would give was a little strange, but it was the truth. The truth was always better than lies so tell the truth. "Well," Lael looked down to the ground with a kind of blush. "I don't have any." She said with a rueful and timid smile. Ah, now that the answer was negative, what would the shifter woman say? Reprimand her? Help her? With the seemingly permanent conflicting emotions that she could glean from her tone and gaze, she had no real idea of knowing.[/center][/size][/color][/font]

[Duci]

The child jumped. Well lookit that, I frightened the poor thing. She was somewhat amused by this. At least the girl knows to be afraid. Duci waited, hands on her hips, as the child turned around. She looked surprise. Duci raised an eyebrow, allowing one small show of the amusement she was feeling slither out into her expression. The shapeshifter waited patiently for the girl to figure it out, that they were of the same ilk. At last, the child seemed to catch sight of her one truly telling attribute. Her wings. She fluttered them slightly, silently agreeing that yes, she was a fallen celestial.

Finally, the child spoke. ”Well, I don’t have any.”

Now it was Duci’s turn to be surprised, though the expression did not reach her face. She did not own clothes? So then, was she a slave after all? There was no way. The child was not collared, she looked healthy and uninjured. It did not fit. “Surely you are not a slave…” Emotion did creep into her expression then. Curiosity tempered with confusion. “You cannot possibly be a slave in that condition.” Duci did not understand why a shapeshifter would be in The City without clothes.

She sighed and looked up, as though asking the stars for helpful advice. “What are you doing here, Child? I do not have time to babysit wayward shapeshifters.” She glanced back at the girl, a frown tugging on her lips. “If you are not a slave then why are you without clothes? How did you come to be here? This place is dangerous for the likes of you.” Her gaze sharpened suspiciously. “Unless you only play the half-wit. Is that the case? Is this a game you are playing, Little Girl? If so, you are doing It all wrong.”

Duci crossed her arms in front of her chest as she fixed the girl with a stony stare. “You blend in or you get out. Not even whores walk around wearing nothing at all. You look like a target. This place is not like The Southern Boil, where rules are only suggestions. The people here mean business with their laws. Do you understand?” Duci had slipped into a rant without meaning to. Her experience in the field of subtle human manipulation was so extensive that she found it all too easy to pinpoint every little thing this girl was doing wrong.