Welcome

July 31, 2012.

Cassie wondered the city. She had thick black rimmed librarian spectacles with little horns on the rims and a comfy old plaid shirt that the sleeves had been ripped off of, making it almost a vest. Ratty jeans and ancient sneaks completed the outfit. She had her hair back in a tail and had two pencils stuck into it. A back pack filled with art supplies, a few sketch books and a few snacks.
She had another month untill Aida started and she really truly need to just draw for a little while. So she had taken to in old habit:walking the city looking for things to draw.

Her fingers traced walls as she moved. Occasionally she stopped to sketch something she was given in a vision and other times she just stopped to capture the scenery and people around her in the present. She had reached the docks and could hear the ships in the harbor. She took some time to sketch the ships when she found them, enjoying the sweeping lines of the prow and the looming immensity of the smokestacks.

Further on, still grinning in pleasure in capturing the great ships, she turned a corner in an alley way. She paused, something catching her attention. She laid a hand against one wall and gasped:

A sweeping tail and impossible grace, a laughing smile, inquisitive eyes. And the most beautiful shade of blue she had ever seen.

An abnormal! Another abnormal had been here, one she hadn't see before! Cassie giggled, almost bouncing on her toes. She dropped her back pack and began digging through it. She was sure she had chalk in almost exactly that impossible shade of blue. She couldn't make it make, make it alive like... Cassie brushed her hand against the wall again but couldn't find the abnormal's name. She couldn't make it move like his skin.

"Ah!" she gave a small cry of triumph and found her little set of chalks. She pulled out the piece of chalk she wanted and began a quick sketch in her sketch pad. She used quick motions fingers and the edge of nails to achieve the exact blend affect she wanted. It also had the side of effect of dusting her fingers the same blue color as the abnormal's skin. She reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, leaving a long streak of blue at her temple and on her ear.

The picture wasn't perfect, still a bit unclear. "Were are you...?" she wondered out loud to herself. She reached up and touched the wall again, concentrating. "You are..." Cassie used her finger to trace the shadow path of the abnormal. "There." she pointed to the top or the building across the alley from her. She grinned, "I see you." She didn't really see, see him up there of course, but she knew now that was where he was. She sprinted across the alley and up the fire escape on that building, using years of backstage experience to be as silent has possible. She wondered what she would find at the top. "Please don't run away," she whispered, "Please still be there." something in her desperately wanted to draw this new abnormal, to meet him.

The Sanctuary had fallen. Burned. People had scattered and in the chaos of it all he'd been seperated from them. For now he'd made his home down in the tunnels under the city. Over the last few weeks he'd spent his time memorizing them. Mapping them out in his head, learning where each tunnel went, how they attached to the sewers; not to mention where the sewers gave him access to the city. He'd had to stay hidden for most of the time, heal up from some wounds that he'd gotten during the fall of the Sanctuary. Now however he was right as rain.

He was spending his time looking for the others when he could. Avoiding the SCIU, avoiding the humans that were so afraid of abnomals like him. Because he was different. His feet were bare, toes curled over the edge of a building as he sat against one of the smoke stacks atop it, hidden in it's shadow. Normally coming out during the daylight was dangerous. But he'd felt cooped up and when that happened, well he had to wander. His hood kept his face in shadow, tail curled about his waist so none could see it, the rest of the cloak hiding his lithe form from view.

Dark eyes were watching the sea and the sunset. Mind wandering. Wondering if ever there would come a time when he'd see a peaceful world. Or if his brother's were right about the humans. That they'd never accept them. Or other abnormals. Ah, he was such an idealist! He couldn't give up hope. Then soft pat-pat-pat against the metal of the fire escape. Most humans might not have picked up on that, but he had a better sense of hearing than a human did. Better sense of smell too. Tilting his head up he sniffed and caught the scent of... human... and chalk. Odd combination.

He slowly rose to his full height from his crouch. If it was an enemy though, better to be prepared to move and evade an attack. Dark eyes trained on the fire escape as he stayed deadly still in the shadow of the smoke stack, hood drawn over his face, keeping it in shadow as well. As the wind blew the first thing he saw were whisps of red hair peeking over the top of the ladder of the fire escape. Then he heard a faint muttering in what sounded like a female voice. Curious.

Cassie crested the top of the building and pulled herself up, scanning the rooftop. She almost immediately spotted the hooded figure in the shadow of a smoke stack. She smiled at him, suddenly shy. "Hello." she said softly.

She stepped forward slowly, lifting her sketch book to sketch out a few quick likes of what was in front of her:the expanse of the building, the chimneys and the man in the hooded cloak. Her hand moved rapidly, she was still using the blue chalk and sketch book she had for her first picture. Even more blue chalk dust covered her hands. A soft happy, slight entranced smile touched her features. She glanced up and clutched her sketch book and the chalk to her again.

"I'm Cassie." she offered taking a few steps closer. "Won't you please come out? Let me see you properly? Or atleast tell me your name? I can't find it anywhere, and the stones won't tell me." she took another step. "I won't hurt you."

He remained still as the woman came over the top of the building. The smell of chalk was a bit stronger. But what really struck him was that she looked towards him... and smiled. "Hello." Came her soft voice. He didn't move, not an inch. As she moved forward he watched as she lifted the book in her hand, her other moving over it. What was she doing? He made note of the blue streak on her cheek and ear, almost the color of his own skin.

And her smile grew. One of happiness that seemed to make her light up to him. This human girl, she was perplexing him. His logical side he should go, flee here before something bad happened. But he found that he wanted to stay here and figure out why she wasn't scared of him. He was all but a stranger in a dark cloak in the shadows of a building. And here she was acting as if they knew each other. "I'm Cassie... Won't you please come out? Let me see you properly? Or at least tell me your name? I can't find it anywhere and the stones won't tell me."

Her last few words alone made him realize she wasn't human. No, she was some kind of abnormal. Now he was curious about what her ability was. Did she talk to the earth or something? "I won't hurt you." That made him smile in the darkness where she couldn't see it. Debating for a bit more on just what he'd do.

Finally relenting the tall dark figure moved from beside the smoke stack, flowing almost as if he was part of the darkness there. As he moved into the light he almost seemed like a shadown come to life. That is until hands rose and the first tinge of blue was seen, as he took hold of his hood and pushed it back. Face now revealed to her. "Greetings, Cassie. I am Octavious." He let a bit of silence rise up there as he took her in. "You're an abnormal." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You should be careful how you word things, Miss Cassie."

If possible the smile on Cassie's face grew wider on seeing Octavious' face. She even blushed a little. He was handsome! She resisted the urge to laugh at his scolding. "Not Miss, just Cassie." she corrected him. She tucked the blue chalk behind her ear, leaving a streak of blue on her cheek as she does so. She caught his hand and shook it, passing the blue chalk from her fingers to his hands, were it all but disappeared to any but those with the sharpest eyes. Nothing put in a feeling of age and a glimmering of laughter pressed down on her. It was such a relief! "It is a a genuine pleasure to meet you Octavious." A soft Texan accent crept into her words, pulling out the syllabulls in 'genuine' . Cassie realized she was getting chalk on him and let go. "Oh I'm sorry!" she said, "I'm always such a mess when I draw, I used to drive professors crazy. I'm gotten chalk all over over your hand." she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, dislodging the blue chalk she had tucked behind her ear and spread the mess.

"Oh!" Cassie realized she had dropped her drawing utensil on knelled to pick it up. In the process her sketch book slipped out of her arms, opening to the page with the almost fuzzy, impressionistic drawing she had done of Octavious in the alley. She had tried in those few quick moments to give at least the impression of movement and joy she had gotten from her vision. With out his face she wasn't so sure of the job she had done. But it was of him. And there where rules.
"Oh." she said softer. She picked it up and handed to the man. "You can have that drawing." she said. "That's what I do. I was in the alley and I saw you, I see the past - and sometime the future. And then I draw it. And I saw you walk the through the alley and up the fire escape and you were.... you are." The most beautiful thing I've ever seen..... Don't tell him that! "stunning. I've never, that is um...." she stood. "I've never met one of your folk before, and I hoped to draw you. Please?" she stood. "I can't really afford to pay a model's hours but well, you can have anything of you I draw when I'm done if you want. And I'm a fair decent cook. I just... sometimes you see something so amazing, you have capture it on a canvas. Please?"

Cassie realized she sounded like a complete and utter twitter-pated idiot. Not a good first impression AT ALL.