Snippet #2410211

"She'd like you to take her hand."The other male in the room said, seeming a bit incredulous. Ezra just smiled and took the hand that was offered him. In a second, his eyebrows were going up and disappeared under his bangs in awestruck wonder.

My name is Elsie. First, I apologize for my father's dramatics. Second, I apologize for my inability to speak— I'll have a whiteboard in a minute, if you'd like to have a more coherent conversation. Third, and most importantly, I'll be answering any questions you might have now that you've all accepted our offer. The girl glanced at the group with a small, polite smile. As for 'who the Hell I am,' all you'll need to know, moving forward, is that I'm to monitor and document your progress to ensure your safety over the course of the next few weeks... or months, depending on how long this takes. As you well know, nothing comes for free, and in exchange for your own safety, we request that you perform a number of tasks for us to cover various... fees. She paused, glancing up at the ceiling, trying to find the next few words. And, as it happens, the very first is right here in San Francisco. How do you all feel about heading to a party tonight?

Ezra grinned carelessly as he continued to hold the girl's hand. He hadn't touched another person in... what was it? Had it really been that long? Months... He relished the softness of her skin and his hand tightened on her smaller one for a fraction of a second before relaxing his hold. Gosh, he felt like a fricken pedo. The lonely winged man forced himself to think about other things, like the party. A party meant people. Lot's of people. Despite his craving for human conversation and contact, it sent his heart a flutter of rapid anxiety. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember the last time he had spent time with more than a single person at a time. He couldn't. His dark eyes warmed as he stood, tilting his head in a relaxed, friendly manner.

"Well, a party huh." Ezra reached up to his face with his free hand almost hesitantly and gently tugged on a thin lock of his shiny hair, an old unbreakable habit. "One night out can't kill me. Where is it? But won't it look weird if I go as well, I don't exactly..." His eyes darted quickly to the others with a twinge of self consciousness, before looking back at the girl. "I don't really blend in." Not like you, Ezra added in his head. She could project her thoughts, yet she was so so lucky, cause in everyone else's eyes, she was just a perfectly normal little girl. With a bit of amusement, Ezra ruffled his feathers and thought to himself why he wasn't more weirded out by all this.