â Paul Makota â
Of all the population, her. What are the odds?
Of all the population, her. What are the odds?
Paul glanced over at the girl who had joined him. He hadn't expected to see the face that looked over at him, nor the form that now stood only a few feet away. He couldn't put a name to her, though. He knew her only as the redheaded girl who went jogging around here regularly. Seeing her out in the midst of a storm this bad was...surprising. A sudden roar of thunder interrupted his train of thought, and he jumped before calming himself and answering her. "No, it's no trouble. But if this wind picks up we might need to find better shelter." He wasn't exaggerating; the rain was already moving sideways in odd drifts. If it got worse it might move objects, or even them! He looked through the rain, wondering if any buildings there were occupied. If they were not, they might be in luck. Of course, how could Paul know? Or more importantly, how could he figure out without betraying that he was not native to Portland? After all, the only other possibility was that he was an Invalid, and that would spell certain doom.
Paul, focus. You have to get to safety before you can worry about getting out of here. And don't forget Alva! Paul had to get his priorities in order. If worst came to worst he could stand being on the run for a while, and getting the hell out would be easy even with Regulators after him. He supposed. He hadn't had to evade pursuit before except from one or two Regulators; they would doubtlessly try harder to catch an Invalid, especially one who had been interacting with one who he presumed was unmarked! He couldn't see the Devil's Mark on her, but her hair covered the area where it would be anyhow. He supposed asking would be impolite, and so decided not to. Instead, he focused on more important issues. "I don't know this area of the city very well. I kind of got caught out here, and live...elsewhere." Technically not a lie. "I think we might want to find more...substantial shelter. You think we can get into any of these buildings?" He tried the door under the overhang; to his surprise it opened to reveal an empty room. Perhaps they had shelter after all. "Well, looks like we can get in here. Come on. The wind's picking up." Indeed, a sudden gust had blown by as he spoke.