Snippet #2815968

Clink.

A sharp, metallic sound pricked Vic's ears. It came from her left, in the shadows of an alleyway. The silhouette of a man, faintly illuminated by a flickering flame. His thumb tugged the cap of a lighter open, then closed.

Clink.

The man stepped out of the dark, dressed in a midnight-coloured, single-breasted suit. He glared at her, with golden-ringed hazels as bright as his fire. Lines were etched into his angular, frowning features. A crown of dark curls adorned his head, cut close yet stylish.

Clink.

"You lost, boy?" He asked, his voice a raspy, guarded hiss.

Vic watched the stranger approach with a wary side-eye. She kept her missing hand hidden in her pocket, and shuffled out a cigarette packet with the other.

“No, I’m lollygagging,” she stated, and flicked a cigarette out of the pack with her thumb before holding it out to him.

The stranger's brows shot up. That voice. A woman, he realised. He eyed her carefully, then scoffed.

"You look like shit," He remarked. "What are you… homeless? Junkie?" He snapped the lighter shut. "Smoking will kill you."

Vic gave him a flat stare before tucking her cigarettes back into her pocket. “So you just carry that lighter around for the intimidation factor.”

"Use it for my cooking," He replied, matching her deadpan. The stranger held the lighter high, and its chrome surface caught the sunlight. "Reliable. Unlike those kitchen lighters."

Clink.

The stranger flicked the lighter alight once more. Vic narrowed her eyes, and immediately all the oxygen around the little flame was snuffed out and the light along with it. He did a double take, and flicked the lighter on and off a couple more times, to no avail. His lips curled with disapproval and Vic snorted.

“Yeah, looks it,” she laughed, hand instinctively going up to hide her grin despite the mask.

The stranger shot her a dirty look. For a second, Vic swore she saw the golden rings on his eyes flash. He pocketed his lighter. "Club's closed. Go home, come back in ten hours."

The amusement in Vic’s eyes dropped and she raised a brow, pushed herself up off the wall and slunk towards him. “So you work here,” she remarked. "Mmh. That's how I got the suit," he replied. “Cute. Look, I’m not here to party at this dive. Where’s Lab Rat?”

The stranger's entire body language shifted. Lower, more guarded. The glow in his eyes returned, prominent against the dark shadows of the alley. "Who the fuck are you?" He asked, as much a question as it was a threat. Vic’s eyes flicked to the side in exasperation.

“You said it, junkie. Just here to get my fix - why the fuck does it matter?” her tune changed mid-lie, “The freak’ll probably end up killing me for kicks anyway. Where do I find Lab Rat?”

The stranger considered her words. He looked at her from top to bottom, skepticism coloured his eyes… but he relented. With a sigh, he turned around and beckoned her to follow. "Lab Rat is a freak," He stopped and glared over his shoulder. "And you're a fool for dealing with him."

The stranger marched on anyways, towards Shapeless. "What's your name?" He put his hands inside his pockets. "Need to know what to write in your obituary."

Whomph. The sound of baggy clothes hitting the ground turned his head. Stepping out of the mound on the ground was a concerningly thin and beaten up body in a pair of skinny jeans and a crop top, with a loose yellow and black mesh singlet. She threw the beanie down in the pile. Her hair was cut short, still an eye-burning red, but now just ticking her earlobes in a messy bowl cut.

“Vicki Vortex,” she answered as she tugged down her mask. The stranger's eyes widened at this revelation. His jaw dropped, and he stared, unblinking and slack-jawed, for far too long. Vic’s brow twitched. “What? I know, I’ve got all the sex appeal of Ellen Page. But -” She followed his eyes, to the wispy stump her left hand was supposed to be. “... Right. Don’t worry about that. I’m working on it.”

The stranger slowly turned away, visibly growing less comfortable by every second. "...You look like a crackhead."

“Fuck you.”