Amandine Sawyer's Story

Nuru shakes his head, "Fear doesn't stop everything from happening." he remarks as Fen Hong nuzzles into her. "Yes like a serpent it sneaks up on someone...first it is little luxuries then it is a house...though...huh can I make the interior of the house if I only paint the exterior?" he muses. "You don't feel any greed? I am jealous of that." he admits.

He gently shakes her hand, "I may have to pay this academy a visit then," he remarks. "Luca? Well he must be a nice man if he found you and befriended you." he says with a grin.

She squeezed his hand gently, though something about her own, the shape of it beneath the gloves, seemed off. Her hand wasn't soft, but rather... sharp. Hard. And very thin.

Amandine did not let go of his hand after they shook. In fact, she pulled him toward her and tried to swing him around in a spin. "Oh, how I do wish I could feel it! I know so little of the world. To not feel is torture, not to feel pain, not to feel greed, not to feel loss! But to feel nothing." She smiled, she laughed. "He is a nice man, indeed, though he can be terribly clumsy and jittery and nervous all the time. He's the reason I'm where I am, I think. He would love to know you!"

Nuru blinks, a bit confused at the feel of her hand. He says nothing though, not wanting to seem rude by prying into her life. Nuru stumbles to his feet as he is pulled to her, "Ack!" he cries out as he is swung around, Fen Hong however thought it was delightful fun as he flew around them both in a circle, chirping and squawking. "That...would be terrible....even the bad emotions...like anger and envy have a purpose." he explains. At her description of Luca, Nuru chuckles. "He sounds like a wonderful man, and fun to be around Amandine, it would be fun to meet him...I could use more friends." he admits.

Amandine smiled so brightly that the sun dimmed in comparison. She twined her fingers with Nuru's so that they were grasping one another's hands more intimately than before.

"Are... we friends, Nuru?" she asked him hopefully, then looking at the bird. "And you too, Fen Hong!"

Nuru smiles at her, giving her hand a squeeze as Fen Hong lands on his shoulder, his pink feather a stark contrast to Nurus' gray purple hair.

He didn't hesistant in his answer, "Yes we are friends Amandine." he says with a slight smile, Fen Hong seems to understand her words as he chirps happily, ruffling his feathers a bit.

Amandine laughed so loudly she squeaked. "Wonderful! I have friends!" She let go of Nuru's hand and danced out into the gardens, twirling around her umbrella. "I have friends, I have friends!"

Nuru could not help but smile at her happiness. He watches her dance out of the garden as he follows her with a chuckle, Fen Hong chirps and spins seeming to dance with her as Nuru catches up.

Walking in the gardens, a place she had so much fondness for, Amandine smiled, spinning in slow circles. She had one gloved hand outstretched, and the other held onto her frilled, blue umbrella. The clouds hung heavily over the late afternoon sky and showered their burden down in a misty rain. This did not bother Amandine, even though water splashed her expensive, knee-length dress she wore, lifted by heavy petticoats and matching the color of her umbrella. Her black stockings, topped by bows, like her flats, were soaked.

Even so, she kept spinning, her bun falling to her shoulders in a mess, singing jovially.

"It's raining! It's pouring!"

The walk from the slums, where the massive prison complex should have been, was a shorter one than initially thought. Rounding a corner a miraiad of scents crashed into her senses. All sorts of scents, the rain had started falling again, a drizzle, somewhat foggy, but otherwise the temperture was quite nice.

Stepping into the openness of the gardens Charity took careful note of what was there, her HUD picking up all sorts of unknown scents, sounds and colors. Mentally setting the colors to a white balance, she was able to keep her feet good enough. then she picked up a voice. Naturally curious, though still with Julius; the Protector trailed off the path and stepped into a side garden of flowers. Following the voice

Someone was,..... singing ? She turned to Julius, who was with her, asking softly, "Hear that ?" Why would someone sing while in the rain ? As far as she was concerned, rainy weather of any kind reminded her of a family loss. So why would someone be singing in the rain ? It made no sense, it helped very little that the Corporate Congress whiped the histories in 2058 from all schools. Including old movies. So she had no idea that people made a movie of it to begin with.

The little girl was alone, then. She'd always been alone. Whether it was on the streets or in a garden like now, she sat alone. The rain was pouring now, heavily, much more than the light sprinkle that had been going on when she arrived. The girl sat alone, nothing shielding her from the elements, drenched as one could be. The rain was good. No one would see her. No one would ask her why she was here, where her parents were, or why she was alone. She got asked these questions constantly. She supposed she should enjoy what little conversation she could get, but when the only words you ever hear directed at you are hollow questions, you tend to stop caring about conversation.

The rain was also good for concealing the thin stream of tears flowing from her eyes. So lost in thought in the rain, even she didn't realize she was crying.

Flashbacks, memories of blood. A clawed hand raking the wall, painting it red with her adoptive father's blood. The sickly feeling in her stomach as she tripped backwards landing on her back, her hair in a puddle of sticky, thick blood. The sharp pain of fangs piercing her neck. Her cry out for help, her cry of pain.

She cried harder now. Even when she tried to conceal her memories, they resurfaced.

"It's raining! It's pouring!" Evelyn looked up at the sound of singing. She didn't see anyone at first, then she saw two people coming towards her. She lowered her head again. Couples never approached her, they were too worried about themselves, or often times too polite to be nosy. She sighed then, a long depressed sigh, that was lost in the patter of the rain.

Julius sniffed the air as it started to drizzle, and he sighed. "Let's hurry to the store, before it starts raining too hard." he said. As he lady in front of him stopped and turned to face him, he nodded. "Yea, I hear it." he said softly, his yellow eyes glowing dimly in the low light of the rainy day.

He let out a small breath and gestured to keep going. "Come on, we have to get out of this rain." he said, turning quickly to keep moving forward.

Any of them that could hear particularly well, or smell, for that matter, wouldn't detect a heartbeat from the strange, pallid singer who danced through the gardens. Nor would they smell any detectable traces of blood from her. In fact, there was an ever so slightly faint scent of rot about the woman, covered by heavy perfumes.

She continued her dance, grinning ever so wide. "The old man is snoooooring!" She stepped up onto a nearby fountain, grabbing onto the statue in the middle. "He went to bed and bumped his head... and didn't wake up in the mooorning!"

Stepping down from the fountain, she paused, unknowingly having stepped right in front of a young, weeping girl. Blinking, Amandine tilted her head and pursed her lips.

"Why, hello, there," she chirped, bending her knees in a curtsy. "Rare to see another soul in the rain! Need an umbrella?"

Without hesitation, the woman lifted the umbrella from above herself, and gave the younger girl shelter. "That'd do it, now, wouldn't it?" she grinned. "And what's this? How lucky to find people moving about in this place!"

She waved to the couple with the slightest giggle. "Nice weather we're having, wouldn't you say?"

The HUD was going haywire, picking up only one person by a fountain when she was able to see, clearly, two people not far away. What the heck ? It made no sense whatsoever. With her gaze now towards Julius she asked "Why would someone sing in the rain ? It does not make any sense." Clearly the present confused her, so far at the very last. As far as she knew, this place was not even her world!

She heard the song end, and then someone speaking to someone else; yet, no heartbeat, no sign of breathing, nothing from the one with the umbrella. And when the umbrella carrier turned her way, Charity still was unable to get a data lock. Just freakin' wonderful. She thought. This was not going to go well.

Hyoweverr she replied in kind. "I would not know, I'm a stranger here myself. Why do you ask ? Does it not rain when you are from ?" Unable to fully mask herself from asking when in place of where, she hoped that Julius didn't catch it. At least, he did not see the cameras in her eyes.

The girl looked up, surprised at the sight of another person, the singer no less. Well, well, she had been approached.
"Why, hello, there. Rare to see another soul in the rain! Need an umbrella?" She then sheltered her with her umbrella. The little girl looked up at it, then to the woman.
"Ari..." She stopped. Right, this woman spoke English. She searched for the words for a few moments... "S-... Thank you." She said. At this point, the little girl was consciously aware that she was shivering, her blood ran cold from the rain.

She then turned to the couple she had spotted previously. "Mishiranu... hito..." She said under her breath. She looked back to the woman who gave her the umbrella, confused.

Amandine tilted her head to the other side, curious at the words coming out of the girl's mouth. "Come again?" she asked, blinking. She let her attention get taken away by the other woman, who's partner had since left.

"Hello, there! I've lived here all my life and it rains all the time. It doesn't mean it gets any less wonderful, don't you think?"

"I am not sure of what you mean by that" Charity was unable to get a solid reading off the woman holding the umbrella, what the heck was wrong with her HUD and TER ? Nothing was the short answer. Something weird was the long answer. "Pardom me if I sound odd, but I think I am going to get going and catch up with my fellow. It was..... nice, seeing you. Get dry." With that she took her leave