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 Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:30 pm
She saw the world through rose-hued glasses, or rather through rose-hued eyes that badly needed glasses, but when you couldn't even afford to keep yourself fed, you passed up things like perfect vision. Jai flicked a fur-tipped ear at the passing traffic, the wind kicking up and blowing against her fur with the scent of exhaust and gasoline and she scrunched her nose and continued walking. Her paws were sore and her belly was empty, growling ever so softly to remind her of that fact every fifteen minutes, like her stomach had an internal clock. Placing a paw on her belly, she pressed in to ease the dull ache. "Shut up, belly," she murmured, her voice soft and almost musical. It didn't stop complaining--in fact, it only got worse when the heavenly scent of hotdogs floated through the air and her heart sank lower in her chest at the sight of a hotdog vendor... God, she wasn't a thief, but she was so very hungry...
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Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:38 pm
The hotdogs stunk, but Kallan was hungry and food was nourishment, something that the too-skinny fox clearly lacked. He probably looked a sight, gaunt frame and dingy fur and eyes that rarely focused on any one thing, like some sort of addict needing a fix. It wasn't his fault...he was naturally twitchy. It scared people off...which suited him just fine, he didn't like people anyway and they sure as hell didn't like him.
Still, when he edged closer to the vendor, he saw a ragamuffin girl with unkempt hair staring longingly at the hotdogs, her body tense and still but her fingers and ears twitched. She was half-hidden behind a trash bin, from the vendor not from him, and he knew that look--she was about to steal a meal and his heart did this strange fluttery thing, he couldn't quite explain.
By the looks of it, she was nervous; she'd never stolen anything before. She was probably a good girl down on her luck and he was...no good at all. Before he realized what he was doing, he was sprinting in her direction. "Wait!" he barked, reaching for her, his paw catching her elbow.
She swung towards him, her eyes the color of rose quartz and filled with surprise. He let go of her paw, warmth blazing through him at that one Look. "You aren't that kind of girl..." he said, waving a paw in the direction of the hotdog cart.
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Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:42 pm
Her heart picked up speed at the sight of the male--he was huge, but skinny as hell, like he hadn't seen a meal in days, and it broke her heart. The left side of his face showed a pale scar that split through the fur, long healed but still...deadly, like he wasn't one you should mess with. Why, then, was her heart fluttering? She should be afraid, backing away, yelling for help. Instead she just stood there, watching him with round eyes.
"I'm hungry," she murmured, looking down at her paws. "Hunger makes you do things you don't normally do. Who are you, anyway?" Probably her guardian angel...but damn she'd always imagined Him to be beautiful and golden and radiant in his love.
She sat down on the curb, noting the way his muscles clenched and twitched beneath his fur, the way his body never stilled, the way he seemed to sway in place. His blue eyes were pale as the summer sky and despite his rough exterior, they promised warmth, safety. Love.
She swallowed and patted the sidewalk next to her. "We could be hungry together?" she offered, hopeful for his company.
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Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:45 pm
Kallan stared at her, awestruck. Here he was in full-form, ragged and dirty and twitching, God he couldn't stop twitching, and she just looked at him like he was an angel sent to save her, her pink eyes so bright, so full of hope that his heart just about melted in his chest.
"Er..." He glanced between the girl and the hotdog stand, back and forth, then pinned his ears and sat down next to her, but not touching her. He knew to keep his distance, but she didn't seem afraid at all. Just curious. Jai? "That's very...pretty," he said. "Does it mean anything, or were you just blessed with a beautiful name?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. Damnit.
"I'm Kallan," he added quickly. "Not that it matters."
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Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:49 pm
Jai giggled at his words--so smooth, yet he seemed to regret them and she felt bad for him. "I dunno what it means," she said, scratching the back of her neck from an imaginary fleabite. "It's just the name that my momma gave me, before..." Before. There was only before.
Happiness and peace and love. Glimpses of her mother's smiling face, her father's proud crimson eyes, the way her little brother would chew on her chopstick. But that's all they ever were--glimpses. She never saw the whole picture. She didn't remember the whole picture.
"It doesn't matter. This is After, not Before." She fell quiet but her stomach did not. "God, I'm so hungry..." She wanted to go back, to that Before and its love and care and homecooked meals, so badly... Jai pressed her eyes shut and felt the burn of tears, try as she might to fend them off, but they spilled down her cheeks. "S-Sorry."
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Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:54 pm
Kallan's eyes tracked her every move, her body soft and gentle and flowing like water. She was beautiful, even all rough-and-tumble with matted fur--and she didn't look scared at all, just curious. And then sad, so sad...
He pulled his ears back, uncertain all of a sudden when she burst into silent tears. "I...er..." He stumbled over words, trying to find the right ones. Before? After? It didn't make sense, jumbled words in his head. Half of him screamed to take off, that she was a liability...but the other half wanted to hug her and kiss her tears away.
He settled for wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing her to him. He could feel his heart speed up as she looked into his soul with those pale rose eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her, pressing his forehead against hers--she was a perfect stranger, he was a terrifying hobo, and yet...it felt right.
"You want me to get us a few hotdogs? How many do you want?" He could do that for her--steal the food so she could have a full belly. He wanted nothing more than to help her.
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