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To clarify one thing first: Alexis Tucker did not, and would never, go looking for help. Any help they so happened to stumble upon was...incidental.

It just happened, then, that when they saw Autumn Smith at the grocery store they weren't exactly going to say no to providence dropping a deer-whisperer into their lap. (Or a whatever-whisperer. The Peaceful One wasn't exactly a deer, was their point.) And if her face looked a little different...she did makeup, didn't she? Maybe it was a new trend -- well. Maybe Alexis was stalling, because they really didn't want to have this conversation at any point in the near future or at all when they were the initiator and hadn't already been talking beforehand -- but Spektor actually had a damn job, Vaughn...god knew where he lived, and everyone else...they barely knew their names or faces. It'd be -- weird, was what Alexis was getting at.

But when Autumn exited the store with her bag of groceries, Alexis was leaned against the wall, calling out a "Hey, Smith! ...Can we talk?" with approximately no shame visible or audible. They raised one skinny hand and beckoned her over, glancing side-to-side.

When Autumn came over, Alexis breathed a barely-audible sigh of relief, chewing their lower lip in worry. "I'd say sorry for botherin' you, but I'm really not, so let's skip past the pleasantry. You're here, 's good enough." They stretched, huffing out a short puff of air as they twisted to the side, shoulders pulling at the skin in a way that almost looked painful. "Also, if you're worried 'bout it, 'm not gonna stab you. I'm not stupid." (That corresponded with a look that, essentially, said 'do you really want to tell me otherwise because I will ignore it and also you'.)

"That -- other place. Other Ashdown, or whatever. What do you know about it? Besides that first time, with Winters, and then the time with you...I haven't gotten pulled in there until yesterday. And it's goin' to keep happenin', if I'm not wrong, so I need you to tell me the deal about it." They cocked their head to the side like an owl, bangs still keeping one eye almost hidden from sight.

"The rain's not exactly the hardest thing to pick up about the place," Alexis muttered sardonically with a roll of their eyes, but kept listening attentively, with no discernable surprise on their face. When Autumn ended her lovely little introductory speech, they took a moment to think, eyes locked on her.

"I heard somethin' bout the werewolves, actually. Kid I know was at the job faire. Says he wasn't actually there, but Carver's practically a compulsive liar when it comes to his own importance, so I'm calling bullshit. ...he says someone just -- turned. Ripped a nurse's throat out by accident. That true?" Carver said a lot of things, to be fair. Most of them had some basis in truth. She'd quickly learned that Alexis didn't take too well to the bullshittery -- and they got on, in some odd way, where both of them were terrible to the other.

"Three questions, first. Number one: how do you get out and in, and is there a way to control it? Number two: what can you actually do over there? I'm assumin' the whole faerie-stealing-your-body is nontypical. And number three: people were talkin' about...powers. Apparently I should have one? But I haven't noticed anything at all."

Alexis' face was somber when Autumn confirmed that it was all true. "You know how it's spread? I think that a*****e might have gotten clawed, but she sure as hell won't tell me. ******** medical students." And then: "I don't actually have a phone," Alexis winced. "'s too pricy to get full service when I don't have solid income. I'm too busy doing things like -" they grunted in irritation - "paying rent, and not starving. I can give you my email, though, I guess?"

At Autumn unveiling her horns -- Alexis had a hand halfway there before realizing, oh, right, that's kind of rude, don't touch other people and dropping it to their side. "I just feel like -- Iuno. Like something kind of wants me to be there? But it doesn't feel like something I want, and that pisses me off. And Spektor said something about him seeing things, in that house, but I still don't know what my ********' power is and that also kinda pisses me off."

"Carver's stupid," Ashton snorted, "she makes decisions almost as bad as I do, and I make the worst ********' decisions known to man. Except she has parents that she listens to that she lives with, like an idiot." They pulled Autumn's phone, pulling up her email after only a few seconds of fumbling and typing in axstkr@gmail.com for a contact, and then handed it back. "There. 's my email."

When Autumn gave permission, Alexis hesitated, reaching out a gentle hand to touch the horns with light fingers. "...can you feel this? It's -- really cool. I've never seen someone with horns before." It was surprisingly soft, their touch and their voice, softer than they'd been before. Gentle curiosity.

"Uh. I mean. If y'don't mind -- you doing anything later today? I'd like to keep this all kinda contained. The longer I let things go, the worse they get."

"The deer thing, right? They're a deer, of course they have horns." Alexis was, clearly, still very bitter at Pax for freezing them to the waist, from the way their fingers clenched -- still on Autumn's horns, so not hard, but -- more pressure than might have been comfortable.

...they seemed to realize what they were doing, then, and put their hands back in their own pockets.

"...far as I know about deer, which isn't all that much, they'll be sensitive until they stop growin'. Good luck with hiding them if they get proper-sized. But -- sure. I'll follow along." They looked inquisitively at Autumn's groceries, eyes flicking back up to her. "You live far?"