Shadows in the Park (Shifter)

[Dusk]

Dusk sat on a bench in the park, just watching the last bit of the sunset. His aura was darker than usual. He wasn't in a bad mood, but he wasn't in a very good one either; he didn't have many good moods.

The aura around him started to shift and sway, wrapping itself around his right arm at his mental command. He was bored, and decided since he was alone, he might as well try to control his powers.

[Shifter]

Shifter had been out all day, and the night before, trying to avoid the place the government had dubbed her "home." That cookie-cutter, everyday sort of house could never be her home. It was so ordinary, so...pristine. It wasn't the sort of place that the feline inside could ever call a home.

She slept in the shade, in the sunlight - whatever the cat she chose to be for that moment felt like. And whenever it was time to move, she shifted into her human form and took to the streets. That was why she was strolling through the park, hands shoved into her pockets with her head hung, blue eyes locked onto the concrete beneath her feet - because another Lesser had come upon her snoozing in his front yard and chased her off with his fire-breath.

Sometimes she was ashamed of being a Synthetic.

But, since she was awake, Aislynn knew there would be no sleep for her for a while now. She paused her walk and glanced up, looking around. In the corner of her eye, she saw a form sitting on a park bench and glanced over.

"Look what the cat dragged in," she murmured, before she could even stop the words.

[Dusk]

He looked at the source of the voice and smiled. "Well, if it isn't the cat, herself," he joked back. "Good to see you again. Maybe this time no asshole'll try to barge in and make a fool of himself." He dropped his concentration and the aura returned to normal. "So, what brings you here?"

[Shifter]

"Good to see you, too, Dusk."

Hands still shoved in her pocket, Aislynn started towards the other Lesser. A light, almost undetectable smile was playing on her lips, threatening to curve them upwards as she answered his question, "Some jerk decided to chase me off his property with the 'dragon breath' his doctor gave him." She snorted quietly, showing her displeasure at all points of that statement.

Aislynn hated being chased off of wherever she was sleeping, since it was so very rare that she actually slept well. She also hated how some humans went to get the powers that would forever label them as freaks, as outcasts. She didn't mind if it was a simple power, like regeneration or something that could actually help you, but... For one to get an agressive power like that was simply... Well, she didn't like it.

She ended up sitting in front of the bench, on the ground, and facing him. She crossed her legs so she was sitting "Indian Style," placed her hands on her ankles, "What about you? Trying to get some late-night practicing in?"

[Dusk]

"Oh...I see. Want me to go kick his ass?" He looked at her. "I will if you want. Just tell me where he lives and I'll show him what it's really like to taste Hell."

He looked at her; sometimes he had a hard time believing that some people could be so heartless towards someone so kind. It was different for him; he knew he could be a bit of a jerk, and sometimes deserved being kicked around. But not her. In his opinion, someone that would mistreat her would just as soon slap a baby.

"Yeah, just practicing a bit. As you saw last time we met, I don't have very much control. It doesn't come that easy for me like it does others."

[Shifter]

"Oh...I see. Want me to go kick his ass? I will if you want. Just tell me where he lives and I'll show him what it's really like to taste Hell."

Shifter jerked back at the offer, a look of surprise on her face. She wasn't too used to people just jumping up, figuratively, and throwing out offers to slaughter those that hurt her. In fact, she was more used to it being the other way around - people jumping up to hurt her. At least, that was how it had been at the Lab.

She reached over hesitantly, then pulled her hand back slightly. But then she gathered up her resolve and touched her hand to his knee, giving him a gentle look, "Thanks, but I would prefer you not to get in any trouble just 'cuz I was sleeping in the wrong yard at the wrong time. I... wouldn't feel right if I got the Antidotes on your tail."

She pulled her hand back then, letting it rest in her lap, and then listened as he explained about his powers. Shifter nodded, "Yeah. Disastrous have the least control, I think is how the powers tend to balance themselves out. But you guys also have a crapload of power." She glanced up at him, smiled that crooked, kitten-ish smile, "You'll get the hang of it."

[Dusk]

He smiled at the contact this time. "It'd be no problem. Hell, the Antidote's already on my tail. Won't change a thing. Besides, you don't deserve to be treated like that. 'Specially not for just sleepin'."

He nodded. "Yeah, that's how it goes." Then a thought hit him. "Wait...you don't have a home?" he asked. "I thought everyone here did, but I wouldn't put it past the government..."

[Shifter]

Aislynn shook her head, "Yeah, but you don't need another reason tacked onto your name. And I wouldn't feel right if I caused you to be hurt. But I think I've already said that." She smiled lightly, rubbing the back of neck slightly.

"Wait...you don't have a home? I thought everyone here did, but I wouldn't put it past the government..."

Now she felt kind of awkward. Shifter bit her lip, shaking her head slightly, "N-no, I do have a home, I just... I don't like it." Instantly she realized how that sounded and glanced down at her hands, "I mean, the government gave those...cookie-cutter houses to those of us who didn't have a home, and I've just never quite felt..."

She trailed off, half-way shrugged. "The cat in me hates it, I guess. I spend more time sleepin' in people's yards, or in the park, or at the zoo then I do at my own house."

[Dusk]

"Well, I'd be glad to do it for ya. Half the Antidote is afraid of me, anyway. With or without their N-67's." He winked.

"So I see. Well, I had a home...and I still don't really like mine. And yeah, I don't really like the whole concept behind the homes they gave the formerly homeless. They coulda done better."

He looked at her. "Ya know, if ya want, you can feel free to sleep in my yard," he said sort of offhandedly. I wouldn't really mind. Actually be the closest to company I've had in a while," he said before muttering, "or wanted..."

[Shifter]

"I know," she murmured, scooting slightly closer, "And I appreciate it, but just... trust me when I say that getting people in trouble is somethig I try to avoid." Aislynn had her reason for everything she did, whether people knew what they were or not.

He commented at the housing, and she nodded, "They're all the same. It's like they uprooted an entire old-people neighborhood and replanted it here, where the rejects of society live." Shifter swung a hand out, gesturing to the world around them. "But, then again, they've never really cared much. So long as we're not all exterminated in public..."

The thought - the memory - made a shudder go down her back.

"Ya know, if ya want, you can feel free to sleep in my yard. I wouldn't really mind. Actually be the closest to company I've had in a while, or wanted..."

Her face seemed to light up then, as if she was a child being given a candy cane, or that pony she had always wanted. Her head nodded once, twice, "I would like that, a lot." Aislynn would have wiggled her eyes, if she had any kind of cat ears on her head.

[Dusk]

He didn't argue. "Alright. But if you ever need me, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" Though he couldn't say that if he actually saw someone hurting or trying to hurt her, he'd just stand by.

"Yeah. Can't believe I was one of them once upon a time..." He shuddered, remembering his past.

"Good. I don't live very far from here. I'll show ya later. I'd just like to sit and relax a bit more. Don't do that often..."

[Shifter]

Aislynn still wasn't used to anyone offering their hand to help, so the only thing she could do was half-nod awkwardly. Even though she knew she would never go to him for help - only because she would never want to bother Dusk with any of her problems - she figured it would just be easier to agree instead of arguing with him.

At his comment about being one of the Antitode, Aislynn's face softened. She reached out, not nearly as hesitant this time, and patted his wrist, "The past can't be undone," she murmured, looking up at him, "It's best not to dwell on it, or to even think about it. So let's not, hmm?

"Besides, we're s'possed to be sitting and relaxing, remember?" She flashed him a smile.

[Dusk]

He smiled, closing his eyes and relaxing. "Yeah, you're right," he answered. He chuckled. "You must be somethin' special, Shifter...I mean, I've never done anything like that to anyone. Offer to help, kick someone's ass...or just sit and talk. But I'm not complaining; just seeing a side of me I was starting to think died years ago..."

[Shifter]

Shifter smiled softly, scooting over so she was sitting next to him, though still on the ground. Her back was now against the edge of the seat of the bench; she drew her legs to her chest. "I'm... nothing special," she murmured, contemplating Dusk's words in a much deeper sense then he probably meant them to be taken. "I'm just another Lesser, a caged lioness."

Caged lions rarely roar, my dear...

A shudder flitted down Aislynn's back as the words floated through her brain, a memory of days long since passed.

[Dusk]

"You are. You've helped me realize a deeper meaning of who I am," he responded, scooting closer to her. He put a hand on her shoulder. "You're not just another lesser. Yeah, we're all caged animals in a sense, but no two are exactly the same. I could search this place a thousand times over. And I'd never find another Shifter."