Gumdrops and Lollipops

[Gina Rose]

Gina smoothed her green dress down irritably, and flicked back her long, dark hair. "Stupid, stupid clouds," she said, though she was looking straight at a newspaper when she said it. No point in even asking what she was talking about, because she probably couldn't have told you.

She kicked off her shoes into traffic and turned, walking straight into the caf?. She slammed her hands down on the bar and waited for her turn, whistling some nonsensical and broken tune that had nothing to do with the music coming from within.

"Apple juice?" she asked with a smile. Gina looked like at least a teenager, but it was obvious just by her swaying movements and broken sentances that she wasn't quite put together in the head.

She threw a chewed up lime that had been left on the counter across the room, and laughed when it stuck to the window.

[Oz Watkins]

Narri was dressed today in something that was very informal. She had a short jean skirt and black legings on. Her shirt was a plain black tank top and her hair was down. Dressed like this, she looked younger than normal. She was tired and kind of lonely. So she had decided to go out and make friends.

Of course she did this often and didn't make friends, but it was worth the try. She stepped up to the bar beside a girl in a green dress and waited to be waited on. She had just sold the last slave she was training to someone who wouldn't be too horrible to him. It was ok to celebrate.

She put one, pale hand on her hip and sighed as she waited for someone to notice her and ask her what she wanted.

[Gina Rose]

The man behind the counter notched a brow at Gina, but gave her the apple juice. He was a vampire, younger, though he could still sense something strange about her. She was... young in the head, and that bothered him a little. She was human - maybe mentally handicapped? He kept an eye on her all the same.

Gina took the juice and turned to look at Narri. "Little miss muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider and sat right beside her and said 'What's in the bowl, bitch?'" And with that, she laughed and sipped her juice. She'd learned THAT from the homeless guy down on the corner. She couldn't wait to share it with Dom, he'd like it.

[Oz Watkins]

Narri finally got fed up and shouted at the bartender, " Can I get a rum and coke please?" She turned to the girl beside her and listened to her rant. It was some childhood nursery rhyme, but that was not the way it ended. This child had major problems if  her mother was the one who taught that to her.

For the sake of being polite Narri did not delve into the girl's brain, but instead met her eyes and asked her a question. "Where did you learn that lovely little nursery rhyme?" Narri knew that a question like that may sound patronizing, so she put as much real curiosity as she could into her voice.

[Gina Rose]

Gina may have been a child to Narri in age alone, but she looked like she was at least 18. Still, there was something young about her, something... off center. She threw another lime at the window and looked pointedly at Narri, now.

"The man down the street. He says if I give him pennies, he'll tell me more." And with that, she produced a little plastic zip-lock bag on the counter, full of pennies. "I'm going to learn lots of them." She seemed pretty impressed with herself. No telling where she got the pennies. Gina might have actually robbed someone for them, come to think of it. You never really knew.

"Why even bother? You can't feel it," she said suddenly. She meant the alcohol, of course. But how did she know?

[Oz Watkins]

Narri thought a moment, staring at the girl's pennies. "I don't know why I drink it." She paused a moment longer, looking around the room at the pointless drinks of so many other's. "Perhaps it is like the human need to drink soft drinks. There is no actual nutrition in them, but humans drink them anyway." 

This girl was strange, but Narri liked her. She couldn't help but want to spend more time with her. She wanted to know what was going on in that head. "My name is Narri." She held out her hand to the girl to be shaken.

[Gina Rose]

"Because soda tastes good, duh," Gina replied, exasperated with this creature. She rolled her eyes. "he bubbles go into your nose. It shouldn't need to be good for you." Man, this was going to take some work.

She looked down at Narri's hand much the way Melchior had looked at hers when she'd held it out, and slowly took it. She shook it a few times, and then released it, but not before she managed to put a piece of lime firmly in the center. She directed Narri's sight to the window with a finger extended.

"High score. See if you can beat it. Lime race. Ready? Go!" And with that, she flung the lime slice she'd been sucking on at the window as hard as she could. "First one to the bottom wins!"

[Oz Watkins]

Narri was a bit confused by the girl's exasperated tone. She had no reason to sound that way. Narri had asked a simple question, and was not trying to be patronizing. Perhaps even more perplexing was the lime that was pressed into her hand. It was slimy and wet. What the hell was she supposed to do with it. She had not a clue.

When the girl threw hers Narri caught on and drew back to let fly with her lime. It landed not far from the girl's and began it's decent. "Lime race huh? I'll bet i win." Narri was confident she would win. Doing something so childish was exhilarating. Narri smiled. She liked it.

[Gina Rose]

Gina had been playing the lime race for the last few weeks, although it was more of a 'food object' race. It was subject to availability. Last week it had been pickles at the local burger joint, until she'd been effectively banned. It was quite frustrating, because she was convinced they had the best pickle chips. Now she'd have to try all the pickles all around the city to find some that could compare, and it aggravated her.

The limes actually were pretty tied until someone sat down directly in front of them, blocking Gina's view. It was a vampire, nonetheless, albeit very, very young (perhaps only a few months changed). Not that it would have mattered to Gina either way, but the next lime she threw wasn't a lime at all - it was rather glass-shaped, actually, and aimed directly for the head of the offending party.

"HEY, MOVE FATASS!" she screamed.

[Oz Watkins]

Oh shit. This kid is going to get herself killed. Narri was scared for the girl's life. It didn't matter how old a vampire was you didn't yell profanities at them, and most importantly you never, ever attacked them unless you knew that you could follow through with a fight and win. This girl may need protection. Or perhaps she already had it.

"Where do you live? Who do you live with?"

[Gina Rose]

The vampire didn't actually say anything in return to Gina. He'd seen her wandering around with that Verde fellow, and that was enough for him. He sank back into his chair and ignored her, which caused a lot of amusement for Gina. She turned to Narri finally, raising a brow.

"Why? Are you going to stalk me?" she asked curiously. "I've never had a stalker before. Would you cut little letters out of the newspaper and send them to me?"

[Oz Watkins]

Narri was perplexed. "I don't want to stalk you. I simply wanted to know. You directly insulted a vampire. That is dangerous unless one has protection against the retaliation that could follow. So, I was asking if you lived with someone who gave you that protection?"

Narri was sincere. She was not sure what to make of this girl yet. It was confusing and complex. She had no fear, but she acted so childlike. Narri tried very hard to meet the girl's eyes. Perhaps there was some insight there.

[Gina Rose]

"I live with church penguins," she said matter-of-factly, brushing her hands off of some unseen filth. God only knows what she's been getting into. "My big brother protects me, though. He's mean. He could kick everyone's ass in here. Even yours," she added with a laugh.

"Not mine, though." Getting into a tussle with Gina wasn't very good - conditions were always in her favour. Being able to feel thoughts and see things that others didn't necessarily know you could see and feel put her steps ahead of an opponent. Not that it mattered much, because Gina didn't really fight.

"Let's go for a walk," she said, and grabbed Narri's hand, yanking her to the door.

[Oz Watkins]

"o..ok." Narri allowed herself to be pulled to the door. "Where are we going?" She was curious as to where this little adventure might take her. This girl was odd. Raised by penguins? Those must be nuns. And who was this big brother of hers? Was she serious about his ability to kick everyone's ass? She couldn't be.

She really didn't know why she was letting herself be led about by this girl. Although, now that the girl stood, she saw that she was probably more of a girl trapped in a woman's body. She spoke in a childlike manner, but looked like she was in her late teens at the very least.

[Gina Rose]

"For a walk!" she repeated, sighing like she were talking to a small child. She tossed some of her hair back and began to swing Narri's hand as she walked, like a child would. "So what do you do?" she asked, trying to step around the cracks on the sidewalk.

"I don't do anything. Well, not really. I do whatever I want, I guess. It's a nice profession."



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