black magic.

“i sit at home a lot. you know that. so i guess it works out a lot for me too.” she said. savannah was thankful that marie still stuck around. she knows she could be quite..vexing at times, no matter how much she tries to work on it. it helps that marie’s attitude is a departure from her own. the contrast helps keep her humble. 

at the mention of her alias, savannah bit her lip and bobbed her head. “rosie can be hip and go to bars.” she squeaked out. “i’ve just been craving something from this one restaurant my co-worker told me about.” she pursed her lips. “i’m hoping it won’t be that bad. that particular co-worker has given me really bad suggestions before.” she confessed. “i mean who would do that, right?”

“sitting at home is boring when you have somewhere else you can be,” marie says with a shrug, words unkind but tone no more unpleasant than ever. maybe she just doesn’t understand the concept of home, with all it’s safeties and comfort. the last one she had, after all, she left behind in a pile of rubble. she wonders if she’ll ever find another. “you should get more hobbies.”

moonsu’s energy was unnaturally high today due to the excessive amount of coffee he was ounding in the early afternoon. even though he’d been tall his whole life he still wasn’t used to his limbs, so of course when he was getting too into the music blasting through his headphones he felt his arm wack something hard. immediately turning around with wide eyes and an apologetic look, “holy shit i’m so sorry, are you okay? did i kill you? i’m really sorry.”

“you know you can ask for help if you’re looking for something in particular,” leo said, setting down the book he was flipping through while he waited for a customer to need him. it had been a slow day. 

「 EMERAUDE TOUBIA. SHE/HER. 」have you seen CIRCE VELASQUEZ, a TWENTY SIX year old MUTANT ( ANIMAL MANIPULATION ), around town? i hear they’re currently a VETERINARIAN and that they’ve been in town for FOUR YEARS. they’ve also been known to be HARD WORKING and STUBBORN, but i guess we’ll see how they do in a town like this.

Warm blue eyes rest on the injuries the male had sustained, no doubt from the actions of his from earlier. By the looks of his poor appendage, the way in which he had taken the dog from it’s neglectful owner was more or less violent. The injuries looked like they hurt, and it hadn’t been the first time she had seen such. “A pet store?” She finally looked back to him, her mind breaking from it’s own world. 

“There’s one down Maple, but-” Biting her lower lip, she held out her small hand, urging him with pleading eyes to place his hand in hers. “I think you should take care of this first. As an angel, I can heal you, but I can only do so much.” Blonde brows knitted together in contemplation, her mind already seeping into the days of studying in medical school. Setting bones, how to wrap a wound, infections….

If it hadn’t already occurred to him, her scrubs were sure to tip him off. “I can also help with little no name here too.” A smile was offered, kind and warm, the desire to help showing clear in her face and her body language. “I would feel terrible leaving you like this.” 

ronan flinches back as she offers her hand, the action startling the dog and leading to the soft feeling of a worried nose against his neck. “i’ll heal. i can set it when i get home - i’ve got medical supplies there.” with as many fights as he gets into, he has to. a construction worker’s salary is nothing to sustain medical bills, so he manages his own pain. it’s a learned skill and he’s all too good at it.

the truth is that he doesn’t know what might happen if she heals him. he hasn’t seen it, hasn’t been told if his healing might cause the puppy to suffer. after all, he took the burden of the pain and if it’s taken off of him? it scares him. “i’ll find a vet. i don’t want...” ronan scowls, trying to find the words while his mind is cloudy with pain and frustration. 

she can’t disagree with the stranger’s statement—people are indeed stupid and optimistic and foolish. perhaps optimism is one of the strengths of humanity, but too much bleeds into naivety. “ then you’re better than some people, ” she deadpans. “ identity theft is quick money-maker, you know. ”

she returns the glare with an even gaze; she’s seen worse. “ oh, sweetheart, i don’t think you want to try. ” she smiles, fangs and all. under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t display that so readily, but these are not normal circumstances and lilygrove is not a normal town. “ besides, it’s not worth it. i don’t give a shit. people have different ways of surviving—can’t fault you for that. just don’t get caught next time. but if all you want is lunch, i can get you something. it’s not like i actually eat, so someone else might as well. ”

she doesn’t know what’s gotten the woman to become a petty thief, but she doubts it’s anything good. she might not have a heartbeat, but she’s not made of stone; a lifetime ago, she would’ve wanted someone to do the same for her. 

“better than most.” it’s not a superiority complex as much as is is a distrust of innocence; optimism and kindness twist like an old wound in her chest, aching and festering. she wants nothing to do with them, not when they’ve never brought her anything good. “easier to track. more technology. i like what i take with my own two hands.” plus she’s absolute shit at technology.

one brow quirks and she gestures with a hand, not threatening but showing the way magic sparks and slides between her fingers. “force my hand and i’ll do what i have to.” her magic is more of a forest fire than a bullet; she knows rage more than precision, but she can defend herself. 

this is the truth: a liar can spot a liar.

“ when did i ever say you were the bad guy? ” minako asks, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the display. “ i thanked you for bringing it back, and i only asked you a question, which you apparently couldn’t answer. ” but she knows both know the answer to that question, and clearly the other woman would rather put on a pity show than come clean.

“ so no harm done, right?  ” this time, she drops the fake niceties, already bored of this back-and-forth they’re playing. “ you know, this good samaritan act isn’t really working for you. at least, it’s not fooling me. and if you wanted a reward for doing good, i wouldn’t have any to give you, anyway. empty wallet, remember? ” 

her expression drops, twisting like she’s sucking on a lemon - it’s her natural state, more comfortable than faking. “most people are stupid and optimistic. they want to believe people are good, so they ignore the warning signs.” it’s not a trait marie is gifted with, but it’s one she’ll gladly take advantage of. “credit cards. debit cards. i don’t scam those, but if someone wants to take me to lunch, i won’t say no.”

❛   Really?   Me  too.   ❜     he laughed.      ❛   You  can  get  more  food  when  you  eat  affordably,   ❜     he continued. to him cheap meant frugal, so he didn’t have any negative connotations with the word. he patted his stomach as he thought about where they could go.      ❛   Do  you  have  a  preference?  I  will  eat  anything,   so  it’s  your  choice.  Well  anything  that is  edible,  I’m  not  much  of  a  risk  taker.   ❜     he joked. he was silently hoping she’d choose the dinner bell. yes, he ate there at least once a week for as long as he could remember, but it was his favorite place to eat.  

harvey liked making friends. he enjoyed getting to know them and forming a friendship. he didn’t expect every person to be his friend. sometimes personalities don’t go well together, but he always hoped for the best. with that said, he tended to try too hard to make them feel comfortable. growing up people either thought he was the nicest or the most annoying. 

most of what marie knows about socialization comes from mirroring others, copying their statements and twisting them to fit her own needs. sure, she knows how to read and write and speak - all the simple things - but putting it into practice is a little more difficult. thus why, when she’s not trying to con someone, she doesn’t put effort into being tolerable - and why, when she is, she comes across as awkward and unsure.

The tone of his voice sends Darcy invisible. A defence mechanism she had little control over, when embarrassed or surprised or… anything, really. “I wasn’t going to take her.” She said, already defensive.

“I was gonna ask if the two of you were alright. If you needed anything.” She slowly forced herself to become visible again, little bit at a time. “I’m Darcy. Darcy Fisher. I swear, all I wanna do is help.”

for someone who grew up with strangeness cursing every inch of his life, he’s still not quite used to how weird the world has become. the way the stranger disappears startles him enough to pull the dog closer to him, bad wrist twinging painfully in the movement. 

“ i didn’t, ” is her blunt reply when she takes the wallet back, opening it to find its contents missing before her gaze meets the other woman’s. “ but, really, thank you so much for returning it. ”

years spent in high-traffic cities that are merely playgrounds for pickpockets like marie, minako recognizes the other’s tactic almost immediately—only it’s a bit too late for it to make a difference. ( everyone lets their guard down occasionally. ) it is only after marie turns back to return the wallet does minako realize it’s missing, but it really isn’t much of a loss for her. she has more money than she knows what to do with; moving constantly doesn’t leave much room for gathering material possessions, nor does she want to get attached to objects she’d only have to leave behind.

“ anyway, i know i didn’t because i’m suddenly missing thirty dollars. you don’t think you know where that went, do you? ” she cocks her head, flashing a smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes. “ but it doesn’t really matter. let’s call it an act of generosity, letting my change going to whoever decided to take it. ”

the concept of lying comes easily to her - it’s just the script that fails her sometimes. she can fake emotions, fake hurt and scandal and anger, but language and her don’t always get along. all she can do is hope that her expressions sell it and that the way she trips over words can be blamed on the emotions she’s faking.

“Oh, thank you.” Spirit or not, Darcy had a habit of losing things. Her grandpa always said she would have lost her head if it wasn’t attached to her shoulders. She took the wallet with a smile, tucking it into her bag. 

“Seriously, I have to do something for you now, seeing as you did something for me. How about I get you a coffee or something? Or tea, if that’s more your thing. Or, like, a cake or muffin.” Darcy, more than anything, craved human interaction. She felt alive again, she could almost feel her own heartbeat when surrounded by others.

and there it is - the occasional perk of covering her tracks. people want to reward goodness, even when it’s fake, and that means one less meal she has to pay for. even a muffin can mean the difference between affording a place to sleep and staying on the street, even if the difference might seem minimal to others. still, she can’t look to eager.

“oh, cool. good deeds are fun.” savannah shrugged. “walking home. i don’t have a car, so yeah.” she put her hands up instantly. “not that i’m complaining. no. i’m good without a car. i don’t..i don’t really want one.” she chuckled nervously. heading straight into a car crash, savvy. she thought to herself.

hearing her tiny usagi giggle, she gently pat her pocket again - prompting it to hush. the phone and the figure secure and quiet, she cleared her throat. “i was gonna go eat somewhere. since i found you, you..wanna come with?” she asked.

there’s a pang of jealousy that strikes marie, but it’s nothing new. she wonders, sometimes, what she would do if she ever learned to let go of her misery, but most of the time she doubts that could ever happen. “i don’t have a car either. it’s a small town - the exercise is good.” also the lack of a driver’s license had a little something to do with it, but she had no desire to rectify that.

Evan Glanced behind him as a voice called out. The wallet the girl held out to him was definitely his and he mentally groaned. Crap, not again. He smiled sheepishly and took it. “Wow thanks. I must have dropped it when I was looking for my keys. Thank goodness you found it.” His library card was in there and that would look pretty terrible if a librarian lost their library card. Talk about embarrassing.

The first thing Evan noticed was the puppy followed by the blood on the man’s knuckles. It put him slightly on edge but neither of them really struck him as immediately dangerous. Or maybe he was just naive. Either way they both looked like they needed some help. Tentatively he knelt down so he could speak to the man on the same level instead of standing over him. “She’s a very cute dog and I would never try and take her from you.” He bit his lip, unused to a situation that required such tact. “Um, your hand. Are you hurt?” Ok that probably could have been worded better. Geez, no wonder he stayed in the library half the time. Socializing was hard.

❛   SHIT!!   ❜     he said taking the wallet back.     ❛  I swear I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached.   ❜     he shoved his wallet into his back pocket not thinking to check its contents.         naturally trusting. some said that it was a trait that would get him into trouble. a statement that was true - sometimes.     ❛   I owe you one,   ❜     the teacher said with a kind smile.      ❛   If you have some free time, I would love to buy you a thank you meal or whatever floats your boat   ❜     a small laugh escapes      ❛   Well as long as it isn’t too expensive I’m working with a teacher’s salary.   ❜     

she knows it’s bad, that she’s a bad person and that her survival comes at the cost of other people’s suffering, but she doesn’t see any other option. she doesn’t have anything past a seventh grade education and none of the paperwork needed to even begin fixing things, so she lives off the grid. it’s easier, even when the man’s admission of a teacher’s salary and his desire to pay her back makes guilt twist in her stomach.