A New Day, A New World [Finished! YAY!]

[Kari Muffin]

The sparrow was snapped out of blank stare at his brother when the girl spoke. He inspected her with a quick glance up and down. She was dirty, she looked hungry, and... Honker looked pretty clean.

Ezekiel smiled down at the girl. She seemed so terribly nervous but it was worth a shot. And being kind to a stranger never hurt anyone. "Please don't go so soon. You're welcome to come in and take a bath and have a meal. You are Honker's friend after all, and you look rather miserable... I promise, dear, that I don't bite, I just wear loud colors."

Honker nodded in empathic agreement. "Ez is the nice one. And he makes really good food. He can help you a lot since he's also really good at explaining things." The swan dog's tail wagged as he nearly started to bounce in place.

[carcinoGeneticist]

No, no, this was just too much. The first person she'd met - Honker - he was only a Two. That was a rank lower than she was, and that meant she could talk to him much more easily - like he was another Leveret, almost. But this person - they were a Jack, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. A Jack of a Red Suit, and though she still didn't fully understand the implications of it, Aimili knew that society saw them as high above a Club like herself.

And she had to get out before she found herself trapped again. Her canine ears pinned themselves back, and she took a small step backwards, shaking her head as she did.

"No, no, I'm sorry... I couldn't be a burden. Honestly.[/b]" A quiet whimper escaped her, and she glanced down the street. If she needed to escape, there was a route. "Thank you for the offer. It was lovely to meet you both.[/b]" The panic in her voice would be impossible to ignore, even if her body wasn't putting her fear on display loud and clear. Her tail was pinned firmly against her belly, her eyes glancing everywhere but at the Sparrow.

Then she turned to leave, making it a few steps down the sidewalk before breaking into a flat run. She didn't stop again until she couldn't run anymore, her lungs burning with every deep and ragged gasp for breath she took. But she was safe. No one would be claiming her. As hard as this new life was - it was hers. She just wasn't going to let it get away from her, not now, not ever.