Nowhere Else To Go (Xenon)

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

It had already been a few weeks after the day she was born. She still had dreams about her Mother, the Doe's body splattered all over the place. And those Rabbits. Almost every night Pandora woke up from a nightmare, covered in sweat and wishing they would finally end.

Pan was learning to hate having to sleep at all (though thankfully the nightmares seemed to mostly only come at night), but for now it was nearly high noon. She had managed to find a key to an abandoned apartment in the mailbox next to the door and had let herself in a few days ago. Before that she'd simply been living on the streets, growing more and more bitter with each passing day.

She passed by restaurants and watched through the windows as people gorged themselves on food and waited out back near the dumpsters for when the food waste was thrown out for the night. She was a proud creature, vain, and cursed whatever fates there were for birthing her into such a horrid lifestyle.

It had been pure dumb luck finding that key and she'd wasted no time making the empty place as comfortable for herself as she could. Dragging tattered pillows and blankets she found in the alleys back to the bulding, she'd made a makeshift bed and had started collecting nonperishable foods to store in the corner. She used her sharp beak to open the cans and was grateful to find most of her discoveries still edible.

Pan had just finished her lunch of a can of very warm peaches. With a far from full belly, though it no longer growled at her, she used her Diamond Ability to fly some of the blankets up to the rods atop the windows to act as shades. Without any sort of air cooling system, the apartment got very hot around this time. Once the place was as dark as it was going to get, and leaving a window cracked just a smidge, the odd Mix settled down on her pile of blankets and pillows for a nap. If she was lucky enough she'd sleep until the sun went down, and then go hunting for more food. She'd be even luckier still if she slept without nightmares for once.

[carcinoGeneticist]

In some ways, Sascha was still feeling fairly unsure of himself. This was a big step, but after his chat with Mirriam, he had decided it was something he should at least consider. His brother was tired of having him crash on his couch whenever he was in town, Sascha was sure. This way, he'd stop being a nuisance to his family, and have a place of his own.

It would be nice.

The location was pretty much decided. It was in a nicer area of town, a studio that would be just the perfect size for Sascha (and for his wallet, which was even better). Things could potentially get sticky if his siblings wanted to visit him for a change, but... He could always sleep on the couch, if it came to that. And he'd have a space to call his own. That was the part he kept repeating to himself, trying to get it to stick. The responsibility of it scared him, just a little. He made his way down the hall to the unit, fiddling with the key in his hand. Then, slowly, he put it into the lock.

The door came open in an instant.

Blinking, Sascha stared at it. Why had the door been unlocked? Slowly, he poked his head into the doorway, blinking. There were things in the unit, too. Raggedy things, granted, but things all the same. Then, he saw the girl - no, the woman. She was breaking into a can of food in the corner, looking fairly intent on getting into it. Sascha cleared his throat, then licked his lips, looking a bit nervous. "Uh, sorry, is this the wrong unit?" It sounded stupid, but... What else was he supposed to say?

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

"Uh, sorry, is this the wrong unit?"

Pandora screamed; a shrill and high pitched sound. Even though she knew the apartment she was camping out in was open for viewings she still hadn't seen a single Card in the last few days and had hoped no one had really wanted it. But as she stood there, having jumped up at the sound of his voice, she slowly realized it had been a futile hope.

The Mix's heart was beating in her rabbit ears so loudly she could hardly hear anything else. It took a few moments for her to calm down, but when she did she consciously made an effort to smooth out her fur and tail, trying to look her best. She took the few extra moments to think as quickly on her feet as she could.

"Oh, Suits!" she exclaimed, a sweet smile forming from her tiny beak. "You scared the ever loving life right out of me."

Looking out of the corner of her eyes at the bare living room, she realized anything she said from this point out would be a tough sell. But she had to try; she had nowhere else to go and she just couldn't live on the streets. She'd sell her body before it ever came to that. At least she knew she had a good looking body to sell.

Activating her Diamond Ability, she gave the man a beautiful and shy smile. "No need to apologize, honey, but yes this is my unit. Perhaps trying the next door down?" she suggested, nearly frowning when she realized even if he went away to check the other doors he'd come back not too long from now knowing he'd been at the right address.

Dropping the fake smile, her entire body slumped. "Okay, look... I don't have anywhere to live and I didn't want to live on the streets so... I found the key to this place and started sleeping here," she finally admitted, gesturing with a tiny paw to the pillows, blankets, and cans of food.

"I'm sorry, please don't alert the Police Force, please?" she begged, her ears pushed back to her head in submission. "Everything went so weird on That Day, and I've never been to the Capitol before. I have no family, no job, no home, nothing," she added, laying it on thick. Pan truly was desperate and let all of that leak out into her voice.

Just for good measure, she pretended to wipe away a tear from behind her small bone mask.

[carcinoGeneticist]

If only Pan had known Sascha better! Her ruse was already starting to work on the young man, his eyes going round and blinking swiftly several times, shock apparent in his gaze. He had made a terrible mistake, just barging in on someone like this while they relaxed in their own home! Such a pretty someone, too, a part of his brain pointed out, but he did his best to push those thoughts aside. If she was going to be his potential neighbor, he needed to focus on how he could properly apologize for --

-- for walking into...

...Oh.

The woman slumped forward as Sascha prepared his fervent apologies, the truth spilling from her in a rush. He stopped where he stood and stared at her. Then he opened his mouth - then closed it again. "Uh, hey, uhm...[/b]" His ears folded back. He should probably be angry, but it was hard to do when she looked so sad and so scared! So he forced his mouth into a small smile. "Don't worry about it. The whole world kinda got turned upside-down for a little while there, didn't it? I won't tell the police, I promise.[/b]"

But now he wasn't sure what to say next. It seemed like she wanted something from him, was begging him to help her. "I don't actually live here, yet,[/b]" he began, cautiously. "I was actually just here to... you know. Check the place out a bit? Well, I mean, I am really considering buying it, but...[/b]" Suddenly, his ears perked up, and his smile brightened. "Hey! If you've been living here, you'd know the ins-and-outs a little better, huh? What do you think? Is it a good place?[/b]" He flopped down on the ground beside her, giving her space but trying to make her feel a little more comfortable.