City Lights [Closed]

[luseylottay]

1: PG-13
2: No Deaths
3: Be Respectful of other characters, know about them before assuming anything (I've made this mistake once D:)
4: No more than two characters per roleplayer
5: Always check and double check your spelling and grammar, I'm a horrible nitpicker D:
6: No less than three or four sentences per post

Roleplayer List (No Slots Available):
1: luseylottay: Lusey
2: badluckcat: Ephraim
3: kinkachu: Vandall
4: malevolentmask: Magalie

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Lusey
Link

It had been a full month since Annabeth had moved to Paris from America. There was so much opportunity there, so many new sights and experiences she couldn't get back home. Her first few weeks had been spent learning her way around, catching up on her French, and trying to find someplace to stay. Luck had been with her by the first week. High up in the Montmarte District, away from the flooded Seine, she found an apartment that she could afford with what small cash she had. Not much of the district was flooded, but it didn't matter to her, she didn't really go outside the Montmarte, everything she needed was close by. It was a rather small place, but that was alright, it was only her living there. Plus, the beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower made up for it...

It was very late into the night (or morning, she wasn't looking at her clock), and Annabeth just couldn't sleep. She had just finished a small project with a Cabaret owner and her niece (her name was Lucille, if she remembered correctly), helping them design some new set pieces for their nightly performance. Little did she know, the kind giant that was always around Lucille was the very "Monstre" that had sent Paris into a panic months ago when frost had overtaken the rooftops.

Annabeth sighed and looked out the window. They had been so kind to her, and she had been well paid, but now she was stuck. Her imagination had run dry and all inspirations had hidden away. Occasionally she'd find herself mindlessly sketching that tall stranger from the cabaret, but they were never quite finished. She found something interesting about how he always wore a mask when she was around, but she wasn't sure why.

The city was beautiful at this time, lights of all colors lighting it up like a painted masterpiece.
But still no inspirations for this young artist...
Hopefully something would come along, she didn't want to be stuck like this for too much longer. Well, if she was lucky, she'd find another person looking for somebody to design something for them...

But for now, she just stared out at the city...

[badluckcat]

Ephraim
Profile

He was hopping and climbing from rooftop to rooftop. He occasionally stopped to catch his breath or when something caught his eye. He tried not to peer down from the rooftops though. (He had done it once or twice and the streetlight had reflected his goggles catching some human’s eye and caused a small panic.)

Ephraim let out a loud screech like chirp as he almost lost is balanced landing on a rather particularly slippery rooftop, quickly stabilizing himself he sat down, catching his breath, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest.

A nervous chitter escaped him, adjusting the goggles he wore , a gift of his care-taker, a sweet old, lonely man who had housed him and named him until death caught him and left Ephraim alone again, he quickly moved along with his mind, now wasn’t the time to linger on that.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he eyed the next rooftop carefully. It was rather far away since there was an alley between the house he stood on and the house he needed to go to continue his journey.

It was not in his nature to envy but for a quick moment he wished he could leap like that large figure he had spotted a few days a go or that he could still fly. (He wondered if he would ever meet that other being, it would be nice to have another like himself around.)

Sighing he shook his head again, eyed the space between the buildings and jumped.

He might have paid attention to the streets, but he had not thought of the people that might of see him moving around from their windows or balconies…

[kinkachu]

Vandall

Profile

He watched the world in a daze, lids half capped while his thoughts spun uncontrollably within his mind. What was there left to live for, he incisively asked himself? What could he possibly do with a body like this? Dare he even hope to venture out into the world again, expecting the populace to welcome him with open arms. No, that wasn't for him any more. Not with this gruesome, alien carapace to cart around. The humans would sooner tie him to a stake and torch him before he could utter two words in his defense.

That or dissect him for the glorious name of science.

Either option made him shutter.

Instead he shook his head, blinking away those images and all the dreams he once held. He had no place in society any more. They made that PERFECTLY clear.

Well if that's the way they wanted to be then who needed them?! He could survive just fine without their constant prattle. Just fine indeed!

He took a deep, calming breath - not wanting to lose his temper as he had done so often before and break another priceless item. His temper had gotten him into this mess, no need to make a bad situation worse. But oh how he hated them! Hated everything at this point!

"You don't need them, Vandall! Their prattle... their stares!" His hand clenched, remembering...

With a roar he slammed a heavy fist into the glass. He had not meant to put so much strength behind that blow, but damn it! Every time his mind strayed to the outside, to those people, to his 'friends'... his mood soured, becoming volatile.

A small throb worked its way up his arm, with him to glare heatedly at the broken window, then his hand; thoroughly disgusted with not only the world but himself as well.

[malevolentmask]

Magalie Rousseau
Profile
_____________________________________________________

Strolling down a rather vacant street the doctor's glasses gleamed along the lights among the city. Though it was dangerous to be walking at night alone she walked confidently along the stoned roads. The only weapon of self defense she kept with her was a old black umbrella with a sharp tip. Pulling up her ratty old black scarf she quietly mumbled about how overwhelmingly cautious this particular patient was. "He only gained a pound, whats so wrong with gaining one measly pound?...He's barely even overweight in the first place...God, some people..."

Coming to a stop Magalie pulled a little piece of paper out of her coat pocket examining the little writing. While squinting her eyes at the paper a sudden thump was heard above a roof to the right of her. Looking up suddenly she thought she saw a figure but was mistaken seeing it was only a funny looking vent.

Shrugging off the odd noise she continued down the road into a more grand and wealthy area. Noting that the fences were rather high and sharp looking, while staring at the grand houses she accidentally bumped into a young couple. "Watch where you're going old hag!" the young man yelled and stormed off with his prissy lady friend. Landing flat on her bottom on the cold stone floor she gave a huff of discontent at the comment "I'm not old." she simply said to herself getting back up while using the support of her old umbrella.

While brushing off the dust from her dress she heard a loud crack from a grand house nearby. Her eyes opened a bit in curiosity and peered into the window where she thought she heard the crack but there seemed to be no figure there. Deciding it was best to ignore it she started to continue to walk down the grand street with her little old umbrella and little piece of directions to survive the night.

[luseylottay]

THUNK CKTCHTCHTCH
The sound of something hitting a glass window sounded through Annabeth's apartment, and she jumped out of her daze in alarm. Hurriedly, she opened her window and looked outside, it was just some kid down the alley. A little troublemaker... She sighed and looked around. The air wasn't all too cold or hot, but she still felt a chilled feeling go down her spine. She looked down to the apartments around here. She looked to her left, just the roads. To her front, the fence that prevented pedestrians from falling to the rooftops of the buildings further down on the hill...

Then she looked to her right. There was just a figure... of... something.
She squinted in the dark to see what it was.
Horns... Where those... horns? And... Wings!? It was... a bug! A giant bug! She yelped loudly and was about to run back into her house and shut the window when something hit her. She was falling backwards! Her arms were flailing as she tried her best to find something to prevent her fall. She didn't realize that what she had eventually grabbed onto was Ephraim's scarf, inevitably pulling him in with her. She landed with a thud and for a few short moments, everything was black.

She blinked back into a state of consciousness and groaned, holding her head. Then she realized she had part of a scarf in her hand... and... was there something on her!? Her eyes burst open and she raised her head as much as possible. There in a tangled mess on top of her was... Something fuzzy... with wings!?
...
...
...
"AAAAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! A BUG! A GIANT BUG!" She scrambled out from under him and leaped behind the coach, staring at the strange brown creature in fear and surprise.

[badluckcat]

Ephraim
Profile

One moment he was jumping, the next thing he knows he is on the ground, his scarf had been tightened around his throat to a less then comfortable tightness.

And something broke his fall, and said something was currently up and about and being loud.

Still a bit dazed from the drop he sat up and tried to locate the source of the sound , not seeing the details of his surroundings he realised his goggles must of slipped of their normal position during the fall.

He gave a quick glance around him after fixing his goggles and realised he was inside a human building.

It appeared his last leap had been terribly off course. Still it was kind of nice to be inside a home again…

..Oh wait, the human. Ah, yes the main source of his predicament at the moment.

She had seen him. This might not end to well for him…but he would try it and if nothing else, he could always go through the window again.

He stood up, and shook himself in a very dog-like fashion before he eyed her from her hiding spot, he stayed hunched not wanted to make himself look scarier then she already thought him to be before he moved to reassure her.

Not sure, what else he could do, he raised his hands trying to show her he meant no harm.

He chirped at her in curiosity and worry, his small glass like wings twitching behind him betraying his own nervousness.

“krii-ki-chee?"

[kinkachu]

Sorry, Lusey. Redid it to fit.

---

Vandall stormed his way into a tiny sitting room downstairs, growling even more when he bumped into all sorts of items he had yet to pick up from his last rampage. Toppled tables, half read books; they all blocked the path to his chair. And the struggle only intensified his foul mood.

Tripping half way to his destination, the man-bug did what he did best in these situations. He roared. Then proceeded to kick and claw at anything that came within reach. “You stupid! Damn! Mess and your stupid damn getting in my way!”

The tantrum was small, burning out just as quickly as it came. He heaved several times, glaring at the disarray with a curse. If his father could see him now…

Vandall gnawed on his lip feverishly, straightening his posture from the feral crouch he had been in moments before; setting to readjusting his jacket and sleeking back his horns as if it were hair. It took many deep breaths to further calm his nerves, he sidestepping the destruction to finally sit. A crunch jerked him back up though, sending his two left hands to reach around and remove a newspaper that had been wedged between the cushions. The image that greeted him was that of the old professor.

A snarl sprung from his throat. That old coot!

He threw the paper in the unlit fireplace, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t need to think about the old man - having pushed the thought from his mind for a week now ever since reading of the professor’s return to French soil. That old man would do nothing for him anyway save slam the door in his face (and for good reason too). 'You had your chance to fix this... and you blew it.' Vandall sighed. But the thought wouldn't leave him now, and the possibility to revert back to his old life nagged even greater. ‘To be human again.’

Another sigh escaped his lips. God, that tore it! He couldn’t sit any longer! He refused to stay here for the rest of his life hiding like a coward. Rocketing to his feet, he practically flew towards the front doors, snatching up his top hat and cape -popping the collar to hide his lower face- and proceeded to exit his homestead. He was going to visit that crackpot, demand his assistance and, should the old man refuse…. Vandall gave a tiny smirk. ‘Now who could refuse a face like this?’

[malevolentmask]

A nearby scream made the black-haired woman quickly turn her heel. She swore that she heard the screamer say something about a bug. Thinking back to leaving the house she remembered that her butterfly companion said he would stay put but she still had a sense of suspicion in the back of her mind.

"Merde...That better not be Bédoier..." she swore under her breath.

Heels clicked loudly along the street as she swiftly clomped her way back through the streets. When turning around a corner she spotted that someone was walking out of one of the extravagant homes. The figure had an odd air about him and she couldn't see his face clearly through his baggy clothes and cloak.

A sudden memory flashed in her mind at the time when the "Jack Ripper of Paris" was roaming around. Many women went missing at the time, only later to be found brutally murdered. Alot of people suspected that it was a giant bug-like monster that did the killings. Mag knew clearly that all other bugs in the city were not to be trusted, the only reason she had even cared for one in the first place is because it was weak and fragile, her kindness was more of an act of mercy. In time she grew to accept him as he accepted her but still her distrust held with the other ones.

Worried about her friend and the person who had screamed she took a deep breath and walked up to the cloaked figure with a sharp pitter patter of her shoes echoing through the street

"Excuse me monsieur, have you seen a short young man around here wearing a raggy brown coat?" She asked with concern.

[luseylottay]

She looked over when he started to shake himself, and yelped loudly again, grabbing the closest pillow as a large shield. She wasn't screaming anymore, but her mind was telling her that if she hid it would go away. Whatever it was...
A giant bug... but fuzzy... and BIG.
Her mind was in shock mode, her train of thought had practically left the station at that point.

She felt the sudden urge to scream again to scare it away, as she opened her mouth, however, she heard something.
“krii-ki-chee?"
What?
She peeked out from behind her pillow of safety, and crouched over was a VERY different creature from what she thought she had seen before.
It was a fuzzy, big, not exceptionally handsome looking bug... but it didn't have horns or claws... It was standing there crouched over, arms up in the air as if she was going to arrest it. She took a moment to actually LOOK at it. The horns were tufts of fluffy hair, he had tiny little wings on his back... What she had thought were dark ringed, pale eyes, were actually rather average looking aviator goggles. The weird thing she had pulled around his neck was nothing more than a simple yellow scarf.

What as a giant bug doing wearing clothing?

She stood up, keeping the pillow in front of her in case whatever it was tried to eat her.
"H-hello... Y-you're not going to eat me, are you?"

[badluckcat]

"H-hello... Y-you're not going to eat me, are you?"

--
He gave her a confused look. Eating her? Ugh, he did not even like meat.

Shaking his head at her statement and hoping it would relax her a bit, he kept an eye on her since was not sure what she planned to do with the pillow she held as he went to unwind the scarf around his neck.

Smoothing the fabric between all his hands, he proceeded to wrap it back around his neck. As he did this, he eyed the apartment with a curious eye.

Maybe she would let him look around a bit…if she ever calmed down enough that was.

Done with his little job, he turned his attention fully back to her and tilted his head.

“Chiiir-y-uup?”

[kinkachu]

"Excuse me monsieur, have you seen a short young man around here wearing a raggy brown coat?"

The voice startled him for a moment, making his stride falter. Vandall quickly spun his attention to the source, eyeing the woman curiously, then straight ahead while pulling the collar even further up his face.

Why was a woman out so late, and by herself no less? Out of all the nights to run into someone....

He proceeded walk down the street as if nothing had been said, placing more force into each step. But she persisted, dogging behind him in those annoying heels. "Monsieur?" The clip clip got faster. She was nearly jogging after him.

"Monsieur? Did you you see anyone?" She practically yelled. If she kept this up, all of Paris would be watching!

Gritting his teeth, Vandall gave a sharp huff, abruptly stopping. This resulted in her colliding with his backside, causing both of them to flinch at the contact. "HAVE I SEEN WHAT?!"

[malevolentmask]

The unexpected yell made Magalie back up a bit giving him some space. Surprised at his easily infuriated nature she just stared at him for a couple seconds peering at the non visible face hidden tightly under his collar. Like a light switch her reaction quickly changed as she narrowed her eyes insulted by the stranger's rude action.

"I'm worried about my friend, is there something wrong with that? If you didn't see him you could of just said so!"

She kept her stance against the tall figure not attempting to stand down despite a slight shiver of fear that went up her spine. With how infuriated and scared she was, temptation of stomping her sharp boot heel into his toes sounded like a pleasant idea.

Keeping her eyes locked hard on his face she noticed something off about his face, a feature on part of his face seemed odd, inhuman. At the sight she shut up immediately and paled, not sure what to make of him, or rather "it."

'W-what is that thing? It-t isn't another bug is it, b-b-' she pondered in her mind while her paralyzed body just stood there not moving the slightest.

[luseylottay]

She stared at the strange insect as it shook it's head, giving her the expression of "umm, eww, no." She watched as he proceeded to take off, smooth out, and put back on the bright scarf. What kind of dumb animal would be able to do that AND respond to her with that kind of look? It (or he, she assumed for the time being) started looking around the apartment with a strange curiosity. She lowered the pillow a little and shook her head a little to get her focused on the situation at hand.

There was a giant fuzzy FLY in her room (she guessed that he was a fly, from the fuzz and wings). It was wearing goggles and a scarf, and... was responding to her?

Okay, a reality check was in order...

She set down the pillow and approached him slowly, as if he were a wild animal. Damn, he was one tall bug! She reached out a single hand, if it was a dream or figment of her imagination, her hand would surely go through him like he wasn't even there.
That's why her face went completely pale when her hand met his arm, and didn't go straight through. She was almost tempted to scream again, but all the came out of her mouth was a loud squeak.

[badluckcat]

He watched the girl approach him carefully, humans could be so unpredictable after all. He dared not to move, as she got closer to him.

Closer, closer…and there she was within his range to grab her, he did not however and continued observing her as she eventually reached out a hand and touched him.

Apparently, it was not what she expected from the look on her face. Ephraim stared at her and missunderstood the sound she made.

Letting out a stream of joyous chitters and chirps before he grabbed the hand touching him and pulled her in to a hug.

“Chirr!”

[kinkachu]

Grinding his teeth, he stole a quick glance at woman, taking in her stricken features. She didn't appear half as intimidating as she sounded, especially now when she looked so... so...

His violet eyes widened, losing the anger that had once consumed him. Fear clenched in his chest just as his hand clenched his top hat, bringing it further over his face. "I-I haven't seen anything, mademoiselle. Pardon moi." He tried to shoulder past her, halted by yet another scream.

At first he thought it was the young woman, mentally forcing himself to remain calm; easing down his wings that had begun to strain against his jacket. But looking at her now, he realized she was just as paniced as he.

"Bédoier." She whispered, her attention again falling onto him.