DON'T FORGET

A small girl followed a small stream of people along the sidewalk, lost in her small mind, stuck in her small thoughts. Memories of home faded in and out of her lucent conscience; the aroma of freshly baked bread, a sweet aroma enticing her from her mother's kitchen. She latched on to this single coherent thought, considered it, and decided that she will make something with bread for dinner later that night. She treasured this resolution in the back of her mind as if it was the most important decision she had made in her life, and continued walking.

Had she lived in any other city, she would surely notice all of the strange things happening around her. Limbs in the wrong places, furry pedestrians, magical growths, and all other sorts of anomalies had become everyday sights to her. She liked the place, really; it was the only place she had encountered so far where she could roam about with her wings unfurled. They were poised behind her now, folded a bit against her back to avoid hitting pedestrians. They were a pretty gray, a shade lighter than the night sky.

Reaching her destination, she stepped out of the way of foot traffic to wait at her bus stop. She let her wings unfold and sweep around her, stretching them with a satisfied yawn as she leaned against a light pole to rest... falling back instead against a wall of tall, mean, human being.

Ahh! She hadn't seen him there! How could she miss him? Embarrassed and guilty, she tried to play it off: "This is my pole, chump. Fuck off." No, that wasn't what she wanted to say! Glaring up at him with round, angry eyes, she pushed back against him in an attempt to wrestle him away from the pole, her chest puffed out like a lion claiming territory.

Flinching from surprise at the man's touch, Remi suddenly found herself facing the him, glaring up at a very... imposing stranger. Her right wing had kind of slapped his neck a little bit when he spun her, but he didn't seem to mind. Well, her feathers were very soft, after all, and quite pleasing to the touch... maybe he enjoyed it. God, she hoped he did. Anything for him. She would do... anything...?

It was like a slap to the face. Blinking the haze out of her eyes, the angel was hit with the startling realization that he had spoken and was holding... her cheek... he was...

"Wha-? No!" She fumed, and quickly brought her hand across his cheek in an attempt to slap him. She then took a few clumsy steps back, almost falling into oncoming pedestrian traffic but catching herself just in time. After placing herself a reasonable distance between him and the sidewalk, the small girl ended up an awkward distance away from the man, just close enough to be able to reach out and touch him with her fingertips. Not that she wanted to. This, and the fact that she had to tilt her head up almost ninety degrees to make eye contact with him, made for an uncomfortable combination for her.

Remi's growing frustration made her puff out her cheeks in an angry-adorable way. How did he do that? Looking up at him through wide red pools, she stamped her foot on the ground, as if him touching her was the sidewalk's fault. "Who do you think you are?" she demanded, clutching the hand she had struck him with against her chest. Now that she took a closer look at him, he was actually quite attractive... in his own... perverted way. Oh, no. What he had said to her earlier... "Oh, are you... a... um... an e-escort? Uhh..." She had seen them before, of course, but none had ever tried to approach her. Probably because she looked underage.

This one, though... His strange blue and violet gaze seemed to welcome her into its mysterious depths. It was like she was looking into the bottom of the ocean, where dark mysteries seemed to beckon her. Something lurked there, obscure and slightly frightening... but what?

Noticing him step closer, Remi narrowed her eyes, unable to take a step back lest she tumble straight into the chaotic stream of pedestrians. As she watched his sly smile, she began to grow a bit dizzy... she found her vision swaying, and blinked rapidly as a warm feeling flowered across her face. She was... blushing...? Suddenly it hit her. This tingling feeling in her chest; he was using magic on her, and his mannerism suddenly made a lot of sense. She had never encountered a person like this, but supposed that sexual magic made it a lot easier to find customers... if he was, indeed, who he claimed to be.

"Anders March, at your service, miss." "Well, Anders March," she snapped, her frustration boiling over, fists clenched at her sides. "Stop whatever you're doing with your weird eyes and take a step back." Her blow didn't seem to have affected him at all; watching his smug grin, her temper flared up. Her gaze began to glow an angry crimson as she felt something stir within her; an old enemy, clawing its way to the surface. She was using the last shreds of her already-shitty self-control to contain it, but magic was leaking out from her body in tiny ethereal pulses, and charcoal wings unfolded halfway, poised threateningly with the feathery tips curled around her shoulders. She almost looked scary, but it was kind of ruined by her having to stand on her tiptoes and stretch her neck for the top of her head to barely reach his shoulders.

When he threaded his fingers through his hair, she felt something stir strangely in her stomach. Her powers were fading away, retreating back into the confines of her body as she began to calm down, but her body was heating up. It wasn't very warm out... maybe she was getting a fever? "Has anyone ever told you that you're adorable when angry?" She raised an eyebrow, choosing to ignore the comment. Suddenly a jacket was stuck in her face, and she huffed at his words. "Do you really think I would touch your smelly clothing?" It would appear that she had caused him enough distress already, though...

She took the jacket anyway.

The angel folded it very carefully over her arm, making sure not to wrinkle it. It didn't really smell at all. In fact, it had quite a pleasing aroma... Expertly covering up the fact that her accepting and gentle handling of the garment completely contradicted her words, Remi turned and started to walk without another word, hoping that he would take the motion as her accepting his invitation to walk her home, and not that she was just stealing his jacket. She didn't trust herself to open her mouth again, worried that she would just say something else rude that he didn't deserve. He was just trying to work after all... maybe she shouldn't have been so aggressive... Wait. Just trying to work.

Then why was he walking her home?

More importantly, why was she letting him? Her bus stop was right back there. At least the pedestrians had thinned out while they were talking, so she didn't have to worry about hitting anyone with her wings. What was it about him, though, that made her want to have more time to talk to him? She decided to write it off as curiosity. His eyes were pretty nice too. Wait what.

"I hope you know," she started, trying to distract herself from her thoughts, "I have dibs on that pole now." Remi you idiot what are you saying he doesn't care about the pole why do you care about the pole the pole doesn't matter just don't look him in the eye.

Remi dared a glance up at him, hoping he wouldn't notice... To her surprise, he wasn't looking at her, and the expression on his face was almost... forlorn. It made him look younger, with his face so relaxed, but there was something sad about him that she was just now noticing. She felt her heart... soften...? The sudden urge to hug him took her by surprise; she didn't know a thing about this strange person. He could be a criminal... well, technically, he was already a criminal... but he could be a murderer, or a kidnapper, or... eyes... pretty eyes...

Stop. Stop it right now. She had to resist his magic, even though he obviously wasn't actively using it anymore. Did it still work when he wasn't using it? She preferred to assume so. "From here, twenty minutes, maybe," the angel replied, avoiding his gaze. She focused her crimson eyes straight ahead and stood a little taller, a little agitated with their height difference. "You might not want to accompany me all the way, though. You'll see when we get there, anyway..." A chill snaked its way underneath her red coat, and she pulled it tighter around her body, shivering. Other than that, she was wearing black thigh-highs, short black boots, and her work uniform under the coat.

By "uniform", she really meant a suspiciously short red and black dress, but at least you couldn't tell with the coat over it... she didn't really like her job. But, well, the hours were reasonable and the pay was enough, and most customers at the café were smart enough not to try anything with the staff; the uniforms were just to attract a larger crowd, really. Not exactly a classy establishment... but she didn't mind too much. You could see her thighs, though, even with her coat on. Oh, fun, now she was self-conscious.

"The magic you used on me earlier... well, I'm new to this place, but I've seen a lot in a short time. I thought I'd seen it all, even," she murmured, pausing to glance at him. "But I've never met someone who can do that. Are you an angel? Or, um, an elf...?" She peered up at his ears suspiciously.

Remi stopped just in time, barely preventing them from squishing their noses together when he suddenly stepped in front of her. She blinked angrily, about to scold him for almost making her run into him, when he answered her questions. "Incubus? Oh..." Now that she thought about it, she'd read about something like that in a book once. She never imagined she'd meet one, though. Or any other creature besides an angel that wasn't human, for that matter. Life was just full of these jolly surprises that knocked her on her ass.

He stepped out of her way, and they continued walking again; only a moment later did she register what else he had said: 'look down upon'. The thought of people treating the charismatic man with disgust, or bullying him as a boy, made the white-haired girl's eyes shoot wide with inexplainable anger. Again, without thinking, she spoke. "That's ridiculous! You can't help being what species you are. You just... You have to do it to survive, don't you? What's wrong with that? Honestly! Anyone who would look down on you because of that is so..." Oh, no. Quickly retreating back into her quiet self, Remi tugged the edge of her coat down uncomfortably. Why did she have to keep speaking without thinking? One of these days she would say something that would hurt someone... she couldn't get too close to this man.

Sighing softly, she began to absent-mindedly twirl a snowy lock of hair with her free hand, trying to think of something to say to distract him from her outburst. "... Sorry about the, uh, thing, with telling you to fuck off and being so... rude and all." She wasn't really used to apologizing, but it wasn't actually a bad feeling. Smirking a little slyly, she nudged him tentatively with her elbow. "It's still my pole, though."

Strange. They'd only just met, but she felt like they'd known each other for a long time.

"Give us your money! Now!"

Flinching at the harsh voice, then cursing herself for it, Remi's crimson eyes narrowed at the sight of three figures closing in from the shadows. They seemed to shrink back for a moment, hesitation clear in their movements. Ha, you better be scared! As they repeated their rough command, a condescending smirk slowly appeared on the small girl's face. She couldn't tell what species they were in the poor lighting, but they were stupid enough to try to attack someone who was confident enough to have her wings out, so they couldn't be that strong. Plus, Anders was just beside her, and she had to admit that he was intimidating enough on his own. Grudgingly.

"How cute," she said, her eyes beginning to glow dimly in the darkness. Ethereal daggers materialized, orbiting her wrists while releasing a soft red aura. Her taunting smile suddenly fell, a feeling of familiar dread creeping up her throat. These men... seemed really desperate. They weren't going to run away, were they? If they actually tried to fight her...

The girl's slender fingertips began to tremble. It wouldn't have been noticeable if her magic wasn't orbiting her wrists... but now, the daggers shook and their image wavered. What if they had families to feed? Children, and people who loved them? She didn't want to hurt them. She didn't want to hurt anyone, ever again, but if they attacked her... if they attacked her...

Wouldn't it be better to let them hurt her than to cause them suffering?

"Anders," she said quietly, managing to keep her voice steady. "You might as well get going, I can handle this." The snowy-haired girl forced a confident smirk back onto her face when she looked up at him, her coat brushing bare thighs. "We're pretty close now, anyway. I don't want you to see..." Me give up... "...where I live, you creep."

Maybe it was for the best. She'd just give them her wallet and leave...