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Avery:
Avery hated downtown, and hated rush hour, and crowds in general but they completely misjudged the time. There was nowhere to try to hide, it was too much motion, and they were now lost and overwhelmed.
The raven-like changeling had a hood over his head in both their mein and their mask, the only difference is that the mein actually hid their face and their mask did not. Avery eventually finds an alleyway to duck down, away from the crowd and the noise, but it was only a temporary relief from the stimuli. He starts taking deep breaths to calm down, but was anxious even at a passing first glance.
Vorpal:
Ah, autumn. That glorious time of the year when nobody questions a breeze shoving a pile of leaf litter into an alleyway.
At least anyone not tuned into the Wyrd.
Avery, though, is, and it's the combination of Very Autumn Leaves, a Wyrd equal to his own, and a mantle familiar to her acquaintance that confirm those leaves there are Jackie.
Of course, so does the slide from leaves to lanky pillar of shadow, tucked into a doorway to obscure the act itself.
"Now, forgive me if I get this wrong, I'm simply awful with emotions, but if I didn't know better, I'd say you looked just -awful,-" came her calm, detached tone. It was hard to emote past the walls erected against the world sometimes.
Avery:
Avery was still in the moment of taking deep breaths when the leaves coalesce, but it doesn't escape their notice. There was a slight leaning towards a hidden dagger before recognizing the mantle and taking a sigh of relief of a familiar face...or at least shadow?
Avery just nods at first, a flicking glance to the world outside the alleyway. While as fluid in their motions as the other Lost, their jerky movements made it much less elegant. "Loud...too loud. I don't like it."
Vorpal:
"I'm not sure as I have as hard a time as YOU, mind, but I can relate somewhat, I think," Jackie assures, "Though the question begged becomes- and yes, I'm sure the cavalcade of other offended senses outweighs the one, but I feel I have to make the irrelevant point nonetheless- why move -closer- to the dumpsters in your flight from oversaturation? You could go up, or out, or both, and yet..." She shrugs. "Honestly, I'm a wee bit surprised you haven't just... dipped to someplace less smelly."
Avery:
Avery shakes their head, leaning against the wall and rubbing their fingers against the bricks. A good sensory feeling in the moment.
"My smell isn't as good as my hearing or sight. Its bad but...not as bad." They look out to the crowd and then back at Jackie.
"I don't like the Hedge. Its loud there and...not a good plan to go when overwhelmed. It knows."
Vorpal:
"No, I understand. The pressures are different but I really do get it. I can't tolerate crowds anymore. It'd be bad enough just from the sensory overload- comparatively diminished though it is- but that PLUS having to try to pretend all THIS is... like THAT?" Jackie states, gesturing to herself, and then towards the streets. "I can do one or the other, darling, both is too much."
She holds up a finger. "Ah, so it is, but we both know you could get to Anyplace Else far faster if you could do it on eight toes rather than ten."
Avery:
Avery nods, he curls in on himself a bit, trying to make himself smaller within the alley.
"I don't like doing either. I don't remember enough to pretend...this is like that. And they're all too loud. Forests are quiet, I like trees more than people."
Avery strokes a feather of their mein. "I can't change in a crowd. People will notice. And...and I didn't think about it." They look ashamed that the thought hadn't crossed their mind. "Thinking is hard."
Vorpal:
"Hey, hey. It's alright. Sometimes things are awful, and the more awful they get, the easier it is to focus on the awful and not the solution. You know?" An easy, no-judgment dismissal of his shame. "What are you doing wandering around all exposed and such anyhow? Just working your limits a bit? Or get caught out in the rain, so to speak?"
Avery:
Avery gives an uneasy look, debating what to say.
"I...the Wyrd affects our day to day lives and makes us need to do things. I need to travel and explore, and the same routes get boring. I forgot that...lots of people leave work and so need to travel too. It was more than I thought would be here."
Vorpal:
Jackie takes it all at face value and nods. "Ahhhhh. I can understand that. That's alright. Well, we've options. There's just sticking it out, tromping out there and making it clear quick as reasonable. Could wait out the next hour or two. OR. Could just skip the next couple hours." A moment, a glance around. "Or I could just open a door so you can get out of sight long enough to make the trip home more comfortable. Up to you, really."
Avery:
Avery looks back at the crowd, judging.
"You can...make time go by faster? I guess that works, its just too loud now. I want it to not be loud."
Vorpal:
"Not faster. Skip it entirely. Tell me what time you want it to be, and it will be! Simple as that. Might be best to post up someplace discrete so you don't spook the straights when you show back up!"
Avery:
"Just...an hour? Past the crowds. Skipping it sounds nice, but I need to still travel."
Avery points deeper into the alleyway with a smile. "If I'm not spotted immedietly, the shadows will hide me. I just need to ask them nicely."
Vorpal:
Jackie nods and wanders with. "But of course~ just ask them now, they'll still be protecting you after~" ((I think!))
Avery:
Avery puts a hand against the wall and whispers to seemingly the air. The other Changeling's also superior hearing can pick out the words.
"I just need to bother you for a few...well I'm not sure how long. I'll be quiet if you let me hide here."
With that, Avery steps into the shadow. Maybe it was just the dark cloak, or practice, or in fact the Wyrd's influence, but they are just about invisible within the darkness. They give a nod and wait for Jackie's own contract to work.
Vorpal:
Jackie smiles gently, and leans towards the shadow, and murmurs. "Happy travels, Avery. I'll see you-"
A flicker of glamour, and for Avery, the wait was over.
"-on the flip side~" Jackie murmurs, before stepping back into the doorway, dissolving back to leaves and shuttling off to wherever suits best~
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