There's a wild wind blowing down the corner of my street

[cyfor]

Cy has been cornered by bullies. This time, bullies of the fluffy variety.

One of them just called her smelly.

Currently, she's tearing off his ear.

Ragnar is sitting on a bridge over the Chicago river, staring at the water. He's been doing this a lot, lately. He's gotten several odd looks from passerby, but no one wants to--or sees reason to

Comments

[worseforfears]

Becky hasn't heard back from Luke yet. It's worrying her, and she's not used to sitting around a lot anymore. It's amazing how active she is now, compared to how she was before.

To be fair, when she lived here before, she was a junkie, and recovering from serious trauma that STILL gives her nightmares to this day, and still an Angel, and... well, she was a mess. She's not much of a mess anymore.

But she's antsy, and worried, so clearly the best thing to do since there's no ocean or horses or guys on a dirt lot playing futbol to keep her busy is to go for a nice long walk. Which is when she passes by Cloud Gate, and catches sight of a girl curled in a very familiar position of broken-ness. And if she can't fuss over Luke...

"You know," she comments as she wanders closer, "next time, you might want to invest in a thinner pullover. All the cover and comfort of a sweatshirt, and significantly less chance of heatstroke."

[changingtheodds]

Ruvin flinches and looks up at Becky, her eyes feral with nerves. "Do I know you?"

It's an honest question, none of the sarcasm or defensiveness of someone dismissing advice. She doesn't think she knows this woman, but how can she really know when she's spent most of the day in a state of déjà vu? "I'm sorry, I just... I'm sorry."

[worseforfears]

Becky makes a sympathetic face and crouches down, still a safe distance away. "Nah. Just... someone who's spent a good chunk of her recent life broken and curled up in sweatshirts." She rubs the inside of her left elbow a bit self-consciously. The track marks are even more noticeable than they used to be, with her newly-tanned skin. Mostly she doesn't think about them, but...

She shrugs. "Anyway, I... well, you looked a little like how I used to feel almost all the time, so I thought I'd see if I could help at all."

[changingtheodds]

A flicker of a smile, its brevity matching the look in her eyes. "I don't think so. I don't know. I don't even know what's wrong with me."

Ruvin winces, unsure if she should even tell people that. Chicago isn't safe, never has been, but now there's an added level of fear to that fact that she can't explain.

[worseforfears]

Becky tips back, awkwardly shifting from crouching to sitting on the ground, Indian style. "Do you have anybody who can help watch out for you?" she asks, a little worried. "A place to stay and everything? 'Cause if you don't, I know a few places... not always the nicest, but they'll feed you and give you a bed for a night." She pauses, and takes a moment to tap into the back of her head, where she still has that faint niggling from when she was an angel.

A wanderer. Ah, that might explain a lot.

"Um, or there's actually this long-term shelter type place in the basement of the Conrad Hotel, if you'll believe it. For people like you. And me." She's not a wanderer, and she's lost her wings, but that doesn't mean she's not still one of them. The people in relative hiding, the ones threatened by these CLF people.

And if this girl's already staying there, or someplace like it, all the better, but Becky thought she should check.

[changingtheodds]

"I'm at the Conrad now. I just... needed to get out. I can't..." She stares at nothing for a second and then shakes her head. "I can't think. I walk around down there and I just... I can't think."

She flinches again. "Sorry, this isn't your fault."

[worseforfears]

"No, you don't have to apologize," Becky says quickly. "I mean, I just wanted to make sure you weren't gonna be sleeping out here, y'know? It's not very restful, believe me."

She chews her lip.

She's not sure there's anything useful she can do here, but... "I can go, if you'd rather be alone. I just thought you might like company."

[changingtheodds]

Not that anything's been very restful lately. She's dreamed every night about Chicago in flames, a city full of screaming--she woke Dusty up with her nightmares every few hours last night. She won't tell the angel about them, because she's been trying hard enough to make everything okay without knowing about... about that.

"I don't know. I'm not sure." She should know something like that, something that basic. Does she want to be alone, or would she feel better with someone else there? "I shouldn't have left."