prologue ♔ everybody says it's gonna get better

[everyredcent]

♬ Bad Bad World - Charlotte Sometimes

WHO || Christos La Krail, Katniss Everdeen [Closed]
WHAT || Christos tracks down a potentially dangerous Shadow Worlder who's firing arrows at people in the city. 8| Weird.
WHERE || Downtown London
WHEN || Sunday night
HOW || Actionspam

[There are plenty of Shadow Worlders who show up in this world, and don't handle it well. But most of them get talked down quickly enough, so it rarely ends up making the news anymore. This girl was an exception. Showing up in downtown London, she'd reportedly snapped and attacked the man who'd found her, causing him to contact the police force. They had, however, been unable to find her, until a couple hours later that evening when she had shown up on a rooftop around Trafalgar Square wearing a seemingly hand fashioned bow on her back, knocking an arrow at anyone who came too close.

Christos agreed to go deal with this alone, seeing as how it would be easier to get the girl out of the public eye to speak with her first - and staying out of sight was a specialty of his.

By the time he arrives on the scene, however, there's a huge crowd gathered in the Square despite police blockades trying to hold them back, and cars are buzzing back and forth as officers shout through megaphones.

Christos observes from a distance, blended into shadows with his dark black cloak pulled tightly over his features, and picks up the facts readily enough: they must have apprehended the girl here, only to have her escape again. And from the circus of activity, he was guessing it had only just occurred.

His eyes shoot to the rooftops. It's obvious that the girl values the high road and he has a feeling that's where she'll wind up again.

He wastes no time in moving back down into the alley, slipping unseen behind a dumpster to vault off the wall and grab the bottom of a fire escape, yanking himself up and climbing it with ease to reach the rooftop.]

Comments

[everyredcent]

That would be why we train those in our employ. Not to mention why we seek out those with promise in the first place. [The way he says the word makes it sound like another challenge, particularly with the way his gaze rivets to the place where she had so dissonantly plunked out a tone.

He lets that hang there for a moment, before nodding at her to move down and give him room to sit.]

[befree]

[She has plenty of promise, Christos. You didn't get to see how good she was at almost shooting people on the rooftops earlier, okay. She stares over at him, annoyed, but still scoots down enough to give him room.

Actually, she just moves to stand up entirely, so he can have the entire bench.]

I hope you don't expect me to perform on command, to show you my promise.

[Now play piano on command, sir. Go on.]

[everyredcent]

What you choose to show or not show is your own prerogative. I said we'd offer you assistance - I wasn't talking about recruitment.

Unless you consider yourself in that category. [And now, just to let her mull that over for a moment, he'll launch into a piano number with an excessive amount of finesse. As in he got a ... 26, which is insanely high.]

♬ Exodus - Beethoven

[befree]

[She's enchanted as he plays, and actually looks like the kid that she's supposed to be as her eyes flutter shut and she finds herself barely swaying in time to the music.

She does get lost in what he's playing, of course, but her mind never loses track of focusing on being alone here with a stranger, or the fact that he's explaining things to her.

If she wants to find out more, will she have to show her usefulness?

No.

He said they would offer her assistance. That will have to be enough for her, for now.]

I'll do whatever it takes to survive.

[Her words are so soft and are lilted out in almost the same tune as the song, she's not even sure she said them aloud.]

[everyredcent]

[Oh, how well he understands those words. His playing drifts off to a close as he gets lost in his own thoughts for a moment, looking decidedly grim. And then he looks over at her once more.]

Believe me, when I say there are far more unpleasant paths to survival in this world.