Evolved: an Outtake (Deamonbane & Undine)
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Exotic Solos =&gt; Topic started by: Undine on 16-09-2016, 23:54:40</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Evolved: an Outtake (Deamonbane &amp; Undine)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Undine</strong> on <strong>16-09-2016, 23:54:40</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://slodive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/dreadlock-hairstyles/red-dreads.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Eva Bellamy (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=254149.msg12567233#msg12567233)<br><strong>City | Date | Time:</strong> San Francisco / August 3rd / Mid-Afternoon<br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> Alexei Mikhalev (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=254149.msg12560335#msg12560335)<br><strong>Content:</strong> Meeting his Wing Man<br><hr>No matter what Alexei might imagine, their little corner of the world was not truly empty but for him and Vallei - not completely, at least.&nbsp; A lithe figure remained no more than half a football field away, silent and well-hidden from sight - though only the silent part was entirely intentional.&nbsp; After all, shade was the friend of all redheads, even those who unabashedly adored the sea and still wore a thick layer of SPF 75 on days <em>just</em> like today.&nbsp; Eva still rested on a towel in the sands - granted, one she'd 'liberated' from a local Holiday Inn once upon a time.&nbsp; The thick lengths of her fiery dreads were bound into a grand, loosely wrapped bun at the nape of her neck, her hands snaked behind her head and fingers twined to complete the feel of a pillow on the otherwise soft sands.&nbsp; She wore only a pale green cotton sundress and her underwear this day, still lazily undecided if she'd be headed out for a swim, and unable to 'liberate' a bathing suit with the same ease she'd done her 'beach towel.'<br><br>One slender, elegantly arched foot lay lightly over the other ankle, swaying in a slow, leisurely rhythm as if to some music only she could hear.&nbsp; Blue eyes so pale they were nearly grey peered up to the slats of the pier overhead, viewing but not really seeing the rather dull sight of the boards and trusses and posts that comprised the structure.&nbsp; Eva was here for the sea - her beloved, teaming sea, humming with the symphony of life only she could hear, from the small chirruping, clicking and cheeping notes of vast swaths of ever-swimming krill to the far distant bellows of the great whales beyond the horizons.&nbsp; This was the peace Eva desperately needed if she were to cling to her newly-won gains in the world of humanity.&nbsp; She did not flee to the desolate places anymore.&nbsp; Though she could still feel the rising bile of panic in the back of her throat whenever she entered the center of a large urban center, she could force it back now, breathe through her terror and not face another two days of lying someplace dark and silent, nursing the agony of her migraines.&nbsp; Eva even had her own room in a local hotel, paid for by the week through her daily collection of odd jobs, cleaning an office here, pet-sitting and dog walking there.&nbsp; <br><br>She was learning, bit by bit, day by day, to control the 'gift' she'd been given, and not let it control her.&nbsp; These small steps had been years in the making, even if not a single other soul in the world understood just how far she'd come, or how hard she'd fought, for every last one of these oh-so-small and humble victories.<br><br>Eva sighed contentedly, suddenly sensing a similar note nearby - one invariably familiar, and welcome, and distinctly canine.&nbsp; By this time she did not even think of what came to her as naturally as breathing, a tendril of her thoughts traveling over the sands to lightly whisper a greeting to a near-wolf.&nbsp; She certainly never meant to call the dog to her, but the ever-playful creature seemed to have designs all her very own this day.&nbsp; <br><br>She turned her head in the direction she sensed the dog approaching, squinting over the sands to make out the golden-white form hurtling toward her in the sands.&nbsp; Eva laughed, just a little incredulous as she sat up on her towel, amazed at the exuberance, very nearly palpable the closer she came.&nbsp; The young woman grinned as she sat up, cross-legged on her towel and arms wide open to happily greet the panting, wiggling bundle of happy dog into her lap - or at least as much of her as her lap could actually hold.&nbsp; Claws might have scraped against the bare, pelt-less human skin of Eva's thighs and calves, leaving long red, bloodless welts behind.&nbsp; And more than once a powerful, swishing tale <em>thumped</em> into her arm and shoulder, but she really did not mind.&nbsp; The dog's undiluted joy was contagious, drowning out most anything but her desire for Eva to... To... <br><br>The young woman frowned, not entirely sure she was hearing the little dog right.&nbsp; Big brown eyes peered up to her, the most endearing expression on her maw, long pink tongue lolling, one floppy ear cocked to one side, the other perked up high and all but quivering in her excitement.&nbsp; The dog was obviously well-fed, much-loved and tended - someone somewhere adored her dearly.&nbsp; She had a pack, of course, but she was nigh insistent that Eva come... Come <em>meet</em> her pack?&nbsp; Her pack of one... <br><br>The young woman did not understand, but she stood to her bare feet anyway, pale eyes scanning the long, lonely lengths of beach until - <br><br>- <em>Oh dear God have mercy...</em> <br><br>If this happy, bright golden dog were not glued at her side this instant, Eva might have melted into the shadows at her first sight of the dog's human running full barrel in their direction.&nbsp; He was a tall man - <em>very</em> tall, even to Eva.&nbsp; Wide too, well-muscled, with old tattoos scattered wherever she could see bare skin, the closer he came.&nbsp; 'Intimidating' might be the understatement of the century.&nbsp; Eva glanced down to the dog at her side, closing her eyes for a moment to block out sight entirely, concentrating only on the canine's emotions and perceptions.&nbsp; <br><br>Suddenly she knew this man in ways he could not have begun to imagine possible - all the ways in which his Vallie knew him:&nbsp; the vast array of his scents, his body washed and unwashed, swathed in strange chemicals after he let the running water wash away all his good, rich aromas down the drain; the heady perfume of his un-booted socks at the end of the day; the tasty table scraps he shared without fail; the feel of his strong, knowing hand gently scritching at the itchy spots all along her pelt; the musk of the semen he ejaculated, even when there did not seem to be any mate in sight... <br><br>Eva cringed, shuddering at that last shared sensation.&nbsp; That last one might have been a step too far there, but dogs really didn't have much in way of filters - one always had to tread carefully with them.&nbsp; Still, whoever this terrifying mountain of a man might be?&nbsp; There was far more to him than met her eyes - his dog promised as much, after all!&nbsp; <em>She</em> did not fear him in the least, and the closer he came?&nbsp; The young woman realized there was a certain rugged, even ragged attraction about the man.&nbsp; Still, Eva licked her suddenly dry lips nervously, peering down to the happy, wiggling bundle of canine joy at her side who would not leave her be now, stubborn and single-minded beyond all reason, until she'd gotten her way.&nbsp; Another long, steadying breath, and Eva stepped from beneath the pier.<br><br>Despite the naturally red hair, Eva was not one of the innumerable gingers who sported freckles.&nbsp; Instead her ivory skin all but shimmered in the sunlight, from the soft slope of her shoulders beneath the spaghetti straps of her dress to the smooth mid-thighs and slender calves that carried her from beneath the relative shelter of the pier's shade.&nbsp; The dog walked at her side - for a time at least - as if Eva were a member of her pack all along.&nbsp; She lifted her hand to wave to the man, as much a gesture to catch his attention as anything like 'friendly.'&nbsp; <br><br>The dog wriggled happily, tail swishing mightily to-and-fro, as she seemed to peer up expectantly to her human.&nbsp; "Hi," Eva began lamely, clearing her throat swiftly before continuing on, one long hand sweeping downward in a gesture to encompass the dog beside her.&nbsp; "She uh... She belongs with you, doesn't she?"&nbsp; &nbsp; 
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				Title: <strong>Re: Evolved: an Outtake (Deamonbane &amp; Undine)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Deamonbane</strong> on <strong>24-09-2016, 23:38:15</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(http://static2.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_super/11114/111144184/4436465-7246217173-Yuri-.jpg)</div>Alexei was fast. Years of training in free running, an impressive physique and more than a little help from his powers made him that way. He trained rigorously and regularly, daily almost, and managed to keep himself well in shape, but in no universe was he ever going to outrun Vallie. Even if he hadn't given her a headstart from recovering her ball, she still would have left him in the dust either way, so after about ten seconds of sprinting as hard as he could, he decided to slow down to a jog. She had been a stray when he first ran into her, and had remained a wild animal at heart, only deigning to stick with him because, dammit, they made a pretty good team. Him with the magic show, her with watching him practice his act in a way so as to use his powers to make them easier, as well as keeping the fact that he was using powers on the down low, as Americans liked to say at some point in their history. And then, with the magic trick perfected and performed, she would just stare at him with those huge brown eyes as if wondering," That was awesome. So when's the magic trick?"<br><br>He finally slowed to a brisk walk when he saw that she was being entertained by a young woman. Tall, lean and with her long red hair done up in dreads, she was stunning in her own way, but what attracted Alexei's attention the most was how at peace Vallie seemed beside her, looking up into the woman's face and back at Alexei as he came closer, wagging her tail hard enough that her hindquarters were wagging with it. Comfortable. Which was odd. It had taken weeks for her to grow used to Alexei enough for her to stand that close to him, close enough to feel her long tail hit like a whip.<br><br>He came to a stop as the woman stepped out from under the pier, into the sunlight, letting it glance off her pale white skin like a statue of marble and red staring back at him. Stopping a few feet short of her, Alexei forced a smile and peered down at Vallie, who was staring at him with her tongue hanging out as if she hadn't just set his heart racing.<br><br>"Ah... yes. I guess. We meet in Texas, and we have been together ever since," Alexei said with a smile, still slightly forced, his accent hopefully not masking his words too harshly. Vallie just kept wagging her tail and half her body besides as she sauntered away from Eva to come in arm's reach of Alexei and he leaned down to run his hand over her back. All was forgiven.<br><br>"Ah... thank you for..." Stopping her? Catching her? "Eh, thank you. My name is Alexei," He offered his hand to her.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Evolved: an Outtake (Deamonbane &amp; Undine)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Undine</strong> on <strong>02-10-2016, 02:05:38</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://slodive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/dreadlock-hairstyles/red-dreads.jpg)</div><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">Eva Bellamy</span></span></strong><br><hr>Any other time, any other place, the mere presence of this thickly-muscled and tattooed man would have been enough to send Eva sliding back into the shadows, silently fleeing long before he ever had the chance to see her, much less speak to her.&nbsp; The few gains she'd made in remaining alongside humanity these past years had been hard-won, and even harder-kept.&nbsp; A man who looked as hard and rough and - let's be honest here - as genuinely terrifying as this one did?&nbsp; The very idea of what might be lurking in his surface thoughts, permeating his emotions and instincts, would have been far too terrible - painful even - for Eva to imagine lingering long.<br><br>Obviously, Eva was learning a lesson today about judging a man by his outward appearance - and a rather valuable one at that.&nbsp; <em>'Always let the dogs do the judging.'</em><br><br>The sweet canine trotted to her human, all her intentions apparently met.&nbsp; It was a truism that never failed to tickle Eva:&nbsp; so many considered cats to be among the most manipulative of animals.&nbsp; Secretive.&nbsp; Crafty.&nbsp; Devious.&nbsp; <em>Cunning.</em>&nbsp; Maybe it was the velvety soft ears, the charming tilt of their heads or those long, lolling tongues that always turned a maw full of wickedly long and deadly fangs into an almost human-seeming smile; but no one <em>ever</em> gave canines enough credit for being even more conniving than their feline counterparts.&nbsp; <br><br>Eva knew better.<br><br>"Hello Alexei."&nbsp; She understood his words just fine, no matter the thickness of his accent.&nbsp; Russian?&nbsp; Ukrainian?&nbsp; Perhaps even Eastern European of some sort or another - Eva wasn't terribly good at judging such things.&nbsp; What she <em>could</em> do was sense the very surface of his mind and read the vaguest direction of his intent, all of which promised he'd be no threat to her.&nbsp; <br><br>"I'm Eva.&nbsp; Eva Bellamy."&nbsp; It was a common enough surname, in the U.S. at least.&nbsp; Considering the young, barefoot woman wore little but an old, probably second-hand sundress and kept a Holiday Inn-purloined towel nearby, the idea of connecting <em>this</em> Bellamy to the famed family of Richard Bellamy, the powerful and eminently influential U.S. Senator from norther California would have been laughable at best, now wouldn't it?&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>"Your friend thinks pretty highly of you... "&nbsp; Such a strange thing to say, but she didn't let the words linger long between them.&nbsp; "What do you call her?&nbsp; And... Texas?"&nbsp; This <em>was</em> northern California after all, and San Franciso at that.&nbsp; There was far more than several hundred miles between here and Texas.&nbsp; She watched Alexei welcome his friend back into their little pack of two, pale eyes softening at the sight, such a strangely sweet tableau to find here in the sun and the sand.<br><br>"Your accent, it doesn't sound very Texan to me."&nbsp; Eva bit her lower lip softly, ivory teeth pressed lightly into soft, pale pink flesh, keeping the grin from growing too big.&nbsp; She was long out of practice in the subtle social art of small talk, and couldn't be sure if her little jokes might be considered humorous or, heaven forbid, offensive in some way she did not intend and could not foresee.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Evolved: an Outtake (Deamonbane &amp; Undine)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Deamonbane</strong> on <strong>12-10-2016, 04:45:53</strong>
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				Alexei wasn't the sharing sort. Ever since he'd been in that orphanage, information had always been seen as a commodity to be bought, sold and traded. Information about himself was the kind of commodity that went for a higher price than diamonds, to be honest, and he rarely shared anything with anyone. As a criminal in Russia, it had been what kept him alive. It had done the same for him as a prisoner, and it had been what had allowed him to escape intact, and reach North America. Even the people that he had begun to share his life with, people that he considered to be his friends, people who he knew had his back, knew nothing about him apart from his first name. Or if they did know anything more, they would have had to glean it from a source apart from himself. It was worth mentioning that the lifestyle that they had chosen for themselves wasn't one that they had picked because of its creature comforts. People who came to the travelling arts didn't come to it because it was their first choice, and everyone was entitled to their secrets, and privacy. Alexei just had more secrets than most.<br><br>And yet, he realized that he felt more comfortable around his Eva Bellamy. Maybe it was the inherent trust that Vallie, the single being in the world that he actually trusted himseld, had in this woman. Maybe it was her unprepossessing nature. The way she smiled where most would have averted their eyes or stared at his tattoos.<br><br>Not her. Of course, he had seen the way she looked at him at first, but now it was... it felt like talking to an old friend. And that was ringing all sorts of alarm bells in his head. Quietly, of course. He was nothing if not collected.<br><br>"I have traveled all over the country," He said, subtly avoiding the implied question in her statement," Texas a few times, but only in passing. Pretty much everywhere only in passing. Roots make no home for me," A smile touched his lips as he said that, a small bit of pride in his gypsy lifestyle somehow giving him what roots he needed.<br><br>"Vallie has been with me for a while. The only one who's... been with me," A confused smile touched his lips now. Again with the feeling of trust. It was odd. Not as alarming as he had thought before, but still... interesting.<br><br>"How about you, Eva?" He said, sitting down on the sand and stroking Vallie's coat, scratching behind her ear, the way she liked, the way that made that one ear tuck back and her head turn a bit as he did," What roots have you placed?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: Evolved: an Outtake (Deamonbane &amp; Undine)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Undine</strong> on <strong>16-10-2016, 22:05:40</strong>
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				Eva liked his smile, she decided.&nbsp; She liked the gentle ring of soft emotion that wreathed him like a crown of golden light and a comfortable warmth as he scratched behind Vallie's ear.&nbsp; It was all so utterly at odds with the evidence of a far rougher, far more cruel and vicious life that littered his flesh in ink.&nbsp; It was a life filled with memories she was sure should have sent her running the moment he crossed the horizon, gripping her poor, aching head, reeling with spikes of pure, visceral agony.&nbsp; And yet here he remained, as did she.&nbsp; <br><br>"This place <em>was</em> my roots... Once."&nbsp; Eva accepted his unspoken invitation, lowering herself to her knees in the warm sands before leaning to rest on one hip.&nbsp; Legs curled up beneath her, one long-fingered hand wrapped about her ankle, the other resting lightly in her lap.&nbsp; Never once did her gaze leave his smiling face.&nbsp; Alexei was captivating to her eyes, and her preternatural senses as well, in ways that defied explanation in merely human words.&nbsp; It was all far more visceral.&nbsp; Instinctual.&nbsp; Animal, even.&nbsp; <br><br>"Obviously not the beach, but the city," she laughed softly at her own lapse, realizing how her words might not have made sense to someone whose first language was not English.&nbsp; Words... Words had become so difficult for her since the Change.&nbsp; Listening to her now, no one might ever believe she earned a Ph. D. in Marine Biology, that once-upon-a-time she'd successfully and handily defended a thesis on meaningful variations in cetacean language patterns.&nbsp; "Here, in San Francisco."<br><br>For just a moment Eva felt oddly comfortable, but that was before she recognized the quiet pause that promised she hadn't offered up all that genuine human conversation required.&nbsp; "I was... I... "&nbsp; A flash of panic flashed through those grey eyes, a soft blush to her cheeks as she licked suddenly dry lips, her heart pounding harder in her throat.&nbsp; What could she say, to explain why she'd fled her home?&nbsp; So many hated her kind, those who'd become something more.&nbsp; Something <em>else.</em>&nbsp; Something other than simply homo sapiens.&nbsp; Alexei seemed a good enough man - Vallie said as much.&nbsp; But how many good people considered it a moral imperative to hate those like her?&nbsp; Eva was <em>different</em> now, and whether that made her more than human or less, there was no going back now.<br><br>She cleared her throat.&nbsp; "I had to leave.&nbsp; It's hard for me... To be around a lot of people.&nbsp; It's... My head."&nbsp; Fingers lifted to one temple, tapping gently before falling back to her lap.&nbsp; "My head can hurt... "&nbsp; There.&nbsp; Truth, but not too much truth.&nbsp; Not enough truth to get her killed she prayed, the threat of TAC-6 never far from her thoughts.&nbsp; Not enough said to hurt her family any more than she already had.&nbsp; <br><br>True lies were beyond her anymore, even if she must sound unbalanced, maybe even mentally ill.&nbsp; "I'm trying to get better though, little by little.&nbsp; But I haven't had roots in a few years."&nbsp; <br><br>Her eyes fell from his handsome face to her lap, suddenly afraid to see what she might find in his dark eyes.&nbsp; Her fingers played nervously with the hem of her short dress.&nbsp; "But I've been to Texas too.&nbsp; Around El Paso."&nbsp; Eva cringed.&nbsp; On any given day, she did not speak a single word - but now it seemed she could not stop nonsense dripping from her lips.&nbsp; Her gaze flickered from her lap to Vallie, a soft whimper and a thud of thick tail in the sand the tenuous anchors that kept her right where she was.&nbsp; <br><br>Eva took a deep, hitching breath, forcing herself to look back up and meet Alexei's gaze.&nbsp; "So why do you travel?"&nbsp; She was doing her very best not to cry, embarrassment and fear of what this man must think of her now roiling in her gut.&nbsp; "You don't have to say if you don't want, but you have the face of a man who's lived an interesting life."&nbsp; A soft laugh, to hide a trembling lower lip.&nbsp; "And besides, Vallie&nbsp; vouches for you.&nbsp; Her word goes a long way."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Evolved: an Outtake (Deamonbane &amp; Undine)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Deamonbane</strong> on <strong>27-10-2016, 01:19:01</strong>
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				The sand was warm beneath him. Coarse, true, but comfortable to sit on anyways. He sat cross-legged, or halfway anyways as his thick arms came around his knees to connect to each other at the wrist. Vallie, her mission to bring the two together completed, came to his side and, walking in a small half circle, settled in the sand beside her companion, right ear perked up as the left hung down the side of her hear, bright, intelligent eyes gleaming, panting happily with her tongue hanging outside her mouth. A dog that had taken months to get used to him being around her, even though she followed him around and happily shared food and a resting place with him, seemed oddly at ease with this strange woman. Of course, Vallie trusting her was more than enough for him to give her the benefit of whatever doubts he was having, but it still tugged at his mind. His hand went automatically to her, Vallie that is, stroking and brushing her coat with his long, calloused fingers.<br><br>The woman settled down on the sand next to him and Vallie, his dark eyes looking over her. It was something that he did more out of instinct, something that you learned after a few years in a prison locked up with the worst criminals that Russia had to offer, and as it turned out you were the only thing that the inmates hated and feared more than the guards. Sizing a person up, trying to judge if they were willing to overcome that fear and attack had been a skill, among many others, that had kept him alive all those years, and for many more afterward.<br><br>She didn't seem like much of a fighter. He didn't doubt that she would and could put up a fight if there was no other choice, but her words indicated that when the fight or flight moments came along, she tended to side with the latter. He did too, honestly. Another reason why he was still alive. Sometimes to had to make a stand, and others, it was perfectly acceptable just to step out of the way of the problems instead of bullishly trying to meet them head on. The only problem was, with the two of them as living proof, that sometimes those problems had a habit of coming back around and following you, hounding you for the rest of your life until the time came when there was no other choice but to take a stand. But every time the option came up, the harder it became to stand his ground and the option of running just became easier and easier. Until he couldn't remember a stable life in which he wasn't constantly looking over his shoulder, expecting the enemies that he was running from to just... appear.<br><br>They had before, after all.<br><br>At least she was trying to get better, he mused. He smiled when she asked about why he traveled, and especially her comment on Vallie, who got an appreciative ear-rub," I..." There were two truths, really, to that question, and deciding which required a moment's thought," I work with some travelling artists. We travel all around the country, although we haven't had any work outside. Yet," He nodded. It was a dream for them to travel internationally," I work as escape artist. You know... like Houdini?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: Evolved: an Outtake (Deamonbane &amp; Undine)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Undine</strong> on <strong>14-11-2016, 00:32:48</strong>
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				Alexei spoke, his deep, deeply-accented bass rumbling easily between them over the eternal murmuring growl of the sea.&nbsp; He spoke, and in an instant whatever troubles shaded that porcelain-pretty face disappeared as if they'd never been, as if the sun overhead decided to shine a thousand times brighter, just for them.&nbsp; That choking ache in her throat unwound its stranglehold as a soft, breathy laugh escaped.&nbsp; Had there truly been tears in her eyes?&nbsp; If there ever were, they were gone entirely as that incredulous laughter made its way upward, her eyes wide with an obvious, undisguised delight.&nbsp; Alexei could not know how unlikely it would be that a lie to Eva would go unnoticed, but he could not fail to notice the genuine joy his words brought for the young lady before him.<br><br><em>"That</em> has got to be one of the most incredible things I've heard all day."&nbsp; And considering that most of Eva's morning was spent submerged in the ocean, listening to the ballads of whales and the chittering song of dolphins?&nbsp; This was obviously no small thing - not, of course, that Alexei could have known just how incredible a compliment she paid him.<br><br>Eva could not help but lean forward where she sat in the sand, whatever trepidation she might have felt disappeared entirely in the excitement of meeting someone who had an honest-to-heaven reason to live like the Romany.&nbsp; "Traveling artists:"&nbsp; didn't that mean something very like a circus then - or at least, a traveling sideshow?&nbsp; There would always be something just a little romantic about the idea of a traveling show to Eva's mind, no matter she knew firsthand the very real rigors of living on the road.&nbsp; After all, she'd been driven to this life by the havoc wrought in her head by her newborn abilities, by genuine fear for her family and the all-too-real threat of TAC-6.&nbsp; But what would it be like to live such an unfettered life, to make a living by one's wits and talents and undeniable skill? <br><br>"So where would you <em>like</em> to go, if you could?"&nbsp; Eva shifted on her bottom where she sat, pulling her bare ivory legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms about her knees.&nbsp; If she noticed how the skirt of her pale green sundress fell away, bunching up about her hips and giving the smallest peek of underwear, she gave no notice.&nbsp; This <em>was</em> a beach after all, and she revealed nothing so daring than bathing suit modesty.&nbsp; "Overseas I mean, when your show gets bigger and famous, and I can say, 'I knew him when.'"<br><br>Eva found speaking so much easier now - easier for her head and easier for her heart - when conversations took a turn toward the other person.&nbsp; Self-consciousness disappeared, and faint glimmers of the bright, fun and witty woman she'd once been - and perhaps would one day be again - could shine through.&nbsp; "And what do you escape <em>from?</em>" she asked him, genuine enthusiasm spicing every word.&nbsp; "Do you use, say... Ropes?&nbsp; Or chains or something like that?&nbsp; Or do you mean you're a <em>real</em> Houdini?&nbsp; That you can get out of locked safes and tanks filled with water?"<br><br>She grinned widely, her laughter sweet and bright, as far from the nervous, self-conscious woman she'd been only moments before as the sun from the moon.&nbsp; "Is there anything you can show me, like... "&nbsp; Her arms fell back to her sides, hands flat in the sands.&nbsp; She shot a glance over her shoulder back to the pier, where her meager belongings remained in the shadows.&nbsp; "Like with a towel?"&nbsp; She shrugged helplessly, knowing how silly her suggestion must be but glad to immerse herself in this fascinating man for a time.&nbsp; "Or... "&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>With a mischievous little lift of her brow, Eva tilted her head toward the shoreline only yards away.&nbsp; "I <em>know</em> I could get all the seaweed you'd ever need!"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Evolved: an Outtake (Deamonbane &amp; Undine)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Deamonbane</strong> on <strong>25-12-2016, 05:16:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Where would he go, if he could? It was an odd question, not because of the question itself, but because of the answer that it would draw. Even though he had never had much of a home back in his homeland, there was something comforting about being back in familiar ground. Or maybe it was because it was the one place in the world that he could never go back to. Odd how things like that tended to sway one's mind. Every day that he spent away from home, the less he remembered of the terrible nature of it, and more and more his mind glorified and amplified the good. Either way, he would never be allowed to go home anyways, so the whole thought process was moot anyways. <br><br>He looked up, a little surprised that she had moved past the topic onto what exactly it was that he did with this travelling band of his. He opened his mouth to speak and snapped it shut again when he realized that she wasn't finished. He understood English well enough do understand what she was saying, but he was still caught in that awkward phase where he had to mentally translate what he was going to say before he could say it, otherwise it would end up a vocalized bunch of nonsense, a mix of English and Russian. And since it required conscious thought, which couldn't be spared if he was concentrating on what she was saying.<br><br>Finally, he inhaled and smiled as he worked his way through her language with ponderous thought and precision," I can... work with almost anything. Ropes and chains are easy enough," Didn't even need his powers for those, for the most part," I can work with locked safes and water tanks too, but those are usually for the bigger shows, since they take some setting up."<br><br>What... could he show her? Most of his skills relied on a little misdirection that was easier in a crowd, difficult in a one on one situation, since all of her focus would be on him. Not impossible. Just difficult.<br><br>"Well, I don't have anything on me, at the moment," He tilted his head, looking down at Vallie. He had been told to collar her or she would likely be impounded, and so he'd put a light chain around her neck, with a tag with his name and phone number on it in case she ran off and someone picked her up. He reached down and rubbed her ears, pulling the chain over her head, and wrapping it around his wrists, offering the choker end to Eva," Pull it as hard as you can, make sure it's tight."
			</dd>
		</dl>
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