Conrit/Sen PSL

[notaneggbaby]

Conrit doesn't like being on his own.

It's only natural for someone who grew up in a communal cave full with family members and friends to find loneliness alien. True, Conrit has had periods of self-induced solitude, particularly on nights when he couldn't sleep and the spot in the cave that his older brother had occupied a decade earlier felt crowded with the bodies of his clutchmates. He'd move off to an area closer to the mouth of the cave and risk the chill to have his own personal space. That was the biggest difference between then and now, though: it was voluntary.

Being separated from Ladon, Violette, and Miss Milla is not his choice. And it's making the fact that he's lost in this big city even worse.

He's tried asking around for directions, but he doesn't know the names of streets and can't articulate where exactly Milla lives or Ladon might be. All he knows is that he's on the opposite side of town from the Golden Apple, and the trolleys don't run this late. He has no money for one of the brilliant blue cabs.

It's all he can do to keep from just breaking down helplessly. Crying does no good, even if it's cathartic.

He lingers in the alley, watching people walk by and dreading the darkness that is creeping up over the pink and purple skyline. The street lights are starting to buzz on and he's immediately gripped by the terrifying fact that he's never been out on his own this late.

Bad things lurk in the night in Nieve, things much worse than the little dragon is prepared to face on his own, with only a small knife to defend himself.

Comments

[many_doors]

Skye was busy with work, which was all the better. The girl was annoying and seemed to think it her mission in life to tag along. As if the doors were just curiosities, convenient ways to see magnificent worlds and the depths of space. And this one was such a simple door, just an average reality door that had materialized in an alley behind a Chinese restaurant, only a block from Telegraph Avenue. Sen could handle this one in minutes. He even briefly entertained the thought of telling Ramsey to stay behind, but there was no chance in hell of her ever doing that.

The door is rather plain for a reality door. Wooden, brass fixtures, a little old-fashioned--no, not old-fashioned, that term was both relative and pointless. Quaint maybe, with its polished surface and decorative molding. Pretty human-looking in design, really, which was no surprise--reality doors that opened onto this version of Earth often led to other human-populated areas. It was just how doors worked, connecting like with like.

Ramsey is the first one through as ever, using a few threads from her deep red cloak to analyze the situation on the other side. Nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere with slightly elevated levels of carbon dioxide; radiation levels negligible. No immediate hazards.

"A city," Ramsey said from the other side by way of explanation. Sen stepped through. It was a city, indeed, and they were in an almost identical alley as the one in Berkeley. There was the sound of distant traffic and the usual smells associated with a city; smoke, exhaust, food, garbage, sweat, damp concrete and stone. Sen shut the door behind him.

There was a boy about Sen's age in the alley a few yards away, but Sen completely ignored him. There was little chance of the boy being able to see them anyway.

"Human, I'd say," Sen said with a bored nod. "Humanlike, at the very least."

"Standard Earth-like elements detected. Carbon, iron, calcium, phosphorous."

"An alternate Earth, then. Or something similar enough that it doesn't matter." Sen sighed. "Let's get this over with, then."

[notaneggbaby]

Conrit was on edge enough to jump when he heard voices. After all, the last time he'd encountered kids his age in an alley, he'd wound up with a bruised chin and split lip, on top of being outed as something not exactly human. He was not eager to repeat that experience any time soon. Ladon had been upset enough when he'd found out, and on top of that, there was still the possibility that miss Cleo would hunt them down and eat them.

And he really didn't like getting beat up.

He scrambled to grab the knife at his ankle, wound up tumbling and sitting on the alley floor, only to sit there and stare at the figures who had stepped out of a door in one of the buildings and hope not to spot Peb, or a vampire, or one of his brother's numerous enemies.

"H-hello?"

[many_doors]

Sen looked over in the boy's direction, frowning in annoyance. Initially he thought the boy had just maybe heard a whisper, a flicker of the otherworldly. Sometimes that would happen; the Unaware would get just the barest of glimpses, like seeing something out of the corner of their eye.

But no, this boy was staring directly at them. As if he could actually see them. Ramsey stared back at him, her gaze fixed on the knife in his hand. Sen had no doubt that if the boy attacked, Ramsey would cut him in two.

Damn. This complicated things.

"Hello?" Maybe the kid didn't actually see them. Maybe he was just seeing their afterimage.