mid sweet talk (o)

[missy]

outfit

Welcome home...
It was odd. When moving to a new location, Demetra thought she'd be carrying suitcases, suitcases and bags with a mini army helping her carry appliances and furniture. But all she walked in with was her black shoulder bag and a key, the key to her new room.
Her new home...

To say the feeling was gloomy was an understatement. She tossed the bag on the floral patterned bed and stuffed the keys in her pocket. No point in staying, in her mind. All there was to the room was a bed, a dresser, and a door to what she guessed was the bathroom. Not much to see... besides, she could explore all that later. Out here, there was much more to see.
She wandered the halls, getting a feel for the area, drawing a map of the place permanently in her head as she explored. It was oddly quiet... but considering it was mid afternoon, everyone was probably out.
Figures.. she thought to herself, running her fingers through her pale blonde hair.

[Rox]

Rox soared over the buildings as if they were nothing more than grains of sand under her feet. Her brown pelican wings pumping every now and then to maintain her height. The view of the city from up here was spectacular despite the fact that it was drizzling. Not that Rox was paying any attention to the sights.

No, Rox had other things on her mind at the moment. Her thoughts mostly concerned what had happened that day on the mountain after the avalanche. Not for the first time today, a shudder went up her spine, ruffling her feathers a little. The sensation brought Rox back to her senses and she checked the nearest bank clock to see what time it was. And how much longer she had in morph.

<<An hour and forty-five minutes? Yikes, Rox. Cutting it a little close, don't you think?>> she said to herself. It would probably take her at least another five minutes to get back to the apartment. Luckily she checked her time when she did, because she would hate to think what the others would say if she got trapped as a pelican for no good reason. Especially since she probably shouldn't have even been in morph right now. Rox was in morph solely so that she could fly around. Not for any official animorphs missions or anything. So she was sort of breaking an unwritten rule.

But if anyone asked, she would just say she was following someone who looked suspicious. That ought to get them off her back.

As Rox landed on the balcony to their apartment and began to demorph, she saw a blonde figure on the other side of the rain-spattered patio door. <<Hey, Hope, could you open up the balcony for me? I don't exactly have my hands back yet.>> Rox had no idea that the girl she was directing her thought speech at wasn't Hope at all.

[missy]

outfit

A voice distracted her from her thoughts.
She stopped mid-step, looking around a moment in confusion. No one was around... had she really heard a voice? Then again, it sounded odd... like it wasn't coming from any certain direction. Luckily, she happened to glance back, blinking as she saw a white dove sitting on the balcony. Nothing special, a dove sitting on the balcony... but if the dove was looking at you? Straight at you? Like it was... speaking to her.

Had the guy said something about that? she wondered as she walked to the window. She'd only really been half listening to him...
Opening the door, she tilted her head at the bird and said,
"Okay... I feel reeeally odd talking to you right now but er...hi?"
Boy she felt silly... why the heck was she talking to a bird anyways? Then again... at the moment? Anything seemed possible...

[Rox]

As soon as the door was opened far enough, Rox made her way inside. She went right past the girl she thought was hope and continued demorphing in the room connected to the balcony.

<<Why do you feel odd? You still haven't gotten used to talking to people in morph yet. You would think that by now- >> Rox paused in mid sentence as she noticed that the person she was talking to wasn't who she thought it was. She stopped demorphing too, part of the way between bird and human.

<<You... aren't Hope.>> How had Rox not noticed sooner? Sure, the wet patio door blurred her view at first, and then she didn't notice because the girl's head was so high up and Rox didn't bother checking, but the voice should have given it away. She didn't sound like Hope, but Rox assumed it was just her bird hearing playing tricks on her.

But whatever the circumstances, it wasn't as if Rox could undo what she did. And so she resumed demorphing. If there was going to be trouble, she didn't want to be in a wimpy bird body.

As Rox became more and more human, and her human mouth formed, she asked, "So, if you aren't Hope then who are you?" Secretly Rox was just hoping that this girl wasn't dangerous.