[ prp ] on the run ( leslie & reese )

[its me debz]

This body was awfully huge-- and he wasn't sure if he liked it. Leslie had always wanted to be taller, but being stuck in the form of a hulking cat-dude wasn't what he had in mind.

He skulked around the school, hunched over and paranoid, because it was weird and strange and-- to be honest-- kind of scary. In the same way that haunted houses were, and Halloween decorations.

Leslie supposed that was...probably the point.

"Uh," he said to someone, who he had run into because they were way, way below his line of sight. "I can't even tell how ******** short you are because I don't know how tall I am. But s**t, you're small."

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

The air around Reese had grown heavy, the ghost concerned that this was going to be a Bullying Incident and grimly preparing herself. The explanation, though, had her both relieved and also irritated. With a solemn frown she flipped the giant cat boy off. For the purpose of being accurate, in case he wrongfully assumed she was smaller than she truly was, Reese pulled out a small white board and wrote in painfully clean handwriting: 4'10"

Then, flipping the board around, she continued: Who are you?

cherno astra

 

[its me debz]

"Jesus ******** christ!" Leslie started clawing at his limbs, attempting to brush off that feeling. It was like everything in his body felt even wronger than before-- too heavy, too impossible to hold up-- but then it was gone.

"That was freaky," he muttered to himself, and then let out a low whistle. Or tried to, but this mouth didn't succeed that well at it.

"My name is... Uh." s**t. What was the fake name he'd picked? Think, Leslie.

"Tom. I'm new and s**t. Do you not talk? Like, you've got a mouth and s**t. It just not work?"

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

"IT. WORKS." Reese answered, making a face. Wiping off one side of the whiteboard, she continued: Just not the way I'd like it to.

The ghost began to circle the boil, peering up and up and then down to his feet. once more at ease, she began to float slightly, hair bobbing softly around her head. What are you?

cherno astra

 

[its me debz]

Leslie visibly flinched as she talked, also making a face. His whiskers twitched, and that also made him flinch, taking a moment to paw (literally paw!) at his face for a second, baffled by them.

"Fair ******** enough," he replied, "you're a bit of a shouty ********." She was floating around kind of like a cotton candy slash bubble slash ghost (which, maybe she was? They were uh. A thing.)

"A cat?" he guessed, looking at his hands, inspecting them. Leslie was not, in fact, doing a very good job of convincing anyone.

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

A look of shock and concern followed by: I have not done that.

And then, just in case he tried to argue, she added quickly: I don't even know any mothers.

cherno astra

 

[its me debz]

Leslie laughed, startled by it. He forgot how much slang changed between the two worlds.

"Not even one?" he asked, skeptical. "You sure none of your teachers are?" Almost all of his had been tired parents. "Or like, I don't know, random strangers? I bet you know at least one mom."

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

Gravely, Reese shook her head, and explained: I only know several other students. I do not go to classes. The last was written with a sullen, stubborn look.

What kind of cat? Are you new to existence or just the school? The small ghost began to look concerned for the boil.

cherno astra

 

[its me debz]

"Weeell considering how many ******** I gave about school, I can't say I ******** blame you for that. I don't even go here, tell you the ******** truth. I quit, because learning is stupid."

It was, well. Basically the truth. "Pretty new to this existence s**t, I guess. And I dunno. You tell me." Leslie waggled his claws at her, nose twitching, ears flicking. His tail had two pieces to it, at the end, which he'd never seen before. It was like someone had chopped it with an exacto knife at the very end, and let it grow out.

"Did you wake up? Knowing what you were?"

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

I want to learn more first. So people do not think I am stupid when I attend. It remained a sore point. I have one year of existence.

Reaching out, nimble fingers caught at the tail, examining the split end. A nekomata.

Reese then offered a small, rare smile for the boil most likely going through similar circumstances. I did not. The registry office told me I am a lemur.

She floated more lightly beside him, feeling a sort of kinship with this Tom. I will help you. If help is what you need.

cherno astra

 

[its me debz]

Leslie gave her a long, long stare. "That's the most retarded thing I've ever heard," he said, yowling and yanking the tail away, bristling from head to toe. The yowl hadn't even been on purpose: it was just a thing he did when people touched him, probably an ingrained reflex from all of Abbi's Abbi-ing.

"A nekowhat now? And hey, anyway. That's what school is for or whatever. Not like I want to learn but that is the place you do it. This place sure is ******** weird. You don't seem stupid to me at all."

He was taken aback by her smile, but didn't offer one back, just turned his gaze to the ground. "I guess you're not such an awful b***h at all, but I don't think the help I need is gonna be found here."

This was the worst. Why were these things like human beings?

We've always been, you know. For as long as humans, we think. But we don't remember. But it makes sense. We are what is under the bed. And we hunger, youngling. We are so, so hungry.

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

Thank you. I make use of the library. And acquire books that people have left out. The smile brightened further, and the ghoul continued to seem lighter and more buoyant as she floating beside him.

Do you need things? I am excellent at things.

cherno astra

 

[its me debz]

"I started reading a little while ago, too," he confessed, willing to share the secret between him and Stormy to someone that'd never know his real name and face. "But it's really ******** hard. The words get all mixed up and s**t. I don't write that great either."

Leslie wondered if he could even keep things from Halloween. Would they spontaneously explode in the human world? He kind of wanted to see. Punching her in the arm out of excitement, Leslie grinned. "Yo b***h, I need everything. The room I first moved into had a buncha boxes. I picked it cos it did. I have a hard time throwing s**t out, and I hate paying for anything. Spending money is the worst feeling ever, so I just try to get free s**t all the time."

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

I will try to write very clearly. As if her writing wasn't painfully neat in the first place.

Reese gazed at her arm in concern. Did this constitute as bullying? She went very still for a moment as she considered it. She did not feel angry, or hurt. There was no desire to hit back. Maybe it was something else. It was of no great or immediate concern, as now they were talking about Things. Which was important.

Nodding enthusiastically, she wrote quickly, Sometimes there are festivals. You can win free clothes and food. Last year I won money. None of which she had spent. All of her clothes still fit into a single drawer. People who do not appreciate their things leave them out. It's wasteful.

cherno astra

 

[its me debz]

"Aw, thanks, but your letters are neat and s**t. It's something about the words? I don't know. Never bothered to ask, it's just a thing."

Leslie let out a low whistle, impressed. "Man, you're so ******** lucky. I want free things. I want free money." Never mind that Abbi had paid for the vast majority of Chicago, and also his new wardrobe. They weren't exactly things he wanted, anyway, and there was nothing that topped getting cash. "Yeah, but hey, that just means more to take. Since they weren't using it and s**t, I might as well."

It might explain why random stuff sure did seem to disappear around Deus Ex.

Leslie was also part of the overarching Fridge Problem.

lizbot