Conscience of a Dove

M

Miss Grey

Guest
Original poster
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When did all of these people get here..!?​
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Here, was a young girl, perhaps in her mid-to-late-teens. She looked quite disheveled; her pale, platinum hair unusually long, as if it had never seen a pair of scissors, and baggy clothing, or rather it was a quite baggy white tee with a matching, equally default pair of shorts-both of which seemed rather unkempt. Eyes that shone a feeble and light contrasted blue made some kind of fear of an unknown adversary apparent. Her back was firmly pressed against the brick walls of the outside of a building, which was only one of several on this particular area of town. It was a wonder how she wasn't standing out, seeing as she had came from the alleyway right next to her, and her appearance so prominently contrasted with the night. Commerce was blooming then. "Open" signs shone gloriously against what these people would call the darkness. Of course to them, it was still very bright.


Such a busy area would know nothing of the seemingly calm and dimly-lit countryside, nor what could reside there at this very moment. No one would dare worry about such things that don't pertain to them. This is simply the human logic. Those with a life feign ignorance to those of lesser value, and pay no mind to the desperate needs of those who need help. Some may even prey upon such poor souls. Like the evil they truly are, they will attack without warning or hesitation. They will cause harm. Destroy a person's mentality, and then laugh. Laugh like the ill-minded creatures that dwell inside each and every one of them. These humans. These.. monsters.

Of course, these words are all thought up by the girl mentioned here, trapped by her own perception of the ones surrounding her. Don't blame her. But don't blame all of these citizens either. She has never known anything other than the cruelty They harness. And to be surrounded by so many; such a thing is overwhelming. Here, there were more people than she ever thought she would see. Not in her life, if she could call what she was born into by such a title.


But she had escaped that, and somehow ended up here. The people were not attacking her, as one may presume by the extreme phobic reaction. But this is how she perceived it, and, overwhelmed by the whirring of thoughts and difficulty in making sense of the situation, she clasped her hands over her head, and let out a faintly-heard cry. But her voice caught in her throat, and she slowly slid to a sit, all the while choking as if something had suddenly been lodged in her throat. She was hyperventilating, and it was indeed a condition she cursed herself over developing, though of course no one could help with it, anyways. The thought crossed her mind that she could retreat into the alleyway once more, but she was somehow frozen in place. Even now, no one seemed to notice her. It was as if she wasn't even there. But, she knew, she KNEW it was only their cast-away gaze. The gaze that only sees what is at hand. The gaze that they all hold in their selfish grasp.
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I beg of you...​
Get me out of here...​
 
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"You're in my way."

The words were faint and not too loud, but they stood out from the bustling of the city. Barely noticable, was the person who had uttered them. A girl that was the exact opposite of the pathetic creature she saw before her. Her baggy black shirt with long sleeves and her not-as-baggy black jeans pulled her image back into the shadows of the alleyway. The girl's long raven hair neatly fell behind her, lost in the darkness, but at the same time, standing out due to her pale white skin. But these things were not so nearly as captivating as her eyes. They were smoldering black voids that held the world in contempt, vortexes that saw the humans for what they were and felt only disgust. Eyes that focused completely on the girl in front of them, never wandering for a second.

"You're in my way."
 
For a short while, she stayed put, trying to catch her breath again. It's difficult to control certain things like this, so it took about half a minute. The air seemed thick to her, but she wasn't sure if it was because of all of the people or the look boring into her by the girl who had ordered her to move. She didn't even look up until she did so, furrowing her brow in confusion This girl was familiar somehow. She couldn't remember how exactly she would know her, but she felt she did. She struggled to say something, maybe a question of if she knew her, or something like that, but as she saw the hatred in the girl's eyes, she could only utter a weak, "I-I'm sorry," and averted her gaze. She pulled herself up, with the wall as a support, and stepped aside, giving room for this girl to move by.
 
"Thank you." The girl moved forward until she was right next to this trembling splash of white. She faced the crowd, her eyes holding only disdain for their bustling, uncaring nature. She glanced at the fearful girl and felt her hatred evaporate into a stranger emotion; curiosity. She turned to get a better look at this very weird girl. She couldn't tell you what drew her to this girl, but she sensed her terror and felt an overwelming need to protect her. "Who are you?" She asked, the cold seeping back into her eyes. She did not stick with the notion of not talking to strangers or if something was her business or not. If she wanting to know, she would ask and find out.
 
She looked slightly surprised that the girl was actually speaking to her. She would have been prepared to take her own path, and try and find her way out of the city immediately. But, thinking enthusiastically, maybe she would help. Hearing the questions she suddenly looked deep in thought, staring at the sidewalk as if trying to conjure up an answer. Finally something came to mind, she glanced back up to the girl, seeming a bit unsure herself with the name she spoke vaguely, "My.. my name is Wren." After a moment of silence she added, "...Who are you?"
 
"Wren..." The girl mulled over the name in her mind before answering. "My names is......Alice." Wren.......she liked the name. It was different, a perfect fit for this different girl. Her blue eyes were different, too. They stood out in a way the dull eyes of humans never could. "You shouldn't wander alone out here," Alice said, quietly, "It's very dangerous."
 
"Alice." She repeated back the girls name, too, more because it seemed like something people did when introducing themselves. She also thought it was a pretty name. This place, dangerous? Yeah, that was pretty true. Too many people, in a place like this someone could get hurt and no one would notice. It was basically why she was so nervous as she stood there, watching people walk by, she was always unnoticed, as they made their way along the sidewalks. She wasn't even sure why she'd come here in the first place. She nodded, then added curiously, "But.. aren't you alone out here too?"
 
Alice tilted her head a bit. "Yes, I suppose I am," She said slowly, "But I am also very strong. So it's not as dangerous to me as it is to you." This girl seems very uneasy about the crowds and even more fearful of, perhaps, something happening to her in this black city. Alice still could not understand why she wanted so badly to whisk the child away from the dark streets of this district and lead her back into the light. After all, she couldn't protect her there. The light was far too bright for her.
 
Wren looked a bit offended, as if she had been called weak. Although it was probably true anyways. She didn't feel like she should be there, not right now. She had the faintest pout on her face, looking off to the right at nothing specific. "Oh.. okay..." She looked back to Alice, though, deciding to create more of a put-together impression. Of course she couldn't help some uneasiness leaking through, there would always be the feeling as long as she was surrounded by people. She felt that this girl wanted to help her, too. Wren hadn't really expected to get any, but she'd politely take it if she could. "Do you know how to get away from here?"
 
"Yes," Alice answered, not missing a beat, "But that depends on where you wish to go. Away from here, this alley? Or this area? Or the city?" Something flashed in Alice's eyes, like the frightful shadow of a monster passing by them. Alice offered her hand. "How can I assist you, daughter of the light?"
 
"W.. wha..?" She felt herself try and step back from the outstretched hand, as though she wasn't familiar with the gesture, but the wall behind her prevented such action. That phrase, that title, seemed so familiar somehow, but everything had evaded her memory thus far. She felt a strange sense of Deja-Vu; the kind where you never know where it happened before, or if it ever actually did. Something was strange about Alice now, too. She couldn't place it, though. Maybe it was just the sudden kindness; at least what she hoped was kindness, and not some kind of trickery.
 
Alice pulled her hand back a bit, curious at Wren's reaction. "What is it?" She asked, "Do you not wish for my assistance?" Some part of her wished to reassure Wren of her intentions, but she didn't quite understand them herself. After all, she didn't ever pay attention to anyone that would be so easily scared, but with this strange girl, it only made her wish to protect her more. "Do I frighten you?" She asked, her eyes wide. She wasn't scared of anything, she was too strong, too proud to let fear rule her. But.....at the same time, the idea of Wren being afraid of her..........was very and dangerously scary to Alice. "I-I'll stay a bit back, if you want," She stammered, dropping her hand to her side.
 
She suddenly felt bad for assuming the worst. Alice didn't seem like a bad person, she only wanted to assist Wren. She didn't really want to be left alone here, not any longer than she already had been. As it was stated, it was not safe to do such a thing here. "No.. no, I'm sorry, I'd be happy to have your help." She hesitantly held out her hand, repeating Alice's gesture and giving a timid smile. "I-I only want to leave all of these people.. I really don't know where I'd go, other than that, though. I honestly don't even know where this is.."
 
Tingalingaling!!

The convenience store door bell tinkled violently as it's host was flung roughly open for the umpteenth time that day. It was making way for a man of great importance. Well.....in his own mind at least. Allowing the tinkerbell door to return to it's closed position, Lance strode out onto the busy sidewalk, an armful of snacks and drinks in tow. His haphazard and ragtag appearance would cause most folk to decide he was either homeless, or just incredibly handicapped when it came to fashion sense. Skipping on one foot, Lance attempted to tie his right combat boot, while at the same time tearing open a bag of chips with his teeth. "Watch it buddy!" "Hey bum, get a job!!" Shouted a rather young couple he had nearly collided with as he gracefully hopped like a flamingo through the stream of people. Shaking a lock of dirty blonde hair out of his emerald green eyes, he laughed and pretended he hadn't heard a thing. Just then, a large and rather hairy man slammed roughly into him, causing his chips to go flying out of his mouth and onto the pavement. Stopping cold in his tracks, still holding his right foot in his hand, Lance glared at the culprit. "Heeeey! You stinkin' blob of a human being!! Those was my favorite kind o' chips!!!" he shouted angrily at the human freight train, finally managing to tighten the laces on his boot. Scoffin to himself, Lance muttered under his breath
"Wha on erf is dis world comin to?"

Life was tough. Especially in this part of the city. With high credential tourists bobbing in and out of town during the summer months stealing all the jobs, along with Lance's poor resume and even poorer hygiene....getting a job had been nigh impossible. Even though he was a veteran. Having served in several wars, with many decorations and honors, a much younger and more optimistic Lance had strode into town after being relieved from duty.....with nothing but a bright future in his eyes. Lance took a swig of some kind of cheap bargain soda, slamming the crosswalk button. But after his wife and daughter were killed in a robbery attempt......all of that changed. It wasn't long after that, that all the lights in the world lost their color. The little red stop hand turned into a white stick man, indicating it was time to walk. Almost driven to madness, lance slunk into a stupor of depression. His close friends and family would try to console him, calling him nearly everyday for a year. Only a handful of those calls were answered. After a while of ordering take-out, watching soap operas and getting denied for unemployment.....the calls began to stop. Reaching the other side of the street, Lance approached the alleyway...where he lived. Then came the eviction notice. A very pretty little thing, typed in an almost mockingly ordered fashion, the eviction notice was truly the last straw. Lance got a jug of gasoline and poured it all over his apartment, whistling a tune he and his wife used to sing when they would take their daughter to school on hot days. Pulling a match from his kitchen drawer, Lance struck a flame and tossed it onto the food and tear-stained carpet. Watching the flames rise higher, Lance tossed the eviction notice into the blaze, laughing hysterically. As the fire-alarms began chiming, Lance began to sing. "I went down down down in a burning ring of fire....."

Looking up, Lance saw two girls standing outside of his alleyway. One of them seemed frightened, while the other looked like one of those.....emotionally scarred kids. All caloused and tough on the outside, hiding some deeper reality on the inside. Sighing deeply, Lance eyed the few things of food he had managed to purchase with his begging money. Seeing as he was going to have to encounter these girls on the way home, he didn't want to frighten them. Walking in a very non-threatening manner, Lance approached the pair, keeping a comfortable distance. "Well, excuse me ladies....if you don't mind me askin'....wha are a pair as young as yourselves doin out here at this time of night? Iss nah terribly safe. I'd suggest you run along home." Holding out some snacks, Lance smiled. His face was actually not very scary. He was still a young man, merely in his early 30's. If any girl ever actually took the time to stop and look at him, some might even say he was cute, appart from his five o' clock shadow and his worn and tired looking eyes. "However, I couldn't feel right letting you starve on the way. You look famished."
 
Wren hadn't noticed the man approaching until he spoke. She'd let her guard down for a moment, which is why the fact there was yet another person who had noticed her had startled her once more, and she had instinctively bounded back, almost hiding behind Alice. She was just too jumpy for her own good, of course she'd need her guard up all the while in such a place, and she chastised herself in her head for not doing so. Now looking over the man she noticed he looked a little disheveled, yet he was also holding out some kind of commodity. Food, he seemed to explain, and she only then realized that she felt as if she hadn't eaten in a while. Of course she wouldn't let herself just take it, who knew what the dingy man could have done to it, or whether he genuinely wanted to give out food to total strangers. As far as she could see, he looked like he could hardly afford to buy that food himself, let alone to support someone else, too.
 
Still holding resolutely onto his smile, Lance immediately saw the girls analytical lazer gaze pass over him, and knew the results it had rendered. It was one that was very familiar to him. It went something like... "Oh deary me, a bum! How unclean, oh me oh my!" Trying not to allow a tear to come to his eyes as a wave of sadness passed over him, Lance lowered his arm and tilted his head sideways. Tossing the food at the girls feet, he said, "Don't worry, I haven't poisoned it. Well....wiff anything lethal, that is." Lance chuckled and smiled. "It's chalk full of all sorts o' nasty calories and such. I'm sorry if I'm ruining any self-imposed or otherwise diet you might be on." A chilly breeze passed, carrying street litter and old newspapers in it's grasp as traveled on the path that God made for it. Sniffing, and hitching up his torn coat, Lance cleared his throat awkwardly. "I....ummm...do you.....errr.." Lance couldn't seem to get the words out. Here he was, a complete stranger, terrifying a poor girl to death. But something about her face.....it reminded him of his little girl. He felt a chivalrous desire to make sure that her, and her friend, made it home safe. "....do you have a place to go girls? I...I was a father once, and I would hate to see someones little girls lost out here in this cold despicably dark city." Lance spat the last words with venom. He wasn't quite sure why.
 
"No thanks," Alice said bluntly, moving her arm in front of Wren, "If anyone needs a place to stay, it'd be you." She could tell from just one look that he was a man hated by the world. He stood like a warrior, she could tell his intentions were kind, though. She hated humans, for all their worth, but she wasn't unkind to those who'd been rejected by their own kind. "I'm not actually the charitable type," Alice said with a grimance as she picked up his smell, "But if I'm already offering a place to one street resider," She glanced at Wren, "I suppose I could fit another." She stooped to retrieve the snacks and tossed them back to the bum. She was never charitable, it went against her code, her way......but, some instinct told her she would need this man. For even under all that dirt, grim, and smell, she could see the shadow of a man who'd seen death.
 
A rolling laugh escaped from Lances lips, almost catching him by surprise from it's sudden appearance. He liked the way this other girl talked. Direct and to the point, with no small talk or fluffy jargon to be seen. It was refreshing. And it rocked him to the core, all at the same time. He was used to people insulting him. He was used to the feeling that he didn't belong, and would never be accepted in modern society. However....he wasn't used to be told by a girl half his age that he was helpless. A girl who should still be turning to mommy and daddy for advice was pointing out what this grizzled veteran already knew. That his life was a mess and that he was in shambles....and everyone could see it. Turning quickly and dropping to one knee, Lance pretended to tie his right combat boot once again. He was actually taking a silent moment to cry. To sob to his hearts content over his wretched and miserable situtation. To pour agony from his eyes as his insides burned from grief over the loss of his family. To protest rebeliously against the darkness in his soul. All of this occured in the blink of an eye as Lance stood up, turning back to the dark-haired girl with a grim look and dry eyes. Picking up the food she had tossed back, Lance glanced at the glossy packaging. Something that had once appeared so delicious, all of a sudden made him nauseus. Tossing the packages into the alleyway, Lance made up his mind. He was done living in a cardboard home in an alleyway. He was done with drifting through life, without and a purpose and without hope. It was time to find some meaning. And at the moment, protecting these two girls, wherever they might go...well....that seemed good enough to him.

"Alright sassy lady, you got me. I do need a home. And you, as tough as you are, could use a companion on these streets. I know them like the back of my hand, and I don't see any o' you carryin' a map." Lance spat on the ground. Something about the raven-haired one brought out the military man inside of him. "So where to?"
 
She looked up to Alice, realizing she had said that she would open her house to her. She couldn't help but smile a bit; she had a place to stay, and they could get out of here. For an 'uncharitable' girl, Alice sure was a helpful one. Even opening her home to this other stranger. She looked back to him curiously. He didn't seem like a bad person either. She really ought to stop judging everyone for their first appearances, she thought ruefully. He mentioned that he was a father once, and she wondered what happened to her. Poor man, surely she and Alice would be helping him out a great deal, and he'd be a good bodyguard, too, if it came to that. She couldn't think of why that'd be needed, but it was worth a thought.
 
Alice gave a short laugh. Yes! A military man, indeed! "First of all," She said, harsh amusement falling from her face like a rain, "I don't need help to know where I'm going or what I'll need. I'm the one being charitable, remember? We'll head to my place, it's too late to go anywhere without a good dinner first anyway. I'll expect you to take a nice long shower when we get there, too. I won't have any dirty bums sitting a my table. It'll ruin my appetite. Just tell me your name and we'll be on our way." Alice paused for a second and looked our her should at Wren. "Hope you don't mind a delay," She told her kindly, "But you won't have to worry about anything for now."
 
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