Down and Out {Dip/Soulpelt}

[Dip]

Fueled by a potent and dangerous mixture of liquid Americano and latent drowsiness, Eddie Fay, a failing and remotely human adolescent, made her way through the teeming city subway. The metro was swarming with the craziest of creatures, whom she tried to avoid with her life. New York was a strange place- A Galactic Gas-stop, so to speak. One day you see a hoard of half-winged mutant sub-specie in the allie way, the next they're nothing but ooze.
The year was 3014 AD, and the place was New York, New York. It was sometime in the morning, and Eddie was only hoping that it wouldn't stay that way for long. To a morning person, they would have thought that the sluggish juvenile was a sign of impending hope for the possible future. But, there wasn't a future anymore. The future is now, and now, she's getting ready to be late for school. Again.
Eddie signed and held her coffee like it was going to save her life--close to her chest and near to her heart, right where it ought to be. She took a sip quickly, and switched hands. The coffee was good, and it worked as some kind of glove that a friend of a friend would knit for you. They did it half right, knitting the inside the the utmost care, but completely disregarding the outside of the glove, but the over-priced liquid mitten did nothing for the steadily falling snow that danced in the air and sent assault planes of cold air into her nostrils.
Hell, the snow wasn't even real. As she looked up into the gray polluted sky, she could see hang-crafted planes, meant to deliver the weather. There hardly was anything left of the ozone layer, so humans and other species alike helped as much as they could. Earth was now completely mechanic. Even deep below the sea, there are wave-generators. She used to hear that the sky was blue and the air was sweet, but those were just myths. The only thing sweet about the air she was breathing was her genetically modified cup of joe.
Eddie walked towards the ticket machine and placed her coffee on the top of the hull. She rubbed her hands together and tapped the screen twice, switching on the monitor. A Life-size image of a train conductor flickered to life. Her form changed- first, to human, then to some other new-age beast and then an alien. On the left of the screen was a length of languages that now filled the Earth sky. Eddie tapped 'Old-American English' and 'Human'. The first figure, the train conductor, popped back on and gave a smile.
" Welcome to the New York Station! My name is CARL. " Said the computer, holding out his hand like he wanted to shake.
" Hello, CARL. " Eddie said in a monotone voice, and then slapped the holographic hand with a flick of her wrist and a roll of her eye.
" To get a train pass, please press GET A TRAIN PASS. To cancel, please press CANCEL. "
It went on like that for a while. Soon, Eddie sent over some of her hard-earned legal tender and collected her ticket. She grabbed her coffee and took a slip afterwards, refreshing her taste buds. Eddie sighed and watched her breath hang in the air for a moment, before it carbonized with the stale oxygen around it. She breathed through her nose and- oh, god, did she forget to brush her teeth? It smelled like a dragon's den.
Now fueled by a potent and dangerous mixture of latent insecurity and a continued deliverance of drowsiness, she shoved her ticket into her pocket quickly, tightening the scarf around her neck like it was an arranged marriage that no one planned. Her flushed nose stuck out of the grey fabric while her lips were covered, causing a sensation that she didn't want to have. She buried herself deeper, shrinking her form into her shoulders and creating an extended home for herself in the yards of her homespun palace.
And it really was one, too. Long and wide- something her mother gave her when she was convinced that she was going to be growing. Now look at her, barely a young lady and she had the body of someone half her age. Eddie stood a lousy five-foot nothing, and to put it into short terms, if you gave a height comparison between her and the deep end of a swimming pool, but cut out the deep end, you'd be stuck with a lengthy blown-out light-bulb by the name of Eddie.
Eddie tightened the hat around her head and turned about, shuffling her cold feet. Standing in one position did no good for her warmth- She guessed skipping PE really was a bad idea. Maybe she could have learned something about how the body worked. Maybe she could have learned how to possibly keep herself warm in artificial temperatures under 60 degrees. And maybe, just maybe, she could learn the truth behind her short stature.
It was sometime around seven, and the electric train was coming. This was a daily grind- wake up early, get dressed, head out the door, buy the ticket, and head off to school for God know's how long. With any luck, school will end shortly as she arrived, but that almost always meant a commute back to where she started. The bustling streets of New York never seized to tire her. She sighed, swiped her short black hair from her face and fastened the hat to her head.
Eddie walked towards the platform and looked off the edge, just leaning in on the soles of her shoes. She didn't see the train, but- huh, was it going to be late? Eddie pulled up her sleeve checked her wrist watch, and it read 7:38 AM on the face. She sighed, and stuffed her hands back into her pocket, tearing at the edge of the ticket anxiously. She let out a sigh, watching the steam from her mouth curl upward into the sky and leave her. She closed her mouth and sighed through her nose. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day.
Eddie stood there, ripping at the ticket and letting her mind wonder. She shuffled in her spot, not entirely sure what exactly she should do. Keep her legs warm, she supposed. And that's what she figured she ought to do. Every so often, when she shifted from one leg to the other, she would feel a spot of ice on the platform under her. She didn't pay any mind to it, she just listened to the conversations all around her.
There was an argument behind her, and it got a little more violent with each word they shot at eachother. Someone claimed that the other stole something- a pick pocket. The other being that looked like something from Star Wars- who Eddie was rooting for mentally- said that they didn't do anything and they never saw the other in their life. Eddie chewed on the inside of her lip. She heard them cuss eachother out, and the accuser- who Eddie didn't take to kindly too already- shoved them lightly. The other shoved back, and did so in a way that didn't at all seem like the problem was going to resolve itself any time soon.
The simple pushing escalated, and it did so into threats of murder and loud shoving and arguing. The being that Eddie didn't approve of gave the other a hard push- harder than before. Harder than needed, if you asked her, or anyone watching the scene. The possible pick pocket was sent backwards, and so was Eddie. The creature stumbled on their feet, their back hit Eddie's, and Eddie was sent tumbling down below. She only realized the seriousness of the situation when she finished her falling. She landed loudly, with a grunt and a thump. Eddie picked herself up, and found herself in some trouble she really didn't want to be in.
Eddie stood up, albeit slowly and anxiously, and she looked up. Everyone was taller than her, and they were looking down at her in horror. Eddie, confused in the moments of her falling and getting up, tried to compose herself. She wiped her pants and collected her backpack, but that soon came to a stop when she heard the loud whistle of the electric train. Her heart sank to her stomach, and she felt that she was going to puke it back up and onto the tracks.
The electric train was just as it was called- electric. It hovered in the air, vaporizing anything and everything in its path to make sure that no one was to be late to their appointment. This is what made Eddie so uneasy, because she knew that she was a sitting duck, and if she kept sitting, she surely wouldn't sit no more,
Eddie panicked, staring off at the train as he rolled down the tunnel. It was still far away from her, sure, but from her past knowledge of Thomas the Two-Thousand Ton Tank Engine, trains built up speed over time.
Eddie quickly scrambled towards the edge. Her being shorter than average really didn't help at all, what with the platform being nearly twice as tall as her. She grabbed onto the edge, trying her hardest to get leverage and to pull herself up.
She screamed like a sinner in a church house. She could nearly feel the tracks rumble under her short stature, and that scared her witless. Eddie tried jumping on the wall once more, and she tried doing this while systematically screaming for help. It seemed to work, too, because the entire train station seemed to crowd around the situation.
The train station, to a dictators point of view, was a well organized riot of sorts- something a dictator surely wouldn't approve of . Pedestrians were screaming for help, let it be waving at the impending train to slow down or the people reaching down to try and grab onto her arms and trying to do so in a way that would keep her from slipping, or pulling themselves down. An asexual being asexually reproduced in the back, and the child that was formed pointed, and that didn't help Eddie's composure at all. She was expecting the worse, so she couldn't possibly be dissapointed.
Eddie was out of her sorts, shaking and scrambling and doing a mixture of the two at once. Her hands trembled over the sea of fingers and tentacles trying to help her up. She was scared silly, looking from the crowd, to the wall, to the train and back to the crowd. If you asked her, she wouldn't like when she'd tell you she was entirely convinced that she was going to die right then and there.
As soon as it begun, she managed to see a way that it could possibly resolve itself out. She grabbed someone's wrist- a complete stranger, and who was going to be the complete death of her. She grabbed his wrist like she was going to die over it, and mind you--she might, and the someone hauled her up.
Their efforts were not in vain- not yet, for the most part. They lifted her, Eddie trying as hard as she possibly could to make herself useful. The only thing she had been doing was trembling and hyperventilating and fidgeting. And who could blame her? She obviously wasn't in the right mind, or the right place at the right time.
Time had never been one of her best qualities. Always late, always early, always at her worst. Time had never been one of her strong suits, but lord knew this was one of the choice times where it was apparent. The crowd pulled Eddie up, but again, not in time.
It happened in an odd way. Almost silent, almost in a blink of an eye. There she was, with her legs just barely dangling off the edge. There she was, with her arms outstretched to anyone who could save her. There she was, passed out on the pavement, with her hands reaching for something lost and her legs being no where in sight.
The train, coming at such speed, managed to take off everything from above her knees. It would be a miracle if she didn't bleed out on the New York metro station. Eddie Fay, a teenager who was just waiting for the train, was now waiting subconsciously for something to save her life.

 

[soulpelt]

Relac S'uniz was one of many Y'huripe in New York. He had been up since 2 am reading on Terran culture and history. While nowhere near as violent or interesting as his own past he knew that in order to make a life here, and go to the New York college, he had to know all he could. He had left his little apartment around 7 AM, having wanting to get on the electric train to the local employment office. He had not been in the city long and he knew many places were wanting his species as security guards, so he suspected that finding employment would be relatively easy. He was, however, already employed part time at a local cybernetics shop, the subject being a favorite of his. He wanted more than one job since he could handle it, his people needed very little sleep.

Like most of his kind Relac was more than 2 meters tall, nearly seven feet by the ancient Earth Imperial system, had snow white skin that made him stand out even among the myriad of alien creatures. His long, spiked up black hair was a shocking contrast and his eyes nearly blended into his skin, being almost as white as his flesh. All in all he was a fine specimen of his race.

Relac reached the platform just in time to see the fight break out, and to see a human female be pushed into, then pulled from, the electric tracks. His nose smelled blood and he recognized it as the irony scent of Terran life juice, a rarity among the universes inhabitants. He could see, even through the throng of people, that this girl would bleed out soon. He would NOT let that happen.

Using the great strength afforded to his people by evolution Relac pushed through the throng of aliens, strong white arms sending smaller being flying back and staggering larger ones. With one hand he grabbed the young woman's hand and with the other he reached for his comm. unit and called for a medical hover vehicle, hoping that his request would get through the cacophony of other peoples yelling, talking and just being a loud nuisance. To the girl he spoke in heavily accented English, "Do not worry! A medikal vehikle is on the wey!" English was hard for a species that communicated mainly in growls, hisses and pheromones. The girls legs weren't bleeding as bad as he thought they would be. The electricity seemed to have cauterized the main arteries it seemed.

 

[Dip]

Just as it would seem, it didn't take long for someone to come and assist. A medical ship flew through, lights flashing and sound blaring out of it's speakers. While two creatures-- one with four arms and two heads, and another with six eyes and an elongated torso- helped to take the female in.

Others who came inside the ship jumped out, clearing off the blood and fixing the train. Some of the human's flesh didn't get completely vaporized, and they had to make sure that no one was going to possibly eat that any time soon. It would be a heinous offence, no doubt. One thing that the city of New York didn't seem too keen about was it's citizens taking in their other citizens, so to speak. It would be something worthy of, let's say, Ten Solar Flares in prison? It's reasonable, considering The Great F'ghorthum War of 2766.

The beings swept her into the ship, and they zipped out. The man with the extra appendages drove, while the other worked on the passed out pedestrian. Sure, the wounds were stable, but the bleeding and the burnt skin was to be a problem. The being who's name was in some language foreign to the planet worked with caution. Stitching, sewing, burning, and wrapping. Soon, she was good as new. Well, minus the two long scars on what was left of her legs. And minus the fact that she was still in danger of death.

But that was all solved at the hospital. The New York Hospital For Galactic Exchange was there to help. There were plenty of species and aliens qualified to heal and replenish, but Eddie's case was far more drastic. Usually, Humans would stick to the Hospital's on Earth- the ones MADE for humans, but Eddie's injuries needed intimidate attention. She was sent to a room, and they pushed blood in and simply made sure she was stable.

As for her clothes she wore- they were burned. She was wearing a hospital gown with some sort of blanket over her. At the hospital that was made just for Humans, they would have given her an oxygen tank. But at the Galactic Exchange office, they slipped a special type of worm into the back of her throat, opening her breathing passages and clearing mucus. Eddie was fast asleep from there on after, almost completely oblivious to what happened.

 

[soulpelt]

Relac had rode in the medical vehicle with the female. He figured that she would want to see a friendly face. He sat outside the operating room where the girl, 'Eddie' as she was apparently named, was being fixed up. He had seen an Araxian nurse take the girl out of the operating room and to place of her own. Relac had to go the front office and say tell a little lie saying he was a friend, while technically untrue, he was pretty sure the girl would be extremely grateful.

So fifteen minutes later Relac was in Eddies room, sitting in one of the conforming gel chair. She looked peaceful, and it was odd to see a human with no legs. Even though the stubs were covered up by a large thick blanket Relac instinctively knew where her feet should be. Millions of years as apex predator was not not so easily bred out of species. While she rested Relac studied the young woman. She was pretty, he supposed, by human standards. He himself liked his woman to be lean, muscled with a hooked nose and small breasts, the body a huntress. This girl had the body of well.... a human. Soft, squishy, a bit crunchy on the inside according to old reports from first contact, but those days were long gone.

Relac was snapped out of his musings when the Eddie groaned and shifted in the bed. He leaned back against the chair and waited for her to awaken. This was going to be interesting.

 

[Dip]

Eddie moved and stirred and shifted in her bed. The bed wasn't made for someone like her, and that was a fact. It was wider in the middle- like an apple, but the bottom was far too short for someone who'd be of normal height. Eddie, now, wasn't a normal height. If she still had her legs, her feet would probably be dangling off the edge by now. But, her stubs that used to be her legs were somewhere near the middle of the bed.

Eddie's eyes fluttered open, and the first things that went through her mind was: 1) It was bright in there. 2) Her head hurt badly. 3) She was really cold. And 4) There was a large, and relatively frightening humanoid alien to the left of her. Sure, someone else would have flipped their literal shit over that, but Eddie wasn't most people. Living in New York, she was blessed to see the intergalactic and outergalactic beings that stumbled in. Let it be the Yweetoqian who ran the hotdog stand or the Dyphtorian Overlord who was the head directer of the highschool. She squinted at the stranger, trying to figure out what to make of him.

She was only distracted by a violent fit of coughing. She sat up, legs still under the covers, and coughed into her hands. She thought she was going to throw up when she felt something wriggle from the back of her throat. She, being the human and NOT being used to bug crawling through her anatomy, assumed it was vile. She tried to muster up some words-- possibly to ask the stranger for the basket, but when she opened her mouth, the worm that the kindly nurse placed inside crawled free. Eddie got the chills, and slowly lifted a hand to grab the slimy insect from her upper lip. She shuttered, and grabbed a tissue on the nightstand to the other side of her. She wrapped the worm up, and placed it on the stand.

Well, that was something else. Other than the raw feeling in the back of her throat and nostrils, her legs felt numb. How she got here, and why, was still kind of fuzzy. She remembered falling, and she had the bruises for it, too. Scrapes on her arms, bumps on her back. She ran a hand over her left arm, than her right, and then she just lifted the covers to examine herself. She expected a set of legs, and a set of bruises. What she got was something entirely different.

" I-I wa- you- how did- WHY did- " She was blubbering and panicking, really. She couldn't believe it. There was absolutely nothing below her knees. She flung the sheets off, and groped at the air that used to be her calves. She was getting misty-eyed and dizzy, and really, it wasn't long before she was hyperventilating, with tears rolling down her cheeks. This was some sick joke, she decided. She still had legs. There were as plain as the nose on her face! Eddie let out a loud wheezing sound, holding herself for comfort.

 

[soulpelt]

Relac wasn't sure how to react to the girls blubbering. She was in shock, that much he could tell. Fear rolled off her like the morning mist of the homeworld. Very carefully he spoke, still heavily accented. "Eddie, you need to stay kalm." He got up and with unconscious predators grace he moved to stand beside her bed, trying not to look like a monster ready to eat her. "You're going into shock." He placed a strong hand on her chest and pushed the young woman down, the other hand pressing the call button for a nurse.

"My name is Relac I was the one who saved you from bleeding out at the train station." He grinned, trying not to make it appear like a sneer. It was hard when your teeth were long, black and strong enough to tear through iron armor. "Those two F'uilia almost got you killed." He as referring to the aliens who had started this mess. "I am sorry but your legs were completely disintegrated by the train." He looked to the door as his ears picked up scuttling. Several seconds later a nurse walked in, a Estarvian. She was like a mix of an ape, beetle and lobster. She spoke in a surprisingly melodious voice, "Mizz Eddie, do you have any family? Out computerzzz are down and so we cannot search the database." The nurses six faceted eyes looked from the woman to Relac then back to her. "Zzzhe is in shock? I thought so." The nurse pressed her ear comm and spoke briefly. "They will bring zzometing to calm her."

 

[Dip]

Eddie couldn't take anymore of what he was saying. What? Lost her legs? He was crazy. But whenever she tried to wiggle free from his downcasted grip, she saw her legs and she wanted to believe him. Something in her mind was silently cheering in the background. "Yay!" It would say. " You're not dead!" Sure, she wasn't, but it killed her to see how she was now.

She had never been different, nor had she wanted to. Being human was all she needed to be different, but being a different human? Now, she had to draw the line somewhere. Eddie grabbed his wrist and she tried to get his arm off, but he didn't even see her struggling underneath him. She used a freehand to wipe at her eyes, and she opened her mouth to say something along the lines of, "You're crushing me, mister," but a nurse came in and spoke.

It wasn't long after that till the being, who claimed to be her savior, let off, and another nurse had to force something in her to keep her calm. The nurse was relatively human like, but had wings sprouting from his-- she assumed it was a he-- head. He had a natural baby-like nature to his face that kind of did make her calm down. The nurse walked in with a platter, and on that was...Sure, it was another worm. This one, unlike the other one, was blue and had large forelegs and a claw-like beak. The male nurse forced her down, and let the bug crawl onto her skin. Eddie, having her human instincts kick in, instantly thought it was going to kill her. So, she responded vocally, like any human would.

While the man held her arms own, the worm crawled under her hospital gown through the left armhole and bit down deep into her armpit. Moments later, she stopped struggling and she felt relieved. The tears fell slowly and ended. She stopped kicking her feetless legs. She stopped screaming, mostly, but after a minuet, what was left of the talking at all was silence.

She was calm. Why was she freaking out in the first place? She had no clue as of that moment. She sat up, and the nurse left. Eddie took a moment to recollect herself, and she touched her arm-- where the bug had dug into her skin.

"So, you really did save me, huh?"

 

[soulpelt]

"Yes I did. I was there to take the train to the lokal employment office. My people are greatly prized as security," Relac explained. "I arrived just as you were pushed onto rails. Everyone else was too busy with the fight to notice you. It is a good thing senses are so greatly enhanced. Had I not smelled the blood and seen your face I might not have noticed either." He shook his head. "Do you have any family you need to contact? The nurse asked earlier but you were in no state to reply." White eyes looked into Eddies unblinkingly. "I am sorry that I did not arrive earlier. I could have stopped that fight." Relac sounded quite sad. Humans were fragile enough, lacking legs made it even worse. His workplace had cybernetic legs for humans, they were usually more advanced than other models.

"Why were you at the station? College student, work, out-and-about, as human seem to be fond of saying?" Relac asked the drugged girl. He wondered how her family would react. He knew some humans still didn't like 'xenos' even after nearly five hundred years of relatively peaceful. He moved to sit back down in the chair. He wasn't sure what to say now. He guessed they would wait for whenever her parents arrived. If they were still around.

 

[Dip]

Eddie was dazed, really. The bug had done wonders-- numbing her nerve endings till she could barley feel her legs. She looked over at the wall and shrugged. " I was heading to school-- " She stopped suddenly. Her tongue felt too big for her mouth. " I take classes in the mornings at The New York College for History and Art. " She smiled faintly, but that smile was gone from her face soon enough.

" Where's my bag? " She asked. She wasn't worried, no, not at all. She was too stoned to be worried. She was mostly passing through a vector as of then. Confused, that's all. She needed her bag because it had all her books in there, and she couldn't afford to lose them. If she did, she had a LOT of borrowing to do. Usually, if she was in the right state of mind, she would have just panicked and demanded it be found, but now, she just shrugged.

" Never mind, mever nind. " She slurred the last part slightly. Eddie shook her head, and blinked. " Yeah, family? Yeah, yeah. My mom and my dad live a few blocks away from my apartment complex. " Eddie rubbed her eyes and yawned. " My dad, though.... really isn't all that fun to be around. " Ever since he lost the championship in 2977, he hasn't been all that welcoming. Always bitter, always upset, mostly. He lost to a D'dlorian boxer by the name of Humnin Yuqewnin, and ever since then, if someone wasn't a human, he instantly hated them.

 

[soulpelt]

Relac nodded. "That is interesting. Human art and history are most fascinating." He looked at the door, wondering who would be coming next. Her next question got his attention. "Your bag? I did not see one when I got you from the rails. Could it have fallen onto the tracks?" Relac asked, not knowing if that was important. When she moved onto about her parents he guessed it wasn't. However what she said about her father worried him. Speciesist would always be around, but the fact that her father one was worried Relac. He could easily overpower any baseline human, but tensions were still high between humanity and his race.

"Well then.... perhaps I should leave before he arrives? I do not want to cause an incident." Relac asked hesitantly. As interesting as it would be to get to know humans better, he didn't want to risk an interstellar incident. Then his ears picked up two new sets of feet, both clad in shoes and sounding bipedal in nature. Syic's! Relac thought to himself, that had to be her parents and he couldn't get out of here unseen. He really hoped this would go smoothly.

 

[Dip]

Eddie, even under the worm's high, knew that this wasn't going to end smoothly. She sighed, and looked over to the man who saved her. He gave off the impression that she should be frightened. But this guy looked like he wouldn't hurt a fly! Well, the teeth and the claws didn't give off that vibe, but he still seemed like a sweetie. Eddie looked back at the door, and braced herself. "Hey, uh," She started, scratching the back of her neck, like the worm had made it's way there. "I'm sorry, for anything he might say. " She winced as she heard the heavy hand on the handle, and the frantic sniffling of a mother behind a door.

" I'll pay you back, just say the word, I owe you big- "

She was cut off by a door swinging forward, and in coming a large man. He was tall, sure, but he was still a few inches shorter than her rescuer. He had a large chest and a heavy set brow that twitched with the likeness of yet another being- that not being human. He had a stained glass window for a heart, a shoebox for a chest cavity, and a kaleidoscope for a soul. His emotions were apparent, and he locked his anger up tight inside the cardboard box. And oh, if his soul had eyes, they would be fuming. He wore a blazer under a white shirt, and a name tag that said, "Hello! My name is: Mr. Fay. " Not his first name, just Mr. Fay. And boy, was Mr. Fay mad.

He jumped to conclusions quickly, pointing and jabbing a finger into the other's chest. " WHAT did YOU do to MY daughter?! " He screamed like a child on a playground, or like a warrior getting slashed in the knee. " So help me GOD, you disgusting foreigner, I WILL see that there is justice to this. "

" No, dad, " Eddie started, but a large hand quickly unclenched and patted her shoulder, pushing her down.
" Darling, honey, " His tone was soft, like he was talking to a child. Eddie made a face at him. " Let me take care of.... that. " He was regarding Relac like he was a big.

In one quick movement, her father grabbed the alien by the scruff of his neck, and pulled him out into the hall, where he threw the first punch right into his sharp maw.

 

[soulpelt]

"Sir if you will ju-" Relacs protests were interrupted by a large hammy fist. The hit did little to the super-strong bones of Relac's jaw but by the Hunter did it hurt! A second fist flew towards his stomach and that's when his predator instincts kicked in. To dominate this idiot 'alpha male', show him to fear the Hunters Children, the drive that caused his people to be among the best soldiers in the known universe. A pale white hand grabbed the older human by the throat, and another hand caught a fist. "I am sorry in advance." He said with a remorseful face as Mr. Fey was thrown into the opposite wall with enough force to rattle his bones. By the time he had gotten up, stumbling some Relac had gone into the fighting stance his father had taught him. Bent knees, feet in steady positions, clawed hands up and open to catch any attacks and teeth bared for intimidation. His hair seemed spiker as well, a bodily function to appear scarier.

The man charged at Relac just to be knocked down by white arm. "Sir, please stop. I do not want to hurt you. Eddie is hurt and she will need you to be there for her. I did not cause the accident, a scuffle between two other aliens did." Relac let himself relax, now appearing calm, but still nervous. He held out a clawed hand for Mr. Fey to grab. "Are you calm now?" Blank white eyes stared into angry eyes tinged with worry.

 

[Dip]

The man in the now tattered suit looked at the hand with disgust. He shook his head, glaring up at the second person to beat him down to size. Mr. Fay snarled, and snorted. What was he doing? Right before anyone could ask, he spat into the creatures hand and stood up, brushing off his coat. " You'r edisgusting, " Said the man, wiping at his chin. " Go back to your home planet, freak. " With that, he left out of the building.

Eddie came out far too late-- not on her legs, but on a wheelchair. It was old as time could tell, but it was the only thing in the room that would allow her mobility. She pushed the door open, and looked out, watching her dad leave. She rolled over, albeit shakily, and sat before Relac. " I am SO sorry, " She started. The worm was obviously wearing off. " God, this is so embarrassing, is there anything I can do to make it up to you? " She talking in a way that made her seem tired-- and she was. She was so bad at working this, really. Moving from place to place was harder without her legs.

 

[soulpelt]

Relac watched the man go and looked to Eddie. "It is fine. My people would say he is the alpha who has lost his favorite claw. Still strong of body but no of morale. He is scared for you and ashamed he could not prevent your accident." He shrugged. He looked back into the room. "How is your mother taking it?" She walked out a few seconds later, eyes red. "Hello ma'am. My name is Relac." He held out a black clawed hand, once again trying to grin without looking like a predator. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

 

[Dip]

Eddie's mother, bless her soul, was far kinder than her better half. She was also a hugger, because she enveloped Relac and squeezed him tightly, sobbing into his chest that he was 'A blessing' and that he was a savior. After Eddie told her mom to pull off from the stranger, she left with a handkerchief over her nose. She dabbed at her eyes, giving Eddie a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Eddie's face was red now-- first her crying over her legs, then the mishap with her father and now her mother, treating her like she was a child again. But Eddie didn't mind it, she needed the comfort.

She kissed her cheek back, not nearly as sloppy, and she left. It was just her and Relac in the hall then. Eddie scratched the back of her neck, and looked up at the other. She smiled nervously, shrugged. " Sorry, " She apologized. " She worries too much. " She shook her head, and placed her hands on the wheels of the old-fashioned wheel-chair. " I just, really, can't thank you enough. I'll make it up to you, I promise. "

 

[soulpelt]

Relac patted the womans back carefully then watched her leave as well. "It is good she worries. If she did not then there would be cause for concern." He grinned some again, but showing too many teeth. "I believe I heard a nurse say you could leave in two days time." When she mentioned paying him back Relac shook his head. "There is no need, Eddie. I was only being, what's that phrase humans use... a Good Samaritan." He sat down on a nearby bench. "What do you think you will do now? You can still continue your studies." He wasn't sure how to be. Humans were more emotional than his people, felt a wider range of them on a daily basis.

"Also if you think you would want cybernetic replacements I work at a local shop, we have pretty good prices on human cybernetics. Nothing made by Cytek or Transient Inc. but they would get the job done." It was clear Relac didn't know when to stop talking, but he couldn't help it, he knew very little on human social cues. They were vastly different from his peoples.

 

[Dip]

He was being too helpful, and that was a bad thing for Eddie when her threshold of self confidence relied heavily on her not being dependent on anyone. Eddie visibly deflated in her wheelchair, looking down on her legs, like they were a curse. And they were! She just wanted to be normal.

Eddie looked over at him. She was so close to saying, "You'd do that for me?" But, she couldn't accept his offer. He'd done too much for her already, she didn't want to be a burden on him at all. She felt that she was overstaying her welcome already. Eddie sighed, and used her hands to motion her words. " I mean, I'm still going to go to school. I'm still going to study, but..." She had a feeling that if the worm wasn't inside her, manipulating her emotions, she'd break down again. "I dunno what I'm going to do, okay? I'll just stay here and think about it. This is so different... I'm scared. "

Eddie took her rusted wheelchair and rolled back into her room. She was sure visitation hours were over, so she wanted him to go home. He didn't have to stay around and share her pity. Eddie stopped near the door frame, and looked over to him. " I'll... I'll see you around. I'll definitely call you, yeah, but I just... need to rest. " She rolled the rest of the way in, and closed the door behind her.

 

[soulpelt]

Relac could smell her sadness, muddled by the worm within her. He could smell her fear as well, it appealed to the inner hunter. "I will not say I understand, but I will say that being scared is normal." He put a hand on her shoulder. "However I will say that fear shouldn't stop you. I read somewhere, I think a piece of human fiction, that fear is the mind killer. You can get past this." He grinned again, this time a bit more successfully.

"I will... see you tomorrow I suppose. I'll give you my comm. number." He followed her inside, got a piece of paper and wrote down his ten digit comm. code. He put it in her hand and spoke again. "You get some rest." He watched her get into the short cot. "If you need a head or two 'beat in', give me a call." He joked , trying to lighten the sour mood. With that he left, heading to his little apartment. It wasn't in a slum, but it wasn't exactly the Wall Street Aero Estates.

 

[Dip]

Eddie was alone for the rest of the day, dealing with the worm and the emotions that spilled out of her. She managed to control her own emotions, but she was still numb after the entire event. She had no legs. She had NO legs. How was she going to deal with this now? How was she ever going to be normal again? How was she going to help her family now? How was she ever going to help herself?

Eddie didn't get a lot of sleep that night, mostly because thoughts raced through her mind. She could hardly defend for herself before, how was she ever going to be taken seriously in her life? Would she ever be normal? She closed her eyes and rolled in bed, thinking of plenty of topics. School, herself, recovery, and then she thought of her father. He went through plenty of hardships in his life, but he never did lose his legs. He never did feel singled out, or publicly humiliated and maimed. He never had to feel this overwhelming sadness and loss!

But then again, he never felt sorry for himself. Eddie frowned. He had been through hell, trying to start a family and a boxing career. He went through hell training and training and raising a kid! He went through plenty, and here Eddie was, crying because she wasn't normal. She sat up in her cot. To hell with normality! This was New York. This was the new Eddie. Legless Eddie. She grabbed her phone, and the slip of paper Relac gave her. She took a deep breath, and typed it in. She didn't press send yet, she needed to go through what she was going to say.

Eddie hit enter, and waited for him to answer. He didn't, maybe because it was sometime in the middle of the night. Maybe his phone was off, or something. Eddie talked to the phone, and recorded a message for him. " Relac, " She started, " I have a plan, and I need your help. "

 

[soulpelt]

Relac arrived at the hospital around noon, having taken his lunch break to visit Eddie. He walked up to the reception desk, got tagged and got in the short range teleporter. In a flash he was on Eddies floor. He had picked up a little bundle of 'get-well-soon' flowers, something he had read humans did. His own people usually brought fresh kills, but he was sure Eddie wouldn't like that.

He finally came to her door and knocked out of respect and once she spoke he came. "Hello Eddie, I brought you flowers. Is that not what humans do for one another?" He looked around and spotted an old Fisialian Clay vase on the window sill. Filling it up with water he put the flowers inside. "So what was you idea?" He asked once he gotten seated in the same chair as yesterday. His blank eyes looked over Eddie, she looked excited and she smelled excited as well. "Your legs okay?" He wasn't sure how to put it since she lacked most lower limbs.