Fast forwarded to April 26

Word Count → 500 || Points → 5

Buildings all around her were decaying with each passing day. Some of them even made her feel like they were going to crumble when a harsh wind blew against them, and the wind had been pretty harsh for the past few days. It was raining, and she was looking for some kind of shelter from the storm, which seemed to be following her all the way from Halifax. Most of the buildings around the city had too many holes to even protect her from the pelting rain. Plus, it was basically raining sideways with frequent lightning and the occasional clap of thunder. The thunder was loud, and it made Rio jump every time it came suddenly. Her fur was soaked to the skin from all the rain, and she hardly knew what she was doing out in the open during a storm like this.

Finally, she found a building that was good enough. The roof wasn’t perfect, and there were many leaky spots, but at least there weren’t any gaping holes. She pushed open the heavy door, and it groaned loudly in protest. When she was finally inside, she shook off what water she could from her body, while she was in Luperci form. Shaking wasn’t so natural in this form, though, and most of the water still clung to her usually fluffy fur. Her long black hair hung in wet strands before her face, and before she knew what hit her, she felt a sharp pain. Something bit her ear; naturally, she ducked from whatever it was and clutched her ear. There was no blood, but whatever it was continued to assault her head.

She managed to turn around quick enough to see that there was a large owl attacking her. And it kept attacking her. Rio tried to bat the animal away with a hand, but it wouldn’t give up. She ran through the building, now recognizing it as a human place for religion, with the vicious owl continuously pecking at her head. Frustration overcame her, and she let out a rather loud, girly scream. The owl wasn’t giving up, and she was running out of room to run. Finally, she tripped on something. She didn’t know what it was, probably a pew, but she went down face first. It gave her the chance to just curl up and protect her head and face from the angry bird, now exposing her back to it.

The bird continuously pecked at her back and attempted to claw at her fur and skin with what talons it did have. She wasn’t sure if she was bleeding, but it sure felt like it. And of course, out of all the places in the roof, one of the leaking spots was right above where her head was. There was a steady stream of cold rain water dripping onto her head from the high ceiling. She couldn’t move, though, because of the owl and the water smelled dirty. Matters couldn’t get worse than this.

THE WORST IS JUST AROUND THE BEND

OOC

Word Count → 347 || Points → 3

She endured a few more minutes of the owl’s wrath, which felt like hours actually. She heard the door groan open, and figured it must be the owl’s owner. The pecking and clawing stopped, and then she heard a kind voice. She slowly looked up, still in defense-mode, to see a dark colored male before her, and no owl. She rose up out of her pitiful position, and turned to face whoever this was. She was embarrassed that someone actually had to come and save her, but at the same time she was grateful. ”Thank you… Shadow.”

It took her a few seconds to register his name, and she said it with a small delayed reaction. She envied the cloak her wore, as he was probably very dry underneath. Her fur was soaked, and she was a little cold with shivers taking control of her muscles every few seconds. She tried to stop it, trying to be modest and not show the stranger she was weak, and girly if anything else. She circled around Shadow, and went to sit on one of the dusty pews. The seat was dry, and it felt warm to her wet rump. ”What are you doing out in weather like this?” As she thought about his question, she paid attention to the stinging on her back. She reached back to touch it, but didn’t feel any blood, so she figured they had to be just scratches. She would have Caprica look at them when she was back.

”Oh, how rude of me! My name’s Rio- thanks for saving me.” As she said it, the owl came flapping back in, but it stayed on a high perch and picked at its feathers. Rio kept a close eye on it, but the owl didn’t seem to be interested in her anymore. ”Is that your owl?” She was a bit skeptical. It could’ve been his owl that he sent to attack her, and then it would give him a reason to talk to her. It was a pretty bad plan, but it worked so far.

THE WORST IS JUST AROUND THE BEND

OOC

Word Count → 320 || Points → 3

As he put his cloak around her, she had no complaints. It was very warm and dry, and in a few seconds her shivering stopped. She was still wet, but at least now the rain won’t be able to get to her on her way back, if it would still be raining. She smiled at his kind words, ”How are you only out here for me?” She didn’t really believe him. She wasn’t his sole reason for coming out to the city, even if she was his reason for coming into this old human place for religion. There had to have been something else that drew him out here in the first place, and then she might’ve caught his eye after.

”That’s a little crazy…” she mumbled half in thought and half speaking to him. His second set of words reminded her of the owl, and she looked up at it. It still picked at its feathers and groomed itself. It was paying no mind to them. She snuggled up to the cloak. She was very grateful of Shadow to have given it to her, and a little weird that he didn’t want it back. She didn’t want to give it back at the moment, either. Maybe she would never give it back to him. She brought the hood up to cover her wet head. Now she was completely warm. It was a little oversized on her, but the more body heat, the better. She fastened the buttons, and sat quietly and comfortably for a few moments. ”Well, I guess that’s good that he’s not your owl then.” Just as she said it, the owl stopped cleaning and looked up at her. He didn’t move, but his attention was completely focused on Rio now. He stayed on the high perch, and hooted once. Rio kept an eye on it enough to know if it was going to go for round two.

THE WORST IS JUST AROUND THE BEND

OOC

Word Count → 302 || Points → 3

Rio studied the owl. The look in his eyes told her that he meant her no more harm. To think of killing the bird with no valuable reason hurt her. She took her eyes off of the great bird and shook her head, ”No. That won’t be necessary.” She adjusted herself on the church pew to a more comfortable position. She didn’t sit as straight, and she moved over from the wetness she created from before. The cloak now fell over her rump, covering that too, so when she sat next she wouldn’t soak the chair again.

After she got comfortable again, she answered him, ”I’m out here because I was exploring the area, and when I was heading back home, to Anathema, the rain hit hard. So, I came through the city hoping to find suitable shelter from the storm until it cleared. Rain doesn’t bother me, but lightning and thunder doesn’t make traveling too safe either.” She didn’t like being soaked to the core, and realistically thunder scared her. Lightning frightened her more, though, with its electric static crackling through the night and hitting random objects around her. What if it hit her one day? A loud clap of thunder echoed through the church, and Rio shivered and cuddled up to the cloak.

The storm raged on outside, and as she spoke about it she began to notice how bad it was again. She wanted to stay in the dry church until the rain stopped, but she wasn’t sure when it would or if it would tonight. The owl continued to clean his feathers near the opening in the ceiling, but flew to another beam where the ceiling was drier. The bird just sat there looking at the two Luperci, and hooted once. Rio looked up at ShadowFang and smirked, ”Thanks.”

THE WORST IS JUST AROUND THE BEND