End of an Eventful Evening (Currently Editing)
Sapphire POV:
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"Haah….Haah…..haah," heavy breathing, my heavy breathing, resounded in my ears, muffling the ambient noises of the city.
My lungs burned for more air, hungrily devouring every last bit they received, and I can feel my palpitating heart protesting my overexertion. It was only now, after my body all but forced me to stop moving, had I the chance to calm my racing heat.
I took in deep, thorough breaths, forcing my heartrate to slow and my thoughts to clear. Slowly, the raging adrenalin dissipated, and exhaustion poured onto me like a tsunami. My body felt heavy, and my mind felt slow, but rest was not an immediate possibility. I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep, but as I regained my bearings, an obstacle to that goal became very apparent.
"Where am I?" I ask myself, realizing that I don't recognize any of the buildings or streets currently visible to me.
I can tell that I am still in the city's commercial district, as there are brightly lit signs denoting the diverse names of the many stores that dot the street that I had ended up on, but I don't recognize any of them. Vale's Commercial district is massive, far larger than one would initially think, so I can say with certainty that I have not been to every part of it, including my current location.
I attempted to mentally retrace my steps, but it was pointless. After my quick getaway from the blond huntress, I kind of just mindlessly rushed through the city in my attempts to flee. Not once did I look back, and not once did I check where I was going. My one and only goal was to get away from the blond huntress, anything and everything else was secondary. I had far too much to lose now, and I can't afford to be caught now. I'd rather die in my sleep than wake up from this dream.
Haaah, no more depressing thoughts! They won't change a thing. I'm still lost...
Fuck…. It's fine I'll just check my Scroll.
With that, I reach into the dark leather satchel on my waist with a little version of my emblem embroidered on it, and my heart drops as I don't feel the presence of my device. With slight panic, I instinctively pat down where any pockets would be if I was not wearing my gear, but to no avail as there ere no to be felt.
"Well...Shit." I exclaim.
It didn't fall out, did it? No, I probably left it at the house. Yeah, that should be the case... I hope. It would take me a while to scrounge up enough money for a new one if I lost it...
After I finished dubiously convincing myself of the location of my Scroll, I took a more detail-oriented look around. I didn't end up on a main street, but the road wasn't small enough to be too out of the way. A little way up the road at an intersection there was a sign that indicated the street I am on as, "27th St." I still didn't know where I am though.
Occasionally, a care or two would drive by, but the pedestrian traffic might as well have been nonexistent. There are a couple of people here and there, but, when I tried to approach one of them, I felt my nose burn with the overpowering sent of alcohol. I had no desire to deal with the intoxicated right now, so I left them alone and focused my attention on the stores. Most of the shops seemed to have either closed up for the day or are in the process of doing so, leaving me with limited options. Thankfully though, I came across a place that seemed to be open.
It was as small bookstore with a dark wooden exterior, contrasting greatly with the surrounding building's, as well as the store's building's upper floors, vert light grey, almost white, stone brick architecture. It had two large windows on either side of the door much like the 'From Dust Till Dawn' store I had been at earlier. Both windows had blinds that should the be closed could obscure any vision into the building, though, since they are open right now, I could see inside just fine. The windows also had "TBT Nev & Used Books" boldly written on them with fancy gold lettering. Above the building's entryway was the store's name, "Tukson's Book Trade," written in bold golden font on a dark green backdrop as well as the buildings street address, "282," on either side of the name.
"Tuckson's Book Trade, huh, never been inside a bookstore before," I thought briefly to myself before getting my head back on track, "I hope someone inside's willing to help me out."
"Here we go," I said as I approach the wooden door of this bookstore and gingerly pull it open.
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POV change (Tukson):
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-ding-a-ling
I hear the sonorous chimes of the entry bell reverberate through the store as I am taking stock of the stores inventory in the ledger, a large leather-bound notebook that I use to keep track of sales and expenses.
"Just a second!" I yell out, letting the customer know that I'll be with them shortly.
I set the heavy book down on the old wood desk that I have set up here in the back of the sore, a room originally intended for storage that I have appropriated to be a sort of office space for me to use, though, it is still also used as a storage space. What can I do? I only have so much space to work with, so I have to make do with what I have.
As I stand up from the uncomfortable, unpadded wooden chair, I can't help but think it unusual that I have a customer this late. I mean, it's not unwelcomed, I'm not going to turn down a sale after all, but I rarely get any customers this late into the night. It's probably about midnight, right? Who goes shopping for books at midnight? I'm not wrong in feeling a little suspicious, no? Still, there is no need to act unprofessionally. I don't need to cause a scene unnecessarily. That would only draw unwanted attention.
With the suspicion shoved to the back of my head, I walk past the boxes and shelves of the store's surplus and toward the windowed doors through which is the store proper. Before hastily walking through though, I take my time observing the menacing appearance of my new "Customer."
Standing in front of the checkout counter just beond the doors is a tall, armored figure. From head to toe every piece of gear the figure wore was entirely black with gold used to accentuate any edges in the metal plates and any emblems on the gear. If the shape of said armor is anything to go by, the figure appears to be female, but all other telling physical features are obscured by her equipment. She wore a long black cape with a hood as well as what seemed to be a sword sheathed at her left hip. I couldn't see her face though as her gaze was traversing the right side of my building where the wall-high bookshelves are located.
I guess it's not that significant though, I've had more than my share of huntsmen and huntresses walk into my store in full kit, so having this person do so as well shouldn't bother me. We live in a dangerous world after all, especially at night. Perhaps, I'm just being jumpy.
After quickly reassuring myself, I call out, "Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun," as I open the door in front of me, gaining this person's attention.
The figure turned her head toward me, and, when she did, I nearly had a heart attack. The figure wore a black and gold mask that covered their face.
"That mask!! White Fang!? How'd they find me!?!" I think to myself in a panic, but the closer I observe the mask the person in front of me is wearing, the less my assertion holds ground.
First of all, I have never known a White Fang mask to have anything other than a white and red color scheme; not black ang gold like this one. Second, the masks the white fang wear are all designed with grim-like features in mind, and the one this stranger is wearing doesn't have that aesthetic. It is far more animal-like in nature. From the snout-like bulge on the bottom half of the mask where a person's mouth would be, to the way the gold lines accentuated the curves in the mask, and even the symbol on the forehead, it all seemed to make the mask more Vulpine, foxlike, in design. It reminded me of the masks some cultures in mistral wear during festivals more than it did a White Fang mask.
As I was debating with myself whether to make a run for the exit or not, the woman in front of me had removed her mask and let down her hood, allowing me to finally have a look at who she is, but I can't say I recognized her. It's not like she has a forgettable face either as she's a truly stunning young lady with deep blue-eyes, long black and gold hair tied up in a ponytail, and twitching fox ears atop her head proclaiming her identity as a Faunus. She held a bright but tired smile on her face, and she seemed to be lightly sweating. Did she just finish up some training or something?
"Ahem," the lady in front of me forces a cough uncomfortably, and I realize that I have been staring a little too much in my observation.
"Oh, sorry. Haha. I'm Tukson What can I help you with?" I ask trying to salvage my professional atmosphere, but I could still very much feel the palpable awkwardness in the air.
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Sapphire POV:
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-Ding-a-Ling!
The soft yet piercing noise of an entry bell, rings from overhead as I walk through the wooden door. As the door shuts behind me, a noticeable lack of noise permeates the cozy bookstore. It's never really noticeable how much noise there really is in a big city like vale until it's taken away.
I take a deep breath and the distinct scent of paper and books bombards my nose. It was a pleasant smell; one I've only ever encountered in libraries before now, but I guess it shouldn't be surprising, given that this 'is' a bookstore, after all. I also pick up the rapidly fading trace of what I presume to be the previous customers of this establishment, but I ignore it. It's not like I'm tracking anyone right now, so what does it mater anyway.
------------Edited Up To Here----------
The store was dim, but it not uncomfortably so. It seemed almost deliberate, A way to give this please a mysterious atmosphere. Directly in front of me is a large wooden counter, on top of which is a cash register as well as several books and papers scattered across its surface. There are tall, ceiling-height bookshelves covering the entirety of both the left and right walls as well as either side of the large counter, forming something of an L-shape.
"Just a second!" I hear a deep, gruff voice call out from behind the double doors in the center of the far wall.
This Tukson person awkwardly laughs, presumably in an attempt to change the atmosphere, and while I have my misgivings, he's the only one around. That, and I just want to know where I am so I can get home and sleep, I'm tired.
"Mr. Tukson do you know how to get to the South side of the city from here?" I calmly say.
"Oh, lost are ya. Well, here let me write some directions down," he says as he pulls out a piece of paper and a pen from under the counter and starts scribbling some words down. "Here ya go. If you follow this, you should be fine." He reaches out to hand me the paper.
"Thanks," I let out with a tired smile as I grab the written directions from his hand.
"No problem," he replies. Well, he didn't have the best first impression he seems like a kind person at the very least.
Now that I have these directions, I follow them till I find Familiar locations which didn't take too long. Seeing the familiar cityscape I make my way to the eastern outskirts of the city, and from there fully out of the city. I make my way into and through the forest and come upon a slightly run-down cabin.
You see in order to purchase a house or rent an apartment in Vale, I need identification, and since I don't have them nor do I have any way of getting them, I live in a small one-room abandoned cabin in a forest on the east side of the city. While it's far from luxurious, it is a roof over my head, and that's more than I've often had. I also only come here to sleep anyway, so it doesn't bother me.
I approach and unlock the door with a key I pulled out of my leather pouch, and walk inside. Seeing nothing is amiss, I walk over to the wooden bath at the side of the room and using my semblance fill it with ice and then melt that ice with fire. I then quickly bring the water up to a good temperature.
Having heated the bath, I quickly undress and put my combat clothes in a basin that I use to wash my clothes. This brings to light the fluffy fox tail that is normally hidden under my cape. I hide this because while Faunus normally have either ears or tail, I have both, and that gains me unwanted attention. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I lower myself into the warm bath and start to thoroughly clean myself off. As I'm doing so I can't help but run my hand across some rather deep scars all across my body and sigh. While I am rather proud of my looks, I can't help but lose confidence when I see these nasty scars….
"Haah," I sigh. After I finish cleaning off, I get out of the tub, and quickly dry myself off with the wind from semblance. I walk over to a storage trunk that I use to store my clothes, and open it, revealing a framed photo of a group of kids inside of what looks like a lab or hospital. I hold the picture close and start to tear up, but I hold It down.
I move the picture to the bed after looking staring at it for a while and pick out a some panties, sweats, and a t-shirt. I then put them on. After that, I then make sure the door and windows are locked and get on the bed. I pull the covers over me, and hug the picture as I drift off to sleep. Unaware of the restless night that this will be.