[@Crimmy][@Abillioncats][@Onarax][@Lucius Cypher][@HereComesTheSnow][@Ryonara][@Sho Minazuki]

[Color=ffb7c5][Center][h3]Annabelle Valentine[/h3][/center][/color]
[Color=ffb7c5][Center][B]Just because the door is open...[/b][/center][/color]

'You look cute enough to eat.'

[url=http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/chinatsu-yoshikawa/images/30592318/title/rape-face-photo]A switch flipped inside her head. [/url]

[i]He has no idea what he just said...[/i] She knew she had a problem with impulse control. She knew full well she sometimes took things a [s]little[/s] too far, which led to her actions backfiring. Sometimes very badly. She knew this could be a teacher or something for all she knew. She also knew that when someone made it this easy she could never resist the temptation. And he was giving her whole seconds of golden silence to work with as he tried to play his own little joke on her. Resistance, for her, was an exercise in futility.

Her body language and expression shifted, but not too suddenly or drastically as to seem exaggerated and incincere. 'Honestly startled and painfully awkward' became 'shocked, embarrassed, and uncertain' with the slightest hint of 'might be awkwardly aroused.' She gasped and shrank away from him, though she was already pressed up against the food stand. She supposed that worked to her advantage, maybe giving the illusion of being cornered with nowhere to go. Shy and vulnerable was the image she was going for.

At the same time she raised her right hand to partially cover her mouth while her left arm came up to just below her chest. She summoned a deep blush which spread across her face quickly, as if it were natural. [i]Ah, miss Valentine you are a natural born actress. The classes didn't hurt, either.[/i] 

[Color=ffb7c5]"C-cute enough.. t-to eat? Oh my... you don't mean!? [Sub]S-so forward![/sub]"[/color] She spoke quietly as if she was shy and didn't want others to overhear. Privately she hoped she had an audience with good hearing.

Gren, as he introduced himself, dropped his own act fairly quickly, making it clear he was just kidding. She had expected that, but couldn't tell yet if Gren had bought what she was selling. What she sure as hell did not expect was to hear was a voice [b][u]in her head[/u][/b] heralding the appearance of the cutest rat, no ferret, she had ever seen on top of Gren's head. 

[i]Holy shit, either I've just finally fucking snapped or I've just become a goddamn Disney princess and can now talk to animals.[/i] 

She almost lost her focus at the shock of her sudden development of telepathic powers/full blown mental break. She would have, too, at any other time. But so dedicated was she to her quest of mercilessly teasing Gren for his poor choice of words... [i]Roll with it, girl.[/i] 

[color=ffb7c5]"Oh, ahaha, o-of course. [i]That's[/i] what you meant."[/color] She looked down and to the side, sheepishly, and wrung her hands together as if nervous. She then gasped, pretending to just notice the ferret that had already partially short circuited her mind. Her face lit up and that was hardly part of the act; the fuzzy little creature was stupidly adorable. [Color=ffb7c5]"Is that [b]yours?![/b] C-can I touch it?"[/color] She did not wait for a response instead reaching up to offer the mustelid her hands to inspect and, hopefully, climb onto. At the same time she stood on her toes and learned forward, making sure Gren had a great view of her cleavage. Much to her gratification the fluffy thing climbed right into her hands and even let her hug it close to her chest. It was so cute she felt like she could just die, and she giggled with honest delight. The repetition of 'Food!' in her head was still pretty distracting, but she was coming to terms with her own insanity.

She spun around to face the super cute waiter and made sure to lean forward onto the counter just a bit too much. [Color=ffb7c5]" Excuse me, I think this little guy is hungr- huh?"[/color] He was gone. Fortunately not far, though, and he was [b]very[/b] easy to spot. [i]Oh you have [b]got[/b] to be kidding me! [b]That's[/b] his semblance?! So cool.... Oh I feel the envy, and it burns.[/i] Though she made light of the thought in her head the blatant show did sting a little. Despite how hard she had tried her own semblance eluded her.

[i]Eeeh, envy is an ugly color on you, Valentine. Besides you are worki- HOLD IT!! There is a [b]parachute[/b] attached to that crate. That crate that just appeared out of nowhere. That crate. Was. Just. [b]Airdropped[/b].  [/i]A part of Annabelle's world collapsed as she put together the possibilities and saw devastating lost opportunity. The seniors needed supplies. She needed the seniors numbers. She could have offered to acquire said supplies, asked for shopping lists sent to [i]her[/i] number, and gotten all their numbers at once and done them a huge favor! It would have been perfect. But they could just airdrop whatever they wanted in, anyway. [i]Crap.[/i]

Outwardly she only smiled at the multi-armed pretty boy, Shuai, she thought he had been called. [Color=ffb7c5] "Wow. Just... wow."[/color] She applauded as well as she could with a ferret in her arms then leaned even farther forward to admire the tempura that was slid towards her and Emerald. It looked utterly delicious, and she wasn't even that hungry. She took a piece and offered to the ferret, placing it down on the table. Then she realized just how far she was leaning over. [i]Oh. Not part of the plan but...[/i]

Bringing back a furious blush to her face she shot straight up, grabbing the back of her skirt. She looked behind her, wearing a mortified expression, studying Gren's face to see how well her plans were coming along.

[Center]___________________________________________________________________[/center]
[@HereComesTheSnow]

[Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/er5FgrY.png[/img][/center]

[Center][b]Feet in Vale, head in the wilderness, heart in limbo[/b][/center]

For a while Skye had only to follow Luke through the crowded streets, silently listening to the advice he offered. It had been a long time since she last had the opportunity to follow someone else's lead. It was a strange sort of relief, not having to be the first one into the unknown, the pathfinder everyone else depended on. She had only to keep pace with Luke and watch his back. Actually, not even that. She constantly found herself forgetting how a city worked, that its walls and defenses kept the enemy outside, and the people within were almost completely safe. The concept of safety had become so foreign that she could no longer wrap her mind around the fact that she did not have to be on guard constantly. It was going to take some time to get used to.

She found herself breathing hard, sweating, and her heart was hammering in her chest. Not from physical exertion, her aura and the Dust in her body easily kept her moving despite her actual weakened condition. The problem was the fear. She survived first by controlling the negative emotions that attracted Grimm in the first place. One could not hide from the creatures very well if they failed to do so. Skye was good at it, too. She was still alive, after all. But she had never been pushed so far over the edge. 

Facing the fear of death? Easy. Familiar. Well practiced. 

Facing her fellow human beings after such a complete lack of exposure? Unfamiliar. Nerve wracking. 

Facing everything she had gone through all at once and confiding in someone she hardly knew, no matter how kind and understanding he was? Unbelievably terrifying. 

There was only one thing that had frightened her as badly as this. And she was about to revisit that moment. Just as soon as they reached..

The park. She stopped in her tracks when she saw it. A small oasis of nature in the middle of a maze of stone, glass, and metal, but not quite true nature at the same time. It felt at once artificial, uncomfortable. But it was also a vast improvement over the choked streets teeming with noisy people. Here, at least, there would be room to breathe. And, most likely, no Grimm. It was just a few scattered groups of people, herself, Luke... and her past. 

[b]"Luke. I..."[/b]

If they were going to do this there couldn't be any doubts.

[B]"I don't actually make a habit of just telling anyone about... what I'm going to tell you. Granted I haven't had anyone to tell that wasn't already a part of it until I came here, but.. what I'm trying to say is... I'm asking you, please don't tell anyone. Any of it. Especially anyone from Beacon. Please... I need you to make me a promise. I need someone I can trust. It's a lot to ask, I know. I would understand if you changed your mind. But if you want to know what really happened out there..."[/b]

She had been staring at the ground, unable to meet his gaze, but now she forced herself to look into his eyes. A part of her still wanted him to change his mind. A childish part that still believed she could run away and hide from this forever. But if she was being entirely honest with herself that was a very small and quiet voice in the back of her head. Most of the child she had been was stripped away long ago. Far more desperately than to escape she wanted to find her way back from that wilderness she was still trapped in. But, even though she had managed mostly under her own power this far, she knew she couldn't make the rest of the journey alone. [i]Please... tell me that I can...[/i]

[b]"Can I trust you?"[/b]