It wasn’t a surprise that Julie was…well, pretty damn old, to put it bluntly. Seeing as there was no need for them to hide anymore, stumbling into someone who was a century old at [i]least[/i] was becoming more and more common by the day. It wasn’t surprising that she seemed so tired of it all, either. Stride rocked back on her heels, scratching her jaw with a gloved hand. “What Fried said,” she said, eventually. [color=#BC6101]“Look, I haven’t been ‘round long ‘nough for me to know what seein’ ‘eras rise n’ fall’ ‘s like, but here’s the thing. You’re livin’ for someone else now. Ya got yourself a fairy who seems real worried ‘bout you, and it sure as hell seems like she ain’t leavin’ anytime soon. So just...y’know. You ain’t alone anymore in the whole lastin’ long thing.”[/color]

It was a relief when the paramedics finally showed, taking Julie off their hands and away to the hospital. There were people out there trained in dealing with age fatigue, and Stride definitely wasn’t one of them. She waited until the ambulance puttered away and out of sight before turning to Cienna, giving her a somewhat awkward tap on the arm.

[color=#BC6101]“Hey, lady. D’ya need a ride home or anythin’? Might take a while, but if ya tell me where to go I can get ya there.”[/color]

Most of the warmth had gone out of her packs by now, and she was feeling a tad lightheaded from the cold, but it wasn’t like the hummer didn’t have a heater. 

Before the other responded, however, Stride suddenly tensed. Her fingers flew to her hip, and, upon coming up empty, she gave a slight curse under her breath. She had been in enough fights to be able to pick up on those little magic auras or airs or whatever-you-called-’em, and [i]this[/i] wasn’t exactly an atmosphere that screamed “welcome”. She glanced about, searching for an unseen threat, only to catch the last flicker of amber drain from Fritz’s eyes.

[color=#BC6101]“Somethin’ up?”[/color] Stride kept her voice down, trying not to worsen Cienna’s hysteria. A possible threat was one of the last things they needed at the moment.

[@Daemanis][@GoodLuckTuck][@Erklings25]