Luckily, the girl didn’t seem to be bothered by Esperanza’s sudden charge- in fact, she even seemed interested in Chu. Esp blinked again for a moment, surprised by her friendliness, before beaming happily and quickly grabbing her pet away from her shoulders (along with a fair bit of flesh and blood, Chu had a tendency to sink his claws in deep when he was startled) and into her arms. [color=#FF7433]“Yes,”[/color] she chirped. [color=#FF7433]“His name is the Chupacabra, but I call him Chu because it is shorter that way. My sister says that he is very ugly, but he is my friend and very good.”[/color] As if for emphasis, Esperanza gave the thing a little scratch behind its...ears? It seemed to please Chu regardless, if its gurgles and grinding of teeth was any indication. 

Esperanza’s words were awkward, choppy at best. They were heavy with her accent, but regardless, they were genuine as she blurted out “I like your rats. They look soft.” 

Much to her surprise, she and the masked girl weren’t alone for long. Before she knew it, a strange, shadowy weasel-cat-skull had popped out of the ground, introducing itself as “Shade”. Esperanza took an instinctive step back at the sudden movement before kneeling down, giving the Heartless a curious look. 

[color=#FF7433]“Hello there, Shade. You are a very cute shadow cat.”[/color]


If it wasn’t clear enough by the unidentifiable abomination cradled in her arms, Esperanza didn’t seem to have the most normal standards for what qualified as “cute” or not. She rose to her feet, but in the same movement Chu had sprung from her grasp, landing silently in front of Shade. All of his eyes focused upon the Heartless as he crept forward, drooling greyish ichor from his lips. Chu leaned forward, gave Shade a wary sniff, then proceeded to let out a wail alarmingly similar to a human infant.

[color=#FF7433]“It is okay,”[/color] Esperanza murmured, idly scratching Chu’s back. Her tattoos were blatantly visible with the movement- rich ink that covered nearly every inch of her arm. She had just pulled away when yet another person approached, large, fluffy tails trailing behind her. Esperanza’s family had told her that she would be meeting some interesting people, but even still, she felt herself visibly gape at the sight in awe. 

[color=#FF7433]“You are all so- you are-”[/color] She licked her lips, struggling to think of the proper word. [color=#FF7433]“You are cool! I did not know that people had the tails like animals!”[/color] Esperanza’s excitement blossomed further as an entire parade crashed into the clearing, blaring music and song and dancing about as if they hadn’t a care in the world. The man leading the whole procession seemed rather stuffy, but strangely enough, almost as soon as he had announced himself he- as well as his group- suddenly changed to become...shabby. Worn, like an old cloth. 

Regardless, Esperanza was impressed. She fumbled in her pockets for a moment before yanking out a phone and aiming it at both the Prince and his People. [color=#FF7433]“My sister wanted me to send her the videos,”[/color] she explained, before suddenly going stock still.

She had forgotten to introduce herself.

That was the most important thing.

Turning abruptly on her heel, Esperanza thrust a hand towards her company, eyes wide and alarmed. [color=#FF7433]“My name is Esperanza,”[/color] she stammered. [color=#FF7433]“I am sorry for not saying so before. It is very nice to meet you all, and I hope that we become friends.”[/color] She gave a shy grin, before reaching down and plucking a shrieking Chu into her arms. Poor thing had gotten scared at all the commotion. 

[@The One][@knifeman]