[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180617/4e18d4d2a5b79d9f3ac43e60eed4258a.png[/img]

[i]Location: City Streets[/i]
[@Rodiak] [/center]


While interacting with people outside home may have been a bit of a new experience, it didn’t take a social butterfly to figure out that the stranger was not having the most pleasant of times right now. Esp blinked, then immediately gave the man an apologetic smile. [color=#F88017]“I am sorry. It is probably me you are smelling, and not Chu.”[/color] She fumbled in the pockets of her cloak for a moment, feeling about, before beaming and fishing out an amber vial. [color=#F88017]“Peppermint oil. It helps with the smell of corpses. You just,”[/color] she paused, squeezing out a few drops of the liquid onto her fingertips, and smearing it below her nostrils, [color=#F88017]“rub it like that, and it makes it less terrible to be smelling.”[/color] Capping the vial once more, Esperanza offered it to the stranger, scent now a mingling mix of death and mint. 

And...seawater. Marcus might notice, however, that the smell of salt didn’t come from the slight woman before her, but rather the creature lying sprawled about her shoulders. Lounging in the shadows offered by Esp’s hood, Chu ran his tongue along the front of his teeth, grinning up at Marcus. 

Before slowly running his tongue along the side of Esp’s face, leaving a trail of opaque grey drool that smelled oddly of melon. 

Esp’s only reaction was to quickly wipe her face clear with her sleeve with the deftness of someone who had done so many times before, and then reach out to shake Marcus’ hand with her left, the nub of her missing finger passing against his grasp. [color=#F88017]“It is nice to meet you, Marcus. My name is Esperanza, but you may call me Espie or Esp if you would like.”[/color] She paused, gesturing to the creature around her shoulders. [color=#F88017]“And his name is Chupacabra, but I call him Chu. He is a very good boy.”[/color]

If Esperanza was in any way bothered by Marcus’ chatter, she showed no sign of it, smiling broadly. [color=#F88017]“I come from very far away, yes. Do you think you could be helping me find a good place to stay? I haven’t learned where everything is yet.”[/color]