A Rose By Any Name

So this is what the big cities were like?

So many people, so much going on; there was a lot to take in and it could make a girl really excited and giddy. This particular girl was VERY giddy, looking around at the marvels of industry as she roamed the streets barefoot in a simple dress. It was a lovely day out to not get hit by a car; and despite taking the time to observe the other pedestrians to see how the crosswalks worked, the half-demon child would rather not have to deal with them altogether. That's when she discovered Jump City's central park, and made her way over straight to it as fast as she could. It was everything she hoped for; lush green grass and trees to roam under as she took the opportunity to relax and enjoy the scenery without having to constantly worry about being in someone's way. It was refreshing, and she considered settling down for the evening here.

The new girl roamed the park whistling peacefully to herself as she kept her eyes out. Eventually, she found something lovely that caught her eye, and made her way towards a display of lovely pink and yellow flower buds, recently planted in a center portion of the park. They had been planted despite the snow, in hopes that it would recede soon and they would spring to live as soon as the spring air and rains would come. With no one else around, she made her way over and knelt down before them.

Poor things hadn't much of a chance in the cold, and had yet to fully form or bloom. She sat down in front of them, on her knes, and began to move her lips. To any observers she would appear silently chanting, not a sound uttering from her lips as they moved. Yet she knew the flowers could hear her, and she spoke to them words of encouragement in some unknowable language.

//beauty//prosperity//tenacity//fertility//fortune//life//

The silent chant took about 30 seconds to fully complete, but when she was done she saw the fruits of her love immediately. All of them began to bloom and unfold in beautiful color; opening themselves up to the white-haired creature. She smiled, reaching out and softly plucking one of the flower blooms from the plant and took it into her hand. She admired it's petals in bright, pink display, enjoying it as she again chanted silently a few alien words that no-one else would hear.

//enhance//nourishment//

She smiled again at the flower's lovely color. And then she ate it; petals and all. That one flower bloom went into her mouth and did not come back out as she chewed it up and swallowed, feeling much better as it went down the hatch. It tasted pretty nice, too.

Welp, there was her one meal for the day. Time to see what else was going on. But right away, she turned her head to the side to see the face of someone who had just watched a strange, bare-footed girl eat a flower whole. A friendly and pleasant smile sat on her face, as if she didn't seem to think anything of the action at all.

A blazé sunshine marked the sky, encouraging the strange snowfall to melt with its much-needed warmth. Still cool, it stood to be a perfect day to go for a walk, away from the dusty and dreary halls of Jump City’s abandoned theatre, now a respite home for wayward ‘others,’ as the German shapeshifter lovingly referred to the denizens of the grand yet gloomy place. A break from its admittedly heavy atmosphere had been needed, and so, he had fetched his black parasol and bid farewell to friendly faces.

Liev Aleksandr Erhlichmann had grown tired of humanity over the last hundred years, but the change in scenery and company had done wonders for him. Ever since that rough-houser Rapture had pulled him out of retirement and dusted him off, a new sense of belonging sat atop his square shoulders. Walking in tune to an old favorite, the lyrics to Night Riots’ Contagious played in his head.

I am contagious, I am breaking down
I am nothing, I am no-one’s fault
I am contagious, I am plagued with lies
I am nothing, I am no-one’s fault

Certainly a rather solemn song, the ballad had great meaning to the shapeshifter. It brought a sense of familiarity in a still-new town, something comforting in its own somber way. Faces flew past him, a man stuck in time, some staring at his powder-white face and golden eyes, or perhaps it was his odd attire consisting of a black bodysuit and full ruffled collar. Black painted nails, sleek cat eyeliner, and lacy parasol lent a sense of femininity to the otherwise classically masculine appearance––strong jawline, broad chest, and a healthy height of six-foot-two. Certainly, stranger-looking individuals populated the great city, and one awaited not too far away, as it would turn out.

Entering the midtown park with the intent of scoping those in potential need, Facade took but a few steps before beholding an odd sight… even odd for he who had lived for over one-hundred years. Before him, he stopped and watched in quiet awe as a young lady with the most beautiful white hair, magenta eyes, and fine features procured and… ate a flower. An entire flower, petals and all.

’Now that’s something you don’t see every day,’ Facade mused, partially obscured by a budding tree. Perhaps this act was natural for the young miss? Facade didn’t believe it his place to judge, but his knack for nurturing stole away any hesitation for politeness’s sake.

“Excuse me,” he began, his German accent evident from the first syllable. “…but my goodness. If you’re hungry, I have provisions plenty over at the old theatre. I serve anyone who’s in need.” He smiled pleasantly, trying and failing to not wonder what a flower tastes like.

More people would be making their way through the park. Probably the most obvious and eye catching (for one obvious reason) was the literal fireman, Sol. He was accompanied by his young ward, Daniella. School had been cancelled with the snow and all, and Daniella was getting cabin fever. In addition, deliveries were being delayed which meant his business was having some trouble. Why did it have to be snow? It was just as bad as water. Which is why he was wearing galoshes, and what was essentially a raincoat- he also had with him an umbrella because he wasn't taking any chances. Daniella was dressed warmly and pulling a sled laden with bags of foodstuffs.

It was unusually quiet, what with the apparent existence of the small masked creatures. Which you'd think would be a good thing considering what they were capable of. But their apparent absence today was very evident with the eerie quiet. Probably didn't have anyone to specifically bother now that the military group occupying the city was gone. Too bad that didn't mean the masked mischief-makers would leave too. The pair would be walking by, oblivious to the fact the girl had eaten a flower. However...

"Sol, are those horns?" Daniella asked, pointing toward Facade and the girl. Sol turned to look and squinted for a moment. Those did look like horns, and that brought up a number of questions. There'd be more but there wasn't really anyone out and about with the snow and trouble making creatures known to run about in the recent past. Sol waved toward them in greeting.

OOC
A pic of Daniella, minus the ears: Click Here

The girl seemed to be doing well on her own. Naturally, this would cause Liev to part, but had his attention turned to an even more delightfully bizarre individual. At first he mistook the gentleman as someone who had unfortunately caught fire, but soon realized that his body was comprised of fire. Now, that flaming body waved and the young miss and himself.  At this point, he noticed that there was a human-looking girl accompanying him. “Good afternoon, good people” Facade called jovially, bowing slightly. This day stood to get better and better. Not every day did he meet such interesting individuals, even with his makeshift soup kitchen.

Turning back to the horned girl, Liev smiled. “Well, at any rate, if you ever change your mind, I’m at the old theatre in the downtown area. Food and shelter are available to those who need it.”

It just dawned on Sol what Facade was wearing. Wasn't he cold in that? Come to think of it, weren't either of them cold? He wasn't well versed but had enough common sense to know that most demons, and all humans needed padding to withstand the cold. They weren't like him, made of fire and exuding some level of heat that ranged from warm on the surface, to incinerating within. On today he had to be extra vigilante because while his own odd getup would keep snow from clinging to him, there was still the cold dampness it could leave behind. Sol was going to keep walking, wanting to get these foodstuffs back when Daniella suddenly called out, "Aren't you cold wearing that?" Sol blinked and glanced at Daniella for a moment. He "voiced" something which wouldn't sound like anything but flame.

"Well, that may be true of the pretty lady. But Morphsuit man doesn't have horns, and so must be just a funny looking man," Daniella replied with childish humor. Sol gave her the disapproving dad look for saying he looked funny... regardless of how true it was in this case.

The display of silent gestures lead the shapeshifter to believe she wasn’t just simply non-talkative. She could at least understand him, and seemed to ask for directions. Stepping closer and allowing the parasol to encompass both individuals, Facade bent his knees to accommodate the height difference and pointed in the direction he came. “It’s a bit of a walk. Eight blocks that way, then take a left. Continue another six blocks and you'll come across it. It’s a huge building with a — hee! — grand facade, completely black. Looks like something out of the Victorian period. A lovely place really, just such a shame that it fell into disrepair. Ich glaub mich knutscht ein Elch!” He tapped his chin pensively before catching himself starting to ramble. “Dear me, I’m so sorry, fraulein. I haven’t been in Jump for very long, but I’ve already taken a liking to its theatre. My, my... at any rate, I’ve been terribly rude. Haven’t had the politeness to introduce myself.” Standing straight again but keeping the parasol in place, he bowed once more. "My name is Liev Aleksandr Ehrlichmann, but to most I am known as ‘Facade.’ A pleasure to meet you.”

The snow fell gently, but Facade’s bodysuit was made of thermal material, and the ruffled collar added to the getup’s weather-considerate theme. The theatre was considerably warmer after he had helped fix the place with his personal finances. Hopefully, it would return to its glory in due time. As for the madame and monsieur he had greeted not too long ago, he would wait to see if they engaged any further. He did wonder, however, about a million questions as to how the fire entity’s entire life worked. Such a curious individual, indeed.

"He's silly," Daniella said referring to Facade's demeanor good naturedly. "He's Sol, and I'm Daniella," Daniella introduced them, feeling obligated to since... like no one understood Sol but her in this given instance. There was totally no way anyone else here in her mind could- did demons know Sol's language? No, probably not. Just because they live in really hot places didn't mean they could talk like fire. She couldn't either- it was SO HARD just trying to understand it.

Sol wasn't sure what to think about either Facade or the demoness. She seemed well behaved, more so than three half-demons he could think of. Did Facade summon her? No. He didn't see any evidence of that. Sol then tapped his wrist toward Daniella, trying to indicate they needed to head back. "Oh right! We have things to drop off. You two should tag along and warm up!" Daniella offered.

Two rather quiet individuals, the girl with horns and the man of fire. Perhaps neither of them spoke in a language he could understand. Strange, seeing that he knew and spoke every language known to man, so they must speak some other non-human dialect. How fun! Now the girl who introduced herself as ‘Daniella’ posed an invitation. But where would they be going?

Facade thought back to his theatre –– well, it wasn’t really his theatre –– Rapture had scoped the place out and set him up. He found himself thinking of what she would have done in this situation. Most likely not have bothered speaking to anyone in the first place, or coming this way for that matter. But should someone enter her temple, hospitality would be a requirement.

He had someone who could tell whether people were human or not, however, and humans would be rejected. Not on principle of him disliking them, no, but they had enough resources on their own. The ‘strange’ and ‘other’ were more his forte. Like these folks.

“Where to?” he inquired, allotting time for when he would have to return to ‘his’ abode.

Sol did give Daniella a look to vaguely express that she shouldn't have just offered it, then again it was hard for him to communicate with other people. And he was definitely okay with the young demoness, Facade seemed... odd but didn't seem like he'd be any trouble. Plus Daniella needed some company with school being closed, the little masked minions absent, Isabel absent- even Ally hadn't been around as often as she used to. He blinked and quietly started to worry for some reason at all of these absences. Daniella looked up at him for confirmation. "S...ur," Sol managed to rasp, the sound of flame coming off as a soft whistle as he tried to voice english.

"Yay! We're going to Sol's bar- it's over that way abit," Daniella said pointing toward the direction they were already heading, with their little sled of foodstuffs. After an amount of time passed with no incident, the group would arrive at a brick and mortar styled building with "Sol's" up top over the door. Sol would unlock the door, letting every one else inside before stepping in himself. "We're here! Make yourselves at home- Sol's gonna need to get out of his raincoat and all that but feel free to look at the menu for something~" Daniella said pulling the sled into the back while Sol followed suit. This would only be for a moment or two, before Sol emerged in his usual dapper clothes.

OOC
The Bar.

Facade put his umbrella away as he walked into the establishment, admiring the rustic charm of the place and welcoming the warmth it provided. The overall reddish tone appeased his aesthetic taste, and the ‘DRIVE WITH CONSIDERATION’ sign was a nice touch.  The stained glass hanging lamps and round lighting lent a subdued tone to the area. Behind the counter were shelves of various liquors. Scanning the vials, it dawned on the shapeshifter that the unnamed individual might be a little young for a bar, but then again, looks were deceiving. This, he knew more than most. ’When in Rome,’ he thought to himself and picked up a menu. On it was a number of foodstuffs, mostly grilled items as was to be expected. Facade wasn’t very hungry but didn’t want to be impolite so he considered what to order. Plenty of things seemed good, but he would wait until his comrades had a chance to decide. In the meantime, he opted for conversion.

“Such a lovely place you have,” he mused with a smile. “Have you been in Jump long?”