#roetheron

[gas-stxtion]

continued from here: [x]

@roetheron: 

This wouldn't be the first time Roe had been startled by modern things, first in Hell with her new ears, now in Earth as she returned to the familiar ones, everything sounding muffled compared to them and she absolutely hated it. Still, she knew how to listen carefully thanks to those hunting trips, taking note of every creak and general noise of the place. Her eyes remained trained on him.

She knew better than to come off as suspicious right off the bat or lose her manners for the one person that could help her, the place seeming mostly abandoned except for him. She'd spent enough years being a suck-up to play the role convincingly, avoiding the topic of her clothes and trying to bring the least amount of attention to it as possible as she covered the marks on her arms with her hands.

So, she manages a small smile, taking a few more moments to settle herself before walking up to the counter.

She has a very careful way of walking, not touching the counter as she reached it and keeping her hands put on her arms as she lets out a quiet breath to calm herself. This was fine, not everyone was keen on shooting every possible demon they met, and if he was that type she thought he'd have shown that by now. Still, she knew better than to relax just yet.

The man looks calm, which is a good sign, not that anyone would remember her. Her brother is the one that should take all the credit considering...things. She swallows at that thought, forcing herself to stand up straight and not look so concerned.

Roe doesn't want to suspect the man, whose seemingly just some scruffy gas employee trying to get on with their day. Unfortunately, she had to drop in, always the bearer of bad news it seemed. Her ears would go back at his smile if she still had them, uncertain of what it meant and not trusting his friendly tone.

"No, that's fine. I'm just a jumpy person is all," she assures him, then, noticing the look outside, "It's just me I'm afraid. It's very quiet tonight, isn't it? Although I suppose that's better than you, must mean less work for you um," she let out a nervous laugh as she looked for a name tag, eventually spotting it, "Antonio".

She puts a hand on her heart as she introduces herself.

"I'm Roe, and I think I'm just a little bit lost so, if you'd mind telling me where this is exactly, I'd really appreciate that," she says, trying to sound as innocent about it as she can, upholding her smile.

The girl seems to take a moment to calm her nerves, and Antonio takes the moment to get a proper second look at her. Just as he thought, she looks human, though her clothes are old-fashioned to the point that the thought that she must be one of those historical reenactment types pops into his head. He dismisses the thought almost as soon as it forms, though--it’s far too easy and convenient a solution, sounding more like something Jack would say.

Antonio is careful to keep his expression neutral and pleasant as he turns his head casually to look out at the parking lot once more. Just like before, it’s empty, and as far as he can tell, the girl doesn’t have anyone tailing her. He also can’t see anyone hiding in the shadows at the edges of the lot, either, meaning that there likely isn’t anyone there either.

… Not that any of that makes Antonio feel more secure. All that means is that whoever might have sent this girl is good at hiding.

Making sure not to show any of these thoughts on his face, he turns his attention back to the kid. The gears are turning steadily in his mind, and he absently starts tapping his fingers against the counter. By now, the girl has started to approach, and Antonio continues smiling pleasantly, though he allows himself to furrow his brow in concern. From the way she walks, she’s clearly terrified, though that could easily be an act as well.

What isn’t an act, though, is the flash of anxiety Antonio sees in her expression in response to his friendly tone. Immediately, he dials it back a little and allows his smile to fall, ever so slightly.

“Well, that’s fair enough,” he says. “Still, apologies for startling you, ma’am.” With one hand, he turns down the music, though he doesn’t turn it off entirely. If he wants to better hear what’s going on, he’ll need it to be quiet, but he’s not going to tip the girl off that he’s suspicious of her by turning it off entirely.

What she says next catches his attention, and he curses internally for being so obvious in his looking around. She picked up on the fact that he was checking for someone else, and now if he wants to keep up the friendly facade and determine what’s happening, he’s going to have to do damage control. Backpedaling will only be more suspicious, so instead he nods and smiles.

“Nothing to be afraid of,” Antonio tells her, the lie falling smoothly from his lips. There is always something to be afraid of, especially around here. “I was just looking around--we don’t get a lot of customers this time of night.” He chuckles, shrugging his shoulders slightly. “Still, there’s always things to do around here. Never a dull moment at this gas station!”

His smile twitches just a bit when she addresses him by name after a glance at his name tag. He’s never liked it when customers address him by name, but the name tag is one of the only parts of the uniform at the gas station that the owners actually enforce, so he doesn’t get much of a choice in wearing it.

Roe. Interesting name. Vaguely familiar, but Antonio can’t quite place it right now. It’s clear that she’s trying to appear innocent, and that alone already has him bristling internally. Still, he makes sure to stay friendly.

“Well, Roe,” he says, offering her a sympathetic smile, “you’re in southwestern Georgia, a mile or two out from I-75.” As he speaks, he makes sure to watch her expression, seeing if this information means anything to her. If he’s guessing right, much of it won’t. He doesn’t tell her the name of the town nearby, not yet. Hopefully, she’ll just assume that there aren’t any notable towns nearby (which isn’t exactly wrong).

[gas-stxtion]

(continued from here: [x])

@roetheron: 

Roe tumbles out of the portal, finding herself landing in the concrete parking lot of a gas station. Thankfully it was only a small tumble, otherwise, she might skim her knees, heh, she thought that as if she hadn't just experienced worse. Some scratches were still on her arms and legs from the tussle, glaring up with now sky-blue eyes as Valentino smiled down viciously at her.

She attempted to stand weakly, rushing toward the portal, but in the end, she just fell forward, the portal disappearing and leaving her all alone in this human parking lot. For a moment she just lay there, reaching hopelessly out for something long gone.

She sat up, freezing for a moment, taking deep breaths as she looked down at her now human flesh. How long had it been since she saw it? It felt so foreign now. She pushed her hair back as she stood, staring into a puddle near her feet to look into her reflection.

Strawberry blonde locks fell down her shoulders, looking light against the black funeral dress she had been placed in, no doubt dressed this way during her funeral. She was surprised anyone had even bothered, although she was appreciative to whoever had.

On her head was a headpiece made from horns, definitely a little inconspicuous, as if the old-fashioned dress wasn't. In Hell this probably would have passed, looking around, she doubted it would here, but there wasn't much she could do about it so she'd have to make due. If Alastor had still been alive, he'd have ensured she was wearing pants at the very least.

Standing here in the middle of the night, wind blowing through her hair, she could already feel her hearing had been hindered some, missing the sharpness her rabbit ears provided, but thinking it was probably for the best. After all, the modern world was loud.

She turned to the gas station, making a reluctant face as she carefully stepped toward it in her mary jane shoes, thankful for the thick heel. It was one thing to deal with some of the modern amenities in Hell, but that was more of a mix of old and new technology, while here the new was everywhere. Still, with nowhere else to go, this seemed like her best bet.

She makes her way inside, keeping her head held high and trying to temper her anxieties as she looks around. However, upon hearing sudden music, looking around, and not realizing where it's coming from, she panics in her confusion and stumbles.

In trying to regain her balance, she bumps into one of the shelves and accidentally knocks over some cans. With sharp reflexes, her hand darts for the shelf, and she quickly grabs onto it, balancing herself with one hand and, with the other, quickly grabbing the falling cans. She waits for a moment, waiting for herself to feel steady enough, staring at the ground, before looking up, putting the cans back, and standing on her own.

She looks up at Tony with freckled rosy cheeks and a nose, offering him a nervous smile as she speaks in a raspy voice.

"Sorry about that. I guess I'm just a little clumsy."

If she still had ears, she had a feeling they'd be all the way down as she carefully took in the company in front of her.

Antonio is working alone in the gas station, which isn’t particularly unusual, when he becomes aware of a commotion taking place outside. Immediately, he’s on guard, his eyes quickly drawn to the windows at the front of the gas station as he freezes in his mopping. Not that he’d been off guard before, of course. In the past few months, Antonio has learned better than to let his guard down in any situation.

Even with the music he has playing from his phone, set up on the counter, he’s keeping his head on a swivel and his ears pricked for anything unusual. Because nothing catches Antonio fucking Vargas by surprise.

As a result, the quick flash of light and the sudden appearance of a girl in the parking lot immediately catch his attention. He narrows his eyes slightly as he tries to make out any of the girl’s features, but in the darkness outside there isn’t much visible. From what he can tell, she looks human enough, but the light from before tells him right away that something is unusual.

Walking on unsteady feet, the girl starts making her way to the gas station. Antonio’s hand reflexively goes to his hip where his holster would normally sit, only to remember that, as part of continuing to work at the gas station, he had agreed not to bring his gun to work going forward. Internally, he curses, keeping his eyes on the door.

It’s not that he’s planning to shoot the stranger, especially unprompted. As far as he can tell, she’s unarmed, after all. However, he knows that he’s a dead man walking at the best of times, and it hasn’t been the best of times in quite a while for him. If he isn’t on guard, then he’ll pay the price. As a result, he needs to be prepared for every eventuality, including the possibility of a strange girl coming into the gas station in the middle of the night to start trouble.

Antonio watches as she enters the gas station, looking around. For a moment, he thinks to himself that she’s acting like a nervous deer. A fawn on unsteady legs, terrified of every sound. The comparison is almost enough to make him snort, but he refrains.

Just as he has that thought, she startles slightly and bumps into one of the shelves near the door, knocking over a few cans of goods that are close to their expiration date. Antonio instinctively moves to help, but before he can, she has quickly caught the cans and replaces them on the shelf. He blinks curiously as he watches her regain her composure.

She moves fast. He files that information away, subtly taking a step back to put some distance between them.

It’s then that the girl turns to face him, and he takes in her appearance. At first glance, she doesn’t look particularly threatening--just a girl with freckles and a nervous smile, even if her clothes are more than a little old-fashioned. Theories are already starting to swirl in Antonio’s mind, but he decides to keep them to himself for now.

He cracks an easy, charming smile as the mask of an unassuming, helpful gas station employee falls into place.

“Hey, no problem,” he says. “Happens to the best of us. Sorry if the music startled you at all--do you want me to turn it off?” As he speaks, he glances discreetly outside, making sure that the girl doesn’t have anyone tailing her, or that there isn’t anyone hiding outside.

Because sending in a frightened girl on unsteady legs to get Antonio’s guard down isn’t exactly a bad idea, and until he knows for sure what’s going on here, he’s not going to assume her appearance isn’t a threat in some way.