Disclaimers: All characters belong to rightful owners.
Story concieved by Lee.


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Lucia halted dead in her tracks, gasping slightly at the sound of Nathan's voice. Why had he followed her? He said he had places to go. Perhaps she had made the impression she had wanted! Whatever the reason, he was here now, and all thoughts of a clear, rational mind disappeared with his reappearance.

She turned around, acting as composed and calm and casual as she could possibly muster with her heart pounding in his chest. "Yes?"

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Nathan smiled and put his hand behind his head. "Well, you left in such a rush I didn't have a chance to ask you where you went to school," he asked. He finished up in his mind, 'You know, in case you are who I think you are, I want to monitor how you're going.'

"Stupid question, I know," Nathan said bringing his hand down. "Especially since you seemed like in a rush to get where ever you were going." He paused to remember what she had bought. "It wasn't because someone got injured or something right, cause if I'm keeping you then you can just ignore my question."

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"Oh... I go to Psyche High School." Lucia smiled sheepishly. She should have told him that earlier! Maybe she could get him to pay her a visit once in awhile. "You can usually find me or someone who knows where I am in the peer counseling offices...

"And it's not a stupid question. I'm really not in much of a rush. I just..." Lucia had run out of ideas. She had no clue what she could say except the truth. Here goes nothing. "I just felt like I was embarrassing myself back there. What with the stutters and the blushing! So much for making a good first impression right?"

'Because God knows, you're doing so much better now, Lucia.' She was kicking herself mentally. No way he would ever be interested in her. He was a sub, for crying out loud! Even if he ever were interested in her, there legal ramifications of anything happening would stop him dead in his tracks for sure. Ah well. It was a wasted effort on her part. "But, I thought you had somewhere to be..."

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Luckily for Lucia, Nathan was too distracted to understand the meaning of her ramblings. "Psyche High School," he mumbled to himself. Another place for Nathan to fax his liscense. Another place to gather souls. And if he was right, now he could see how far his "rival" had gotten, and probably slow her down. But was this young girl really the enemy?

"Oh well, ummm..." Nathan mumbled as he scratched his head. "Well, technically your first impression was walking into me, but if want to start over." He turned around, only to face her again. "Hi! I'm Nathan Hawthorne, and I don't exactly remember where the tree- lighting is going to take place. Do you?"

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Lucia giggled a little bit at Nathan's re-introduction. Amidst her gigglings she managed to wave hello, before adding. "Hi, my name's Lucia Abandonne, and what a lucky coincidence, I was just thinking of heading over to the tree-lighting and leading anyone who was lost and trying to find it! Small world eh?"

She grinned and gave the man a wink before motioning for him to follow as she headed off in the direction of the winter festivities. "It's a nice day out, isn't it?"

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"It's a beautiful day. I really love this holiday season. How about you?" Nathan replied. For the most part, Nathaniel was still completely oblivious of the young girl's attempts to flirt as he tried to figure out what to say to rile up a reaction that would give any indication of her true colors. "So what year are you in, Lucia?" he asked. 'And now she'll confess everything, Nathan. Good job. Think harder.'

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"Yeah, I really love the winter, though being bundled up some heavily puts a damper on my normally festive style!" Lucia grinned, half-heartedly eyeing the scenery. Really, all she wanted was to stare at Nathan all day long. "I'm a junior. My extra curricular's include peer mediation and hosting a couple of classes a semester on women's self-defense, and my favorite color is pink and/or yellow!"

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'And that yielded nothing to help me,' Nathan replied mentally. He was beginning to think that he had made a mistake, and this girl was a normal girl. Feeling a bit guilty for most likely mistaking a troubled girl for the fallen angel, he returned his attention to the street. Ahead of them were a flock of pigeons pecking at breadcrumbs scattered around by an elderly woman on the corner. Without thinking, Nathan grabbed Lucia by the hand and quickly pulled her across the street. Realizing what he had just done, he turned back to the young girl. "Sorry about that, I just have this -thing- about large groups of birds," he explained. His eyes returned to the winged rats scattered around the elderly woman's feet. "Winged creatures in general. Something about them all huddled together, looks like their planning something. Like they're going to attack and kill humans one day, you know what I mean?" He looked back over at Lucia.

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'What an odd statement... and yet so appropriate.' Lucia mused on the thought, storing it away in her mind's file of Nathan. Fears were without a doubt terrible for those who felt them. Lucia, on the other hand, couldn't be happier at the moment. He had just grabbed her hand, after all.

"Well, I guess I can see what you're saying... did you have a bad experience with birds when you were younger? Or maybe watched a few too many Hitchcock movies as a kid..." She blinked up at him, inquisitively. "I don't mean to hash up bad memories. You don't have to say anything if you don't like. It's just an odd fear... I was just curious as to where it came from."

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Once again he was drawn to her eyes, searching for any sign that would indicate the comment affecting her. If he was right, it had no doubt dredged up painful memories of the slaughter, the betrayal, the anger, the senseless loss of life. The masscre wasn't just an act against the humans but against God himself; worse of all it was commited by those who were closest to him.

"I had a very bad experience with winged creatures a very long time ago," Nathan answered. As he looked away from her, he noticed that he was still holding on her hand. Acting quickly, he let her go saying "Whoops," as he did so.

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Lucia let out a small, disappointed sigh as his hand left hers once more. If only that small bit of warmth could've lingered for a few more seconds, she would've been a thousand times more satisfied. Ah well, there was nothing that could be done about it.

"It's a shame to hear... your bad experience. The human mind doesn't let go of things easily, does it. Even when it had no memories." She gave him her best comforting smile before continuing. "Take me for example. My adopted father found me a few years back, and I have absolutely no recollection of anything before that day. However, there are certain things that make my skin crawl and make my stomach twist into itty bitty knots of uneasiness... things that I can't explain. The brain it one of God's most mysterious creations... who knows where it ends and where our wounded souls begin?"

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Good. He was hit. Darran used the momentary distraction from pain to wrench himself away and dance just beyond the reach of the stranger's next hit. Quick now. He was already recovering. Gun, knife-- knife. Automatically he dropped to one knee, reached for the concealed blade in his boot, and stopped short.

Cordy was crying. Darran's eyes went from narrowed and very nearly feral to wide with surprise as he recognized the noise. He shot a look just on the edge of fright at the two on the bench-- not worried about their safety but how much they had seen, how close he had come. *That... was close. Too fucking close.*

Darran pushed himself back up and took a step or two away from the stranger, leaving his knife in its sheath. He eyed the man warily, angrily-- but at least there was a conscience, again, behind his eyes. Now that he was thinking clearly, it was easy to see the guy resembled Para, and the comment from before finally registered. *Sister, huh?* "_Nothing_, man. Nothing for you to go batshit over."

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"Nothing for me to go batshit over..." Dante repeated dully as he straightened. Though some of the fight seemed to have gone out of the pervert, he wasn't about to let his guard down. It was already proven that the other was stronger, faster, and, if movement was an indication, that he had at least one concealed weapon on his person. Well, at least he wasn't alone in that fact. Dipping a hand into the pocket of his coat, he eyed the older warily as he took a few quick steps closer to his siblings. "Right. That's why I see you two rolling around in the snow over there. I guess that was just totally innocent, right? Fuck, man. How old are you, anyway?"

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"Dannie, _don't_..." Para managed to comment, this time with somewhat more conviction. Though she had taken in all of the fight, very little of it had actually registered. It was a sight to which she'd become accustomed and she was only glad that neither had seemed to take too much injury. Scooping Cordy into her arms, she quickly got to her feet and, bouncing her younger brother lightly on her hip, she turned a rather angry glance to her twin. "We weren't doing anything. Just playing around. There really _isn't_ any reason to get so mad nor for you to react like that! He's a _friend_ of mine. _A friend_. I'd appreciate it if you were a bit nicer..."

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"Nicer..." Dante snorted as he narrowed his eyes to his sister's new... friend. So, that's what they were calling it? Didn't matter. _No one_ took advantage of his siblings and continued to breathe. "Right. I suppose you want me to apologize to the sick old _fuck_ who nearly did god only knows what to you..."

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"Humans are complicated creatures, but that's the beauty of the human spirit," Nathan grinned. He felt a little bit guilty about letting her bring up her past, although it seemed as if it had no effect on her with the ease it took her to open up about it. Perhaps that was what he felt when she bumped into him-- repressed memories? It was hard to convince himself of that, though; he had run into a lot of people, young and old, but nothing compared to the deep lonliness and anger he felt. "The mind is a complicated and can often times break undermine the best of reason, but that's why the mind isn't what it means to be human. It's much more than that. And now I'm rambling aren't I?" He sighed. "Ummm... Do we have to cross the street to get to the tree-lighting?"

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"It's okay... you're cute when you ramble!" Lucia grinned at the older man's ruminations on humankind. Of course, she hardly thought there was more to humanity than what they perceived to be their high civilizations and advanced technology, all spawned by the human brain, but she would never tell him that.

"Yeah, but wait for the light to change. It may look empty now, but people like to speed down this street like a bat out of Hell!"

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"Wasn't my intention, but thank you for the warning," Nathan said light-heartedly as the light began to change. They quickly walked across the street before the little man could change back. "You and I have a few things in common," Nathan said as when they had returned to their normal speed. "I'm not a native here either, at least I don't believe to be. I was found, too, by my friend's mother. I don't know if you saw her, but she had the weird hair... Sort of like mine but in a lighter shade. Anyway, I wasn't adopted by anyone, though. Grew up at this community center; it wasn't really a orphanage, but there were orphans there. And I'm rambling again. But like I was saying, I think I have an idea of what you've gone through."

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"I'm one of the lucky ones I guess. It's terrible... a city full of migrants, so where is the place for the out of place kids when this world is so new, right? It's a shame how many children fall through the cracks of New Eden's weak system." Lucia frowned slightly. She had to keep the human hugging persona up.

"Still, I'm glad that regardless of everything you've turned out to be a seemingly normal and good person... if only because that I got the chance to meet you. Makes me feel blessed."

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Nathan smiled in appreciation as the realization of the young girl's attraction started to come into his attention. It was something he had become accustomed to dealing with. As much as he loved humans, he could never form a relationship with one, at least a serious one. He couldn't love one more than another, not in that way. He couldn't stop the awkwardness that always came up when someone showed interest in him, especially someone younger. Not that an older individual would have made it much less awkward, but they took it better most of the times. "I'm glad to have met you, too," he replied as he turned his gaze back to the sidewalk ahead of them. "From what I know about you, you seem like an amazing young woman. Hell, you have great navigation skills, I think I see the tree already."

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