[ laura doesn't like to be involved with the new arrivals if she can help it. the smell of overwhelmed, panicked, struggling people tends to linger in the back of her nose far too long, and anyway she's never been much good with an empathetic ear. she's too angry, too brittle with her rage, and reminders like a new group of freshly traumatised kidnapees tends to set her off. laura can't really afford another punishment right now. the people with the kinder, softer touches can handle the meet and greet, laura has other roles.
roles like lingering in the places that new people tend to want to explore--they all hear about the lack of guards present in the Down and make their way down there eventually, but there's more danger to the city than just the authorities. laura lurks in the dark and waits, because it's inevitable that the gangs in the down take advantage of the new arrivals. initiation ceremonies, violence — good old fashioned mugging. stopping crime is the closest that laura feels to normal here.
she actually hasn't had to fight especially hard this time, tossing one of those young things with the ruby red lipstick signature of a particular gang into an alleyway with a snarl that promises bruises and bleeding, but it's an effective threat all on its own. something about laura's short stature combined with a clearly supernatural strength tends to cut an intimidating figure on its own, and that's without the animalistic growl. the gang member runs, and laura turns to the person on the street with her. oh, great. new, she can smell it. ]
You should be more careful.
[ she says it deadpan and blunt, as if laura didn't just bodily drag an attempted mugger off of him and toss them away like a ragdoll. as if he is somehow responsible for more than just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. ]
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it's me, hi, i'm the problem
roles like lingering in the places that new people tend to want to explore--they all hear about the lack of guards present in the Down and make their way down there eventually, but there's more danger to the city than just the authorities. laura lurks in the dark and waits, because it's inevitable that the gangs in the down take advantage of the new arrivals. initiation ceremonies, violence — good old fashioned mugging. stopping crime is the closest that laura feels to normal here.
she actually hasn't had to fight especially hard this time, tossing one of those young things with the ruby red lipstick signature of a particular gang into an alleyway with a snarl that promises bruises and bleeding, but it's an effective threat all on its own. something about laura's short stature combined with a clearly supernatural strength tends to cut an intimidating figure on its own, and that's without the animalistic growl. the gang member runs, and laura turns to the person on the street with her. oh, great. new, she can smell it. ]
You should be more careful.
[ she says it deadpan and blunt, as if laura didn't just bodily drag an attempted mugger off of him and toss them away like a ragdoll. as if he is somehow responsible for more than just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. ]