Re-Evolution: Episode 1: The Shadow Over New Salem

Morgan was heading out of school to catch the bus, after her long conversation with Piotr. There had been no point in changing her clothes, after all, Greg had already seen her. She made her way toward the bus shelter at the edge of campus, and heard an odd rattling sound as she approached-- and someone humming.

She stopped walking, too curious about the noise to worry about the bus, which didn’t seem to have arrived yet, anyway..

Idly, she fussed with her inverted cross necklace with a cock of her head, looking around to find the source of the noise. "Hmm?"

In a sheltered corner, she saw the boy from the hallway earlier who had grabbed her. He had a can of spray paint in one hand, and a pair of large, old headphones around his shoulders. She watched as he hummed to himself and hissed spray paint across the large fence behind the bus shelter area, dancing a rather goofy but strangely graceful dance as he worked.

The graffiti read "Normies Fuck Off" and he was working on a large pair hands with spiked bracelets, showing double middle fingers.

He paused, looking at it for a moment, and then suddenly leapt up into the air. Like *really* up in the air. Morgan saw him land on his feet at the top of the 10 foot high fence, squat down, and lean over with fantastic balance, to work on the detail of the fingers from a better angle.

Her eyes widened as she watched the boy's--.frankly impossible-- vertical leap. A smile crawled across her face as she flipped the cross in her fingers.

‘Looks like Toad wasn't just a nasty nickname’, she mused, before sauntering towards the fence, clapping her hands. She grinned, showing her fangs as she did so. 

"Looks great from down here, but I think you missed a spot."

She glanced over the fence, and saw a bit where his shadow crossed over the edge, pooling against its side and a bit on the top.

With a wicked grin, she stepped into the fence's shadow with a sudden flare of shadowy smoke. It curled around her, as if embracing her from the pool of shadows on the ground and in a moment she was gone.

And in the next second smoke poured from the boy's shadow as her hand reached out, grabbed the lip of the fence, and hauled the rest of her body out and next to him, balanced precariously on the edge beside him as the shadowy smoke started to dissipate.

"Want a hand?"

Toad startled visibly as she appeared next to him, and had to grapple not to drop the spray can-- but despite that, he didn't come within any danger of falling off the narrow fence.

He turned to her with a grin that matched hers. "Whoa, girl, looks like you ain't just a pretty face, huh?"

"I'm the whole package, leapfrog.” She smirked, brushing her hair away from her pointed ear to show it off rather than hide it."I could say the same about you. I saw that little hop of yours."

He whistled, looking her over with that same almost too wide, toothy smile. "Damn, guess the cat's outta the bag, huh. You some kinda sexy teleporting elf chick?"

"You didn't seem keen on hiding it all that much," she shrugged. "I saw you from the doorway."

Morgan let one leg dangle, swaying against the fence as she wiggled her fingers, casting a shadow of her own against the fence below.

Only the shadow didn't move in time with her, it turned it's head and seemed to laugh out of time with her movements.

"As for being an elf-- I prefer to think more like vampire," she continued, smiling to show him her fangs. "And I can do more than just teleport."

"Vampire, huh? Cool, cool, I love it." He leaned down to spray the fence again, talking while half-hanging upside down. "As for hidin' it. What are people gonna do if they find out? Try to beat my ass? Tch, I'm there already, yo."

"Yeah I know. My brother tried to kick it earlier, after you grabbed my ass,” Morgan drawled. Her foot dangled as she leaned over to watch him paint. "Folks back home nearly started a witch hunt when they found out about us. Greg's terrified of it happening again. But...I don't give a fuck what they think, though...why *should* we hide it. You've got the right idea leapfrog."

"Well, hey, thanks for the compliment, dollface, don't get too many of those around here," He swung himself up by his legs and leaned in toward her. "Your brother ain't gonna be happy if he sees you 'round me, I'm guessin, yo. He uh.... he ain't around right now, right?" He looked suspiciously around the area.

"He's probably off sucking down protein powder and telling people about his lifting routine. You're safe." She grinned "for now. He'd go ballistic if he saw us talking, though."

A darkness that wasn't the shadows clouded her face for a moment, and she frowned before quickly trying to salvage a smile, looking down and into his eyes, and changing the subject.

 "Anyway. I may have a compliment or two for you, sure. Love the tag art you're doing for one thing. Looks great."

He puffed up his chest a bit. "Not my best work, but like, it gets the point across. Probably oughta get outta here before Miss Prez or somebody comes by though, yo."

"Something tells me they aren't art appreciators like I am," Morgan agreed. "Race you down, leapfrog?"

"Ooooh, you're on, vampira!" Toad immediately threw himself off the fence toward the ground.

At the same time, Morgan attempted to slip into his shadow, only to miss as he lept away too fast. She tipped forward , and tumbled off the fence with a hissed "*fuck!*"

From below, she attempted to form a net of tendrils to catch herself.

"Whoa! Look out below!" As the tendrils twisted to life on the ground, Toad leapt to intercept, catching Morgan before they could fully form-- and well before she hit the ground.

Morgan landed heavily in his arms, a sharp gasp escaping her lips as the two of them collided midair. Her arms reflexively wrapped around his shoulders to hold on tight. The shadows below retreated, slithering back into their familiar old shapes as she started to relax.

"...well." she breathed, "that wasn't my finest moment."

"Mighta been mine, princess," Toad grinned, making no move to put her down.

Morgan clung to him,catching her breath as she tilted her head to look at him with an amused smirk.

"Mmm, I bet it is, leapfrog." She managed to pull one of her arms away to tuck a stray strand of her mussed hair over her ear. "You know, I'm *usually* a lot more graceful than that."

At this distance, his blotchy green freckles stood out more prominently on his sallow face, and his eyes were slightly luminous.

"Oh I know, took a peek at ya from the balcony at that cheer tryout," he admitted rather shamelessly. "You got the moves, yo. Was thinkin' about tryin' out myself, but I had a bad hair day." He winked.

"Oh, you were watching, hm?" She smirked at him, and dragged the goof out. "Too bad you didn't. I'd have loved a man with your skills on the team. And I can't say it wouldn't be amusing to see you in the uniform, though we would have to do something about the hair."

Her face had started to darken with a blush, her strange almost dusky purple skin deepening across her nose and cheeks and up the edges of her pointed ears. He was still holding her. "Thinking of putting me down? Or have you gotten used to carrying me about already?"

"Eh, I could carry you all day, but you prolly got places to be or some shit, and all that." Toad admitted, before he gently put her down, with a slightly nervous chuckle. "Oh, I donno if I introduced myself yet-- don't think Bobby yellin' down the hall counts. So hey, Todd Tolansky, at your service, miss vampire."

"Todd, hm?" She repeated, finding her footing and rising tall once more. She brushed her hair over her pointed ears again, and smiled as if the whole 'falling' thing never happened, looking down at him with half lidded eyes.

"Todd Tolansky. it's a pleasure," she said with a fang-filled smile "I'm Morgan Connelly, and currently the only thing I have to do is get home to be yelled at by my brother."

Todd tossed the can of spray paint in his bag and hefted it onto one shoulder, shoving his hands in his pocket. "Damn man, uh, no offense but your bro seems like a piece of work. Like a total gorilla." 

"You aren't wrong about that." she murmured with a soft huff of breath. 

He shook his head, and then it snapped up and he was grinning at her again. "You wanna ditch? Me and some pals are gonna hang out."

Glancing down at Todd she cocked her head with a growing trace of a genuine smile "...you're inviting me to hang out?"

"Sure am, Morg!I mean, I get it if you got other places to be an' all that." Some of the confidence drained out of his voice as he made excuses for her.

Morgan briefly glanced at the bus stop, her brow furrowed in thought, before her eyes snapped back to Todd , and the smile turned into a grin, the decision made. "Fuck it! Count me in, Toddy."

She winked "I'll help you guys paint the town red."

Todd blinked and straightened up. "Shit, for real? Hell yeah! Let's get goin then, yo!"