We Are Bulletproof

"Oookay," Caleb said as the door swung shut gently, raising his brows. "That was... different."

For a long moment, Aki didn't speak. He was staring at the door, frowning, as though he could see through it to the outside, where the stranger with the long hair was undoubtedly walking away and out of sight. Something was trying to connect inside his mind, a name to the face. A place. A time, a different time that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Yeah," he said at last, massaging a temple. There was a weird throbbing there, not entirely like a headache. As he moved back towards the couch, Caleb said something that didn't fully register. Aki shook his head like a wet dog. "What?"

"I said, he was pretty good-looking. But not your type, right?" Caleb was grinning at him, making light of the mistake that the stranger made. To him, it was nothing out of the ordinary for someone to have the wrong house. But to Aki, it felt like something significant had happened, and he just... couldn't figure out what.

Wryly, though, he smiled and shrugged. "Yeah. Not my type."

"Huh?" Aki was taken aback when the stranger grabbed his wrist. Before he had a chance to react, it was turned over to the tattoo on the inside of his wrist--something Aki didn't remember getting, but attributed to one of those drunken nights where it seemed like a good idea at the time to get a meaningless tattoo. He pulled his wrist back after the stranger seemed done looking at it, letting out a soft, confused laugh.

"Uh.... I see. Well nobody else lives here, unless Caleb's been keeping someone locked up in the basement."

Maybe the guy was lost. Caleb lived alone--a perfect friend for couch-surfing when Aki needed a place to lay his head. He turned when he heard footsteps shuffling up; Caleb appeared with a mug of steaming tea, sipping it gingerly. He smiled the smile one reserved for strangers--politely puzzled, mildly inquisitive.

"Hi. Can I help you?"

Phweeeeeeeee!

The sharp whistle of water boiling in the kettle awakened Aki from a strange dream. He jerked up to a sitting position on his friend's couch and rubbed a hand tiredly over his eyes. What time was it, even? Who was boiling water at this hour? Before Aki could swing his legs onto the cheap carpet and get up to turn the gas off--mostly to shut the kettle up--his friend yelled from the kitchen that he 'got it.'

Aki sank back down and rolled himself up in his blanket, peering wearily out of the gap in the window curtains. He couldn't tell by that narrow strip of light whether it was beginning to get light or beginning to get dark. Either way, it was an awkward time to be sleeping. Yawning, he was about to roll over and go back to sleep to revisit his strange dream when there came a knock at the door. Trevor, the neighbor's retriever, started barking too, as if helpfully reminding them that there was a stranger at the gate.

"Hey can you get that?" Caleb shouted from the kitchen. "Hands kinda full right now!"

"Okay, okay." Geez. And after he'd laid down too! Aki got up again and lurched to his feet unsteadily. He made his way to the front door (which was literally ten steps, since he was crashing on the couch in the living area) and opened it. "Ugh." Light streamed in and blinded him momentarily, overloading his senses. He put up a hand to shield his eyes as he tried to make out who was at the door. Nobody he recognized.

"Caleb! It's for you!" Aki had one eye shut against the light as he lowered his hand, but he was beginning to see more clearly. There was a strange car parked outside too, he noticed. "He'll be out in a sec," he said to the long-haired stranger, keeping a hand on the door.

Akinari started out of an uneasy slumber as some Rambo-acting (because he was too skinny to look the part) guy burst through the door of the run-down building, carrying someone over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Hidden in the corner, he pulled his hood down lower over his eyes to obscure his face.

Anybody willing to go Kool-Aid man through whole boards either brought trouble, or was looking for it.

The space used to be a store of some kind because metal shelves still stood in neat rows, like dark sentinels on guard. It was a pretty well-known place for the homeless; there was an entrance out back that was accessible to them. Sometimes they lit a fire in the corner, to keep warm, but tonight it was only by the dim light of streetlamps outside that Akinari could see by.

Piles of garbage were strewn all about the place and it didn't exactly smell reputable. Lots of homeless men and women picked up bags of garbage outside and took them here, rifling through the contents to see what they could scavenge. It wasn't the Moonlight Inn, but to somebody without a roof over their head, it was still better than nothing. Better than sleeping out in that creepy fog.

He silently watched the man setting down his companion, noting their nervousness and the way they whispered in hushed tones. A few others who had been sleeping grumbled but here, everybody minded their own business. Akinari's eyes were drawn to Rambo--for lack of a better name. He shifted, leaned ever so slightly to the left and in his new position, he saw them clearly. They settled down by Steve, whose look of shock earlier had been nothing but comical, and who was giving the two of them the ole suspicious once-over.

Akinari's dark, watchful gaze took in their attire--clearly not squatters or homeless. Their hair was neat, shoes somewhat clean and new. The one was wearing heels--Akinari assumed it was a woman. She had long hair, too, and her face from a distance was feminine. That was a little troubling and if she had given any indication of discomfort around Rambo, Akinari might have thought that he'd kidnapped her and was holding her here against her will.

Together they sat down and Akinari kept watching them, wondering what it was that sent them here. Were they being pursued? Gangsters or... things that went bump in the night? Whatever it was, it didn't follow them. After a long moment, Rambo put his arm around the girl and Akinari finally looked away.

Ah.

He tilted his head back against the wall and closed his eyes again, willing himself to fall back asleep. When he opened them next, they were gone.

"Thanks. I think I will." It didn't hurt to have a place to go to on cold nights like these. Akinari flashed Harp a smile, and then eased out of his seat and away from the crowd descending upon the bar. He lifted a hand to wave at the old man in passing, too, and then made for the door.

Outside, it felt ten times colder; he'd gotten used to the warmth of the tavern. Akinari shivered slightly and drew his jacket closer around his body as he walked, brows knitting into a frown. He had a lot to think about now, especially with the knowledge that there might be fae around Hazleton. He'd always known that Hazleton was a gathering place for the supernatural, but he'd only seen shifters, wolves and a smattering of vampires and witches. Not many around like him or Harp, though.

But now he had a lead; he could conceivably find other fae, and maybe follow them to a larger fae community. It wasn't outside of the realm of possibility. Something in his chest felt lighter as he walked--Harp had given him new hope.

Akinari was confused--if Harp knew others like them, then how could he also claim to otherwise not know others like them? It sounded like a jumbled answer and Akinari lifted his brows at the response. "Oh," was his disappointed reply. If Harp knew others like them, he wasn't exactly being forthcoming with any names and maybe for good reason--he didn't know Akinari well enough to start throwing names around, most likely.

"Well, that's too bad." He didn't go into the reason for his being in Hazleton, and instead took another sparing sip of water. As he did, the doors opened and a flood of people entered. It looked like quite a large party, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Akinari looked askance at them. Probably somebody's birthday, or a special occasion that called for a visit to the local tavern.

As they filed into seats and began to call for drinks, Akinari stood up. "Looks like you're gonna be busy for a while," he said with a wry smile. "I should go, though. Thanks for the water." Large crowds were definitely not his thing--he was already annoyed by all the noise.

"I don't know." He didn't know if others could sense it, but he could--the familiarity, like a sense of belonging. Like he knew Harp, despite this being their first meeting. Akinari sipped his water again, pensively, and nodded slowly to indicate that he, too, was fae.

"Yeah. I didn't think I'd ever find another one... of us." He lowered his glass; the smile was brief, but it was there. "Do you know if there are any others around here? Others like us?"

That was what he came to Hazleton for. Ever since his family and the small fae community that he grew up with was destroyed by hunters, Akinari had been on the move, constantly searching, looking for clues--for a place to belong. He wanted to be home again, wherever that was. He just knew that it existed, that it was out there, waiting for him to find it.

Oh right--the rumors. Akinari heard them too, from the vagrants who hid away in the shadows. Something was in the fog. Something that they couldn't see, but which hunted them. Funnily enough, Akinari felt more strangeness from the fog than from the rumors but he caught himself looking over his shoulder too, once in a while, just to make sure nothing was going to lunge out at him.

He smiled wryly at Harp's comment and nodded. "Yeah." There were probably people who enjoyed the cold, clammy fog, but Akinari sure as hell wasn't one of them. He knew that realistically he couldn't stay in the tavern forever too, though, but it was still nice to get out of the cold for a while.

As he sipped his water, he glanced over at the old man, then back to Harp. Should he ask? Akinari didn't think he was wrong, but he also wasn't keen on broadcasting his own identity, especially since he didn't know who he could trust around here. He waited until a customer close to them moved away to another table before leaning forward, lowering his voice to say, "You're fae." It wasn't a question--it was a comment. He knew. He felt it.

Akinari gratefully accepted the steaming cup of water and nodded his thanks to the old man--whom he assumed was the owner, or maybe the manager who ran the place. "Thanks," he added quietly, before bringing the cup to his lips to take a sparing sip. Ouch. Hot. It nearly scalded him, but it felt good going down. After sitting out there for so long, he'd forgotten what being warm felt like.

He cradled the cup between his hands as he looked outside at the thick fog too, nodding at Harp's comment. "Yeah. How long's it been this foggy? Weeks? Weird for fog to stick around so long, isn't it? Is this normal around here?" Not being a Hazleton native, Akinari wouldn't know but something told him that this wasn't exactly natural. Or right. Definitely not right, in any sense of the word.

"Sure," Akinari said easily, the grin on his lips evolving into something a shade friendlier. He wasn't a total asshole; if somebody was decent to him, then he was decent back. But if they wanted to mess with him, then he wasn't going to hold back. An eye for an eye, as they say.

He had to admit, though, that being inside was a lot warmer than being outside. Akinari swept a hand through his hair, surprised by how damp it was. That fog was really clingy and humid and thick--being outside was almost like being in a sauna. A cold sauna, though, that made his skin crawl. (So... pretty much nothing like a sauna.)

"Hey." He nodded at the old man. "Thanks. Maybe just some hot water, if you got any." It was probably a weird thing to ask for--who the hell went to a bar to get hot water?--but hey, the guy offered. Akinari slipped onto a bar stool and leaned an elbow against the counter, curiously and idly looking around. Didn't seem to be many others in the place. Most of them were minding their own business, which was exactly how Akinari liked his strangers to be.

"I'm Aki, by the way."

"I guess."

Akinari wasn't the type of person to take a hand-out. Call him proud--or stupid--but it didn't sit right with him to owe anybody anything. It was too much hassle; he did just fine on his own dime, or under his own manpower. But it was cold, and the fog did feel wrong, not only the clamminess of it but the way it hovered, almost like an entity.

He shifted slightly on the hard ground. Wouldn't hurt to get out of the cold for a little while. He had some change on him; might be enough for a hot drink. Or at the very least he could get a cup of hot water to warm his stomach and his hands. After a brief moment's thought, he shrugged and straightened off the ground.

"Should I take the front entrance or the back?" he asked with a shade of irony--and teasing--as he dusted off his pants.

Akinari's eyebrows crept up slowly along his forehead as he raised them. "Pretty sure I can tell the front from the back," he said dryly. He was homeless, not blind (or retarded). It was kind of a dumb thing to say to somebody; if he wanted to be inside, he would've gone inside. Instead, he was outside, minding his own business and sitting out in the alley. If he wanted to be a dumb idiot and do that, that was totally his prerogative.

But he thought that he had surprised the guy, and what came out of his mouth probably wasn't intended to sound so patronizing. Akinari studied him briefly. Did he want Akinari to shift? Get out of the alley and away from the tavern? (Seriously what kind of person worked in a tavern anyway?)

"I'll be gone in a sec. Just taking a break." He shrugged. Most proprietors disliked homeless people loitering around their premises, probably with good reason. Akinari wasn't the cleanest looking guy at the moment; his shirt was wrinkled, his pants were stained and his shoes were almost falling apart. He knew that he didn't exactly look 'presentable' but he wasn't self-conscious enough to start explaining his appearance to strangers.

Lazily watching a curl of smoke rising from the butt of his nearly spent cigarette, Akinari's dark eyes traveled up. He caught movement nearby and turned to see a long, thin tail disappearing behind some overflowing garbage bins. Rats. Not too uncommon in the back alleys, and he wasn't squeamish to begin with. Besides, he got used to seeing things out here in the streets. Rats weren't that shocking.

He turned away from the rat and inspected his cigarette. Almost burnt out, but still good for a couple more drags. He inhaled deeply, let the smoke sink in and curl into his lungs, breathed it out in a plume of gray that blended in with the fog around him.

It was wet and damp--the fog, that was--and it seemed to cling to his skin, making every exposed surface clammy and chilled. Akinari brushed a hand over his eyes to get some of the hair out of them and even his hair felt damp. He didn't know when the fog would lift but something told him not for a while yet. Not if it'd been laying siege to the town for almost a week.

The only good thing about the fog was that it helped hide him. He leaned back against the wall and kicked a well-worn, scuffed boot along the ground. One knee was tented; the other leg straight out in front of him. Nobody was going to bother him out here, in back of some bar with a weird name. The sign out front said 'tavern.' Did taverns even exist anymore? This wasn't the medieval ages; Akinari didn't know why anybody would call their dive bar a tavern but whatever. He was only here for a little bit, and then he'd move along.

Just as he stubbed out the cigarette--down to the filter--a door opened and let out a stream of golden light into the dark alley. Akinari blinked; it looked like the back door of the 'tavern' but he couldn't really be sure. He shifted slightly as a head poked out, and then raised his brows when their gazes met.