Once again, it was another failed day. Another reminder that this wasn't home, and that most of her people weren't around. Those that were around were cool, but they were also adapting to this city much better than her. Here, Marissa was not only a cursed freak, but she was surrounded by a bunch of much stronger freaks. No one here was normal; weird was the normal. Everywhere she went, she was reminded that she was far from Raven Grove. There was no house for her to go back to. No parents that would bitch at her for staying out late again. No fellow headbangers that she could rock out with. Not even a Headbangers' Ball to tune into.
She went on her own in the shittiest part of town. Head hung low and walking past all of the shady people. She made eye contact with no one and didn't give anyone a reason to target her. She had a fierce look on her face, and a certain confidence to her step. Her attire gave off the illusion that she was apart of some sort of gang. Being that there were many gangs scattered throughout this region and a bunch of super-powered freaks, no one would mess with her. After all, it was hard to figure out who was a normal human and who was secretly a fire-breathing dragon.
Her eyes spotted an empty, rundown building. There were a few bits of graffiti on the walls. Mostly derogatory bullshit. Even though she wasn't familiar with the magical insults or slang, she could tell from the font that it was like the usual dumb crap people wrote. This infuriated her. The teen darted down the alleyway; her gaze was glued on the words. She dropped her backpack and reached into it. Out she pulled a can of spray paint. From there, that was when the magic happened. She painted over the graffiti and instead began to create her own style of art on the wall.
The delinquent went wild. She tagged up the walls with elaborate paintings featuring vague figures with obvious symbolism. She carefully crafted pieces that showcased her emotions. Her anxieties, her struggles, loss, grief, anger, fear, everything. Even her brief pocket of happiness with having found a kindred spirit. She obviously didn't use her own face or the faces of those she knew of course, but her friends could probably figure out who the artist was if they knew her well enough. She ended her spree on a different building. When she snapped out of her haze, she gazed up at her piece.
A circle of monstrous creatures congregated together in a seemingly joyous occasion. These abstract beasts chatted and pranced about in their colorful party-like environment. It would have been a happy display if it wasn't for the human-looking silhouette in their own dark bubble, curled up in despair. They were evidently upset, but it was up to the interpreter whenever the figure was crying, scared, or both. Or perhaps just mid-panic attack. Marissa stared at this person and sighed in defeat. "This isn't your home." She uttered to herself.
"You're here to get June back. Nothing more, nothing less. All these people are just a distraction. Annoyances at worst...." She gazed down at her super advanced phone, thinking about Santiago and Xavier. "...temporary at best. The dates and stuff are just for fun. Just something to do while I'm stuck here." As she told herself this, her body began to glitch out. She cried out in pain as her physical form began to tear itself apart. Her back couldn't keep hold of her bag, and the bag fell down. "Fuck...what's with you? What's the big idea?" She took several deep breaths, trying to stabilize herself. Eventually it worked, and she was able to stand up again. Thankfully there was no one else nearby or in the alleyway.
"This should be nothing new to you, Risky. People are untrustworthy bastards. All these folks here act like people, so clearly they are people. You just keep being you and tell it like it is. Powers or not, you're alpha bitch." Her body lightly began to glitch out, causing her to grit her teeth. "Now act like it."
Her mind cycled through a few images as she walked down a lonely back street. Different memories of Ryan flashing before her eyes. "You're not like him, Risky....he's better than you. Haven't Mom and Dad told you that enough?" She scolded herself under her breath as she walked. Still, the memories of him kept zooming by with her body flickering in rhythm to each one. Until finally one odd memory popped out and stopped her in her tracks. Ryan bolting off somewhere, her dropping down on the ground and wandering off to follow.....
...and some kind of shadow.
Remembering the shadow made her collapse onto the ground, body phasing uncontrollably. She tried to get a good look of what she was remembering, but she was in too much pain. This time, someone noticed her in the street and actually bothered to call out. "Hey! Are you alright?" "I-I'm fine!" Marissa was too prideful to ask for help. She practically forced herself together and shambled away, looking to escape the underground.
She went on her own in the shittiest part of town. Head hung low and walking past all of the shady people. She made eye contact with no one and didn't give anyone a reason to target her. She had a fierce look on her face, and a certain confidence to her step. Her attire gave off the illusion that she was apart of some sort of gang. Being that there were many gangs scattered throughout this region and a bunch of super-powered freaks, no one would mess with her. After all, it was hard to figure out who was a normal human and who was secretly a fire-breathing dragon.
Her eyes spotted an empty, rundown building. There were a few bits of graffiti on the walls. Mostly derogatory bullshit. Even though she wasn't familiar with the magical insults or slang, she could tell from the font that it was like the usual dumb crap people wrote. This infuriated her. The teen darted down the alleyway; her gaze was glued on the words. She dropped her backpack and reached into it. Out she pulled a can of spray paint. From there, that was when the magic happened. She painted over the graffiti and instead began to create her own style of art on the wall.
The delinquent went wild. She tagged up the walls with elaborate paintings featuring vague figures with obvious symbolism. She carefully crafted pieces that showcased her emotions. Her anxieties, her struggles, loss, grief, anger, fear, everything. Even her brief pocket of happiness with having found a kindred spirit. She obviously didn't use her own face or the faces of those she knew of course, but her friends could probably figure out who the artist was if they knew her well enough. She ended her spree on a different building. When she snapped out of her haze, she gazed up at her piece.
A circle of monstrous creatures congregated together in a seemingly joyous occasion. These abstract beasts chatted and pranced about in their colorful party-like environment. It would have been a happy display if it wasn't for the human-looking silhouette in their own dark bubble, curled up in despair. They were evidently upset, but it was up to the interpreter whenever the figure was crying, scared, or both. Or perhaps just mid-panic attack. Marissa stared at this person and sighed in defeat. "This isn't your home." She uttered to herself.
"You're here to get June back. Nothing more, nothing less. All these people are just a distraction. Annoyances at worst...." She gazed down at her super advanced phone, thinking about Santiago and Xavier. "...temporary at best. The dates and stuff are just for fun. Just something to do while I'm stuck here." As she told herself this, her body began to glitch out. She cried out in pain as her physical form began to tear itself apart. Her back couldn't keep hold of her bag, and the bag fell down. "Fuck...what's with you? What's the big idea?" She took several deep breaths, trying to stabilize herself. Eventually it worked, and she was able to stand up again. Thankfully there was no one else nearby or in the alleyway.
"This should be nothing new to you, Risky. People are untrustworthy bastards. All these folks here act like people, so clearly they are people. You just keep being you and tell it like it is. Powers or not, you're alpha bitch." Her body lightly began to glitch out, causing her to grit her teeth. "Now act like it."
Her mind cycled through a few images as she walked down a lonely back street. Different memories of Ryan flashing before her eyes. "You're not like him, Risky....he's better than you. Haven't Mom and Dad told you that enough?" She scolded herself under her breath as she walked. Still, the memories of him kept zooming by with her body flickering in rhythm to each one. Until finally one odd memory popped out and stopped her in her tracks. Ryan bolting off somewhere, her dropping down on the ground and wandering off to follow.....
...and some kind of shadow.
Remembering the shadow made her collapse onto the ground, body phasing uncontrollably. She tried to get a good look of what she was remembering, but she was in too much pain. This time, someone noticed her in the street and actually bothered to call out. "Hey! Are you alright?" "I-I'm fine!" Marissa was too prideful to ask for help. She practically forced herself together and shambled away, looking to escape the underground.