Breaking The Ice (Gwen/O)

[Gwendolyn D. Mattias]

Gwendolyn had no trouble reading Atticus. She wished it was not necessary, but either Gwen did it, or her father would assign someone to it. Its not like she could keep this from him. Antonio had agreed not to tell Mitchel earlier, but that was just a courtesy to Gwen. He would let her handle things for the time being, but if she did not say anything by the end of the day, Antonio would.

Gwen giggled. "I see you're new to smartphones. It's ok. I've had one for, like, a long time. My over-protective parents like to know where I am. Yeah, its, like, a little annoying. Lojack for humans." She said with a laugh. "But it, like, works both ways if I get into any trouble, ya know?" Gwendolyn said bending the non disclosure rule a little. Here, let me show you. She said,putting down her bag. Gwendolyn showed Atticus how to enter a number and save it to the address book the normal way, then goes on to show her how to use MSM to send her all the contact information directly from her phone with just going to the service and inputting the other person's number.

Gwendolyn winced. A sharp stabbing pain let her know she'd done something wrong. She realized too late that sending information that way gave the other person more than just a phone number. It also populated the address and other personal information fields in the address book. She'd violated 'no disclosure' without thinking about it. Its just that she trusted Atticus for some reason. Didn't give it a second thought.

"Ow!" Gwen couldn't help but say. Great... something else to get lectured about. This just wasn't her day.

[Atticus Tuck]

Atticus's cheeks flushed slightly, further embarrassed that it was so easy to tell that she had little to no idea how to work the device. She pushed away the feeling. I'm a Dragon, why on earth should I have to learn how to use such trivial things? It's a pathetic Human thing... Then again, Gwen knows how to use it. . . Urgh, who knew blending in could be so red-seeing?! She let out a silent sigh before allowing the redhead to explain how to work the numbers. She nodded every now and then, committing the directions to memory for future purposes. She wasn't quite sure what some of the features Gwen showed her on her phone meant or how they worked, but Atticus just shrugged it off. She would attempt to learn about the cell from her mom later.

Atticus opened her mouth, about to ask what one of the buttons on the side of the phone did, when Gwen winced, shifting as she did and uttering a tiny but audible "Ow." Atticus turned towards her, her eyes flickering over the were's form for any sign of injury, but none were visible. She blinked.

"Hey, like, are you alright Gwen? You look pained," Atticus frowned. "Do you, like, need me to escort you to the medic adult here?" Her eyes locked on Gwen's as she tried to find the cause of her friend's distress from the emotions that her eyes could possibly reveal. Atticus's dad had taught her how to read one's inner thoughts simply by eye contact, though the young Dragon wasn't sure how well it would work on a werewolf. Wasn't there something different about their eyes? Or was that Vampires? She didn't know, she always got such minor things confused. But if she could meet a Vampire then she could learn the difference. . . You're getting distracted, Atticus! She shook away her derailing train of thought and focused back onto the smaller girl beside her with concern. Perhaps the cellular device was even too much for the werewolf and had caused her a headache? That made Atticus feel somewhat better about her own naivety to Human technology. I really should put more effort into familiarizing myself with these things. . .

[Gwendolyn D. Mattias]

Gwendolyn noticed the discomfort in Atticus even before she flushed with both anger and embarrassment. It surprised Gwen that the teenager wasn't tech savvy. It was like teaching Alice, her niece, who didn't know about technology yet. She tried her best not to come across as patronizing as she went about teaching the dragon how to use the phone. Gwen just went through the motions of showing someone how to become familiar with a new phone, except slowing down a bit to explain the lingo and terms. Atticus would have to admit she didn't know anything about phones if she wanted Gwen to start from the basics. Gwen would not volunteer as to not anger her new friend. She hoped that the dragon was being honest with her nods of understanding.

The pain in Gwen's head was sharp at first so that she could not answer Atticus right away. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth together, reaching out a hand to the wall to steady herself as her knees bent as she fought the action of doubling over. Her head swam, her father's voice booming in her head repeating his command. It dulled slowly and Gwen was sure it would have been much worse if she'd attempted to knowingly go against her Alpha's command. Usually pressure would build steadily as one thought of violating an order. Pressure would turn to pain which intensified sharply to the point of rendering a were unconscious if the lycan continued to defy their alpha. But before the bliss of unconsciousness, the mental and physical strain would ravage a were. Spasms would tear and damage muscle tissue. Hemorrhaging would potentially damage the brain. To watch a were suffer was not a for those with weak constitutions.

Gwendolyn frowned as she put a hand to her temple and massaged. Her eyes un-winced and met the dragons. " I'm okay. It will pass. Its, like, a werewolf thing. My dad is our pack's alpha and, like, when he gives an order, its something that cannot be ignored or violated. Voluntary disclosure is one of the no-no's. I'm, like, lucky I did it without meaning to. Otherwise the repercussions would have been allot more severe." She explained without getting into the ugly details. Gwendolyn was unfortunately very familiar with the experience. "I wasn't supposed to, like, give you our address until I, like, asked permission."

[Atticus Tuck]

Atticus's eyes widened a margin as she absorbed the new information. Werewolves could do such a thing? She faintly recalled her father once mentioning a werewolf's strong bond with its pack, but nothing along the line of telekinesis of sorts. They could cause pain from afar! Interesting indeed, but also rather annoying. And worrisome. At any given moment Gwen could suffer if she did not act accordingly? It must be quite a weight on her shoulders, the young dragon mused. "How strict." She frowned slightly, and shook her head. "But not to worry, being a dragon, you have not simply given out your personal information to someone unworthy or traitorous!" A wide grin appeared on her features once more.

A shrill noise suddenly erupted throughout the halls. Atticus jerked back in surprise at the sudden attack to her sensitive hearing, looking around wildly for the offender. Who dared taunt her? On cue, the hall was filled once more with students, and the ringing subsided to her relief. She pursed her lips, putting two and two together in her mind. "So, like, everyone is summoned by the noise. . .?" She was speaking partly to herself, directing the question to her companion as well. "How do you stand such a clamor? Does it return often?" She swept her sharp gaze around, observing the teenagers collect their lunches from lockers or head off in the direction of what Atticus supposed to be a gathering area of sorts. Was it possibly the "lunch time" Gwen had spoken about? Could she eat her watermelon now? Swiveling on the heels of hger feet she snatched her bag from the locker, shoved her hand into the bag, and pulled out a thick piece of watermelon before putting the entire bite into her mouth. She glanced at Gwen while chewing before holding out the bag as a sign of offering. While her eating habits might be a little off, her mother had been sure to raise a hatchling with some manners. Just because one was the top of the food chain didn't mean you could simply brush off those who were somewhat close to your position!

[Gwendolyn D. Mattias]

Gwen winced even as she laughed at what Atticus said. "You don't know my father and brothers. The Pope himself would get a background check and be scrutinized before he were deemed trustworthy." She said sarcastically as she pushed her bangs behind her ear. She was paused a moment to try to think of how to explain without getting another migraine. Before she could continue Atticus jumped back as if dodging something as the lunch bell rang.

Gwendolyn raised a brow at this. Her new friend had not exaggerated when she said she was new. It was becoming clear to Gwen that Atticus was indeed new. New to everything. "Like, Yeah. Every 50 minutes. Its the bell that announces the end of one period and then ten minutes later on the hour a shorter "late" bell will ring. You should be in your next class by then. This one is the start of the first lunch period or 4th period, if you have lunch later." She replied even as Atticus had already pulled her lunch bag from her locker. "It does take getting used to if you are not human" Gwen added remembering her first year in a multi-class room, period based system upon entering middle school. The scent of watermelon tickled Gwendolyn's nose before the bag had cleared the confines of the locker. Watching Atticus reach in and pull out a chunk and pop it in her mouth almost made her snort. She held the urge back and just watched as the dragon munched happily before offering Gwen a piece.

"Dragons eat watermelon?" Gwendolyn asked genuinely surprised. Not that she knew what to expect. Just that the melon was the last thing she would have thought of. "I had thoughts of canned food. Like, the occasional knight in armor." she said with a giggle as she allowed herself to joke hoping that it did not offend Atticus. Gwen reached out and plucked a small chunk of watermelon and popped it into her mouth.
"MMmmm!" she said as she enjoyed the treat. "This is, like, not from a supermarket is it. It tastes organic, fresh off the vine, and ripened to perfection!. Yummy!" Gwen said after swallowing.

"I noticed that your lunch period is the same as mine." Gwen mentioned as she started to walk towards the lunch room. "The cafeteria is this way. I keep my lunch there".
Gwen didn't care much for the food prepared at the cafe. Hers was delivered to the cafeteria from the chefs at home. She knew to ask them to put it in regular fast food containers and deliver it in a brown paper bag to keep it from drawing attention.

[Atticus Tuck]

Atticus nodded, still munching her watermelon. That ear-offending noise would repeat itself through the day? What a bother! Though she supposed something had to tell the humans when they could leave and go, like every other class higher than humans used to do before the uprising of those filthy hunters. She took no offense to Gwen's humorous note about dragon's eating habits, just gave a lopsided grin as she swallowed and answered without missing a beat, "Dad said long ago they did, but when those stupid humans started hunting us-foolish things-and they became stronger and wiser, Dragons decided to avoid ingesting humans and went for livestock so they wouldn't have to deal with the annoyance of being chased about by such a low class. I don't really understand why we have to hide, they're just humans!" Atticus pursed her lips as if contemplating the question for herself, then shoved another piece of watermelon into her mouth. She watched as Gwen accepted her offering, which made the young dragon give a lopsided smile. She watched with interest as the werewolf took one bite and began expressing how delicious Atticus's favorite snack was. It was endearing, really.

"My family and I detest anything humans touch, but along the flight here we came across a field of watermelon, as the humans call them, and need I say more? My mom began growing them once we had finished moving into our new home here." Atticus made a mental note to relay the compliments of her newest friend about the watermelon to her mom once she arrived back home-which pulled up the unwanted reminder of the watch still in her pocket, waiting to be returned to the werewolf who she had, erm, acquired it from. She blinked, continuing to eat the juicy fruit as she listened to Gwen, nodding every now and then as she allowed the girl to escort her to where Atticus would be expected to eat her watermelon from now on.

The idea of sharing an eating area with a lot of lowly humans was less than desirable to the Dragon, but she decided she would push through it for her younger friend, and perhaps be able to locate more werewolves in the mix. The smell was dizzying, the queer looks given by half of the teens, and the judging looks by the other half, the shrill ringing that had yet to subside in her ears, and red-seeing technology were minor obstacles, she decided. The pros for Atticus's current situation much outweighed the cons that prodded at her. If this was what it took to "blend in" then she was sure she could handle it.

[Gwendolyn D. Mattias]

Gwendolyn was happy to see the grin on Atticus after her comment. It gave her assurance that she had not offended her new dragon friend. She knew so little about the species. She tasked herself with doing proper homework on the very real dragons of the world. Not that she would find anything online. She would ask Daddy and there was always that secret protettores group. Leon had a contact there that she could tap for information. Hell, he had a contact for everything and everyone. It was a miracle the family dealt in weapons and not intelligence. The story the dragon told her reminded her of what she was taught about why not to ever reveal herself to humans. About how she was different and how humans feared things that were different. That and the fact that Atticus seemed so naive about the workings of the human world was beginning to worry Gwen. Perhaps it would be a good thing to have the protettores keep an eye on her to make sure she stayed out of trouble. A hunter would not hesitate to kill her.

"Yeah. It does seem that way, doesn't it? We're so much better than them" Gwen said with a giggle. "But the avoiding food they touch is difficult. Not unless you want to grow everything yourself. They're just so unskilled for the most part. I even have to have my meals catered from our chefs. Other than that, I try to just, like, blend in. Other than keeping my species and personal information to myself, Its easy to fool them. We, like, don't have a special diet or anything. Don't eat humans though some of them...." Gwen shook her head. "I could, like, kill. The cruelty and hate... and so damn violent" She shook her head again dismissing it all. The spiteful morons here at the school was bad enough. She didn't want a relapse of the assassination attempt right now.

She paused a moment to enter the cafeteria and get out of earshot of nearby students.
"My brother Leon is right, though. They outnumber us in the hundreds of millions. Its better to just blend. Speaking of.... you said you guys came here in a flight? So you, like, fly? How intriguing! How many are you? Any brothers or sisters? I have three brothers, but they're all allot older." Gwen rambled as she craved knowledge of the exotic dragon walking besides her.

[Atticus Tuck]

It was amazing, how much Atticus was learning about her favorite species' living habits and how much more friendly this particular werewolf was compared to the other one. The nagging sense to locate the bad-tempered one after school tugged at the corner of her mind, but she brushed it away. Such a trivial thing compared to her newfound companion! The young dragon felt respect bubble up inside her as Gwen spoke of her own opinions of the humans and her thoughts on blending in, Atticus had a feeling she would enjoy bonding and learning from Gwen, though she would not admit it, Dragon pride and all. She dipped her head, ears trained on Gwen's voice, but her eyes wandered over the swarms of faces milling about with their disgustingly gag-inducing food piled on small trays. Did humans really eat that stuff? It made her stomach churn at the thought. So violent, she repeated inside her head. Mom and Dad had said the same thing, something about humans fearing what was different, and since humans had started to vastly outnumber mythical beings, well, they had the annoyingly high enough numbers to pester what they did not accept.

Her attention was pulled back to Gwen as the redhead began asking about her own heritage and family. Atticus smiled proudly, glad to retell her tale as a Dragon. A small laugh escaped the teen's lips. "Yes, my family is among the flying dragons, much more graceful than the silly sea-dwellers! They think they're, like, so mysterious and ridiculous claims such as that." She snorted. "Honestly. Anyway, like, I cannot give you an exact number of how many dragons are left since those silly little Hunters started popping up, but there are probably more than you think. It is only me, my parents decided it was too "dangerous" to conceive any more hatchlings at the moment. Not that I, like, mind." Atticus was about to say more, when a careless male ran past her, hitting her shoulder as he went, and Atticus's streak of a couple of hours without falling was history, but not without retaliating. Instincts kicked in, and her hand snatched the offender's pant leg as she stumbled, and being a Dragon, she was much stronger than the poor boy. Atticus managed to catch herself, but the boy was not so lucky, tripping and hitting another, larger, male student sending said student's lunch all over him. Atticus blinked, stood, and brushed herself off and glanced around for her watermelon bag, unaware of the impending war she had just begun. In a moment, someone cried out "FOOD FIGHT!", and suddenly the disgusting slop was flying in all directions as kids scrambled and screamed and ducked for cover.

"What in the name of Rogwink?!" the Dragon hissed, watching in utter shock as all chaos broke lose. What sort of war was this? Why were they launching their food, as awful as it may look? Was this natural for "lunch time" in schools? Her icy gaze flickered to Gwen, unsure of what to ask, not wanting to look ignorant if this was a ritual human teens participated in. Those teenaged magazines never mentioned anything like this. . .

[Gwendolyn D. Mattias]

Gwen had no one to blame but herself. She was listening to Atticus, but her eyes were on the table where the jocks all sat to do their male bonding thing and ogle all the girls, making sure to rudely and loudly point out the ones they considered hot, sexy, or cute from the ones who did not meet with their approval. Gwen saw that a few had taken notice of the new girl, Atticus, and were pointing while getting the attention of the others at the table. She should have just tuned them out, but curiosity got the best of her and she wanted to know what they had to say.

Gwendolyn never got the chance. She heard the boy running past and felt the impact of his shoulder with Atticus. Her head turned to see her dragon friend bracing her fall while the boy looked to trip himself. She would see Atticus's hand on the boys pant leg just as he hit the jock returning from the lunch line on his way to his buddies. The Werewolf's enhanced vision and photographic memory would remember every detail. The tray in the football defensive line men's hands flipped up sending the day's special of a Turkey and cheese sub with a side of macaroni salad, bag of chips, chocolate pudding, and glasses full of juice and milk all flying up in the air.

The experienced teen with many years knowledge of human children and of their behavior at schools knew what would happen next. That boy who bumped the dragon and then the jock would be beaten to a pulp after school. That was certain. She did not have to see the look on the jock's face, or even hear the threats he was no doubt spewing. The tradition of the student body reaction to flying food was what she was focused on. She knew next to nothing about her dragon friend, but Gwendolyn was a Mattias. And based on her conversation with Atticus so far, and what she'd learned based on body language, Gwen knew that things would not end well to have them get caught in the middle of the storm that was about to be unleashed.

Gwen's eyes darted to where she knew the exits to be. They were too far and the chances of getting out unscathed were slim. Crossing those of her list, she went over other options, the whole cafeteria clearly laid out in her mind. Seeking cover under a table would not do. "FOOD FIGHT!" Rang out loudly and Gwen knew she was out of time. Atticus swearing, or at least that's what Gwen thought it meant, told Gwen that the food had started to fly.

"This way" Gwen hissed, taking her friend's hand. There was no time to explain. She just hopped that the dragon did not resist. There was no time. Gwen pulled her towards the kitchen. Their only course of action was to jump over the buffet tables and get out through the service entrance in back and into the parking lot. The possibility of this whole thing being staged briefly flickered in the back of Gwen's mind. Exiting the building would leave her unprotected. But there was no time. Gwen was sure Antonio was watching. She would only be vulnerable for a few minutes while her bodyguard re-positioned himself outside.

The shrill sound of many whistles blowing as the staff tried to regain order hurt her ears and made her head pound.

[Atticus Tuck]

Atticus's eyes were wide in pure surprise as she tried to piece together the events that could have possibly launched this "Food Fight" as someone had rallied. She had been rather absorbed in locating her own meal, so whatever occurred was lost to her at the moment. Slop was soaring, hitting targets without mercy. Kids were either participating, or tripping over one another to escape the chaos without receiving too many hits. The Dragon might have stood there, in shock, if the young werewolf had not grabbed her hand and began pulling her away. Atticus let herself be guided, providing no resistance. Her gaze remained focused on the lunch room, however, as multiple adults began swarming with shrill whistles and shouts for order, though it seemed the students were paying no heed. As soon as the girls entered the meal-preparation area, her view of the war was cut off, and Atticus's focus returned to her fleeing companion, who's heart was beating at a high rate per minute, as if she had run around the Earth twice. Is a "Food Fight" fatal? Is that the reason we're running? Pah! There's nothing I cannot handle! Though, she is more familiar with human customs than I am, I hate to admit, perhaps the food is somehow dangerous when airborne? The idea made the "hair" on her arms stand on end. How revolting, and somewhat unnerving.

Atticus frowned slightly, confusion gracing her features as they exited the building successfully, but Gwen seemed to be searching for something or someone. The Dragon halted, trusting her strength to be slightly greater than that of a younger werewolf. Her mouth was set in a line, eyes locked on the face of her friend. She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again as the words came to mind."Like, where is the danger? Why did we flee? Certainly we could have handled ourselves against a petty food fight, she said the word, attempting to make it sound as if she knew the full meaning of it.

She retraced her steps of the day through her memory, searching for any signs of possible danger. There weren't any other scents that stood out to Atticus, and none of the other beings in the school had seemed to harbor malicious intents as far as she could tell. She raised her eyebrows slightly in question, awaiting the answers she wanted. Surely werewolves' senses were not greater than a Dragon's? Well, I have not been the sharpest using my senses today either. . . With the choking human reek and insufferable noises blaring every moment. . .

[Gwendolyn D. Mattias]

Gwendolyn blushed in embarrassment at the question of why she'd forced the hasty exodus. "Nothing like that. I just didn't want to be covered in gunk all day. Plus all those other kids will have to sit in detention or worse later today. We're kinda dodging the bullet, that is, if we don't get caught out here. Skipping class is also against the rules." Gwen replied nervously. She hoped her new friend didn't think she was lame or a coward to have done so. A food fight might have been something the dragon would have considered fun?.... But Gwen couldn't afford to take the chance. She just knew so little about her new friend. What would happen if Atticus became angry? Gwen couldn't imagine. She didn't even know what a dragon looked like in its native form. How big would Atticus be? Did she breath fire? Gwen shivered at the thought of burning corpses before she could stop herself. "And humans are, like, really fragile. What if things got out of hand?." She asked without really thinking her question trough.

She caught her slip almost immediately and shook her head. "We didn't even get to eat. No one will notice us gone for a while. We'll have to eat out" Gwendolyn thought out loud. She knew she was taking another risk and would get yelled at later if her bodyguard could not locate her, but what else was there to do? They couldn't just stand there in the middle of the lot. And besides... Gwen was a werewolf. Her hyper metabolism made it so that she had to consume food twice as often and in greater quantities than a human. Waiting for lunch was already difficult, and she was already ravenous. "I know of a little farmers market a few blocks over. I'm sure they have watermelon. And a new cafe opened not too far from there. A Japanese place. Kinda exotic. Might be fun" She said thinking of the werewolf friendly establishment run by Miss Mindear, and then of Yukki's sister and the new maid cafe she was going to visit sometime in the near future anyway. "what do you think?. My treat."

[Travis Allsbrook]

Travis sighed as he pulled his motorcycle over beside the curb. Frustrated, he pulled his helmet off and threw it down on the grass while kicking down the kick-stand. He dismounted his bike and took a step back from it, placing his hands on his hips and shaking his head in disbelief. He knew something like this would happen. It was just a matter of time. I should have filled up when I passed the petrol. He groaned to himself, running his hands through his hair. He sat down beside his helmet on the grassy curb. Pulling off his leather jacket and placing it on the ground beside him he let out a groan of distress as he realized he had no idea where he was.

He was just about to get up and push his bike down the road in search of a gas station, when Travis heard a girls voice. "...A Japanese place. Kinda exotic. Might be fun. What do you think? My treat" He smirked as his stomach growled at the mention of food. He stood up, looking around in the direction of the female voice. "Hello?" He called out as he realized that he had stopped near a school. A large set of buildings one labeled high-school and the other middle-school. He shook his head as he saw the girl that had spoken. She couldn't have been older than 14 years old. A small brunette with another young blonde girl in tow. They must be skipping He grinned to himself.

"Do your teachers know that you're out here?" He called out to them as he threw his leather jacket on his bike and picked up his helmet. He stepped down off the curb and took a step toward the girls as he scoped out what he was getting himself into. He had just finished up a job in the countryside earlier that morning. He had been in England for almost a week, now. It had been a struggle, his previous job. A clan of Vampires were having issues adapting to their surroundings and the surrounding Hunters were enjoying the new clan that had migrated to that part of town. The clan ended up deciding on moving back to Russia where they originated from. Something Travis never minded; supernatural creatures returning from their place of origin. Sometimes it wasn't easy being a Protettore, but he knew it was his calling. He just hoped that these girls weren't about to drag him into another week-long job.

[Atticus Tuck]

The Dragon dipped her head slightly, a gesture of understanding. Wearing the irritating uniforms were bad enough, but Atticus couldn't imagine being covered in that gunk given out to the students. Her ears perked at the sound of a vehicle somewhere nearby, but she kept her focus on Gwen, drinking in the reasons. Yes, humans were quite fragile, and if either herself or the werewolf had participated, their cover might have been blown and Atticus would be forced elsewhere by her parents. How annoying that would have been. The young Dragon gave a smile. I wasn't the lopsided grin or smirk she'd used throughout the course of her day, no, this was a genuine smile of warmth and appreciation. She still did not understand the full dangers of this "food fight" or how the school worked, and if not for Gwen, she might have already had to teach one of those smelly humans a lesson on manners-which would end in being torn away back to the mountains if it got out. She placed a hand on the werewolf's shoulder, and nodded. "I appreciate your guidance, Gwen." Her voice was softer, without the edge she usually spoke with, and sincerity she hoped her companion could hear. She pulled her hand back, about to accept Gwen's offer for new watermelon, when the ever-soft crunching of grass underfoot caught her attention. Her head snapped towards the noise, which was followed by a voice, then around the corner strode one of those young-mature human males.

Atticus narrowed her eyes, smile fading into a thin line as she watched the human approach. Inhaling, she was positive that he was certainly only a human, but why was he out here around a school? For a moment, she wondered if they had been found by personnel already, but the next sentence that slipped out of the man's mouth proved this theory to be incorrect. Who was he? A lone young-mature male, walking up to two seemingly-teen girls. Rather suspicious, she noted. Her eyes flickered to Gwen, deciding what the next course of action should be. Take him out? Go back inside? Ignore him and simply leave? Honestly, Atticus was leaning towards the former of the options. . . But the male had made no hostile movements as of yet, so she waited, her posture shifting slightly. Her shoulders back, head higher a fraction, prepared to lunge if the situation turned for the worse in a split second. "Like, what shall we do?" she whispered to the redhead beside her.

[Gwendolyn D. Mattias]

Even as she talked of watermelon and Sara's new business venture, Gwendolyn knew she was exposed and vulnerable. She was out in the open and had no clue if her bodyguard even knew she was outside. She'd already scanned the surroundings with her eyes and found nothing to be concerned about. But her enhanced hearing heard the sputter and backfire of the motorcycle deciding that it would no longer run on the thinning fumes of an empty gas tank. She'd glanced over at the noise briefly to see a man, not too far away at the curb, taking his helmet off and throwing it to the ground. He'd turned his back to her and Atticus so Gwen assessed him as a minimal thread and looked to her dragon friend.

She thought about using her phone to call her bodyguard and let him know where she was, but could she now? He would insist on her returning to the school immediately. Gwen had already made plans to have lunch elsewhere and Atticus was nodding her approval. If she didn't call, Antonio would find she was missing and cause an emergency. Gwen's father would be angry. Gwen mentally sighed. Why couldn't she be a normal girl? Why did everything have to be so damn complicated? She decided she would call. But not until they were off school property. Antonio would just have wait for them to eat, or punch out of work and follow.

The dragon's hand on her shoulder forced her full attention to shift to her new friend. Gwen smiled at Atticus when she thanked Gwen for her guidance. Her tone and body language told Gwen that Atticus was being sincere and genuine in her gratitude. Gwen was relieved. She didn't want to seem lame. She just knew that keeping a low profile was always best for those that were not really human. "In order to float along with the current which is humanity, one must not make waves. Disturbing the normal flow of events and bringing attention to oneself increases the risk of our differences being discovered." Her father told her once when she was six. It was a response to Gwen asking "why" she had to be careful not to let anyone see she was different. She was confused by the words, yet she nodded politely. Her brother Raphael went on to explain what it all meant later.

Thinking of her brother made her heart ache. He was the only one of her three brothers that she was close to in her youth. He was also the youngest of her older brothers at just six years older. She knew he didn't like her much and found her to be a bother and a choore, but none the less, he helped her with everything when she was younger. He might not like her, but he loved Father. Father had entrusted her to him, and Raphael worked very hard to please him. It was a love/hate relationship, but when he left for college a few years ago she quickly realized she missed him something fierce. Their reunion a month ago was rather...."special". Their relationship had improved dramatically after that. She'd even gotten close with Leon, her middle older brother in the events that lead up to, and after the attempted assassination.

Something caught Atticus's attention, even before the voice called out. Gwen saw her friend turn her head and her smile disappear. Gwen's head also turned, but Gwen's own smile did not waiver. She was too well trained to allow her face to give away anything she did not want to. The dragon's reaction to the man approaching had put Gwen on high alert. Gwen's hand shifted slowly to the strap on her purse. It was instinct. She'd not even really thought of the gun concealed within. She inhaled and was fortunate the air currents were flowing towards them and not away. 'Human' was the first thing she made sure of. Once that was established, she relaxed somewhat and studied the scent further. He smelled of leather and perspiration, with a hint of a cologne or aftershave or something. Maybe just his deodorant?. Her photographic memory literally snapped a still image of the man and she studied every detail. He looked to be in his early 20's. Obviously male. Kind looking blue eyes and dark hair. There was a hint of adrenaline in his scent, but she remembered her earlier glance and knew he'd just had trouble with his motorcycle. His other features and actions told Gwen he was being curious and playful. While he did not look like he meant them immediate harm, a stranger approaching two young girls he was not aquainted with was a red flag within itself. Gwen wondered if he was a creep into young girls since she knew she looked allot younger than she was. Or maybe just someone who was concerned to see those very same young girls walking away from school alone? It was too early to tell.

Gwen's smile did fade at his question though. To keep the smile then, especially with Atticus's reaction, would not do. 'Great!. That's all we needed was this guy trying to be a good samaritan and escort them back to school. Why couldn't people just mind their business?' She thought, even as something else inside her couldn't help but notice that the guy was actually kinda cute. Gwen knew she cute herself, and Atticus was definitely also cute. Could she blame him for taking an interest?

Atticus whispered at Gwen asking what they should do. Gwendolyn assessed the situation quickly as she leaned to Atticus to whisper a response. Gwen's eyes glanced at Atticus, but never really left the man who approached. First, the guy being there looked to be an accident. Gwen knew that the motorcycle either ran out of gas or had some other mechanical issue by the sounds it made earlier and the reaction of the man. Second, he was human. Gwen might be a short for her age, but she knew she was stronger and faster than any mere human, even an adult. Plus there was Atticus. She already knew Atticus was no pushover. They could handle this guy if he turned out to be a creep. As he approached she still could not smell gun oil or powder, so it was unlikely he had a gun. Plus this was England. No one carried those. And lastly, they had to get out of that parking lot and away from the school before someone inside saw them leaving.

"He's just a human. No real threat. Lets just, like, get past him. Like, he'd be a fool to try anything while we're, like, this close to the school. We need to go. Just follow my lead, k?" She replied in an extra soft whisper that she knew only Atticus could hear. Gwen took Atticus's hand and started walking forward after giggling like shed just shared something funny with her friend. Gwen didn't see a need to make up any lies. The truth would do for now.

"If you must know, the school cafeteria is, like, closed. Major food fight. We're, like, grabbing a bite somewhere else." She offered in answer to his question with a smile. She hopped this would satisfy him and she walked on with Atticus in tow.

[Travis Allsbrook]

Travis frowned as he noticed the girls to become slightly reluctant toward him one his presence was noticed. He realized how it may appear to the teenage girls. An older man hanging out side of a school. Approaching them and asking questions. He looked like a straight up pedophile. "I know what this looks like... I'm... not what you think."[/oolor] He assured the girls, pausing in his steps toward them. His brow furrowed as he searched for words in how to explain his situation. "I just ran out of gas. I'm not from here." He struggled sometimes with translating the right way for people to understand him. It was especially difficult when he traveled to different countries. No country was really the same as the next. One thing always meant another. His Nigerian accent twisted around each word that rolled off his lips.

Travis shook his head, pausing for a moment, reflecting back on his troubles he had in Australia when trying to communicating with a local about finding American purified water. Yeah, that worked out well... Bobby, his trainer, always sent him in the most difficult places. He assumed this time would be different. England seemed similar to America. He hadn't been living in America long, but he had resided there long enough to adjust and form habits. By now, his habits had been diverted as he adjusted to traveling. Carrying his own water supply, his own foods to satisfy his American cravings. He couldn't rely on other countries to have the things he was used to and needed. He looked down at his feet for a moment and then back up at the girls. "I just need to find a gas station. You know, petrol? Where is the nearest one?"

He stuffed his hands in his pockets kicking the ground idly. He had always been trained to deal with difficult situations. Life or death. This... well, this was different. These were two little girls. They were no threat... That he knew of. Something about the two teenagers didn't seem normal. They appeared to be normal humans but their presence said otherwise. Why are they skipping school, anyway? A food fight is nothing to run from. "A food fight is actually really fun. Nothing to run from, kids." Travis chuckled as he paused, the corners of his eyes crinkling as his smile reached them. "I usually started them myself when I was about your age." He hoped that he wasn't coming off too strong to the girls. All he wanted was a point in the right direction and then to find some decent food. He waited to see if he would be turned down with his request.