Sticks And Stones (Sparrow)

[Anonymous]

Arianna floated a few inches above the ground, looking at a directory. Hmmm. Which way to go? Going right would be be the more direct route but she'd have to get through a much larger crowd than if she went right. There was always the chance that there wouldn't be as much people, right? She sighed and started floating off down the left fork.

Why did her parents insist she get groceries from a store on the other side of station? It made things a lot more annoying for her but at least it gave her an excuse to get out of the house. Ugh. She couldn't wait until she graduated.

Ari floated along, letting her mind wander and subsequently failed to pay attention to where she was going. When she finally returned to herself, the girl realized that she had absolutely no idea where she was. Her lips tightened together in annoyance as she looked for a directory. Failing that, she walked up to the closest person she could find.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the nearest directory is?"

[Anonymous]

Being confined by walls, doors and airlocks was a foreign feeling for Kade. While it was easy for Kade to accept that the hominids aboard the space station could not survive in the vacuum surrounding it, the fact that they had peppered windows throughout the Libra confounded him a great deal; he noted that their view of the surrounding void was fractional at best, and he often wondered that if humans wanted to look outside, should the whole station not therefore be made out of windows? Questions about the strange nature of those Kade lived with constantly revolved at the forefront of his mind each time he walked down a corridor, or paused to look through a window as he often did.

With a hand placed on just one such glassy pane, Kade was torn from thoughts of constellations and the dying stars that lit the void by a curious voice. Exploring Libra was among Kade’s priorities, but the usage of maps confounded him. In this situation, Kade found himself befuddled by the choice between leading the voice to its destination or, teaching its owner to navigate without the help of a map. Concerning the voice’s owner and its navigational endeavors, Kade had yet to turn and look at her, for he was still lost in his own thought, and often forgot that it was customary to respond when asked a question.

Upon taking a look, Kade was taken by surprise at the sight of a humanoid woman attached to two translucent wings, which were propelling her above the ground with each passing flap. Such a lifeform was strange and new to Kade, and his widened expression showed his surprise more than he realized.

“Oh! Wings! On a human? That’s incredible!”

With a careful finger, Kade reached out and poked the right wing intently; it felt strange, and definitely did not appear to be artificially grafted on. Kade withdrew his hand, immediately staring at the finger that had made contact for almost thirty seconds, as if trying to decipher a complex equation. As Kade looked back up the possibilities rotated his mind like a whirling dervish, working him up and exciting him a great deal.

“How long have you had them? Are they a mutation? Oh! Are you not a human!?”

[Anonymous]

Had he heard her? Ari didn't see how he couldn't have heard her but he wasn't responding. Maybe he was ignoring her. Ruuude The girl thought, making a face. Would it kill people on this station to be a tad bit nicer? She was just about to turn and go when the guy who was ignoring her decided he stop being rude.

And start exclaiming things at her.

Ari was a little taken aback. She'd never gotten this kind of reaction from somebody who'd been living around nothing but humans. She was so shocked by his reaction that she hadn't noticed that he'd been touching her wings until the guy withdrew his finger. Now that was a serious invasion of personal space. Ari was just about to inform his guy of that fact when he sounded off with more questions.

It was like he thought humans were the only species on this station, which annoyed Ari to no end.

"For your information, no, I'm not a human." She said, snapping off a few of her words. "I am a one hundred percent Fae, thank you very much. Now, if you would be so kind as to point me to the nearest directory, I'll be on my way." She was more venomous than she meant to be but he had annoyed her a lot. He also made her nervous; he looked vastly different compared to anybody Ari had ever seen. She would feel better once she was away from this weird, gray, lab coat guy.

"So are you going to answer my question or not?"

[Anonymous]

Angry; indignant and upset, this person…this Fae was responding as if Kade had uttered an insult. Ignoring his emotional curiosity—a feat whose accomplishment was no easy task—Kade hobbled backward somewhat and processed the actual words that had been uttered, as opposed to their tone and decibel level. Never before had Kade heard the word “Fae”, and it clouded his thought somewhat.

Finding a directory may have been important, but Kade had just stumbled upon discovering a brand new species! Conversely, the ‘Fae’ had spoken about her species in a manner suggesting that her kin was as typical and widespread as humans were. Were that the case, Kade quickly became more interested in exploring further parts of the station—if Fae were unknown to him and yet common at the same time, then all kinds of different creatures could be about!

Such thoughts circled beneath Kade’s motionless eyes much quicker than they did previously; a result of his recalling that most humanoids liked a quick and prompt response, as opposed to a long and drawn out (inexplicable, even) silence. Kade straightened his jacket with one hand and motion down the corridor to the left with the other.

“I’m so…sorry? I must have offended, which was not my intent—if you’re willing to follow, I can show you to a directory.”

Apologies typically calmed down most people when they were upset, but all of Kade’s previous experience was moot as far as Fae were concerned; for all he knew, they could be a warlike species that put their wings to use during times of war.

[Anonymous]

This guy...thing didn't seem to be the quickest of thought, so Ari floated lazily while waiting. Come on, it shouldn't be that hard of a question, should it? Do you know where a directory is? It was a yes or no question. You either knew it or you didn't. If she was on the ground, Ari would have been tapping her foot. Since she wasn't in a position to do such a thing, the girl consented to cross her arms and wait.

She was taken aback by his apology. Maybe she had been too harsh with him. It wasn't his fault that he was a little slower of thought or that he looked weird. "It's...no problem. I was more annoyed at myself than with you." She floated a ways down to where he was pointing. "If you could show me it, I'd be grateful." Ari waited for him to get in front of him before she floated off, following him. "So who are you anyway? I haven't seen you or anybody like you around before." What could she say, she was curious. "Come on. Spill!"