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Post by alice "rio" grand on Jan 21, 2012 15:32:10 GMT -5
Tags: None at the moment
Soundtrack: Traffic Light
Author's Note: First post, lookin' good!
Rio sighed deeply, turning her gaze up to the sky. Another day of hard work, another pay check hardly worth bragging about. She'd long since stopped mourning her appalling lack of money,but at this point she was more than a little bit annoyed with it. She'd always sworn she would never take to stealing or any such activities, she couldn't deny that that were looking like some pretty appealing right now. But one positive thing she could add to her list of things accomplished today was another bag of groceries. Two bags, actually. Said bags, which were currently the extent of her possession, were swinging almost recklessly around her legs as she walked.
The homeless girl wandered almost aimlessly today. Though normally she would head to wherever she was staying at the moment, she had overstayed her welcome at the motel and was now at that lovely point in time where it was time to find a random stranger and ask them to let her crash on their couch. A unstable and sometimes dangerous system, but it had worked out for her pretty well so far.
She had wandered this particular section of the city so many times that she could walk around with her eyes closes and she wouldn't get lost. The people in the streets knew her now, not quite by name, but enough to greet her when she passed and welcome her when she needed it. It was somewhat comforting to have them around, even if none of them had any open spaces on the couch or a few extra dollars to spare. So, really, the kindness of strangers didn't really amount to much.
Finally, her legs got too tired and she sought out a place to rest. With no better options and no desire to seek out something more, she settled for finding a decent staircase leading into some generic shop and sitting down, leaning against the guard. She was utterly exhausted...she'd worked for the past two days almost endlessly and, of course, she hadn't had a place to sleep when she finally decided to go back. She gathered her groceries into her lap and curled up slightly, her eyes sliding closed and her breathing slowing as she drifted off to a half-sleep, catching what rest she could before it was time to go out looking again.
Words: 393
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Post by riza hawkeye on Feb 11, 2012 9:53:31 GMT -5
Work had been long, but she'd finished up early enough to get home and relax. Even just a light snack and a hot bath sounded wonderful to her muscles. However, those plans abruptly changed after her first walk with Hayate.
Sometimes, Riza just didn't get it. She couldn't understand what was bothering Black Hayate. Rather than his cool and collected usual self, Riza couldn't get the dog to calm down. No matter how many times she let him outside or took him for a walk, there was no change. Not to mention he'd begun to pull, tugging at his leash to walk faster. Riza had about had enough, but she knew it was impolite to shoot at dogs while walking down the street and just let out a low growl, "Hayate...". To no avail.
The one thing she had changed this time around was actually just letting him lead the way. Maybe whatever was on his mind would be settled in the end. Unfortunately, the pulling was getting worse as they approached one of the local grocery stores. It was one of the places she usually bought his food, but they'd been by that morning with no insanity. One thing was different, though.
There was a staircase beside the store with a girl seemingly curled up on it. Low and behold, Hayate went running at her, barking away. "Hayate - SIT!" By this point, her voice was laced with anger at the disobedience. Riza had had enough and his actions wouldn't go unpunished. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was subordinates disregarding a command, and he'd been doing that since she'd gotten home.
Finally, with a bit of sense, the dog plopped his butt on the ground. He continued to wiggle away, though. "I'm sorry, he's normally much more behaved than this. He must have caught a wiff of something on you - it's been bothering him all day." Riza could see the exhaustion on the girl's face and felt a pang of concern, likely because of her years around Elicia. "Are you alright?" |
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Post by alice "rio" grand on Feb 16, 2012 23:48:20 GMT -5
Tags: Riza
Soundtrack: Traffic Light
Author's Note: Hi! ^.^
Rio wasn't going to let herself fall truly asleep...that was a bad idea, even in the "safety" of Central. But she let her thoughts wander...or not wander, as the case may be. For a few brief minutes, she wouldn't think about anything.
The sounds of the street washed over her; the sounds of a child wailing, of cars driving by, of a woman calling out, perhaps to a pet or child. They pushed aside the brief peace in her mind, but they were a familiar lullaby. But even the sliver of peace left over was broken when a dog began to bark, and the way the sound moved informed her that it was coming right at her. Her eyes opened and she turned her head, her reactions perhaps a bit delayed by her exhaustion. She sighed deeply as both the dog and its owner came closer to her. Her heart skipped a beat as it came closer, and her legs shifted slightly, ready to run even in the face of this tiny peril.
But the woman seemed to get the dog to stop before he got to Rio, and what little stress she had gathered melted away. Though her eyes lingered momentarily on the dog, it went up to the woman as she was addressed. She was a pretty woman, but she held herself strong. Even chasing after that dog, she still looked kind of...graceful.
Rio blinked at the woman's words. "It's...it's fine," she mumbled in reply, the last word distorted by a huge yawn. She was so tired right now that she didn't know whether she even wanted to pursue a conversation, but it would be rude at this point to back out. Her eyes went back to the dog almost fearfully. The energetic things never failed to put her on edge, even when they were small and light enough for her to kick them across the street. She shifted again into a more upright position, no longer leaning so heavily on the guard. Keeping one hand on the groceries, she ran a hand through her hair.
The woman's question did throw Rio off. She opened her mouth for a moment, her mind taking a second to come up with a response. Finally, she settled on, "I've been better."
Words: 384
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Post by riza hawkeye on May 19, 2012 14:13:35 GMT -5
Riza was rather furious that she’d been forced to trouble this poor girl. It didn’t help her case that the girl had looked so content just moments before. Hayate would be receiving the brunt of her anger as soon as they got home. Otherwise, she expected being reported for abuse. Being around comrades was one thing. ”Are you sure? What are you doing sleeping on the streets, anyways?” Her attention was drawn away from her moronic dog and to the girl in front of her, noticing the exhaustion and how out of place she seemed. Central wasn’t the type of city where even teenagers could mope around safely, despite her crew’s best efforts.
The blonde gave another tug at the leash, glaring until Hayate chose to sit at her side rather than between them. Folding her arms, Riza’s head tilted slightly as she analyzed the girl. She sensed herself almost craving to get answers from the girl. Maybe it was unfortunate that she’d found quite a soft spot for youngsters since joining the military. ”Anything I can help you with? Those groceries – don’t they need to be put away?” In a way, Hawkeye wished this girl was as loudmouthed as Ed, seeing as she’d at least know everything that was going on without having to be the prying officer.
She hadn’t expected elaborate responses. The girl on the stairs reminded her of herself, especially in the way she responded. ”Look, kid, I’m not just gonna leave you here on the streets when you look that downtrodden. Just give me a brief explanation and I’ll see what I can do about it, alright?” She felt like that annoying grandmother. Another cookie? How about more? More now? God, it was ridiculous to think she was even doing this. Why did she feel like she’d gone soft since everything with the Homunculi went down? Maybe the lack of family was finally getting to her. What a frightening thought…
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Post by alice "rio" grand on May 21, 2012 22:02:13 GMT -5
Tags: Riza and dah puppy
Soundtrack: Traffic Light
Author's Note: Hi! ^.^
Rio still wasn't quite sure what to do in this situation. Though she was certainly not unused to people showing some concern for her, it was usually people she was at least somewhat familiar with, and even on the off chance that a total stranger approached her, that still didn't mean she knew how to deal with it. She was operating through a thick veil of exhaustion and hunger. She hated that state when you were halfway between being asleep and awake, usually forced on you when you had just drifted off and were rudely jerked back into the real world by a loud noise or sudden realization or epiphany. In this case...it had been a dog. Of course, Rio was annoyed her rest had been interrupted, but she supposed she couldn't blame the little guy. He'd probably been attracted to the food she'd bought. It was probably no better than dog food anyway.
The woman's question was one that was answered simply, but Rio couldn't deny the simple gratitude invoked that she had bothered to ask at all. Out of the hundreds of people who passed this street, one had bothered to ask at all. But Rio sighed, still too, well...too much like Rio to respond too emotionally to the question. She adjusted herself slightly as she pondered how best to answer. "Don't have anywhere else to sleep," she sighed, a simple and sad truth. She wasn't really going to bother lying...she was a horrible liar anyway. Her voice did this weird catch thing and her father insisted that she always looked at her feet before she lied. Two habits that kind of made lying difficult.
Rio noticed how the woman was being a bit harsh to her dog and decided to come to the poor guy's rescue, at least to spare him being pulled around. "Don't be too hard on the little guy," she said, fighting a yawn. "It's never every day you come across food just lying on the ground." She wasn't really sure why she was coming to the dog's aid, considering how much she hated the beasts. Even a small one like this made her uncomfortable, and she shifted her legs away from the little devil even as she defended him. She managed a small, very weak smile that fell from her face almost as soon as she attempted it.
The woman's second question, which seemed to be the first of many, sent Rio's gaze back to the bags she now had a very tight hold on. "I suppose," she agreed, though that wasn't as true as her other statements. She had deliberately chosen foods that didn't require refrigeration or special treatment or anything, because, as of this moment, she had no place to stay and was unable to provide them with such things. "Don't really have a place to put them."
But the woman continued to talk, this time asking for a brief explanation of what Rio assumed was her situation. She blinked, fighting back yet another yawn. "Not m...not much to say," she had to repeat herself slightly as she lost the battle to her show of exhaustion. "I don't have a place to stay."
Once again, Rio couldn't help admiring how this woman seemed to hold herself. Like...like a survivor. Rio didn't kid herself into ever believing she would be like that; she wasn't near motivated enough to push through her troubles to become like that. She was too...too tired. Too hopeless. She admired people who could pull through their hardships, but she didn't really see the point. Not with her luck.
Words: 606
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Post by riza hawkeye on Jun 14, 2012 16:54:23 GMT -5
Riza began to realize she had a problem with this situation when the girl mentioned she had nowhere to sleep. You mean out of all the people in this city, not one would take you in? Pondering that, she just shook her head a bit. That was a lie. Riza could name a list of people that probably would’ve let the girl in if she wanted. Maybe she just wasn’t looking in the right places. Maybe she didn’t have the hope to look in the right places. Riza wasn’t home enough to keep track of the girl, so she was debating what options she had for making this situation right. Still, the seed was planted and nagged slowly at her.
”I suppose you’re right. He doesn’t mean any harm ever, but quite a few people think otherwise. Having a dog in the city is quite the burden, really.” They just lacked the feeling of freedom. Unlike most, they couldn’t run around in the backyard. They couldn’t frolic around without being reprimanded. Heaven forbid he risked being protective of her, he’d probably be accused of having rabies. It was irritating, really, that he was among the things some people hated. As if she wanted to make a point, she found herself taking him out frequently and proving a point with him.
There it was again. Nowhere to put things of value. Even the Blakeney boy would offer her a place to store her food. He could probably even get her a job to raise some money. Her thoughts were livid, but she remained silent, just listening to the girl’s responses. This wasn’t the type of reputation she wanted for Central City if she had anything to do about it. When she got her explanation, she decided on what she was going to do about this. Maybe her apartment wasn’t big enough for all those without a place to go, but she could accommodate at least one.
Taking in a deep breath, she just hoped her friends would go along with her requests. ”Look, I can offer you a place to stay for awhile. Potentially get you to a family where you can permanently stay. I can also offer you a job through a friend of mine. It’ll get you on your feet.” There was a small shrug of her shoulders before she continued. ”What do you say? Care to join me? We can work out the details on the walk home.” The Hughes would probably love someone to preoccupy their minds and Riza knew it’d be a gift to Elicia to have someone else around the house. She didn’t doubt Gracia would enjoy having someone to cater for, even if this girl wasn’t working fulltime. That was just how the Hughes were.
Riza was hit by a bit of shock before she found herself laughing a bit. How unorganized of me. ”Sorry, guess it’d help to tell you my name. I am Riza Hawkeye and this is Black Hayate. If you can tolerate his excitement to greet you whenever you come to our place, you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.” It was a risk to take in someone she knew nothing about, but it didn’t look like this girl was a trouble maker. If she was, Riza would just find herself whipping another “private” into shape to be a respectable person. No one deserved to be on the streets.
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Post by alice "rio" grand on Jun 15, 2012 19:20:24 GMT -5
Tags: Riza!
Soundtrack: Misery
Author's Note: I feel rather good with this one XD I must say, I did not see that coming
Rio didn't think too much of the fact that she had just admitted to a total stranger that she was homeless...though she was very proud, she was not ashamed. Most people figured it out on their own and for those that didn't, she didn't feel it made too much of a difference. It just meant she never had to deal with annoying house-guests (which was one of the reasons she used to try and cheer herself up whenever the thought that she had no home began to depress her). Most people she associated with knew anyway. Some people would find that fact appalling, but yet another fact Rio accepted was that most people would be unable to help her.
The woman responded to Rio's half-hearted defense of her dog, but she responded well. Rio managed another small smile, but she couldn't hide the fact that the more time she spent around the dog, the more uncomfortable she became. She swore, one of these days, she would have to defeat this ridiculous fear. Today, however, was likely not that day, and so she once again shifted herself and her food a few centimeters away as the dog strayed just a bit closer.
Though the woman had initially shook her head for some reason at Rio's first bit of her confession, she didn't react much to the rest of Rio's answers. Rio wasn't really sure why she was talking so much; normally, she was a bit more close-lipped. Perhaps it was the exhaustion talking. Though she had successfully shaken off that lingering sleepy feeling, the fact didn't change that her mind was only really operating at about half power right now. She didn't interact enough with people to know, but she was betting she was one of those wonderful people who chattered when they were tired. She fought back another yawn, this time reaching up to rub her eye as the woman's voice washed over her. She wasn't really paying attention, having stupidly allowed her mind to wander, and when the words finally were applied to meanings and meanings combined and put in the right order to make a perfect sentence, her eyes snapped open, and a rush of adrenaline briefly pushed her exhaustion out of her body.
This seemed almost too good to be true. This woman was offering her both a temporary and a permanent place (possibly), as well as a possible job. She almost went to pinch herself, just to see if she really had fallen asleep. Rio hesitated a moment before saying anything, wondering if perhaps this was a trick or something. But...what could this woman possibly gain from tricking a random homeless teen into her home? Though after recent events, she supposed she couldn't be too careful, she supposed the world wouldn't be too hard off if something were to happen to her.
But, looking into the woman's eyes, Rio couldn't see any signs of betrayal or anything malevolent, and so she allowed a true smile to break out over her face for the first time since they had run into each other. She had to struggle to come up with anything to say, though...the woman had knocked her quite speechless in just a few moments. "That sounds...very nice," she replied, kicking herself for not having anything else to say. Perhaps she had used up all her words earlier. But she forced herself to say more, just to avoid seeming rude. "As long as I'm not too much of a burden..."
That seemed a rather strange thing for her to worry about but, when it came to taking up space in other people's homes for more than a day or two, it was a concern for her. Most of the time, she was only allowed a place to stay for at most a week, but this...this was something vastly different. This was almost out of her experience entirely.
Before she could think any more on the subject, the woman introduced herself, and her dog. Riza. That was a nice name. Kind of familiar, though Rio couldn't for the life of her remember from where. The smile had already faded from her face, but her expression was still pleasant as she responded. "I'm Alice...but just call me 'Rio'." Only her parents had ever called her 'Alice'. She looked at the dog as he was introduced, nodding at him nervously. "Doggie." For the moment, that was all the greeting she could muster for him.
Rio pulled herself to her feet with some difficult, now painfully aware of how long it had been since she had eaten or gotten a good night's sleep. She leaned on the rail, looking at Riza as strong as she could muster. Now that she was paying attention to it, she admitted that the woman intimidated her as well as calmed her. She had a presence like she knew what she was going to do, and heaven help anyone who dared try and stop her. "Thank you very much, Riza." Though it may seem awfully personal to use a first name so early on, that was just the way Rio did things. Very rarely did she use anyone's last name, even when she knew it.
Words: 877
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