The Stranger Within *OPEN*

[Demi Fae]

What a reaction over her name and where she was from. "Yes, from Georgia." She nodded, not understanding how he couldn't believe it given the difference in the way they talked. His 'accent' was sharp and crisp and sometimes she could barely make out any vowels in his words. Not that she would be so rude to say something, but she had definitely noticed his accent. "Yes. Demi Fae. D-E-M-I," She took a breath in to continue, "F-A-E. Not to be confused with the Faye side of the family. We won't even be going there. It's best to just leave sleeping dogs lie." Demi assured 'Kings,' as he agreed to take her to the police station.

There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes when he confessed to having a phone, then it fell when he mentioned the reception. "Oh. Righto." It made sense to Demi, the walls above, around and below them were solid rock, so chances were there would be no reception. And it seemed like he didn't want to be down here any more than she did. "Okay." She replied to 'Kings' pleas to get moving her *** more or less. "Thanks again. I really appreciate it." Demi reminded him as they kept walking, then had no choice but to move to the right as the tunnel shifted in that direction. "This place is sort of...weird. Do you think that guy lives down here? There was a bed and other things. Looked like someone lived here." Demi hadn't pegged the guy for being a bum when she saw him back in Georgia, but why else would someone live in a dark, somewhat dank place with monsters? Then a darker thought sprang to mind. Only monsters could live among other monsters. So what sort of monster was he?

[Lincoln King]

He stared at her over his shoulder as spelled out her name like he was the one who was weird. She clearly had no idea that in this city announcing you were Demi Fae wasn't necessarily the best idea, but he wasn't the person to tell her. You learned a lot of strange things when you leaned towards the supernatural side of things, and you also learned that for the most part it was wise to keep your mouth shut and keep those things to yourself. "No interest in waking your dogs, Miss Fae, wherever they're laying." The words were grumbled with the appropriate air of skepticism and polite disinterest.

They kept walking, this time with seemingly less hesitation on her part, and a show of gratitude. His mind had shifted, settled and he'd relaxed more the closer they got to the exit. Kingsley was getting well and truly bored, bored to the point where he found himself finally retreating. Lincoln was back in control of his body, but it took him a moment to catch up to what that meant. The man's gait shifted, causing him to stumble and come up short, reaching out to catch at a wall. Had she been in a position to see she might have spotted brief, fleeting panic and confusion, quickly smoothed out with an accompanying clearing of the throat. "Yeah, anytime. Sorry, lost my footing." He glanced back at her, flashing a sideways smile, one that didn't entirely touch his eyes. "Living down here? Might be. Not the best place to call home, but i've seen stranger things. You think your kidnapper leaves in an abandoned factory? Even though they could afford to steal you from Georgia?" There was less bite to his tone now, presenting the flaw in her logic as a question, endeavouring to use a slighlty more diplomatic approach.

The exit was close, he knew this factory well and he could see his chosen entry. "Come on,
Miss Fae, just up here and then we'll try to get hold of your family and get you home."

[Demi Fae]

Demi stopped when she heard the struggle of footing and reached a hand out, as if to help 'Kings.' But he was using the wall to help his fall, and when his comment about footing hit her ears, Demi looked down at the ground with a bigger appreciation. Or at least a form of respect. Just one wrong move and her career could be over. Something she couldn't afford. What would Demi do, if she couldn't dance anymore? She couldn't even imagine a different life, because there was no other life for her. "Be careful. Please."

"I don't know." She could see the flaw in her thinking. It did seem strange to think someone could put her on a plane to another country, only to live like a pauper or something in some old factory. "Probably not." Demi nodded, then shrugged as she dropped the hand that went out to give a weak offering of help. "Maybe he doesn't live here, but this is where..." She trailed off, not wanting to think about why she might be down here. Some sort of sadistic serial killer plot. But then couldn't he have just killed her back in Georgia? "I don't know." Demi submitted defeat to her trains of thoughts. "Forget it."

She was willing to drop it, because of the promise of getting in touch with her family and getting back home. Demi looked up at where 'Kings' was encouraging her to go, then back around the area, before she nodded. "Okay." She moved up the small ramp to the next floor, looking back occasionally to make sure 'Kings' was still with her and that he wasn't tripping over his feet again. Neither one of them needed that. Him, for a potential injury and her for getting out of here. He was the first and only person she had seen down here, so he was her saving grace for tonight. "How far is the police department from here, you think?" Demi asked, making some small conversation as she started climbing a set of stairs. How much further to the exit, she wondered.

[Lincoln King]

Up the ramp they walked, and were quickly in view of the large window which he'd come down through, left open for a quick exit. There was a large ledge, easy enough to grip the edge and swing yourself up through it if you had his height and strength, something he hadn't entirely thought through for Demi, glancing uncertainly back at her. "Police station?" She'd given him something to distract his thoughts, to put off the awkward moment when he had to suggest he help her through the window. "A short run, a steady walk or a stop on the train. I could call you a car, if you want. Are you hurt at all?"

It wasn't something he'd thought of, she'd seemed to be moving well enough but as they came closer to the window it struck him, giving him pause to look her over, assessing her for any signs of pain or injury as she moved ahead of him up the stairs. Not exactly like he knew what he was looking for beyond the super obvious. No blood would be a great sign. The staircase was rickety and risky at best, he took each step with some caution and consideration, one hand on the thin rail and the other resting close to her back in case she stumbled. He didn't touch her, it felt like a line between them without invitation or necessity. "We have to go up through the window." He finally addressed the elephant in the room, their impending escape from the abandoned factory. "I can help you, if you'd like, or if you need, I guess..."

[Demi Fae]

'Kings' was full of a lot of information and as he helped her, Demi seemed to relax and believe that he might not have anything to do with the guy she met in Georgia that one night and that him being down here was just some 'fluke.' A short run or a little bit of a longer walk. She could do both, though in her boots, walking might be the preferred option. She didn't want, or need to twist her ankle. Or ruin a pair of good boots. "Hurt?" Demi glanced down quickly at the parts of her legs that were visible, then shook her head. "I don't think so. I don't feel hurt." She assured 'Kings,' with a smile that accompanied her words. "And if it's not that far, a car isn't needed. I think?" Demi didn't want to have to explain why she needed to go to the police station to yet another stranger.

Demi had stopped to look around. Where was the door? How did he get in here? There had to be a way...and then she saw the window and Demi frowned. There was no way she could even reach the window, so how was she going to get out of here? And that's when he told Demi what needed to be done. "Oh." Demi looked down at her skirt that went to just around her knees and then at him. But, there was no other way and so Demi nodded her head. "Okay." Demi leaned a hand against the wall, and began to unzip her boots. No need to hurt the guy while he was trying to help her. "Can you toss these up to me after?" She asked, holding both her boots in her other hand. She wasn't worried about him being able to pick her up, he looked capable enough. It wasn't as if he had to do anything then give her a boost, so it should be fine. "Ready when you are." Demi said as she put the boots down on the ground, turned towards the window, then brought her left foot up in the air as both her hands landed on his shoulders.

[Lincoln King]

Lincoln gave the smallest of relieved sighs at her acknowledging that she was indeed ok, no physical injury that would make what was already going to be a fairly awkward exit even more difficult to accomplish. Had it been a friend, someone he knew, then the prospect of having to either lift them through the window or give them a boost wouldn't have been a big deal, but this was a stranger who appeared somewhat delusional... And was wearing a skirt. That hadn't escaped his notice, the man with the photographic memory missed few details and had even less luck forgetting them. He was glad to hear that maybe, just maybe, she was less of a delicate princess than he'd suspected, willing to walk her way to safety rather than taking the offered easy out. It reminded him that he wasn't exactly in a position to offer her an easy way out of the current situation, and that window was looming in front of them, waiting.

"Yeah, sorry. There might be another way but this is the quickest, not sure we want to risk going back down." He sounded slightly sheepish, glancing around as if another way might magically appear. He glanced back to find her agreeable, leaning against the wall to unzip her boots, making him cringe slightly at the idea of her bare feet on the gritty floor. If dirty was the worst she came out of this with, then it wasn't all so bad after all, but it still grossed him out. Lincoln bent his knees slightly when she came towards him, giving a short nod. "I'll bring the boots up." He agreed, crouching to a height that she could comfortably put her hands on his shoulders for support, locking his fingers together and presenting them as a cradle for the foot that she lifted. Supporting her he counted, One, two, three..." And on that three extended to his full height, hands pushing upwards to boost her so that she could reach for the ledge. It was a wide window, the ledge broad enough to give a good handhold, Lincoln trying to ensuring that he helped her with steady, sure hands to make it through.

[Demi Fae]

Just as Demi suspected, Kings was able to lift her pretty easily. Once Demi was up in the air and near the window, both her hands sought the ledge and once those hands were wrapped around the ledge, she finished hoisting herself up and through it. Upper body strength was not her forte, so there it was a slow, somewhat painful struggle. After a couple of minutes, Demi was half way through the window, which changed things from painful to tolerable. Once her stomach found the ledge, it was easy for the woman to complete the task and get through.

Demi tumbled through the window and laid on her back. Demi took a deep breath in and then let it out. After doing that twice, she popped her head through the window, and looked down at Kings. "Need a hand?" Demi offered, because it was the only thing she could do. "Or two?" Demi leaned into the window more, offering both hands as they dangled from the window. "If you jump, maybe?" Sure, he was a guy, but without some sort of help or assistance, Demi didn't think he was going to get through the window. Then again, he did come down here a lot it seemed.

[Lincoln King]

He kept his eyes directed to the window, careful not to look directly up as he aided her through the window. He was strong enough that lifting her gave him little trouble, she was light, young and fit, which made it potentially more awkward the way his hands shifted to assist her. It might have been easier if he'd gone through first, had pulled her up, but she had seemed eager to do it herself and he wasn't about to argue. Once she had managed to ease herself through, laid out on the ground just out of view he called up to her. "Ok up there?" Taking the sound of breaths as a good indication she wasn't entirely wrecked from the activity. He waited patiently, not wanting to jump up and land on her, the last thing they needed was more awkward before they were free and clear of each other.

His brows went up as she appeared dangling through the window, yep definitely in one piece, offering to help him up through the window. If it wasn't more likely to hinder him initially then he would have accepted, but Lincoln was a practiced hand at this kind of thing. "I think I'm good, take a step back and I'll be up in a sec." The sorcerer took a few steps back, stretching out his arms in preparation for the jump. It was high up and required slight maneuvering to reach the ledge, Lincoln bracing himself before launching forward, using speed and force, pushing one foot against the wall as he jumped, pushing off to give the extra height required. His fingertips hooked over the edge of the ledge, using it as leverage to hoist himself up, arms straining, stomach tensing, muscles shifting to drag his legs up and hook over in a surprisingly fluid motion. He felt the familiar sensation of heat in the muscles he'd used, the kind that could potentially build into a pleasant slow burn, an ache if he continued to work them. It was what he'd been craving, the distraction of the physical, of movement.

Lincoln rested on the ledge amount, glancing up at Demi, a slight smile on his face. "Hey...
So... Freedom?" He gestured vaguely to the outside world, hoping that they were clear of the worst of the wandering dead at least.

[Demi Fae]

Was she okay? Demi felt okay, or maybe she just felt relieved to be out of the strange place. "Yep. Very okay." Demi assured 'kings' as she looked down at him and gave him a little smile, before he told her to step back. Demi made a small face of uncertainty before she nodded and said "Good luck!" then did as he told her. Hopefully it worked out for the best, but if it didn't...

Luckily, Demi didn't have to think about that. It seemed 'Kings' was a pretty good jumper and had some decent upper body strength. All points in his favor if he ever had to fight his way out of a place should his life depend on it. When he was standing once again, Demi saw the flush in his cheeks and she focused on that for a little longer than she should have. He probably thought she was gawking at him, but luckily, 'kings' mentioned something about freedom-her freedom. "Right! Yes. Freedom." Demi said with another nod of her head before looking around and past him. "Thank you for all your help. I would say see you around...but...I don't plan on ever stepping foot in Canada again." Demi confessed, before offering a wave. "Thanks, Kings! If you're ever in Georgia...you know my name." Demi gave him a little wink before she headed east bound.

[Lincoln King]

Linc made his way through the window, stretching luxuriously to standing, hands hooked behind his head as he took in a deep breath of air that wasn't quite so stale. Perhaps he had a dirt smudge on his cheek, Lincoln tugging his sleeve over his hand, taking an ideal swipe at his face just in case when she looked away. It had been a strange look, made him feel exposed, made him want to look away and make an excuse to run in the other direction but he didn't know why. She seemed to start, suddenly realising that freedom was in fact within her grasp, that it would be easy to turn and walk away. That was exactly what she had planned it seemed.

Demi was walking away, having blurted out a thank you and mild confession about leaving the country with hopes of never returning and he just stood there like a stunned mullet, staring after her. She'd not gotten far when he mentally slapped himself, remembering his promise to let her call ahead, or to direct her to the police station. Though neither an offer of his phone, nor directions left his mouth when he opened it, "Lincoln." He called out instead, wincing, "My name is Lincoln..." With a mild shake of his head, pointing in case she chose to look he finally gave her the directions to the station, gesturing towards the road. "Cop shop? Go right. Walk down the main road, take the third left just after the coffee shop and it should be the first right. If you get lost, ask at the shop, they'll have a phone..." He cleared his throat, glancing in the other direction, the way which he intended to head. "Good luck, Demi, it's been... Interesting."