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It was a long tour, but in a way, Dawn felt that it was needed. The getting out of the city. The getting away from the reminders. She licked her lips and the tips of her fangs as she looked out the window of her tour bus. They had already dropped off the rest of the band, so now the bus was pulling up to where it normally dropped her off. The doors opened as the big black and pink tour bus came to a stop in front of the apartments and she looked over from her spot on the couch to the open doors. "Welcome home, Miss Chekov."

"Thank you, Bernie. I'll see you soon." Dawn said as she gathered her things and headed off the bus. She glanced around and took a deep breath of the Harper Rock air, her eyes hidden behind large glasses, her long, Sailor Moon like hair flowing in the soft breeze. In a way, it was glad that not many people in Harper Rock knew about her. But her new album was about to drop, so that could change in a heart beat. She looked up to the moon and just stood there as Bernie closed the doors to the bus and started off.

Now, it was just time to get used to things in this city again.

The first several days in new places are always the most stressful to Xuhixe. Foreign sounds. Foreign scents. Foreign textures. All do quite a number on her senses, having been thrown into a dark, raging sea and still expected not to become overwhelmed by a wave of new everythings. She tightens her grip around the handle of Perro's harness, tugging back on it subtly to alert the hound to slow down a bit so she could better understand her surroundings with the rhythmic sway-and-tap of her cane. He obliges.
Perro, as his name suggests, is a large sized dog (namely of the German Shepherd/mix breed). He is strong in presence with gentle, intelligent brown eyes, and naturally unruly fur. Very mild and patient. Not to mention obedient and level headed. He has to be, of course, he is Xuhixe's eyes as he leads her through Harper Rock--her Seeing-Eye Dog and her guardian. Which is fitting, because she does posses an appearance that would deem her in need of some sort of protector.

Xuhixe is short of stature--very short---reaching around four-foot-ten with a youth and gentleness everpresent in her features. Even within her sightless eyes. She is lithe with a few curves and has enough muscle definition to hint her more active lifestyle... or perhaps it is the result of the good genes that make up for her vertically challenged physique. Her skin, in great contrast to Dawn, is a darker shade akin to coffee with a little milk mixed into it. Her short, wavy, feathery hair is even darker in its hue of taupe, and has been wisped back into a fairly loose ponytail. As for wear, Xuhixe took care to dress in cozy clothing. A simple black tank top, a green half top, and a pair of cute, snug-fit jeans. Nothing about her screamed aversion or warning. Far from either, usually the opposite in fact, which is likely a reason for the presence of such a large dog.

The two are crossing the street along the nearest pedestrian walkway about the time Dawn's bus arrives, and have crossed by the time the up-and-coming celebrity emerges. The noise the large vehicle produced, in contrast to the more settled quiet at such a time during the night, is far more upleasant than it would be during the day with a plethora of cars zipping hither and thither at this nearness. Xuhixe fails to hide her distaste for the din, her opinion of it showing clearly through the little frown on her features. Any normal day, she would not have minded nearly as much, but of course, this is not a normal day for the woman. Because of the noise, Xuhixe pulls tight back against the harness, telling Perro to stop moving, so she could wait out the behemoth automobile. Consequently, the little woman halts near the rear of the bus and gets a face full of exhaust and heat as Bernie drives the vehicle away. Wrinkling her nose at the smell, Xuhixe turns her head away from the fumes, but is in the end, very grateful the bus is gone.

No more 'white noise'.

Dawn continued to stare into the night, the usual soft caress of the cooler Canadian air reminding her of her home back in Alaska. Of course, Harper was closer to the lower 48 than Alaska - especially her home - was and this meant that even to her, the cooler air wasn't nearly as cold as some people would thing. It was summer in Canada, it was summer in the northern hemisphere but where she had been from, even in summer, days could be chilly to anyone who didn't come from the state. So being down here, it was nearing sweltering for her. She eased out of her rainbow colored jacket that matched her rainbow colored hair extensions and lay the small thing across her bag.

As she looked up, she noticed the woman standing where the bus' rear end had been only moments ago, and she had to feel sorry for the girl and the animal for getting the blow of exhaust from her tour bus. Dawn, ever the social butterfly, she set the rest of her things on her bag and then walked over to the woman, noticing only then that the dog was a service dog. She knew them well, because despite everything that said to the otherwise, she had had a disability all her life. Only, hers wasn't as clear as the girl before her.

Dawn smiled and knew to keep her calm, happy air about her, because service dogs were more protective of their charges than those in the family. This dog didn't know her from Adam, so it was the dog she knew she had to convince first that she would not harm his charge, not the charge herself. "Hey there!" She said cheerily.

The smell of exhaust lingers in the air for a moment or two, but it is faint enough to ignore (much to Xuhixe's relief). The cold, on the other hand, is not as easily scrapped from the mind, but she does not complain. Eventually, she will stumble upon a clothing store for attire more fitting of these temperatures, but until then, a half jacket and jeans will suffice. The woman hails from Florida after all, 'The Sunshine State'; the coolest weather Xuhixe had ever dealt with is a freezing forty degrees. Forty-eight is no cake walk, but Xuhixe chose not to worry about it too much. As long as she moves, Xuhixe tells herself, she should be able to handle it. After adjusting her grip on the cane, hound and human press forward two or so steps more before a feminine, good-spirited greeting draws her attention.

"Hey there!"

Perro is once again encouraged to stop. Lifting his head, the canine's eyes and ears turn attentively in Dawn's direction, nose twitching with each subtle whiff of the brisk air curiously at stranger approaching. Her genial behavior seems to succeed at keeping him more inquisitive than wary. Unlike her dog, Xuhixe is uncertain the voice she heard addresses her and not someone else in the vicinity. She lets go of Perro's harness to free a hand and, with an index finger, the petite woman points to her chest in wordless query. "Me?"

Dawn, as she reaches the girl and the dog, holds her hand out a little, clearly offering it to the dog so he can catch her scent as she lifts her gaze to the girl. Her silence sort of throws Dawn for a moment before she is able to comprend - or at least take a wild guess - as to what is going on. Is it the girl can't speak? Is a mute as well as blind? If it were true, it was something Dawn could work with - given time. She left her hand out a bit longer for the service dog to sniff to his content as she answered.

"Indeed. You." She said in her same cheery tone, her Russian accent muted but still tinting her speech. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok. You looked upset about something. I'm guessing my tour bus..." She said in a tone that would be clear that she was concerned but not at all upset. "My name is Dawn." She said and then glanced down to the dog for a moment before returning her gaze to the girl.

Perro presses his nose close the pale palm offered to him, audible sniffs sounding from his damp nostrils. After a moment, he pulls back and licks his muzzle, brown eyes attentively ascending to watch her closely while his ears pivot about for other sounds. Eventually the hound becomes comfortable enough to crouch into a sit upon the sidewalk, but his vigilance does not waver. He waits patiently as the two women converse.

Xuhixe smiles slightly, a meekness scooting itself into her features, and she dismisses the concern. "I am okay. It has been a long day." She signs after releasing the grip on her cane, not taking into consideration yet that the individual she speaks to might not understand sign language. She would learn if that is the case sooner or later. "I just have to adjust to my new surroundings. It is nice to meet you, Dawn." A few contemplative beats slip themselves between her next few gestures. "You mentioned a tour bus. Where are you from, if you do not mind me asking?"

Dawn smiled slightly as she watched the girl signing her response. She was quick though so it made keeping up with what she was saying and asking a bit of a stretch for the girl that had little experience with the language. Perhaps later she would have to take a refresher course. For now though, she used ballpark guesses about what it was that the girl was saying to her as well as what she was asking her. Dawn took a moment to double check in her mind that what she saw had really been what the girl was asking before she responded.

"Sorry, I'm a little rusty with my sign language, so if I miss something..." She started with and then continued, "It's nice to meet you too, and I can understand trying to get used to things around here. As for the tour bus. I'm originally from Alaska, but I moved here about a year ago or so. I just got back from one of my tours and was about to head back into my place. Mind if I ask what your name is dear?" She left out the part that first she would have to sneak past the gates to get into the Quarantine Zone where she lived.

Xuhixe nods, her lips forming an 'O' as if she is expressing a similar exclamation. "Sorry. Alaska is very far away. Do you miss it?" She signs, taking her speed down a couple notches with an apologetic smile. "I thought you were a tourist." The petite grins to herself. "You are a musician, then?" Xuhixe continues in query to the pale woman. Before the sightless human hears a reply from the other, her mind already sorts through names she could have heard from people or media that match with Dawn's own. Nothing came to mind immediately, since the youth payed attention to the names and lyrics of the songs she had heard instead of the singers and songwriters themselves.

Xuhixe's brows float high up, "Prima Dawna?" She queries as her lips form briefly into an 'O'. "The real Dawna of Prima Dawna?" She huffs a breath akin to an exhaled laugh. "Your voice sounded familiar." Her lips tug into another smile, "I used to listen to you sing on the radio. I wish I could have your voice." MP3s and iPods are not a luxury she found necessary, having to rely mainly on her ears (and her dog) such devices could put her in a very dangerous or easily avoidable predicament. The radio is much more handy because of that, as long as the signals are strong. The technology is not in her ears and she could still enjoy music and stories, or listen to the news and radio talk shows. The one technology that did not lose its purpose to the sightless youth growing up with it.
Unfortunately, Xuhixe will have to purchase a new one because it did not survive the move--much to her distaste.

" 'Sweetie' and 'Dear' have nice sounds to me." She bites an edge of her bottom lip with humor bordering a grin, "..but you can call me Ku or Zu, instead." Reaching over with carefully seeking fingers, Perro is given a loving scratch behind the ears. The huge dog wags his tail but still stares curiously at Dawn.
"And this.." She stops briefly to sign to the other, "..is Perro." A name which, if one is somewhat familiar with Spanish, means 'dog'.