Homeless [open to Vi]

[Lillith Tiller]

It was midnight in downtown Jump City, and the Allen County Courthouse was quiet save for one sound.

Lillith Tiller, who went by Shiro these days, lay on the steps of the courthouse, her back against the cool marble, her legs folded comfortable. She tilted herself up by one arm and the other was in motion as Shiro lifted it to throw the ball against the opposite pillar in the courthouse. She had fashioned the tennis ball out of a pebble, and it was a sort of game she liked to play -- of course she only had ten seconds to throw and catch the ball, lest it turn into a pebble again

The courthouse, Shiro had figured, was a rather safe place to be, despite how much the placed disturbed her. For one thing, it was clean and white, and it was a place where criminals were brought and judged. Shiro supposed that she would fall under the category of a criminal for the things she had done, although she didn't consider herself one. And being outside at night was eerie. Downtown and near the courthouse meant that there were less people here; criminals instinctively chose to avoid the courthouse, which was one of the reasons Shiro had chosen it.

Still... Shiro didn't like it. It made her feel uneasy, and she needed to find a place to get to sleep in the morning. Presently, she stood, letting the ball bounce to the floor. She walked over to the door, her mind automatically counting out the ten seconds until the ball turned back into the pebble.

Shiro lifted her hand up to touch the courthouse door. Ten. Somewhere in the darkness, the ball had turned into a pebble. Focusing on the present, Shiro used her powers to do something she was very used to: turn a sturdy wall into a sturdy wall with a hole. In a matter of seconds it had transformed, and Shiro dropped her hand, sauntering inside.

Six, seven. By now she could count to ten in her sleep. Shiro lifted her head up and scanned the courthouse. After a moment, she began to walk down the hallway.

Ten. Walking quickly simply because she was tired and wanted to sleep, Shiro wandered the halls. Eventually, after transforming a small number of doors, she found the staff room. She smiled slightly to herself. There was a refriderator and a couch.

Shiro yawned, making her way over to the fridge and pulling it open. Perfect. A salad left in from before. She pulled it out, setting it on the table, and began to help herself the the various items she found in the room: cups, silverware, an apple, even a jacket. Then she sat down, brandishing her fork.

[ferus]

"Is that really any good?" a voice asked from the corner of the room. "Honestly, it smells terrible."

A young man was leaning against the wall in the corner by the door, and his pale eyes were amused. He stood at just over six feet, but his slight frame and angular features didn't make him look all that powerful. There was a sharp, wild cast to his features, but the laid-back and friendly expression on his face kept him from looking threatening. Instead, he looked like a cat at rest, watching with the unnatural stillness common to felines. The only sign that he might be a threat was the sheath he wore across his back and the fact that no one had been aware of his presence. And maybe the teeth that were just slightly longer than the norm, closer to fangs than those of a normal human.

"I usually go for meat myself," he continued, as if nothing was unusual about the circumstances.

He hadn't come to raid the fridge, as she obviously had. He was merely curious about the security of the building, since so many criminals came in and out. He'd noticed a few of the guys that he'd bagged being brought through in the short time that he'd been in the courthouse, and he didn't like how simple it had been to get in undetected. If he could break in so easily and this girl could as well, it would be an easy matter for less amiable characters to free the people he'd labored to throw in there. How irritating. He would have to have a chat with some officials soon to see what they could do to amend the situation.

But no sign of his preoccupation showed outwardly. Just like a cat, he could make his focus seem absolute, whether or not it really was.

[Lillith Tiller]

Shiro froze at the voice that came from behind her. Then, in one quick movement, she had stood, pulled the chair out from under herself, and whirled around. The fork was still poised in her hands; now, it could serve as a powerful weapon. Shiro took in the boy's appearance, while all the while her body was tense, quivering as she prepared for moving in case he moved to attack her.

He seemed a few years older than her, so he wasn't an official. Then again, taking in those sharp, feline eyes and his own stillness, he could be a Super. Shiro's eyes narrowed, and she waited for him to do something. There was a long silence as she thought. How long had the boy been there? He had seen her power, that was for certain, and he was taking it rather calmly. Had he followed her into the courthouse? She hadn't seen him before.

Finally, she spoke. She lowered the fork, but only slightly. "Leave me alone," she commanded, because truly, she was exhausted. "Please? I just want to eat and sleep."

[ferus]

"In a Courthouse?" he inquired, raising a thin eyebrow. "Interesting choice of accommodations."

He remained in place, not moving except for his face. He could tell by her body language that she was afraid of him (or at the very least, wary of him), and he wasn't going to do anything to further her discomfort. Although it might have been a bit more unnerving the way he didn't move, not even to shift his weight to a different leg. That and the piercing stare, but he couldn't exactly help that. The calm and friendly expression was the best he could do, since he couldn't exactly alter the way his face was structured.

"But seriously, is that stuff any good? I've never really liked salad."

He wrinkled his nose a little at the word salad. It smelled strongly of vinegar, like most salads did. The dressing on it was clearly vinegar based, probably vinegarette. It smelled terrible to someone like Ferus, who had a very powerful sense of smell. Besides, the salad itself could hardly be appetizing. Ferus tended to act more like a predator than a herbivore, and part of that tendency was an aversion to eating plants and a fondness for meat.

[Lillith Tiller]

Shiro's eyes narrowed. Inwardly, she was hurt. Yes, she was trying to eat and sleep in a courthouse. Why? Because, in all honesty, she had nowhere else to go. She was completely alone, and so, yes, she had resorted to using the Courthouse for her home. It was the only thing she could do. Shiro didn't show any of this, instead just stared at him. He asked her about the salad again, and she sighed. What did it matter if it tasted good? It was just something to go in her stomach. There was water to wash it down afterwards.

He wasn't moving, she noticed. Unnaturally still. This didn't bother heras much as it should; at this point, she was so exhausted that she didn't care. Shiro turned around, pulling up the chair, and sat down again. With that, she began to eat. Sure, this boy could eat her, but maybe he had turned to stone instead.

[ferus]

He finally moved, and when he did, it was a quick swivel of his head toward the door, as if something had suddenly come to his attention. It had. His sharp ears had caught the steps of someone coming closer than the others. Most people walked the halls according to the rules of a road, walking on the right side. It was easy to tell who was coming for the door behind which they stood, or sat rather. They were moving against the flow of traffic, and the footsteps around the obstruction were loud and numerous as they avoided walking into him. A normal human ear wasn't likely to hear the difference.

"Unless you have a clearance badge, I suggest you hide yourself," he said before sinking back into the darkness and leaping into the broad beams of the low ceiling. With his perfect stillness, he all but disappeared into the shadows before the handle of the door began to jiggle. Ferus had chosen that particular room to hide in because the door had been known to stick. It gave him extra time to find a hiding place if someone tried to come in. Usually, that was just a pointless security precaution, since he could hear people coming from a long ways away, but it was convenient in this case.

[Lillith Tiller]

Well, he hadn't eaten her yet. That was a good sign. The man was so quiet, Shiro wasn't sure if he'd left or not. She hoped he had; all she wanted to do was finish eating and then sleep. God, she wanted sleep so badly.

Shiro was halfway done with her salad when he spoke suddenly. She froze, his words registering quickly. She made a face. Security. Security people were her enemies. Shiro stood, turning just to see the man leap into the rafters. She watched him, laughing a bit to herself.

She did believe him. There probably was a security person somewhere near here. But Shiro had time. There was always time to escape when one could walk through walls. She closed the lid on the salad, grabbing her stuff and packing it all away quickly. Striding over to sweep the jacket into her arms, she took one last peek into the fridge and stole the remaining food in there. Then, throwing a little smile at the now invisible man -- he had, after all, warned her, Shiro touched the wall.

A hole appeared in the wall, and she slipped through it. She turned around just to see someone come fully into the room, an oddly dressed person, actually. Before he could come after her, Shiro touched the wall again, and it went back into its original structure.

Shiro had escaped. Sure, she had cut it a little close, but she had escaped.

[ferus]

Dropping silently to the floor behind the man, he closed the door and knocked the man unconcious before he could raise any alarms. There was no reason for the man, obviously a security guard, to follow this girl. She was clearly stealing to survive, and whether it was illegal or not, he couldn't ignore that she was a person in need. The legal system didn't have contingencies that many street kids could live with. He knew. He'd lived on the streets for a while, and he'd hunted to survive, but in the city, that wasn't exactly possible for most people.

He looked down at the fallen security guard. There would be no permanent damage. He might have a headache when he woke up, though. It was fortunate that this building had a air system which was fairly old-fashioned. The vents were built into the walls, and they were quite large. He navigated deftly outside and dropped to the pavement as soon as the coast was clear. Did that girl get out alright? He tasted the air. There were so many scents to sort through... But he found it. That girl's scent. He followed it, tasting the air subtlely by keeping his mouth ever-so-slightly open. It led outside the room and away, but he followed. Hers had been one of the only scents in the room, and it was mixed with that powerful vinegar scent.

"I didn't get your name," he said as soon as he was close enough.

[Lillith Tiller]

Well, now that the staff room was occupied, Shiro had to find another place to stay. She knew the probability of anyone finding her in such a large building was small, and that even if the guard raised alarm, Shiro could always escape. It was one of the many things she loved about her powers, even though she hated them. Her powers had made her have to leave her home; they had broken up her parents' marriage.

She pushed these thoughts back as she walked. The way things were going, Shiro would probably have to make her own place to stay this time. With a small sigh, she headed upstairs, and eventually found a suitable room.

It was small, but Shiro hated open spaces, so this was a good thing. It looked like it could be a meeting place, but more relaxed for important people. There were hard couches and a large table in the middle. Shiro pushed this aside, creating herself an empty circle inside of the couches.

It was then that the man appeared. Again.

Shiro turned. He had helped her, she'd give him that, but she still wanted to sleep. "Shiro," she murmured quietly. Turning around again, she reached over to her left wrist and pulled out a bracelet, dropping it on the floor. In ten seconds, it had turned into a plain, but definitely visible bed.

[ferus]

"Look, Shiro," he said, "I know you're tired and all, but someone is going to find that guard I had to knock out in a few minutes at most. This place is about to be flooded with security people in about fifteen minutes."

His face and tone was carelessly pleasant, as if they were talking about something delightful but uninteresting. By his calm and confident posture, one would never have described him as tense or nervous, despite the guards that were about to be scrambled. That's not to say he actually was careless. He was simply confident that his sharp senses would catch any danger long before it arrived, although there was no cockiness about his demeanor. There was a distinct lack of fear and concern about his person, and given his slight frame, it seemed a little misplaced to the untrained eye. A trained eye would see the unconcious grace with which he moved, the acute intensity of his eyes, and the sureness with which he moved.

"I don't really know who you are, and to be honest, I don't really care," he admitted, his eyes soft. "But the government is corrupt, or at least certain sects of it. I would hate to see them get their hands on someone with your gifts. If you are arrested, the government labs will find some excuse to take you."

He wasn't likely to admit the reasons behind his words. He hadn't had special abilities when the government had taken him from the orphanage, and he had still been treated as badly as a lab rat, or worse. He didn't want to imagine what kind of treatment she would get. Even if it was the same treatment as he had been given, he wouldn't wish that kind of pain on his worst enemy, much less a complete stranger. He still had an abundance of scars from his time in the government labs, and not all of them were physical.

[Tim Drake]

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

A barely audible rustle of fabric suddenly fluttered as a darkened shadow fell from the one and only ceiling vent in the small meeting room, the sound of solid heavy boots softly landing on carpeted ground as a flowing shape moved in the darkness and then suddenly a faint outline showed up, and two wide white soulless eyes slited open and Robin stepped into the faint light of the small meeting room, his steps sounding like a quiet thought as he moved forward a few bare steps and then crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the other two teens, his gaze a scowl like glare, made even more intense by the inhuman eyes of his mask...

"Now then, I think explanations are in order, and don't try anything." he moved his left hand slightly, pulling it out from the crook of his right arm and showing a trio of small yellow and black disks between his fingers, small blue dots in the middles, indicating to their user that the hand launched projectiles where of the flash freeze variety, but then the other two in the room couldn't know that, nor did they need to know.

"Start talking." he ordered with a voice of authority that came when one earned such respect from society.

[Lillith Tiller]

Someone, Shiro didn't see it the way the feline man did. She'd been a lot of places, and most of the time, even if there was a body lying on the ground, it wasn't found until morning. So she hesitated. She didn't think he would lie to her, and he probably knew the city better than she did. She had just arrived. Maybe they had better security than all the other places she'd been.

If there was one thing Shiro wasn't afraid of, it was security guards. After all, what could hurt her? No chains or handcuffs could hold her, and she could even transform a bullet into something as harmless as water. Tazers were a problem, but she could run from them. She watched him, listening as he spoke.

His words rang true to her. Ever since she had gotten her powers, her mother had worried about the government getting their hands on her. In order to try to convince Shiro to hide her power, her mother would tell her horrible stories. Still, she didn't believe that anyone could catch her. She was too fast, and she could go anywhere. But he was worried, and it would be best if she took his advice.

And then someone else spoke from the shadows. Immediately, Shiro's eyes flashed to a figure jumping down from a ceiling vent (A ceiling vent? Really? Shiro couldn't help but think). It was a boy, dressed like the typical superhero. His mask covered his eyes but it did nothing to hide the glare on his face.

She noticed the weapons in his hands, and his serious expression. But despite herself she couldn't bring her attention away from his ridiculous costume. He looked like a clown trying to be cool. And when he spoke so seriously, with so much authority, Shiro couldn't help it -- a giggle escaped her lips.

She covered her mouth quickly, somber again. But honestly, how did he expect people to take him seriously? Her eyes flickered to the bed behind her. Her bed, the only real permanance in her life. She had to get that before she ran, even if she left her food behind. If she had her bed bracelet, her bag, and the stolen jacket, all would be well.

Shiro stalled. "Sorry," she apologized. "I just..." Probably not the best way to start. Then her eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" As she asked that, she stretched out her arm -- the bed was only an inch away -- and touched it. Instantly, it became a bracelet, and Shiro slipped that on.

"I don't want any trouble," she said. "And I'm guessing you don't have clearance here, either." A bluff. He probably did.

[ferus]

"So, you've decided to join the conversation, have you?" he asked with a good-natured grin. "I guess we were bound to meet sooner or later. Hey, I've been wondering: what kind of workouts do you do? Your pulse sounds almost as slow as a cross country runner."

He didn't seem surprised at Robin's entrance, because he honestly wasn't. Ferus had heard Robin's pulse and each subtle shift in his weight from the second he'd entered the room. However, since guards didn't generally hang out in vents, he didn't bother with it. Besides, from what he'd heard about Robin, he wasn't worried about being attacked. People who considered themselves 'heroes' wouldn't attack without asking questions. It was generally only villains and the military who went with 'shoot first, ask questions later'.

Salus and Judicium remained in their sheath across his back. He could have them at Robin's throat before he could so much as blink, but Ferus knew that Robin wasn't an enemy. Even if he had a remarkably itchy trigger finger, so to speak.

[Tim Drake]

Robin looked to the girl, a tiny twitch of his left eyebrow was the one and only tell that he was glad he was soon retiring the old modded gymnast suit with its bright but non reflective red tunic, green leggings sleeves and gloves, and black and yellow cape for the more simple and dignified red black and gold number that was not only more stealthy, but also didn't make him look like an animated traffic light with anger issues...


"I'm Robin, and he's right, and to repeat his question, just who are you?" he look to the guy and arched his other eyebrow at him; "Uhh... Thanks and it varies, the trick is that you need to find a routine ... That's not really relevant right now, because you two have no reason to be anywhere near here at this time of day, so unless you want to deal with the police and sheriffs deputy's in here, I'd play nice."

He looked back and forth between them and waited for answer, which he suspected wasn't going to come easy...

[Lillith Tiller]

Wait, so feline-man knew this masked superhero? It made sense a little, considering they were from the same city (and honestly, the masked superhero stood out). Shiro's eyes shifted to each of them in turn. If the feline man was friendly to him, then maybe this superhero who had entered with such a fierce glare wasn't so bad.

Her suspicions were confirmed when the masked superhero, instead of being angry at Shiro, just exibited a slight eyebrow twitch. Was he used to such reactions, then, and if he was, why did he keep the costume? Did it have some special meaning to him? He could not possibly think it was cool.

Robin; that was his name. It wasn't very specific, and Shiro was about to ask him to clarify who he was, but then again, the name "Shiro" wasn't specific, either. She smiled a little as Robin got a little distracted explaining his pulse, and then when he was done talking, Shiro just shrugged.

"My name's Shiro," she repeated. She'd thought he had heard her tell feline man the same thing. But was he honestly going to let them go free? It seemed like it. Shiro thought she'd make sure. "And are you saying we can just walk out of here?" she asked. "Because if you are, then I'll just find somewhere else to stay for the night. No harm done." Someone that worked at the courthouse could afford an extra jacket.