[Mononoke]

Human Form

Eevee quickly walked through the dirty streets, her head held high, trying avoid any contact with any people.  The last time her eyes had settled on one of the residents she immediately wished she hadn't.  The appearance of the people of the slums very much intimidated her, but of course, she couldn't let them know that.  That would lead to a hint of insecurity and at any moment she could get mugged by any one of those barmy thieves.  Eevee had heard once heard about a person who had gotten lost in a place with similar attributes to the slums.  You could just say that person didn't live happily ever after in the end of that story.  Actually "live" may have been an exaggeration...
A shiver ran down Eevee's back. This was a much too dodgy for any proper (young!) English woman.  At first, when her friend had asked her to go to the slums she had been very tempted to say "No way am I going to a dirty town like that!" but Eevee wasn't totally cold-hearted and her friend was in desperate need of a special item that was rumored to be found here. Now Eevee wished hadn't gone and she was back at home sipping tea from her favorite cup and listening to classical music.  But that wasn't happening.  What was happening now was more like a nightmare to Eevee.  She so very much wanted to wake herself up but that was impossible.  This horrible place was no figure of her subconscious.  Instead of drinking tea, Eevee was forced to inhale the awful stench that made her stomach churn.  And instead of listening to classical music, Eevee had to endure the terrible noises of drunken shouts, baby screams, and even sometimes the whistling of old greasy men.
Eevee paused in her strides to see where she was going.  She quickly looked down at the peice of paper in her hands.  On it, written in handwriting was the address she was supposed to go to find someone who could help her find what she was looking for.  Just as she was trying to read the address someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her into an alley.  A scream barely escaped from her mouth before a hand covered it. Extreme panic began to overwhelm Eevee and before she could understand what was happening, everything went black.

[Kitsumi]

As was her custom, Rosalie Lynne Winthrop had spent almost her entire Sunday, from morning to the time when the sun began disappearing, in the poor area of the slums. By the 'poor area' she meant the part where the underprivileged, low-paid families lived, opposed to the many fiendish beings who lived in the shadier areas of the slums. Now that it was getting late, though, she knew that she needed to start making her way home, before her father, or even worse, her older brother started worrying. She should have left hours ago, she knew, but Maria and the kids had needed her help so badly, that she had simply been unable to tear herself away from them. Mario, Maria's ten year old son, had come down with a dreadful case of the flu, and kept Maria on her toes taking care of him. Meanwhile, little Mercedes, who was five, had been getting into everything that she possibly could while her mother's back was turned, creating mess after mess. It had been Rosalie's idea to send Mercedes over to a friend's house across the street so that Maria could take care of Mario without interruptions while Rosalie cleaned the house and did the laundry.

A quick glance at her watch caused Rosalie to hasten her steps, her heels making a soft clicking noise on the asphalt of the road. "Father's going to be upset; he may not let me come next week if he's particularly upset, saying that I shouldn't be somewhere that I'm unable to call him and let him know that I'm alright if I'm somehow delayed. But Remus..." She sighed heavily. "Remus will be enraged! He hates it when I'm home late." She sighed, twirling a single finger through her strawberry blonde, shoulder-length curls as she spoke to herself, a habit that she had acquired somehow throughout the twenty or so years of her life. The thought of her twin brother's reaction caused her to shudder - as overprotective as he was, he wasn't simply going to let her get off with a slap on the wrist.

Absorbed in her thoughts, she probably wouldn't have noticed the strangled scream were it not for the fact that at the precise moment that it reached her ears, she had paused to pick up a penny that she saw lying on the road in front of her. Hearing the cry, she lifted her head, body still bent, and looked around for the source of the noise. She suddenly had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she knew that something just wasn't right.

Biting her lip nervously, she sighed. "Oh, darn it all, I can't just leave someone who needs help." She quickly darted into the alley from which the cry had sounded, and nearly fainted at the sight she saw. A rather intimidating man stood, holding a woman who seemed to have fainted from fright. The man didn't seem to notice her at first, and Rosalie knew that if she wanted, she could duck back out of the alley and keep walking as if she hadn't seen a thing. After all, she was a rather petite girl, lacking the strength to stand her own against even the weakest man. But then again, if he hadn't noticed her yet, perhaps she would be able to gain the upper hand...

For the first time in her life, she was thankful for both her father and brother's overly protective nature, which had prompted her to keep a bottle of mace and a small tazer that was capable of producing a small, electrical shock. It would do little more than distract and perhaps anger the man, but it was the only thing she could think of doing in that moment.

Running up to the man, she saw his head lift - just in time for her to deliver a liberal spray of mace to his eyes. He screamed, dropping the girl and covering his eyes, allowing Rosalie to then use the tazer on him. Apparently the shock was of a higher voltage than she had expected: instead of simply yelping in pain, the man dropped to the ground, unconscious. It startled Rosalie, causing her to scream and drop the tazer in disgust. "Ugh...never using that again." she murmured softly.

It took her a moment to remember the girl that she had come to rescue, and when she did, she mentally slapped herself for not checking on her. Kneeling beside the unconscious girl, she gently shook her, speaking loudly, "Hey! Are you alright? If you can hear me, give me some sort of sign."

{1-1}

[Mononoke]

Eevee was in the midst of a lovely dream.  She dreamed that she was back in a high class home having lunch with other elite looking people and they were discussing something about a fundraiser... or a party.. or possibly both?  Eevee recognized the faces and she felt as though their names were on the tip of her tongue and but it was impossible to remember what they were.  Suddenly a loud voice began to come from her conscious.  It sounded like a girl's voice and as she began to open her eyes, that was exactly what was kneeling in front of her.
"Whaa?", was all Eevee could manage when her voice could finally escape her mouth.  Her eyes quickly shot open and she looked around frantically,"Whe- wher- where am I?!", she practically shouted.  Everything was unfamiliar and the enviroment she was surrounded in didn't make her feel much better.  It looked like a dark and damp alley but what frightened Eevee most was the (hopefully) unconscious big man lying a couple feet away.  Raging panic began to rise like bile in Eevee's throat and she felt her breathes becoming quicker and more uneven.  Her attention was quickly diverted back to the girl in front of her, "Who are you?! What just happened?! Why am I here?!", she began to shout.  Her manners were far from being a priority because Eevee couldn't remember anything that happened... Absolutely nothing.

[Hope you dont mind a twist in the story ]

[Kitsumi]

As soon as Rosalie called out, the girl responded, and Rosalie heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank heavens, you're alright." She saw the fear in the girl's eyes and touched her shoulder gently, trying to calm her. "It's ok, I'm a friend. My name is Rosalie Lynne Winthrop. That guy over there..." Rosalie paused, not knowing whether or not she should tell the girl straight away what had happened. "Do you remember anything?"

{1-2}

((Ooc - sorry it's so short...I'm dead tired, my fiance's been keeping me up all night lately xD He insists on spending like five hours of quality time with me at night Not that I'm complaining...it just leaves me tired haha))

[Mononoke]

Eevee was still hyperventilating when the girl reached out to touch her. Somehow her mind had not processed the girl's friendly words and for some reason, Eevee's instinct told her that this girl was trying to mug her.  "If its my money your after, just take it and please let me go!", Eevee quickly said.  She just wanted to go home.  Where is home?, she began to think to herself.  Confusion clouded Eevee's sensibility and she began to walk out of the alley, as if searching for some sort of familiarity. Instantly, her foot caught a rock and Eevee found herself on the ground, once again.  Yet this time she began murmuring to herself "this is just a bad dream" over and over again.  Eevee knew she didn't belong here.  No, this place was much too foreign and it unsettled her nerves.  That and she couldn't remember a damn thing.  Eevee looked at the girl again, whom she had to admit, did not look like a thief.  Did this girl really mean no harm?  Eevee didn't see any other choices to get herself out of this hellhole.  Besides, she looked innocent enough.  "If you harm me in anyway or I'll...I'll ---" Eevee sighed, exasperated,  "I can't remember a thing".  She then heard a sob and realized that it was in fact herself that was crying.

[Kitsumi]

The girl's response startled Rosalie so much that she found herself laughing out loud. "Sweetheart, if I were here for your money, I would have taken it while you were unconscious. Besides, I have enough money to drown myself in back home; haven't you ever heard of the Winthrop family? My father was one of those "rise to success" stories they have in magazines." She giggled. "So believe me when I say that I don't need, nor do I want, your money."

Seeing fear in the girl's eyes, she suddenly felt horrible for joking. And then when she tried to stand and walk away, she tumbled back to the ground. "Oh, you poor dear! Here, let me help you." Rosalie gently grasped the girl's arms and pulled her into a sitting position, setting her so that her back was against the wall. "There, now you're not lying in that filth and dirt." She smiled, pleased, but the smile faded when she saw that the girl was crying. "Oh, come now, please don't," Rosalie pleaded. "I-I hate to see someone cry."

She reached out to wrap an arm around the girl, but paused. "I promise you, I have no intention to hurt you," she said quietly. "That man over there was the one who pulled you into the alley, I assume. I heard you scream, and tazored him." A sudden thought popped into her head, and Rosalie gasped. "Oh, dear, I don't know when the effects wear off...we should probably get out of here." Rosalie turned to the girl. "If you come with me back to my house, then I can get our doctor to take a look at you and make sure you're alright. Perhaps he'll know of some way to make you remember, too." She stood and offered the girl her hand. "I know you don't know me, and you have no reason to trust me. But I just want to help you. And unless you come with me, you'll be stuck here with him...and I'd like to think that I'm much safer looking than that dirty man."

{1-3}

[Mononoke]

Eevee looked carefully at the girl, "Well I suppose you don't look like a thief", she determined.  Winthrop... why does that sound familiar?, Eevee wondered but quickly brushed away the thought when the girl offered to bring her back to her home.  Eevee carefully weighed her options and after Rosalie pointed out the unconscious man she decided that going with her was probably the best one.  Eevee stood up, careful not to touch anything.  Anything could give me a disease in this filthy place, she thought to herself.  After a moment of trying to brush the dirt out of her clothing Eevee realized that she herself was covered in "disease carrying filth".  "Ugh! Whatever allured me to venture here?  I'm hoping your doctors will be to figure that out", she smirked.  Clearly someone must have bribed or blackmailed her to come to such an awful place.  "Well, off we go then", she said with her hands on her hips and looking at Rosalie expectantly.

(Yeah, my character is a bit of a ... snob to put it politely   )

[Kitsumi]

Rosalie had been ready to lead the girl back home, when she heard what she was saying. Immediately enraged, she turned on the girl, eyes blazing. "Now listen here, you selfish sod!" She moved close to the girl, not in a threatening way, but definitely in an angry way. "I come here every week to take care of the people who are too down on their luck to live anywhere else. Yes, there are people like him," she pointed to the unconscious guy. "Who are simply here to rob people. But I know plenty of people who are here because they've been abused, robbed from, and have nowhere else to go. And right now, you wouldn't have anywhere to go if it weren't for me. If I hadn't happened to come along you would be forced to live here until your memory came back, if it ever did. Or worse, you'd be dead! So don't you dare say anything against these people."

In a sudden bout of anger, Rosalie began walking away. "You know what? You can stay here for the night; I'm not taking you home with me after what you just said. See how it feels to have nowhere but an alley to sleep in, staying up half the night for fear of being robbed or raped, and then tell me about how bad it is here. I've already wasted enough time here with you, and I'm already late." She stomped off angrily, not knowing whether the girl would follow her or simply stay there. Either way, Rosalie was too angry to care.

{1-4}

((Haha, that'll be pretty funny, since my character has a temper xD))

[Mononoke]

Eevee just stared at the girl with an eyebrow cocked.  Rosalie was getting angry at her for nothing and it was Eevee who almost got robbed and lost her memory.   Ugh. Someone needs a reality check, she secretly laughed to herself. Things got less funnier when Rosalie said that she was leaving Eevee in the alley.  Eevee's only reaction was anger (probably due to the traumatizing and tiring effects of memory loss).  "W-w-well fine then!" Eevee sputtered, "leave me alone! I'll probably will get raped or murdered... or probably both! But you and I both know you'll have to live with the fact that you left a defenseless woman in an alley. And I thought you said you took care of people!", she yelled as Rosalie began to leave.  Eevee looked around herself for any more ways she could get Rosalie's attention before it was too late.  Eevee didn't like the girl but she knew she was her ticket to safety.  Then Eevee remembered the theif on the ground,"Oh look Rosalie!  I'm walking towards the big unconcious man! What if he wakes up?" she called out, carefully taking baby-steps towards the huge mugger.  If Rosalie was as caring as she said she was, Eevee knew she certainly wouldn't leave her in a situation like this...
Suddenly, Eevee thought she saw movement in the man's hand, and before she knew it she was screaming bloody murder and running past Rosalie and onto the streets of the slums.

Level 2!

[Kitsumi]

Rosalie tried to ignore the girl's shouting as she kept walking. She'll be fine...besides, she brought it upon herself. She kept repeating those words to herself, trying to convince herself that they were true. In the end, though, she just couldn't bear to leave the girl behind. And then, just when she was about to turn, the girl started creeping towards the unconscious man. Before Rosalie could warn her to stay back, the man twitched, sending the girl into a frenzied panic.

Luckily, Rosalie was able to catch her arm as she tried running past. "Hey now! Please, calm yourself. I suggest we get out of here, but I can't take you to my house with an attitude like that. My father, the honorable Charles Winthrop, will simply not  allow it, nor will my brother, and nor will I. Instead, I'll take you to my friend Maria's house." The idea was coming to her even as she spoke, and she smiled, nodding happily. "Yes, you can stay with Maria. She's been needing a helping hand, and you'll do just fine. Of course, you'll have to earn your stay there. Come, come; the house is quite near here."

She began walking in the direction of Maria's house, pulling the girl along with her. "Do you happen to remember your name?" She suddenly asked. "I'd hate to keep calling you 'girl' or something like that."

{Level 2 Reached}

[Mononoke]

Eevee flung back when Rosalie caught her arm.  She yelped and rubbed her arm "that hurt", she sniffed.  She frowned at the term "Attitude",  "Excuse-me but I do not have a attitude.  Your not the one who lost their memory FYI".  She was even more disappointed when Rosalie informed her that she wouldn't being going to the Winthrop residence since she had been really looking forward to a hot bath.  "Ugh!", she whined, "Puh-leeeaaseee don't make me go to a poor persons house!  I just want to go home".  But when Rosalie began to walk away Eevee stopped and looked around.  Was there really no where else she could go? I am NEVER coming back here, she thought and ran to catch up with Rosalie.  "And no, of course I don't remember my own name.  Comes with the whole "memory-losing" package", she smiled over-exaggeratedly and rolled her eyes,  "And what do you mean by a helping hand and earn my stay?  What happened to doctor idea?".  Eevee was in her opinion, no state to be a helping hand but something told her she was about to be proved otherwise.

[Kitsumi]

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "The doctor idea went out the door as soon as I realized what a selfish snob you are." She said. "I'm rich as he-" She caught herself before swearing, and tried again. "I'm richer than anyone around here, and yet I have the decency and compassion to come here and help people. You, on the other hand, are a stuck-up snob. No, I'm not the one who lost their memory, you are - and I'm the only one here who'll help you." She shot the girl a look. "So I suggest you start being kinder. I only help those who deserve it, and at the moment, you don't deserve it. So you better shape up. And yes, you have to earn your stay. At the moment, you're nothing more than a memory-less bum on the streets. You're lucky to have this help; you'd better be grateful or I'm leaving you here." She gave the girl a look that meant that she wasn't messing around.

{2-1}

[Mononoke]

Eevee walked slightly behind Rosalie so she wouldn't see her mocking faces as the girl lectured her about being snob-or being more grateful for her help-or something like that.  Eevee wasn't concerned about "shaping up" but rather that she would have to do work to earn her stay here.  Just when I thought it would be torture to stay here, now I have it earn it.  This is bull-- but before Eevee could finish her thought, her attention snapped to Rosalie's face which now displayed a much more intimidating look than the kind one when they had first met.  Funny how your first impression can be totally wrong from the truth huh? Well right back at you miss I-want-to-help-everyone, Eevee sourly thought to herself.  However, she was far from admitting it, but the Rosalie was right in the perspective that Eevee had nowhere to go.  This woman, Maria, had the only home that would possibly let her stay and as much as Eevee didn't want to go, she also didn't have a choice in the matter.  Besides, someone who knew her was bound to realize that she had gone missing and go in search for her.  A nagging feeling told Eevee otherwise but she dismissed it and began to plan a strategy, All I have to do is go along with this whole helping thing for a couple days and then someone will surely rescue me and bring me home. She smiled to herself, Yes, a couple more days and I'll be done with this traumatic event.  Perhaps there was a silver lining after all.

[Kitsumi]

It was obvious that the girl wasn't looking forward to working. Well, too bad. Rosalie was sure that she no longer appeared the sweet, innocent girl that she truly was; she truly was a nice, helpful girl. But she had a great passion for the less fortunate, and this girl had simply trampled all over them and their misfortune with her words. That wasn't okay with Rosalie, and it never would be. She didn't care how down on her luck a person was - if they looked down on people worse off then them or acted like it wasn't their fault they were in this position, then they didn't deserve Rosalie's sympathy.

"We're almost there," she said, an edge still apparent in her voice. "And I swear to every deity I've ever heard of, that if you make Maria or her kids feel bad, that I will throw you back into that gutter so fast that you're head will be spinning. And you won't be in as good a shape as you are now when I do it. Those people are my friends, and unlike you, they've worked hard for what they have and are happy and content. If you do anything to ruin it or look down on them, then I will give you back to the guy I saved you from."

{2-2}