Illicit Snack Breaks {Open}

[Legion]

What a simply magnificent day. It was so warm, and people were everywhere. Out of a particularly dense crowd emerged a teen. He stood out rather strongly from the rest of the people. Not in appearance mind you, but in ability. This boy was a shifter; master of two forms. Two sides of life. These fools had no idea just who what he was. He didn't even know just what he was. The far descendant of a sick government experiment? Impossible. Yet so true. In this boy's mind, he was nothing but thirsty. Schaun glanced around casually, scanning the crowd for a good mark. A mother caught his eye. She was fretting over a child and his dropped ice cream. Her purse dangled off one shoulder. Perfect target.

He started in her general direction, head down. The hood of his (stolen) hoodie was up, and he made it look like he was listening to music. Sometimes this was just too easy. Schaun picked up the pace, bumping into her shoulder. A swift motion of the hand and he suddenly became much more wealthy. A brief apology and he was on his way. Success. The teen took the next corner and counted his gain. Rather unfortunately she did not have a wallet, but he did manage to grab a couple of twenties and what appeared to be a crumpled up parking ticket. Discarding the garbage, he moved back out into the crowd. This time his target was a small stand on the beach.

Once he reached said stand he put a twenty on the counter. "Cola; don't care what kind, and a..." he took a brief glance at the posted menu, " A piece of pizza. Cheese only." He glanced around lazily, scanning for cops. He'd been here a couple of weeks, and was probably overstaying his welcome. Besides, the shopkeepers would start to recognize him eventually. You could only hit so many places before word got around that somebody was snagging things.....

[Pastel]

Pastel Parkreiner lay curled up under the shade of the bushes, his features softened into a serpentine smile of contentment. It was a beautiful day. Hot and humid, ideal weather for a snake, the heat of the baking sun shone down through the thousands of tiny gaps between the branches, tiny windows through which he could watch the daily hustle and bustle of the beachside crowd. Unseen, and unheard, he watched. Out of sight, and out of mind, he waited. He had been lying in this same spot since dawn, and he would remain so until nightfall, when his desired prey was scheduled to arrive. How did he know of this? Simple. He'd made the appointment himself.

He was taking a day off work today. Something he felt he'd earned, being the employee of the month for 3 months running, even though it had cost him greatly to do so. It was a necessary evil though, for while he had to keep a spotless record to avoid suspicion, he also had to finance his own agendas, didn't he? The whole point of all this bartending business was so that he would be able to advance. In snakes and ladders, the idea was to climb up, not down. He had ambitions. Very well thought-out ambitions, confessions he'd never whispered to a single soul. Things a person could be jailed for. But he'd got away with it. So far.

If his little gambit tonight paid off, he'd have another wad of spending money to add to his little savings account. More fuel for the fire! Sensing the world beyond through an infrared haze, signals intercepted and interpreted through the special sensory organs located between his eyes and snout, using his finely-honed senses Pastel could keep watch over nearly the entire crowd in his sleep. Mostly the crowd was clustered down by the beach, closer to the cool water, meaning that he was in little danger of being discovered. His only real visitors at the moment were birds, who's sharpened eyesight his camouflage could not deceive, and one very unlucky squirrel, currently being digested somewhere in his belly.

Flicking out his forked tongue to taste the air for new scents, immediately he was repelled by the strong, almost stagnant scent of melted cheese, greasy and thick. It was close by, far too close for comfort. Opening his eyes, he peered out through the narrow bars of his hiding place, scanning the crowd for the source of the offending stench.

[Legion]

The server at the stand took his money and replaced it with some brand name orange stuff. A brief moment later a slice of greasy, cheesy pizza on a paper plate joined it, followed by some ones and random coins. He detested pizza, but there was nothing else worth getting on the menu, and he had seen nothing worth hunting. Rather typical of dense urban areas. Peregrine Falcons may be urban hunters, but nothing can beat the taste of a nice woodland starling or similar bird. Shaun pocketed the change and grabbed his food, taking a bite of the pizza to make sure it was even edible. It was.....barely. Sliding the bottled soda into the hoodie pocket, he started away from the stand as he quickly ate the artery-clogging death humans seemed so fond of. He only got through half before it got too him. The rest of the pizza and the plate quickly found it's way to the nearest trash can. How anybody could stomach that toxin was beyond this boy.

Not that it mattered really. It would be far better if he just went out and caught his own food. It's what he did normally. Satisfied with his decision, Schaun did a quick 90 degree turn and walked past a clump of bushes. He had no idea how close he was to potential death. Past the brush. Past the crowd. He found a nice corner nearby, hidden from view but open to the surroundings. It was a great place to drink his pop; one of the few human things he enjoyed greatly, and then move on. The soft sand made an excellent cushion for him, displacing just enough to support him without it feeling too weird. The unopened beverage found its way out of his pocket as the boy leaned back against the building. It had been a good week. Nothing could ruin it for him now.

OOC: My mind seems so easily distracted recently.....I should really fix that before my quality takes too big of a hit

[Pastel]

With a soft hiss of irritation, Pastel flicked out his tongue, tasting the air as he felt something coming towards him. Below him the ground shook, his body picking up the vibrations through the soil and sand of something human-sized approaching. Remaining perfectly still, his dull olive scales blending indiscriminately with the leafy undergrowth, he stared as something walked past him. Avoiding the bush entirely. Once again, his camouflage had proved it's worth.

His eyes moved to follow the human, sizing him up as he sat down nearby, seemingly oblivious to his presence. From the looks of things, the guy was simply looking for a place to enjoy a beverage in private, something Pastel could sympathize with. It was merely an unfortunate circumstance however that this man's privacy was at the moment a compromise to his own. Man? No, more like young adult. The human smelled of youth; pizza, pop, and... something he couldn't quite yet identify. Chicken? Goose? Duck? The stranger smelled like bird. Hot bird - baking in the sand.

It was a scent that would've made Pastel's mouth water, had he been human. Though he was quite full, a squirrel being enough to last him around 3 days in snake form, the tempting aroma was torturing him. He couldn't tolerate this human's presence any longer! Uncurling himself slowly, like a length of rope, Pastel wrapped himself around the trunk of an overhanging tree. Sliding his way upwards, taking advantage of his species excellent ability to climb as well as swim, until he was on a branch positioned directly over the intruder's head, which had been until now casting over him a cool shade.

Wrapping his lower body around the branch, Pastel leaned down, hanging from the tree and bringing his serpentine face level with the human's until they had eye-contact. Sticking out his forked tongue, he let out a long "Hiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssss!"

[Legion]

As he sat, Schaun started to drift off. The shade balanced the temperature almost perfectly, and the pop was calming down his raging stomach. He had almost fallen asleep when he had the sudden feeling of being watched. It was as if some subconscious switch had been flipped. He looked around cautiously, scanning the crowds for anybody watching him. There appeared to be nobody. Strange..... He thought, taking another drink. Why would anybody be interested in him anyway? He was just a random boy enjoying his drink in the shade and privacy of his spot. There was nothing wrong with that; no laws against it. Still his mind screamed. Somebody WAS watching, whether he could see the offender or not.

His hand went naturally to the knife at his side, while his mind tried to work out the best escape route should he be attacked. Unfortunately, this all froze as a mass of scales dropped down from the branch above him. Blasted snake had been watching him, and it seemed rather offended about something. Schaun had no knowledge of most reptiles, so he couldn't tell if this one was poisonous. Hoping to calm the snake, he relaxed and stared back into it's eyes. If he had just a bit more room he could escape. The snake seemed unlikely to move though, and there was no way he could shift fast enough. It was amazing how wrong his day had gone in mere seconds. Go freaking figure.

Time seemed extended, and something in his mind urged him to draw the knife. Some instinctual sense that he could beat the snake's possibly lethal strike if he was holding the blade. What a stupid idea. It was like his mind was trying to get him killed. Another idea came up then. This one sounded a lot less stupid. "Uhh.....shoo. No can has." He said randomly. The reason behind talking to the snake had already fled his mind. It had sounded good though, so why not? Oh, right. Enraging the snake would be a BAD thing, and he had no clue how it would react to his voice. Crap.

Words: 359
Notes: N/A
Status: Complete