Beauty in the Sewer

He rose and stepped around her cautiously. "Let me get my jacket and I will walk with you."

Once outside the booth, he moved quickly and with increasing ease, though still in a strangely loose-jointed fashion that seemed to glide as awkward as it was. He retrieved a jacket from the trunk of clothing and returned to Ingrid as he zipped it up. He didn't say anything as he caught her eye then turned toward the door. He did not feel there was much to say. He slipped out through the narrow gap between the doorjamb and the huge round plate and headed fearlessly into the darkness of the tunnels.
 
Knowing it was mean to assume, Ingrid watched him with the expectation of more clumsiness. Learning to walk brought the image of a baby deer, and anything else was alien. Sitting and watching wouldn't last: Claudius was already halfway out the door by the time she shifted up to move.

Clunking footsteps followed him into the dark after some delay, Ingrid struggling to straighten her bag out.
"I, uh, didn't give em to you before but there's a bag on the floor by that ticket booth. It's gotcha sandwich, plus some other chicken-based foodstuffs. In case you were hungry after being stuck down here, y'know?"
 
Claudius visibly brightened at that. "Thank you, Ingrid. I do love the treats you bring. They brighten my day. And my diet."

He gave her a hand up, making certain she was alright before taking the lead once more. His moved in near silence, barely disturbing the water underfoot. He held no light source, shone no flashlight, yet he moved with absolute certainty. His eyes had long since grown accustomed to the darkness and the silence of the pipes. To him, the quiet was not all that quiet. The sounds of the city echoed down the pipes and up the tubes.
 
"Ah, don't sweat it. Better to eat artificial stuff than whatever down here has to offer."
The words 'down here' came with a shudder. Whatever creepy creatures considered cuisine resided down here gave Ingrid's tastebuds nightmares. He had to have eaten something with rabies at some point. She wouldn't ask now, but she'd pin it for later.

Where Claudius soundlessly stalked, Ingrid fumbled after with contrasting grace. The flashlight she was armed with sent dots of light across the walls before being retired to her pocket entirely. Useless little thing. A new one was due soon unless she wanted to practice her dark vision, or invest time into echolocation.
'I don't think me screamin' any more will help anyone,' Ingrid thought with a grumble.

Casting her eyes upwards, Ingrid examined the ceiling of the pipes with minimal interest. No more wires! Good. She had to soak her hand in ice for an hour when she got home that day. Whether that did the trick or it just went away on its own wasn't up for discussion: she didn't risk frostbite for nothing.
"Guess you won't be getting any more limbs snagged in electrical wires, huh?"
 
A ghost of a smile flitted across Claudius' face as he heard her question. He shivered a little at the memory of his trapped spine, the terror of being trapped, and the fear when Ingrid had found him helpless. He had thought for certain either she would capture him or bring others down, but instead, she had worked to free him, almost at the cost of her own life.

"Yes. No more wires," he agreed. "I was never able to properly thank you for that. You saved me. I do not know what I would have done had you not come to save me."

Perhaps he would have stayed there until time for his weekly Change. Then what? The idea of being stuck on a wire while his body went through the violent transformation did not bear thinking about. Not to mention, he still might have been stuck on the wire, even in human form. It was probable he would have died.
 
Ingrid bit back her immediate response. Originally she was going to joke about he absolutely would have died at worst, deciding against it last minute in fear of changing the tone from what it was. It was comfortable as it was now.

"You're welcome. I'd say it's no problem, but that buzz left a mark. Felt like my arm was on fire for a good while. God knows what I would have done if I had to see someone about it."

She shouldn't have said that. The inkling of even an implied mention of anything hospital related made her blood run cold. Professional instructions told her to just change the topic as quickly as possible: and she did just that.
"But yeah, glad I showed up when I did huh? It was a crazy day. Pretty sure it was the one I lost my phone to now that I think about it..."
 
Claudius stopped and turned to look at her, his brows knit in concern. "I did not realize you were hurt that badly. Please, may I see your hand?" Pale, long fingers reached out to her and stopped halfway, open and inviting. He looked at her earnestly as he waited, but he would not pressure her however much he worried.

He did not miss her reaction to her own mention of "seeing someone about it," which he read to mean doctors, but it did not seem polite to bring it up. No wonder she'd seemed in pain for so long if she refused to get help. He hoped that mentality did not kill her someday.
 
"Oh, no it's nothing serious-"
Ingrid shook her head. With it being mentioned, the affected hand withdrew inside her sleeve along with her other hand pulling it down. She didn't mean to have him worry! It was just a little red around her palm. Maybe a small scar from catching her hand on the wire while pulling down. It hurt occasionally, but her tried-and-tested tactic of ignoring it until it was better was working wonders.

Still, it was making a scene of it by hiding it. Purposefully going out of her way to hide it was the guiltiest action she could do. All she had to do was show she was fine: so why did she hesitate?
"It's just some burns on the palm, see?"
Outstretching her hand on top of Claudius's, Ingrid pointed to the lower half of her palm (careful not to touch it.) For his sake, she had closed her fingers into a half fist so not all of the hand was visible.
"I can't see too well but there's a bit of red there, and a blister. Nothing some band-aids and a few more weeks can't fix."
 
He held her hand gently, his keen eyes examining the blister. No, it did not look too bad, but it could have been a lot worse. Perhaps a bit of salve or something would help it heal. He made a note to see what he had stashed away and see if any of it would help her wound.

"I am glad to see it is not any worse. I wish you had consulted a physician as an electrical jolt like that can seriously damage your internal organs, but if you are feeling no other effects... I am still sorry." He brushed his other hand lightly over the hand in his. "Thank you for showing me." He let her hand drop and stepped away.
 
"You gotta stop apologizing, Claudius."
Inspection over, Ingrid let her hands slither back inside her pockets to keep warm. Bringing attention to it had made her hyperaware, and she could feel the dull sting pulsing through her fingers. It was ignored, and anyone watching her would be none the wiser.

Standing and stopping was no good, so Ingrid stepped forward to she was just about ahead of him, as a hint.
"The only time you should ever feel the need to say sorry is if I'm kickin' and screamin' about god knows what. And chances are: It won't be because of you."
Her explanation was a bit abrasive, but was carried with an undertone of well-meaning. It made her a huge hypocrite to say such things: she didn't care.
 
He stared at her without blinking for several seconds. His name. She had said his name. It sounded so foreign to his ears. Then he moved forward. "As you say," he agreed quietly.

He did not really understand her, but he understood she felt uncomfortable. Perhaps she did not want to be the center of attention? That would line up with her apparent antisocial behavior. It might be more than that, he felt it was more than that, but how could he know for certain? Not by poking a sensitive wound.

So he led her up through the chilled pipes as condensation gathered around them up to the vents that lead outside. Soon, Ingrid's usual access port was in view. He stopped at her a few strides back and waited, his eyes on her. He was not good at "goodbyes," or "hello's," or really any social graces, so he looked to her to lead. Even if he did realize that was a touch foolish.
 
Ingrid was surprised he walked her this far. It wasn't anything personal, just an expectation that he'd shy more away from the outside. She was still trying to balance the previously light-reluctant lizard with goes-up-every-other-week Claudius. Trying to find a middle ground between the two separate 'people' she created in her mind was tricky.

He looked like he was waiting for her to say something. That's what she usually did. Dang.
"Well, this is my stop, hah. Thanks, Claud.
Not just for showing me up: for showing me...Y'know. All that. I know it must've been hard to decide on."
Ingrid's body ever so slightly inched forward, before immediately retracting back. It was played off by her stretching with a yawn.
"But I should probably get home. Amalie has no doubt called the police and tried calling the phone I don't have. Plus, I feel like once all this buzz wears off, I'm going to faint. Can't be doing that here, or on the street."
 
"Take care of yourself, Ingrid. I look forward to seeing you again."

Claudius gave a little bow to Indrid then turned and disappeared down the tunnels once more. He would be back later when darkness fell again for the second time. Later would be the time to shop. For now... he would rest.
 
He looked forward to it. Huh. For once, Ingrid didn't think to doubt it's sincerity. The drumming sound of surprise and aftermath of shock was drilled into her mind, and the disbelief never ceased, but she felt...Calm. Not calm in the way she felt before an intense brainstorming, no: this was a peaceful calm. A warm feeling blanketed her otherwise icy heart, keeping her in a close-to lullaby state.

Until she got home, of course.

What transpired as soon as she wandered through her door was closely akin to what Claudius must have felt, being the target for Ingrid's tangent. Only this time she was the one receiving the talking to. Ingrid drew blanks.
She knew what she'd do any other time: fire back with something and storm off to her room, or threaten to kick her sister out, or other...Nasty things. In fact, part of her wanted to: Amalie had completely ruined her mood by barging in and caring.

"..I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."
"Oh, there you go again, t-----.....What?"
Ingrid stepped past Amalie with a pat to her shoulder.
"For future reference, I may be out later on Fridays. Maybe. I dunno. You know now though."
She knew it wasn't as gentle as it could have been. Still, it seemed to be enough for Amalie: she'd gone awfully quiet.
"G'night."

Considering there wasn't a peep out of either of them for the rest of the night, Ingrid was proud of her handling of it. Gave her time to herself to think.
 
It was Friday night. The night to go out. The night to see what he could find at the market that he could not find in the sewers.

He wondered if Ingrid would come to see him tonight.

Claudius waited for night to fall, and the instant the last traces of daylight were gone, he stepped into the uppermost sewer pipe. Above him, the noise of the traffic blended into a muted roar. This street was usually very quiet at this time of day, and the market was not far away where there would be no cars at all. The loose change in the three woolen socks weighed him down a little, but he waited patiently to see if Ingrid would come this night. Perhaps her sister (er... Amanda? Abigale? It started with an Ah sound...) wanted to spend the evening together, or perhaps they would lose track of time together, or maybe she was suspicious.

He shifted uneasily at the idea of Ingrid's sister becoming suspicious of her sibling's comings and goings, but he trusted Ingrid. She would ensure nothing happened on that front.
 
"There had to be better excuses than that. Sounds suss...Can't really backtrack though, I s'pose.."
Ingrid's relentless musings were like her own car radio: minus the car. She'd set out walking just before the sun disappeared from view, allowing her extra time to take the long route and get a drink of iced coffee. It was freezing outside, and she had to hide her hand in her sleeve to hold it, but it kept her awake. The straw was something to chew on, too. It's the little things that made her night.

It also gave her something to focus on while she walked. Figuring Claudius would be heading up tonight, she hoped she would be welcome to tag along. Or at least see him, to check how he was doing.
Hmm. Too bad if he didn't want to see her. She was coming down anyway.

"Ey. Claudius? Are you down here?"
She had to be careful with how she jumped down and moved today: she only had her boots. Waterproof pants were in short supply, and the ones she had were being drycleaned. Something about the smell...
 
Claudius waited until Ingrid had "splashed down" then cautiously approached her from behind. "I am here," he said softly, no intending to startle her. He happened to be standing behind where she'd come down, so that was how he walked up to her.

He looked at her pants. They looked nice. Maybe he should consider getting a new pair of pants, himself. Those were rarely washed into the sewer, and not even he really wanted to wear that.

"Will you be joining me on my excursion to the market?"
 
Oh for the love of all that was holy, why did this damn thing never work? Ingrid flicked the bulb of the torch half a dozen times, ultimately doing more harm than good when she heard a small tink of fragile old glass giving up. Whatever, she could survive without light for tonight. So long as nothing startled her in the dark..

"Hhhshhfff--- Godammit we need to get you a bell or something."
Turning to point the now broken flashlight out as a make-shift weapon, Ingrid wondered just how he managed to be so quiet on his feet. She couldn't move an inch without sounding like a herd of elephants!
Huffing, but eventually sheathing her dangerous weapon, Ingrid took a long drawn out sip from her cup and crushing it in her hand once it was finished.

"Yeah. Felt like walking tonight. And hey-"
Ingrid grinned lazily whilst holding her arms out in a semi-dramatic gesture.
"Might as well go along with my favorite sewer anomaly."
 
Claudius blinked at her as he waited for her to stop threatening to kill him with a torch. Her reactions amused him that it never occurred to him that she might be genuinely terrified of his silent approaches and might actually strike him.

"Do you need a new light bulb?" he asked politely as he started walking. "I do not think I have any, but perhaps you can find one at the market."
 
"Erm."
A look down at the torch said yes, a new bulb would be needed if she ever wanted to use it again. How lucky: she had no intention of using it again. Shoving it back into a pocket (and missing, sending it into the void of the sewer below), Ingrid shook her head and trotted to Claudius's side.

"Nah, I'll just get a new one later. Sometimes it's cheaper, in the long run, to replace the whole thing than to spend time fixing it. Not like I'll need it up there. They got streetlights."
Streetlights that hardly ever worked. The amount of flickering public light sources had was enough to make someone dizzy. Those were the first things to go when rowdy gangs armed with bricks took to the streets to cause havoc. She knew that.
 
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