[Cass Harlow]

Cass still hadn’t managed to find steady work in the city, and that meant he was low on funds. Again. He’d made some friends, which meant had a few places he could go for a quick meal, but it wasn’t always easy or convenient, and he hated relying on other people so much.

Relying on himself often meant stealing, but he had no qualms about taking what he needed from stores and businesses. Stealing from individual people was more morally complex, however. It was something he usually tried to avoid.

Today, however, stealing hadn’t been part of the plan. He was intending to head to his favorite spot in the park and do some busking. That tended to net him a few dollars for a few hours of playing. Enough for some food, maybe some gas. He’d do it more often but, really, it didn’t hold his interest for long enough. When he gathered a nice crowd, it was great, and he reveled in the attention. He knew not to expect that every time, though, and on the days when people were too busy going about their lives to stop and listen to him, he grew bored and restless.

Since it was the weekend, he hoped to be able to draw enough of a crowd to at least fill up the van’s tank with gas. If he was lucky he could get some groceries, too, but gas was the priority at the moment. His gas light had just come on that morning, and he didn’t like leaving her in one spot for too long, because it tended to draw the wrong kind of attention.

So, here he was, guitar case strapped to his back and messenger bag looped over his body, trekking through the city to get to the park. He hadn’t wanted to risk using up the last of his gas to drive there, unsure if he would need to move the van later and wanting to be prepared for any possibility.

His stomach rumbled faintly, the protein bar he’d had for breakfast not enough to satisfy, but he ignored it, taking a swig out of the bottle of tap water he carried to try and drown his hunger.

He was cutting through and alleyway between a restaurant and a business when he met the gaze of a restaurant employee who was standing outside smoking a cigarette. The two nodded politely at each other before the man flicked his cigarette butt to the ground amidst the scattered remains of many others and turned to head back inside.

Cass frowned at the ground, annoyed at the litter, but a bouncing thud caught his attention and he looked up again, slowing to a stop. The door the man had disappeared into hadn’t latched behind him. The deadbolt on the door was slid open, preventing it from closing all the way, and Cass eyed it avidly, mouth quirking up at one corner.

He was nothing if not opportunistic, after all. And he was getting pretty hungry.

Without thinking about it too hard, he toed his boots off and slipped them, his guitar, and his messenger bag behind a nearby garbage can. After a moment of hesitation, he slid his belt off as well and coiled it up on top of his bag. The jeans he was wearing were a couple sizes too big—they once belonged to a hookup who had left them behind in his van, but they were his now—meaning he would have to keep pulling them up the whole time he remained unseen. It would be annoying, but he didn’t want to risk someone spotting his belt floating around and freaking the fuck out. He hadn’t exactly dressed for this kind of thing today.

He grimaced slightly as he walked across the alley in socked feet. He had an extra pair of socks in his bag, and he hoped he’d have time to change them when he left the restaurant, before he put his boots back on.

He pulled the door open a crack and peeked inside, making sure the coast was clear before he slipped through the smallest opening he could manage and caught the door as it swung shut so it would make a noise.

He was in some kind of storeroom. Perfect. He could hear the sounds of a kitchen just beyond the door at the other side of the small room, and when he extended his hearing, he only heard the murmur of a couple of people in the building. Meaning the restaurant wasn’t very busy at the moment. Meaning, hopefully, no one would be coming into the storeroom any time soon, and he’d have time grab something and get out before anyone noticed the open door.

He turned to peruse the shelves, and his gaze zeroed in on the bag of oranges first. Just as he was loading a few up on his arm, each one disappearing as it touched his skin, he heard the door open behind him, and cursed himself internally for not paying more attention to the noises going on beyond it.

Just like that, he was no longer alone in the storeroom. A young woman was suddenly in the room with him, and he instinctively froze and waited her out, not wanting to make any noises and accidentally alert her to a presence other than hers.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAG: Maddison Lancaster

OOC: Here we go! Feel free to make assumptions, or move him around if you need to. Let me know if I need to tweak anything.

[Maddison Lancaster]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","MADDIELyrics2"]I am not a woman, I'm a God[break]

I am not a martyr, I'm a problem. I am not a legend, I'm a fraud. [break]
So keep your heart, 'cause I already got one.

[break]

[attr="class","MADDIEBody"]

As soon as he put the plate in the window for Maddie, Sean disappeared out the back, undoubtedly going to smoke a cigarette while they were still slow. The problem was the jerk had messed up her order, more than likely intentionally. He’d covered her scrambled eggs in hollandaise sauce. Maddie knew that he was aware that she hated hollandaise, they’d talked about it before. She considered just going back on the line making new eggs, but she knew that Sean would yell about it and then their manager would end up getting involved, and no one wanted that. [break][break]

She knew it was really her fault. Sean was moody with her because she’d been flirting with him while she was off again with Tomas. She’d hooked up with him, but then she wanted to try to make things work with Tomas and she ghosted Sean for the last few days. All afternoon he’d been slamming plates in the window and yelling overly loudly at her when orders were up. She should have known he would be an ass when she put in the order for herself, but she was still irritated. [break][break]

If Tina had been working today, she would be saying ‘I told you so’. She’d tried to warn Maddie that hooking up with Sean was a bad idea. Apparently, he’d had a crush on her and wasn’t as casual about it as Maddie was. But she hadn't listened. She didn’t think. According to her brother, she never did. [break][break]

Once Sean came back inside from his smoke break, Maddie walked back on the line. “Very funny. You know I’m not gonna eat that.” [break][break]

“Oh, do I know that?” He crossed his arms and stared at her. “Cause I guess I didn’t know you as well as I thought I did.” [break][break]

“Oh come on. Grow up, Sean.” Maddie shook her head. “I’m sorry if you thought I had feelings for you. I don’t do feelings, okay? It’s nothing personal.” [break][break]

“Damn. You know what? I feel kind of sorry for you if that’s how you go through life.” Sean took the plate out of the hot window. “Fine, I’ll remake the eggs. But next time you want to toy with someone, it’s not gonna be me.” Maddie let out a sigh. She supposed he had a right to be mad at her, but he should have known she wasn’t serious. He wasn’t the first coworker she’d gone out with, and probably wouldn’t be the last. “Fair enough.” She agreed. [break][break]

“I need gloves. There’s only one left in the box.” Sean gave Maddie a pointed look. “Alright, I’ll go get another box from the stockroom.” [break][break]

Maddie walked back to the stockroom that Sean had literally just walked through to come back in. Why hadn't he grabbed a new box on his way? He had to know that he was running low. She was so busy being irritated at Sean that she nearly missed the familiar feeling. She wasn’t alone. There was someone close to her, someone gifted. Maybe they were just outside? [break][break]

She went to the back door and looked out, but there was no one there. Moving back into the room, she still had the strong sense that she was right next to someone Gifted. Sean wasn’t, their manager wasn’t. They only had a couple customers in the building and she hadn't gotten the sense from any of them. Besides, this didn’t feel like it was coming from the dining room. [break][break]

She felt uneasy, unsure of what was happening, so she used her power negation, thinking whatever was happening she could try to stop it. [break][break]

“Oh my god.” She nearly jumped out of her own skin. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it hadn't been to find some guy standing almost directly next to her. “Who the fuck are you? What are you doing back here?” She glanced at the back door again. The deadbolt was out. Fucking Sean, he always did that when he went out to smoke. He never remembered to shut the door all the way when he came back inside. [break]

[attr="class","MADDIENotes"]Cass Harlow[break]
Let me know for changes! Likewise, feel free to move Maddie or do whatever.

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[Cass Harlow]

Wow, she’s really pretty, was Cass’ first, entirely useless thought as he got a good look at the woman he now shared the room with.

She moved past him to the back door, coming very close, and he pressed himself back against the shelves and kept as still as he could. She looked out the door, then turned back around. Thankfully she didn’t run into him as she moved away from the door and back into the room, but he did almost drop one of the oranges. He had to fumble and juggle the invisible fruit in his hand to try and keep it from falling, almost dropping the other five of them in the process.

He had just managed to wrangle the armload of slippery bastards when they suddenly weren’t so invisible anymore, and the woman yelped in surprise. It took him a moment of stunned, stupid silence to realize he was visible again as well. Not to mention he felt like he was half deaf, half blind, half numb, and had a stuffy nose. It was like a heavy blanket had been pulled over all of his senses, making him feel bereft and helpless. He reached desperately for his invisibility, for his hearing, for something, anything, and came up empty.

It was like when Noah had snatched his hearing away briefly, except it was all of his senses. Everything was gone, all at once. He felt like he was going to be sick.

He turned an accusatory gaze on the woman, who, he realized, had been demanding who he was and why he was there. Not why he had been invisible a moment ago. Meaning she was aware of gifted people, and no doubt had been the one to take his gift.

He took a step toward her, unable to keep the scowl from his face. He knew he was in the wrong, that he was in her place of business stealing food and that he shouldn’t be there, but he couldn’t help the anger he felt at having all of his powers taken from him so abruptly.

“Give them back,” he demanded firmly. Or, at least, he tried to say it firmly. To him his voice sounded small and muffled and faraway, so he had no clue what it sounded like to her. He dropped his armload of oranges, kicking one of them hard and knocking it into the wall when it rolled into his socked foot. “Now,” he added, and even he could hear the waver in his voice with that single word.

He was more upset than angry, really, but being scary would probably get him further than bursting into tears.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAG: Maddison Lancaster
OOC: sorry for the wait! Let me know if you need more to work with.

[Maddison Lancaster]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","MADDIELyrics2"]I am not a woman, I'm a God[break]

I am not a martyr, I'm a problem. I am not a legend, I'm a fraud. [break]
So keep your heart, 'cause I already got one.

[break]

[attr="class","MADDIEBody"]

The shock of a stranger being in the stock room was enough to rattle Maddie for a moment. She wasn’t sure how to react, what to do once she saw the guy. Clearly, he hadn't intended on being seen. Maddie couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing, why he was there. Her initial surprise turned to fear as her mind began going through all the possibilities, but then she really looked at him. Piercing blue eyes, slightly scruffy, no shoes, and hiding food. Honestly, it was somewhat of a relief as it dawned on her what he was doing there. [break][break]

Maddie hadn't come across anyone with a gift for invisibility before, and everyone always acted differently when their abilities were yanked away from them suddenly. It was a concern she’d had before, about not making friends by stopping people from doing what they do. It wasn’t always a relief or a good ice breaker, like Noah had mentioned it could be. This particular guy didn’t seem to be happy about it at all. [break][break]

She hadn't exactly been quiet when she discovered the guy, and when he turned to her and demanded she ‘give them back’ he wasn’t all that quiet either. But the manager, Mike, had been out of the floor and out of earshot. It was likely that Sean had put his earbuds in, since he hadn't already come to see what the commotion was about. [break][break]

Maddie stepped back as he stepped closer, attempting to keep a short distance between them. She watched the oranges roll to the floor, and couldn’t help flinching when he kicked one. She knew that what he was demanding back was his gift, but he’d said give them back, not it.. Invisibility had been obvious when he wasn’t there then suddenly was. What other gift did he possess? Was it dangerous? He was clearly upset. [break][break]

“Look, I don’t want any trouble.” Maddie was cautious. “I can give them back, but only when I know what exactly I’m giving back.“ She wasn’t sure if he’d take that to mean she couldn’t give back his gifts without knowing what they were or just that she wouldn’t, but either way she had the upper hand here for the moment being. There were only three ways that she knew of for him to get his abilities back, and that was either her giving them back, him getting far enough away from her to be out of range of her negation, or the third way (that was just a theory she had and she hoped he didn’t think of) of her losing consciousness and therefore being unable to hold onto the negation.[break]

[attr="class","MADDIENotes"]Cass Harlow[break]
Let me know for changes..

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[Cass Harlow]

“You didn’t need to know what they were to take them, why do you need to know what they are to give them back?”

That didn’t make any sense. Why couldn’t she just flip the switch and stop suppressing his gifts? Unless… Were there other gifts she was currently suppressing, too, and so she had to make sure she was allowing the right ones through her filter? Or was she lying to get more information out of him for some reason?

She said she didn’t want any trouble, so maybe she was just wary of what he might do with his gifts. Did she even know what they were, other than his invisibility? Because if she did, she would know there was nothing he could do with them that would hurt her.

Honestly, he didn’t really care about her motivations at the moment, he just wanted his abilities back.

“Whatever, I guess it doesn’t matter.” What could she possibly do with the information? “Invisibility, as you know, and enhanced senses.” He forced a smile, but it probably didn’t come across as too friendly, though he tried. “Now. Please,” he said through his teeth. “Give them back and I’ll leave.” He cast a forlorn look at the scattered oranges, stomach growling again as if to berate him for getting caught.

His jeans started to slip a bit and he yanked them up before they fell around his knees. Now that his little raid had gone to shit, he just wanted to get back to his stuff, get his belt back on, and go to the park to try and earn some gas and food money fair and square.

This was the second time now a beautiful woman had caught him sneaking around to steal food. It was becoming a pattern that he was a bit ashamed of. It needed to stop.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAG: Maddison Lancaster
OOC: I'm back baby!! Let me know if you need more to work with.

[Maddison Lancaster]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","MADDIE_noscroll_Lyrics2"]I am not a woman, I'm a God[break]

I am not a martyr, I'm a problem. I am not a legend, I'm a fraud. [break]
So keep your heart, 'cause I already got one.

[break]

[attr="class","MADDIE_noscroll_Body"]

There was no chance that Maddie was going to stop using her negation on this guy unless he told her what his other gift was. She figured invisibility was harmless enough, for the most part. But there was too much question about her safety if she didn’t know what else she was dealing with. [break][break]

She was a bit surprised that he actually decided to tell her what his gifts were. She was also relieved. [break][break]

“It makes sense, now..” She mumbled, shaking her head slightly. “I know someone else who has enhanced senses. I guess if you aren’t used to what I can do, it would be pretty jarring.” [break][break]

She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to explain anything. This guy had snuck into the stock room, he startled her, and now he was the mad one? She looked at him more closely while she thought about dropping her negation. Was he unhoused? He certainly looked as if he was. The way he was dressed, put together with the fact that all he’d taken was food, she suspected that he was. Maybe he was just used to people being uncaring, unconcerned about whatever his troubles were, and the anger was a defense. [break][break]

Was he scared she was going to call someone or get him into some kind of trouble? [break][break]

“Look, I’ll give you your gifts back.” Maddie glanced at the doorway behind her, there was still no one else coming to the back. Likely Sean hadn't even realized how long she’d been missing from the line, not asking him where her orders were or arguing with him. “Keep the oranges. It’s not like we go through them all anyhow, bet the manager won’t even notice?” [break][break]

Maddie was trying to be nice, even if he’d scared her. It’s not like he could have predicted she’d be able to sense him, and he wasn’t hurting anyone. [break]

[attr="class","MADDIE_noscroll_Notes"]Cass Harlow[break]
Let me know for changes!

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