The stairwell, Thursday evening

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia struggles a little bit on the stairs with four bags of groceries and basics while balancing her full backpack on one shoulder. Figures she's ended up on the fifth floor of this building. At least the endless climbing of stairs will keep her in shape. Just like running from the cops used to.

After Marty's tour, she'd hit up the store for some stuff she hadn't managed to get when she was staying with her parole officer, and some food, since enough folks had made vague comments about the cafeteria food that she's leery of ever eating there. She'll have to be thrifty, though, since her stipend isn't meant to cover three meals a day.

Not that she'd had three meals a day for the last five years, anyway. . . .

As she climbs, she keeps her eyes scanning from side to side, checking for gremlins. She's getting even more paranoid than when she was living on the streets.

[open to replies by anyone who happens to wander by as she goes upstairs]

Comments

[dorky-broots.livejournal.com]

Broots had his laptop, he had Miss Parker's presents, and he had ... no clue. "A bar doesn't include singing, right?" He muttered to himself as he headed for the stairwell, and promtly tripped down it.

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia was peering behind her as she rounded a corner, then heard a clattering noise up ahead. She hefted two of her bags, which included a gallon of milk, in her right hand and prepared to swing at whatever made the noise.

Marty had said she'd hear the gremlins coming, after all . . .

[dorky-broots.livejournal.com]

"Ow!" Broots didn't bother getting up and checked to make sure that Miss P's presents, and JC, hadn't gotten broken in the fall. And then he checked for breaks in himself. "Stupid stairs."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia froze. Did gremlins talk? She raised her bag a bit higher, and started up the stairs faster.

[the4thsister.livejournal.com]

Paige wanders by carrying a kitten and notices the girl, "Hey I;m gonna take a wild guess and say you're new right?" she asks, offering her free hand

[maias-notebook.livejournal.com]

Maia was headed down the stairs and back against the wall seeing the girl coming up fast "Whoa!"

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia jumps at the new comer's voice, and very nearly swings at her with both hands. She shakes herself and smiles. "Yeeeeah." She shrugged, showing off the bags in both hands. "I'm Nadia. Sorry about the nearly hitting thing, but I was looking out for . . . gremlins . . . and that sounds really dumb when I say it outloud."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia reeled back. People were coming at her from all angles, now. She dropped one handful of bags at Maia's shout. "Eep! Sorry, sorrysorrysorry,"

[the4thsister.livejournal.com]

Paige looks around a little nervously, she's not scared of the gremlins she doesn't want to end up thinking she's a smurf or something.

"Oh no that's fine I understand totally, I think the gremlins are smaller than people though and generally don't talk!," she says with a grin, "I'm Paige by the way and his little fella's Lancelot," she says holding up the kitten slightly "and depending on what stories you've heard, no he's not a student."

[maias-notebook.livejournal.com]

Maia reached out and grabbed the bags before they hit the ground. "Its ok, why were you going so fast?" Maia peered behind the girl. "Didn't mean to frighten you. I'm sorry." Maia kept holding the bags. "Do you need some help carrying these?"

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia blinked, then nodded, filing away the additional information on gremlins for future reference. She decided against asking Paige about the green saliva thing, though. "Nice to meet you. And you," she nodded at Lancelot.

[nadiathesaint]

"That'd be great, gracias. Nadia, by the way." She glanced up the stairs. "It's all the talk I've heard about gremlins. And biting. Freaked me out." She used her newly free hand to adjust her backpack on her shoulder. "I'm . . . um, on the fifth floor?"

[dorky-broots.livejournal.com]

Broots came down from where he had fallen, rubbing the top of his head. "The gremlins bite, so staying away is good. Sorry if I scared you with my awesome balance."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia grinned. "Thanks. Marty said you hear them coming, and crashing sounded like gremlins to me. I'm Nadia, and I'm beginning to suspect I'll be saying that every three minutes for the rest of my life."

[maias-notebook.livejournal.com]

Maia smiled adjusting her hold on the bags "That's fine. Yeah they are nasty little buggers sometimes. I've never been bit though. My name's Maia by the way. Its nice to meet you."

[the4thsister.livejournal.com]

Lancelot purrs and squirms a little to get down, "Do you need a hand?" she asks, "I'm on my way up to the top floor."

[nadiathesaint]

"You, too." Nadia started to lead the way up the stairs. "I was thinking they were pretty bad, Marty said he got bit three times."

[dorky-broots.livejournal.com]

"Oh. Hey. I was your secret santa." Broots blinked. "And I'm definetly not a gremlin, 'sfar as we know, they don't talk. I hope."

[nadiathesaint]

"Gracias, but I think I can handle the two, now." [since Maia already offered] Nadia nodded, still a little overwhelmed with everything that had been happening that day. Last night after the party there hadn't been enough people around, now there were too many. "Thanks again, though."

[maias-notebook.livejournal.com]

Maia smiled at Broots "Oh wow you were indeed. Its nice to finally meet you. Thank you so much for the gifts they were wonderful and I keep the teddy bear on the bed, he's just to cute for words." She laughed then "Very glad your not a gremlin."

[maias-notebook.livejournal.com]

"Yeah its kinda crazy, Anakin, I think, thought he was a girl or a vampire slayer or something. They bite you and you are most certainly in for an alternate reality for a while."

[dorky-broots.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, me too." Broots said slowly. "Um, nice uh, meeting you, um, person. I kind of have to go and not get killed."

[the4thsister.livejournal.com]

Paige smiles, "Oh okay, I guess the furball might've taken that opportunity to excape anyway! So what do you think of the place so far?" she asks

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia smiled slightly and leaned against the wall. "Well, it was nice to meet you, 'Secret Santa'. Or should I call you 'Not-Gremlin'?"

[nadiathesaint]

"Vampire . . . slayer." Nadia shook her head. "This isn't really helping me feel safer, ya know."