Current mood:	accomplished
Current music:	Clint Mansell/Kronos Quartet - Lux Aeterna

[Hidden 01] Rain (Arie)
Well, this is my first piece. It's part of my 'Hidden' series (I think it needs a better name, but I needed *something* to call it...). The Hidden series is a bunch of really short fics (Under 500 words, preferably, under 1000, definitely) about various supernaturals hiding in the modern world. It's always been an idea that's fascinated me (and sparks my love of the World of Darkness roleplaying games by White Wolf), and it's one that lends itself easily to short fics.

These stories are also being used as exercises. This one, for instance, was supposed to mention all five senses, and is based off of a picture I saw, of a bright red jacket lying on top of a bunch of dark garbage.

With no further ado, here's the fic.


[Hidden]

Rain


Arie spun around in a circle, her arms flung out, ignoring the strange looks she got from the rest of the pedestrians on the busy street. It had just started to rain, and the cold water felt wonderful trickling down her neck. Her bright red jacket did nothing to keep the rain from soaking into her sweatshirt, and Arie grinned. She'd look like a drowned cat by the time she reached Michael's place, but that was all right - she was just happy to be out of the subway. The cramped, closed-in cars always made her feel trapped, and the scents of all the people crammed in the little area made her feel nauseated, every single time she entered. Pity she was simply too lazy to walk.

Still grinning, Arie sauntered down the street, taking a sharp right onto Wilton Road. She could almost feel a tail swishing behind her, and actually took a moment to turn around and check to make sure it wasn't there. Assured of her current state of normality, Arie crossed the street, not bothering to check either direction. The sharp noise of squealing brakes came first from her left, then her right, but she cheerfully ignored both sounds, keeping her head turned forward. After reaching the sidewalk, she took a quick glance back over her shoulder, and seeing the man driving the second car glaring at her and making rude gestures, she blew him a kiss. Watching his face turn a deep red, her smile tightened, turning more vindictive and less mischievous. She turned her head back to front, and ducked into the alleyway she'd been heading for, chuckling.

She picked her way nimbly through the rubbish and refuse that littered the ground here, careful not to step on anything too dirty. Her nose wrinkled and she tried to breathe shallowly - the smell of rot and mold made her stomach turn and left a hideous taste in her mouth. Reaching the bottom of the fire escape, she frowned. Michael had forgotten to leave the ladder down *again*.

Arie didn't even bother to glance around before concentrating hard on the feel of her feet on the ground. Less than five minutes later, a large grey housecat leapt lightly up the fire escape, headed to the open window on the third floor. On the ground, dirty and torn, lay a red jacket.