Inconspicuous? Perhaps Not.

[Sophie / Eve]

A teenage girl walked down the street of Magnolia town with a smile on her face. She brushed a few strands of dark hair away from her face and looked up at the sky with her clue blue eyes. On the outside she looked like any other girl walking down the sidewalk. This wasn’t the case. What people didn’t know was that this was a body shared by twin sisters Sophie and Eve Ulster. Sophie was currently in control of the body as was apparent from her eye color. This wouldn’t be the case in about an hour though. It was already dusk; soon it would be time for Sophie to become dormant and Eve would take the reins.

‘It’s hard to believe it’s already been two years since the fiasco with that scroll,’ Sophie thought as she looked up at the setting sun. ‘We aren’t any closer to becoming separate people again. Two years and no results,’ sounded another voice from inside of Sophie’s mind. This was none other than Eve, who would be taking over shortly. Even though only one sister could be in control, they could still speak with each other mentally. ‘I know. No matter where we’ve looked, there haven’t been any records of two people merging into one. That’s why I was thinking about joining the Fairytail Guild.’ ‘No.’ ‘What? Why not?! We might get some good information about what’s going on with us if we join.’ ‘No means no. I’m not about to break down and start following the guild’s rules and regulations. Besides, once they realize what we are they’ll just treat us like freaks.’ ‘You don’t know that for sure.’ ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m not dealing with that many people when there’s a good chance they won’t even be any help.’

Sophie stopped in her tracks and puffed out her cheeks. Her smiling face had shifted into a look of irritation. “Why are you always so stubborn?!” she blurted out without thinking. The people around her stopped what they were doing and turned to face what looked like a girl randomly yelling at herself in the middle of the sidewalk. ‘Good job...’ Eve commented sarcastically as her sister’s face flushed red with embarrassment. “Umm, don’t mind me! Eh heh heh,” Sophie called out to everyone while frantically waving her hands in front of her. She tilted her head down so that her hair fell in front of her face before ducking into an alleyway.

‘That’s the third time this week you’ve spoken out loud something you were trying to say to me.’ ‘Sorry, I slipped.’ ‘You had better hope that people don’t get suspicious and cart us off to the loony bin.’ Sophie sighed and tried to regain her composure. Even though the sisters had been like this for two years, it was still difficult for her to not be able to speak to Eve face to face and to keep their conversations in her head.

[shadeimpulse]

Manuel stumbled out the door to his apartment, his hair disheveled as if he had just woken up...this was because he had. He pulled out a cigarette and was about to light it when he heard a girl scream. “Why are you always so stubborn?!” She seemed to be yelling at herself, but she was alone. The fact that she was alone worried Manuel, he didn't like to see girls out alone, not that young anyways. “Umm, don’t mind me! Eh heh heh,” Manuel dropped his cigarette into his pocket and fixed his hair, smoothing it back into a pony tail. With one more stretch, Manuel followed the girl into an alley, "What is a young girl like you doing wandering alone?" He hoped he didn't come off as creepy, he usually had that effect it seemed, even if he was just being polite.

[Sophie / Eve]

Sophie took a deep breath. She once again put a smile on her face and had calmed down enough to go back to the main road. Hopefully nobody would confront her about shouting at herself. However, as she turned around she found herself face to face with a grown man. The girl jumped back a bit in surprise. She hadn’t expected anyone to follow her.

“What is a young girl like you doing wandering alone?” Sophie stayed silent for a moment. ‘Who the hell does he think he is!? Tell him to get lost,’ Eve growled. ‘Eve, we shouldn’t be rude like that. Maybe he was worried about my little episode out there on the sidewalk.’ ‘Doubt it. I don’t trust him.’ ‘You don’t trust anyone.’ Before Eve had a chance to respond, the girl smiled up at the man.

“What are you talking about? I’m not-“ Sophie began to say before cutting herself off. She quickly waved her hand in front of her face again. “Nevermind. I’m just taking a walk,” she replied. Her voice was overly cheerful as an attempt to hide her nervousness. ‘Just tell him to leave. You’re going to blow our cover,’ snapped her twin. Sophie decided to ignore her.

[shadeimpulse]

“What are you talking about? I’m not-“ The girl had begun to speak but caught herself, as if she were hiding something “Nevermind. I’m just taking a walk,” She sure was a strange one, but that didn't mean she didn't deserve to be treated kindly. True if it had been a boy, he wouldn't have cared what happened, but that was a different matter. "Okay, but I don't think you should be walking around here alone, especially not ducking into an alley like this." He spoke with a smile, trying to put her at ease. "I'm Manuel, some people call me Manny, what is your name?" There was certainly something off about this one, however, Manuel was not one to worry about that, after all, Fairy Tail had lots of odd characters.

[Sophie / Eve]

"Okay, but I don't think you should be walking around here alone, especially not ducking into an alley like this." Sophie shook her head at his words. “Don’t worry about me being alone. I’m used to it.” So maybe it wasn’t entirely true, but neither was the idea that she was alone. Her eyes were drawn up to the sky for a brief moment. Night was rapidly approaching. The thought of her sister taking control of the body in the middle of a conversation with this guy made Sophie a bit nervous.

‘I don’t like this guy. He needs to mind his own business,’ Eve snapped. ‘Sis, he’s just trying to be nice. Please don’t be mean to him when you take over.’ ‘Hmph, no promises.’ Sophie knew that this was the best answer she would get out of Eve. She sighed and looked back at the man as he introduced himself. "I'm Manuel, some people call me Manny, what is your name?" “My name’s Sophie. It’s nice to meet you!” The girl grinned and offered her hand for a handshake. “Anyway, I can take care of myself just fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

[shadeimpulse]

Manuel accepted her hand shake with a smile, "Well it is nice to meet you, but I wouldn't feel right if you went off alone, where are you headed at this time anyways?" Sophie seemed to be concentrating on the sky for some reason, as if she were under a time limit. "If you have no where to go, Fairy Tail is always....sort of safe at night." Fairy Tail was always a relatively safe place, but more so at night, when the rowdier members were passed out in their rooms by now.

[Sophie / Eve]

Sophie thought about Manuel’s offer. ‘I’m not staying at the guild. I’m not even ready to settle down for the night,’ Eve interrupted Sophie’s thoughts. ‘It’s not like we’re joining Fairy Tail. We’re just staying for the night. Besides, it’s not like you had any plans tonight.’ ‘I don’t need to plan ahead to stay awake and explore the city, do I?’ Sophie hesitated before continuing. ‘You’re thinking about looking for a fight again, aren’t you?’ Eve was silent. It looks like Sophie had hit the nail on the head with that one.

Night was almost upon them. Not wanting to give her sister the opportunity to do anything reckless, Sophie nodded her head eagerly. “It’s better than sleeping outside. Thanks,” the girl agreed. Eve would probably be mad at her for accepting. She didn’t want anything to do with the guild. However, Sophie thought that maybe if Eve saw how they operated, she might be a little more inclined to join them. “Let’s go!” The girl began walking back to the main street.

[shadeimpulse]

“It’s better than sleeping outside. Thanks,” Sophie seemed like a nice girl, and not loud or aggressive. It made her a lot easier to be nice to. “Let’s go!” She said walking back to the main street. "Well alright then, you're quite spirited aren't ya?" Manuel followed her, getting ahead so he could take them to the guild. It was a good night, not hot, or too cold, and the air was rather relaxing, Manuel enjoyed these walks. "So what are you here for anyway?"

[Sophie / Eve]

“I travel all over the place. No specific reason,” Sophie answered. Not exactly the truth, but she didn’t want to bring up anything about breaking a curse when the sun was so close to disappearing over the horizon. She lightly bit her lip as the sun sank lower and lower. It would be any moment now.

Surely enough, the sky went dark in no time at all. The teenager that had been walking alongside Manuel turned her head away from him so that he wouldn’t see her eyes change colors. Sophie’s lively blue eyes shifted to a deep purple color. The energetic expression that had once been worn on her face faded and was replaced by an uninterested look. Now that the sun had set, it was Sophie’s turn to be locked away. Eve had taken control.

“You know what? I changed my mind. I’m won’t be going to the guild after all,” Eve grumbled. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her baggy black pants, turned around, and started walking the other way. There was no reason to head to the guild, a place surely full of people who would quickly realize that there was something quite wrong with the girl in front of them. Eve wanted as little attention drawn to her as possible.

‘You’re just going to walk away?!’ ‘What about it?’ ‘Manuel was offering us a place to stay for the night. He just wanted to help.’ ‘I don’t need his charity. Besides, I already said I wasn’t ready to rest for the night.’ ‘You still shouldn’t just leave him like that. He thinks we’re strange enough as it is. Besides, what exactly are you planning to do?’ ‘I thought I already made my intentions clear.’ It was as Sophie thought. She was planning on looking for trouble. Why did her sister have to be such an adrenaline junkie? Eve tossed back a glance to the man that had roped her sister into following him. Why did she have to be so naive?

[shadeimpulse]

Well that was a sudden change, Manuel thought as the girl turned and walked away. She developed an attitude fast, and something in her voice had changed to. Not the actual sound of the voice, but the way she spoke, there was a subtle undertone of hate. It was a tone Manuel had heard many times before from men, but from a girl, it was unexpected.

Manuel watched as she walked away. If she was gonna be like that, maybe he should just let her be. He had taken another step toward Fairy Tail before stopping. He just couldn't let her go off alone. It wasn't in his nature. With that final talk he turned and started following Sophie at a distance, she might not like it, but walking alone wasn't smart even for adults.

[Sophie / Eve]

Eve continued to walk down the street as the stars in the sky slowly came out of hiding. It would be clear tonight, which made Eve happy. There was supposed to be a full moon, so she would be able to see just fine without a light source. She took another quick look behind her. To her dismay, Manuel was still following. ‘I guess he’s not going to leave us alone that easily. Why do you always pick the weirdos to talk to?’ ‘One, he talked to me first. Two, he’s not weird just for following us. Maybe he’s going the same direction by coincidence. Three, how do you expect us to make any friends if you keep scaring everyone off?’ ‘I already told you we’re better off alone. As soon as they find out what we are they would just distance themselves.’ Sophie fell silent. ‘As soon as we find a way to break this curse, you can go out and make all of the friends you want. Right now they would just get in the way.’

The girl slowed her pace a little bit to allow Manuel to catch up to her. She still didn’t want him hanging around her. She just wanted him to get close enough to hear her without having to raise her voice too loud. Without looking at him, she called back to the man. “I already said I wasn’t interested in going to the guild. If you’re trying to recruit me you can forget it.”

[shadeimpulse]

It was getting late, but there wasn't really anywhere that Manuel needed to be at tonight. Besides this was much more important than drinking in a bar with some random guild members he didn't even know. It wasn't long before the Sophie stopped in the middle of the street, she must of noticed he was there. “I already said I wasn’t interested in going to the guild. If you’re trying to recruit me you can forget it.”

Well she sure was an independent one, however, this wasn't about getting her to join the guild, he just wanted to make sure she was safe. "I'm not trying to get you to join anything, but until you get somewhere safe, I just can't, in all good consience let you go off into the city alone. Try all you want, I'm here until you settle down somewhere safe." This girl seemed much different than Sophie, in fact, he now felt he didn't have to hold off on his smoking.

With one smooth movement, Manuel removed the cigarette from his pocket, and lit it, taking a puff as he spoke. "I hope you don't mind." Manuel smiled as he leaned against a wall, waiting for her to continue walking.

[Sophie / Eve]

Manuel’s word caused Eve to spin around and shoot him an icy glare. “Why can’t you just leave me alone? I don’t need some babysitter trying to supervise me!” She balled her fists in annoyance; her knuckles soon drained of their color. If it weren’t for the fact that they were still out in the open and that Sophie would definitely give her hell for it, Eve would have socked him in the face.

What Eve realized a bit too late was that Manuel was now in full view of her eyes. While still scowling at him, she turned away and continued walking as if nothing had happened. Didn’t he get the picture? He had already told that she was used to being alone, so why couldn’t he leave it at that? It’s not like this was rocket science. What did he want from her? ‘Eve, try to calm down. While in public he has every right to walk down the same street as us. Manuel isn’t doing anything wrong,’ Sophie reminded her, trying to soothe her mood. The dormant twin could tell this was going to be a long night, and she probably wasn’t going to feel too great by the time the sun started to rise and she took over again.

Eve just kept walking, ignoring the voice of her sister. There had to be something in this city to help her ignore the guy following her. Maybe she should ask him where the nearest tavern was. Drunkards would often pick fights without much goading. Nah, with the way he was acting he would probably just follow more closely. Eve began grumbling under her breath as her eyes scanned the buildings lining the road for anything interesting.

[shadeimpulse]

“Why can’t you just leave me alone? I don’t need some babysitter trying to supervise me!” Well that seemed a little uncalled for, just looking out for her best interest and she yelled at him. Manuel noticed something though, her eyes seemed different. He simply wrote it off as some odd magical trait, "Your eyes change colors when you're angry it seems, that some kinda kids toy? Mood lenses or something?" Manuel smiled, knowing that this was not a reasonable explanation, however, he put it in the back of his mind as a get rich quick scheme.

"Alright, let's try this, I was going for a walk anyway." Manuel gave a smile as he took another puff of his cigarette. He noticed her looking around at the buildings. Manuel assumed she was looking for a way to ditch him, but wasn't sure. With a look up into the sky Manuel turned to her, "You gonna go somewhere, or just feel like standing in the street?"

[Sophie / Eve]

Eve decided not to say anything about his remark about her different eye color. It was actually a pretty good cover for when she and Sophie switched places. She would have to keep that in mind. With a shrug of her shoulders, Eve continued to examine each building and figure out whether or not it would be worth her time. There had to be something to do in this town after it got dark. She would have to find somewhere to sleep already when she had just now gained control of the body. Otherwise it would just be a waste.

"You gonna go somewhere, or just feel like standing in the street?" “Why does it matter to you? I thought you were just going for a walk,” Eve replied without any interest in her voice. She still didn’t get why he cared so much unless he wanted something out of her. Was he planning to mug her? It’s not like she had much money or anything. Then again, if that was his plan he probably would have mugged Sophie while she was still in the alley. ‘What a shame. It would have given me an excuse to start a fight with him,’ Eve thought with a chuckle. ‘That’s enough sis. I keep telling out he’s just trying to help. If you start a fight with him without a reason, I’ll spend all of our money on cakes and candies tomorrow!’ ‘Jeez, calm down. I won’t throw any punches unless he starts something with me, okay?’

Eve continued to walk with Manuel still following her. She stayed alert, not being one to drop her guard around anybody. She knew he was going to try something. Eve didn’t know what it was, but surely he was just waiting for the right moment to strike. “If you’ve really got nothing better to do, mind pointing me in the direction of a tavern or library?” Eve grumbled. She didn’t have high hopes that he would tell her where to find a bar, but maybe she could find a book on magic or curses if she could at least find a library. She wouldn’t be able to get into a brawl there, but it was better than nothing.