Re: Garage: Elijah/Aubrey
Elijah was, by definition, prey. Not so much the meat-suit. Man was the apex of the food-chain, capable of cruelty and efficiency. An omnivore with the practical capability to consume and survive irrespective of whether one food substance or another was hopping around conveniently near-enough to make a meal. Elijah was man and this came with ancient advantages, even without the societal ones laid on top in the modern century. The ability made Elijah prey. Prey was defenceless, prey could be held down and made to do things, or eviscerated until it was dead. Elijah thought like prey: the flit-panic of thoughts adrenaline sharp as the man advanced in the store.
He understood the whetted blade of the man's smile for what it was. It wasn't pleasant. It wasn't greeting, it wasn't nice, it was the curl of fat flesh over teeth exposed to demonstrate they were there. Humans were exceptionally stupid at anthropomorphism which would get many or enough of them killed. Elijah didn't need to know what the man was to know he was something, and he didn't like the icy flatness of the interior of the shop. Evolutionary defence mechanism: a method by which you made predator less inclined to rip out your innards; i.e. highly unlikely to touch you and suck your sanity through your skin along with knitting together bone and flesh. It was unpleasant and Elijah didn't think of it in each moment. His heartbeat was in his throat, and the seconds were clicking by like glass beads.
"Not required accessories," Elijah said, through a dry mouth. His tongue clicked against his teeth, the flat 'plack' of salivary glands that had ceased functioning. "The M16, the men. Humvees are vehicles." Didn't care about his competition. Couldn't be more obvious that he didn't care about the competition. Looked wildly in the direction of the window.
"No." It was a calculation in a second, designed to evict the man menacing over the counter. Elijah's voice was defiant, it wasn't even a lie because he didn't know the answer. It was probably unlikely, because he had stock for days, but he committed to his 'no'. He was edging back from the counter until his shoulder glanced the shelving behind him. Elijah didn't wince, he didn't blink. He stared down the man with unblinking, glassy-blue eyes.