Re: Michael/Janus - No. 5
"Defensive," he huffed as they ran, glancing behind him. No birds yet. Yay! Maybe they'd make it out of this without being Tippi Hendren'd after all. The key thing was to not think about how the birds moved through the ground like it was water, and consider the possibility that they could do so in reverse - right under their feet, for instance.
"Why would ghosts hate you?" he asked. He was too out of breath to couch the thought in funnier language, but he was genuinely curious, unless she meant the spooks hated everyone? And that seemed true.
He was wearing a pair of beat up old boots that rarely saw the light of day, but he had been anticipating hunting for plastic eggs in tall grass rather than running long distances. When she begged for rest, she didn't need to ask twice. He wasn't out of shape exactly, but he did spend most of every day in a lab standing still, so he was, pretty much.
He slowed to a stop, leaning against the side of a building, casting around for somewhere they could duck inside. "I know they're not birds," he said, and took a short breath, "But what kind of store do we think birds hate? Probably...the best option?"